#my imagination was doing overtime i was yelling i was screaming i was clawing at my desk

[marciaillust]

doing my men at arms walk rn

CARROT?? ANGUAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[musicallisto]

Hi, congrats on 800 followers! Can I please get a Six of Crows ship? I’m have short brown hair (I dyed red last week) and green eyes. I don't mind if im shipped with a girl or a boy. I like reading (no romantic novels), music and photography. I'm Aquarius. I’m very curious. I'm a little shy and even cold at first. I’m not good with feelings, I mostly keep them to myself if I can, but I care deeply for my loved ones and would do anything to help them, even if I'm not very good at giving advice. ☆

hi! here’s your vanilla milkshake, I hope you like it! I ship you with jesper fahey!

You don’t imagine the extent of my joy to be able to add a gif of an actual real person for Jesper... however shall I survive until Aprid 23rd?

For the longest time, you thought the world started and ended at your corner of Fjerda, in your frozen estate by the True Sea.

You were descented from minor Fjerdan nobility, and your father, jaded by Court Life and its political intrigues - and, unofficially, penniless after giving his all for the sempiternal wars on Ravka -, had decided to leave the capital and retire to his family’s estate by the sea a few years after you were born.

All you had ever known were the large, marbled corridors you’d spend entire afternoons wandering, daydreaming about adventures in the confines of the country - or living the lavish life of a true Fjerdan princess, in an outrageously enormous bed of satin sheets...

The house was spacious and beautiful, with a marvelous view over the sea, gently carrying its boats to and fro before you - and you’d stay there on the balcony in your flowy white dress, admiring the ocean until you couldn’t fight the chills of the night creeping up your spine anymore; but as tranquil and languid as your existence was, it was also terribly lonely.

All you longed for was a sibling, a friend, a partner in crime, someone you could explore the world and go on quests with...

... until a lighting bolt tore the silence, one night.

You couldn’t sleep, so you had gone on a walk by the shore as you often did - your father was never worried about it, since you knew the rocks and their cracks like the back of your hand, and would know the way back home even with your eyes closed.

But you were so absorbed by the distant twinkling of stars that you didn’t notice the shadows creeping up behind you until it was too late.

Screams in a language you can’t understand; an arm around your neck in a chokehold, another slipping under your knees; you thrash around, slice all you can, bite and claw at all you can grasp...

Your abductors know better than to let Fjerdan nobility get away from their grasp. They don’t know exactly who you are - but they’ve guessed from the distinguished aspect of your house that there’s a fine sum to gain from whoever will be willing to pay for you - your father for a ransom, or anyone else, in Kerch, who’ll make good use of your services.

Those brothels in Ketterdam pay good money for young girls, they hear - even more so for a Fjerdan pearl.

When they throw you on an overloaded carriage like a potato sack, you’re still yelling at the top of your lungs, pleading for your father, for one of your maids, for anyone to help you.

But no one hears.

You shed all the tears you have in the first night, tossed around in a dark chariot, off to somewhere unknown. Your father hasn’t prepared you for this - nothing, not even your books nor your fantastical imaginary adventures...

But you don’t intend on being sold off that easily. So you devise a plan to get away.

The first opportunity to break free presents itself when your kidnappers force you to board a ship; but they manage to catch you before you’ve run very far.

But second time’s the charm; with nothing better to do during the voyage than to bide your time and gnaw at your bonds, you’re able to slip from your captor’s watch, and blindly run through the harbor - just to get as far as possible from the stench of this floating carcass.

The first thing that strikes you is the odor. You’ve known the sea forever - it’s clear and bright as ice, and smells of fresh mornings and cold salt; never of this green rot that festers everywhere in these streets... and all those chimneys, all those people, who stare you down as you run down these grimy streets, barefoot in your off-white dress...

You understand that you’re farther from home than you’ve ever been, and it’s not a thrilling adventure, it’s terrifying and overwhelming, and you want nothing more than to burst into tears.

But you don’t, because a pair of strangers flag you down in a language you don’t understand.

A tall and lanky dark-skinned boy, wearing vibrant fabric and a self-assured grin; and possibly the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen in your life, all bright eyes and genuine frown.

Paralyzed, you open your mouth, once, twice, incapable of making the slightest sound; until the girl notices your visible discomfort, and, eyeing your pale eyes, asks in the slightest of Ravkan accents;

“Are you Fjerdan?”

You nod with all your soul. You’re ready to cling onto them both for dear life.

“What happened to you?”

