#most people have roosters waking them at the crack of dawn.

[kirric-the-fan]

More oc stuff, different precure team:

Precure Royale:

These girls have a lost kingdom a la sailor moon vibe going on, but with slightly less save the universe need, and even less wanting a kingdom. And one pushy prince.

Anyway, almost all of them have past precure lives and forms. Back in the Heart Kingdom, the four girls and the princess they were protecting were revered as immaculate soldiers (cures) and icons, but in reality they were just as messy as anyone.

Which brings me to Hita (Atsuko), the fairy cure of the team (Cure Sunfire/Sunrise)

Hita is a Firebird, with gold and deep purple plumage. She looks elegant, suave, and noble. Beautiful. Like a colour tweaked peacock.

And every morning she stands outside the princesses bedroom window, takes a deep breath,

And yells "MORNING MOTHERFUCKERS!"

Before blowing a big ball of fire into the air.

Appearances can be decieving. Very decieving.

[erzsebetrosztoczy]

For your wounded heart

Pt.1

Pairing: Mizu x reader

Word count: ~2k

Notes: If there will be interest for it, I'll continue the story, because so far there isn't really a Mizu x reader going on lmfaoo but we'll seeeee

Ps.: Mizu's pronounce is he/him in this part

Here's Part 2

The molten gold disc of the sun slowly crept up the horizon, pouring gray onto the world from the darkness. It rose drowsily, languidly among the tall canopies, leaves lighting up as it projected onto them as thousands of thalers appeared next to the shining disk.

The songbirds ruffled their feathers — ready for the challenges of another day, and sang happily to their companions.

A strong draft escaped from under the wooden door, making the embers of the flickering fire dance before running through your covers.

The sudden cold bit into your skin; grabbing you from the realm of dreams, dragging you back to the world of the living with its icy fingers. You opened your eyes with a terrified sigh; waking up from the warm and caressing dream you pulled yourself under the covers.

Another day, another task ahead of you.

Wearly, you dressed up before trying to gather your belongings, which you would need shortly.

A scalpel, a knife, gloves and a deep basket soon graced your side as you set off into the awakening forest.

Three days ago, you were approached by one of the most influential merchants in town. His wife caught the chills-fever, which her priests had not been able to cure with any of their treatments. Realizing that needles, prayers and incense would not help here, the nobleman visited you the day before, when the noises of the market in the main square seemed to dull down, when you started packing your goods to go home.

It had been a long time since you were last offered such a sum - too long for your liking. Short of money - and because you would have faced the wrath of a powerful man if you refused - you accepted his offer to heal his spouse.

Early in the morning, when the rooster hadn't even crowed, you were already ready to go collect the ingredients for the potion.

The sharp autumn air crawled over your skin, penetrated your bones and breathed newfound strength into your heart. Listening to the soothing soft melody of the forest, you set off towards its thickets, hoping that you would find enough ingredients for your tonics today. Everything was ready to take care of the sick wife- all you had to do was get the hojicha flower, of which you had run out of stock a while ago.

Pulling your cloak tight around your shoulders, you stepped on the wet moss carpet, careful not to slip on the rutted ground. Soon the ground would start to freeze- you thought as you tried to remember which tree trunk you marked, where you should turn right or left to reach your usual harvesting location.

"If I want to have everything in the winter, I have to collect them in time..." You sighed, stepping over a taller ditch. "Maybe I should look at the market to buy seeds and-"

"To the best of my knowledge, you have to go the other way to the nearest market." A harsh, sharp voice spoke from your left.

You immediately screamed and if the cold didn't do it until now — the stranger who suddenly stumbled here had certainly frozen your blood. The pounding of your heart only made it worse as you spun backwards, trying to face the source of the sound. Your foot slipped and you fell to your knees, hitting a wet log while you turned your head trying to find the source of the sound.

After a while, three men appeared in front of you; one from the nearby bushes, while two crept out from behind the cover of the trees; like wild dogs lurking in wait for their prey.

"The lady must be lost, people can disappear quickly in the forest..." The other man nodded with a vile grin, rubbing his palms together while approaching you.

"Certainly, it is not recommended to walk alone in such remote places at the crack of dawn." The third man took over, turning his attention to the basket lying on the floor next to you. “It's better if we accompany you… so no one attacks you.”

"I didn't, I just-" You stammered, but your voice got stuck in your throat as the three strangers walked closer and closer. Their ragged and dirty clothes, their darkly glistening dreadful eyes ruled out that they were simple wanderers.

You ran into bandits on the road, alone, in the middle of the forest. Your heart was pounding in your throat and kept yelling for you to move, escape, run — otherwise you will take your last breath here forever.

Your eyes darted to your overturned basket – deep inside your knife was glinting in a cold light. If you could be fast enough to get it out of there...Fight for your life. You fight or you die.

But instincts were stronger than reason; the Gods opened a third way for you at that moment.

You pushed yourself away with your hands, your heels digging into the ground hard, almost scraping it up as you jumped up to run away like a chased deer. You could barely feel your legs, could barely breathe as you ran through the trees with all your might, jumping over bushes, rocks, and pits. With your heart in your throat, with the sound of the bandits' steps and shouts in your ears, you kept going forward, not even daring to look back.

Your ability to navigate had left you, you didn't even know if you were running towards or away from them, there was just the feeling that you still had to go, still run, still fight. If you stopped you were dead, if you fell you were dead, if they caught up you were dead.

A huge thorn bush appeared in front of you, too high and wide it would have been almost impossible to jump over it, to get around it; so for lack of a better option you tensed your muscles, pulled your neck in, closed your eyes and ran into the branches, shielding your face with your arms.

The pain that ignited in the darkness flashed through you as a hundred and a thousand spikes dug into your exposed skin; then you felt the ground open under your feet, suddenly you began to fall.

You didn't even have time to cry out when you hit the hard ground with your side.

Lying there injured and exhausted, with a bursting heart, you realized that it was all over.

You just sealed your faith.

Panting and choking from crying, you heard the rustling of the bushes behind you, then the trampling of feet.

"Here's the little slut" One of the men chuckled, but the cheering stopped almost immediately.

You did not dare to look up from the ground, did not dare to move; you were left lying on the ground trembling, awaiting death...

But nothing happened.

Another second, but there was only silence, no more footsteps, no giggles, no shouts.

Blinking away the dirt and blood, you looked from behind your lashes and then realized why you were still breathing.

The attention of the three thugs no longer plagued you. They turned almost motionless, to the left, watching ahead of them.

You followed their gaze and saw that you had fallen on a road. On a road where a fourth stranger was now standing in front of you.

A tall, lanky stranger in blue traveling clothes, the bamboo hat he wore pulled low over his face, obscuring his features.

A stranger with a sword in his hand.

Suddenly everything around you seemed to be silent; the chirping of the birds died away, the trees and twigs no longer creaked and cracked, as if the wind itself had stopped to watch the unfolding scene.

Not wanting to break the silence, you stared at the fourth stranger, holding your breath, wondering what would happen now.

Was that your savior ahead of you? Or was he just a wanderer who didn’t care what troubled others, who would only solve his own problems, regardless of if he made others ill-fated? Maybe you got out of the frying pan into the fire?

"There's nothing to see here." The nimblest bandit growled, a rusty knife in hand. "Everybody's minding their own business, right?"

"This matter belongs only to us and this woman, there is no need to cause difficulties for anyone." The largest one with a long mustache spoke slyly, the one closest to you clutched a heavy cudgel in his fist, his knuckles white from the force with which he gripped it.

The blue-clad stranger didn't answer immediately, instead tilting his head to the side, he peeked out from behind the brim of his hat, flashing his yellow-tinted glasses in the light.

"Looking at you, I suspect you are road thugs." The sword bearer spoke, his voice softer than you would have expected. "You rob those who come here." His words didn't seem like a question.

At this, the third man - the fox with a smile, who had a katana, spat down his side stepping forward in front of his companions.

"If you want good for yourself, you turn back or walk past us without another word." He snapped in his raspy voice, grabbing the hilt of his sword as the other two tensed with their weapons as well.

Barely able to handle the shaking and the hitching of your breath, you lifted your torso off the ground with challenge, turning to the blue-cloaked stranger desperately.

"Please…" Your voice trailed off as sobs broke from you. "Don't let me die, please!" Your voice cracked; hot tears washing away the mud and blood from your face. "Help me, please!"

The lanky stranger moved his arm back, revealing the hilt of his sword as he reached towards it with his right hand.

You inhaled through your teeth when you heard the deep clang of metal and clattering footsteps as the bandits charged towards him.

You dropped back down, pulling your knees to your chest as the battle began. Only daring to watch the scene from the cover of your arm.

The swordsman reached first the blue-clad savior, swinging an upward blow from the left, but his sword met another steel.

The man in the hat drew his sword from the sheath with the speed of a viper, breaking the first attack with almost no effort. Before the thug could react to it, the man was already flying to the ground, his legs entangled as the blue clothed one pushed him away to answer the next blow.

The rusty knife reached him second, and while his companion seized the stranger with his blade, he thrusted his knife towards your helper's neck. The cloaked man shoved the katana wielder away with his foot as he turned his torso to the side, the knife still flying towards him mid air.

Taking advantage of the movement, he turned to the right, placing one raised foot in front of the other, cutting across with his blade in front of him.

In a blink of an eye, red rain shot from the arm of the knife-wielding bandit - the sword almost cut his arm off. He staggered with a sharp wail, then fell to the ground, where he continued to shriek.

The one with a cudgel on the other hand did not attack yet, instead he stopped from a decent distance so the sword of the man in blue could not reach him, seemingly considering his next moves.

But this proved to be only a distraction when the first attacker reappeared, this time springing into action behind your savior's back.

The one in blue could hear this, as he turned to the side keeping an eye on both of his attackers, but then the largest started to move suddenly in order to attack at the same time with his other partner.

Seeing the impossible situation, you already had the mental image of the swordsman slashing your savior while the other beat him to death with the heavy club — you whimpered in terror, burying your face in your arms to shield yourself from the sight.

You heard a shout and the clang of steel meeting again, something heavy falling to the ground. A dull, more watery pounding - the cudgel! Bubbling, frothy snoring- a moan of agony and then silence.

You were next, you were sure of that.

Sharp cuts, bone-crushing blows and then slow, lingering death awaits you.

But there was no movement, not even a single grunt from the fight.

Panting, you raised your head to shorten your wait, but you did not find yourself facing the person you were waiting for.

You caught the gaze of the blue-cloaked stranger. You watched with a dry throat and roaring head as he stood over the three bloodied, dying bandits, his sword still clutched in his right hand.

The bamboo hat was no longer on his head, it probably fell off sometime during the fight when you weren't looking, and now was lying at his feet, waiting to be dusted off and put on again.

But instead, the stranger staggered, his knees buckling as he took two steps forward, finally slumping forward onto the ground, leaving you alone in the field of vigilance.

[silverfootstepswrites]

Amaryllis | Chapter 1

Author’s Note: It's been 5 years since I first started writing Amaryllis. I love it, but some things were bugging me. The premise is the same, but I've gone through and made edits, mended plot holes, and overall cleaned things up. 

+++

Act One

A flower for you

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 >

+++

Sakura was awake before the first fingers of dawn had crept over the horizon. She wasn't a morning person by nature. Years of discipline had ingrained themselves in her. She had no choice but to open her eyes when her internal clock demanded. The servant girls who were supposed to wait on her were missing. As usual.

The maids should have delivered breakfast, along with her clean clothes. They were meant to help her bathe, chattering and laughing quietly as they worked. Sakura would have indulged their light gossip and silly crushes.

Instead, Sakura heated the iron in her fireplace to press her clothes herself. She washed her hair and body in silence. And there were no extra hands fluttering to button her cuffs and smooth out wrinkles. A rooster screeched in the distance as she finished packing the rucksack sitting on the bed.

She pulled her hair back in a low ponytail with a simple silver clasp. A few quick flicks of her comb brought any stray bits into line. As she pulled her riding breeches on, Sakura paused. Her eyes flickered to the door, which she always left slightly cracked. She could hear footsteps tapping down the corridor. Yanking a knife from one of her many hiding places, she ducked behind the armoire. Slowing her breaths, counting the steps to determine how many people.

Two. Women, from how light each footfall was. But then she heard a voice.

"And then I heard Duke Hyuuga say, 'To see His Majesty so at ease in troubling times is comforting.'"

A high-pitched giggle answered. "How awful. What did His Majesty say?"

The first voice snickered, "He just thanked him."

The mocking went on as they traveled further down the hall. Sakura stood still until she was sure that they were gone. 

She considered, for a moment, chasing them down to scold them. Instead, she stepped into her boots. They were made of supple, tan leather that went up to her knees. She tugged the laces into place in sharp yanks before securing the knot. Years of practice made Sakura an expert in dealing with boots.

She tucked her leather gloves into the inner pocket of her coat. With a quick glance around the room, she slung her rucksack over one shoulder. Her eyes darted toward the door as she thought. Sakura sighed as she dropped her bag. She dug in the drawer of her desk to pull out all of the stationary there. While she hadn't written on any of it, she didn't want to risk anyone else using it. They burned quickly when she tossed them in the fireplace. She knocked on the inside of the drawer to open up the little secret compartment. She pulled out the bundle of letters she had saved inside. They were tied together with a piece of red ribbon. She stared at them for a long time before she pulled just the ribbon free. The rest of the pile went in the fire too. The edges of the envelopes glowing bright red before they began to turn black.

Sakura picked up her bag again. Her dark green cloak draped over her arm, the golden detailing along the collar knocking against the buckles of her bag. She glanced at the lightening horizon out the window before she hurried downstairs and through the courtyard to the stables. One of stable hands greeted her, informing her that her mount was waiting for her.

"Hey there, Kaze," Sakura whispered as she greeted the white stallion. She stroked the patch of light grey running down his muzzle. He snorted against the side of her throat in response. Laughing fondly, she gave the horse one last pat before she moved to check her gear. She stole looks around the courtyard as she secured buckles and straps. Like the servant girls, most of the stable hands who were supposed to be on duty were missing. They had likely snuck off to meet with a lover or were sleeping off a night at the tavern in the hay somewhere.

"Your friends must be tired," she commented to the one boy who was there. He gave a sheepish laugh, crumpling his hat in his hands.

As Sakura's eyes fell on him, she let her expression soften. "Their laziness is no fault of yours, Konohamaru. We could use more men like you," she added.

Konohamaru lifted his chin. "Men?" he repeated.

"Take care of yourself," Sakura replied as she mounted Kaze. He fumbled as she tossed something in his direction. A small pouch landed in his hands. Metal clinked together inside. Konohamaru's eyes widened as he peeked inside. Even in the dark, he could see dozens of coins glinting inside. When he looked back up, Sakura offered him a smile. She received a crooked salute in return when she took up the reins. As she galloped off through the main gate, Sakura barely glanced back at the stone fortress of a castle she called home for half the year.

It was only two hours later that the rest of the castle really came to life.

The servants, who had risen around dawn as well, had set to stoking the fires in the kitchen. The smell of baking bread mingled with the lingering sweetness of morning dew. Smoke began to rise from the chimneys, signaling the weary night guards that it was time for a shift change. The girls set out sweeping the stone floors and delivering breakfast to the rousing nobles.

"I thought you were going on about not letting a young lady travel alone last night," Kushina remarked as she followed Naruto out into the courtyard. She fussed with his travel cloak and tried to smooth out the wild mess of gold on his head.

"I tried to wake up early but she was gone before the sun was even up all the way," pouted Naruto in response.

"Well, I suppose I should be more worried about you, then. Thank goodness Sir Sai is going with you," sighed Kushina. Naruto's face split into a grin. He thumped himself on the chest once.

"I'll be fine. We should be there in about two weeks. The raids have been taking place in the south so we'll be alright," Naruto assured his mother. He hugged her and accepted the kiss on his forehead without complaint. The carriage pulled up, Sai riding alongside it on his own brown mare. Sai bowed deeply, his right fist over his heart.

"Sir Sai, I'm entrusting you with my son. Please watch over him. His Majesty also sends his thanks," Kushina said.

"Anything for my king and queen. We will send word when we have arrived safely at the castle, Your Majesty," answered Sai. Kushina nodded. Rewrapping her shawl around herself, Kushina watched Naruto get into the carriage. All his luggage was secured to the top and Sai tugged on the ropes to make sure they were tied properly. Sai bowed again before he moved to speak to the driver. Naruto's head popped out the window.

"Don't look so worried, Mother. Everything's going to be great," Naruto assured her with a winning smile.

Even so, Kushina's gaze chased them as the horses galloped over the drawbridge.

"I wish she would have gone with him. I would feel so much better," she sighed to herself. Shaking her head, Kushina turned to walk back into the castle. It was time for breakfast anyway.

+++

The forest floor was dappled with sunlight. It was several degrees cooler here, where the light only touched down in sporadic bursts. She wrapped her dark green cloak around her shoulders, glad for the added warmth. Her gloved hand rubbed the side of her horse's neck before tightening on the reins again. Uttering a soft encouragement under her breath, she urged the steed on.

Leaves and brush crunched under hooves. The huffs of the horse's breaths slipped into her ears. Birds chirped warningly as the rider passed through nesting grounds. Their shrill threats followed the intruders long after they had gone.

They paused after a few hours for a short meal and a break. Sakura slipped the bridle from Kaze's mouth to offer him an apple from her bag along with a handful of oats. She left him to shake out his mane and root for more food on the ground while she drank water and munched on some dried meat. Several minutes later, she led the horse to the stream to drink before she was back in the saddle and they were traveling through the undergrowth again.

When the sun began to droop in the sky, Sakura kept her eyes sharp, searching for a place to stay for the night. If she had stayed on the main road, there would have been plenty of inns. But the twisting, winding chaos of the main road meant losing time. She had chosen to cut straight through the forest and there were always consequences for avoiding civilization.

"What do you think about there, Kaze?" Sakura murmured when she noticed a gap in the stone of the cliffs stretching up alongside the river. It was far enough from any roads not to be noticed right away. Kaze trotted over, snuffling and ears flat to his head as he looked for danger. Chuckling, Sakura dismounted and then patted the horse's side a couple times.

"Big baby. Stay here. I'll go take a look," she whispered. Kaze obediently stayed back while Sakura slipped through the thick brush. A few thin branches whipped her as she marched through but she ignored the pain and kept going. At the mouth of the low cave, Sakura peered inside but it was too dark to really get a good look. So she picked up a stone from the ground and flung it at an angle. She listened to it bang against the walls and the faint sparks from rock striking rock gave just enough illumination to confirm that though the cave was quite shallow, it was also uninhabited.

Sakura crunched back through the brush to grasp Kaze's reins.

"Come on. It's fine," she assured the steed in a low, soothing voice as she led it through the trees. And though he didn't follow along gladly, he followed without resisting too much.

Sakura tossed her rucksack into the cave, just at the entrance so she could keep an eye on it while she took off the saddle and thick blanket underneath from Kaze's back. She brushed his back and sides in quick movements before ruffling his mane.

"There. Feeling better?" she asked. Kaze tossed his head, nickering happily in response.

She ripped off the lower branches from some trees to build a fire. The hard wood gave off little smoke and eventually she let it die down into glowing coals that would provide warmth but not fill up the cave with burning fumes.

Sakura sat next to the fire with a thick flannel blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she soaked up what heat she could from the smoldering wood. Kaze paced around a little in the cave, ears pricked up for any threatening noises until he seemed satisfied. When he had deemed everything safe, he settled down on the stone floor behind her. Curling up around her back, he rested his head in her lap while wrapping her in his warmth.

"You're such a mother hen," Sakura murmured fondly as she patted his neck until he fell asleep. She stayed awake for another hour or so, tossing in a couple thick chunks of wood and stoking the coals with a branch. And then she was dozing off too, one ear carefully keeping track of the sounds of the sleeping forest.

They journeyed this way for another five days. With dawn, they rose. Kaze ate breakfast while she prepared his gear and checked that she had everything. And Kaze kicked dirt over the previous night's campfire while Sakura ate hers. They moved swiftly and quietly through the forest. A couple times, they ran into rabbits and pheasants running around in the undergrowth. Sakura managed to get her bow and arrows out in time to shoot at them a few times. Once, she hit her mark, and she roasted up the bird for her dinner over the fire.

"When we get there, I won't be able to eat like this anymore. I miss traveling. Didn't you love those berries we found when we went up to the northern badlands?" commented Sakura. Kaze's big, soulful eyes were focused on her but she knew he couldn't actually understand her. Still, his neighing and snorting in response to the rises and falls in her the pitch of her voice made her feel well-listened-to. She smiled at her trusted companion.

Kaze had been bred from the best and she had fallen in love with the spirited foal upon first sight. She had spent many hours brushing his silky mane and whispering her secrets to him. It hadn't been uncommon for servants to find her sleeping in his stable with him, curled up against his warmth. When she had left for the military academy at 12, the not-quite adult horse had gone with her. They matured together, with Sakura graduating at 16 and Kaze a full-grown stallion by then.

"Maybe we should run away together- just you and me. I could dye my hair. We could work as mercenaries," Sakura suggested. Kaze's answering snort of breath sounded disapproving.

"No? Maybe we'll be bodyguards then? A slightly more moral line of work. Or we could buy a little land and farm and I'll feed you all the carrots in the world," she went on. At the word 'carrots', his ears flicked up and Sakura laughed. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out one of the orange vegetables and fed it to him. She could practically see the pleasure glittering in his gaze.

"Just between you and me, I am not looking forward to this all. Dancing like a monkey for all these nobles is probably worse than that time we fought off those raiders at the mountain pass last year," added Sakura in a more morose tone. Crunching away happily, Kaze nickered. Sakura's smile returned.

"You're right. The little pleasures. It's the little pleasures that count," she sighed, reaching out to stroke his neck.

They caught sight of white towers a little after a week after they left home. Emerging from the forest, they stood at the edge to survey the large castle shining proudly. But the castle was on the top of a large mountain so it would take at least another day to reach the top. At the foot of the mountain sat a clear lake edged with dark pines. Sakura glanced westward. The sky was already beginning to turn darker blue. Soon it would bleed red and purple and gold before night fell completely. Not a good time to start a trek up a mountain at all.

"Let's camp here for the night. Help me catch something for dinner?" Sakura said, patting Kaze's neck. She still had plenty of dried fruits and hearty loaves of dark bread that would easily last for the rest of the voyage. But the bread was chewy and tough and it had been a couple days since the pheasant. Reaching back, Sakura wrapped her fingers around her bow. Then she pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back, rubbing the feather on the end to make sure it wasn't bent.

It took half an hour to catch a rabbit. The arrow hit it directly in the eye, killing it instantly. Sakura dangled it by the ears with one hand to steer Kaze with the other. They circled the lake once before coming to rest in the shadow of the mountain. With the solid wall of rock up behind them, Kaze seemed much more at ease. As soon as Sakura pulled off his saddle and the rest of gear, the horse went to drink water and graze at the sweet grass. Sakura set up camp, gathering firewood and setting up a couple traps before she went to the lake to skin and clean the rabbit.

"You know, Kaze," Sakura called out. She heard the horse grunt in response. Her knife moved, deftly cutting into the fur until she pulled away the skin in one layer.

"I changed my mind again. We should be shepherds. You like sheep, right?" she said. Kaze snorted. Laughing, Sakura split the belly of the rabbit. She pulled out the organs, dropping them into the lake where fish swarmed to feed on the unexpected bounty. She quartered it and separated the flesh into neat parcels. Spearing them onto sharpened sticks, she roasted the rabbit over the fire, ripping into the juicy flesh with her bare fingers while the meat still steamed. Kaze kept his distance while she ate. He didn't like the smell of dead animals. But once she was finished eating and disposed of the rest of the rabbit in the lake where the fish would take care of everything, Kaze cantered back.

"When we arrive at the castle, you'll be stuck in the stables all day and I'll be trapped in court. We should enjoy this while we can," she sighed. She fell onto her back, lolling lazily in the cool grass. Kaze prodded and nudged her until Sakura finally got up and followed him back to camp. The horse promptly deposited his head in her lap and slept. Sakura stayed up to stare into the flames. When her eyelids began to droop, she let her head loll back against the stone wall and fell into dreams too.

When she woke in the morning, Sakura dove into the cold lake, scattering the fish. She worked her fingers through her hair and scrubbed the dirt from underneath her fingernails. Swearing and shivering, she worked as fast as she could. Skin tingling and clean, she hauled herself out of the water. Wringing all the water out of her hair was the hardest part. She dried herself off, put on the fresh, clean white uniform buried deep in her rucksack, and spent several minutes brushing Kaze and plaiting his mane.

Then they headed up the mountain in a brisk trot. Sakura's thighs tightened around Kaze's sides as she stared up at the gleaming palace. Kaze felt this change and let out a low noise of anxiety too. Eyes widening, Sakura turned her gaze back to him.

"Don't worry. You have nothing to fear," she murmured in a low voice as she stroked his neck.

"It's me that should be worried," she added in a mutter.

They rode on in silence until the dirt road suddenly became a path of light grey cobblestones. Kaze felt the change under his hooves and his pace slowed into a more refined trot. The mountain was so steep that instead of having one straight yet impossible path up, the road was carved into the side of the mountain, spiraling upwards. On the final rotation around the mountain, Sakura caught sight of the beautifully gleaming stone sides of the Ispolin Castle that all the nobles fawned over. It was the home of the royal family of the Mountain Kingdom.

There was a large iron gate surrounding the grounds. But beyond the bars Sakura could see well-manicured lawns and a large stone fountain with statues of cherubs squirting water from their mouths. The topiaries were carved into shapes of animals- not a single leaf out of place. And the fountain glistened as if it had been built that same day.

The huge glass windows of the palace sparkled in the late morning sun. Sakura's eyes trailed over the details of the molding and the delicate green vines that draped across the balconies. The front entrance was a massive affair completed by two stone pillars and some sort of relief carving above the doors themselves that were too far away to make out clearly. Sakura tried to count the windows to get an estimate of just how large the place was but she couldn't guess how far back the building stretched. She slowed as she spotted two guards flanking the large front gate. Twin statues of birds loomed above the men.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Sakura called out. Kaze came to a halt.

"Greetings, traveller. What business do you have at Cherny Castle today?" one of the guards answered. Sakura could feel them eying the sword attached to her belt. She urged Kaze forward a couple steps so she could hand one of the guards a leather billfold tied shut with a length of black cord. He fumbled to untie the knot and then spent a long time examining the bright red wax seal gracing the front of the papers. Still, she waited patiently as they looked over her documents.

"Huh, Forest Kingdom, is it?" he finally read out loud. Sakura graciously dipped her head.

And then they flipped to the back of the page to read her title. Along with the stamp she had placed there with her signet ring.

"We had no idea we were addressing such a decorated figure. Our apologies, General," the other guard quickly said with a bow. His companion rushed to do the same.

"At ease, gentlemen," she answered with a cool smile. The two guards proceeded to open up the gates for her. The billfold was returned to her with shaking hands. Without waiting for any other words, Sakura clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Kaze headed forward in a crisp trot accompanied by a proud toss of his head. They followed the road between lines of shrubbery and stone sculptures before it curved around the big fountain she had seen earlier. There were already people waiting for her by the front steps leading up to the palace.

"Good morning, General. I trust that your trip here was pleasant," one of the people in the greeting party gushed.

"The weather was indeed fine for travel. Might I meet with His Majesty soon?" Sakura said as she dismounted. Kaze nuzzled against her throat, earning a light push.

"Behave," she chastised. There was already a servant on hand who stepped forward to take Kaze's reins. Another servant took Sakura's bag, trying his best not to wince at how unexpectedly heavy it was.

"Oh, of course. His Majesty has been awaiting your arrival," another chirruped, as she motioned toward the door. Sakura was escorted quickly and cheerfully by her entourage to the throne room. They stopped outside where the servant at the door snootily asked for her name and title. And when it was given, he promptly attempted to cover up his chagrin with a small cough.

"The Esteemed King of the Divine Mountain Kingdom, His Most Gracious Majesty Fugaku Uchiha," a booming voice announced. Sakura adjusted the sword hanging at her hip and began taking brisk strides into the room. She stopped at the appropriate distance without looking up at the throne and instead swept herself down in a deep bow. It was a graceful pose, falling to her left knee as her right fist moved over her heart. She kept her head lowered for a long time.

"Your Majesty, this is General Haruno of the Forest Kingdom," the voice added in a much softer tone.

"Please rise, General. There is no need for you to kneel," the King stated. His voice was unexpectedly warm. As Sakura rose to her full height, she folded her arms behind her. Back straight and feet together, she finally looked at the man who sat on the throne of the mighty Mountain Kingdom.

He had a hardened face. If she had to link him to a season, it would have been winter. His expression was one that had weathered many cold storms. The set of his mouth was stern and his dark eyes were lined. His dark brown hair was parted neatly in the center and fell just past his chin. But the crown on his head was of finely crafted white gold and glittering gems. His clothes too were of beautifully woven fabric with intricate details. He was all black against silvery tassels and brocade. The hands resting on the arms of the throne had silver rings fitted with dark blue gems to echo the colors of the family coat of arms.

To his left sat the queen. Her long black hair flecked with hints of gray fell to her waist. With her pointed chin and black eyes, she almost would have looked like a marble statue. But the gentleness of her smile softened her entire face. Her attire was simple and elegant. A dark gray and navy dress along with a fur-lined cape. The only pieces of jewelry she wore were a delicate silver chain around her neck and a shiny diamond ring on her right hand.

"Welcome to our land. We had just received word of your expedited arrival," the queen uttered in a voice like warmed honey. Sakura bowed her head respectfully in the woman's direction. As she did, she noticed a piece of paper held in the queen's delicate hand. The red wax seal was broken and Sakura had no doubt that it was from her own country. Judging from the laughter hiding the queen's eyes, the "word of her expedited arrival" had arrived not too long ago.

"It is an honor, Your Majesties. I have heard many things of the Great Iron Kingdom of the North," answered Sakura as she returned the pleasantries. She could see the king and queen exchange approving looks.

"Our annual summer festival will be upon us soon and we would be pleased if you would stay as our guest of honor during this time," the king continued.

"I could think of no greater pleasure, Your Majesty," replied Sakura.

"We have arranged for your own apartment in the western wing of the castle. And our son, Prince Sasuke, has volunteered to be your guide." As the king spoke, one of the noblemen who had been standing near the throne suddenly took a few steps forward. He dipped his head.

"Baron Uchiha will escort you to meet him," the king added.

"Shisui is fine, General," Shisui said.

"My Lord," Sakura replied with the same courtesy.

After bowing again to the king and queen, Sakura took her leave from the throne room, Shisui on her heels. As soon as they were past the large wooden doors, Sakura took a moment. She pretended to fix her clothes, but she used this time to glance over her companion. Faces mattered to Sakura. They said a lot about the person they were attached to. And Sakura was going nowhere without getting a good look at the person who was going to lead her around this strange place. He had a rounder chin and wider cheekbones but the same dark hair and dark eyes that seemed to run in the Uchiha blood. He wore a ring on his right hand, just like the queen did. She wondered whether that was a privilege of the ruling family.

"Would it be in poor taste to ask about Prince Sasuke? I can't say that I've ever had the pleasure of his acquaintance," she asked.

Shisui offered a polite smile as he gestured toward the hall. They began walking.

"My cousin Prince Sasuke is quite a lady-killer. I would advise you not to fall too hard for him. You wouldn't be the first beautiful woman to be sent off in tears," Shisui warned her as they turned a sharp corner and went up a sweeping flight of stairs. Sakura was a little distracted by the dazzling chandeliers dangling from the high ceilings. Even the ceilings were edged with gold and intricate designs of flowers and leaves. Still, she found the time to scoff at the idea.

"Your concern is appreciated, but quite unnecessary," she replied, the corner of her mouth rising.

She caught the searching look he cast her. "Perhaps your interests lie elsewhere?" he probed.

She smiled, but it was a flash of fangs as she turned her head toward him. "Yes. On the battlefield," she retorted.

He flinched away from her gaze. But he pretended to be busy rubbing his chin.

"You look curious. Perhaps you have another question?" Sakura offered.

"Is General the title you prefer or has it been….pressed upon you?" Shisui wondered. The sharp smile faded from her face. She ran her tongue along the backs of her teeth as she took that in.

"If you're asking something like that, I'm guessing that you already know the answer, My Lord," was all she said in return. The silence that settled over them was stifling. Shisui's eyes darted around from the floor to the ceiling. Anywhere but her. And Sakura kept walking, her high and her back straight as she took in the beauty of the building.

"The third door on the left, Your- General," Shisui announced as they came to a stop in a long hallway. They bowed to one another before Sakura entered the indicated room. He lowered his head deeper than hers, lingering for a bit longer than necessary. By the time he lifted his head, she had already slipped into the indicated room.

It was a salon furnished with couches and armchairs. The bright pink flowers arranged in the urns gave off a sweet scent that was almost cloying. On the coffee table was a silver tray that held a small teapot with two matching teacups. There was also a round dish filled with cakes. Watching the steam rise from the spout of the pot, Sakura guessed that the tray had been set out no more than a few minutes ago. She silently admired the efficiency of the person who had made it happen.

But as she stood there, waiting, the strong fragrance of flowers began to make her head hurt. Rather than sit and wait for a migraine to build up, Sakura looked around until she noticed that the tall windows on the opposite end of the room were actually doors leading out to the balcony. When she touched the handle, she found that it was unlocked. She slipped through the doors, leaving them ajar as she leaned against the stone railing.

Sakura sucked in a deep breath of the fresh morning air.

She waited there as she admired the beauty of the palace grounds. The clean mountain air was a welcome change from the damp, musty odor of the city. As her eyes fluttered shut, she heard a firm knock on the door. The curtains blew in the draft as the doors opened. She heard footsteps enter the room and then hesitate for several seconds. She waited for him to notice the opened door and fluttering fabric.

"I'm Prince Sasuke of the Mountain Kingdom," he called out without moving towards her. Sakura didn't respond. Only then did she listen to him draw closer. There was another pause before he pushed past the curtains to join her on the balcony. Sakura's lips tilted in a slightly arrogant smile as she watched him. She couldn't wait to see what this supposed heartthrob had to say.

Prince Sasuke was tall and handsome, as rumors had indicated even back home. He had coal-colored hair with bangs falling into his eyes. His eyes were almost dark enough to be called black. A pointed chin and a straight nose added to the impression of nobility ingrained into his very face. His high-collared vest was dark blue with silver piping and matching silver buttons. Underneath, he wore a white shirt with the sleeves folded once to expose his gloved hands. The supple leather of his boots identified them easily as meant for riding rather than walking long distances.

Just as she scrutinized him, she could feel him doing the same. Especially the way his gaze lingered on the blade hanging from her belt. And the medals glittering on the front of her uniform.

"Did I interrupt a riding lesson? My apologies," Sakura said. She watched Sasuke's eyes widen. Just a bit before he controlled his expression again.

"Not a lesson. I usually ride my horse in the mornings," he answered. He hesitated for a moment and then added, "If you would like, you would be most welcome to join me in the future. It wouldn't do for us to be strangers if you'll be staying here for the season."

Sakura sighed.

"No need to be so polite with me. If it's an activity that you prefer for its solitude, it's best I don't intrude," Sakura said as she extended her hand. Sasuke took it, automatically raising it to his mouth to kiss. But Sakura gripped his hand, pulling it into a firm shake instead. His shoulders relaxed slightly as he took in her words. The tentative smile he gave her was surprisingly innocent.

"That's… quite a relief. I must confess that I had heard the rumors. But I was still expecting a giggling lady," Sasuke admitted. Sakura tried not to laugh at that. She pretended to cough as she concealed her smile behind her gloved hand.

"For a supposed lady-killer, you're quite rude, Prince Sasuke," Sakura noted. She watched the tips of Sasuke's ears turn red as he realized what his comment had sounded like. "You're lucky that I love candor."