Your voice fails you - you can’t explain it - you haven’t even comprehended it all. You were curled up in front of the fireplace just the night before...

“Do you have anywhere to go?”

You shake your head with despair, trying to blink back the tears.

“Come with us. We know someone who’ll help you.”

You don’t mull it over very long. Maybe it’s your sheltered uprbinging that has made you naive; maybe it’s the curiously comforting warmth you see in the Ravkan girl’s eyes; but you simply have no better option, and you can’t understand a word of Kerch, or wherever it is that this barbarian folk speak.

Although your two saviors start arguing, probably about whether or not they can reasonably take you in, your tear-stained cheeks and desperate vulnerability are enough to convince them - so you follow them.

Into the lair of the Dregs, of whom you’ve never heard - and of Kaz Brekker, who you know very well.

After all, he’s the infamous gangster who invaded your homeland, broke into the Ice Court, and stole the Shu boy - or so you saw your father read in the papers. To know that you are under the same roof as that lowlife would be enough to give your father a heart attack...

You’re half convinced that he’ll throw you back to the streets, but Nina and, surprisingly, Jesper as well, plead in your favor with a greatly convincing fervor. You learn that it’s probably because Kaz has much greater worries on his mind - the criminal group is planning on retrieving one of their own from the clutches of a treacherous business partner, or so you’ve gathered.

Either way, you’re more than happy that the terrifying and redoubtable Kaz Brekker is leaving you alone, and that you can enjoy Jesper’s company.

You two become unexpectedly good friends overtime. He comes to visit you at the Crow Club, where you’re staying, almost every day. Yet communication is not your strong suit, especially in a language you don’t understand at all, and you don’t fancy yourself a particularly enthralling girl to be around.

Not when one has lived the life of a criminal, a sharpshooter, a wanderer, a playboy... well, all those things that Jesper prises himself on being, and all those words he’s taught you in Kerch.

(That and the curse words, of course, that you’re a bit intimidated to use at first, until they slip out of your mouth one evening when you drop your plate at dinner with the Dregs, and the entire canteen falls dead silent.)

“Did she just say ‘fuck’?”

“I think she just said fuck.”

“See, Matthias, she wasn’t immediately struck by lighting by Djel’s hand. You won’t die if you say it.”

Speaking of Matthias, he’s also a good friend of yours - it’s comforting and refreshing to have a familiar face around, one of Fjerdan roots and mores.

Although the rest of the group says you’re not that Fjerdan.

“You’re one of the feisty ones, at least.”

“I’m not ‘feisty’. Shut up, Jesper.”

“Ah, I see you’ve been working on the vocabulary I taught you!”

Matthias and you both have a lot of soul-searching and unlearning to do about the outside world - you were raised in particularly bigoted environments, you somewhat less than him. The hatred for the Grisha he’s been taught by the Drüskelle is fear in your case; you’ve been brought up on bedtime stories of bloodthirsty Grisha who devour unruly kids, and war and devastation caused by their unstability and blasphemous magic.

It’s even more of a shock to you when you learn Jesper is a Grisha.

Unbeknownst to you, you’ve started to fall a little for him - how could you not? He’s funny, charming, sarcastic and witty; always has the best stories to tell, and despite it all, sincerely cares for you amidst the chaos of their heist and revenge plans.

But to learn he was the kind of monster - no, the kind of creature - no, the kind of person, you force yourself to correct mentally - that you had been taught to fear for your entire life...

“I’m so sorry. You should never have been there.”

He’s pacing back and forth in your room after a shootout has gone awry and you were caught in the crossifre; it’s the first time he’s ever had to use his Durast powers to get you of the mess - and normally he wouldn’t have, because it’s a secret he wishes he could carry to the grave, but the fear of losing you was too strong...

“Thank god that I was there, though. What would you do without me?”

He’s fidgety and restless, nervously playing with his pistols, and his nervous laugh is all but genuine; and you’re huddled up on your bed, staring him down with wide eyes.

“Jesper, you...”

“Yeah, maybe not the best moment.”

“Jesper...”

“It’s like they have a knack for knowing exactly where we’re gonna be and when...”

“Jesper!”

He abruptly turns to look at you, and his eyes widen. He’s starting to understand, almost, but refuses to believe it. Your voice is a murmur, and you can hardly hold his gaze.

“Jesper, are you... going to hurt me?”

His words die in his throat. He remembers where you’re from... the garbage that they must have filled your ears and head with from the day you were born... how feverish Matthias was with Nina... he looks at his hands, and his Materialki magic rumbles like a dark curse.

“Y/N, you’re scared of me?”