"I…. uh… I beg your pardon. Would you still prefer to be called a lady?" he tried again. Sakura raised her eyebrows.

"I didn't run out on the battlefield and get myself stabbed dozens of times to be called 'a Lady', Prince," she replied, eyes narrowing.

Sasuke was quiet as he took that in. And then he replied: "Well… you could be. You'd just be a Lady with some stab wounds."

That took Sakura by surprise. She threw her head back and laughed. And when she did, Sasuke let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Well, Lady or General, I think I'm just grateful you're not another woman on the prowl for a husband," he finally decided as he extended his hand to her. Sakura fixed him with another smirk.

"No offense to you, Prince, but you're not my type at all," she responded, still laughing. And when she caught her breath, she scrutinized him, chin in her hand.

"But I like you, Prince. Let's be good friends," she declared.

+++

Eyebrows rose when everyone in the palace began to notice Prince Sasuke's behavior around the visiting noble. There was nothing improper about his conduct. Rather, he was a perfect gentleman as he escorted her around the enormous building. This in itself was a vast departure from the way that he normally sent noble ladies crying all the way home.

They ate lunch together on the terrace in the back. Sakura waved away the servants who tried to stand over them with parasols to shield her from the darkening rays of the sun. She directed them to Sasuke instead.

"I'm surprised," Sasuke commented. Sakura glanced up at him as she speared a cherry tomato on the end of her fork.

"Most women are obsessed with staying pale. We once had a countess stay for the weekend and she refused to leave her room during the day for fear of tanning," he elaborated. Sakura smiled.

"I think traveling on horseback for military campaigns doesn't leave a girl much choice in the matter of fair skin," she answered. There was an awkward pause.

"My apologies. I didn't mean to critique your appearance," Sasuke said. But Sakura shook her head.

"Being pale is the mark of a poor leader. The man who sits in his tent gorging himself on wine is pasty and distant. It is the leader who rides with his men who is bronzed and beloved," recited Sakura as her gaze grew distant.

"Do you enjoy reciting poetry?" asked Sasuke. Sakura offered a cheeky smile as she squeezed another cherry tomato between her teeth. The fruit burst in her mouth, flooding it with sweet pulp and seeds.

"It's not poetry. My father used to say that to me," she corrected.

After lunch, Sasuke continued his tour of the palace. There were four floors along with three distinct sections of the castle. The western wing housed visiting nobles and their families. The eastern wing was comprised of mainly the apartments for the royal family and closest friends. The central wing connected the two sections and this was where the public rooms such as the libraries, ballrooms, and dining halls were. There was another section of the palace- a smaller building in the back that seemed to sit alone as an annex.

Sasuke pointed to it as they looked out the window on the second floor.

"That's the servants' quarters," explained Sasuke. Sakura tried not to look so surprised. But the servants' quarters matched the rest of the palace with its white walls and shining blue roof. On the stone chimney sat two young boys covered in soot. This place even employed chimney sweeps for the servants. It was strange to see the servants' quarters being maintained so carefully. Had Sasuke not explained, she would have assumed that it was a residence for the branch family or visiting dignitaries.

Sakura thought back to the servants' quarters in the castle in her own country. They were always buried in the basement of the fortress. As a child, she had spent countless hours sneaking around the cool halls. The flickering torchlight warped and elongated her shadows. Equal parts nervous and excited, she squeezed her damp palm around her cousin's. And Sasori looked back at her for a brief instant to give her a reassuring smile. They snuck around the skirts of the scullery maids and chefs. As they weaved their way through the loud clamor of the kitchen, they snuck pastries hot from the oven that had been left to cool on the counters. The flaky treats burnt their tongues with the taste of butter as they gobbled them down. And if some of the kinder maids found them, they would sneak them small cups of watered-down wine before shooing them off.

The rest of the tunnels were dark and damp- some even had moss or thick lines of ivy burrowing between the stones. Rats squeaked by and Sakura tried her best not to squeal whenever Sasori kicked one aside. But the game was too fun to stop. And by the time they reached the rooms where the servant girls slept, their eyes were accustomed to the dark. Together Sakura and Sasori ran their hands over straw-filled mattresses and shushed each other as they ducked into corners whenever someone walked past.

When they were finally caught, they fled, giggling as someone's scolding echoed down the halls. And then they would run all the way up to the courtyard with their hands linked as they weaved past donkeys carrying sacks of flour and stable boys leading horses by their reins. Only when they reached the safety of her room did they collapse into laughter with their hands still clasped together.

When Sakura felt Sasuke's stare on the side of her face, she realized that she had zoned out. Clearing her throat, she took a step away from the window.

"Shall we continue?" she suggested. Sasuke studied her expression for a moment before he nodded, obviously too polite to press her.

As they walked on through the palace, Sakura caught Sasuke's gaze flickering down to her hip more than once. When she rested her hand on the hilt, Sasuke smiled.

"Careful, Prince. You shouldn't covet another's weapon," teased Sakura.

"That doesn't look like it's just for decoration," he commented. It wasn't uncommon for military officers to have decorative swords on their person. But Sakura tilted her head to one side as she let her fingers slip off her weapon.

"I'm by no means the best swordfighter but I can hold my own," Sakura answered as vaguely as she could.

"Would you like to spar?" Sasuke offered.

Sakura arched an eyebrow as she took a step back from him.

+++

"I thought you said you weren't so good with the sword," Sasuke said between pants. He rubbed his hand across his forehead. His palm came away wet with sweat. Sakura held her stance for an extra moment before she relaxed. Back straightening and legs coming together, she sheathed her blade. There were a few beads of sweat dotting her temples that she carelessly brushed away. But her chest rose and fell in big breaths too as she smiled at him.

"I'm not. But I did graduate from the military academy," she answered. Hands on her hips, she took a few deep breaths before tossing a smile his way.

"Best 3 out of 5?" suggested Sakura. Sasuke shook his head.

"I don't think I'd last another two rounds. You win," he puffed.

Despite trouncing Sasuke soundly, Sakura didn't rub her victory in his face. And in return, the prince didn't seem to carry any bitterness about being defeated by a woman. They handed off their practice weapons to the waiting servants and headed back into the palace together. Sakura was certain that there had been curious faces watching them from the windows but didn't say anything about them.

Sasuke finally showed her to her apartment again in the western wing.

"We'll wash up and meet in the library in an hour? I think we might have some books that might interest you," he said. Sakura agreed. Sasuke departed while Sakura retreated past the double doors and closed them behind her.

The royal family had very obviously given her one of the finer apartments in the palace. Sakura walked around once, counting the rooms. There was a large bedroom along with a private bathroom. At the back of the apartment were two smaller bedrooms. Through a set of glass-paneled doors was a large sitting room that included a large piano and a view of the sprawling palace grounds in the back. Standing at one of the windows, Sakura looked outside for a moment. Then, shaking her head, she shut the curtain and turned on her heel.

As she stood in the bedroom unbuttoning her uniform, there was a knock on the door. After a pause, the door opened and Sakura could hear footsteps. They were women's shoes, judging from the tap of heels in the marble entrance. Fingers pulling the tie out of her ponytail, Sakura opened the door to the bedroom to greet her unexpected visitor.

"Pardon the intrusion, Your Highness!" a voice squeaked before she had a chance to speak.

There was a girl standing there in the starched maid uniform. Her head of red hair was bowed low, staying that way for a long time before it dared to rise again. Sakura leaned against the doorframe as she waited for the girl to speak.

"I've been sent to serve as Your Highness' personal attendant during your stay," she chirruped. Sakura arched an eyebrow as she noticed the other person standing somewhat behind her. She was still bowing, long black hair covering her face.

"And you?" Sakura prompted.

"I am also here to serve Your Highness," she answered in a smooth, soft voice. A smile curled Sakura's lips.

"Very well. Your names?" Sakura went on.

"Moegi… Highness," the redhead immediately peeped in a shaky voice.

"Haku, Your Highness," the black-haired girl said afterward.

"I'd assume that the royal family would only send the finest staff so I'll expect you to carry out your jobs. I wake early in the morning so I'll need breakfast then. In exchange, I won't ask for you late at night. I don't have many clothes, but I do ask that you always keep my uniform clean and ironed. Do you understand?" she briskly stated. Both servants nodded with attentive gazes. Sakura's eyes lingered on Haku for a moment longer.

"Very well. Then would you mind taking my uniform to be cleaned?" Sakura said as she shed her jacket and handed it off to Haku.

"And would you mind running a bath for me please, Moegi?" requested Sakura of the other servant.

A little under an hour later, Sakura was clean. The vast array of soaps and fragranced oils provided for her had been a little overwhelming. With Moegi's help, Sakura decided that each day, she would pick a new scent until she had gone through the collection. With hair smelling like lavender, Sakura dressed in a simple dark blue shirt with long sleeves. On the bottom, she wore tan riding pants. When she pulled on her boots, Haku and Moegi exchanged quiet titters.

"What?" Sakura asked with a smile of her own. Moegi promptly blushed.

"Oh, my apologies, Highness. It's just that… you're much less intimidating out of uniform," the redhead admitted with a nervous giggle. Sakura shrugged.

"That makes sense. And if we will be together this season, you should know: I prefer General to Highness," she replied as she got to her feet.

"Of course, General. We will keep this in mind," Haku interceded with Moegi turned red from embarrassment again.

"I'm off. Prince Sasuke said to meet at the library. That's in the other wing, correct?" Sakura said as she made her way to the door. Moegi and Haku followed her.

"Yes, General. He most likely means the library on the third floor across from the small music room. Would you like us to escort you?" Haku said.

"I'll be fine," Sakura insisted.

"The library doors are just after the statue of the lion, General. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding them. Are you certain you wouldn't like an escort?" added Moegi. Thinking back to the servants back at her own castle who hardly even looked her in the face, Sakura smiled again.

"Thank you. I'm sure I'll manage," she said before she walked out of the apartment and into the hallway. Hands tucked into her back pockets, she backtracked the steps she and Sasuke had taken down the hall toward her apartment. When she found the right staircase, she climbed it up to the third floor. Taking a moment to reorient herself, she turned to the left, crossing through the central wing. When she reached the end of the incredibly long hallway, she took a sharp turn to the right and slowed her gait to look for the statue that Moegi had mentioned. Sakura passed a shining suit of armor and a statue of a mermaid before she found what she was looking for. The giant feline sat upright, eyes glaring ahead and teeth just slightly bared.

Without hesitation, she grasped the cold metal handle and pulled the door open. It swung soundlessly. But rather than unending rows of shelves, a foyer remarkably similar to that of her own apartment met her. Frowning, Sakura took a moment to glance back at the hallway. Perhaps there was another statue of a lion that she had missed.

"Hello? Is someone there?" a voice called from further in the apartment.

Sakura faced a real dilemma. Clearly, she had found the wrong room. Now did she ignore the voice and quietly sneak out and leave this person wondering what had happened? Or, taking the polite route, did she apologize and explain her mistake?

Heaving a sigh, Sakura let her sense of honor win out again. Stepping into the apartment, she let the door swing shut behind her.

"I beg forgiveness for my intrusion, but I was told that this was the library and… clearly, I'm mistaken," Sakura sheepishly said as she ventured forward.

"If you're lost then you must be our visiting noble," the voice chuckled in response. Curiosity overcame Sakura as she twisted the knob to open the door where her mysterious conversation partner was.

Tucked into the large four-poster bed was a man with dark hair and dark eyes. He was clearly an Uchiha, just from his appearance. And despite the warm weather, he was wearing a robe and an extra blanket had been draped across his lap. In his hands was a worn book. His thumb was tucked between the pages, as if marking his place. His face was pale and his features delicate, bordering almost on beautiful rather than handsome.

"You're the General I've been hearing about. Forgive me. I would stand to greet you but my physician has advised strongly against any activity," he said, gesturing to the rest of his body swathed in comforter. Unsure whether he was joking or not, Sakura settled for a polite smile.

"I'm the prince who doesn't leave his room, Itachi Uchiha," he added with a touch of humor.

"It's quite alright. It's a pleasure to meet you. General Sakura Haruno," Sakura replied as she extended her hand to him. They shook hands and she observed that he had a firm grip. She approved. A strong handshake was always a good indicator of personal character.

"Again, very sorry for intruding. I was supposed to meet with your brother at the library and apparently my sense of direction only applies to the outdoors," Sakura stated as she released his hand. Itachi's eyebrows rose the slightest bit when his brother came up but he didn't elaborate. Instead, he gestured to his left with his book.

"You were quite close. The library is just two doors down. I'm actually grateful you lost your way. I don't get many visitors," responded Itachi.

Sakura quickly excused herself and left his chambers. Sasuke met her at the library shortly after and they spent the rest of the afternoon touring other parts of the palace before having supper with the King and Queen. Sakura didn't bring up the absence of the other prince at the table but she did notice it. After supper was obligatory socializing with some of the other nobles. But throughout the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, she couldn't help but think back to the random and slightly embarrassing encounter she had had.

By the time she found an excuse to retire, it was much later than she would have liked. Sakura entered her apartment and simply stood in the foyer for a good minute, just taking a moment to breathe deeply. Someone had wound the grandfather clock standing beside the door. It ticked steadily, a metronome to keep the tempo as Sakura organized her thoughts. Her head still felt like a jumbled mess as she made her way to the bedroom and paused in the doorway.

She sat down at the desk. She shuffled through the fine stationary that had been left for her to use. Hefting the fountain pen in her fingers, she thought out what to write. After some hesitation, she lowered the nib to the paper.

Dear Sasori,

Lifting the pen, she paused for a moment.

Have you ever mistaken a bedroom for a library? Because apparently I'm the sort of fool who would do that.

A week later, more visitors passed through the front gates. Trumpets sounded to announce the royal guests. Partway down the mountain on horseback, Sakura and Sasuke yanked their reins, bringing their horses to a sudden stop. Kaze gave a little wheeze of irritation at the rough treatment and Sakura patted his neck in apology.

"That sounds like them," Sasuke said as he tried to catch his breath. He looked over at Sakura who simply nodded.

"We should head back to greet them," added Sasuke.

Expression determinedly neutral, Sakura clicked her tongue to urge Kaze forward. Sasuke followed, easily catching up to her. She could feel his eyes on her as they weaved their way through the forest. They had deviated from the path and let the horses naturally find their way back. Hands loosely holding the reins, Sakura let out a soft sigh. The sunlight slanted in through the branches, flecking the back of Kaze's neck in pools of shimmering gold.

"You look like you're riding out to battle," remarked Sasuke. She looked over at him and saw that he was joking. A smile curled her mouth too at his words.

"I'll have to assume that your relationship with your brother is less than ideal," Sasuke added. The smile immediately dropped. Her expression hardened as she directed her gaze ahead.

"He is not my brother. I have always been an only child," she responded with a steely edge to her voice. There was a long pause. Sasuke blew out a long breath, attracting her gaze again.

"Well… it seems like all the rumors that travel over the border aren't to be trusted," he decided. And then he added, "You may not believe me… but I think I understand. Family matters can be difficult." He cast his eyes up at the sky and then met her searching look. The way his mouth quirked up on just one side made his smile somehow sad. For a moment, Sakura somehow knew that he wasn't lying.

By the time they made it back to the palace half an hour later, they were laughing and joking again. They left their horses at the stables and weaved through the kitchens on the way back into the castle. Sasuke swiped a couple turnovers fresh from the oven. One of the chefs said something scolding as he glimpsed the theft. But then he laughed and waved them on. That one interaction filled Sakura with such a sudden wave of nostalgia that, for a moment, she felt sick to her stomach. But she had to pull herself together when Sasuke tossed her one. He popped the other in his mouth, immediately sucking in quick breaths as the hot pastry burnt his tongue. Sakura let hers cool a few extra moments before she wolfed it down too.

"Oh, this is amazing," she commented with approval.

"Apples. Do you have these in your country?" Sasuke asked her.

"Rarely. Sometimes dignitaries bring them as gifts. They're difficult to find," she replied before she took another bite. And then another. Sasuke simply smiled as he kept quiet- giving her time to eat.

"And this smell. I had no idea cinnamon could be used in a pastry like this," she went on. As she popped the last bit of the pastry into her mouth, she wrinkled her nose.

"On the other hand, you, my friend, smell absolutely atrocious," Sakura commented as they climbed the stairs together.

"You're no flower yourself. I suppose it would be most polite to wash up before greeting guests. But it would also be rude not to greet them quickly," he thought out loud.

"Simple. Greet guests from a distance and hope that your stench keeps them at bay if they try to kiss your ring," quipped Sakura. They chuckled as they pushed past the door and emerged in the first floor hallway.

"Ah, and there is young Prince Sasuke now with the Princess," one of the Uchiha nobles said as they rounded the corner. Sakura swallowed hard when she recognized the bright gold glow of Naruto's hair. She could feel Sasuke carefully measuring her expression so she let the cool veneer of slip into place. Back straightening and chest forward, she strode up to them.

"Your Highness, this is Prince Sasuke Uchiha of the Mountain Kingdom. Your Royal Highness, this is Prince Naruto Namikaze of the Forest Kingdom," the noble announced rather grandly.

"I believe that I've asked not to be called that, My Lord," Sakura interjected. She watched the man turn bright red as he took in her words. Snuffling behind his mustache, he quickly cleared his throat.

"Yes, of course. My mistake, General," he blurted out. But Sakura wasn't paying attention to him. Head tilting back, she turned to face Naruto.

"Sakura, you got here so much faster than we did. I'm glad you arrived safely," Naruto greeted her with a warm smile. But when he extended his arms for a hug, Sakura only dipped her head with her fist over her heart.

"Welcome, Prince Naruto. I am pleased to hear of your safe journey as well," Sakura answered in a crisp voice. When she rose again, she could see the disappointment shining in Naruto's eyes. His arms hung sadly for an extra moment before they slowly lowered. As she rolled her sleeves up, she noticed Sai standing a little ways back and acknowledged him with a nod. He seemed to hesitate for a moment. And then he bent his head in a grudging bow.

"I'm sure Prince Naruto and his party are tired after their travels. Please escort them to their rooms to rest. We can all get to know one another better over supper," Sasuke said to one of the waiting nobles. They bowed in response. Sasuke then glanced at Sakura who raised her eyebrows in response.

"And you, my friend, I will see you for supper as well. I should wash the stink of horse off me," added Sasuke. Sakura cracked a wry smile.

"I should do the same. We will meet again as civilized humans, I suppose," answered Sakura. Without another glance in the direction of her cousin, Sakura turned and strode off down the hall in the direction of the western wing. Sasuke walked off in the opposite direction to his own room in the eastern wing.

Climbing up to the third floor, Sakura didn't bother to call for her servants to bathe. It wasn't long until supper would be served and she didn't want to interrupt what little time they had to eat before the scramble to serve the nobility. So she took a shower, scrubbing herself with the assortment of fragranced soaps and oils provided. And then she stood in front of the mirror running a comb through her long hair. She worked through each tangle with patience until her hair hung in a straight sheet down the side of her throat and over her chest.

When she opened the wardrobe, she found that her uniform had already been cleaned and placed inside. Even all the wrinkles had been neatly pressed out with an iron. Nodding approvingly at the diligence, she slipped into the crisp white blouse and folded the collar into place. She pulled on the tight white pants that, Sakura privately suspected, if she were to gain a few pounds, would no longer fit her. But for now, she buttoned the pants and they conformed perfectly to her legs. As she stood slipping cufflinks into her shirt, there was a knock on the door.

"General, may I enter?" Haku said after a moment.

"Yes," Sakura replied. When the door opened, Haku immediately averted her eyes. She held out something to her with both hands. Sakura reached out and took what turned out to be an envelope with a seal pressed into the wax.

"Prince Naruto requested that I deliver this to you. He said it was from your friend, General," Haku explained. But as soon as Sakura flipped the envelope over, she saw the bright seal holding the flap down. The shape of a boar was stamped into the red wax. With a sigh, she read the letter inside.

Dear Sakura,

I'm a little insulted you wouldn't stop by for tea before leaving, but I also understand you have your own obligations. I'm entrusting this letter to the Prince and hope you'll be able to read it during your journey. Hopefully he won't drop it in mud or accidentally set it on fire or whatever other bumbling things he does.

I miss you, obviously. I've been spending time with a private tutor recently, though and that's been able to occupy some of my time. Father says that a young noble lady does not need to be so educated. But mother said that the lady of a household should be knowledgeable, so she settled the matter. I'm learning history and literature in the mornings. My music tutor comes after lunch and he tortures me with the harp and the flute for a few hours. I would beg father to fire him, but he's so pleasant to look at that I can't bring myself to.

I expect letters from you. Many letters. Tell me about the court there. And be sure to let me know if any dashing young man catches your eye. And if that dashing young man has a friend, be a darling and let me know as well. I suspect that cousin of yours will whine and moan about your absence until you return. Hopefully I'll become skilled enough at the harp to drown out some of it.

Your friend,

Ino

Laughing a little, Sakura refolded the letter and set it down on the desk. She resumed buttoning her cuffs as she turned back to the mirror. Haku hovered in the entrance.

"Should I assist you, General?" she offered. But Sakura glanced at her for a moment before she shook her head.

"I didn't have any servants in the military academy or on the battlefield. I'm used to doing this much on my own," Sakura replied. Nodding, Haku tried to divert her troubled gaze elsewhere. As she folded her hands in front of her, she drew Sakura's attention again. When Sakura pulled her jacket from the armoire, Haku moved to help her. She held the jacket, guiding Sakura's arms through the sleeves. Sakura's sharp eyes trailed over her as she fit the buttons through the matching holes.

"You seem a little young. Are your parents part of the castle staff?" asked Sakura as she picked up the gold epaulettes that attached to the shoulders of her uniform. Haku quickly grabbed them to fix them in place. Chuckling a little at the enthusiasm, Sakura moved on to the braided lengths of gold cord called the aiguillette. It hung from the end of her right epaulette and fastened to the first button of her uniform. It was actually three cords hung together, supposedly to support the three principals of Konoha's military: Discipline, honor, and pride, the instructor's at the academy always recited. Not that anyone in charge seemed to possess any of those traits.

"No, General. My parents passed away last year," Haku replied as she finished adjusting the epaulettes to hang straight. The golden fringes sparkled nicely against the starched white of the jacket.

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Sakura. Haku meekly bowed her head. She stood watching as Sakura brushed off the front of the uniform and then turned to look herself over in the mirror. Fingers tightening her ponytail, Sakura purposely kept her eyes trained on her reflection.

"Even so, I've been wondering about something. Would you mind if I asked you a question, Haku?" ventured Sakura. Haku's eyes widened.

"Of course not, General," she politely answered.

"How on earth did a boy come to disguise himself as a servant girl?" inquired Sakura.

Haku stood paralyzed while Sakura continued casually adjusting her hair and then her collar. With a nod, Sakura deemed herself satisfactory and then looked over her shoulder at Haku. The servant's dark eyes were wide and unmoving.

"Ah, that face tells me that I'm right. You wouldn't be very good at card games," observed Sakura. That seemed to jolt Haku out of the fright. Cheeks turning a deep shade of red, Haku gulped.

"Don't worry. It was out of personal curiosity that I asked. Your secret's safe with me," Sakura promised with a smile. Haku only nodded.

"That aside, let me know at once if a letter comes for me in the next day or so. I'm off to supper," she added. Clapping Haku once on the shoulder, Sakura flashed another smile before she strode past. The door swung shut after her and Haku stood still rooted in place. It would take a while for those feet frozen by terror to start working again.

And two days later, a letter did come for Sakura. A bird arrived with a letter, which Moegi brought to her, huffing and puffing.

"Whatever are you in such a rush for?" Sakura asked her as she watched Moegi struggle to catch her breath.

"Y-you said t-to-to bring your letter at...once…. General," Moegi gasped, still huffing and puffing. Sakura shook her head, half-impressed and half-concerned. She made the girl sit and drink a glass of water as she tore the letter open.

Dearest,

I'm glad to hear of your safe arrival in the Mountain Kingdom. I must confess that I'm flattered you would think to write to me so quickly upon your arrival. And I apologize in delaying my letter to you. Things have been rather busy in your absence.

I'll imagine that your new friend must be handsome to have you so flustered upon first meeting. I'd encourage you to woo him so you can marry, but I fear I would grow too jealous and slay him- I don't think you would approve of that.

It's good that the Uchiha's have received you warmly. I imagine that your trip through the wilderness with your horse was nothing short of a magnificent playdate. You never were good at sitting still for too long. The royal family's relationship with the Uchiha's has been improving lately so I strongly urge you to secure favor with them. The King of the Mountain Kingdom is a strong ally but an even stronger enemy.

Mother visited Whitewave briefly last month. She had business nearby and dropped in to see how I was doing. She says all is well at home. My cousin Gaara is running things well. Mother says it was a good choice on your part to appoint him as your regent in your obsence. The gold coffers are full but not overflowing. Last year's yield was good and this year's crops seem to be growing well as well. The people are content. I'd almost think the peace to be boring if I didn't know what the opposite result was.

Court, I suspect, will be dull (though it is with or without you). I'm scheduled to return back to the capital once this affair is over. There, I assume, the Queen will invite me to another one of her dreadful tea parties and try to set me up with some airheaded girl. But with you gone, I suppose I can make an excuse about needing to return home to Plumeria to help care for affairs.

To be honest with you, Darling, I am a bit glad that you were able to get away from all of this for a bit. Consider this your moratorium and enjoy it while it lasts. I hear the summer season in the mountains is temperate and mild- just the way you like it. My only request is that you not return home some haggard, pale mountain-woman. That might break my heart a little.

All my love,

Sasori

Sakura smiled as she read over the letter one more time. Sasori's sarcasm always managed to cheer her up.

By the time she had finished reading, Moegi looked much better. She had gotten to her feet and was busy fluffing the throw pillows on the couch.

"I'd like to write a response now. Would you bring it down for me in a little while?" Sakura requested. The girl nodded, her bangs bouncing across her forehead. She continued tidying up the rest of the apartment as Sakura sat at her desk to pen her response.

Just as she finished sealing her envelope in red wax, Sakura heard a knock on the door.

"Would you like to go visit the market? I've heard that the traveling performers there are very talented," Sasuke called out without bothering to enter. Sakura stamped her seal into the soft wax. She blew on it to cool it a little more before she handed it off to Moegi. As she opened the door, Sasuke, who had been leaning against it, stumbled inside one step before steadying himself.

"Off you go," she said. Moegi bowed to her, and then to Sasuke before she ran down the hallway.

"Would they have any seafood? I'm craving a good fish," said Sakura.

Sasuke made a face. "Well… river fish, they might have."

Sakura mirrored his expression. "Heavens, no, then."

Sasuke leaned against the door again as he watched Sakura backtrack. She closed the door to the bedroom. She double-checked to make sure that her sword was on her belt.

"Shall we go?" she then said.

Sasuke eyed her weapon. "What merchant are you planning to stab with that?" he wondered.

"What a novel idea. Forget haggling. Violence must be how people buy and sell in this country," she laughed in response. Sasuke snickered too at the absurdity of it all. He pushed off the door and made room for her to pass into the hallway.

+++

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 >

[emmabnn]

- A Brutal Rip in Reality -

- A Brutal Rip in Reality -

- 𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙁𝙖𝙣𝙁𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣  -

*ongoing *word count so far: +/- 32K

Description:

This story is about Lilly-Mae, a not so usual twenty-five-year-old, who enjoys the risky things in life with her best friend Thomas. Exploring other dimensions was something they did often -- until they ended up in a place they rather didn't. A world crawling with the Supernatural. Lucky for them, in that world, heroes without capes risk their lives daily to get rid of those nasty creatures. They call themselves hunters. --

- ᴛʀɪɢɢᴇʀ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ - This being a supernatural fan-fiction, there is gonna be blood, torture, gory detailed scenes, there might be mentioning of depression, self-harm, suicide,... --

- ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ɪɴꜰᴏ - Ongoing #Supernatural fan-fiction that doesn't follow the show so the boys are younger - they're twenty-seven and thirty-one but you'll see that the bunker is already introduced, people that are dead might still be alive, they already know characters they technically didn't know at that age. It'll end up leaning towards a Castiel/fic, but it will have a rather slow build-up. This as originally posed on Wattpad (@Confused_cas)

Lilly-Mae and Thomas Reed are my own original characters. If you're interested in seeing a visual representation of Lilly-Mae you might want to look up; Laurel Toma. --

- ᴍᴇ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ɪɴꜱᴇᴄᴜʀᴇ - Keep in mind, I'm a mediocre writer with dyslexia, so take spelling mistakes lightly... I pour my heart and soul into this story... If you feel the need to correct an error, feel free to do so, but be nice, please... ( '́з'̀)

𝑀𝓊𝒸𝒽 𝓁❁𝓋𝑒, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑒𝓃𝒿❁𝓎

- 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚎: 𝙰 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚘 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 -

A thin blanket of morning dawn hung over the fields of Mr. Joseph's farm. That spiteful rooster that caused me to wake up from my sleep in the most brutal manner, was once again singing whatever hell song he sang every morning. Singing is too polite, rather screaming, although the sun wasn't supposed to come up for another hour.

My bare feet ran through the damp grass while the cold morning air danced between my locks of dark brown hair. Causing goosebumps to cover my entire body.

About ten minutes ago, Thomas sent me a text asking to meet him in the barn of the farmer, also known as Thoms dad. His father knew we spent time together at the barn, which he didn't like. I lost count of the amount of times he caught us and I had to ran home so quick that my own feet couldn't follow.

It was an emergency, Thom said, so I was in a hurry. So much so that I left the house without shoes, still in my pajamas. His message sounded pretty serious, only another reason for me to be more curious than a child on Christmas morning. When the barn finally appeared on the horizon, I could feel my stomach do a back flip, filling itself with butterflies. Their wings fluttering, causing healthy tingles to flow through me. The feeling caused my cheeks to burn, leaving them completely red behind.

What Thom and I had was unique. We've known each other for the longest time. We practically grew up together. Which, made the situation only more complicated.

'He's like a brother to you.'

That was the sentence I forced myself to believe. Though, the fact that I obligated myself to not have feelings for him spoke for itself.

Out of breath and gasping for air, I finally arrived at the typical red barn. Carefully I crawled through one of the planks that had come loose months ago during a wild storm.

"Thom?" I asked softly, expecting a response. Moonlight shone through the many cracks in the wood, creating just enough light for me to be able to see. Except for some old boxes, a broken-down tractor that has been here for as long as I can remember and some hay was there nothing special to see.

"Thomas?" Sounded my voice again, louder this time. Once again, no answer. A short-annoyed sigh escaped from in-between my lips. This wasn't the first time he would text me, asking me to join him, only for him to hide and scare me. Once he didn't even show up, he pranked me, while he was still in his cozy bed at home, probably laughing at me for falling for his "prank".

"Dammit Thomas, you're 25 years old, cut the crap." I snapped, and decided to take a seat on the hay covered floor, leaning against the tractor. To be fair, I'm not the sportiest person, and running all that way got me exhausted. Apart from my heavy breathing, was there no other sound to be heard. No cars driving past, not a single cricket in the tall grass. Even that spiteful rooster went quiet. That was when I realized the weird atmosphere around me. It was cold -- but not just the frisky type of cold. A chill that creates tiny clouds when you exhale. It left your nails blue. At that same time, I had trouble breathing, as the only air filling my lungs was the dry and warm desert kind of air. Black spots started appearing in front of my eyes, obstructing my vision. It consumed me and dragged me into a fear I've never felt before.

Two hands on my shoulders shook me awake from the panic I was drowning in. Greeted by two electric blue eyes was I slowly returning to earth. His lips were moving, but there were no words coming out. Murmur was the only thing I could hear, until I finally fully returned, both feet back in reality.

"Thom?" I asked, mumbling.

"Lilly-Mae, everything okay? You look like you just saw a ghost." A small chuckle in his voice that tried to cover his concern. That however, didn't work on me. He was kneeling in front of me, right at my eye level, inches away from my face. He managed to get me back on my feet. "Lilly?" He asked again, looking for an answer as his fingertips gently brushed a strand of hair out of my face, causing those tingles to start flowing.

"You crazy? You know you can't leave me alone here." I snapped at him, and flung his hand away from me. My reaction was pretty dramatic, but that way I was able to hide those feelings deep within me. I didn't fully lie though, that what just happened was an attack. I have those sometimes, but especially here, where the walls between worlds are thin. When I've an attack, it's like my soul already made the step into the dream world, while my body is stuck in reality. I see, smell and hear things at the other side.

"Sorry... didn't mean to leave you alone, I was um -- looking at the dream world portal, it's... different than usual." He said unsure. "What do you mean, different?"

"The color, it's orange?" I frowned my eyebrows at his response. Orange? Usually they're blue, sometimes purple... but orange -- what could that mean? My stomach turned, I didn't have a good feeling about this, but my curiosity got the better of me.

We started walking towards the portals' location, which was also in a different place than usual. "Maybe we end up on a subtropical island this time." Thomas said laughing, but I didn't react because I was still trying to shake that terrible feeling from before, unsuccessfully. The portal appeared under the roof of the barn, truly an odd place. "It has never appeared here, and that color..." I whispered worriedly. My concern made the tall man next to me laugh. "The color and different location is what makes you uneasy? But you're cool with the fact that portals to other dimensions exist?" He had a point, nothing about traveling through them was normal, yet we've been doing it for years.

"You wanna go take a peek?" Thom asked curiously, inches away from the orange crack in time and space. It was beautiful, lively -- yet something just didn't feel right. The palms of my hand started to sweat; Thom was getting too close to it for my liking.

"I -- I don't know, something's off."

"Oh, you and your premonitions. Let's just go and see, we know how these things work, Lilly. Just -- relax." Relax? Relax my ass. That one word was enough for me to get annoyed. "How many times have my premonitions been wrong?" I asked in defense.

"We don't know that, because we always listen to it. C'mon, let's do something risky for once?" His puppy eyes shimmering with the orange light of the portal. "Once? As if traveling to other dimensions isn't risky enough on its own." An angry sigh escaped me, and with crossed arms I decided to create more space between me and the crack. "You do what you want, I'm gonna see what's on the other side."

"Thomas." I growled his name as a warning. His blue eyes that were looking at me were playful as his hand reached towards the portal.

His gesture made my glare drift towards the orange light while that bizarre feeling plunged me again. A force pulled my soul back in a roller coaster of images, feelings and smells that I didn't sign up for. An image of a cold, dark place hit me on the back of the head. Walls dripping in blood, meat hooks decorated with body parts hung from the ceiling in rows. It looked like a scene straight out of a horror movie. The room came to life with jerky movements that caused me to feel sick. People with bizarre long cloaks entered the room, their faces hidden behind masks -- no, there were no masks. Their faces were deformed. They all took a seat on chairs that stood in the room in a half circle, all pointing towards the center. Their distorted faces that you rather didn't encounter flashed before my eyes as nauseating laughter filled my ears. Another flash, my eyes now focused on what the creatures were looking at. In the middle of the room, a woman strapped with her hands above her head held by one of the meat hooks. Her once blonde hair hung in front of her face, drenched in her own blood.

The atmosphere in the room how ever, was filled with joy, impatience and hunger. Another man entered the room, he ripped what was left of her clothing off her body and I did everything I could to wake up. Everything to return back to reality, my own world -- but it was impossible. The man started to speak, and when I realized what was going on at the other side of the portal, I collapsed.

"No!" I cried out, once again was Thom able to put me on my both feet. "Lilly!" He roared, and my eyes flew open. "We can't go there -- we can't! It's dark there and -- there are bad things there -- they do things they shouldn't Thom! Please -- let's just go back home, please?" I was able to stand somewhat straight up, mumbling, both my hands-on Thomas's shoulders for support. Tears rolling down my cheeks as salty waterfalls. Although I was awake in this reality, I didn't have control over my body. I kept on walking towards him, feet stumbling over every little obstacle on the floor. "Let's just go home, Thom... please."

"Lilly -- stop, what are you doing?" He looked terrified, but my feet didn't stop moving. I wanted to get closer and closer to him, while he just moved further and further away from me. "If we go to that place, we won't be able to make it back." I whispered.

Before realizing it myself, my foot got caught on one of the protruding nails of the wooden floor.

"Lilly!"

I pushed Thomas through the portal, and fell behind him.

--

- 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚠𝚘: 𝙽𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 -

Orange light flashes flew passed me as we were making the fall to the other dimension. I wanted to scream, cry out for help, but the lack of oxygen made that impossible. It was as if we were surrounded by flames that could burn us any second, but they didn't. The contrary, the tunnel of the portal opened up, becoming wider. Revealing its true beauty. The flames took on a different form, a warm sunset. It reminded me of the evenings Thomas and I would spend together, sitting on the roof of the barn. The memory playing in my head took the focus off the horrible pain I was in. Because traveling through something supernatural comes with an expensive price tag.

A hard-concrete floor broke my fall, rolling, scraping, I finally came to a stop, but not without injuries. The palms of my hands bleeding, the thin fabric of my pajamas ripped in some places, revealing my damaged skin that was coated in a thin layer of blood. Gasping for air, I felt my heart beating in a fast and unsteady rhythm. The oxygen that filled my lungs was accompanied by an odor that was familiar to me. Sweat, blood and rotting flesh was polluting the air. Without even having to look, I knew exactly where I was.

When I finally found my courage I looked up, and was confronted with my speculations. Rusted meat hooks hung above me, the body part attached to it fresh, still dripping blood that was collecting in a puddle right in front of me. My vision however wasn't completely correct. The room was empty, but the chairs where the people with distorted faces sat on, were present.

'I have to get out of here.'  Was the first thing that came to mind, but that plan, or more so idea was brutally ripped from my mind when the door opened.

"What do we have here?" Sounded a voice, coming from behind me. It knocked the air out of my lungs as I turned around anxiously. The man I saw in my vision earlier, the one that ripped the last pieces of clothing of that poor woman's body stood before me. A wicked grin on his face.

"Got lost, sweetheart?" He asked -- I wanted to answer, try to make up and excuse, but I knew it was too late for that. This was his property, his personal mousetrap, and I walked right into it. The lump in my throat made of fear was too big and I wasn't even able to make a sound that was supposed to represent a word.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of you." He said in a warm voice, which completely threw me off. His sympathetic speech gave me hope for a split-second. Hope that I could make it out alive. However, all of that disappeared when I saw him reach for a rope. He walked towards me, suggesting that I joined him in the middle of the room, but when my body didn't respond quick enough, he pulled at my arm. My weak legs almost gave away due to his brute force.

"No worries, I won't hurt you -- besides, such a pretty face, it would be a shame. I won't ruin what is going to make me a lot of money." I stood inches from his body that was easily twice the size of mine. His hands looked like they could break bones with ease. Still speechless, I looked up at him, my light brown eyes in contact with his -- orange eyes? He wasn't human -- humans don't have orange eyes.

His words about how I was gonna make him a lot of money were still on my mind, until the confusion finally rolled off my tongue.

"Money?"

"No worries." He said again in his warm, comforting voice as he tied my hands together, to then hang me with the rope on one of the hooks, my hands high above my head.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Lilly -- Lilly-Mae." I exhaled. "Pleasure to meet you, Lilly. If I'm allowed to call you that. Now, how old are you?"

"Twenty-five."

"Magnificent." His hand held my right cheek for a moment as he looked in my eyes, as if he was hopelessly in love with me. As if he had known me for years. But I knew better, he wasn't looking at me, he was dreaming about the cash I'd make him.

"Lilly-" He said, squishing my cheeks briefly, causing a soft pulling pain. "I'll be right back, with some company who would love to meet you." He did as he told and disappeared not much later, causing the silence to return to the room once the door was closed behind him. My eyes looked up, at the hook that was covered in a thin layer of dried blood, that held me tightly in place. My nails were already turning blue due to the lack of blood flow, my mind filled with thoughts.

Thomas, he also fell through, I'm not alone, he must be here somewhere -- but where? I felt bad that the first thing on my mind was the fact that he could save me, and not that I was concerned about his safety. He wasn't in this room, who knows what they will do to him when they find him?

We were caught in an auction house, a twisted one where they sell people instead of old crappy art. All I had left was my best friend to save me of whom I didn't even know was still alive. With my eyes pointed back to the concrete floor, I took a deep breath.

"Crap..."

--

- 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎: 𝟻 𝟺 𝟹 𝟸 𝟷 -

With my mind on zero, my eyes were fixed on the door in front of me and my ears focused on every sound they could pick up. Honestly, I had no clue what I was doing. Searching for a solution was impossible. Praying? Useless. Hoping for a miracle was pathetic, and I had no intentions of spending my last day on earth, being pathetic.

My senses dominated me. Smell, taste, hearing, vision, touch. I wanted to spend my last day on earth, human. The rotting blood scent filled my lungs and a similar taste settled on my tongue. The sound of restless movements and blurry conversations that took place at the other side of the door filled my ears. My eyes, which allowed me to see, absorbed all the color it encountered. There weren't many in this rather dark room, but when they came across a small flower pot that stood on a desk in the corner of my room, my pupils grew interested. The plant that once stood in it, had long since died. But the color of the pot itself caught my attention. Mikado yellow, a beautiful, vibrant yellow color that reminded me of sunflower fields, or the sun in a child's drawing. The cold floor where I stood on with my bare feet shot signals through my nerves. So did the thick rope that was slowly cutting into my wrists.

In that exact same order, smell, taste, hearing, vision and touch. That was how I arranged my senses. Smell the least important in my opinion. Touch the exact opposite. Is that strange? Having a favorite sense? Probably -- I suppose that's just what I am -- strange.

My senses dominated me, until the door opened again, and fear took over.

"Take a seat,  gentlemen. Get comfy -- there's plenty of room for all of you." Spoke the man that stood before me about an hour ago. The hairs in my neck stood on end when I saw distorted faces entering the room, hidden under long hoods, their bizar colored eyes most prominent. Again -- not human. Trembling, my eyes started to scan all the -- creatures, until they all had taken their seats, the door closed behind them.

"Welcome -- welcome, I know this is quite unexpected, you could even call it unusual. Two auctions in one day. But what can I say?" His eyes shot towards my direction while he pointed at me, a twisted smile on his face. "She literally walked straight into my hands." Laughter filled the room, causing a chill to slowly crawl its way up my spine.

"Shall we just get started then?" The room agreed and I could barely breathe.

"This is Lilly-Mae, or Lilly, if you're nice enough." Soft laughter bounced around the room, but my eyes didn't leave the man in front of me alone for a single second, watching him as he paced back and forth. "Twenty-five years of age, incredibly soft skin, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious as to what she'd taste like." A thin layer of water formed in my eyes.

"So I suggest we all have a taste." Once again, the room agreed, and a man with a knife and a glass carafe approached me. Not long after, the cold iron cut through me like a warm knife through butter. My blood felt warm running down my chilled skin as it got collected in the carafe.

"Patience, gentlemen." He said, trying to calm the room down. Revealing the thick, red liquid caused the creatures to become restless. They were hungry and made sounds you only hear in horror movies. To my surprise revealed everyone a small glass, for my blood to be poured into. When he said they were gonna have a taste of me, he meant it literally. The precious liquid was shared fairly among all the guests. They treated my blood like an expensive old wine.

"Go for it, gentlemen."

With their heads tilted backwards, they poured it down their throats in one go, like a shot. They were hungry, impatient. Like a wild animal that finally caught its prey after days of hunting. Not much after, the room was filled with I assume are supposed to be compliments, addressed to me. They said things about how special I tasted, how unique and pure I was. But those compliments quickly turned into inappropriate comments. Things they wanted to do to me, how they were gonna do it. Everything was being explained down to the smallest detail, and it made me feel sick.

"Lilly --" A striking voice shot out to me. "It might cost me my life, but you're mine." Vibrant blue eyes were hidden underneath a hood, creating confusion within me.

"Let's start the bidding!" Yelled the owner enthusiastically, who had just wiped his mouth clean after also having had a taste of me.

"Five thousand dollar." The audience immediately started mentioning absurdly high numbers. Not even a minute passed and, they had reached ten thousand. How rare and precious is food for them if they are willing to spend that kind of money?

"We're with more than seven billion people on the planet, why spend so much on me?" I mumbled, and the room went silent. "Enough food, right?" I added.

"Oh, but you're not just food, darling. You're so much more." Snarled a voice.

"When we buy you, you become ours, our property."

"And with your own property, you do as you please."

I felt lightheaded as my thoughts explored the worst scenarios. My instinct told me to escape, to run, but my body wasn't doing anything. Most of my senses were completely paralyzed, but I could feel my heart beating. I felt the unsteady beat pumping through my veins. I could hear it. A sassy comeback with a lot of attitude was ready on the tip of my tongue, but that's where it stayed.

'You're a nice person, your rudeness is just your defense mechanism.'  Thomas's old words were going through my mind. He was right, every time it got too much for me to handle was cursing my way out.

"Fifty thousand!" Shouted that strangely familiar voice again. The creature skipped over twenty grands in one offer, and it made the rest of the guests enraged.

"Fifty-five thousand!" Roared another voice in attack, but less than a second later that number got kicked into the ground by the other creature.

"Sixty-five thousand!" And just like that, the bidding war between the two continued until they reached a hundred thousand dollars. They went quiet, as if they needed to catch their breath. Did someone win? Were they going to go even further? Yes. The answer was yes.

"Two hundred thousand." Said the one with the blue eyes. His voice calm and confident.

"Are you insane?" Exclaimed his rival. "What are you gonna do? Sell your house for some sex and a supper?" The blue-eyed creature didn't reply, he won, that's all that mattered to him. I was his property now, and his eyes met mine.

"Two hundred thousand dollar, once."

Silence.

"Twice."

My heart was pounding underneath my rib cage. My breathing heavy.

"SOLD!"

My blood pressure collapsed, causing my legs to give away, my ears ringing. I was sold for two hundred thousand dollars, and now belonged to someone -- something, that could do whatever he wanted with me. He wanted me from the second he laid his eyes on me, and his desires were fulfilled.

"Go ahead, collect what's yours." Spoke the owner of the auction house. Pointing at me, at his price. The man stood up, his blue eyes focused on me. He was tall, but not all too buff. His cloak that was too short revealed a pair of worn-down sneakers. Sneakers that seemed familiar. His hands reached towards the rope that held me tightly. That was when I realized why I've been so confused for so long.

"I don't think you've been here before, what's your name?" Asked the owner.

"Thomas." The blue-eyed person replied.

It was Thomas that bought me, he bought me with money that he didn't have. He was untying the rope, but his eyes never left my gaze.

"Sorry." He whispered so softly that I could barely hear it. There was a crack in his voice because of the dryness in his mouth. I wanted to say something, thank him, but I couldn't manage a single word.

"Congratulations Thomas, as you know, house rules. We only accept cash, the entire amount, at once." He was a dead man walking. Thom never had money on him. It was a damn miracle if he had a five-dollar bill in his pocket.

"Wait, what?" Answered Thom, genuine confusion in his voice. "I never received that information. I have the money, but not with me." The atmosphere in the room changed from the second he spoke those words. The owner sighed and came closer.

"I knew this was gonna cause problems. A newcomer offering such a sum?" Some of the other creatures were also standing up. Were we exposed? Did they know Thom wasn't one of them?

"You know what? I'll give you another chance. Go your way, next time you want buy, you bring cash. Meanwhile, Lilly-Mae will go to Osain for a hundred thousand."

No -- this couldn't be happening. I was safe, Thom made sure I was safe. My world collapsed in front of my very own two eyes, as Thom his blue eyes sought out mine.

"No, that's not happening." Thomas objected. "I fairly won the bidding, like I said -- I have the money, just not on me."

"Where then? Somewhere in Europe where you think we won't be able to find you?" Snapped the owner, who clearly had enough of the situation. "Because then you're thinking wrong, friend."

"We'll be looking for you and her, and you don't even wanna know what happens once we find you." Added another creature. It quickly became clear to me that everyone knew everyone here very well. Like at a local café, but instead of enjoying a beer together, they enjoy some human flesh. Thomas's eyes went from looking at me, to staring at the ground. He was thinking, and I watched as he struggled, biting on the insides of his cheeks.

"Can I talk to her for a second?" He asked hopelessly. It went quiet, most of the creatures were just straight up confused because of his question. Apparently, you're not supposed to care for the item you're buying. But Thomas did care.

"Um -- Sure?" The owner answered slowly. Thom's hands immediately grabbed my shoulders, his face inches away from mine.

"Lilly, I'm sorry." His voice was silent, but filled with panic. "I hope you can forgive me, because I know I'll never be able to forgive myself. I see no other way out, you mean so much to me -- and I promised you I'd protect you, and I failed. I'll make sure no one will be able to ever hurt you again. These monsters, they won't get you, I won't let that happen. I'm sorry -- and I want you to know that I love you. Now, listen carefully to what I'm about to say, kay?"

I nodded as a response, my eyes drowning in tears, my thoughts confused.

"When I step back, you close your eyes, and keep them closed, doesn't matter what happens, okay? Once they're closed, start counting down from five to one. Do you think you can do that for me?"

"Yes..." My voice cracked.

Salty water ran down both his cheeks. His hands left my shoulders as he started to walk backwards. The last thing I saw before closing my eyes was his hand that reached inside of his pocket.

"'Till at the other side, Lilly-Mae." Thomas said, and I started to count down.

Five

Four

Three

Two

One

Bam, and I was dead.

--

- 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚛: 𝙿𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚑 -

He held a gun to my head, my eyes were closed, and bam -- I was dead. A mercy shot. That was the thing he hoped I would be able to forgive him. He only did it to spare me from the horrific things Osain would've done to me.

There I went, my body crashed on the hard-concrete floor, causing the room to explode in anger. The owner just lost a number ending with five zeros. The monsters lost their company and dinner. The impact of the bullet that had flown straight through my forehead in a smooth motion caused my eyes to fly back open. Laying on the floor in my own blood, mixed with that of the previous victims, I looked before me. The big rusted door still directly in front of me, blocked by two pairs of feet. Thom's and those of the owner.

That was when I realized something was wrong. I was dead, yet I heard, smelled, saw, and felt things. I couldn't move and when they started attacking Thomas, I knew I walked straight into my worst nightmare. The monsters flew at him like wild animals. They ripped his clothing, sinking their teeth in his skin. His screaming filled my ears, but there wasn't anything I could do -- except watch. I was trapped in my own body; I had no control. They chewed on his flesh like piranhas, causing a blood bath. Not much later and his body hit the floor. Inches in front of me, his hand almost in contact with mine. My head was filled with my own screaming. He called out for help, begged for mercy, but they didn't listen. The only one listening to the words he cried out, was me.

He continued to fight, trying to escape from their sharp teeth that bit into him over and over, until -- he went silent. His eyes lifeless -- the only movement his body was making, caused by the monsters who were digging around in it. I was going to be next; they didn't care if I was dead. Meat is meat, and if I had to believe them, I tasted too good to waste.

The image of Thomas lifeless eyes that were looking at me was the only thing I could focus on, next to the fear I was in. I wished I was dead, really, dead. Not whatever state I was in now.

'Thomas.' I thought. I wanted to cry, scream, but I couldn't do anything, anything but watch. 'I'm sorry...'

A loud noise in the distance caught my attention. It came from outside the room. Not a second later and the door flew open. Three pairs of new feet were visible. More monsters? No. Shots were being fired, causing the bodies of the creatures to drop like flies. Help had arrived after all, but they were too late. A fight took place that lasted about five minutes before each monster was killed. One of the new men that just burst in got injured, but apparently it wasn't too bad.

"Dammit -- " A deep voice said. "we're too late, again!"

"Try to look at it positively, Dean. At least they're dead now. They can't make any more victims." Replied the one that had been injured, but that Dean he mentioned didn't agree.

"Sure -- Sam." He said sarcastically, before turning to the other man in the room. "Cas -- how long have they been dead?" The third man, who was wearing a beige trench coat sat down on his knees right next to Thom. His hand a few inches above his body that started to shine a bright white light. "About ten minutes." He replied in a deep, rough voice.

"Fifteen minutes earlier, and the poor bastard would've survived." Dean sighed before turning his attention to me. "And her?" He asked, pointing. The man in the trench obviously had supernatural powers. Maybe he could notice that I'm still somewhat alive? My instinct said to make a noise, so I mentally started to scream. Now he sat next to me on his knees, his hand hovering over my body. That light appeared again, followed by a warm feeling that went through me.

'I'm still alive! I don't know how, but please, help me!' I cried out mentally. He didn't reply, however, I was unable to see his face, I was able to pick up his confusion.

"She -- um.."

'Yes! You can hear me... I know you can!' I shouted at him.

"Cas?" Sam asked. "She's still alive." He replied.

'Yes!'

"What?" Dean sounded confused. "You can literally see the other side of the room through her skull, what do you mean, she's still alive?"

'I don't know, just -- get me out of here, please?'

"She doesn't know why she's still alive. I don't understand... She feels human. Well --" Cas's voice was filled to the brim with confusion. "Maybe not a hundred percent."

"Then what is she? Demon, angel?" Sam asked. "No." Answered Cas convinced. "What do we do?" Asked Dean who clearly didn't want to stay in this room much longer.

'Take me with you, please. I don't know what you could do to make me any better, maybe I'll still die. But please, I don't wanna die here, not on this floor.'

"We'll take her to the bunker." Cas suggested, and the other two didn't protest. Not much later, I was laying in Cas's arms, like a dead body. My head tilted backwards, my arms lightly swaying back and forth due to his walking. Just before we left the room my eyes caught a glimpse of Thomas. His blood-covered body on the ground, or what was left of it anyways. The owner of the auction house laid beside him; his body filled with bullet holes.

I took a brief moment to mentally thank Cas for giving me a chance. For getting me out of that dreadful place. With the room behind us, the worst thought hit me. If not for the good nature of the supernatural being that was now caring me, I would've stayed there. I would've died looking in Thoms dead eyes. That wasn't the worst outcome haunting my imagination. What if I didn't die? What if I lived and was forced to stare at Thomas's body that would slowly decompose? That fragment of imagination would stick with me for the rest of my life.

When we finally made it out of that nightmarish building, warm sunshine shone down on my body. Cas with me in his arms walked behind Sam and Dean. My mind filled with fear and panic as I imagined that scenario.

"It's okay." He suddenly whispered, trying to comfort me, so quietly that only I could hear it. "You're safe with us."

--

- 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚌𝚊𝚛 -

Laying on the backseat of a 67 Chevy Impala, I was completely lost. Accompanied by three strange men who were taking me to a place I didn't know, in a world, I didn't belong. Sam and Dean were sitting in the front of the car, the one with the shorter hair behind the wheel, while Cas sat in the back with my head laying on his lap, rather uncomfortably. Laying down like this forced me to look up at him, although I tried to focus on the roof of the car instead.

There hung an awkward silence in the vehicle that I wanted to break, but couldn't. As if Dean was able to read my mind, he spoke. "So, uh -- are we gonna talk about this or what?" The man sitting next to him shifted awkwardly, shortly looking over his shoulder at me.

"What do you want to discuss?" Cas asked, causing Dean to become slightly annoyed. "The dead chick in the back?" He replied rather rude, before also letting his glare drift off to me. "That is bleeding all over the car seat!" He angrily added. "Well, she's not dead." Cas replied in defense. "And how do you know that?" Sam questioned. "Does she still have a heartbeat?" Dean continued. Cas his blue eyes that reminded me so much of Thomas's looked at me before replying, as if he needed to check.

"No..." He answered rather quiet. "Dude, I know you're weird, I know we do weird crap, but carrying a dead chick around?" I was honestly getting offended by Dean calling me a dead chick, over and over.

'I'm not dead though...' I thought, sighing.

"Dean, she just said that she's not dead. Also, she doesn't like being called a dead chick." It was as if the two had to process what Cas just had shared, and so did I. The silence only made me concentrate more on the fact that he was still listening to my thoughts.  

"You can hear her?" Asked Sam, breaking the quietness. "Her thoughts, yes. I'm still a celestial being, remember?"

'A celestial being? He's an--'

"An angel, that is correct." He replied aloud before I was even able to question it fully. And just like that, my world flipped upside down for the fiftieth time today.

"So she can hear us?" The long-haired man asked, who by now was fully turned around on his seat, his eyes on me and the apparent angel, who nodded as a reply. "So we can just ask her questions and via you get the answers?" He once again nodded.

"What is she?" Dean immediately asked, again a rather rude tone to his voice.

'Jeez, buy me a drink first.'

"She wants you to buy her a drink first." Cas translated my thoughts into speech, literally. Making Sam and I chuckle for a bit. Cas gave us a few confused looks before deciding to ignore us.  "If I recall correctly, she doesn't know how she's still alive, so I doubt she knows what she is." So far I know, I'm human. Hell, I just found out a couple of hours ago that non-human things exist. "She's human, she thinks." Cas said, but I'm certain that no one believed me, not even the angel himself.

I wondered what other forced questions Dean would ask, but Cas was first to ask me something. "What's your name?"

'Thank God for a normal question.' I quickly regretted mentioning... Him. If angels exist, God must be a thing as well.

'Lilly-Mae, um -- did I offend you by mentioning, you know who?' I asked, trying to ignore the Harry Potter reference I just made, just to be sure he knows I didn't mean to be rude. "Nice to meet you, Lilly-Mae, and no. You didn't offend me by mentioning my Father." A small smile on his lips to reassure me.

'So, God was real, angels are real, monsters are a thing, anything I'm missing?'

"Demons." Cas replied is a monotone deep voice. 'Well, fu--'

"Where are you from?" Asked Dean. How on earth was I going to explain this?

"You want us to contact any one of your family so they know you're safe?" Sam proposed. Family, I don't have. I spend the first five years of my life with a drug addict of an aunt, to end up in one orphanage to the other until I was old enough to work and live on my own.  

"She doesn't have a family." Cas informed the others. Looked like I managed to avoid the big bad with that reply. "What big bad?" The angel asked innocently.

'Well, crap. Here goes nothing I suppose. I'm not really from, here? Thomas and I, we ended up here after traveling through a portal.'

"Thomas?" Asked Cas, while ignoring the rest of my reply for whatever reason. 'Yea, Thomas, the half-eaten dude back at the auction house? That was Thomas.'  I replied rather annoyed because the wound of just having lost the only and most important person in my life was still tender.

"So you're not from this world?" The angel asked. I'm sure he just wanted to know more about me not being from here, but for some reason, it felt like he tried getting my mind off the bad thoughts that were haunting my mind by asking that question. I wanted to shake my head in response, but couldn't. However, I didn't have a chance to reply because Dean and Sam looked at Cas, worried, but more so confused. The angel took his time to explain everything we've spoken about so far, and that gave me some room to breathe and try to place all the new information.

Supernatural beings exist. Turns out I'm not as human as I thought I was, then again, it would explain why I have those nasty attacks and visions. And not being from this world didn't end up being that big of a deal after all? It helped clarify why Cas was unable to 'read me' as he explained. That's why he doesn't know what I am, it's because I'm not from this world.

"By the way, sweetheart." Dean sounded, waking me up from my thoughts. "I'm Dean Winchester, this is my younger brother Sam, and the angel you're laying on is Cas." They're brothers, that actually made a lot of sense.

'Well, nice to meet you guys, I'm Lilly-Mae Mooney, and um -- thanks for saving my life.'

--

- 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚡: 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 -

With my eyes focused on the clock that hung on the wall in front of me, I saw the time tick over to midnight, it was now officially the eighth of August. Exactly three weeks ago the boys found me on the concrete floor of a warehouse, a hole through my skull after being shot in the head by Thomas. I was alone in my room at the moment. A room I was gifted by the brothers in their home. Their home they called the bunker. It was cozy here, although I only saw parts of it for a short period of time. My room was located next to Deans, right over Sam's, at least that's what the boys told me.

I was still trapped inside of my own body, still unable to speak or move, however, there was good news, my head injury was healing well, thanks to Cas's angel powers. Who I found out is actually called Castiel, and not Cas. It took him more than two weeks to build up the courage to tell me his full name. I made a complete fool of myself calling him Cas for weeks, even though I didn't know him well enough yet to be addressing him by his nickname.

I assumed the boys were asleep by now it being passed midnight already, but then again they are never up to any good. I've got to know them better with time, and I'd like to think they kind of like me by now? Castiel usually talks for me, so we were able to have somewhat of a conversation. Cas, however, leaves my cursing out for the most part, which I don't blame him. I tend to curse quite often, but I've told him he doesn't need to make me sound nicer than I really am. He never gave a reply to that... I honestly think he doesn't have the guts to curse himself. Which I assume is normal, him being an angel and all.

"I just don't think it's appropriate for me to curse, Lilly-Mae." His voice filled the room, startling me. I'm never going to get used to him just, popping in like that. As per usual, he apologized for scaring me, and I told him it was fine. That was kind of our ritual by now. He decided to take a seat next to me on the bed, his blue eyes focused on me. I still was unable to move, blink, or look around, so he made sure I was able to see him.

"My apologies for leaving you alone with the brothers today." When I'm alone with Sam and Dean is communicating literally impossible, but I understood that Castiel still had Heaven business to attend.

"How was your day?"

'Well, watching the clock was very interesting.' I replied sarcastically, which the angel didn't appreciate. "Is sarcasm something contagious?" I laughed at his question. The Winchesters are also masters in the practice of sarcasm, but I was a goddess.

'It's something you're born with.' I replied, and if I was able I would've smiled at the butt hurt angel. "And with honestly." He said, and I cursed him for being able to read me like a book.

"Cursing people isn't nice."

'Well, you're not human, now are you?'

"Touché. But Lilly-Mae, we've spoken about this before. Humans need to talk with people about things. It's important for your mental health."

'I can't believe how much that sounds like a Dean sentence. Did Dean tell you that?' The angel was concerned about me, for all the right reasons. I was trapped in my own head. Left alone with my thoughts for weeks now. I had built a private movie theater for myself up in my mind, and the movie that had been playing for weeks; Being Mauled by Werewolves, featuring Thomas Reed.

"You want to talk about Thomas?"

'What else do you want me to say about him, Castiel? We talk about him daily, it doesn't help. He's dead, but that's the thing about life, isn't it? No one makes it out alive.' He took a deep breath as his eyes left me behind to look in front of him. "I suppose you're right about that... And like I've said before, it's okay for you to call me Cas."

'When you start calling me Lilly.' I thought in defense. His eyes met mine again, an annoyed look on his face, and a long silence followed. He forced me to start thinking again, he forced me to go back to that damn seat in my theater. Flashes of him were all I saw. I could hear his voice again, screaming. I could almost feel his presence again, panicked. I once again started drowning in sorrow and heartache. No one ever tells you how much grief feels like fear. Two tears rolled down the sides of my face when I couldn't hold them back any longer.

'It's been three weeks Cas, three weeks ago he stopped breathing and I continued. I'm not over him.' I cried out mentally. His expression softened at my pain. "I'm not asking of you to get over him. I don't expect you to ever do so, I know what he meant to you, Lilly." He regretted pressuring me into confessing how I felt, but as he told me before, it had to happen. I had to talk, I needed a bit of help to process what's happened in a correct manner.

"You're strong and smart, but instead of breaking yourself down, you need to start defending yourself." He spoke words of wisdom and I agreed, but applying that theory wasn't all that easy. He gave me a moment to recollect my calmness and get my emotions under control before speaking.

"I've something for you." He said while revealing a phone with a headset attached. "I don't know if you enjoy music, but I popped by Dean's room before visiting you and took these with. I thought it could keep you entertained."

'You want Dean to get mad at me for stealing his music?' I asked playfully, but was thankful. "I doubt Dean will suspect you for stealing it, considering you are unable to move."

'Touché.' I said laughing. 'Thanks, Castiel.'

"What music do you like?" He asked while placing the headset over my ears.

'Honestly, right now I could listen to everything. Except for Justin Bieber... I don't do JB.' I saw him scrolling through Spotify while he was looking for a playlist he thought I'd enjoy. He eventually clicked on a playlist called 'A Brutal Rip in Reality' and alternative music started playing. It was literal music to my ears.

"I'll quickly heal you, and then I'll leave you to enjoy your music." The angel said, but I barely heard him due to the music. 'Is good, thanks Cas.' He pressed two times on the volume button to turn the music louder, completely blocking out all the sound around me, before standing up ready to start healing me. Joke's On You by Charlotte Lawrence was playing as the room lit up, that warm feeling flowing through me of Cas's grace healing the cells within my body. The music was the best thing that had happened to me in weeks, and when I was completely lost in it, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to enjoy it even more.

I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath?

--

- 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗: 𝙼𝚘𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍 -

My heart was beating and I was breathing. I had the smallest control over my facial muscles and I wanted to scream of happiness, but couldn't. The angel that stood next to me equally surprised at the sight of me showing signs of life. My eyes flew back open, immediately meeting the blue ones of Cas.

'You see this?' I asked overwhelmed, he nodded after having lost his words himself. His hard work finally started to show results and judging by his response, it looked like he might've lost hope. He had lost faith in himself for not being able to kick some life back into me. But he did manage, there I laid, breathing. "Are you able to speak?" He asked, and I had to give it a try. A hoarse noise left my throat as a heavy, forced breath.

'Doesn't look like it.'  I informed him, kind of disappointed, but I guess I should be happy with small steps. Without saying another word, the angel left the room leaving me alone for a couple of minutes to return with the brothers by his side.

Turned out I was still trapped in my own body.  However, it still worked after weeks of being deceased, so did my brain, it was like the two just lost the connection. The one not longer linked with the other.

"Strange..." Castiel said who stood at the foot end of my bed, next to him the oldest Winchester, both their eyes focused on me. "As far as I can tell, there's not too much brain damage to detect." He continued.

"But, half her brain was literally splattered all over the floor?" Asked Dean. In the few weeks I've known him, I had learned to appreciate his brutal honesty.

"So how can there not be too much damage? I know you've been healing her Cas, but you said it yourself, you can't create new brain parts that would replace the missing?" Questioned Sam who was sitting next to me on the bed.

'Magic.' I thought. "Magic." Castiel translated aloud, a small chuckle to be found in his voice. "Very funny, Lilly." Sighed the youngest brother while he was busy trying to feed me by a feeding tube he would lower into my throat because I was unable to swallow for myself. Ironic, isn't it? I didn't need the other half of my brain to live, but apparently, I still had to eat. Everything was so damn -- illogical

"If you're looking for logic, you ended up in the wrong universe." Answered Cas to me. My thoughts weren't my own anymore.

"My apologies." I didn't blame the angel for constantly lurking around in my thoughts, it's because of him that I'm still here, and alive.

I gagged because Sam removed the feeding tube incorrectly. "I'm sorry --" He apologized every time it happened, but it also happened every time Sam fed me because I have a weirdly sensitive gag reflex.

"It's okay, she just has a sensitive gag reflex." Castiel informed the others, oversharing my thoughts again. It was as if the angel didn't understand that humans don't like to just mindlessly share everything, with everyone. He didn't fully understand sarcasm or other non-straight to the point things. My eyes drifted towards Cas as I saw him tilt his head lightly to the left. My mind confused him, which was pretty entertaining to watch. I wondered if he would ever leave my thoughts alone to be my own again.

"Just so you know, I don't tend to read people's minds if not necessary. I am aware that doing so is rude." Did I just hurt his feelings? "He learned that the hard way." Dean added with a laugh. Looks like my mind wasn't the only one he used to snoop around in. "I don't see what is overshared about telling the brothers that you have a sensitive gag reflex?" He confusedly looked around the room, meeting everyone's eyes, looking for an answer. I know he's an angel and all, but he was too damn innocent. Dean wore a small smirk while patting Cas on the shoulder. "I don't know about you guys, but I could use some coffee." He continued, before turning his back to us, ready to leave the room. My eyes slowly made their way over to Sam who was still sitting on my bed, wondering if he was going to accept Dean's offer. He shook his head. "Yeah -- I think I prefer sleep, it's like one AM dude."

"Perfect time to do some more research." The oldest brother left the room as Sam started to clean the mess he made while feeding me. They attempted to find out what I was by looking through old smelly books, but me not being from this world made that task a lot more complicated. So far I still didn't show any reasons to not be human, apart from maybe surviving a bullet to the head, but if angels exist, so do miracles. And of course being able to sense out other dimensions, and maybe still being alive while my heart clearly stopped beating... Yeah, I wasn't human.

"Hey, Lilly?" Sam's voice pulled me out of my train of thoughts and I managed to make eye contact with the youngest brother, making him smile a bit. "I never noticed your tattoo before." He briefly rubbed over the moon tattoo I had on my left wrist with his right index finger. It was a simple line tattoo of the three phases of the moon.

"It is a tattoo of the three phases of the moon." The angel that was still present in the room helped me out a bit, making Sam's attempt at a conversation go smoother. "Yeah -- I can see that, does it have a meaning?"

'I'm a moonchild... so I thought, the moon. Honestly, I was drunk off my ass when I got that tattooed.'  

Castiel cleared his throat after having heard my response, I might have surprised him by saying I was drunk off my ass, but I'd like to think that I made him laugh. "Uh -- She said that she is a moonchild." Explained Cas to Sam, and not more, before the Winchester could ask what that meant I made Castiel's attention go back to me.

'Hey, I made a joke, well.. it wasn't a joke, I was actually hammered, but make me sound funny for once, Cas.'  

He briefly bit his bottom lip before speaking. "She also said, and I quote; 'Honestly, I was drunk off my ass when I got that tattooed.'" Sam laughed, victory, but on the other hand, Cas looked at me, disapproving. I managed to make a small smile appear on my face for just a moment, causing his harsh look to soften a bit.

"A moonchild? What does that mean?" Sam asked after having cleared his throat to get over his laughter. Before I could describe it to Castiel, he was already explaining it.

"A moonchild is someone born under the Cancer zodiac sign. They're known for being unique and curious souls. They tend to daze off quite easily, preferring to spend time in their fantasy world instead of having to live in this harsh reality. You could refer to them as being dreamers." To my surprise, the angel knew exactly what it was.

"When were you born?" Sam continued to ask, after having listened carefully to all the words Castiel had said. 'June twenty-first of nineteen eighty-five.'

"Ah, so you're twenty-five. Honestly thought you were a bit older." Sam smiled causing his cute ass dimples in his cheeks to appear, creating the urge in me to punch him in the face.

'I'll take that as a compliment I suppose.'

"She'll take that as a compliment. Yet she feels like punching you in the face?" The angel sounded confused but lucky for me, Dean entered the room again, in his hands his computer and a mug filled to the brim with coffee. "I had the best idea while I was making coffee." He said, a smile on his face. "Everyone likes movies, right? So, Lilly, I thought, you're probably bored out of your mind. Mind watching a movie with me?" It was impossible to resist his offer, yet I had to play hard to get. 'Depends on what movie you wanna watch.' Cas spoke my words aloud. "How about you choose, princess? Just one rule, no Frozen, anything but Frozen." Good to know that we're on the same wavelength.

That same night Dean sat next to me on the bed as we watched Life of Pi, which funny enough, he actually thought it was about pie, as in the dessert. We didn't talk throughout the entire movie, but he didn't seem to mind the awkward silence. Cas had left us once we started watching, to do what Dean was originally planning on doing, trying to find out what I am. Trying to find something that would get me on my feet again.

When the movie was over and the Winchester closed the laptop, he looked at me.

"Lilly." His eyes scanned my face, looking for the smallest response. He was acting strange and I didn't know what to expect. "I want you to know that you're going to be fine again. I don't know when, but you'll make it. We'll put you back together." That was the first time the Winchester and I had a private one-sided conversation without the angel reading my mind, or that of the apple-green eyed man sitting in front of me. He gave me a small smile before standing up and leaving the room to close the door behind him.  