The sheer hurt in his voice breaks your heart. Even though you’re trembling, you let him step closer to you, slowly. It’s Jesper in front of you, not some ungodly monster from legends... Jesper, your Jesper...

“I’m... I’m sorry...”

He cups your face in his hands, warm and just a bit moist, and stares into your eyes with a vulnerability you have never seen in him.

“I’d never do anything to hurt you, Y/N, I swear on my life. All I want is you to be safe...”

Safe from me, if that’s what you wish, he thinks for a split second, but you don’t give him time to doubt; you’ve captured his lips in a frenzied kiss, and hold on for dear life onto his lean shoulders.

Fjerda and its blind hatred is very far from you, now. You're locked in Jesper's embrace, and you won't have to hear their lies anymore.

You know you have nothing to fear from him; not now, and not ever.

800 follower sleepover CLOSED!

[ubemango]

I’ve suddenly become interested in the non canon ending and I hate imagining that joon falls out of love bc he’s falling for someone else :( this is going to be self jabs at my heart but I can painfully imagine the girl to be the kind of girl joon told oc to not worry about. Tall, slim, catches everyone’s attention when she walk into the room, the exact opposite of oc. I’d also like to think that he tried resisting at first, reminding himself that he has oc waiting for him at home but he can’t help but admire the features of the girl next to him observing the painting in the museum he was going to go with oc, but he was too impatient and went by himself. So, in a way, he could’ve avoided this. He can avoid it now, he knows that, but he decided to let himself have a moment of enjoyment. A moment that lasts too long because the girl noticed him and is now flirting with him and wow. He’s never had someone talk to him like this before and he l i k e s it. A part of him is yelling out to stop, don’t let her move on with this, and to just excuse himself and go cuddle with oc. (This is my least favorite bit) But then again, recently he’s been thinking about how things with oc have become so... routine. She comes home to him after classes, they cuddle, have sex, and the cycle repeats. Of course they’d have dates and small evenings reserved to themselves, but with how busy both of them have been there’s almost never time for that. So joon let’s himself enjoy the conversation with the girl. A moment too long because now he’s in a bar with her, and she’s giving him bedroom eyes and he lets his dick do all the thinking and sleeps with her in a motel, casually sending oc a text that he got stuck working overtime. His heart breaks and he feels disgusted to have someone else’s arms wrapped around him when he gets an “okay!! I love you 🥰” response. He knows he shouldn’t do this. He knows it’s wrong. But he keeps going. It continues for a whole month, and he’s noticed that the girl is falling for him, and he can’t help but fall for her. Whenever he’s with oc, he starts moving away from the bubble of trust and love the two have built, seeing less and less adoration and love whenever he saw her. He knows she’s noticing (as well as jimin), but he decides to not say anything and keep the ruse going as long as possible. He doesn’t have the heart to break up with oc. Tell her that he cheated on her, brought another girl to his bed only for her to come by a couple of hours later and touch him only for him to say he’s “too tired from work”. One day he fucks up. It’s after his third or fourth date with the girl after both having declared their feelings for one another that jimin and hoseok catch him eating with her. He hopes and prays they don’t see him (they obviously do) and continues with the rest of the date as planned: going to his apartment and fuck her like he always does. What he doesn’t know is that jimin and hoseok silently followed him only to have their worst fears confirmed, and had to hear the heart wrenching noises of joon sleeping with someone else. At this point they’ve already yanked oc out of her classes and treated her like a porcelain doll, for they knew she was going to shatter. They waited outside while she went in the apartment and heard the noises only her worst nightmares featured, yet whenever she told joon about them, he told her to not worry, for he was hers and she was his. For the first time she found herself enraged with him, that she yanked her (his) jacket off and stomped to the room. She decided to test him.

blushingatyou said: Continuation because.... yes I hate it here (I think I changed the perspective to third person but we won’t talk abt that 😭)

tw infidelity

“Joon! Could you pause what you’re watching? I need your help with some groceries I bought...”

She was pleased by the hurried noises of clothes being put on, harsh whispers. She learnt that the girl was painfully unaware of her situation, being a homewrecker. Still, Namjoon’s head popped out of the room, hair ruffled just like when oc ran her hands through it whenever they fucked. Just like that bitch did.

“Well, aren’t you going to come out? I never mind an extra set of hands so call out that bitch you’re sleeping with to come out too!”

For the first time in that month, she left joon an embarrassing, stammering, mess. He fucked up. He knew it and there was no turning back. Still, he tried to horribly save himself.