That night I managed to fall asleep after having listed to my own heartbeat, after having watched my rib cage expand as I inhaled the musky air that filled the bunker for hours. They felt the urge to take care of me as if I was one of their cases. They had to fix me, they felt responsible although I was the one that had managed to screw up my own life. They were going to put me back together, he said. That could only mean one thing, he knew I was broken.

--

- 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝: 𝙻𝚞𝚗𝚊𝚛 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝 -

Groaning, I slowly started to wake up from a long deep sleep. My body hurt, my head was pounding, the muscles in my neck tense and soar. I was freezing cold and when a chilled gust of wind blew over me, I knew something was wrong.

I opened my eyes, staring straight up at the billions of stars that decorated the night sky. I was no longer in the bunker, instead, I laid in the middle of a hard asphalt road in a town I wasn't familiar with. The adrenaline that kicked in made me jump up, quickly looking around me to see if I was safe, like a prey animal in danger. I found myself standing in a long street, bright colored lights lit up the area like neon signs. The street, however, was empty, no people were walking on the sidewalk, no cars were driving on the road. I watched as a big traffic light switched to red in the distance.

It was quiet, really quiet. Almost too quiet to be a big town like this. Shaking my head briefly, I decided to do what was smartest, and that was to get off that road. As I started walking towards the sidewalk, my eyes looked at my legs. I didn't realize until now. I could move? I could walk? My feet stopped moving immediately after I realized, right next to one of the parked cars that stood on the road.

"Wait... What?" I whispered confused while looking at my own two hands, moving my fingers slowly, wearing a small smile on my face. My fingers brushed over my lips after having heard my own voice for the first time in weeks. I quickly moved to look at myself in the window of the parked car. I saw a reflection staring back at me that I barely recognized. After having lost so much weight I barely looked like myself. I softly squeezed in the little meat that still covered my cheekbones before laying a single finger on the car's window to make sure it was really me. Our fingers touched as conformation.

A scream coming from the distance caught my attention, that was the first sound I've heard since I woke up apart from my own whispering, and my feet started mindlessly running. Not knowing what I would encounter, my mind questioned why my first reaction was to go after it.

A single scream made it almost impossible for me to know where it exactly came from, and I came to a stop in the middle of a big intersection. Looking around in circles as I tried to find the source of the noise, who exactly needed help. Scanning the surroundings made me question where I was even more. I had never seen a town quite like this before. Streetlamps gave off a bright magenta color, while storefronts were lit with blue neon lamps. Brands and names flashing in different colors that were being reflected on the wet asphalt road.

I turned around once more, looking into the street on my right side, my breathing heavy and loud when I saw it. About six hundred feet away from me stood a person in the middle of the road. We had direct eye contact as I looked into the bright blue eyes that were focused on me. Billions of questions started rolling through my mind as I looked at the vague person standing in the distance. Was that the individual that had screamed? Maybe that being was the cause of someone else's screaming.

It disappeared, running behind the cars, in between some houses. And just like that my body started moving again. Running as fast as I could I tried to make my way over there. So fast that my feet had trouble following. The cold wind blowing through my hair as I went faster and faster. Eventually closing my eyes as I ran at my top speed. My soul got pulled back home, to the fields where I had ran through so many times. Tears started flowing down my cheeks as images of Thomas started to fill my mind again.

Out of breath and almost tripping as I came to a stop, I now stood where that person was standing not too long ago.

"Hello?" I screamed, looking into the alleyway the person had disappeared in just seconds ago. To my surprise, the alley was empty, apart from lightbulbs laying on the stairs that would connect this road with the one above. I took a deep shaky breath before I started walking again. I knew I was making the one big mistake every character makes in a horror movie, to afterward die in the most horrible way, but there was no stopping my feet. Something in me said to follow those lightbulbs that laid one by one, on every step of the stairs. Even though they weren't attached to an electricity source, they were lit up with cold blue-white light. With my eyes on the small lights at my feet, I made my way up the staircase.

There was something truly odd about this place, and when I finally arrived at the other side of the alleyway, I was once again greeted by the person I was seeking after. It was now clear to me that it was a man judging by his build, but his face was still not visible due to him standing inside the door opening of a house, on the other side of the road.

"Hello?" I once again asked for a reply but he didn't give it to me, instead, he smiled, his blue eyes glowing almost as bright as the storefronts. I swallowed slowly at his weird behavior, before he disappeared again, walking into the house and leaving me standing at the other side, clueless. "Do you want me to follow you? Do you need help?" I asked but obviously didn't get a response. After shaking that weird feeling he gave me, I walked towards the house, my hands as fists hung next to my thighs as I put my first step inside of the building. My eyes drifted to the floor, which there wasn't one. I was looking down another staircase, this one made out of white tiles, surrounded by walls made out of the same tilework as the floor. It looked like an entrance to an underground tram line. Bright green light bounced off the shiny tiles and once again, my body started to move. With quick tiny steps, I ran down the stairs, my hand lightly brushing over the cold metal handrail that was attached to the wall.

Once I made it down I was greeted by a long tunnel made out of the same tiles, lit up by the same vibrant green lights. I ran through it as quickly as possible and came to a stop at the empty platform. Soft music was playing through old static speakers, and again my eyes went looking for my next clue. It didn't take me long to find where he was standing this time. At the platform on the other side, at the foot end of yet another staircase. I lowered my eyes, staring at two tram tracks that blocked me from getting to the other side. I was chasing someone I didn't know in a place I was lost in, but I wasn't suicidal.

"How do I get to your side?" I yelled, looking up at him, still unable to make something of his facial features. My heart stopped beating when his voice filled my ears.

"It's just some rails, Lilly. Do something risky for once."

It was Thomas's voice, and it made me feel sick. Gasping for air I stared at him while I bit on my teeth as I did my best to not pass out. My body came in action again, slowly moving towards him while I dragged my feet over the white tiles. The entire time my feet were the ones I was chasing, but now my feet had to listen to my heart.

I jumped off the platform onto the rails, briefly looking to either side before carefully crossing both tracks, to crawl back up the other platform. My eyes shot up, ready to meet Thomas, but he was gone, and not a second later I was sprinting up those stairs. Looking up, expecting to see the exit, I saw nothing, nothing but darkness. The green lights slowly started to disappear the higher I climbed until I was running up the stairs in pure blackness. Right when I thought these stairs would never end, my lungs filled themselves with fresh air as I was greeted by the stars again. To my surprise, I came above ground not in the town, but in a forest. I made a quick hundred and eighty degrees turn to look for the town that should lay behind me, but no, there was nothing else to see but trees.

I once again made a classic horror movie mistake by yelling, hoping for that person to reply. There were no longer any weird lights to be seen. It was dark and the moist forest air gave me goosebumps. That and the fact that I was standing alone in the middle of a forest at night. I tried listening to my feet to see if they still knew where they wanted to go, but they didn't, they were listening to my heart that had also lost its way. Slowly my eyes drifted from the staircase that was surrounded by bushes and leaves, to the big empty in front of me. I almost missed those ridiculously vibrant bright lights looking at the few trees I could see. The rest of the forest was being gulped up by a dark fog that slowly crept over.

With all of my courage gathered together, I dared venture in the unknown. I didn't know what I was seeking after, apart from the man I had been chasing, that now had completely disappeared. Small branches gave away under the weight of my feet as I walked further away from the stairs that had let me here. However, I made sure I walked in a straight line, in case I had to get out of here again, it was as simple as turning around and walking back.  

Being alone in the forest with nothing to see or hear but the animals in hiding, my train of thoughts started rolling again. I was sure it was Thoms's voice that I had heard, but he didn't look like Thomas as far as I could tell. I still didn't see his face fully, but their builds didn't match. I was chasing something I didn't know, I had no clue of its intentions, I was unsure of my own. But what I did know was that I wanted to try to find out what it was I was seeking after, and if I didn't try, I would never know. I wanted to walk among the thing that sparked my curiosity.

I loved nature, walks in the forest. The silent whispers of the wise old trees healed my soul as I cleansed my mind. Nature is pure, yet bares millions of dark deep secrets that would only see sunlight again the day it decides to show itself.

I had been walking for what felt like hours, while small silent whispers rolled over my tongue, humming a song that was able to soothe me in the most terrifying moments. I was whispering the words of a song called 'Little Boy in the Grass by Aurora' and it was one of my favorites. It kept my mind of the eyes that were lurking from the shadows, the creatures that followed me into the night. They weren't really there, at least that's what I hoped. Darkness makes you hallucinate the scariest images.

My mind was drowning in questions I asked myself, but was unable to answer. How did I get here? Why do I continue walking? Why is it that I'm able to walk? With my hands hidden in the sleeves of my oversized hoody, my feet kept going at a steady pace, my eyes fixed on the darkness in front of me. I was brave and for once, I had my own back.

By now I had hoped that the sun would've come up, but it didn't. The darkness was still here and it was here to stay. I had accepted that I would never be able to find that damned staircase again, and I honestly didn't know if I even wanted to attempt to find it. I had made my peace with being in the forest, that was poorly lit by the many stars above, by the moon I was walking under as it smiled at me. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice at first, but then, out the thick darkness appeared a man. On his face a frightened expression. We made eye contact as my feet stopped moving and my heart stopped beating.

"Hello?" He spoke, unsure if I was real. "Yes?" I replied, worried, he didn't look good. "Are you also lost?" He asked, attempting to get closer to me but I kept my distance. "I don't know." I replied, I was unsure if I was lost or not. I didn't know where I was, but I didn't know where I wanted to go either. "What's your name?" I asked while kind of covering my body behind one of the many trees as a barrier between myself and the young man that was still coming closer. "I don't know." He replied. "What's yours?"

"Lilly. Are you okay?"

"Are you?" He asked, causing me to become speechless. "You're not okay." He took the words right out of my mouth. "He has been following you, in case you're wondering. You're his favorite now." My eyes instantly jumped behind me, looking for the thing that had been following me, just to find nothing, nothing but an empty forest. "Who has been following me?" I asked without laying my eyes on the young man. I was too terrified of the darkness behind me to turn my back on it again. "Him. But he doesn't like us talking. He doesn't like me anyway."

"Who is he?" I asked upset while turning around, I yelped when I saw the young man standing next to me, his eyes lifeless as he wore a small forced smile. "You've seen him, you know who he is, he managed to lure you into the forest."

"I didn't see his face, I don't know who he is?" I asked while slowly walking backward, trying to create distance between us.

"Of course you didn't see his face, he doesn't have one." The boy replied with a monotone voice, before his eyes jumped to something. I followed his gaze but saw nothing, nothing but black.

"He doesn't like us talking." He repeated himself. "Why not? Why doesn't he like us talking?" I asked out of breath, trying to find answers. "Because you're his favorite and I'm not. He doesn't want me talking to you..."  He sounded scared, but more so heartbroken. "Are you looking at him right now?" I asked while my eyes were still trying to figure out what he was looking at. "No, but he's looking at us." My entire body started to tingle at the thought of something lurking out of the shadows, and the way the boy was describing it. It was something big and bad.

"Maybe if..." He spoke softly as his gaze drifted from the darkness to me. "Maybe that way I could become his favorite again..." His thoughts were bleeding over into reality as he once again started to walk in my direction, his eyes fixated on me. My heart started to beat faster, his mind was in a million places while he tried to figure out his own thoughts. "I'll become his favorite again, if you're dead." He pulled a small knife out of his jeans pocket, pointing it at me, ready to start cutting and slicing. "If I kill you, he'll have to love me!" He screamed, lashing out. The sharp iron barely missed my skin as I jumped back, just cutting through the fabric of my hoody.

"Whoa -- wait! I don't wanna be his favorite!" I yelled in defense, walking backward as fast as I could. He had gone mad and tried to do everything in his power to cut through my flesh, waving wildly in the air with the knife as tears started to flow down his cheeks. "You don't have to kill me, I'll leave and never come back, I promise! I don't wanna be his favorite!" I continued to yell excuses, trying to make him stop, but it was useless. I tripped, landing with my back against a tree, he came closer, his eyes drowning in salty water that turned the whites of his eyes red. The knife pointed at me, shimmering in the moonlight. I tried to prepare myself to be stapped over and over again until I didn't breathe any longer. My hands digging in the moist forest ground as I bit on my teeth, my eyes closed. I was ready, ready to die.

"No!" He screamed, my eyes flew back open to see him standing in front of me, but his attention was focused on something else. "No, please!" He begged, walking backward. He was terrified, his knife fell from between his fingers as he made a run for it. As fast as he could he tried to get away from whatever was chasing him, and by the looks of it, it was pissed. "Please, stop!" His voice was to be heard from a distance, struggling. I tried to not pay attention to it as I crawled over to the knife that he had left behind. I was no longer safe, I had to be able to defend myself. When the sharp object was safely hidden I stood up, wondering where that boy ran off to, I made a quick three hundred-and-sixty-degree rotation to see if I could find him, and I did. In the distance a bright green light started to shine, revealing the young man that was looking around him like a deer in headlights.

"Please!" He begged before his feet left the ground, gasping for air he grabbed his throat tightly. Choking as he started to levitate higher in the sky, the surrounding debris of the forest following in his footsteps. Everything hovered around him while he was struggling for air, fighting to stay alive, trying to defeat whatever energy it was that was attacking him. Speechless I stood and watched what was happening in front of my eyes, having trouble with breathing myself.

Everything fell to the ground, the light went out like a broken lightbulb, and that was when I realized that I now was the one being chased, no longer the other way around. I didn't hesitate and once more, I ran, I ran as fast as I could, dodging the trees, jumping over sticks and fallen over trees. I was running from something big and powerful, but most terrifying, something I was unable to see.

The fear I went through that night at the auction house was something that would stick with me forever, and after that happened I thought I had grown stronger, tougher. But I hadn't, I was afraid and when panic takes over, you lose control over your body. You're capable of doing this you ever thought you would be, in my case; running for hours without looking back. My feet were bleeding, my lips cracked due to the cold air, and when I finally left the forest, I practically fell onto the street in the city I woke up in hours ago. Tripping over my own feet, gasping for air as sweat dripped down my face I ran towards the first house I came across, fists banging on the door.

"Hello!" I cried out hopelessly. "I need help, please!" My eyes shifted fast back and forth between the door and the forest that laid behind me. No one opened the door, so I moved onto the next. Again, no response. I decided to take even bigger measures, I ran around the corner into another street, standing in the middle of the road, screaming for help. And that's when I realized I had come full circle. I stood eye in eye with someone down the street, electric blue eyes just, staring at me. Turns out I wasn't done running yet.

I barged into an apartment building after having kicked in the door, running up the stairs as fast as I could, because I was certain that, that individual that I locked eyes with, was coming for me. I climbed level after level until I reached the last, running down the hall past the many empty apartments. I had cornered myself, hopelessly looking through the window at the end of the hall before turning around, to see that person turn the corner, walking towards me.

"Hello?" A familiar voice bounced off the walls, and without thinking twice I turned my back, opening the window before I jumped. My body hit something as hard as concrete, but when water started to fill my lungs and I gasped for air I knew I didn't fall onto a street. I had fallen in a big body of water. Trying to swim back up, seeking oxygen I finally started to lose my mind.

"What's going on?!" I screamed as soon as my head came above water. Now soaked and even more so freezing cold than before I made it back onto land. Once again I stood in the middle of the forest, billions of stars above my head. I yelled as loud as I could out of pure frustration, before punching into the bark of one of the many trees, making my knuckles bleed. After having physically worked out my anger I allowed myself to sit down and rest. I was sick of it, sick of running, sick of trying to hide for something I didn't know. I was so sick of being scared.

Taking a deep breath as I tried to clear my head and calm down, I remembered something. The supernatural being that saved my life, the one that can read my mind and hear my prayers. Just like that my eyes flew back open, staring at the night sky above me.

"I'm probably talking to myself here, but Castiel? Can you hear me?" My voice sounded calm and collected. I waited a couple of minutes for him to reply or for him to pop up and scare me like always, but he didn't. I was truly alone, or at least that's what I thought.

"Lilly, c'mon..." Thomas's voice filled my ears again, terrified I looked up to where the noise came from. The man I've had been chasing stood in front of me, but not close, on the lake I had fallen into. On top of the water. "Thom?" I asked genlty and carefully.

"Come here." He spoke, and my heart started to beat faster again. Slowly I stood up without taking my eyes off him, trying to figure out if it was really him. I lowered my eyes to see how his feet touched the water, a bright blue light circle underneath him that created tiny waves. "You're standing on water?" I asked confused as the tips of my feet stopped in front of the liquid.

"Lilly-Mae, come here."

"But, I can't?"

"Yes, you can." I took a deep breath and ventured out into the water, but to my surprise, the liquid was solid underneath my foot. The same bright blue light circle was created when I took my first step. Carefully, I took another step as I watched how another wave effect of light was created. I just accepted that I could walk on water and focused on the man in front of me again, walking towards him. The closer I got to him, the clearer he became.

The silhouette of his body already gave allot away, most importantly, he wasn't human. Big antlers stood on his head as his arms were long and strong. Only a couple of feet was left between us when his face was visible. The boy had warned me, he didn't have a face, at least not that I could see. An animal skull within the eye sockets nothing but darkness was looking at me.

"Are you scared?" He asked, for the first time using his real voice. A chill crawled its way up my spine at the deep vibration of his voice. "Should I be?" I asked, trying to sound brave and confident. He shook his head, causing the vegetation that crawled up his body into his antlers to sway back and forth. When I stood in front of him, my eyes looked up from the bright blue light coming from underneath our feet, to at his face. "Who are you?" I asked, trying to get some more information out of him. "I go by many names." He replied. "Are you God?" He laughed in a deep tone. "Depends on how you look at it."

"Where are we?" I asked looking at the stars that reflected in his black eyes. "Lunar Forest."

"Is this real?"

"Do you want it to be real?" He asked, grinning.  I could walk again, I wasn't a dead corpse laying in a strangers bed, but I don't know if I wanted to live in a place like this. Think I'd rather be dead in a somewhat more normal place.

"You know where this is heading, right Lilly?" I shook my head at his question, finally realizing how weird he was, wondering why I wasn't afraid of him. "How do you know my name?" I asked, trying to avoid eye contact. "Because I know you, now stop distracting me, and say you surrender yourself to me." He said demanding. I gasped at his tone, not sure what he meant. "Lilly, I brought you all this way, I protected you from James, I killed him, for you. Do not let me down." He growled as he came closer to me, forcing me into looking at his eyes. "What do you mean that I have to surrender to you?" I asked, trying to create more distance from him. "Say you will be mine, that you will stay with me, forever." He tilted his shoulders back, becoming even bigger and broader than he already was.

"I don't know you? You brought me into a weird-ass world, I've been terrified for days? Why would I want to stay here, with you out of all beings?" The words spilled over my lips as if they were poisonous, they enraged him. His build became even larger the more he stretched out, towering over me as he looked down onto me.

"Have it your way." He spat out, before disappearing into thin air. The water I was standing on had changed out for a black floor with only a thin layer of the water left, still those lively blue light circles to be seen under my feet. The trees and nature around me started to fall apart like a house of cards. And when it was just me, the water under my feet and the night sky filled with clouds, I lost it.

"No!" I screamed hopelessly as I looked around me, to find nothing else but endless darkness. "Come back!" I was standing in my biggest fear. Being trapped, alone. "Please!" I shrieked, fallen to the ground on my knees, a big circle of blue light as a result. The clouds over my head started to become thicker, darker, sparks of green light crawling through them like veins. Stinging rain started to fall down, burning my skin on contact. There was a thunderstorm forming in the sky, and I didn't stop calling out to him.

"Don't leave me alone!"

Thunder rumbling sounded, in the distance the static sound of lightning strikes that were coming closer and closer. Vague words were to be heard, they were being repeated over and over again, but I couldn't make anything off it.

"Mahday, eelohtah sahn. Serloh, eelohtah."

"I surrender, please! Come back!" A single green vibrant lightning strike struck down not too far in front of me, making me blind, causing my ears to bleed and ring.

"I surrender!" I cried out, looking up at the sky, my hands reaching out for it. Right before my body came in contact with one of the lightning bolts, flashes of green flowing through my veins were the last thing I saw, immense pain flowing along side it. I thought I was going to pass out, but --

I gasped for air, jumping up, looking straight into a pair of worried blue eyes. Quickly looking around to see where I was located at now, I found myself in the bunker, next to me on the bed sat Castiel, his hands covered in something dirty. At the desk in my room stood the two brothers, in Dean's hands a bowl containing bright green flames, next to him Sam who was holding an empty glass bottle.

"Lilly-Mae, calm down, you're okay, it was just a dream." Castiel spoke, and not much after I passed out.

--

- 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚎: 𝙼𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗' 𝚜𝚞𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎 -

A lock that opened, followed by the noise of a creaking door woke me from my sleep. I was in pain, but felt free. I stretched, cracking all the joints in my body and it was the best feeling I had felt in weeks. After debating it for a while, I decided to open my eyes and wake up fully from my long and peaceful sleep. Yawning, I looked in front of me and was greeted by Dean.

"Mornin' sunshine." He spoke while wearing a small smile on his face. "Didn't mean to wake you, just came to check up on you." My eyes scanned the room, looking for the angel so I could reply, but before I knew it my own thoughts spilled over into words.

"It's okay." I spoke softly, my own voice caught me off guard, scaring me. Both Dean and I were quiet for a while after that, processing the fact that I just said two words. "Holy crap..." I whispered, looking at my own body, at my toes that were wiggling from underneath the blanket, at my hands I was able to open and close. "Welcome back." The Winchester said while he took a seat next to me on the bed. "You fixed me?" I asked, slightly tripping over my own words as I went along. Feeling my tongue move again was odd, then again I've always found tongues to be weird. "We, fixed you." He corrected me, sounding rather proud. "How? What happened?"

"How about we talk about that in the library with the others?" I nodded, it was about time that I left this room. Don't get me wrong, I was happy that I was granted this room, but I was so sick of it. "Yes." I replied impatiently, while I threw the blankets off of me. "You want me to carry you over?" Dean asked as I struggled to hang my legs over the side of the bed, but I shook my head. "Just support me a bit." Dean did as I asked, he hooked his arm under my arms, around my back while I threw my right arm around his neck. "Ready?" I nodded, and we slowly stood up together. My legs shaking, even though Dean was carrying a lot of my weight as he was tilted sideways to support me, because of our height difference.

I put one foot in front of the other, slowly I was walking with Dean alongside me, to the door of my bedroom, ready to leave it. My heart was beating with excitement, my body slightly tingling because of the little stress I was feeling. I tried my best to hide the fact that this moment made me emotional. After weeks of dark thoughts, wishes about just wanting to die, and for this to be over. I was doing it, although the shaking of my legs was driving me insane. We were walking in the hallway, passing Dean's room where I briefly laid my eyes on. It was a mess, but I didn't expect differently.

When my left knee gave away under too much weight that I forced upon it, I snapped. "I already was a weak bitch, but now I'm like a freaking spaghetti noodle." I grumbled, making Dean laugh who was able to catch me right before I would've slipped away. "You'll get your little strength back in no time." He added jokingly, causing my angry eyes to meet his. "I wasn't that weak..." I mumbled, acting as if I was hurt by his comment, and we started to walk again. I couldn't believe I already went through these halls before, they felt so unfamiliar. I suppose I was half out due to the shock and bloodloss while Cas carried me down these halls to get me to my bedroom. Part of me wondered what this place was. I knew it was some type of headquarters of a cult of some sort, but the boys didn't explain it fully. Dean who spoke pulled me out of my thoughts. "You know I don't tend to be the soft type, but you've no clue how happy I am to finally hear your voice." He awkwardly staired in front of him as he tried not to make eye contact, in such a touchy-feely moment. "That makes the two of us." I replied, right before we stopped at some steps, in front of us a big room. My voice that bounced off the walls, echoing through the building caught Sam's and Castiel's attention.

"Lilly?" Sam sounded before he ran into the room, in the middle stood a table, at the side a staircase that led upstairs. With a bit of help from Dean, I was able to walk those few steps before meeting the youngest brother. I smiled, I didn't know what else to do, and when the angel entered the room, a relieved expression on his face, my gaze drifted off towards him.

"Would you look at her, eh? Walking and talking." Dean said with a big proud smile painted on his face. "Yeah, kinda." I replied, referring to that the apple-green eyed man was carrying eighty percent of my weight. My voice that filled the room again made everyone go quiet for a second.

"What? My voice isn't what you imagined it to be?" I asked with a laugh, I didn't really expect anyone to answer that question, but the innocent angel did. "Not quite, you sound very different in your thoughts." I didn't even know that was possible. When my legs gave away again and Dean was fast enough to catch me, everyone came in action to get me a chair. Dean carried me bridal style to a chair that Castiel had pulled back for me. Sitting at the table that stood in the middle of the room, on top a world map that was lit up from underneath, the others joined me.

My finger traced the lines on the map as I waited for someone to say something. I understood that it was a strange sight for them to see me sitting up, not looking dead. "Lilly-Mae?" Castiel asked, and my eyes met his. "Are you okay?" He asked, and I nodded. "Yeah, think so... my tongue feels weird though." I said, before sticking it out, trying to look at it, awkwardly moving it around as I tried to get used to the feeling. Sam who was sitting across from me looked at me with a smile. My bare toes were tiptoeing on the cold tiles while my finger went back to tracing the map. I allowed the boys to get used to the sight of me, while I tried to get used to being able to move and feel again. "Lilly asked me how we pulled it off." Dean broke the silence, reminding me of the question I had asked him before.

"We found a spell that should heal a vessel, technically a body is a vessel, so we decided to give it a try." Answered Sam. "What's a vessel?" I asked curiously. "A human body possessed by an angel or a demon." Castiel informed me, and I locked eyes again with him. "So that means that —?" I asked, pointing up and down his body. "Yes, this isn't my true form. This body belonged to Jimmy Novak, a good faithful man."

"Belonged?"

"He sadly passed away." Cas had been Cas for me for weeks now, but now knowing his body isn't his, it made me feel rather uneasy. "So, you could possess my body?" I asked, but he shook his head. "Not just like that, you would have to give me permission first. Demons, on the other hand, can take what they want." Ugh, demons, nasty ass beings. I had so many questions about the supernatural, but Sam asked me something first. "Lilly, do you remember what happened four days ago?" I shook my head slightly, seeking eye contact from Castiel again that would calm me down. "Four days?" I asked. "Yeah, you were out for four days kiddo." Dean replied. I had slept for four entire days? I suppose my body had to recover from the spell they performed on me. Vague flashbacks of green flames and Castiel's hands covered in something dirty filled my head.

"So, that spell is why I'm back alive?" Castiel nodded. They did it. When they dragged me out of that auction house that one day, I expected to die laying in the car, but didn't. Day by day I thought, this is going to be my last one. But they actually did it. They put me back together. "Thank you..." I spoke softly, hoping not to choke on the emotions that were trying to flow out. "It's the least we could do." Sam said with a small smile. I didn't know what he meant. They didn't know me, didn't owe me anything. Why did they go through so much trouble to fix me? I had hoped that Cas would give me an answer, but he didn't. Was he still listening to my thoughts? Was my mind my own again? I looked at him, expecting him to tilt his head as my thoughts confused him, but he didn't. I felt -- lonely. I had gotten used to that angel on my shoulder, helping me out with the smallest struggle going through my mind. I rubbed my forehead at the too many things that were going through me.

"Are you okay?" Cas asked who saw me struggle. "Yea, it's just a bit much..." I sighed. All my senses were being stimulated again, and it was overwhelming. I once was in love with being able to feel, all the textures, temperatures, but it now was making me feel so damn uneasy. I expected every feeling going through my nerves to turn out to be painful.

"You wanna go rest some more sweetheart?" Dean asked, also sounding rather worried, but I shook my head. I had slept for way too long, I wanted to explore my temporary home, I wanted to live.

"Then what do you wanna do? It's about 7 PM right now, Dean and I were planning on heading out to go grab some dinner." My stomach was already growling at the idea of solid food, and I wanted to ask if I could join, but once again was Dean faster than I was. "You hungry?" He asked, looking up from having looked at my stomach, he must have heard it begging for food. "Yeah, I could use some food." I replied rather shy, not wanting to come across greedy. "What you feel like? We weren't sure what we wanted yet, but I was thinking like a cheeseburger." The oldest Winchester spoke who was sitting next to me, and my gaze shorty drifted off to Sam who shook his head. "Dean, I don't think it's a good idea to feed her anything that heavy, or unhealthy right now."

"Yeah, I haven't eaten anything but baby food for weeks, I don't think my stomach could handle -- Who am I kidding, of course, I want a freakin' cheeseburger?" I said with a smile, already drooling at the thought of melted cheese and pickles. "See?" Dean said, throwing his hands in the air to make his point come across even more. Sam rolled his eyes, letting a deep sigh of disappointment go. "We'll be back in no time, said Dean who impatiently stood up. They were going to bring take out, but I wanted to go with. I wanted to feel the fresh air brush over my skin, I wanted the smell of polluted air to fill my lungs.

"Can I tag along?" I asked, hoping I would get a positive response, but I received nothing but some looks. It was as if the boys were having a conversation in a wordless language I didn't understand. After they shared some looks, Dean nodded. "Sure kiddo, but um, maybe take a shower first?" Suddle as always, Dean.

I couldn't do anything but agree, I smelled like roadkill, I honestly was roadkill for weeks, laying in that bed for dead. Showering, however, wasn't going to be the easiest task considering I was unable to stand on my own.

"Kay, who's gonna shower with me?" I asked trying to hold back a smile as I scared the crap out of the boys. Silence followed my question, along with broken eye contact and uneasy movements. "I'm kidding guys, but, I do need some type of help cause my muscles are as strong of those of a newborn." They sighed with relief, immediately looking for a solution.

"We could put a chair under the shower?" Sam suggested, it was a smart idea and I agreed. Before I realized it, Dean was carrying me bridal style again to bring me to what I assumed was the bathroom. The angel tagged along, bringing a metal chair, rather than a wooden one so it wouldn't be damaged by the water. We didn't end up in the bathroom however, Dean took me to his room, to put me down on my bed. "Imma fetch you some fresh clothes." He explained with a smile, the angel awkwardly waiting outside with the chair in his arms.

"That's sweet of you, Dean. But I don't know if you've realized, I'm small as hell compared to you, I don't think your clothes will fit in the slightest?" He surprised me when he turned around, holding up his sweatpants, boxers, socks, and then a black tanktop that would never fit him. I gave him a confused look, wondering from where and how he got that.

"Don't question it." He said, handing me the clothes before picking me up again, ready to go to the bathroom this time. Him telling me not to question it, only made me question it even more, although I already had a pretty good idea of how he managed to collect a piece of female clothing. I chuckled a bit at the thought of that poor girl that had forgotten her shirt before she left. "What?" He asked, looking down at me.

"Just wondering how one manages to forget her shirt before leaving. I mean, don't get me wrong, I get it, sometimes you've to leave in a hurry, especially if there's a younger brother involved that could catch you, but your shirt? C'mon..." A cheeky smirk appeared on his lips, breaking the brief eye contact we had, as if he was thinking back to the memory.

"Well, she left with one of my shirts on, one of my favorites actually, it was pretty stupid." He admitted, the angel that was still walking behind us also following the conversation as we turned to enter the bathroom. It wasn't what I expected, the room looked like a shower room from a highschool. Stalls, on either side tiled walls, a thin curtain to give you some more privacy. Castiel put my chair down in the second stall right next to the entrance, and Dean put me down on it. Awkwardly I was looking at the two men who were looking at me proudly, as if they just did a good deed by putting me in a shower stall, on a cold, small, and uncomfortable chair. Dean put my clothes down on a sink on the other side of the room, ready to leave.

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked cluelessly. "Shower?" Dean replied, and I knew all too damn well that I had to shower, the question was --

"How?" I asked, wiggling my limbs around like overcooked noodles. "Yes Dean, I don't think it's responsible to leave her alone, she could slip and hurt herself." The angel spoke. "Well, good luck with that, bud." Dean said while padding Cas on the shoulder before leaving the room, leaving us both rather confused behind. Castiel's eyes followed Dean until he left the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Great, now my fate was left in the hands of a clueless angel.

"Um..." I spoke, staring at the ground, trying to find a way that this could work out without it becoming too damn awkward.

"Do you want me to shower with you?" He suddenly asked, making my eyes fly up at him.

"No! No..." I said, holding my hands up begging him to stop with whatever he was doing. I realized it came over rather rude as the angel tilted his head slightly to the left. "No, thanks, Cas. I think I'll manage. Maybe just help me a bit with closing the curtain and handing me the towel and my clothes as I go?" I suggested, and he nodded, coming closer to shut the thin curtain. I took a deep breath as I prepared myself to get undressed, hoping that that thin ass piece of fabric was thick enough not to reveal anything. Lucky for me, I was still wearing my pj's I was wearing the day it all happened, still on my bare feet. With a bit of effort, it was relatively easy to pull my shirt over my head, throwing it over the iron bar that held up the curtain. I could hear Castiel react to what I just did, picking up the item. "Do you want me to throw your old clothes away?" He asked, and I gladly gave him permission to get rid of those damned pieces of fabric.

Now, my pants. Struggling to lift up my own weight, hoping not to tilt over the chair, I wiggled them off. Not much later and after having caught my breath for a second, they also landed on the other side of the curtain. The same thing went for my underwear. I could hear Cas throw everything away as the sound of plastic wrinkling filled my ears. I never thought taking off clothing could be that exhausting. I stayed quiet, trying to get my heartbeat to slow down before I would turn on the shower. My silence concerned the angel.

"Lilly-Mae, everything okay?" He asked. "Yea, I'm fine... This just sucks ass." I sighed, biting my teeth while trying to press down my frustrations. After clearing my head I turned the knob, and as per usual when you shower in an unfamiliar shower, the water comes out ice cold. I yelped, trying as fast as I could to turn it the other way. "Fu--"

"Lilly?" Castiel asked worriedly. "It's cold! I'm fine, water is just cold!" I screamed while struggling to turn the wet knob in the right direction. When warm water finally flowed over my body, I relaxed, sitting back waiting for it to become hotter. With my eyes closed, I focused on every droplet rolling down my figure. They dragged so much of my fears, frustrations, and other emotions with them down the drain. It didn't take long for the room to fill itself with steam as the temperature of the water was almost too hot to bear.

The angel at the other side of the shower curtain had gone quiet, patiently waiting for me to finish enjoying the burning hot water that was washing all the dirt and worries away. My arms got tired quickly as I was washing my hair, massaging my own skull as I went. I didn't want this to end, ever. Having been dead for weeks made you appreciate a lot of things way more than before, this being one of them.

"I have showered once." Castiel's voice bounced off the walls, lightly startling me, I almost forgot he was standing in the same room as I was. "I found it to be rather odd, and overwhelming." He explained. "You've only washed yourself once? How long have you been possessing Jimmy?" I asked, finishing up my shower that already had taken so long the angel was losing his patience. "Two years." He replied. "Cas! You need to shower and take care of him? How on earth do you not smell like ass?" I asked. I thought I had offended him because he didn't immediately reply like usual. "I don't need showers, I can take care of my vessel by using my grace."

"Then why did you shower once?" I asked.

"Because I wanted to know what it felt like. I didn't like it."

"Why not? It's the best feeling in the world?"

"Exactly." He replied rather quiet as I turned the water off, waiting for Cas to throw a towel over the iron bar. "What do you mean?" I wondered. "I'm not allowed to feel." He replied as he poked the towel through the curtain with his arm, almost hitting me. It scared me, and I bit my lip trying not to yelp again, biting just a bit too hard. Blood taste filled my mouth as I licked at the wound. "You're not allowed to feel?" I asked slowly as I accepted the towel. "No." He replied simply, no other explanation attached. I decided to drop the conversation knowing it must be a weird angel thing, as I did my best to dry myself off. Not much after, the angel handed me Dean's dark red boxers along with a pair of black socks. They were obviously too big for me, but comfy so I couldn't complain. Putting the underwear on went relatively smooth, as if my little strength like Dean said, was slowly returning. The angel handed me the rest of the clothing without sharing another word. The silence made my mind drift off to the boy's reactions from earlier. They were genuinely happy to see me up and walking. My words made then speechless. It made me think about how Castiel mentioned that I sound different than in my thoughts.

"Hey, Cas?"

"Are you ready?" He asked, still patiently standing outside of the shower stall I was in. "Yeah, but I have got a question." He opened the curtain, smiling down at the sight of me, clean and with my long wet hair still awkwardly sitting on my metal chair. "What's your question?" I cleared my throat before talking. "What did you mean by that my thoughts sound different from my actual voice?" His eyes went to the ground, looking for a good way to reply. When he made up his mind, he made eye contact. "Your thoughts are delicate, compared to the words you speak."

"Delicate, as in weak?" I asked with a shaky voice, he broke eye contact, giving me a single nod as a response. I smiled the emotions away, asking him to bring me back to the Crow's Nest where the boys were waiting, but not by carrying me, by supporting me. I wanted to prove that I wasn't as weak as he thought. With only one arm hooked into his, my body filled with the power to prove myself, we walked back to the Crow's Nest.

"Much better, isn't it?" Dean asked with a smile as he saw me enter the room, alongside me the angel. "Yeah, just hope I never have to shower sitting on a chair ever again."

"Wait 'till you're eighty." Sam said with a laugh as he stood up, ready to leave to grab dinner. I rolled my eyes, leaning on the handrail of the stairs that led to the entrance to the bunker, letting go of Castiel's arm. Even though I had tied the strings of Dean's sweatpants as tight as I could, they were still attempting to fall off, as if they wanted me to flash everyone. The shirt he had given, however, did fit me, and I decided at that very moment that I had claimed that shirt to be my own.

"Ready for some cheesy goodness?" Dean asked smiling, sounding more excited than I was.

"Heck to the yes."

--

- 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚎𝚗: 𝚃𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚔𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚔𝚎 -

With some help from Sam, I managed to make it to the garage, where Dean's beloved car was parked alongside other old vehicles. I was sitting in the back, right behind the oldest brother, Castiel who wanted to tag along sitting next to me. I didn't remember a whole lot from that one night, but the specific scent of the Impala was something that I recalled vividly. The soft leather felt so much more comfortable than the first time I had touched it.

We were heading to Jiffy Burger, Dean's favorite in Lebanon. It wasn't that far of a drive, about ten minutes away from the bunker. I knew Castiel had realized that his words had caused pain, even if he didn't fully intend them to be hurtful. I could tell because he was quiet the entire ride long, staring out of the window as the brothers shared words.

"What do you guys want?" Dean asked as he parked the car, offering to go and get the food himself. I honestly didn't feel like going back to the bunker, back underground, boxed in between walls. I wanted to stare at the clouds just a little longer. "How about we go inside and eat there? No mess to clean up after, right?" I asked, hoping they would allow me to stay above ground. "You're not wearing shoes, Lilly?" Sam said, pointing over the front seat at the socks from Dean I was wearing. "And?" I asked, not bothered by the fact that I had to walk with them through the mud. "I've worn way weirder crap than this, besides, there are a lot of people that go barefoot through life. I've heard it's good for your back." I gave them a rather weird explanation, trying to convince them anyway. Dean shrugged, not really caring either, just wanting to eat already. "Okay fine, but if they think we've kidnapped you, you're gonna explain everything." Sam sighed before opening his door, ready to head into the diner. Dean followed in his footsteps, leaving the angel and me on the backseat.

The stubbornness was still flowing through me. Wanting to prove myself to him, I opened the door, ready to leave, but he stopped me. "Lilly." He sighed, holding me at my wrist, looking me straight in the eyes. "I know what you're doing." I awkwardly lowered my eyes, looking at how his hand wrapped itself with ease around my weak wrist.

"You only have to prove yourself to yourself, not to me, not to anyone else." He spoke, biting on his teeth at the end of his sentence. He studied my reaction, but there was not much to detect. He might not hack into my mind any longer, but he was still capable of reading me like a book.

"I didn't mean to hurt you by saying you sound weaker in your head than in real life. If you could hear my thoughts, or those of the brothers, you'd think we're pathetic." He let go, and I pulled my arm back slowly, my mind hazy at the words he had spoken.

How was I supposed to prove myself, to myself, when the opinion of others is all that matters to me? Castiel thought I sounded weak deep down, and it had burned me to the ground. Once I would prove myself to him, I could start believing it for myself.

"Yeah, you're right." I smiled, not looking him in the eyes. He probably knew how I really felt, but I didn't care. I was going to prove myself anyways. I opened the door, building up the courage and strength to leave the car when wing fluttering sounded. Cas stood next to me, opening the door for me fully. Damned angels and their ability to teleport around like that. "Let me help you." He said smiling, as he held his hand out towards me, asking me to accept it by laying mine in his. Biting on my teeth I did as he asked, slowly standing up, holding on to nothing else but him.

"Sam was right, you know? People are gonna find this suspicious. I'm not wearing shoes, I look like I've been starved for weeks and I walk like I got hit by a car."

"Well let those people think as they please, you know your truth." My truth wouldn't stop them from calling the cops behind our asses though. But I was starving, and I honestly was looking forward to a bit of action and an adventure.

With my arm hooked in that of the angel, we walked into the diner, the smell of delicious food filling my lungs. We joined the boys who were sitting in the left-back corner of the place, right next to a window. Castiel helped me take a seat next to Dean before he went to sit across from me next to Sam.

My eyes were glued to the sun on the other side of the glass, that was setting. I impatiently licked over the small wound on my lip that by now was swollen, as I waited for the stars in the sky to appear. The warm shades of orange took my attention off of everything else, conversations went blurry in the background as flashes of Thomas and me filled my head. The barn, the portal. The colors made me feel sick.

"Lilly--" Dean gave me a push that shook me awake from my thoughts. I cluelessly looked up at him, right in his worried green eyes. "What?" I asked softly. He nodded in a direction that I followed. A waiter stood next to me, his eyes scanning me up and down in a judgemental manner as he was clicking his pen impatiently. He was about my age, a tall skinny boy with dark blond hair, his gray eyes hidden behind glasses.

"Drinks?" He asked slowly, as if he had to explain it to a five-year-old. The rest of the table had already ordered, but when I was taking too long for his liking, he treated me like a toddler. I cleared my throat before speaking.

"Oh, yeah, a coffee, please."

"How would you like it?" He asked.

"Just like how I like myself, dark, bitter, and too hot for you." I smiled sarcastically, that'll teach him talking to me like that. My words made him shrink to the size of a pea. After that, he left our table without another word spoken.

My eyes turned to the boys sitting next to me, surprised looks on their faces. "What?" I asked rather annoyed. "Nothing, he deserved that." Dean said, giving me a soft pad on the shoulder. Trying to cool down a bit more, I put my focus on the menu he had laid before me on the table. I already had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to order, but decided to give it a look anyway. They had all sorts of burgers, basket dinners, sandwiches and a sea of sides to choose from. At the end I settled for a cheeseburger with some fries, and a strawberry milkshake.

"So," I spoke as I laid the menu back down. "what now?" I asked with a smile, wondering what we would discuss over the burgers and fries. "I'm awake, I can talk, so Castiel won't be able to censor my answers to his liking any longer." My eyes shifted from Sam to the angel, amused at the fact that he felt attacked by my words. I was sure the boys had questions, millions of them, and I was ready to take them on. "Why don't we turn the tables? I'm sure you're more confused than we are. We've dealt with weird situations in the past, but this must be something new for you." Sam spoke softly as his hazel eyes looked at me, curious about what I would throw at them. "I'd love to ask questions but I don't think we're in the right environment to discuss such things? Unless everyone here is aware that monsters are real?" Dean looked at me with his angry eyes, I was speaking too loud for his liking.

"No, most people are unaware of the supernatural," Castiel informed me. "and we should keep it that way to prevent chaos from happening."

"What do you think of it so far? Your experiences on earth two-point-o?" Dean asked who sat with his arms crossed, leaning on the table as he looked at me. "What can I say? I'm not sure what my favorite moment was so far, me being dead for three weeks or seeing my best friend being torn apart in front of my eyes." I answered rather butthurt. The best thing that had happened to me thus far was the fact that I could walk again. Dean bit his teeth at my reply, turning his gaze away from me. They probably wished Cas was still there to censor me, but he wasn't, it was the real me they were getting to know now.

"Anyways, what type of cult are you part of anyways?" I asked, looking at the young man behind the counter that was ready to bring us the drinks we ordered earlier. "It's not really a cult, it's more like an order?  It's called the Men of Letters. Our grandfather was part of it, which means we are kinda part of it? The bunker had been abandoned for years, so we made it our home. It was that or old crappy motels."

"The Men of Letters?" I asked, but got interrupted by the server. He put our drinks down, spilling my coffee on the table. My eyes met his, giving him an annoyed look as I sighed.

"Are you ready to order?" He asked, taking out his little notebook again, clicking his pen vigorously. "Yeah, four cheeseburgers, please." I spoke, but Sam quickly changed that order. "Make that three, and a chicken salad, please."

"Make that two, and a chicken salad." Castiel corrected. My eyes looked confused between the two of them. Sam ordered a freaking salad, and Cas wasn't even going to eat?

"Okay, two cheeseburgers, and a chicken salad. Anything else?" The boy exhaled his sentence as his hand lazily wrote down the order. I made eye-contact with Dean, looking for confirmation without words that he was down for fries or not. He nodded and I turned back to the server. "Two fries, and a strawberry milkshake." I added, he wrote down what I said. "Any allergies?" He asked just to make sure he wouldn't serve us anything that would literally kill us. "Yes, actually," I spoke, meeting the boy's eyes, looking at me as he waited for my reply. "small portions." I spoke with a grin, making the server even more annoyed. He rolled his eyes before he left the table. I was probably gonna receive a burger where he had spit in, but it was worth it. I turned back to the table, still chuckling at my own joke.

"Small portions?" Dean asked with a smile, and I nodded. "To be honest, I probably should've told him that I'm lactose intolerant, but oh well."

"You literally ordered a milkshake?" Sam asked confused. "Yeah, and?" I asked with a cheeky smirk. "Also, what the Hell?" I spoke as my eyes met Castiel's. "You didn't order anything? Way to ruin the mood." He tilted his head to the left, narrowing his eyes a little. "I don't need food, I'm an angel." He replied. Why were angels so weird? "I don't need more than a thousand calories in one meal either, but I'm gonna eat it anyway?"  My focus went to my coffee after that, trying to clean up the mess the server had caused. He had spilled so much that my cup was almost half empty, I even had to steal Dean's napkin to wipe it all up. It didn't take long before I had drunk all of the caffeinated goodness.

"So Cas," I said as I put my empty cup down, looking into his rather distracted blue eyes. "As an angel of the Lord, what are you capable of doing?" I wanted to get to know the creature sitting across from me a bit better. I imagined an angel to be rather powerful, maybe even one of the most mighty beings out there. "I can fly, although you perceive it as teleporting. I can heal other beings, but can also destroy them with relative ease. We refer to it as smiting. We can read minds, enter dreams, we can not be killed by being shot or stabbed, only by an angel blade or powerful magic. There is a very long list of things we are capable of doing." They were basically indestructible. They didn't need food, didn't need sleep, they didn't even have to shower. His words sparked curiosity inside me, admiring him for a bit too long after he was done talking. "If you can fly, that means you have wings?" I asked, looking over his shoulder just to see nothing but the back of the other person sitting in the booth behind ours. "Yes I do, but you are incapable of seeing them. Our true form can be overwhelming." He explained. "Overwhelming?"

"It will burn your eyes out of their sockets." I went quiet after he spoke those words. That sounded anything but pleasant. Although the thought of him having wings made me want to know more.

"He also has a very pretty harp." Dean added as my eyes jumped to him after having heard his comment. "No, I don't have a harp." Castiel spoke in a deep monotone voice, he was annoyed at the Winchesters humor, but it did make me laugh.

We discussed the angel's abilities and weaknesses for a bit longer, until our food arrived. As I had expected, mine looked like total shite. However, I didn't mind, I deserved that. The server plonked my plate in front of my nose, followed by my milkshake, once again spilling it on the table. I looked him dead in the eyes, lowkey getting sick of his behavior. I clicked my tongue before I spoke. "Imma need some more napkins." A sarcastic smile on my face that he gladly returned. "We're out." My eyes drifted off to the counter behind him, looking right at a box of white napkins.  "Go fu--"

"Lilly." Castiel interrupted me, cutting my words off while giving me a disapproving look. I bit my tongue, looking out the window at the stars to not let the insults flow out like water. The server left the table, leaving us alone to eat as I went to inspect my burger, opening it up just to make sure there wasn't anything too disgusting hidden in between the layers. Afterward, I looked at my milkshake, letting a deep sigh go at the sight of all the pink on the table.

"I will go get some napkins." Castiel said as he stood up, walking to the counter. The brothers next to me were already digging in their food. Dean filling his mouth faster than he could swallow down. "You know your food won't like, fly away, or anything, right?" I asked with a laugh, also rather feeling sick at the sight of him chugging it down like a newborn penguin.

The angel returned, wiping the mess away for me. I thanked him as I also started to eat. I honestly was scared to dig in. What if I didn't remember how to chew and swallow? It wouldn't surprise me if my cause of death after all of this, was choking on a single fry. I stared at the food a bit longer before picking up a fry, going to dip it in my milkshake when Dean grabbed me by my wrist. "No way." He said with his mouth filled with cheeseburger. "Don't tell me you're one of those fry dippers?"

"Yes I am, and I'm also one of those pineapple on pizza people, bite me." I replied, tugging my arm lose to continue dipping my fry before sticking it in my mouth, exaggerated chewing on it in Dean's direction. He gagged, turning away, causing me to burst out in laughter. "C'mon, don't be so dramatic. It's good!" Sam who put down his fork reached to grab a fry from Dean's plate, almost starting a war. He smacked the hand of his younger brother away, his green eyes angry and threatening. "Jeez, sorry..." Sam said with a chuckle, before reaching into my plate, which was also a rather bold move. I watched as he grabbed a fry, dipping it in my milkshake to try it out for himself. He swallowed it down, pursing his lips making an expression that said 'not bad'.

"Ha! See?" I asked, giving Dean a slap on the shoulder. "That's the opinion of someone that enjoys eating salad, it doesn't count." He replied in defense, and just like that he had declared war. I was going to prove that fries and milkshakes go amazing together. I grabbed another fry, dipping it, then sticking it out the angel, offering it to him. He narrowed his eyes, wondering what I asked of him.

"Try it." I said while sticking it out even further. He accepted the fry but was still confused. "I don't need food?" He repeated himself. "I know, but try to see if it tastes good or not?" I asked.

"Lilly you don't get it I--"

"Please, Cas?" I begged, using my puppy eyes. He briefly looked at Dean who was smiling at the angel in an amused fashion. With hesitation, he stuck the fry in his mouth, biting on it slowly. His face made all sorts of movements and expressions that caused me to chuckle, but I tried my best to hold it back. Finally, he swallowed, quickly scanning the table with his eyes as he tried to place what he had just tasted. "And?" I asked impatiently. "Lilly, I tried to tell you..." He spoke while reaching out for a napkin. "I just taste molecules." He explained. I had forced him into tasting something unpleasant, and I felt bad, but the sight of him vigorously rubbing his tongue clean with the napkin caused me to laugh out loud anyway.

The rest of the evening was filled with silent moments while we were eating, the angel under us looking at us as a proud father. Apart from that, it was filled with me staring out the window, talking with the boys as we got to know each other a bit better. Laughing, making jokes, but also talking about more serious topics.

What I had learned from that dinner experience was that Dean and I are a lot alike, which was dangerous. I was certain of it that we would get into fiery arguments and fights along the way. He was the overly protective, I know I'm crossing the line but I do it with good intentions type of guy. A hard shell with a soft and squishy heart on the inside.

Sam was the protective type, but understanding. He tried to see everything from other's perspectives. He wore his heart on his sleeve, but carried allot of dark crap behind that pure and happy smile. I felt like we would get along better.

Castiel was still very confusing to me. He came across as also being very protective, but the unknowing kind of angel. He didn't fully understand humanity, emotions, behaviors. I felt like I could tell him anything, and he would try to help, but wouldn't know-how. He was very different from how I was, which was good. I could already see him keeping me from getting in trouble. He would be the one to be brutally honest with me if I wanted to know the truth that wasn't sugar-coated.

I had drunk the last of my milkshake, after having emptied my plate. Leaning back when I was satisfied with my meal. The boys didn't think I would be able to finish it, and that's where they made a mistake. Never challenge me. I let go of a quiet burp in my hand, as I looked at the sweatpants that were no longer way too big. I had eaten too much, but damn it tasted so good.

"I tip my hat to you, my lady." Dean said with a smile after he had wiped his mouth clean. He also had finished his plate, which wasn't a surprise. He threw some cash on the table, making sure to give the server almost nothing for a tip. I felt bad, I mean he was mean to me, but I threw some more wood on the fire by reacting the way that I did. Castiel stood up, stopping next to me to support me again, I hooked my arm in his and also stood on my feet. The meal I had eaten had restored some of my energy and walking went way smoother already. With the brothers behind us, we were walking to the door to leave the diner. The angel opened the door, the cold night wind hitting my skin. My eyes focused on the stars that stood high in the sky, making my stomach turn at the idea that we were going back to the bunker, back underground.

Goosebumps covered every inch of my body as my feet walked on the cold muddy ground. I hopped in the car after Castiel had opened the door for me, getting comfy on the soft leather of the backseat. It didn't take long before we were back on the road, all of us sitting in the exact same spot as before. My eyes were glued to the outside world, softly singing along with the music that was coming out of the radio.

"And if you don't love me now, you will never love me again..."

It was The Chain by Fleetwood Mac, one of my favorite songs. Dean turned the volume louder, apparently, he liked it as well, which I didn't complain about, but Sam did. Dean took a sharp right, bringing the full moon into my sight. I could see the big white circle reflecting in my own eyes in the window of the car, it caused me to feel weird. As if the light was sucking me towards it, I couldn't shake the feeling that flowed through me. Something big and powerful was looking down onto me and it made me feel nauseous. It followed the car, it followed me, didn't matter what way Dean turned the moon was standing right in front of me, intimidating and strong.

I swallowed, trying to keep the food down that I had eaten earlier, trying to let Castiel know I wasn't okay, but couldn't. The fear that had hit me on the back of the head left me powerless behind. When my field of vision was filled with nothing else but the bright white light, I snapped.

"Stop the car..." I spoke with a shaky voice, covering my mouth with my hand. "What?" Dean asked confused. "Stop the car!" I screamed, causing the Winchester to yank at the wheel, pressing on the brake as hard as he could. The car hadn't come to a complete stop yet when the door flew open as I stumbled out, falling onto my knees as I tried as fast as I could to crawl into the nearby forest. The fear had caused me to become so nauseous that my food was already back in my mouth. I threw up, about thirty feet away from the car. Sitting on hands and knees as the taste of gastric acid filled my mouth.

"Lilly?" Dean yelled at me worriedly. "I'm okay!" I replied in between some heavy breathes. "I think I ate too much."

"You gonna be okay, kiddo?"

"Yeah, just, go back to the car, I rather not have you listen to me throwing up." He did as I asked, leaving me by myself. Once all the food had come out, and I was able to breathe normally again, I wiped my mouth at a napkin I had taken with from the diner. My head was spinning, and the pressure my body was under hadn't faded. The moon stood high above me, looking down at me. The light that hit my skin felt like it took the air out of my lungs, its grip tightly wrapped around my neck. With shaky legs, I was able to slowly stand up, looking at the forest that laid in front of me.

"Lilly-Mae Mooney." An unfamiliar female voice sounded. My eyes scanned the trees, trying to find where my name came from. Out of the darkness appeared five people, all wearing gray business suits, no expressions on their faces. I knew I was in trouble when sharp blades fell from out their sleeves.

"We finally found you."

--

- 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗: 𝚆𝚑𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚜 -

Before I knew it, I was pinned against a tree, gasping for air as blood dripped out of my nose, my feet inches off the ground. I couldn't move, couldn't defend myself, or even call for help.

"Let her go, brothers." Castiel's threatening voice filled my ears as my eyes shifted towards him, he had appeared a few feet in front of me, also revealing one of those blades that dropped from his sleeve. He spoke of his brothers, did that mean that they were angels? Why would they want to harm me?

"Orders from above, Castiel." The woman spoke in an intimidating tone, that had me pinned as she held her hand out in my direction. "What do you want with her?" He asked as he came closer, putting himself between the angels and myself, physically protecting me with his body. Sam and Dean had arrived, pointing their guns at the creatures, which wouldn't help. I had remembered what Cas had taught me earlier, angels are immune to bullets.

Still unable to breathe, I felt everything starting to spin as my vision went blurry and ringing filled my ears. I was about to pass out when the brothers decided to get involved.

"Put her down!" Dean growled, as he came to a stop next to Castiel. The angel's gaze shifted to the oldest brother, letting him know that his anger would only make things worse.

"We can talk about this, come to an agreement." Cas tried to help, calm them down, but it didn't work. They were determined to fulfill what they were told.

"We are just following orders, Castiel. Unlike you."  She spat those last words out as if they were poisonous. I didn't know there was so much bad blood between them.

"Why does she need to die?" He asked, causing the grip around my neck to loosen a bit. "She is bending the rules. She was supposed to die. She doesn't belong in this universe." She spoke, the conversation got her attention off of me, giving me room to speak and breathe.

"It's not my fault, I asked for death that day, but instead I'm still awake." I should've stayed quiet. My air supply got cut off again, even more violent than before. "Shut your mouth, abomination."

"Whoa, easy with the name-calling there, sister." Dean spoke, waving his gun around in a threatening fashion. "Is there no other way we can handle this, so I won't have to destroy you?" Castiel asked, his voice menacing as it was filled with confidence and power.

Unexpected pain shot through my body, causing me to shriek, my voice echoing in the woods for miles on end. They had declared war by their actions, and without hesitation Castiel threw the blade in his hand through the air, landing in the woman's heart. A bright light shone out of her eye sockets and mouth before her body collapsed to the ground. Her voodoo no longer worked now that she was dead, and I also made contact with the moist forest ground not much after. Castiel had killed one of his own without having to think twice, just to make sure I was safe.

It didn't take long before everyone started to fight, the brothers shooting two of the others as a distraction as Castiel pulled the blade out of the woman's body, to use it again one another angel. I wanted to help, kick some ass like they were doing, but barely managed to stand on my own two feet. The men I was now sharing my life with were murder weapons, and I had seen them fight once before, but this was different. They were so damn powerful, but so damn terrifying at the same time. They were home in the skill of combat and murder. Once more they were risking their lives to protect that of mine, and I still didn't understand why.

Everyone was involved in their own small fight, everyone except me and one other angel. A tall man that came at me at full speed, the sharp blade pointed right at my heart. Leaning against the tree I was pinned against earlier, I managed to stand up, looking the creature in the eyes as I prepared myself to get stabbed. He got closer, and just before the blade would impale my body, I mindlessly started moving. My right hand gripped him at his wrist, twisting it on himself, pointing the blade at his body instead. My movement was so quick that he didn't see it coming, causing him to walk straight into the knife.

Staring at his face that was just inches away from mine, I watched as his eyes burned away with bright white light, blinding me. Petrified I watched at how the life in him disappeared. Two empty eye sockets were all that I could see as my hand was still clenched around his wrist. I let a long and shaky breath go before I yanked my hand back. His lifeless body collapsed on itself, hitting the ground right in front of my feet.

I had just killed someone, and I could feel the little amount of food that was still left in my stomach coming up. My eyes were glued on the corpse that was slowly gliding downhill, touching my feet again. I walked back as far as I could, almost crawling up that tree, just to get away from it.

I didn't mind that I had killed a dick of an angel, but Castiel's words that he had spoken so many hours ago were floating around in my head. Angels possess vessels, vessels are humans that permitted the angel to possess them. I had killed an innocent man, a faithful, innocent man. My mind fell, rolling down a steep hill as I thought about everything that man could've been. A father, a brother, a son.

"Son of a bitch." Dean's voice caught me off guard, my eyes flew up at him. He had gotten hurt, but all the angels were dead. All of them except for Castiel that was busy healing the oldest brother who had hurt his ribs in the process.

"Lilly?" Sam spoke who worriedly approached me, helping me to get out from between the corpse and the tree. "Everything okay?" He asked as he placed both his hands on my shoulders, scanning my face for a response. I slowly nodded, empty-headedly staring in his hazel eyes.

"You killed him?" He asked afterward, cutting off my oxygen flow. "I'm sorry..." I whispered, shifting my eyes towards the ground as I was being gulped up in guilt. "What are you apologizing for? I should apologize that I wasn't able to help you out. But hey, you did it? You saved your own bacon." He said with a smile, as if killing someone was a good thing, as if he had to reward me for my deed. "I killed someone?" The soft words I spoke drowned in confusion. "You killed an asshole?" Sam asked, but I could tell that he started to understand me at the end of his sentence. He blinked a few times while taking a deep breath. My gaze drifted off again to the dead body of the man that laid a bit further. My eyes drowning in salty water at the thought of his innocence.

"He might've already been dead, Lilly. You don't know that." He explained, and I suppose he was right, but it didn't make the feeling that was going through me go away. "We have killed so many. Monsters, vessels. You get used to it." My eyes shot up to his again.

"I don't want to get used to this?" I asked, disgust to be found in my voice. He bit his teeth when he realized how bad his explanation sounded. "How do you kill something without becoming a monster yourself, Sam?" I asked, seeking a logical reply.

"There is a little monster in all of us." Castiel spoke who stood next to me. I didn't see that he had approached us, and before I knew it he placed his hand on my forehead. A warm feeling flowed through me as I closed my eyes to embrace it. The pain faded, the swollenness in my lip disappeared as the wound closed itself up. His grace that was coursing its way through me was rebuilding every broken molecule in my body, causing me to feel strong as I felt the tips of my fingers tingle. Just when I had welcomed that feeling with open arms, it left as Cas pulled his hand back.

"Lilly-Mae." He said as I slowly opened my eyes again, to meet his rather gray looking ones. His eyes looked damaged, not as lively as usual. I turned towards him, wondering why he had said my name. "You're no longer safe. Heaven wants you. They want you dead." I swallowed slowly, trying to place the fact that something Holy could want such sinful things.

"I will protect you from them, just like I protect the brothers." My eyes scanned his face, studying his features, ready for whatever he was going to say next. "I will carve Enochian sigils in your ribs, to keep you hidden from Heaven's grasp." I barely understood what he meant by that, but trusted him, so I nodded. He bit his teeth as his eyes briefly looked me up and down. "This will hurt." He warned me, before placing his hand on my chest. The feeling wasn't so bad at first, until he dug his fingers tightly in the fabric of my tank top. I closed my eyes at the feeling of millions of needles flowing through my veins. Biting my teeth as hard as humanly possible to hold back my screaming.

Looking down at my own body, I could see a warm red light shining from within my flesh as burning flowed through my bone marrow. I gasped for air as he let go, falling forward when my body decided that it had been through more than enough in one day. I collided with Cas who prevented me from falling to the ground.

"Jezus Christ..." I exhaled while trying to recover from the pain I was in seconds ago, my hands digging in his arms as I tried to balance myself. "My apologies, but it had to happen." Castiel spoke, who helped me get upright again. "So now what? Heaven can't touch me anymore?"

"They can, but angels are no longer able to locate you." My eyes met his. "All angels? Including you?" I asked, and he nodded. "We'll fix you a phone, no worries. This angel is tech-savvy." Dean spoke who gave Castiel a pad on the shoulder.

Not much later we were back in the car, on our way home. Hoping that this time around we would make it there in one go, without another angel stop along the way. What just happned had me confused. Heaven wanted me dead because I didn't belong here. Which was understandable in some way. Different realities were bleeding over into each other. I had a desteny on my own earth, a plan that was carefully mapped out, and I was bending those rules, but not intentional. Did they know I wasn't fully human, like Castiel had felt before?

He and the brothers had protected me from the angels, Castiel killing his own. My eyes drifted off to the five angel blades covered in blood, that were laying between us on the backseat. Dean decided to take them with, just in case. There hung an uneasy tense atmosphere in the car that was killing me, but also the others.

"Why are they after her?" Dean broke under the pressure. "You heard what they said, Dean. They want her dead because she isn't from this universe."

"So if Heaven is after her, what does that say about Hell?" Sam asked, making my stomach turn at the thought of demons chasing me. "I doubt Hell will get involved with this." Relief filled my body for a brief second, till the angel continued talking. "Unless they too discover she isn't human, and not from this reality."

"I'm not some type of collectible?" I snapped when I had enough of it. They all wanted me because I was something unknown to them. Something they could poke with a stick and see how I would react. Castiel looked at me while his hands rested on his lap as he studied my anger. "So they know I'm not human? And what, God sent his top tier group of sadistic angels to smite my ass? Or to choke me to death, apparently." I grumbled, crossing my arms as I stared at the leather seat in front of me. "Who knew angels were such dicks." I sighed, trying not to make eye contact with the one sitting next to me as I insulted his species.

"God hasn't been around to give orders in a very long time, if I had to guess; Micheal must have given that order." An archangel had its interests put on me, and I didn't even want to know what would happen once he received the news that we had crushed his little following.

"So now what? You guys are gonna train me, right? To become on of you?"

"A hunter?" Sam asked, looking at me over his shoulder as I nodded. "I don't think you wanna be one of ours, kiddo." Dean spoke, but I already settled for how I wanted this to go.  "She needs to be able to defend herself if she would find herself in a situation that we are not there to help." Castiel defended my opinion, which I was grateful for. "But first, we need to find out what you are." We made eye contact, wondering how he wanted to do that.

The angel had a plan that he would share with us once we were back in the bunker, our words hidden from the outside between the thick and warded walls.  

--

- 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚟𝚎: 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 -

- 𝒞𝒶𝓈𝓉𝒾𝑒𝓁'𝓈 𝓅❁𝒾𝓃𝓉 ❁𝒻 𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌 -

Heaven was now involved in trying to figure out what Lilly-Mae was, turning this into a high-risk job. We were exposed, and it wouldn't take long before Hell would want to associate itself with her.

Having arrived in the bunker, I put my focus on executing my plan. "We will have to open a rift to your original dimension." I spoke, leaning against one of the many bookshelves in the library. Lilly's eyes met mine, she looked worried, scared. I figured that going back to her home-world was the best option. "We can try to get you back home." I continued, but only received negative reactions, especially from Lilly herself. She bit on the inside of her cheek, drowning in thoughts as she looked for a way to respond to my offer. The idea of her home frightened her.

"I don't have anything to go back to, Castiel." She finally spoke, her eyes glued on the wood of the table she was sitting at. I had hoped she would have agreed. If we would return her, there was no reason for Heaven to be upset at her. It would make her life easier, but she had her mind set on the thing she had grown attached to, and it brought her life in uncertainty. She was yet to discover the dangers we would bring her way.

I decided it was best to stop about her going to her home-world, and spoke about how we would open the rift instead. "How did you do it, open the rift?" I asked, meeting her eyes again.

"We didn't open them, they just appeared in the barn of Thomas's dad. I thought it was because the wall between worlds there was the thinnest." She explained, and there was some truth to her story, but she was unaware of how those 'portals' truly functioned.

"Rifts don't open by themselves, my best guess is that your presence sparked them in existence." Another sign of her being a supernatural being. "There's no way, why would they always appear in the barn and not in my house if it was me doing it?"

The mind is more powerful than most think. The rifts were a way for her to connect with Thomas, a reason for them to see each other. "Your emotions towards Thomas must have had an influence on the location." I explained, causing her to fidget with the strings of Dean's sweatpants as her cheeks got a light pink color. I tilted my head slightly as I tried to figure out what I had said that caused her behavior.

"So you're saying that Lilly needs to open that portal?" Dean asked who sat beside her. I shook my head. "It will take longer for her to get that skill under control than for us to just do research and gather the right ingredients."

Inter-dimensional travel was an extraordinary unique skill, the only other beings I knew were capable of doing so were the Archangels, and God himself. She was one of the mysterious ones. Beautifully damaged, ruthlessly scarred, we were yet to discover what she was, but I already knew it was something all-powerful.

"So, a spell to open a rift to another dimension? How will we know it's the right one? I mean, there are millions of alternative dimensions out there, right? How will we connect with the right one?" Sam was asking the real questions, as per usual, but lucky for us was the solution sitting right in front of us.

"Through Lilly's memories."

"That sounds like it's gonna hurt." She said, looking at me for a reply that would entail the opposite of her speculations. "I will have to intrude your memory, which is already quite challenging on its own, but now because of the warding it will be a rather unpleasant experience." A long explanation for saying; yes, it would hurt.

Dean eyed his watch. "When we starting? It's just past ten, think we can do a bit of research before we go to bed?" Everyone agreed, even Lilly-Mae who was rather lost in this world. The brothers and I had experience. We knew what books to consult for specific information we needed. Not wanting to exclude her, Sam picked out a couple of books that could have potential, for her to read through.

Hours passed, books were excluded, empty beer bottles were collected and Lilly her head hung lower and lower until she had fallen asleep, lying with her face on one of the books as her cheek was getting squished. Sam who had just taken a painkiller for the headache he was experiencing, chuckled at the sight of the unconscious girl. "We should bring her to bed." He spoke before yawning, he was also in need of rest. Dean also looked at her, a soft expression on his face.

I think it was safe to say that we all had grown fond of her, even though we didn't really know each other yet. Today was the first day everyone met Lilly-Mae. The real Lilly. She had changed over the last weeks, which was only normal.

My eyes were lazily reading over the words in front of me, skipping most of it, looking for keywords that could lead to more information when Sam stood up to stretch. "I'm gonna call it a night." He said before walking around the table, heading to wake Lilly up to help her get to her room. He crouched so he would be at her eye level, carefully waking her from her sleep. "Lilly."She grumbled in protest, frowning her eyebrows at the sound of Sam's voice.

When people sleep, they are in their purest form. Expressions change, softening, and relaxing under the deep trance. When one sleeps the body heals, the mind stores new memories while destroying others.

"I'll bring you to bed, you want me to carry you?" Sam whispered, patiently waiting for a reply that she wouldn't give because she had fallen asleep again. He called her name again when his patience ran out.

"No." She mumbled, slightly adjusting the way she was laying on the book with her face pressed against the pages. "You wanna sleep the rest of the night sitting in a crappy chair, while laying on a book?" Sam asked, an amused tone in his voice to be heard. "Yeah..." She answered, almost exhaling the word in annoyance. Eventually, the youngest brother stopped trying and was ready to go to bed himself, when I took the task of bringing her to her bedroom on myself. I slid the chair from underneath me as I stood up, walking towards her.

"She said she's okay with sleeping here." Sam informed me as I carefully pulled her chair back to pick her up. "She's passed out, she doesn't know what she's saying." I replied, carrying her unconscious body in my arms. Lilly was so tired and in such a deep sleep that she didn't even wake at me picking her up.

I walked down the halls with her laying in my arms, like the night we had found her in that warehouse. Brief images of how much blood was running out of her wound flashed in front of my eyes. The trail it had left behind took weeks before it fully came off of the tiles, leaving them stained red for days on end. It was one of the many memories I had that I would rather forget, but will never be able to unsee. I kicked her bedroom door open with my foot, before carefully laying her on her bed, covering her with sheets afterward.

Biting on my teeth I took a step back, looking at how peaceful she looked when asleep. Although seeing her like that gave me a double feeling. I much rather had her walking around, biting her tongue trying not to curse. I caught myself staring, and wondered why I felt so obligated to take care of her. Why we all felt that urge to make sure she was safe, happy, and all right. She was a complete stranger that had fallen into our laps during another classic hunt. But yet, this was different.