“I-I can exp-p-plain pups, ple-“

“DONT YOU DARE CALL ME THAT AGAIN.” Oc screamed out. She finally felt hot tears streaming down her face. She finally realized what his rushed texts and cold interactions with her meant. He had fallen out of love with her and was a selfish asshole and decided to keep her to himself while he got his dick wet with another girl. And she was not going to let herself be strung in anymore.

“You are a selfish piece of shit. The most decent thing you could’ve done is at least tell me you weren’t in love with me. I gave you my heart and my trust and you shattered it in what? A month? A month and a half?”

He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, when the girl’s head popped out by the door. Almost the same height as Namjoon, of course, oc thought.

“You think i care for any explanation now? There is NO EXPLAINING. You cheated on me, betrayed me, and that is the only explanation you have to give. And you,”

The girl looked like a deer caught in the middle of a road, vulnerable. She also had tears streaming down her face, but you only felt disgust towards her.

“You bitch. Get the FUCK out of here.”

She ran out of the apartment like there was no tomorrow. Joon looked at her with such heartbroken adoration that oc’s heart ached knowing that he once used to look at her like that too. Still, she was going to put up a brave face because the man in front of her is now pure, adulterating scum.

“You had no idea how much I loved you. I entrusted in you so many things... I was so stupid for thinking you were the one. Still, that doesn’t matter now. I’m going to pick up my things in a couple of days. Hoseok will tell you if I’m coming by so I don’t have to see that bitch’s face.”

Namjoon was fully sobbing like a child now. Oc had never seen him like this, but now it didn’t matter. He could claw at the ground and spill tears all over her shoes, yet he’d only get kicked to the curb, like now. Namjoon finally realized the weight of his actions and the beautiful thing he lost.

“_____ ... I’m sorry.”

“I won’t take any apologies from you, so you can shut up. All I want to know is why?”

Namjoon took a deep breath, trying to silence the cries that will come from being asked that question. It was carnal desire that turned into mutual love. He knew that was all he had to say but he felt so stupid and worthless after letting it sink in. But he said it. Seeing you trying to hide all the hurt and sadness behind the strong persona you were putting on made him want to scoop you up in his arms and comfort you, just like he used to do. But that was no more.

“You’re a goddamn moron. I can’t believe you...” more tears spilled out, and joon tried reaching out, only for you to shove him. Not expecting such a move from you, Namjoon tripped over his feet and fell to the ground. Having you look over your shoulder towards him in such an intimidating, degrading way made him want to shrivel in a way he knew he deserved.

“I don’t need to know anything else. Goodbye, namjoon. We’re over.”

Oc turned around, and opened the door where jimin and hoseok greeted her with open arms and heartwarming smiles. They took her down to her apartment where she cried her eyes out and they were comforting her. She knew she was going to be in pain, but the last thing she was going to be is a girl getting cheated on.

While she laid in bed, jimin and hoseok took away everything of joon’s, that resembled him, all the gifts he gave her, the notes he wrote for her (they burned them just to make themselves feel like badasses). In a few hours, Namjoon’s presence was gone from that apartment. Oc knew that in a couple of days she had to do it in his apartment too. She wasn’t going to let himself see how much she was hurting inside, she wasn’t going to let herself dwell on those feelings. She knows her worth, and it’s much more than what Namjoon did to her. She was going to move on and become the best version of himself. Not to make Namjoon see what he’s missing, but for herself to see how much more she’s grown without him.

[REST.]

[feferipeixes]

Jay’s Brother (2/?)

Jay has been working in the cobalt mines her entire life. Against all odds, she’s still alive when so many others have fallen. It’s been decades since she’s had anyone she could call family. And then, out of nowhere, a demon shows up and says he’s her brother.

Naturally, she’s upset.

Chapter 2: Family Reunion (link to chapter 1)

Happy New Year! Hope it’s a good one filled with TAU :D

Thanks to @toothpastecanyon for beta reading! 💝

(See the most updated version on AO3!)

===

Jay stared at the man in front of her and felt his words bounce around in her head. Mizar… He’d called her Mizar. What the heck was he talking about? The name sounded so familiar for some reason, but she couldn’t place it. All she was getting was a warm, fuzzy feeling. Like she was floating on a cloud. Like she -

The stranger took a step forward, and Jay snapped out of her reverie.

“Hey, buddy, stop right there!” she shouted, struck with the reality of being alone with a stranger in a dark alley. “You think I’m not capable of kicking your butt?”

The man paused mid-step. “Why would you do that?”