I had lost my belief in fate years ago after God had turned his back to Heaven and earth, but something inside of me said that meeting her was faith. It had to happen, as if it was carefully planned out. If I didn't join the brothers, they would never have discovered that she was still alive, and it had been months since I had joined them to take care of a case. The chances of me tagging along were so minimal, the chances of her being stuck there forever were so big, but yet it happened.

I had to discover why we were so drawn to her, and with that thought going through my mind, I left her room, not fully closing her door because of force of habit. When she wasn't awake yet, we always left her door open for just a couple of inches, to make it easier for us to hear if something would happen while being in another part of the bunker.

I returned to an empty library, Dean had gone to sleep, leaving me alone to do research. I didn't mind it, however, I could find peace in moments where I was alone. I had put my mind on some old artifacts from in the Black Grimoire,  very dark and powerful witchcraft. Skipping over most of the pages I came to a chapter that caught my attention. There was talk about inter-dimensional travel, and when my eyes read over the word 'rift' my heart dropped.

A long and complicated spell was listed, ancient language mixed with a list of rare ingredients. I had found a spell that claimed it would perform exactly what we needed. With the book in my hand, I flew to the pantry, checking how much of the ingredients we already had laying around. For once in our lives, we were lucky and had everything right here in the bunker, everything but one key ingredient; Angel grace. Deciding I would drain my own later on, I made sure I had everything prepared so it would be ready to go once the others would wake in the morning.

Carrying a bowl that was filled with herbs, crystals, the blood of various animals, and the book I decided it would be best to perform the spell in the dungeon. There, the rift would be surrounded by thick warded walls, in the hope that Heaven wouldn't notice the portal opening all too much.

Once I arrived, I crushed all the ingredients together, carefully measuring out the amounts and keeping an eye on the order that I poured them into the bowl. Bathing a painite gemstone in the dust mixture I had created, cautiously covering every bit of the surface with it, to gently brush off the excess afterward. After having placed the gem on the floor, right in front of the big devil's trap that was painted on the floor of the room, I was almost done. The only steps left was collecting my grace, and waiting for the others to wake to perform the spell after having seen Lilly-Mae's memories of her home universe.

Unscrewing the cap of a glass test tube, I prepared myself to extract my grace which was a delicate procedure. Putting the cap down, holding the tube I revealed my angel blade from within my sleeve. Placing the glass against my throat, I slowly brought the sharp metal of the blade closer to my neck, it touched my skin right above where I held the tube, so it would be easily collected. I put pressure, ready to cut my flesh open when I got startled.

"Cas, what the hell?" Lilly's voice filled the room unexpectedly, almost making me drop the things I was holding.  "What are you doing?" She questioned as she walked straight at me, her voice sounded angry but her face showed concern. "Lilly, you are awake?" I asked, turning in her direction to meet her. She yanked the blade from my grasp after having come to a complete stop right in front of my feet. I had to look down to meet her gaze due to the height difference.

"Isn't killing yourself a sin?" She snapped, hiding the angel blade from me behind her back, defending it, as if she was able to keep it from me, even if I would try to get it back.

"I wasn't going to kill myself?" I asked, shortly after realizing that the scene she had walked into did suggest otherwise. "The spell calls for angel grace." I explained, pointing to the book on the table next to us. "Oh..." She whispered, slowly revealing the angel blade again, to lay it down beside the collection of paper. "You found a spell to open a portal?" I nodded, turning to show her the list of ingredients and ancient words. "I have everything ready to go, except for the grace and your memories."

She read over the words as I took a moment to look at her. She was standing up on her own, and the way she walked towards me in full fury showed she wasn't struggling with it any longer. The few hours of sleep she had gotten and the meal from earlier had given her body more strength. It made me happy, seeing her slowly become the old Lilly again, the one from before all of this happened.

"Let's do it." She said, laying the book back down, suggesting to perform the spell under just the two of us. She didn't want to wait for the brothers, and I didn't think that was such a good plan. "We don't need them for anything, Cas. You've your grace, I've my memories. We can help each other out."

"Are you suggesting you want to slice open my throat to extract my grace?" I asked, slightly tilting my head to the left. Her eyes widened as she took a step back. "That was what you were doing?" I nodded. "Well, sure, I suppose." She briefly licked her lips before picking up the angel blade she had put down earlier. "You'll have to explain to me how this works though, before I accidentally kill your angel ass." I wondered how long it would take her before she started cursing, turned out not that long. She was scared, yet wanted to help.

"Well, it's just a matter of slicing the skin of my throat open."

"Ah, yes, I'm an expert in slicing that specific part of the body open." She replied with a smile, but I knew she was being sarcastic. If something did go wrong, I could always heal myself. I wouldn't lose consciousness unless too much of my grace was extracted.

I took a step forward, handing her the test tube. "You'll collect my grace in here, and make sure to close the cap tightly, so it won't escape." She nodded, focusing back and forth between the blade and the container, before looking at me. We were already standing relatively close together, but she took another step, almost standing with her bare feet on the tips of my shoes. Biting on my teeth I looked down at her, meeting her milk-chocolate colored eyes. "Ready?" I asked, "Yeah..." She exhaled, before standing on the tips of her toes to be able to reach my neck easier. Her hands were shaking, but there was no need to be scared.

I could feel her warm breath brushing over my skin as she leaned in closer, before placing the sharp end of the blade to my throat. Lilly was biting on the inside of her cheeks again, gnawing, trying to build op the courage to cut into me.

"It's okay, I'm still a celestial being, I'll survive." I gave her a small comforting smile, making her eyes briefly meet those of mine again, her pupils dilated. "I'm sorry." She whispered, before cutting into me. She drew a small horizontal line, and gasping for air I could feel part of me leave my vessel. I rapidly blinked a few times before shutting my eyes fully, biting on my teeth at the dreadful feeling. Life, power, was being drained from inside of me, making me weaker.

I could hear her closing the cap, and that was my clue to heal myself. Placing the palm of my hand over the cut, I mend all the molecules of my vessel, alongside the complicated matter that was me, back together. She had drained more than needed, leaving me dazed and weaker than expected. My legs tried to give away, but leaning with my hand against the table gave me support.

"Cas?" Lilly sounded, her voice vulnerable and concerned. I opened my eyes, lazily looking into hers. She scanned my face rapidly as she put the blade down, and the test tube that contained my grace, looking like a cloudly white light. Her eyebrows frowned as she grabbed me by the arms. "Are you okay? What did I do wrong?" She asked worriedly, not leaving my gaze for a second.

Little did she know that it wasn't her fault, but mine. After what happened in the forest the other night, I was cut off from heaven. My main power source was taken away from me, making every drop of grace count. I wasn't going to share this information, however, it was too early and if the brothers knew heaven wanted me dead again, they would be concerned too.

"It's okay Lilly. I just have to regenerate the grace that got drained, give me a couple of minutes and I should be fine." I explained, I could see her expression relax for a smidge, but not fully. She was happy I would be fine after a while, but that didn't change the fact that I felt horrible right now in this moment. "I'll get you a chair." She spoke before turning her back on me to get a chair from in the corner of the room. "No, it's okay, really. We will have to hurry if we want to perform the rest of the spell before the brothers wake up." It was as if my words had entered her one ear, and immediately spilled out the other.

On her face a moody expression, squinting her eyes slightly as she placed a chair down in front of me. She didn't even have to say it, and I knew exactly what she was thinking. I took a deep breath, gave a small nod in appreciation, and took a seat. Lilly decided to take a seat on the table, rocking her feet back and forth as she admired the grace in the glass tube.

"So, this is what gives you powers?" She asked, and I nodded. "What would happen if someone would drain all of it?"

"I would die, or worse." She tilted her head at my reply. "I would become human." Lilly chuckled, thinking what I just said was a joke. "And so, every time you use your powers, you burn up a bit of this?" She asked, tilting the tube back and forth, making the grace inside of it slide back and forth with it. "Yes."

"And afterward, you have to regenerate, to get back to full power?" I nodded. "So you're basically like a rechargeable battery?" I let a breath heavy laugh go after she had compared me to that. "I suppose you could look at it that way." I spoke, meeting her eyes for a brief second because she was too focused on the bright white light to keep them fixed on me.

"Is there a limit to how powerful you are? Or does your grace just build up if you don't use it?" She was fascinated by what I was, and made me question things I never really thought about before. "I think that every angel has his limit of grace that he or she produces by themselves, but referring to your battery theory from before; there is a way to overcharge a battery." She grew curious at my words, seeking more information she leaned in closer. Her eyes no longer looking at the light, but right into mine. "By consuming souls, one can become stronger than originally intended. But nothing good comes from that, just like an overcharged battery, it breaks."

She took a moment of silence to place that information, the more I explained the more questions she had. Every response sparked curiosity and I decided I was rested enough for the next part, entering her memories. I stood up, offering the chair to Lilly, knowing the pain I would cause her would be too much for her to handle.

"Are you ready?" I asked, carefully studying her facial expressions so I would know the whole truth, not just what she wanted me to believe. Her eyes were glued on the piece of furniture as she slowly swallowed. "This is really going to hurt, isn't it?" She asked softly, her gaze slowly meeting mine. "I'm afraid so." I didn't want to hurt her, but it had to happen if we wanted to find out what she was. Lilly exhaled as she took a seat on the chair, brushing her hair over her shoulders so it hung over her back."Well then, let's get on with it."

"Do you want me to explain how this will work?" I asked Lilly as I took my trench coat off, together with my suit jacket, rolling up the sleeves of my shirt so all the access fabric wouldn't get in the way. She nodded gently as she nibbled on her lower lip, her legs impatiently trembling while she didn't know what to do with her hands. She was extremely nervous, and I tried to calm her down with my words. Stepping closer, I started to speak.

"I will place my hands on your head, entering your mind, searching for the right memories that give me the right amount of information about your home-world. I will look for key differences so I can tell universes apart. I will try my best to not enter personal memories because like I have told you before; I respect your privacy. Every memory I will enter will be pulled back, making you experience them along with me."

I had just warned her that the following minutes would be filled with images of the past. Some of them may be good, others bad. Nonetheless, it would be a physically challenging procedure to go through, but it wouldn't be any easier mentally. She didn't speak another word after that, just waiting for me to get started.

I stood in front of her, now the tips of my shoes almost in contact with her feet as I build up the courage and strength to enter this pure soul. I was going to harm her, make her feel awful, but biting on my teeth I recovered the last piece of Angel Soldier that was left inside of me. I had a job to do, and while wearing a cloak made out of empathy-less angel over my shoulders, I placed both my hands on her head.

Lilly-Mae looked me straight into the eyes, a small smile on her face as she noticed my hesitation and struggle. "It's okay, I'm still a supernatural being, I'll survive." She had twisted my own words I had spoken earlier. My fingers inter-twined themselves with her strands of dark brown hair as I tried to get in direct contact with the skin of her scalp. Placing my fingertips on the right pressure points. Lilly took a deep shaky breath as I closed my eyes, ready to enter her mind.

"My apologies."

My eyes lit up with a bright blue light as my grace started to break down her soul, entering the disorganized mess of cloudy memories.  Every image I would pull from her mind would play in front of her eyes, so I had to be careful. I had to keep my curiosity on a leash, wanting to get to know her past, wasn't allowed. Careful to not pull up the bad ones, the ones that could ruin her. A bad memory is poison our mind pours out for us, a poison we get addicted to, unable to stop pouring over and over, wondering why we feel so sick all the time.

Finally, I decided on a memory I would enter, the back of my head filled with screaming that I tried to ignore the best I could. A field, a barn, on the right in the far distance a small white house, on the left a big farm. I stood in the middle of a grain field, the sky above my head had a pink color as the sun was setting. Right in front of me stood a big red barn, voices filled my ears and as I looked up, at the roof of the barn, I found Lilly and Thomas sitting on it next to each other. That wasn't what I was here for, the white house in the distance caught my attention. I assumed it was where Lilly-Mae lived.

I left that memory, seeking another that would involve the white building. It didn't take long before I found one, entering it, biting my teeth at shrieking that bounced around in the back of my head. I still stood outside, the barn in the distance, unable to see the farm, but standing right in front of Lilly's house. Loud laughter filled my ears as I looked to the left, Lilly was laying in the grass, wearing nothing but a simple yellow bikini, next to her laid Thomas wearing black shorts. It was a hot summer day and they were tanning, although Lilly was turning red instead of brown.

Shifting my focus back to the house, I caught the address, I knew where I was. Monteview, Idaho. A very small, simple farmers town, surrounded by endless fields. That was it, it only took two memories for me to figure it all out, but the leash broke, and my eyes shifted back to Lilly and Thomas.

I watched how he made fun of her for getting a sunburn on the first warm summer day. He poked her skin, making her gasp for air at the pain, followed by her glass of water that she poured out over his head. They were laughing, both happy and free.

I stared as I tried to imagine what type of person Thomas used to be. He cared for her, he loved her. Lilly sat across from him as a mirror, reflecting the same exact feelings, yet they never got around to discuss it. If I didn't know better, I'd say that a cupid was behind this, but this universe, there were no angels, no Heaven or Hell. Thomas stood up after being drenched with water, grabbing one of the ice cubes that had fallen onto him, to hold it against Lilly's neck. She screamed at the icy touch, knocking his arm away to stand up, running past me towards the garden hose that hung on the wall.

"Don't you dare, you little monster!" Thomas yelled, pointing at Lilly who had a big smile on her face, her white teeth shining. "Too late! Besides, you're in urgent need of a shower, smelly!" She turned the hose on, soaking Thomas who tried his best to hide from the ice-cold water. Her sweet laughter filled my ears, admiring her I allowed myself to enjoy seeing her happy.

My name that got cried out caught my attention, realizing what I was doing my heart dropped. I let go of her head, my own mind being pulled through a black tunnel before returning to reality. My eyes met those of Lilly that was sitting in front of me. Her cheeks wet as she looked at me, her eyes red and swollen from crying as she was gasping for air. I broke down, realizing what I had done. "I am so sorry..." I whispered before kneeling in front of her to be at her eye level, my hands resting on her shoulders as I tried my best to comfort her.

Lilly bit on her lip, blinking another tear away. "That hurt like a bitch." She spoke under her heavy breaths. "Please tell me you know enough?" She asked, her voice shakey, already scared at the thought that she might have to go through this again. I heavily nodded, I knew exactly where we had to go, but was worried at the fact that I had pulled her through a train of memories of her and Thomas. Closing her eyes, she wanted to speak; "I..."

"Stop, I know. You don't have to say it." I felt horrible, and I wiped away another tear that tried to make its way down her cheek. For a while, all we had was eye contact because that spoke more than words could ever do. In that very moment, I had promised myself I would never hurt her again, I would never lay another finger on her with bad intentions, and she knew. She could tell by the silent conversation we had. I was never good with words or understanding humanity, but she made it easier.

It was about to turn seven AM, meaning that it wouldn't be long before Sam would wake up. The salty water on her cheeks had dried up, but the whites of her eyes that were still red gave away that she had cried. When Lilly's heartbeat had calmed down and her breathing went back to normal, I stood up, rolling down my sleeves to put both my jackets back on. Her mind was hazy and I decided it was best to leave her in silence for a bit longer, while I prepared the last parts of the spell. In the meantime preparing myself to travel to her home dimension.

--

- 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗: 𝙻𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚢 -

- 𝒞𝒶𝓈𝓉𝒾𝑒𝓁'𝓈 𝓅❁𝒾𝓃𝓉 ❁𝒻 𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌 -

"Koth Munto Nuntox"

The ancient words rolled over Lilly-Mae's tongue who stood behind me, holding the Black Grimoire in her hands. She had spoken the spell to open the rift, and as soon as the last sound escaped her mouth, the gem laying on the ground in front of us started to glow. There was a deep rumbling sound to be heard from within the stone as it collected its powers.

The Winchesters were still fast asleep, giving us the opportunity to finish the spell without their interference. I looked over my shoulder to the startled girl who was staring at the bright orange light that shone out of the gem, before a bright flash filled the room. The crystal had exploded, causing a small yelp to escape Lilly. Pieces of it bounced against the walls like glass shards as the blinding light took the ability to see from me. The bright light died down; revealing the brutal rip in reality it had created, lighting the room with a warm orange tone. The rift was long, like a crack in a stone wall, the core bright white, framed by an orange glow. It moved slowly like an organism, waving back and forth, showing signs of life.

I had seen a rift once before, but standing right in front of the tear in space and time that was made out of pure compressed power caused me to be nervous. We were unsure of how long it would last, and the last thing I wanted was to get trapped on the other side. Deciding it was best to just move as quickly as possible, I walked towards the rift. Right before I was about to make contact with it, Lilly grabbed me by the sleeve. She spun me around, making me look straight in her eyes.

"Do you want me to go with?" She suggested, concerned about my safety because she knew the place, and I didn't. I would be lost in the world she had grown up in, but I had to do the right thing. I shook my head, taking her back to her home-world would mentally kill her, and both of us knew that all too well.

"Are you sure? What if something goes wrong, Cas? I don't know how to get you back... I don't have grace to open up another portal. Maybe it's best if I just go?" I grabbed her by the shoulders, cutting off the words that kept on flowing out as a lost waterfall. "Lilly, it's okay, I'll be back before the brothers wake up." A short small smile appeared on my lips, trying to convince her, hoping to calm her nerves. "All you have got to do is promise me you'll be here when I return, okay?" She took a deep breath, sorting out her thoughts before nodding.

Letting my hands slide off her shoulders, I looked at the rift once more, collecting bravery within me. I stood right in front of the tear and could feel the burning heat coming off of it as I tried to figure out my thoughts.

It's just another earth, just like this one. There was nothing to be afraid of. With that in mind, my foot slowly dragged itself forward. Ready to enter the rift, Lilly spoke once more: "Castiel," she whispered my name as she distanced herself from me, "watch your step, it's a long way down." I looked back at her, causing my shoulder to come in contact with the crack. I saw her face, her concerned eyes that were glistening with orange before everything went white.

I was making the fall to the other universe, taking in my surroundings as I tried not to panic. A strong stinging pain flowed through my vessel, making it hard to breathe. The idea that Lilly used to do this with Thomas for fun was beyond me. Their curiosity got the better of them, risking so much for the satisfaction of getting to know other worlds, other outcomes, and realities.

Heat stung my flesh like millions of small needles, and before I knew it the orange color pallet that surrounded me went dark, and the rift in the other world spat me out like something poisonous. Rolling, scraping over a hard concrete floor covered in hay, I came to a stop. Just like in Lilly's memories had the rift appeared in the barn, like she was used to. Dusting off my coat, I stood up, briefly looking around me to make sure I had ended up in the right universe.

The absence of a Heaven weighed heavy on my shoulders as confirmation that this was the correct reality. It was night, and looking at the small amount of moonlight that shone through the cracks of the barn, I put my focus on Lilly-Mae's house. With the blink of an eye and a brief thought about the place, I stood in front of it. Looking at the white walls, as my gaze drifted off to the grass on the left side of the entrance. The memory I had seen earlier that took place in this exact spot played in the back of my head, only now there was no Thomas or Lilly to be seen. It was dark, the grass a somber brown color instead of bright green. In the air hung a chilled atmosphere, none of Lilly's laughter filling my ears, instead; the soft noises of crickets.

Looking back at the door that was blocked by police tape I took a moment to place the fact that she and Thomas were reported missing. Pictures of both their faces were glued on the outside of her house like wallpaper, underneath them laying in the grass bouquets of small white flowers surrounded by green leaves. I crouched down to pick up one of the bundles of flowers, pressing my nose against it to smell them. The soft and sweet floral scent filled my lungs, making me whisper their name; "Lily of the Valley."

The time I had got to know the girl named after the flower, she had informed me that she was very lonely, standing practically alone in this word to face it, but people did care about her. Tea lights circled her house, together with hundreds of flowers, all to support her and Thomas. Two young people who had gone missing from this earth, literally picked off of it like a flower, brutally ripped from life. One of them was safe and sound, the other had come to an awful end, but that would stay a mystery for the people in this universe, a case that would never be solved.

Clearing my mind, I teleported inside to be greeted by old and dusty furniture. By the looks of it, the place was practically untouched since she left. A house stuck in time, put on pause until its owner would return.

Her house was small, but filled to the brim with stuff. Books, plants, pieces of art, and gems were scattered around in a messy fashion, but you could tell she had thought the placement through. I stood in the middle of the living room that existed out of an old dark brown leather sofa with a small simple television, a big bookshelf, and multiple rugs. Directly connected to that the dining room, next to the dinner table stairs that led to the second floor.

The many plants that stood in her house were dead, the sad dried up leaves hanging on for dear life, another sign that this house was no longer a home to someone. Filling my lungs was mostly dust, but next to that a cozy cinnamon smell that blended perfectly with old dark wood. Her house perfectly reflected who Lilly was as a person. I wondered how long it would take before she would start filling her room in the bunker with similar decorations. A hint of a smile appeared on my face, imagining the scene of Dean freaking out over the scented candles that would slowly leak its scent into the rest of the bunker.

Shifting my focus back on the thing I should be focusing on, to begin with, I looked at the many books that laid on the bookshelves. My priority was finding out what Lilly-Mae was, and it didn't take long before I had gone through every single book, checking all the pages. She had a lot of fictional books scattered around, from an innocent series of books called Harry Potter, to a rather weird collection about the different shades of grey. Which I decided to not even look at, knowing it wouldn't deliver me the information I was seeking after.

Deciding to move on I went upstairs because I had a feeling deep down that the book mess would continue on the second floor of the house. The dark wooden stairs creaked under the weight of my feet as I made my way up, taking in as much of the surroundings as I could. Her kitchen was filled with drying herbs, on the windowsills glass jars with water. On the wall that led upstairs hung instead of classic family pictures, multiple animal skulls. Lilly's house had a spiritual touch. A bit, witchy, was the best way to describe it.

The closer I got to the second floor, the more prominent the cinnamon smell became. Old faded red wallpaper complemented the dark wooden floor in the hallway perfectly, together with the as dark wooden doors. The upper floor was as big as the bottom, giving her enough space for two bedrooms and a bathroom, although one of the two bedrooms had become an art room. I briefly laid my eyes on the many paintings that were scattered around the room before walking past the bathroom that strongly smelled of mint.  At the end of the hallway was where her bedroom was located. The door of the room stood wide open giving me a direct vision of her messy bed that stood against the window.

On entering the room a weird feeling flowed through my vessel. Seeing the crazy amount of blankets laying on her bed that was swung open showed exactly in how much of a hurry she was the night she left to meet Thomas. I counted three different blankets, and that was quite a lot considering it was mid-summer. A half-empty cup of tea stood on her nightstand that was collecting a thick layer of mold. The weird feeling was the confrontation that went through me that Lilly was indeed lonely. She might have a lot of support from strangers, that pity her going missing, but there was not a single soul who took care of her house while she was gone.

Not a family member, not a good friend, no one. I slightly tilted my head in confusion at the urge to clean the place. I considered it for a moment, but when my eyes met a suitcase that was tucked under her bed, I changed my mind. It was clear that this wasn't Lilly-Mae's home any longer, but all of this was still hers. Instead of trying to get Lilly back to her homeworld, I decided to bring her belongings to her in the new universe she was trying to fit into. Pulling the suitcase from under the bed, I stopped myself.

Info. I was here for information on what Lilly is. Biting my teeth I forced myself to shift my focus, and blinked myself to the nearest library.

-To be continued- 

[leal-5]

Tomb of Time and Destiny: Chapter 7

Juvia POV

We quickly stood and fled the room. As I shut the heavy door, I heard conversation erupt around all three tables. It didn't matter if they gossiped about us, the important part was that we’d set off tomorrow, in search of Lucy and Levy. That was, if I didn’t wake up from this dream before then.

We were nearly across the courtyard when someone took my arm and whirled me around. Hearing my gasp, Erza immediately turns and slams her fist down on the arm of my apprehender.

“Good mother of Zeref, calm down woman!” Gray cried out while rubbing his lower arm. He was definitely going to get a bruise. “Do most Bellum women have such remarkable strength?!”

“Gray?! What is it? You scared Juvia!”

He grimaced as if sorry, instantly dropping his hand. “What do you think you are doing? Going back to those woods again is crazy. My father isn’t kidding when he speaks of the danger of Phantom Lord.”

“And we relieved him-and you-of any responsibility. We fully comprehend your warning.” Erza said with an impatient tap of her feet.

We turned and resumed walking, leaving him behind us, but he hurried ahead and faced me, halting me again, thus halting Erza. He was even more frightfully handsome in the deep shadows, torchlight upon one side of his face. “Perhaps it’s different among the Bellums. These people, Phantom Lord”-he spit out the name like it burned his mouth with poison-“are unscrupulous.”

“Again, Juvia understands your warning. It is Juvia’s life Gray. Allow Juvia to live it as Juvia sees fit.”

“But that is just it! I endeavor to aid you in living it.”

I studied him for a long moment. He ran his hand through his spiky hair. Who died and made him our guardian? Sheesh, I was all for the chivalrous knight thing, but this was getting to be a bit much….

“Miss Lockser, Miss Scarlet we will make far better time without you,” he said carefully, dragging his eyes away from mine for a moment to glance at Erza.

So it was our lousy sidesaddle technique that made him hesitate. I almost laughed aloud.

“We will do better tomorrow.” Erza said with a hidden grin and a wave of her hand.

“Will you will send someone to awaken us?”

“I cannot promise that,” he said with a small shake of his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t think he could find anyone up to the task, I decided. He intended to use our weariness against us.

“Fine. Juvia and Erza will be in the courtyard at sunrise,” I said, stepping forward to tap him on the chest. “With or without your help.”

With that, I turned and rushed the remaining steps across the courtyard and through the door, Erza hot on my heels. She lets it slam behind her, then we both faced each other.

“...So.. Bellum, huh?” she said after a thoughtful moment. “Fast thinking.”

“Thank you. Juvia just hopes no one nearby is familiar with the place and begins to ask questions.”

Erza leaned back on the door in exhaustion and nodded. “Let’s get some rest, we’re gonna need it for tomorrow.”

I nodded and walked to my new bedroom, hoping the mattresses weren't too uncomfortable in this time period.

Erza POV

A rooster crowed somewhere, but I couldn’t find the energy to open my eyes. Fingers splayed, I ran my hands across the covers and groaned. ‘Why the hell is there a rooster so close to an archaeological discovery?!’

I threw back the rough woolen weave of my blankets and sat up rubbing my face. Slowly, I allowed my eyes to blink open. I full on panicked for a moment, not recognizing where in Mavis’s name I was.

Then it hit me.

I was still there. Or then. I was still in the past. Lost in time. I shook my head, hands on my mouth, and looked over to the window, where the sky was stained with the deep purple of dawn.

Someone knocked at my door, and I jumped, my hands immediately running through my hair. Was it Gray, here to wake us up for the search? I went to the door and opened it a crack. It was Mira, she arrived with a pitcher of water in a basin. “For your morning washing.” she said with a smile, lifting them when she saw my hesitation.

So he isn’t as bent on leaving us- or rather Juvia 😏- behind as he pretended. (As if I didn’t notice how he just couldn't seem keep his eyes off her)

I opened the door wider and she set down the basin, lifted the pitcher nestled inside, and poured the cool water for me to wash.  “You a your sister remind me of Gray’s mother. She, too, was uncommonly tall.”

Gray’s mother, also Jellals mother. I paused, wondering if it was wise to ask, then, “What happened to her?”

Mira was silent for so long I thought she was going to ignore my question.

“She was killed.”

My eyes widened in shock. I was expecting her to die of natural causes, sickness, or even childbirth! But murder?!

“Was it- was it Phantom Lord's doing?” I hesitantly ask.

“Unfortunately not, I’m afraid she was killed by a witch. Probably jealous of her beauty.”

“A-a Witch?” I said in slight confusion. Over and over again that word witch came up.

“Mmhm! Witches are extremely rare beings that possess magical energy.”

“So, doesn't that make Jellal and his brothers witches?”

“Oh, no!” She said with a good hearty laugh. “Jellal and his brothers are wizards, also extremely rare but not as much as a witch.”

“If they both possess m-magical energy what is the difference between a witch and a wizard?”

All humor was devoid of her face as she said “Witches are evil and are always women. It was long determined that magical energy in women was dangerous because if it didn’t kill them, it drove them evilly insane. That is why if a witch is spotted, she is to be reported or killed on sight.”

My mouth ran dry. “H-has there ever been a-a good witch?” I asked just as she opened the door to leave.

Something flickered in her eyes for a moment, then it was gone.

“.....Never.” And with that she closed the door, leaving me alone with all that information.

On my bed there was a ceramic plate with a round loaf, an apple and small wedge of cheese atop it. She must of set it down without my realizing it.

I tore the small loaf in half and eagerly bit into it. It felt odd having the girl wait on me. She was nearly my age. I grabbed the Apple and put it in my pocket. I also grabbed the other half of the bread, stuffed the wedge of cheese into it and strode out the door. Outside, Juvia was waiting for me. She smiled with relief when she saw me.

“Morning Erza,” she said in English as a made our way down to the great hall. “Did you sleep well?”

“As well as you can on a, what? 14th century-ish mattress?”

Juvia chuckled lightly at my answer and tried to elbow me.

“Ow.” She pouted when she came in contact with my armored ribs. “I forgot you were wearing that.”

The men were filing out of the Great Hall, led by the Makarov, whose frown said he clearly disapproved of our presence, even though he had given us permission to join them.

I caught sight of Carmen and the rest of her girls then, trailing after Jellal and the others, true ladies in-waiting at their sides. Apparently they wanted their men to be thinking of them as they left the castle. (Insert a very unladylike snort here)

She paused when she saw us, then hurried over to me followed by Ava. “Surely you don’t truly intend to ride with the men. You’ll just slow them down.”

“And then, so I will,” I said brusquely. It was too early in the morning to think about what the perfect response would be.

“It is not good for a lady’s reputation,” Ava said lowly, turning to face us and keeping her voice down. She touched Juvia's arm. “To travel alone, with a company of men. Please, take care.”

We looked down at her at an angle and tried to don an expression that said we cared, at least a little bit. “Come with us, then, if you care to guard our reputation.”

Their eyebrows lifted in surprise, and they actually took a partial step away from us, much to my amusement. “No,” Carmen said. “I think not. I enjoy a ride now and then. But anything that smells of danger- no, I'll leave that to my fiance.”

We grinned and couldn’t resist waggling our eyebrows. “Then, that is where we’re different. We enjoy a bit of adventure. Good day, Miss Ava and Miss Carmen.”

We strode away from them, barely able to control our grins.We discreetly high fived each other as we moved across the courtyard. Both Jellal's and Gray caught sight of us, “We ask you again… please, remain here today.”

We took several steps past them and then I looked back over my shoulder. “Where are our mounts?” I was hoping and praying that they would bring us Castor and Pollux. I don't know why we felt such a strong connection to those horses.

Jellal shook his head and strode ahead, clearly irritated. But after a few steps, he waved to the groomsmen. A shout was heard, one of surprised pain, and then out came Castor and Pollux, groomsmen-less.

Our eyes lit up as they eagerly approached us, but it quickly melted into a frown when we noticed the piece of clothing hanging between their teeth. Castor trotted up to me and pressed his head on mine. I closed my eyes and stroked him lightly, unable to fight the smile forming on my face.

“Castor!” I lightly chided once I pulled away, waving my finger in his face to show that I was serious. “Look what you did to that poor man's shirt! It's all ruined now!”

“Pollux, what did Juvia say about being rude.” Juvia said beside me, but Pollux merely lifted her hat a bit off her head before plopping back down Juvia's head messily, lightly tousling her hair in the process. Juvia sighed and turned to the groomsman with the shredded sleeve.

“Juvia shall fix your shirt when she returns.” she says, bowing slightly at the waist with her right hand over heart. Then she straightened and gave him a reassuring smile.

The groomsman looked helpless, not certain how to react to someone bowing to him with such respect. He was probably more accustomed to doing the bowing. Also, Juvia giving him that breathtaking smile of hers afterwards didn't help matters either. The poor man was a stuttering fool, his entire face and neck flushing deep red.

Well, I can't blame him, Juvia did have a breathtaking- and I mean breathtaking- smile. But what made it breathtaking wasn't her smile itself, it was her eyes. Juvia had such blue eyes that were a bright sky blue when she was happy or a dark ocean blue when she was serious, and when she smiled they just seemed to sparkle and light up, immediately illuminating anyone's day.

An annoyed looking Gray told the groomsman he was excused for the third time and the groomsman, who had forgotten Gray was there, quickly scurried away. Juvia watched the encounter with a confused glance at me. I shrugged my shoulders as I continued petting Castor. ‘Beats me.’

Behind me, Jellal's clears his throat. I turn around to face him and he stared at me as if hoping I would change my mind about going at the last second. ‘Yeah well, you can give up on that idea hot stuff,’ I thought, determined to win this stare down. As tall as I was, I still had to tilt my head a teeny bit to meet his eyes.

He stared for a few more moments before realizing that I wasn't going to back down. He closed his eyes as pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a long sigh. I grinned triumphantly, but was victory was cut short when he, once again, unexpectedly grabbed my waist and lifted me up. I nearly shrieked by the action and gripped his forearms in a death grip. ‘NDDMDFEINHJ-WHAT THE HELL DOES THIS GUY EAT?!?! HOW CAN HE DO THIS SO EFFORTLESSLY?!?! MY BODY IS FLIPPING 5’ 10 OF PURE MUSCLE AND STRAWBERRY CAKE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!!’

He gently set me down on Castor and his eyes searched mine as if reading my thoughts, and my heart skipped a beat. I slowly released him from my death grip and took a deep breath, trying to steady it. He cocked his eyebrow questioningly. “You seem to freak out everytime you are lifted onto a saddle, is horseback riding new to you?”

“N-no,” I say while looking anywhere but at him. “I am just not used to being lifted in such a manner onto a horse.” My eyes settle on Natsu, who was yelling something about being fired up. I smiled a bit, he was like a child.

An awkward silence hung in the air to the point where Castor shifted from one hoof to the other, eager to get moving. “U-um shall we?” I stuttered. 'WAH, WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?! I'M ERZA SCARLET!!!! I DON'T STUTTER’

“Indeed,” he said, thinning his lips and turning away sharply. ‘Eh? Is it something I said?’ I glanced over at Carmen, and she looked away, as if she wasn’t watching it all play out.

I took the reins more firmly in hand and tried to find the proper seating in the saddle. I felt like I was going to slide out of it at any moment. The gates opened. The six men circled their mounts and headed out, three ahead of Juvia and I, three behind.

‘Lucy, Levy,’ I thought. ‘We’re coming. Please be okay. Please, please be okay. Please be there. We can’t do this alone….’