Jay gritted her teeth. She dropped the plastic bag with her dinner in it to the ground and flexed her hands. She bent her knees and raised her fists. Her arms, weathered by age, trembled with the exertion, but she still held her ground. “Why? Cause I've got nothing to lose, buddy! Go mug someone else.”

He was silent for a minute, and then took a step backward. “You dropped your food.”

She looked up to where his eyes probably were and scowled. “Yeah, and I’ve got nothing else on me. I’m not even worth bothering.”

“I- I’m not trying to bother you.” His voice quivered just a tad. “Oh, z̭̗͍̲̠g̙̳̗̭̮̖̖l̮or͔͚̼͍͙̙k̼̩͢, this is going all wrong.”

She straightened up, confused, at the lack of confidence in his voice. “What’s going wrong? What are you doing here?”

“Well, I wanted to meet you and maybe become friends, yknow…”

Jay scrunched her face up. “No! I don’t know! I don’t know who you are! You’re just some creepy guy in an alley!”

“I’m… No, you’re…” The man’s voice cracked, and he swallowed. “Mizar, I’m your brother.”

Jay felt half the muscles in her body contract at his words. Any fear she’d had at the idea of confronting a stranger in the dark vanished. “No!” she yelled, and stomped her foot forward.

The man eeped and lifted his hands up. “Mizar?”

Her imagination was getting wild again. She saw a crude lab built halfway into an open mine shaft. There was a big vat in the middle of the room. She took a step forward. He took a step back.

“Look, I’m just not explaining it very well…”

They said it was an accident, but she saw, she knew better. One push, and he was screaming, the worst scream she’d ever heard in her life, and it wasn’t his voice. She took a step forward. He took a step back.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Closer up, she could see that the man wasn’t human. He seemed to have a pair of dark wings extending from his lower back. When he spoke, she caught a glint of light bounce off razor sharp interlocking teeth. She didn’t doubt that he could tear her apart if he wanted to, but right now it appeared that he was the one afraid of the old lady.

“You’re not my brother,” she growled. “My brother is dead!”

“Y- Yes, I am!” he stuttered.

He backed up again, stepping out of the alleyway into a deserted street. The starlight illuminated his features, and she froze. A pair of coal black eyes blinked back at her.

He looked vaguely human, but clearly wasn’t. Humans didn’t have claws that looked like they could cut through flesh in an instant. Humans didn’t have wings, and even humanlike aliens didn’t have wings like his. They weren’t black like she thought -- she could see stars in them, like they were like a window into the night sky. And there was nothing in the world she could think of that had eyes like that. All at once, the fear was back.

“What… what are you?” she asked, almost failing to find the breath to speak.

The nervous look on his face morphed into a confused one. “What do you mean? I'm, uh, Alcor. Yknow. The Dreambender.”

“Who?”

Alcor did a double take. “You've never heard of me?”

She stared at him blankly. “Nuh-uh. Are you famous or something? What's a famous guy like you hiding in alleyways and mugging old women?”

He scowled. “I'm not mugging you! And yeah, you could say I'm famous, but like… not really in a good way?”

Jay stood up straight and crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh yeah? Why's that?”

Alcor seemed to droop in response to that. Suddenly, his sharp teeth and claws didn’t seem so frightening anymore. He seemed more like the nervous guy she thought he was when she’d been yelling at him in the dark. He didn’t speak for a minute.

“Don't scream, okay?” he said finally, staring at his feet. Another long pause, and then: “I'm... a demon.”

Jay scowled. “What the heck is that? Are you just making up words now?”

Alcor perked up all at once, surprise written all over his face. “What? You don't know what a demon is?”

“Listen, buddy,” Jay spat, hands on her hips. “I'm a trentile late to get home because I had to work overtime today, and standing around yapping with you is gonna make it two trentiles. Do you want me to kick your butt or is it cool if I just go now?”

His brow furrowed. “What's a trentile?”

”That's it. I'm out of here.”

“Wait!” he called out, but she was already turning around. ‘Demon’ or not, she was pretty convinced at this point that he wasn’t going to hurt her. It was late and she wanted to go home, and if it meant taking a longer route just to avoid this weirdo, so be it.

She walked to the other end of the alley, crouched down, and picked up the bag with her dinner in it. With any luck, it’d still be slightly warm when she got home. She stood back up, and Alcor was right in front of her.

“Please, don’t go.”

“Ack!” Jay yelped, jumping backward. “Stop sneaking up on me, man!”

He flinched. “Sorry!”

“Apology not accepted!” She stuck her tongue out and spun around, but found herself once again face-to-face with the demon.

“Can we just talk?”

“Nope! I’m leaving! Bye!” She turned around again, but somehow there he was, blocking her exit. “Stop it! How are you doing that?”

“I told youuuuu,” he whined. “I’m a demon.”

“I still don’t know what that is!” she barked back.

Fixing her eyes on him, Jay started to walk backwards. She saw him reach a hand out as if to follow her, but then he stopped, sadness written all over his face. She sneered, confident in her victory over his weird superspeed powers.

Then she tripped.

“Frick!” she shrieked. Her arms shot out to try to grab something, but she had been walking down the center of the alleyway to prevent herself from getting cornered, and there was nothing to steady herself on. Her hands moved down, and the base of her palm ended up going right into the concrete, causing her to wrench it back in pain. Finally, her butt hit the ground, sending a shock of pain throughout her body.

All the while, Alcor was watching her, face contorted in concern. He hadn’t moved from where she’d left him.

“Are you happy now-owwwww!” she started, and then had to curl over in pain. The plastic bag on her arm had flipped over and wrapped itself tightly around her wrist; she waved her arm frantically to get it off, then thought better of it and pulled it off with her other hand. She chanced a look at her palm, and -- oh stars that was blood, look away look away look away.

She looked away, and then Alcor was right in front of her.

“Mizar, I- I’m sorry!” he stammered. “I- I should’ve caught you, I should’ve, I just thought you didn’t want me to -- stupid, stupid!”

“Stay right there!” she hissed. With all her might, she slowly scooted herself to the side of the alley. Each movement stung her hand and jolted her aching core. She rested her back against the wall and took some deep, heaving breaths.

“Ah, cheese,” she swore. “Falling hurts a lot more when you’re old. Why’d you keep sneaking up on me, man?”

He winced. “I’m sorry, ugh… Please, just… Let me heal your cut. I feel really bad about making you fall. Then I’ll leave.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Heal my cut? Are you a doctor?”

“No, I’m a -”

“Yeah, yeah, I remember, you’re a demon,” she cut in, scowling. “Whatever that means. A doctor would probably be more useful right now.” She thought of the cut on her hand again, and the bile rose in her throat. “But... okay, okay, fine, if you leave when you’re done I guess you can heal my -”

Instantly, he was crouching on the ground next to her. She eeped in surprise. “How did you do that? I was looking at you this time and I still can’t tell how you moved that quickly!”

He smiled weakly at her. “Yeah. I’m… yeah. Anyway, this might sting a bit.”

“Uh, what do you -”

Before she could finish, he had grabbed her hand and lifted it to his face. She gasped and closed her eyes, not wanting to see what he was about to do, but to her surprise, the pain never came. Instead, she just felt something… wet? And a little bit slimy? She cautiously opened one eye to take a peek, and saw Alcor licking her wound with a forked tongue.

“What are you doing?” she shouted. “You are just some creep! I swear I’ll -”

“Done!” he squeaked, dropping her hand. “Good as new!”

“What?” She looked at her hand. The cut was gone, as if it had never been there at all. “I- Uh, the- you, what?”

“Well, I guess I’ll be going now,” he interrupted, standing up. He smiled again, but he didn’t look happy. “Sorry for the trouble. I hope you have a nice, uh, ‘trentile’.” He started walking away, and Jay’s mind short-circuited.

“Wait!” she cried. “Wait, I -”

He looked back at her, and her voice caught in her throat. Whatever otherworldly feeling she’d sensed from him when she saw his eyes was doubled. He seemed so overwhelmingly fake that it made her mind hurt a little bit just to look at him. It was like watching a dream playing out in someone else’s head.

“How… did you do that?” she breathed. “Do you know magic?”

“You could say that.” Alcor scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Yknow… ‘cause I’m a demon.”

“Dude, I know, you keep saying that. What is that?”

“Uhh…” He sat down in front of her and started wringing his wrists. “It’s hard to explain. A demon is kind of a sentient bundle of… evil… magic? But but but I’m actually pretty different from other demons -- most of them aren’t as nice as me, haha.”

She rolled her eyes. “Get to the point. So, you’re some kind of magic man? Can you do, like, anything?”

“I- yeah, kind of!” His nervous expression worsened, and he broke eye contact with her. “As long as I get something good enough in exchange, that is. I can’t really do magic for free.”

Jay’s jaw dropped. “Wait. Are you going to charge me? Is this a mugging after all?”

“No, no!” he spluttered, waving his hands frantically. “No, you don’t owe me anything. The blood I drank from your cut was enough to pay for healing it.”

“You drank my blood?” she yelled. “That’s disgusting!”

He flinched and drew back. “I’m sorry -- I should’ve told you, but I just went ahead and did it anyway, I’m sorry…”

Jay closed her eyes to shut out the gibbering demon, and took a deep breath. “No, okay, it’s fine. Thanks for doing it. I just… what’s your deal, man? Who are you and why do you want to help me out so much?”

Alcor opened his mouth, and then quickly clapped his hands to cover it. There was a funny noise -- something small and high pitched that sounded oddly like a giggle.

Jay opened her eyes so she could glare at him. “What?”

“Sorry,” he replied, his hands still covering his mouth. “You asked me about my ‘deal’, and that’s… okay never mind.” He coughed and put on a straight face. “Sorry. I want to help you because you’re my sister, and -”

“I already told you -- you’re not my brother!” she yelled. “I’ve got one brother and he’s dead!”

Alcor frowned. “I am -- well, not your brother, but… it’s weird.” With a sigh, he pulled his knees up to his chest and stared at the ground. “My sister died a long time ago. She was my best friend and I miss her everyday.”

“Okay, but why…” Jay started, then faltered. A memory floated into her head of a girl lying on a cloud next to a comet, and she shuddered. She looked at her hand, the one he’d healed, and thought about how warm it’d felt when it was clasped together with hers. Slowly, she extended it, and patted Alcor on the shoulder. “I… sorry. I know how that feels and it’s the worst.”

“Yeah, but it’s not all bad!” he said, perking up. He looked at her, and the dark voids of his eyes were starting to fill in with gold. “Because you’ve got her soul! I know you’re not her, but I feel connected to you because of it. And I was wondering, yknow, if maybe you’d like a brother. I know I’d really love to have a sister again.”

Jay’s mouth flapped open and shut, unable even to parse his words for a minute. Was this guy seriously offering to be her brother? Was that a thing people actually did? She didn’t trust Alcor as far as she could throw him, but…

The idea of having some family again… It was honestly very enticing.

Not that she particularly wanted to admit that to him right then.

He must have seen the shocked look on her face because he then added, “I know, I know that we don’t even know each other and that I came out of nowhere, and also that I’m weird and creepy, and let’s not forget the fact that I’m a demon, and -”

“Wow, you make such a compelling argument,” she cut in.

He shrank a little and pursed his lips. “Yeah… I’m good at that.”

She shook her head and extended her hand. Confused, he stared at it briefly before grabbing it and shaking it.

“Dude, what are you doing? Can you help me up?”

“Oh!” he replied, looking embarrassed. He stood up and gave her a gentle tug. Before she knew it, she was on her feet as well, without any of the usual old lady aches and pains she got from standing up.

“Thanks.” She looked at him again -- saw the weird mixture of hope and regret that he was radiating, and couldn’t help but feel curious. Curious about her soul, curious about magic, curious about this guy who seemed… just as lonely as she was. “Could you, uh, maybe walk me home? It’s pretty dark out. Who knows what kind of creepy weirdos might be waiting to ambush me in the dark.”

He snorted, and a smile started to breach his features. “Yeah, I can do that, Mizar.”

They started walking back down the alleyway. It wasn’t that much further to her apartment, but… the company was nice. Back on the starlit street, she looked up at the sky again, at the beauty that had been distracting her on her walk home earlier. It was peaceful, much more peaceful than the world she was actually living in. She wondered if that was why she liked it so much.

“It’s Jay, by the way.”

“Huh?”

“My name,” Jay replied, still looking at the stars. “If you’re going to talk to me, at least call me Jay.”

“Oh.” He shuffled awkwardly. “Sorry, Jay.”

“Who is Mizar, anyway? Was that your sister’s name?”

“Sort of. Mizar was her codename. Just like ‘Alcor’ isn’t my real name.”

“Fair enough. ‘Jay’ isn’t my real name either.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him looking at her funnily. “What, only demons get to have nicknames? Hey, wait a minute, since I have your sister’s soul, does that mean I’m a demon too? Do I have secret magic powers that I don’t know about?”

He audibly sucked in a deep breath and started coughing. She looked at him and cocked her head. “No, uh, no,” he said when he’d caught his breath. “She wasn’t a demon. She was a human, like you. It’s… complicated.”

“Aw, man. That would’ve been so cool. Maybe you could show me some more tricks later?”

He stopped walking and stared at her. “Really? You’d like that?”

She paused, realizing what she’d said, and scrunched up her face. “I mean, maybe. This whole ‘offering to be my brother’ thing is kind of a lot. I’d like some time to think about it.”

A huge smile broke out on his face, which he quickly dialed down. “Yes, yes, of course, that’s totally reasonable.” He started walking again, with a very obvious skip in his step. “Take all the time you need.”

She watched him go briefly. His wings bobbed, and through them she saw the stars glimmer. She sped up to catch up with him. “Hey, tell me something. If I have your sister’s soul, why aren’t you like an old man? You’d have to be at least as old as I am.”

“Oh, I’m way older,” he replied giddily. “Like, millions of years older. I, uh, I’m immortal. But she wasn’t. Like I said, it’s complicated,” he finished, his smile falling away.

She boggled at that, and had to mentally discard most of it because it was just too confusing at the moment. She latched onto the part that made at least a little bit of sense. “It took you that long to find your sister’s soul? I mean, I don’t know anything about souls, but…”

“Oh, no, I’ve met up with her reincarnations countless times. Usually I find them when they’re a lot younger, so we have more time together, but time kind of got away from me…”

Jay gaped at him. “You’ve done this tons of times before and yet you’re still this bad at it?” His face twisted nervously, and she gave him a light punch on the arm. “Kidding. Well, not really. This was awful. Are you usually this bad at it?”

He smiled weakly. “Yeah… sometimes. Sometimes it goes a lot better. There have definitely been Mizars that have reacted a lot worse than you have.”

“Huh. Alright.”

They walked in silence for the next few minutes, until they reached the door of her apartment building. Jay’s brain was still buzzing with both excitement and confusion. Alcor had said a lot of things that she was sure she’d need a lot of time to process, but there was something in particular that was eating at her now. Something he’d said about time getting away from him. She wondered what that meant. Maybe she should ask -

“Anyway, this is your place, right?”

Jay blinked. “Oh, yeah. Thanks for walking me home.” She wiggled her nose nervously. “I guess I better go inside -- it’s really late now. How, um, how can I get in contact with you again?”

He grinned -- his vicious teeth looking so out of place in such an innocent smile -- and snapped his fingers. “There. I’ve put some stuff in your room. When- if you want to see me again, lay the picture of the circle on the floor, arrange the candles around the edge of it, and light them. Then, cut your finger and let a little bit of blood drop in the middle. I’ll show right up.”

She blanched. “There’s no way in Bezsinova I’m cutting my finger on purpose.”

“Oh. Right, of course. Um, then just leave some food there, preferably candy. That’ll work just as well.”

“Alright…” She gave him a little wave. “Bye then.”

Alcor giggled. “Yeah, bye Jay! It was nice to meet you.” He waved back at her, bowed dramatically, and then vanished.

Jay gaped at the empty space the man had previously been occupying, before burying her face in her hands. What was she getting herself into? She climbed the stairs slowly, making note of the fact that she wasn’t aching nearly as much as she’d expected to given that she’d fallen onto concrete earlier. She wondered if it was something Alcor had done when he’d healed her cut.

She stepped into her apartment, and sure enough, there was a big piece of paper with an intricate design on it and a bundle of candles sitting on her bed. She moved them onto the desk, and sat down with a groan. So wrapped up with talking to Alcor she was that she’d forgotten how exhausted she was, but now that she was home it came back in droves.

She pulled out her dinner, which at this point was cold as a rock. Grimacing, she forced herself to eat the whole thing, even though it was almost unpalatable. There was no sense in letting any food go to waste, not after she’d worked so hard for the money to pay for it.

Jay swallowed the last of her food, and yawned. It was a trentile earlier than she usually went to bed, but between waking up early, working late, and falling on her butt in the street, she really needed the sleep. She cleaned up her food, glanced once more at the stuff Alcor had given her, and then got ready for bed.

As she slipped under the covers, she felt the prickling sensation rush over her skin again. She put her glasses back on to confirm that yep, there really was no one else in the room. With a sigh, she took them off and turned off the lights. Maybe, if she saw Alcor again, she’d ask him if he knew what it meant. Until then, she just dismissed it as her imagination overacting again.

If she saw Alcor again. She turned the thought over and over behind closed eyelids. He wasn’t her brother, he wasn’t... but maybe he could be. She didn’t even know why she was considering it. Why should she? The guy had accosted her in a dark alley! It had been a long time since she’d even considered letting herself get close to anyone, but for some reason she felt weirdly drawn to him.

It was all too much for her to process in one night, she thought. Jay closed her eyes, and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

(AO3 link)