[borderlandscast]

his dark materials au

all these aus are going to crossover at multiple points, since it’s inevitable and i like creatively torturing myself. here is a basic cast list and notes. discworld au will be placed into a different post because this one is also epic length.

nilesy, will strife and parvus will get their own post! and discworld peeps too.

any feedback and thoughts on the magic system would be greatly appreciated!

rythian

born in sweden. barely left the country of his birth, except on family holidays or short trips to neighboring locations.

he became an experimental theologian with the intention of studying his heritage and discovering the mystery of why his daemon settled in an unusual form. the official story is that he’s supposed to retrieve or make copies of the althiometer interpretations for sweden’s own universities.

his daemon is called ‘ender’, gender neutral, small dragon the size of a house cat. ender has a lot of raised scales which gives them a thorny devil’s appearance. the scales are smoother than appearances suggest, so concealing ender beneath rythian’s cloak is the usual means by which ender hides.

ender’s species is that of a western dragon. thier features include a pointy head, frill, four legs with talons (thumb ones opposable, albeit sharp), leathery wings and a tail. ender’s eyes have a nictating membrane, and they possess excellent night vision.

ender’s voice has a raspy quality to it, but mirror rythian’s own voice. both have a faint accent when they speak.

ender shares rythian’s taste for information and knowledge. between the two of them, ender hoards the bulk of it. ender has never forgotten a book they or rythian have read.

ravs

born and grew up in scotland. has never been anywhere else, nor interested in doing so.

daemon is ‘finnley’, goes by she/her, a unicorn. finnley is a white ‘horse’ with patches of speckled grey on her body. she blends into mist perfectly. her eyes are a hazelnut colour. finnley’s tail is mostly white; she doesn’t take kindly to people pulling on it.

her hooves are the second most dangerous part of her, her ivory horn being the other. her hooves can crush skulls and stones, and her horn can gore through people.

that said, ravs is the only person who can ride her. she can outrun normal horses. he can ride her with or without a saddle, though ravs prefers the former for obvious reasons. finnley can carry ravs and cargo for about 100 miles (twice that of a regular horse) before tiring. she can go much further at a slower pace.

both left their town of birth due to religious authorities getting wind of him and his daemon’s settled form; the two of them left to protect their family and friends.

both have made a relative’s old highlands castle their secret base. the two earn money from running delivery jobs all over the countryside. given finnley’s speed and ravs’ head and social knack for business, they’ve got quite a reputation built up, and numerous friendships all over the place so both are never in pressing need of a roof, food and drink.

rythian doesn’t know this when they meet, but ravs can separate from finnley at will; both can travel incredibly far from each other if needed, though they prefer not to.

wherever ravs goes, he takes a carrier pigeon with him. the pigeon has been trained to respond to basic commands and questions, including relaying messages back and forth with fellow scotsmen.

a witch taught finnley the trick of how to conceal her horn by using the same trick that witches use to hide themselves from crowds or when infiltrating locations. people simply just don’t notice finnley’s horn. finnley has to concentrate to do this, but ravs’ natural chattiness makes up for her reserved nature.

ravs grew up as a farmer’s child, which explains his lack of complaints when it comes to hard work and rising at the crack of dawn to help out his folks and relatives. he’s used to the ups and downs of the occupation. he’s fairly well built as a result.

y’all be pleased to know that he wears pants in this au, plus his trademark kilt.

teep

british. welsh heritage. voluntarily mute.

daemon is ‘basil’, he/him/they/them, a cockatrice (with some traits from a basilisk mixed in). has a rooster’s head, body, feet, wings and tail; the tail has a functioning serpent’s head. the serpent can hide within the rooster’s voluminous tail.

basil is about the size of a large rooster; he comes up to teep’s waist if that’s any help.

basil’s ability to petrify people is based on vision; it can apply to objects too. basil ‘requires’ a blindfold, but gets by via infrared sensing and a keen sense of smell on their snake head, plus sharing teep’s vision.

basil’s venomous. their leg spurs and snake head produce a potent venom that’s akin to that of a taipan or brown snake. fortunately, basil can only produce so much venom a day. teep harvests the venom from the snake head to dip arrowheads into. the two are initially unwilling to elaborate on an antidote to ravs and rythian.

i said in an earlier post that basil had four legs, but i’m changing my mind and making basil more chicken shaped. basil has two taloned feet, but at the top of their wings is a smaller set of talons. these can be operated like pointy hands. like ender’s, they’re capable of shredding fragile items, like paper. it also lets basil scale objects, mostly trees and fences.

after a noodle incident that left a whole village petrified, teep and basil fled. they returned to keep guard over the village to make sure nobody discovers what happened to it. basil doesn’t feel any remorse whatsoever, and doesn’t think teep should either.

teep has proficiency in archery and maintains their own bow. their family used to be rangers and hunters, but began to dabble in lumberjacking due to rising demand in wood for ships, carpentry, artisan pursits and construction.

teep’s relationship with basil is that of mutual tolerance. they don’t necessarily like or hate each pther, though basil seems to prefer being around teep than be separated, with the addition of basil’s role in speaking for the two of them.

that said, teep dislikes basil’s snarkiness and talkativeness (which is hilarious, considering basil is a reflection and manifestation of teep’s own soul), while basil regards teep’s muteness the ‘silent treatment’, which says a lot.

some notes about zylus and daltos’ world:

separate to that of rythian, ravs and teep’s world, but linked thanks to several secret openings caused by the subtle knife’s bearers.

magic is heavily relient on dust, and the magician’s bond with a daemon.

this world developed like lyra’s world, so electricity/anbaric isn’t as widespread, and a lot of the continents remain to be explored. it’s part fantasy with steampunk thrown in.

cost of magic is concentration; you ever feel like you want to pass out after concentrating too hard? or get a migraine after a giant task? that’s the feeling. the tryhardiest of magicians fall asleep and simply never wake up; the dust expended doesn’t replenish in these comatose individuals to warrant consciousness.

given the presence of magic, religions are much more lax, acknowledging and tolerant of each other. that doesn’t mean that there weren’t wars, it just mean that they’re less on a grander scale of death and destruction since magic is utilized heavily to tamp down on these matters and nip them in the bud. there’s a lot of careful balancing between countries on keeping the peace.

magic is allied with science; science is one of the main drivers in advancing civlisation, while magic serves to fill in the gaps that science leaves (e.g. healing, weather control, binding). magic is treated like a science itself.

there are multiple schools of magic, and many sub classifications and styles. no one way is emphasised (though rival schools try to preach otherwise), or stronger than the others.

the term ‘magician’ is an umbrella term; wizard, witch, sorcerer are perfectly applicable examples of job titles, but regular folks use that first term the most.

anyone can enroll to study magic, and the earlier the better. the highest enrollment tends to occur at when kids enter adolescence, which is when dust begins to increase. there’s always funds set aside for those with incredible potential or from lower social classes to cover schooling, food, travel, study materials and uniforms. it’s in a country’s best interests to produce magicians since not many go on to further their career in a way that benefits a country.

all budding magicians start as theorists, and the majority choose to follow this path in life. they debate, study, experiment and discuss magic, just like they would a science. they can cast magic, but their methods and output differs substantially to that of a practical practioner (get it?). many theorists also have a second occupation, not always magic orientated (such as teaching, gardening, merchant). a few even regard magic as a hobby, dabbling in it on the weekends.

practical practitioners are a jack of all trades. they go out into the world and solve problems that occur as a result of dust, and to a lesser extent, conflicts or human problems. they’re paid a portion of the comissions fee by the requester and a reward upon successful completion. many are freelancers, some work only in one location, and a select few work for the government.

all requests come through via guilds that screen them for issues before making them public. private requests are also possible, including wanting a specific magician but these charge a much higher fee since the magician may not always be available or if another has to transferred in or out.

all magicians undertake a final exam condicted by professors to test their control, theory, aptitude, and specialty (optional, and the magifian can claim multiple ones). this is to root out those unprepared and the undesirables. it can be retaken as many times as needed.

upon passing, the institution acknowledges the magician, and grants them a license. the license isn’t legally needed since unlicensed magic thrives just as well; more caution is required when dealing with said magic. the license also serves as identification since each carries a unique signature from each daemon/human pair.

daemons must be settled by the time of the magician’s graduation. exceptions are rare. certain factions prefer recruiting daemon specific magicians. some say that the final settled form of a daemon determines how advanced one’s magic growth is, but that’s just gossip.

dust is present in this world to a ridiculous degree; if lyra’s world is a lake, this one is an ocean. two basic opinions exist: dust is finite, the other being dust is infinite. either way, there’s evidence to support both, but further studies are needed. and magic is slowly vanishing...

to prevent accidents with daemons (such as in hunting, sports, public events), all daemons must be marked in an obvious, foolproof way. kids tie scraps of colourful cloth or braids to their daemon, explorers equip hats or backpacks, university members use their school’s crest branded on a scarf or tie. there’s a whole world of daemon fashion. people can get very creative.

zylus

dutch scholar. born in the netherlands, has never traveled beyond europe. prefers to stay in one location, dislikes travel unless absolutely necessary. especially hates sea travel.

daemon is ‘griffin’, prefers masculine pronouns but will happily accept female pronouns, brown gyrfalcon. griffin’s height is about arm length. he has a whistling nature to his voice.

part of a noble house that made its fortune when shipping and trade lanes were first established out of the country. his family’s company has existed for a century, and is family run. zylus would rather avoid drawing attention to this fact. his family has low expectations that he’ll run the company, given his natural aptitude for magic, his interests and lack of business ambition.

zylus is a mathematician and a budding physicist. he has a head for numbers, attributed to his upbringing where no child in the house grew up blissfully ignorant of how the company operates. zylus assisted in accounts, making sure all the numbers nearly lines up on all sides. he gained a taste for it, and combined with a curiosity of dust (thanks to the scholars frequenting the store), led to his university career.

zylus entered university in his early teens, and spent the majority of the time immersed in the mathematical side of explaining dust and feeling out his magic. his faculty involves studying the nature of magic through formulas, theorums and laws, depending on the type of magic.

zylus developed a method for quick, precise casting of magic. it involves entering a certain state of mind, and he and griffin are currently stumped as to standardize it. if he’s successful, he might revolutionise the way magic is cast. most magicians cast magic like they’re being filmed: with great, sweeping movements, drama and chants. zylus thinks this is impressive and all, but highly impractical.

he has yet to decide on a specialisation in magic, owing to his occupation and interests. it’s fine to leave a magic specialty blank since all it does is help the guilds match up requests to a magician.

he prefers using precise magic, mostly used to give him a quick, numerical snapshot. it can be tailored depending on the job (like calculations, divinations, calibrations, weighings or measurements). zylus’ toolkit also includes a wider variety of real world magic but he rarely uses those spells. he also knows archival spells to preserve notes and texts, and the manual methods of doing so.

zylus is certified as a practical magician, but chooses not to accept requests except those from his family, faculty or friends. he doesn’t even know who’d request him snice he works in such a niche field to begin with.

griffin is capable of flying at least a hundred metres away from zylus. the nature of this range is a subject of intense debate in the field of daemon focused studies in that large daemons are theorised to have a greater wandering range than that of smaller daemons, and is especially so for bird daemons (those with flight capabilities, anyway).

due to griffin’s talons, zylus has to carry a foldable, wooden perch for his daemon, or have leather pads fastened to one or both shoulders whenever he leaves his home so griffin doesn’t have to park on his head or arm.

griffin’s personality isn’t as aloof as their form suggests; griffin is more talkative than zylus is, and is the more patient and outgoing of the pair. griffin tends to notice smaller details that zylus overlooks. griffin isn’t as serious as zylus is; in fact, their playfulness is akin to that of dallas’, daltos’ daemon. sometimes zylus’ self consciousness spills over, so griffin can be harder to read than usual.

zylus adores griffin, though griffin can be a handful when the both of them are agitated and hold opposing opinions. nonetheless, zylus unconditionally loves his daemon, and vice versa. he does his best to listen and compromise, and he doesn’t shun griffin for long after they’ve both squabbled.

zylus ties a small leather pouch to griffin, and a plain, sandy coloured scarf to mark griffin as a daemon. the pouch can hold letters, small objects, food, and instruments. griffin can open it on their own with their feet and beak.

daltos

american scholar. born in ‘new denmark’, left the country at a young age. the sole reason for that is his talent in magic; schools for magic hadn’t been fully established, and the best option was to send daltos back to europe with his uncle and aunt.

daemon is ‘dallas’, genderfluid, bearded vulture. dallas has no preference for pronouns. their voice is ambigious, albeit with a harsh note to it; daltos prefers masculine pronouns when personally referring to his own daemon.

his early childhood in italy was full of adventures, largely spent by following his aunt and uncle around since both were practical magicians by trade. he picked up a lot of their mannerisms and habits, including their taste for functional, minimal fuss casting and arsenal of spells.

as a result and in his later years, daltos has traveled extensively all over europe; his trips as a small child had a profound effect on his curiosity, and his aunt and uncle did well in cultivating it.

once he hit adolescence, he went to one of italy’s universities, taking the exam. he eventually decided what he wanted to do while attending said university.

daltos studies people and daemons as an anthropologist, focusing on the study of the presence of dust and how it rises and falls with social development, culture and practices.

he keeps meticulous logs about his travels; part of his goal is to track, document and learn about cultures that lack archive entries. his other goal is to chart shifts in dust over time to pool together data for a collective study that his faculty is responsible for. said faculty believes that sentience is key to dust’s existence, and thus, dust is infinite.

he transferred to zylus’ university to access their data, with the stipulation that he help some of the other branches to cover some absences. this is how he and zylus met.

daltos’ magic is more focused on a versatility of spells than conpletely mastering a select few. as a field magician, he and dallas have to be prepared for anything, from healing, shielding, weather adjustments, repairs, to animal control. he carries around a detailed notebook listing basic spells, sorted by category, effectiveness and strength, all based on his own observations and experiments. he also prepares powerful spells in advance on dust infused scrolls; these are last minute resorts, and are all sealed away in a waterproof bag.

dallas is a large daemon, measuring about 1.2 metres in height. like zylus and griffin, daltos owns leather pads to support dallas landing on his shoulders, and carries around a portable wooden perch.

dallas’ wandering range is about two hundred metres. dallas reckons that he could go further, but that’s his rough estimate.

dallas is marked by a navy bandanna worn around their neck, and leather spats. when traveling, dallas equips a backpack to help carry equipment and items.

dallas is a reserved daemon, in contrast to daltos, who is known to be a chatterbox rivalling parvis. however, dallas does share some of daltos’ traits, such as his stubbornness, acting insufferably smug, and being a playful piece of shit. dallas is fond of stealing items that daltos needs and retreating to a high location until daltos either comes after him or caves.

daltos and dallas are as thick as thieves, they have no secrets between them, and indulge in a lot of joking around. they know it looks unprofessional to onlookers, so dallas tends to adopt an intimidating air when out and about. otherwise, dallas plays the straight man to daltos’ funny man. as for how daltos keeps a straight face when he looks at dallas head on, he says ‘he doesn’t.’

[alarriefantasy]

Annoying neighbours? Thnx!

I got a bit carried away here! I ended up making an all-around neighbors fic rec - BUT, since you wanted specifically, “annoying neighbors,’ I put * next to fics that are what you’re looking for! :) :) Hope that’s not too confusing! 

                                        Neighbors Fic Rec

*Won’t Let Go of You for Nothing by AFangirlFantasy

Words: 3k

Louis’ new neighbor is playing their music offensively loud, and he’s fucking pissed. Every night this week he hasn’t been able to fall asleep because of it, but tonight, Louis refuses to suffer again. Taking matters into his own hands, Louis goes over to knock some much needed sense into their brain.

Things may or may not go the way he plans.

Or a Love/Hate neighbors AU

someone new by larrytale

Words: 3k

After realizing that standing around and worrying is only wasting precious time, Harry braces his hands on the wall and takes a deep breath, trying to will his nerves away. He needs wifi.

“PENIS!”

He has to stop himself from laughing after the word leaves his mouth, the absurdity of the situation finally catching up to him.

Return The Favor by Taayjaay

Words: 3k

Louis has a habit for almost burning his apartment complex down while cooking. His new neighbour helps him out.

it’ll all come up roses by neonmoonlight

Words: 4k

or the one where louis really doesn’t hate his neighbor who keeps waking him up at the crack of dawn. ft magic, liam, niall, and zayn barely being mentioned, harry and his fucking motorcycle, a date and a kiss.

Through the Wall (Through the Wall) by taggiecb 

Words: 5k

The prompt

“We live in adjacent apartment and one day I accidentally knocked a hole in the wall and into your living room. I’m really sorry oh my God you’re naked” AU from qulcksilvers.tumblr.com

Gimme Gimme by CarlyLovesLarry

Words: 5k

or where Louis is a broke college student with a hot new hunk of a neighbor

Lust for Life by larryent 

Words: 6k

AU. After Louis moves into a new flat, his fit next door neighbour who happens to be a baker brings him cupcakes to welcome him into the building.

*Can’t Shake You Out by fackinglouis

Words: 8k

Or the one where Harry and Louis have lived in the same building for three years but just meet now and bond over their crazy neighbors.

you've got a friend in me by graceana

Words: 8k

Louis talks to himself a lot so he buys a hedgehog and flirts through post-it notes with his fit neighbor who makes wonderful apple crumble.

there was a reason i collided into you by sockslwt 

Words: 9k

AU where Louis and Harry are neighbors who meet in the elevator of their apartment one morning and it becomes a routine for them. Louis pines a lot. Then one day, Harry doesn’t show up at the elevator like he usually does, and well, Louis might panic.

*Get Off of My Cloud by Marora_Daris 

Words: 9k

Harry is the most annoying neighbour that sexually frustrated Louis could have. Niall decides it’s a good idea to handcuff them together.

Featuring guinea pigs, animal print leggings and inappropriate boners.

London Calls Me a Stranger by Thatscoolbutwhataboutlarry 

Words: 9k

“Hello, my beautiful, conceited coquette.”

“Hi, daddy.”

Or the one where Harry is a tease, and Louis is his new neighbour.

*3B Neighbour by orphan_account

Words: 10k

Dear Neighbour,I love the sound of your rooster alarm, it’s sucha joy waking up 5 in the morning. Can you get itany louder?

Or: a mysterious neighbour keeps slipping the worst sort of notes under Harry’s door.

You and Me and the Devil Makes Three by moodlighting

Words: 10k

AU. Louis moves in next door to Harry. Louis has a ghost, Harry has an extra futon and a crush.

*I’ll Make This Feel Like Home by 5ft9

Words: 12k

Harry can’t sleep because the cat next door won’t stop meowing. He goes over to confront its owner, things go surprisingly well, and the cat ends up being the cutest thing that he’s ever seen. Well, besides its omega owner.

A love story quickly blossoms.

in midnights, in cups of coffee by suspendrs

Words: 15k

Or, Louis is overworked and cold, Harry is stressed out, and they might be in love.

*Cut to The Feeling by ishiplouis 

Words: 15k

Louis has just moved into his new apartment in the fancy Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. All was well until he notices that his neighbour rarely closes the curtains which makes for an unlikely friendship to form.

Or AU where Louis is a ghostwriter working from home, and Harry is his firefighter neighbour who happens to have the cutest dog on Earth.

*Sweet Cheeks by NoShitSherlock

Words: 17k

Louis is an innocent, pretty in glasses, flustered mess of a high school sex-ed teacher who gets far too many dirty compliments and taps on the ass from his students. Harry, the lacrosse senior star and bad boy of Rowan High, gets transferred to Mr. Tomlinson’s sex-ed class after humiliating his previous teacher. It’s just what he likes to do.

Harry becomes set on humiliating Mr. Tomlinson who just so happens to be his next door neighbour, but it backfires when sexual comments get made. There’s one thing about Harry Styles: he doesn’t do teachers.

Until he does.

please don’t be in love with someone else by wildestdreams 

Words: 18k

The one where Harry and Louis are neighbors and there’s a lot of overthinking, misunderstandings, Backstreet Boys sing alongs, embarrassing moments in the hallway, and pining. They somehow still make it work.

*That’s How I Know by allwaswell16 

Words: 19k

Louis Tomlinson has just landed his dream job, coaching soccer at Augustus University. When he moves into a new house near campus, he meets his very fit new neighbor, English professor Harry Styles. Although their first meeting leads to an instant mutual dislike, the more Harry gets to know Louis, the more he likes what he sees.

Or the one where Harry’s African grey parrot spills his dirty secrets to his very hot neighbor.

In Dreams by dolce_piccante

Words: 23k

When Harry moves to a new city, his new flat come with a number of sweet, anonymous gifts and surprises that brighten his days. Could it be a friendly ghost? Another friendly presence in his new building is his tattooed neighbor, Louis, who seems determined to put a smile back on his face.

*A Whole New World by backonefish 

Words: 24k

Louis has moved into his new apartment to start his new job as a teacher. Things would be great. If only his arsehole neighbour didn’t wake him up every morning by playing piano.Shenanigans ensue. Like a very inadvisable kissing bet.

hit me with your sweet love, steal me with a kiss by icedwaters

Words: 27k

or louis is a 22 year old photographer in his third year of uni, and harry is his 19 year old cat-loving neighbor.

Curtains, Cataclysms, and Constellations by aclosetlarryshipper

Words: 30k

Harry doesn’t understand the boy next door.

People don’t normally send surreptitious messages through the form of symbolic emotion and quick glances if they want to be left alone. Right?

No. His new neighbour is trying to say something to him.

(And if Harry decides to devote his entire summer to figuring him out, it will be a summer well spent.)

*Two Steps Behind by sacredheart (orphan_account)

Words: 38k

Or, Louis is two years younger than his neighbors, Harry, Liam, Niall, and Zayn, and he grows up bending over backwards to get their attention and acceptance. Especially Harry’s

Just Me, You, And This Box of Matches by tomlinsunshine 

Words: 87k

Louis is fairly sure that his new neighbour is going to destroy him. And also their apartment building, and the dumpsters outside, and all the forests within a thirty mile radius. But. Mostly him.

updated: 03.24.2019

[a-d-n-d-journal]

Game Session #18

Characters:

Rysiel "Riceboy", half-elf druid (Circle of the Moon)

Zastu, dragonborn rogue (Thief)

Mirri in the wind, tabaxi bard

Kix, changeling rogue (Arcane Trickster)

This is a pretty short session. It's been really difficult to align everyone's schedules, especially with summer coming up (work hours, social distance camping, etc), we basically just had to jam it in the first available spot.

The session kicks off with a chase after the remaining rogue. She flees through the alleys and across busy streets. After the first corner they turn, a very familiar rooster is standing in the middle of the alley. The characters note it, but continue on. It’s our first chase in the campaign, so we had to figure out the rules. I think it went OK. After some feral dogs get in the way, the party catches up to the poor rogue. (Kix’ flying tackle misses, but Rysiel’s does not) They spend a few rounds punching her, trying to knock her out. At some point a rooster crow is heard around the corner. While the others take care of the problem, Rysiel turns in a a fancy big-breasted hen and investigates. Turning the corner he finds out that the eerily familiar rooster is surrounded by big alley cats! And now Rysiel is too! They are rescued by Mirri, who pops around the corner to see what’s going on, and shooes them away. Rysiel tries to talk to the rooster, but doesn’t understand for some reason, even though he should....

Meanwhile, Zastu and Kix have managed to beat the shit out of knock out the rogue. They make a plan to carry her out of town (for some reason?) and dump her body. Both of them quickly realize that the streets are very busy, the town is surrounded by a wall with checkpoints (which they passed through), and the Hand of Yartar thieve’s guild is sure to notice. In fact... Kix has a sneaking suspicion they’re being watched. Mist suddenly fills the alley, obscuring everything within a foot of their faces. Crossbow bolts twang. From the air passing by their heads they can tell the archers missed on purpose. A woman’s voice rings out clearly, “Leave her and go.” The voice echoes down the alley, making it impossible to pinpoint. Kix’ spidey sense is tingling, but he can’t locate the thieve’s in their home turf. They leave the unconscious woman in the alley, and head in the direction they think is the exit (Rysiel turns back into a half-elf). Kix gets turned around though, and heads further in. He emerges from the mist and sees down the alley for a split second before it’s walled off with magical darkness. More crossbow bolts zip by. He has a moment of panic, unsure if he’s about to die, or which direction they want him to go in. He finally heads back into the mist, tripping a couple times before rejoining his companions.

The adventurers decide they’ve had enough adventure for the day, and get a pair of rooms at a likely inn. Of course, this means that a person must stay up in each room, to watch for danger... That thieve’s guild probably isn’t too happy about the murder of three of their members.

Late into the night, near the end of the first shift, Kix is keeping watch in a room with Mirri. He blinks, and slowly becomes aware that there is a human face staring back at him out the window and across the alley. The face resolves into a head and a body, sitting comfortably against the bare wall.

Kix starts talking, something to the effect of “Who are you, what are you doing here?” The woman’s face mouths the words “I can’t hear you, open the window” Kix is reluctant to open the window and potentially let the woman in, but realizes that he’d probably be dead if she wanted it. He cracks it a few inches. The woman goes on to tell him how lucky he is that they sent her, she’s saved so many from the machinations of the Hand of Yartar.... But anyway, they need to get out. Have you heard of the Harpers? Kix shakes his head no, as he was absent when the rest of the party members spoke to Darathra about them. The woman shrugs, no matter. We’re on your side, but you need to leave before dawn so I can stage the rooms. Kix turns to the sleeping Mirri. “I need to confer with the others....” He looks back, but the woman is gone. “Over here...” The voice comes from beside the window, where Kix can’t see unless he opens it. “You have 5 minutes, and then it’s your funeral. They know who you are, where you are, and consider you dangerous enough not to make mistakes.”

Kix quickly rouses Mirri and fetches the others, explaining the presence of this mysterious woman outside his window, willing to help them escape town. One way or another, the window is open. Zastu shows the silvered emblem with the three boars of Triboar to the woman. “You say you’re a Harper... Do you know what this is?” “Looks like the three boars of Triboar. Them and Yartar are rivals. What does this have to do with anything?” Zastu hums. “The leader, Darathra said she was a Harper, why don’t you recognize this?” “It’s not the symbol of the Harpers. I don’t know this Darathra, but it’s not surprising... We’re spies, we work in cells. Don’t you know anything? Anyway, we’re wasting time. If you’re coming, meet me at the back door, and follow my signals.”

The party decides to trust the nameless Harper, first seeing her lead them down the hallway out the back door. For the next 20 minutes or so, she leads them carefully around town to the stables, which are conspicuously empty. Despite the early hour, the streets are starting to wake up, and people are beginning their day. The party quickly grabs their new cart and horse from Triboar, plus the horse from Nightstone. Soon their are out the gates of Yartar, with the Hand and their mysterious ‘guide’ behind them.

They wait for a few hours until the caravan they were travelling with catches up, giving a glib excuse for being outside the walls already. The people of the caravan shrug it off.

The next few days travel west are mostly uneventful, but on the second night a faint drumming gradually grows into a steady pounding that makes the air vibrate. The clouds overhead show the light of many fires to the north, and chanting voices are heard as if miles away. Spooked out of their minds, the party decides to sneak away from the caravan to hide. Mirri is spotted by one of the caravan leaders, who smirks and remarks “Barbarians scare you?” The tabaxi bard has never heard of the Uthgardt Barbarians, but the man explains they are very common in the North. Judging from the sound, they’re having a ritual of some sort, and they probably won’t bother them this night, though it’ll be hard to sleep. If those barbarians wanted them dead, or even just robbed, it would have happened already, but they can go hide if they want. Mirri takes this information back to the party.

The next day, the caravan comes to a stop early in their trek. From the back of the procession of wagons, the adventurers can’t see what’s going on, so they move to the front.... Three bull elk block the path about a kilometre ahead. They seem almost normal, except for their size... They dwarf the road and the trees around them. Thinking to investigate//parlay, Rysiel turns into a stag and approaches. But before he crosses half the distance, the bull elks catch his scent and start moving aggressively--lowering their heads and stamping the ground. Then he remembers the most basic note about male deer--they’re extremely territorial, especially toward foreign males.

To be continued...

[reytonbleyer]

The Things We Do For Love - Chapter Eight

The worst part of loving someone is realizing you need to let them go. Unless you didn’t have to… Unless you never knew.

ff.net // wattpad

CHAPTER EIGHT: Words of Wisdom

It was beautiful. The way the sunrays slipped through the cracks on the roof setting an angelic glow over all the most ordinary things piling around the barn. Lucas sat in silence on a heap of hay that could have easily been mistaken for gold as it shimmered under the sunlight, observing the world awaken around him. He could hear the horses' steady breaths and the roosters in the distance announcing a new dawn. He was engulfed in the epitome of peace and yet his heart was filled with anything but. Two years today, he thought to himself, two years away from her.

He had hoped it would get easier over time, he'd hoped he might move on. Lucas had been trying to live life as best as he could and, even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone but himself... he was still trying to live a life that would make her proud. He may have not been good enough for Riley then, but it didn't mean Lucas would give up trying, it didn't mean he didn't want to be worthy of her still, even if she'd never know, he owned it to himself and to her to become the best man he could possibly be.

Lucas rubbed his eyes, burning from the little sleep he got that night. He stretched and forced himself up to his feet, walking over to the horse. Not even twelve hours ago, Pappy Joe had called saying Sophia had gotten worse. Lucas didn't need him to finish, a moment later he was speeding from College Station back to Austin, in the pickup truck his grandfather had surprised him with as a welcome gift, when he moved back to Texas.

He was thankful his classes hadn't started yet, though deep down Lucas knew he would have gone regardless. He had to be there. It was already dark when he arrived at the ranch, going straight to the barn where a worried Joe waited for him. Of course Sophia meant a lot to Lucas, that horse had played an important part on one of the biggest decisions of his life. However, if he were completely honest, he had mostly come for his grandpa, not for her.

Joe wasn't the most sentimental of all people, but when it came to his loved ones, human or not, his devotion knew no limits, reason why Lucas had to assure him about a million times that he would watch Sophia all through the night, in order to convince his grandfather to go back inside and get some sleep. The old man hadn't been feeling so well lately, he wasn't the same strong Joe that welcomed Lucas back to his hometown two years ago. He had lost a lot of weight, which he insisted was something to pride himself for, but Lucas couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, despite Pappy Joe's easiness about it all. And it wasn't just that, Joe got tired a lot easier and faster nowadays and his once insatiable appetite was gone. Still the man was stubborn as a mule; he insisted he was fine, ignoring his grandson's persistence that he saw a doctor.

The blonde did his best to shake his worries away as he entered Sofia's stable. She wasn't getting any better, though it was already a small miracle she was still standing. She'd been doing poorly long before Lucas moved to the lone star state and things had only gotten worse since. She was old and tired, but a true fighter. Nevertheless, he doubted she would make it through another night. Lucas hugged her neck and patted her back, just like he'd done over a decade ago when he helped deliver her baby on this same barn, suddenly feeling like that terrified little boy again, except this time it wasn't the birth or a life that scared him, but the death of one.

"How's our girl doing?" Joe limped into the barn, smiling at his grandson, though it didn't quite reach his worry filled eyes.

"Not so good." Lucas looked from Joe to Sophia and back, his heart breaking for both of them "Pappy Joe, I'm going to be honest with you, I don't think she will make it through tonight." Joe nodded, averting his eyes to the ground as he chewed on his bottom lip "I'm really sorry."

"I know you are, boy. I am too." He took a deep breath, his expression softening ever so slightly "Do you have to be back on Campus yet? I was planning on making us some breakfast. What do you say? Care to spend some time with your old man?"

"I'd love to." He smiled sadly, watching as his grandfather turned around, walking with difficulty back to the house.

Lucas wasn't lying. Over the last two years he'd grown much closer to Pappy Joe. They had always had a good relationship, but their bond had strengthened considerably since Lucas's move. The first six months were hell, he'd admit to that. Back then, Lucas resented all things Texas. During those dark months, he had barely seen his grandfather at all, always coming up with excuses not to visit, he either had to study or he had a test or a project, whatever it was, there was always some matter he couldn't possibly postpone keeping him busy, which was funny considering he damn near failed his first semester.

He couldn't find it in him to focus. He hated college, his classes, his dorm room and even his roommate, with whom he wouldn't exchange anymore words than strictly necessary. He'd also drink. A lot. Lucas was spiraling, a small part of him knew so, but for the most part he didn't care. Until one night, when he picked a fight with a guy in a bar, over something so stupid he couldn't even remember now. Lucas went back to his dorm late that night, bleeding, bruised and more than a little drunk, trying to reach the bathroom as silently as he could, but failing not to wake up his roomie, Nate, who much to Lucas's surprise didn't hesitate to help, even though he had no reason to show him any kind of mercy.

He had treated the guy like crap for months and still the redhead didn't give it a second thought before leaving their room only to return a few minutes later with an ice bag and a first aid kit. Lucas laid in bed that night unable to fall asleep. He had done his best to keep his mind off of her since arriving in Texas, but for the first time since leaving New York Lucas allowed himself to openly think about Riley Matthews. It might have been Nate's kindness, the fact he cared for Lucas when no one else did, when he didn't even deserve it... it reminded him of Riley. Hell, he hadn't gotten into a fight ever since she'd walked into his life, he'd thanked her over and over again for helping him accept and control that side of himself, for believing in him, for being his calming influence. Now look at me, he thought bitterly. Lucas suddenly felt disgusted.

He woke up the next morning determined to turn his life around. He would make her proud. He apologized to Nate for his behavior over the previous months and thanked him yet again for being there for him when no one else was. Lucas dived into work, tearing through his books and whenever his will wavered he'd just look himself in the mirror, staring at the scar above his right eyebrow, a permanent reminder of that fight and the man he refused to become. It wasn't easy, but he managed to pass his practically unsalvageable semester.

Even though his college life finally started to ride on the right tracks, Lucas knew he still had a lot of making up to do family wise. Lucky for him, his grandfather and parents were ready and waiting with open arms for their prodigal son to return. It took a while for things to be like they were before, Lucas had been lost and angry for a long time, said and did things he regretted, things that hurt his loved ones, but eventually they found their way past those wounds.

With time, he became good friends with Nate too and, because of his constant support, Lucas decided to try out for the football team on the beginning of his second year. Now, a year later, he was the best student on his class and the star quarterback. He should be happy, he kept telling himself that. To anyone on the outside looking in, Lucas Friar had it all. But he didn't. He had managed to put himself back together pretty well, and for that he was grateful, but there was a part of him missing, a huge part, one he could never replace.

"Luke! Are you coming or what?" He heard Pappy Joe yelling from the porch, snapping him back to reality.

"Coming!" He yelled back, leaving Sophia's stable and jogging back to the house.

He was welcomed to the kitchen with the smell of freshly brewed coffee and bacon. Lucas sat on one of the stools behind the counter, observing as his grandfather worked through the cabinets, the ever present limp in his right leg making it harder for him to move around.

"Need some help? I make some mean pancakes." He chuckled, trying to sound more relaxed than he felt.

"Oh I know you do, I taught you how for Christ's sake! It's your grandma's recipe though, so I won't take all the credit." Pappy Joe focused back on the stove "And I don't feel like pancakes. Today is more of a scrambled eggs day."

"If you say so... hey, grandpa" Lucas bit the inside of his cheek as he thought through his next words carefully "How's your leg doing?"

"Great! Just like the rest of me." He laughed "Why do you ask?"

"Hum, nothing, it's just, it looks like your limping is getting worse."

"Yeah, well, you know, just regular old man's issues. You'll understand someday." Joe waved his hand around dismissively, quickly changing the subject "So I hear you're going back to the city for the holidays this year." When his grandson shot him a curious look, Joe chuckled "Jen told me."

"Of course she did." Lucas laughed along. His mother just couldn't keep anything to herself "But yeah, I am. We talked a couple days ago and decided it was about time I go back, hum, home." Even as he said it, Lucas knew the word sounded weird coming from his mouth. New York didn't feel like home, though for some reason Texas still didn't either.

"You mean they decided?" Lucas's words failed him, his mouth agape as he stared at Joe "Oh come on, Luke. You've been avoiding New York like the plague since you moved here and you haven't stepped foot in the city again. Don't get me wrong, I love having you and your family over for the holidays, but we both know your mother is a sucker for Christmas in New York and your dad finds that stupid New Year ball drop incredibly amusing for some reason. And I know you. You're doing this for them."

"Well... yeah." He muttered, playing nervously with his fingers.

"Look, I know you didn't leave New York under the best circumstances, but whatever happened then is now two years behind you. You're better now, stronger, more mature. I don't know what you're afraid of, but it really doesn't matter. You know what we say about fears. You either ride them..."

"Or they ride you." He nodded, forcing a weak smile "Thanks, Pappy Joe."

"I'm always here for you, boy." He fixed Lucas his breakfast, placing the plate on the counter before him with a smile "I always have been."

"I know."

The rest of their morning was filled with much easier conversations than that one. Lucas helped Joe with the ranch's chores, mostly feeding the animals and cleaning after them. Soon it was noon and the Friars returned to the kitchen to cook lunch together. They watched some TV and finally gave in to their tradition, finding their way to the porch's rocking chairs.

The afternoon flew by while Lucas filled Joe in on how he was doing on the team. He loved playing football and it kept him busy during those few free hours he had between classes. His social life suffered from it for sure, but that was one of the perks if you asked Lucas. His packed schedule served as the perfect excuse to dodge his way out of most social events, so he only ever went to the parties he absolutely had to, he was the quarterback after all, he was required to make some appearances with the team.

Nate would constantly give him hell for it; he was always saying Lucas was very likely the quarterback to get laid the least in all history. He knew his friend had a point, even through his troubled start on college, when he was all kinds of messed up, Nate hadn't yet seen Lucas with a girl and that hadn't changed to this day, though he never asked why and Lucas didn't intend on giving him an opening to do so. Riley... she was off limits. It hurt a little less if he didn't talk about her.

But it wasn't like he had completely closed himself up. He talked to most people on his football team and he was pleasant to his classmates and teachers, he'd just rather maintain a safe distance. He'd made the mistake of getting too attached once, he wasn't looking forward to doing it again. He had his family and Nate and Lucas found that to be more than enough. He still talked to his friends in New York on occasion, mostly Zay, but it wasn't the same anymore. Time and distance had taken their toll on all of them. As for Riley, he hadn't seen or talked to her since the break up. He'd never ask about her either, afraid of what type of news he might get. Lucas knew she'd likely moved on and he wanted nothing more than for her to be happy... He'd just rather be spared the details.

Pappy Joe asked him about his classes as well, he always did, and as usual Lucas told him how in love he was with veterinary medicine. It was the right career for him, but that they'd both known for years. He described his whole schedule to his grandfather, who listened intently to every detail. Lucas then explained about the volunteer tutoring he had been doing and the extra credit he would start getting this semester, for the work he would begin at A&M's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. He wasn't required to work there just yet, but his favorite teacher Mrs. Collin, given Lucas's great promise, had suggested he took an early start, so he could get more experience.

It wasn't until he was done rambling about his routine that Lucas realized he had been the only one talking for over an hour, while his grandfather simply stared at the horizon, seemingly lost in thought.

"Pappy Joe, is everything ok?"

"I don't know, Lucas, you tell me." He frowned, looking back at his grandson.

"Hum, I'm not sure I know what you mean." He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, a little intimidated under his grandfather's stare.

"You've just spent the past two hours telling me about all the exciting things you're doing on college and, while I'm happy for you, I'm also worried. You're always either on class or studying or practicing or playing or volunteering and, God, now you're about to start working at the hospital too."

"I still don't see the problem." Lucas muttered, not meeting Joe's eyes.

"It's too much, Luke. When are you living? When do you have time for yourself, for your needs, not as a student, not as the quarterback, but as Lucas Friar? Look, all I'm saying is... be careful, I know you're doing your best and you should, this is your moment to shine, just don't burn yourself out too quickly."

Lucas nodded "I'll try." He hated to lie to him.

His grandfather didn't get it. That was exactly the point. Yes, Lucas had a lot on his plate right now, but it was a win win situation. By packing up his schedule, he was not only making the most of his college experience, but he also kept himself busy enough not to think about Riley. Whenever he had too much time to spare, his mind helplessly wandered back to the pretty brunette who stole his heart in seventh grade. And no matter how fond of their memories Lucas was, the knowledge those moments were forever behind him was a knife to the heart. So he worked. Lucas worked through his every waking moment so he wouldn't get too caught up in his thoughts of Riley all the while, inwardly, doing his very best to make her proud. He decided not to argue with his grandpa about it though, he sure wasn't going to try and explain his reasons, Joe wouldn't understand even if he did. Instead, the two Friars just fell in a comfortable silence, watching the sun hide behind a distant hill.

"This was your grandmother's favorite time of the day." Joe declared softly, a unique kindness to his voice Lucas only ever heard when he talked about his late wife "We'd sit here just like this for hours. We never ran out of things to talk about. Oh Katherine, she... she never ceased to amaze me. She used to say people were like sunsets, a balance of light and dark, always different, but beautiful in their own way."

"You miss her." It wasn't a question. Pappy Joe simply rolled his head forward, a half smile gracing his features.

"Every day."

"Does it still hurt?" Lucas asked carefully. His grandfather rarely talked about Nana Katy and Lucas genuinely wanted to know, even if mostly for his own selfish reasons.

"It did. For a long time. You'd think the hardest part about losing someone you love is the separation, that very moment when you're pulled apart from the person you were supposed to spend the rest of your life with. But it isn't. The worst part is living through the aftermath. The next morning and every other one after that, when you have to get up and go about life as if a huge part of it hadn't been taken away."

"How do you make it stop?" His voice was almost inaudible, asking the question Lucas wanted more than anything to have answered.

"You don't. You wait. You do your best to keep living, even when it feels like you're just surviving. And someday, you wake up and it hurts less. Someday you wake up and the pain has turned into something else, a resigned longing, wrapped in the comfort that comes with knowing you made the most of the time you had together."

He was taken aback by his grandfather's words. Throughout his life, Pappy Joe had taught him many lessons, shared various pieces of advice, so Lucas was no stranger to his wisdom. Still, this was unlike any other conversation he had ever had with Joe. And he just so happened to have chosen today, of all days, to... That's when it hit him. Coincidence? Maybe. But Lucas didn't believe in those, something he'd learned from his grandfather himself.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I know what day it is." He admitted without a trace of hesitation, his voice calm and steady as he continued, ignoring Lucas's surprise "You might be fooling everyone else, Luke, maybe even yourself. But you ain't fooling me. And I know you don't like talking about this, so I'm only going to say it once. If you believe there's even the slightest chance you can save your relationship with Riley, do it. Do everything you can. Because that comfort I was talking about, you'll never find it if you give up. And you deserve better than to live haunted by your past and all its what ifs."

Lucas's eyes were locked on his grandfather's, but it felt like he was looking right through him, his gaze empty as his mind wandered somewhere else, on someone else, and Pappy Joe had a pretty good guess as to whom. Hopefully Lucas had understood the message. Joe had watched him hit rock bottom, rise against all odds and fight every day since to be his very best self. But beneath all that, the boy was still just as broken as he'd been when Joe picked him up at that airport. He couldn't just stand by and witness his grandson's suffering. None the less, he knew Lucas needed time, so he changed the subject.

"It's getting late, we better check on Sophia."

"Yeah. Of course."

They walked to the barn together, Lucas's mind racing with a million thoughts per second, thoughts he hadn't allowed anywhere but in his dreams for years. Had he not left all his hope at that airport back in New York? Was it possible that after all this time there was still a chance for him? For them? Was he willing to risk putting himself through all that pain again? And could he even survive it this time if it came to it?

All those questions disappeared a second later. The voices in his head went silent as he opened the door to the barn, his eyes scanning over Sophia's stable. He couldn't see her and, unfortunately, Lucas knew exactly what it meant. He closed his eyes and breathed deep, forcing his legs to take him closer to the stable, where Sophia laid lifeless on the ground. His grandfather said nothing as he walked past Lucas, crouching next to the horse, losing his balance in the process. Lucas hurried to his side, helping Joe steady himself and finally kneeling next to him, watching the old man caress Sophia's belly.

"Of course this would happen today." He muttered underneath his breath, frustrated.

"It's life, Luke. It's just life." Pappy Joe sighed "She was suffering. I hate to see her go too, but she deserves the rest." He finally looks up, his eyes finding Lucas's and a small smile curling the corners of his lips "Thank you. For helping me take care of her these last couple years and for being here today, just... thank you."

"No,Pappy Joe." He smiled back at his grandfather, Joe's words of wisdom once againreplaying through his head, a warmth he hadn't felt for a long time taking holdof his Lucas's heart "Thank you."

[shewhowantsmouseears]

The Little Peach, Chapter 8

Notes: As always, thanks to my amazing editor, Drucilla!

Not much to say here, so I'll wish you all a happy summer!

Summary: With the Lucky Hammer closer yet further out of his reach, Mickey decides to take on this challenge with the family way.

Mickey and his traveling companions would have loved to stop and gawk at the impressive interior of the palace, but they didn't come here to sight-see. (That and they had an unconscious rooster to carry.) They were taken to an elaborate guest room that could have fit twenty, but also didn't appear to have been used in ages, judging from a cobweb in the corner and a few hints of dust here and there. Mickey was surprised as it dawned on him that the Princess didn't have guests.

“Of course she doesn't!” Pete groused as he was forced to drag in extra futons. “She's a Princess, ya dope! She doesn't have time for tea parties or sleepovers! She's got a lot of stuff to do, thanks to the Oni King. She's never got a moment's rest.”

“That's awfully sad,” Mickey said, sitting atop a pillow. He was frustrated that the Princess wouldn't hand over the Lucky Hammer, yet he couldn't bring himself to outright hate her for it. A promise to family was an important thing, and hadn't Mickey set out on this quest because of his own family? “Sounds like she doesn't have much in the way of friends.” Neither did he, before setting out.

“Aw, she likes us plenty!” Goofy replied as he helped drag in the last futon, tripping over it in the process. “And we like her too!” Pete made a 'so-so' gesture with his hand as Goofy talked. “She's real nice to everyone,” Pete shrugged one shoulder, “And when you get to know the real her, she's a hoot and a half.” Pete spun a finger next to his head.

“You two ever think about going into show business?” Marsupilami said with a snort, dropping Panchito with an unfriendly OOF onto the last futon.

This seemed to rouse Panchito out of his stupor, as he sat up dizzily, holding his head. “Where am I?”

“In the palace!” Mickey jogged over to Panchito, a little worried. “Are you okay? You finally met the guy who saved you, then you were out like a snuffed candle.”

“Did I?” Panchito tilted his head in thought, trying to recall. His memory acted quick, it seemed, for his cheeks, flushed, his eyes rolled back -

“Oh, no you don't.” Marsupilami pointed at Panchito with his tail, grateful that Jose wasn't with them as he'd taken over the shift guarding the front of the palace. “Maurice, give him the wake up special.”

Maurice made an oddly cheerful grunt in response, then gently grabbed Panchito by the shirt and slapped him six times back and forth. “I'M AWAKE! I'M AWAKE! And I think I lost a tooth!”

“Good, now we can focus on the real problem.” Marsupilami used his hands and tail to gesture back to the one inch wonder. “The Princess didn't give him the Lucky Hammer, in case you failed to notice.”

“Does it look like she hands out gifts?” Pete crossed his arms, glaring down at all of them. “The Lucky Hammer is hidden in the palace, and only the Princess knows the location. Plenty of people have tried to search for it, but no one's come even close! Not even when they search every single stinking inch of this doggone massive place...” The more descriptors he used, the more his helpful advice turned into low muttering.

“She mentioned a promise to her family,” Mickey began to walk around in a small circle, trying to figure out his plan of action from here on out. “Maybe she can only use it if there's an emergency?”

“If that was true,” Marsupilami replied, using his hand and tail to scratch his head. “then she would have used it against the Oni King ages ago! Even a pint-sized Princess can become a powerhouse is she's a hundred feet tall. Why, anyone could take down the Oni King if they were just big enough. Whatever she promised her old man, it must have been important enough that he'd make the rules so strict.”

“He was awfully protective of his little girl,” Goofy answered. Though his face was youthful, he'd actually been guarding the palace for a very long time. “No one was ever good enough for her, and he didn't trust most folks around her. He meant well, but, shucks, sometimes I think he couldn't imagine her all grown-up and doin' grown-up things.”

Mickey stopped in his circle, glancing up at Goofy with a raised eyebrow. “Y'know, Goofy... it sounds like you know exactly what the promise was.”

Goofy hesitated, exchanging a nervous glance with Pete. Pete let out a mean laugh. “Oh, c'mon, let 'em know! Not like any of them have a chance. I tell you, the Oni King would surrender and commit seppuku before she ever considered one of them.”

“I am both very insulted and very confused,” Panchito remarked.

Goofy shrugged both shoulders – Pete always had an easy time making Goofy bow to his requests, no matter how mean spirited they were. “Well, fellas, the thing is...on his death bed, the Emperor made the Princess promise she could only show the location of the Lucky Hammer to one person. Until then, no one's even allowed to look at it, much less go aroun' using it for themselves.”

“Enough building up dramatic tension!” Marsupilami snapped, growing impatient. “My man Mickey needs this hammer! After all we've been through, it can't be that hard to be whatever the Princess needs! Who is the only person the Princess can show it to?”

“Her husband.”

Pete rather enjoyed the stunned silence and popped eyes that created, even though he had reacted the same way when he learned this information when he first began working for the Princess. “Her what?” Mickey asked loudly in disbelief.

“Her husband.” Goofy repeated.

“Her what?!”

“Her hus-”

“They get the idea!” Pete slapped a hand over Goofy's mouth to stop the comedy routine. “And the Princess has got some crazy standards, so don't go thinkin' you can just sweep her off her feet and take the hammer. Once the sun comes, I'm personally gunna boot you all out of here! Last thing we need is a bunch of eyesores taking up room where they don't belong. Our jobs are hard enough as is, without needing to babysit a bunch of weirdos!”

Mickey didn't hear any of the abuse, still suck on the word “husband”. Just like that, his heroic journey ended with a devastating blow that he never saw coming. Did his parents know about this restriction? If he had asked them and they gave such an answer, would Mickey had ignored it and gone through with his quest? Or would have common sense kicked in and stopped him before he took his first step? His entire body slumped, and his knees hit the floor, agony clear in his small features. Pluto whined, sniffing his master and trying to give him an encouraging lick – Mickey didn't even care that his clothes got wet and sloppy from saliva. All the dangers he'd faced, all the things he'd learned, all the panic and fear he'd given his dear mother... all of it was for nothing.

“Ah, geez.” Marsupilami couldn't even think of a decent wise-crack to lighten the mood. He sat down near Mickey, watching the typically cheerful mouse lose more color. “I'm sorry, Mickey. We all did our best, but none of us saw this coming. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.” Maurice moaned quietly in agreement, hands together in an apologetic gesture.

“What, we're giving up?” Panchito asked, rather surprised by this change in mood. “No, of course not! Mickey, where is that shining determination you won me over with? This is but another dutiful challenge in your quest, one of the stepping stones to becoming a worthy man!”

“How is getting married make me a worthy man in my father's eyes?” Mickey lifted his head, trying not to glare at his friend yet irked that Panchito couldn't see the obvious problems. “I was prepared to take down Oni, to travel across harsh terrain and face dangerous obstacles, but I can't get married just to make myself taller! I never even had friends before I left my house, and you think I can win over a girl easy-peasy? The Princess of all people?! Even if it wasn't difficult, I still wouldn't marry a girl so I could take advantage of her father's dying wish and use it for myself! That's not the act of a man, that's just...bein' a lousy jerk!”

A hush fell over the room, and Panchito had enough sense not to push the subject any further, looking down at his feet in shame. Pete snorted, not feeling sorry for anyone, and pushed Goofy out of his way so he could leave the sadsacks. Goofy watched him go, then scratched his head, feeling awkward about the whole thing. “Gwarsh, fellas, I'm real sorry. Maybe once the Princess does wind up gettin' hitched, she and her new husband will let you use the Lucky Hammer!”

Struggling to hold onto any spot of hope, Panchito jumped to his feet. “Your brilliance shines through, Sir Goofy! If Mickey cannot be her true love, we can help her find the right man!”

“She is the Princess,” Marsupilami tapped his fingers on his knees. “A girl like that must get a dozen suitors a day. Maybe all we have to do is wait it out until she chooses the right one.”

Goofy very slowly chose to look in the opposite direction, fiddling with his fingers, whistling innocently – though with his big teeth, it was difficult to carry the higher notes and he mostly wound up spitting. Mickey didn't think himself terribly brilliant, but even he could see a bad sign when it was clear in his face. “What's the problem now?”

“Aw, gee, well... I didn't mean to get your hopes up. But the Princess has been... mighty picky when it comes to who she wants to marry. We've had potential suitors come in almost every day since she got to be the right age for it... and every day she's said no.”

Marsupilami clicked his tongue. “Those must be some pretty high standards your girl's got.”

Again, Goofy's eyes wouldn't really meet anyone. No one outside of the palace knew about Minnie's unique obsession, and Clarabelle had threatened to gut anyone who dared leak it. “She's...got standards, all right.” With that, he was quick to try and change the subject to distract from their sorrows. “Why don't all of ya make yerselves comfy? I'll bring dinner when it's hot and ready! It's real nice havin' actual guests for a change. Pete can be awfully hard to get along with, and Jose will drop any conversation if he sees a pretty girl or boy across the way.”

Panchito was certainly distracted. “Wait a minute. Are you calling my sensei a skirt-chaser?”

Goofy would have defined it as skirt and pants chaser, but he had a feeling he'd said enough for one day, and quickly made for the exit. “See you at dinner!”

“HANG ON, I NEED CLARIFICATION ABOUT MY SENSEI!” Panchito bolted right after him, and Mickey was very sure he wouldn't see that silly rooster for a while.

With the nuttiest people out of the room, Mickey flopped onto his back, not caring how hard the tatami mat was. What was he supposed to do now? Go back home with his tail between his legs? Even if it wouldn't be humiliating, he'd made a vow not to return until he was a man Donald would call his son. Nothing had changed about him, far as Mickey knew, so it'd be breaking a promise, and samurai never broke their promises. Where did that leave him? What would he do with his life now? Was his only choice to actually wait until the Princess was married – a thought that made him physically ill, for unknown reasons – and hope her husband would allow Mickey to use the hammer? What if that took months? Years?

“Okay, so the goal's kaput.” Marsupilami broke the silence with a shrug. “That just means you get to find a new one. Me and Maurice? Our only goal has ever been survival, so I'd say we're doing a top-notch job. Set your new goal as low as possible, and you'll never be disappointed. High expectations is a sucker's game. For now?” He copied Mickey, flopping on his back, although at least he landed on a futon, as did Maurice. “We're staying in the guest room of the palace, for gosh sakes! We'll eat fancy food and live like kings until the sun rises. Who else can say that?”

“I guess,” Mickey mumbled, his spirits not rising any higher. Pluto quietly whined, laying near Mickey, upset that he couldn't offer his Master any help. As Marsupilami yammered on about how the scavenger life wasn't so bad, so long as you didn't mind sleeping on dirt and eating the occasional bug, Mickey felt one of his triple headaches coming on. He rubbed his head as best he could though he knew it wouldn't help, it'd just eventually fade away as it always did. Whenever he complained of them to his mother, she would always try some new herb or oil or other bad-smelling remedy to make it go away, and while it never worked, he always knew she put in as much effort as possible. Donald would complain about the stench, and throw out the ill antidote before it made Mickey nauseous – which Mickey also appreciated.

Mickey did want to be his father's son, so in that moment he tried to change gears in his mind. All day and all night, he had but one thought – if Donald was in this situation, what would he do?

~*~

At that moment, Donald was so hungry, he would have shoved all those foul-smelling remedies down his stomach with little complaint. Daisy's act of charity, which he still complained about, had made their food supply dwindle rapidly. They both knew they needed to stop in the closest village to restock if they had any hope of continuing their journey, and on this day with the sun starting to set, they spotted such a village after climbing over a small hill. It was a very tiny village, and looked like they could have entered and left it in fifteen minutes.

Of course they didn't know it was the same village Mickey had gone through days before, but they'd soon learn.

All of the villagers were outside, using their combined manpower to restore all that Maurice had destroyed. Donald tried to find the least busiest bees, not wanting to get in the way of their reconstruction, and settled on a gaggle of geese who much more interested in gabbing than sewing new curtains. “Excuse me,” Donald said as he approached the twin sisters and slouching male, “Where can we find lodging for the night?”

“Oh, not too far, good sir,” said the woman all in pink. “The inn around the corner is mostly fixed. Isn't that right, Abigail?”

“Mostly, mostly, Amelia,” the woman all in blue repeated, finding this funny. “All the rooms on top still need work, but all the ones below should be safe and sound.”

Daisy glanced around, worried about all the rampant destruction, and assumed the culprit was a deadly Oni. Oh, to think her dear baby was out in this awful world! “Have any of you seen a very small-”

“Don't bother, Daisy.” Donald roughly cut her off, not wanting Daisy to get her hopes up and have them crudely dashed. “No one will have seen him, he's too small to be seen! We'll stay the night, buy supplies, then head off in the morning.”

“Seen who?” asked the man, followed by a loud hiccup, after which he tried to adjust his torn green hat back onto its proper place. His breath made it clear he'd been drinking on the job, and it wasn't water. “Oh, we've seen a lot of crazy things, haven't we, my dears?”

“Indeed we have, Uncle Waldo!” Amelia tittered, covering her mouth with her hand. “And sometimes I still can't believe we we've seen!”

“It's because we saw it we can believe it, sister mine.” Amelia chided, wagging her finger back and forth. “Why, if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes, I would've thought it was one of Uncle Waldo's... um... 'funny dreams'. Like that time with the pink elephants.”

“They were on parade, I tell ya!”

Donald and Daisy didn't have to look at each other to know what their spouse was thinking – the geese sounded nuts, but at the same time they worded their insanity so craftily one couldn't be curious. “What did you see?” Daisy asked.

“Aw, I bet it was just an Oni attack.” Donald huffed, unwilling to ever leave his bad mood behind. “And I've seen more than enough for one lifetime. There's nothing special about them anymore.”

Amelia smirked, leaning in because she'd finally found another person to share the tale, and it was difficult to gossip with people who already knew all the stories of their tiny town. “Have you ever seen an Oni attack stopped by a one-inch man?”

“One-inch!” Donald and Daisy yelped together, so taken aback they almost fell over. In her haste to find her boy, Daisy grabbed Amelia by her arms and began shaking her violently. “What did he look like? Was he all right? Did he miss his mommy?”

Donald managed to free Amelia by dragging his wife backwards. “What... what my wife means to say is... are you sure you saw that? It sounds pretty crazy.” Yet his heart was pounding wildly. Had Mickey actually come this way? Had they found proof Mickey was alive, at least for one moment in time? It hurt to believe, yet at the same time relief flooded through his body like a cooling mist. Mickey was too stubborn to die, too stubborn for his own good, just like Daisy.

Just like him, too, but he tried not to let that thought stay.

As Amelia smoothed down her sleeves, Abigail took over the narrator role. “Not too long ago, this wretched beast attacked out village. It was stronger than twenty men put together, no one could stop it! It destroyed everything and anything in its path, and we feared the entire village would be ruined! It was even using this poor long-tailed man as a weapon!”

“It was horrifying,” Uncle Wade added with a smelly burp, “Then funny, then back to horrifying, then funny again.”

“Just when all hope seemed lost...” Amelia resumed her role, hands spread out as she lightly mimed what she'd seen, “This very tiny person jumped into battle! Smash! Bang! Crack! Oh, it was amazing, I tell you, I only wish you could have seen it! And with one more flick of his wrist, the beast was defeated!”

The problem was with a grand story is that the longer it spreads, the more outlandish it becomes. While certain points were correct, there hadn't been any smash, bang, or crack, although you'd have a hard time convincing the gossipers there wasn't. Not knowing this, Donald and Daisy held each other's hands, their eyes wide with shock as they tried to imagine this story playing out in their minds, jaws hanging open in the wind.

“This part always makes me cry,” Abigail took over, wiping at the corners of her eyes. “I bet many a man would have slain the best right there and then, making sure it never hurt anyone else, but... not this one! He showed it compassion! He showed it mercy! They walked off together, like new friends in the sunset! I say, that's the real sign of a true man! And he was only one inch tall!”

“I say he's more the size of a peach pit.” Waldo then hiccuped three times in a row, until he lost his balance and fell flat on his tail. No one helped him up.

Daisy lost the strength in her legs, and let out a loud, consoled cry, letting Donald catch her as she sobbed into his chest. “Oh, he's all right! Thank all the gods and goddesses, he really is all right!”

Donald lightly patted Daisy on the back, smiling nervously as the geese gave his wife perplexed looks. “She's...such a sucker for sob stories.” He inhaled deeply, unsure how to feel himself. Of course it was good to know that Mickey was alive and well but – how could any of that story have a grain of truth to it? Mickey wasn't capable of taking down gigantic killer beasts! Yet why would this weird family make up such a ludicrous story? Logic battled logic, giving him a thudding migraine – it wasn't possible, yet it had been done! It couldn't be, but it was! “You really...saw all of that, start to finish?”

“It's as true as my feathers are white,” said Amelia, who had very bright white feathers. “It's a shame he left so soon. I wager the entire village would have thrown him a grand celebration for his heroic deed!”

“Or as grand as we could make it, given how much repairs cost.” Abigail admitted with a half-shrug.

“That's why we call him... hic!” Waldo hit his chest. “The Inch High – hic – The Inch High – hic – The Inch High Samurai!”

Daisy had a million questions to ask in detail, but right now the only thing she could get out was a happy “WAAAHAHAHAAAAA” which faintly reminded Donald of their days when she lamented about not having a baby. Donald himself was so conflicted about what he'd heard that he took the coward's way out and went into an unhealthy mix of denial and anger. “He's not a samurai,” he growled under his breath, trying to lead Daisy away to the inn. “He's just a boy who doesn't know what he's doing, and who is going to get himself killed!” And whose fault was that?, asked what little there was of his conscience. Not his, no! How was he supposed to know Mickey would run away when he was told that after eighteen years of being raised in a loving home his father didn't consider him a son at all?

His old injury began to throb, as if it was saying, You're kidding, right?

“Aw, phooey,” Donald muttered, grateful Daisy couldn't read minds, or she'd smack him six ways to Sunday if she heard any of it.

~*~

Mickey didn't sleep well that night, his usual headaches aside. Over and over he thought of the question, what would Donald do? His mind refused to cheat around the answer, since Donald had never been so small. The body meant nothing if he couldn't match Donald's fearless samurai soul. So Mickey went through endless scenarios, trying to envision Donald at this hopelessly lost problem, and how he would continue to move forward and never look back. With every passing minute, Mickey's own sadness began to fade away, evaporated by hope.

By the time the sun came up, Mickey found the answer to his question.

Goofy came by to drop off breakfast, but before any of his friends could chow down, Mickey raised his hand. “Sir Goofy, I need an audience with the Princess, pronto!”

The guard paused as he lowered the tray full of bowls with miso soup and white rice. “Hm? Well... she just finished up one of her meetings, she should still be in the throne room. C'mon, follow me!”

“What's the plan, Mickey?” Panchito asked as the small group followed Goofy, with Mickey taking a ride on Pluto.

“Are you going to beg and plead and cry for the Lucky Hammer?” Marsupilami asked, slurping from the bowl he snatched on the way out. “Dignity's overrated, if you ask me.” He tried to take Maurice's bowl as well, but a growl and a glare made him decide otherwise.

“I just need you all to trust me.” Mickey answered, his eyes forward and not moving an inch otherwise.

“We're with you all the way, Mickey!” Panchito pumped his fists, eyes glittering with anticipation for Mickey's heroic resolve. “No matter what! We'll follow you to the ends of the earth! Nothing can stop us!”

“Except if Jose looks at you for half a second,” Marsupilami quipped.

At the entrance to the throne room, Goofy knocked three times before announcing his presence. “Mickey and his pals would like an audience with you, Princess! Maybe to say thanks before they go?”

On the other side, Mickey could hear Minnie's strong, royal voice, which was still so strange to hear since he knew of her sweet, delicate tone. He also thought he heard her tell Clarabelle to burn something called a “Sir Sakura body pillow”, but since pillows were for heads, he assumed it was his imagination. “Enter.”

Goofy pushed the giant door open, smiling as he gestured for everyone to go inside. Minnie was sitting atop her throne, and joined at her side were Clarabelle, Pete, and Jose – THUD. “Panchito's out again.”  Marsupilami said as he caught the red-faced rooster.

Mickey ignored what ruined the dramatic entrance, bowing respectfully to the Princess as did his companions, with Maurice and Marsupilami using Panchito's body as a puppet and making him bow too. Minnie held one of her usual decorated fans in front of her mouth, making her expression difficult to read. “A good morning to you all,” she addressed them, watching Mickey with her steel-cold eyes. “I need not thanks for allowing my people to take refuge in my home. But if you wish to speak, I will hear you.”

“It would honor me more if you heard my request, Princess.” Mickey took a breath, and lifted his head. “If you will allow me and my friends... we wish to become guards of the palace!”

[tpanan]

SIMBANG GABI (Night Masses)

SIMBANG GABI (9 Day Christmas Novena) 

Filipinos celebrate the longest Christmas in the world. By late September, it is not unusual in the Philippines to hear the familiar strains of Christmas carols being played in the airwaves and piped-in music at department stores. Holiday decor like the parol (Christmas lantern)start to appear, and the anticipation for the coming celebration of the Lord's birthday on the 25th of December slowly begins to build up in both the young and old alike. And yet, for the Filipino the holiday season does not end on this date. The Christmas spirit continues thru New Year and until the first Sunday of January, when the observance of the feast of the Three Kings finally signals the end of the Christmas season.                                   

An indispensable part of this tradition is the 9-day novena of early morning Masses (usually at 4:00 a.m.) known as Simbang Gabi (literally translated in English to "Night Masses"). Sometimes it is referred to as Misa de Aguinaldo (Gift Mass), while others prefer Misa de Gallo (Mass of the Early-Morning Rooster)—although this term is applied by most to the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, which is the culmination of the novena that began on December 16. After the Midnight Mass, Filipino families gather for a sumptuous feast followed by exchange of gifts and celebration until the crack of dawn to welcome Christmas day.Origin

Simbang Gabi traces its roots in Mexico when, in 1587, the Pope granted the petition of Fray Diego de Soria, prior of the convent of San Agustin Acolman, to hold Christmas mass outdoors because the Church could not accommodate the huge number of people attending the evening mass.

During the old times, the pre-dawn mass is announced by the ringing of the church bells. In some rural areas, an hour before the start of Simbang Gabi, a brass band plays Christmasmusic all over the town. It is also believed that parish priests would go far knocking on doors to wake and gather the faithful to attend the misa de gallo. Farmers as well as fishermen wake up early to hear the Gospel before going to their work and ask for the grace of good harvest.

This novena of masses was introduced in the 17th century by the Spanish conquistadores. It was held before dawn so that farmers and fisherman would be able to participate in them before the usual early start of their labor for the day. In fact, the flickering candles in the star-shaped parols or Christmas lanterns that adorned the humble houses gave light to the early-morning churchgoers on their way to Simbang Gabi.

Then and Now

The changing of times does not break the preservation of celebrating Simbang Gabi although it is celebrated in new ways. Still, the tradition of Simbang Gabi continues. Part of it are the colorful lights and lanterns that fill every streets. Beautiful parols are hung in every window. Songs of the season are played everywhere to warm the hearts. Families, friends and even individuals find its way going to the nearest church to attend the nine-day novena. Shortly after the Misa de Gallo, families gather in their homes to celebrate Noche Buena and feasted on various delicacies like queso de bola, bibingka, puto bungbong, or a drink of salabat or hot chocolate.

Simbang Gabi is celebrated as a Stational Liturgy, moving from church to church within every Archdiocese in America. It is a testament to the cultural diversity of each Archdiocese and the Filipino-American community who warmly welcome people from all parts of the archdiocese and the world.

The masses are in English and Tagalog, celebrated by the parish clergy. Some prayers and carols are in Filipino. But no matter the language you use when you pray and sing with us, you will realize how truly universal indeed the Christmas spirit is.

In the Philippines, it is the same gospel (the Annunciation) and readings for all the 9 days. But there is always traditional hot food and drinks after every Mass. In some churches, the panuluyan is reenacted showing the effort of Joseph and Mary to find a suitable birthplace.

Significance

Simbang Gabi has become one of the most popular traditions in the country. But it is not just a tradition that is celebrated because we need to do so. It is a significant moment not only because it strengthens relationships among family members but also because it is the time where our faith is intensified. This is the time where we mostly feel the presence of the Lord because it is the spiritual preparation for Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. It does not matter if one has the stamina to complete the novena or not, what really matters is what is inside the heart. The blessing does not depend on the number of mass attended, but what is important is the disposition of the person who receives the Lord’s blessing.

Liturgy and Popular Religiosity

By Noemi M. Castillo

One of the traditional values that has remained strong and integral in Filipino life – whether it be rural or urban, whether it be in the Philippines or here in the United States - is the love for celebrations.  We celebrate every significant milestone in our life – birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, promotions, burials, and so on.  We celebrate important liturgical seasons like Christmas and lent.  Our traditional celebration of advent, however, differs from the western advent celebration symbolized by the advent wreath.  Our advent celebration is Simbang Gabi; it is more festive than the lighting of the advent candles and more community oriented. 

Simbang Gabi is one of the legacies of faith that the Spanish missionaries had given to us.  They used an evangelization approach using church bells to remind them of their faith life which, during the Spanish times, included praying the Angelus at 6:00 p.m., family rosary at night, blessing the children with the sign of the cross, and many others.  It was experiential in that it involved the church, family, and community, and was integral in the lives of the natives.  Simbang Gabi, for example, was introduced to teach the people the meaning of Christmas and how to prepare as a people waiting for the coming for the Messiah. At the same time, it was also used to catechize the people on the meaning of the Mass.  Simbang Gabi, from the onset, was a catechizing and evangelizing moment, when rich and poor, men and women, children and elderly, came together as a community waiting for the coming of the Lord and rejoicing in the promise of the Messiah.

At the time of the coming of the missionaries to the newly discovered string of islands on the Pacific Ocean, the heads of household were either farmers or fishermen.  Missionaries celebrated the Masses before dawn in order for the farmers and fishermen to be with their families in church before they go to their farms or to their fishing boats after the break of dawn.  That was the context of their time.  

In rural areas, church bells would ring loudly as early as 4:00 a.m., or even earlier, to call everyone to church for the celebration.  To add to the festive atmosphere, bands would sometimes march on the main road to lead people to church.  Because the Masses were held when cocks began to crow, they were called Misa de Gallo.  For a people who love festivities, Misa de Gallo soon became a favorite tradition and celebrated in practically all parishes in the Philippines.   Because food played and continues to play an integral role in every celebration, native delicacies were served outside the church and added to the festive mood as churchgoers lingered on in church courtyards to share puto bungbong, bibingka, puto, cuchinta, and salabat with relatives and friends.  

As generations passed, and especially during the period of the Spanish American War at the turn of the 19th century when church leadership in the Philippines was in a vacuum, Simbang Gabi continued to be celebrated but without the accompanying catechesis.  It soon became a cultural tradition during Christmas season where social festivities and “salu-salo”gained more prominence.  The religious meaning got relegated to the background as people went to church not so much to prepare themselves spiritually for the coming of Christ, but to meet families and friends, boy friends and girl friends and socialize after Mass.  This was how Simbang Gabi became a form of popular religiosity.                                                                                                                                                                        

Prior to Vatican II, the official church looked at popular religiosity with some kind of skepticism because the negative aspects were emphasized more than the positive elements.  But since Vatican II called for liturgical renewal, popular religiosity could no longer be ignored nor treated with disrespect or indifference because of its richness and because in itself popular religiosity represents a people’s relationship with God.  But, as Vatican II stated, these pious exercises have to be evangelized so that they become mature and authentic expressions of faith, so that they can be purified and directed towards liturgy.

This renewal touched on Misa de Gallo and brought back to the people’s consciousness the original meaning of the celebration, and examined it in the context of modern times and needs of modern society.  As a result, some churches in metropolitan areas began to celebrate the Masses in the evening, to allow more people to participate in the novena.  Thus, Misa de Gallo became more popularly known as Simbang Gabi.  Today, whether the novena of advent Masses is celebrated traditionally at dawn or in the early evening, it is still called Simbang Gabi.  

Maligayang Pasko At Manigong Bagong Taon!Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to All!Source: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska