#my sister lended me her brace

[strawurberries]

fun fact about me, my knee cap just popped out of place 👍

[fortloser]

Hello again! Sooo kinda a personal question but what was yalls childhoods like?

(Also, hope u feel better snipes!)

-Terror

Hallo everyone! I finally got my hands on those portraits! Now most of the others became rather uncomfortable when I started questioning them about their youths. I got answers ranging from “why are you so bloody intrested in how im doing! There’s nothing special about me or my childhood, now bugger off.” to more reasonable explanations. I tried calling Scout on his cellular device but he seemed very preoccupied. Oh well, he’ll get back to you on that, onto the testimonies! Brace yourself friends this will be somewhat lengthy.

I first approached herr Demo, and getting him to open up was fairly easy. His favorite alcoholic beverage and a snack did the trick!

“ It must be me birthday if yer spoiling me rotten doc, I guess I can share something about me youth if yer willing to lend an ear. I grew up in Glencoe Scotland, a great place if you like trails and hiking. Me mum and dad were professional monster hunters and me being the wee little lad that I was wanted to impress em with the greatest catch any child could give their parents, the Loch Ness monster! I did it all on me own but it came at a cost,,”

After that herr demo just stared off in the distance and I made a mental note to ask him more about that later, The Engineer was also very open about his youth! I came to him shortly after dinner knowing he would be busying himself with one of his long-term projects and would enjoy some company, his leg was still a little stiff from a rather nasty fall and so movement was difficult at times. He was more than happy to talk while I assisted.

“Luckenbach Texas, everybody is somebody there. It was recently bought by a goat farmer. Can you believe that? He called himself an Imagineer and after that, a bunch of hillbilly musicians started moving in. Can't complain though, It breathed new life into my home, I hated going back and seeing the state it was in. My mom and pop own a small pig farm there, and I still try to visit though unlike my good-for-nothing twin with his stupid fancy job at “NASA”,,

I don't think I should share his personal frustration about his twin with the public so let's move on, yes? The next day I approached Heavy, he was last on my list and seemingly already aware of me interrogating the entire team, and as he was cleaning his minigun he told me to take a seat.

“You want to know about heavy, Da? Then I will tell you about heavy. Grew up in big town near mountain, you would not know it. Had big family, many sisters and brothers but Heavy was oldest. Family was poor but happy, loved summer, snow would melt and grass and flowers would show, heavy likes this. Went to good school had many friends, now heavy works to give family same life. Doctor is happy  with answer?”

I was surprised he was so willing to talk about his youth, I politely thanked him and left to prepare for that day's battle, I suppose that only leaves me left.

I was born in Germany, my mother was German and my father was Dutch and they both moved to Germany so my mother could be close to her family, he was a watchmaker and she was an artist, this relationship did not last and they got divorced. My motherstayed in germany allowing my father to raise me on his own back in the netherlands. I spent a lot of time in my father's workshop while he was trying to fix up old clocks. I didn't have many friends but who needs them when you have books and wildlife to observe? I excelled in all of my studies and pursued medicine, and eventually ended up here writing to you after I just finished up patching the last of my colleagues.

Stay healthy

With kind regards medic

[canaidliafail]

curse that ravens fire

eivor x f!reader 🌿 PART 1

reader is Petras Younger sister who just arrived at the settlement. [ 2k words ?]

MDI

[ warnings : will eventually have sexual content. for now theres only mentions of hunting animals / not too gory but might still be upsetting to read] Its also a little enemies to lovers type of deal

The tip of your arrow was perfectly aligned with her throat just like the edge of her axe with yours

You could feel her breath, hear her heartbeat and you saw a bead of sweat roll down her forehead. Neither took initiative to move forward or pull back not trusting each other’s intentions

“Eivor Wait! That’s my sister!” You heard Petra call out and you both pulled back the tension you shared falling flat to your siblings cries. She ran towards you and stopped few feet away bracing her hands on her knees breathing heavily

“Gods! I can't believe you got in trouble already” She mumbled worried and Eivor sheathed back her axe

“This is your family that was visiting?” She asked looking distressed

“Yes!” She yelled more so to cover up for her lack of oxygen than to scold anyone.

You looked at the stones on the ground and scoffed,kicking one with little force to show your despair. This was a horrible first impression you were leaving on someone you assumed to be important for the settlement.

“Thought you all only hunted animals”

“We do!” You yelled and she growled looking at you “Do I look like a stag?”

“You could with that mug of yours!” You spat back enraged. You weren't even pointing at her. She just happened to be in your line of sight when you were waiting for a wolf to come out of a cave only for this crude norsewoman to turn up.

Naturally, the timing was off and then things escalated without the two of you realizing

“Calm down, please! EIvor excuse my sister's behavior. She's probably just tired from her trip” She said and yanked you from your arm. You decided to stay quiet knowing her tone indicated you weren’t getting away without a harsh scolding

Eivors upper lip twitched and she took a long sigh.WIping the sweat of her brow and scarred cheeks she looked away “Take your time getting settled. I should go to the longhouse and speak with Randvi”

And with that she took off. Petra glared at you “What were you thinking?!”

“That I found the mythical wolf!”

She shook your head “Gods, what an awful misunderstanding that must have been then. Come. You’ve embarrassed me enough” You frowned, crossing your arms and slowly walking behind her.

“Is Wallace here as well?”

“No. He went to sharpen arrows. Might be back for the featbuff though. Don’t worry youll catch him tomorrow morning at worse”

You nod deep in thought. Four days of walking,eating dry rabbit meat and sleeping in cold,wet,murky caves. Depending on who you offended today you would have to prepare yourself mentally to go through that all again, should they decide to send you back home

“So…Who’s Eivor?”

“The Jarls sister”

Shit

Maybe you could pack some soup and hopefully steal a better coat.

“Don’t worry. She doesn’t hold many things to heart. However your loud mouth might make her eventually” She said, her tone heavy with a warning

Watch your tongue or Ill cut it for you

“Understood”

Petra lended you a fresh set of clothes , rich in color, The blue and sea hues that royalty usually wore, with the soft fur of a rabbit decorating the edges and shoulders giving a nice fullness to your structure

“Did you just get this?” Recognizing it must have cost a fortune, you felt bad being the first one to wear it. She smiled “You can make it up to me by sewing me a new one tomorrow”

You felt out the leathers of the belts and the edges admiring the craftsmanship “Who… did this? Its form is crude but it looks nice”

“Our blacksmith. Has a fine set of hands,right?” She said with a wink and you shook your head letting go of the fabrics.

“Let's just go to this feast. I’m starving for some decent food” With a small nod she walked out of her hut. Quickly snatching a small knife and sliding it beneath your coat you followed “You live very close to the Longhouse”

“Our services were deemed important to the clan. Comes with it I guess. Which by the way, don't relax too much. Tomorrow you'll have to talk with Randvi and Eivor.tell them what you will provide if they are to let you stay”

Expected

You thought. Which is why you were so eagerly hunting down that wolf. If you truly found that legendary creature, its fur would’ve been the final addition to the armor you were planning to present as an example of your skills. Now you need a new plan. Curse that raven

You gritted your teeth in spite.

when the two of you walked in the hall you saw faces warm up to your sister's presence greeting her and exchanging handshakes “Petra! Tell us a story!” One yelled across the room and she raised a hand motioning that she’d join them soon

“First, formally apologize to Eivor. Ill be waiting for you over there” She ordered and you looked at her like a kicked cub

“You’re joking?”

“Don’t be difficult”

“Don’t be ridiculous then!” You hissed and she glared at you. Her eyes left yours to see Eivor exit the map room “There. Go” and with that she turned you around grabbing your shoulders and giving you a push forward as she went the other way to go find her companions

Curse these traditions and formalities that your families followed. You stepped around the dancing Vikings and tried to avoid bumping into any drunk ones who chugged on ale making your way closer to the throne where Eivor leaned against the wood,deep in thought.

You stopped before walking up the stairs hoping she would notice you first. To your relief she did. Cocking a brow she gathered herself and made her way to you “Yes?” She asked and you felt sweat run down your spine. You started pushing at the skin on your fingertips with your nails trying to come up with something to say.

She smirked, baring her fangs almost as she took a step closer “For all that barking you surely came with the tail between your legs now” She bit in what she thought was playful banter which you, took horribly wrong

“Excuse me?!” You stopped fidgeting suddenly feeling the gravity pull at your feet

“Petra sure knows how to handle her siblings. With Wallace often running off, she does a good job keeping you two in place” You suddenly felt like she was referring to you like some dog that needed a leash and you’ve never felt more enraged by a woman

“Fuck you and your spineless clan” You hissed and turned away not bothering to hear what else she had to say knowing you would be soon sleeping on the streets.

The winter breeze hit your cheek, in a soft caress, soothing the heat that burned your skin.

Your head jolted the other way and you saw a door.

The longhouse had more than one exit

You smiled, all tension and anger evaporating immediately. You could go hunting now and apologize in the form of a well crafted coat the way you initially intended. If you couldn’t get in Eivors good graces anymore you were certain the Jarls wife would consider you.

You pushed some men around and made your way to the door finally leaving the suffocating building

You stopped right out the doors and took a second to catch your breath, the whole gathering spiking up your anxiety. What you had in craftsmanship you lacked in social skill. You tried to reason with yourself that you wanted to make a good impression and that you weren't sneaking out from embarrassment alone. Out of shame for letting anger so quickly get the better of you.

You saw a stack of bows and arrows lodged by the entrance, damp by the snow.It would have to do. You grabbed a set and began your short journey to the snow and stone covered entrance of the wolf cave. You were sure you heard the crunch of another pair of footsteps behind you. You turned to look. Someone must have been following you

However, not wanting to risk the idea that they were after the same wolf you picked up your pace and reached the cave sliding first and looked around. It was eerily quiet, your pants disrupting the peace.

Trying your best to watch your step you climbed the walls trying to reach the other end of the path which would hopefully lead to a makeshift home by the animal.

You heard rumbling in the distance. Wet and filled with aggression. You were noticed.

You pulled an arrow and your bow in haste but were ultimately thrown to your front when you felt four pairs of heavy joints push at your back.

You yelped in fear realizing how greatly you miscalculated the size this beast would have.Not ready to give in you pushed your weight against the ground abruptly covering your exposed neck with your hood and trying to roll over on the other side.

Knocking it off balance wasn’t as easy and your thoughts were starting to get cloudy from the grim realization that you might die after all. You tasted copper and the stuffiness of your nose clearly indicated you were bleeding.

Well. I did land headfirst

“Duck!” You heard a heavy voice command and you did. The next thing you heard was the weighty thud of something crashing with the wolves ribs and thrusting it on the other side. It howled in pain and you quickly rose to your feet running to the other side of the cave pulling out your knife which seemed unnecessary when a figure landed in front of you covering your line of sight.

Eivor wolf kissed

Oh the irony of it all

“Must be dead” she mumbled and you finally took a careful look at the wolf. That something that made it clash with the rocks behind it, was Eivors sharp axe.

Oh the poor creature never stood a chance

“That was barbaric!” You whined and she glared at you “Is that how you thank someone for saving your ass?” She mocked and you rolled your eyes “Oh I was doing fine”

You quickly tried to wipe your bloody nose probably smearing it across your face and hopped over to the wolfs side

“This is awful. How am I to properly get its fur now”

“Fur?”

“Yes. I am a tailor. It's what I came to do here seeing as you clearly lack those. Seriously, how old is that vest you are wearing?” You said and scoffed in disgust to which she took little offense

“It does the job!”

“And I” you pushed against the wolf's skin and with the other wrapped your fingers around the hilt of the axe “Can make it do an even better one” and pulled it out of its skin making sure it wouldn't rip it any further

You gently held its head in your palm and connected your foreheads whispering a thank you for its sacrifice and with one deep breath pulled it up and mounted it on your shoulders

“Do you only show respect to animals?”

“They are the only ones who have earned it out of me” you stopped and looked at her, or what you could make out of the woman since the Caracas was blocking your vision

“Did you follow me?”

“I wanted to Say some things. Next thing I know you are getting yourself into trouble under my clans watch” she grabbed her discarded axe and made her way next to you helping you carry the animal by sharing the weight. You studied her face, noticing how the lines on her forehead softened and deepened. Her jaw tense.

She tried to blow a few loose strands of hair out of her face in a very child-like way and she refused to meet your eyes. Her breathing was uneven not from fatigue but from nervousness. All of that made you truly reconsider her character

She struggled with normal interactions as much as you did. This was her way of trying to get close to you and apologize . With actions

You smiled, earnestly now, wanting to impress her more than ever “Oh you'll learn to love me”

[forest-falcon]

R&R

Kayo spread a towel on a sun lounger. After a string of sinfully-dull boardroom meetings, it felt like a tonic to feel the sun on her skin.

She delved into her beach bag and felt for her book - her guilty pleasure. The plot line was definitely ammunition-worthy for her brothers to rib her with, but she had never attempted to hide it from them; at least, not in the conventional sense of the word. Obscuring things from view was an invitation for her brothers to go looking. Gordon, for one, had picked a couple of locks in an attempt to uncover what he thought would be some juicy ribbing material only to find a note reading: Nice try Fish Face!

Kayo smiled at the memory. Yes, hiding things in plain sight had, and would likely always be the way forward. She had grabbed this particular novel from the bookcase in the Comms room, right next to Virgil's easel. With John hoarding his reading material on Five, nobody ever thought to look in the most obvious place possible.

Relax. Relax, relax, relax…

The sound of the ocean, the lazy clouds, no brothers around to judge…so why couldn't she relax?

She forced herself to focus, but something…some feeling niggling deep in her gut told her to be on guard. If Gordon really did had a Squid Sense, then whatever her version was of that was-

"Help!"

Kayo sprang to her feet just as Gordon came bounding out of the villa. His speed caused him to teeter on one foot as he cornered sharply to avoid falling into the pool.

“What's wron-”

“Kayo - yes! ...Ah sh*t!”

He grabbed both his sister’s arms to help slow himself before pivoting behind her, just as a furious Virgil appeared.

The gentle giant, seething, stalked towards the cowering aquanaut, who was now using Kayo as a human shield.

"What's going on?"

It was only at this moment that Kayo mentally registered that their older brother was dressed in no more than a robe for modesty. It billowed precariously behind him as he closed the distance between them, keeping one hand closed around the fabric at his waist for decency at all times.

“What did you do?” Kayo whipped around to face the prankster.

“I did nothing!” His protest was undone by his laughter.

“NOTHING?” Virgil’s baritone erupted.

“Call this nothing?” he spat, throwing a medley of garments on the ground.

Gordon continued to skirt around Kayo for protection, though the glee radiating off him was so potent it was almost tangible.

Kayo went to inspect the items of clothing.

Virgil made to grab at his brother, but the smaller Tracy was much more agile and dived just beyond reach. Gordon straightened but kept his arms up close to his chest in a precautionary, defensive stance.

At least he'd remembered something from the lessons she'd given him.

“These are all trousers and underwear?”

Kayo allowed the evidence to drop back to the floor. Her gaze switched to Virgil.

“How many?”

“All of them.” Virgil lurched for Gordon again; his physical size and strength almost knocking Kayo off balance.

“You sewed all of the leg holes of his garments closed?”

Don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh. Her ribs ached with the effort. Gordon would be sans shield and would be so dead if she caved.

“In my defence, he had had a couple last night, so I was a good brother - I helped him to his room! And there was this sewing kit on the side, just sitting there! I mean, who has a sewing kit just lying around like that?” he gave an impish yet triumphant grin.

Virgil's eyes darkened a fraction more.

"Come on Virg, be a sport! I'm sure Brains will lend you a pair of his tighty whities!" Gordon snorted.

Kayo braced to hold Virgil back. His expression radiated enough explosive energy to power Two. It was like the fish wanted to become pâté.

“Hey. Hey! Let me handle this.”

She levelled Virgil with a stare which, thank whatever power, stalled the advancing tank. Kayo staggered a little as she adjusted her balance, no longer needing to counter his weight. God, Virg was a powerhouse.

Gordon peered around her side, giving a smug grin. Nobody dared question Kayo.

Kayo inwardly smirked, reading his thoughts.

It was true, nobody dared challenge her. But what the Squid hadn't accounted for is that no-one would expect her to counter mischief with more mischief.

In one deft movement, she flicked her hip, sending a completely unsuspecting Gordon careering into the pool.

“Once he’s out and dry, he can use my Karambit to unpick his handiwork. Should keep him out of trouble for a good while.”

"You own Karambits?"

Kayo offered another dangerous glare.

Virgil held up a hand in mock self defense.

"You know what? I don't need to know."

He squeezed her shoulder in appreciation.

A slap of water broke the moment.

"You should come join me, the water's lovely!" Gordon beckoned, swimming casual laps around the pool.

"Maybe find some pants first."

The engineer's temper ignited much in the way Grandma's attempt at pasta had the previous week.

Virgil cannon balled into the pool.

Gordon yelped.

Virgil swam.

Gordon swam faster.

Kayo sighed and thumbed a page of her book.

[revserrayyu]

2.1 Penacony thoughts [part2]

**Spoiler warning** Covering up until we switch to Acheron’s POV alongside Welt (not their first conversation but actually playing as her, hence the cover photo), so be kind to yourself and look away if you haven’t reached that point yet. Brace yourself once more; I’m going to ramble.

First things first, this whole shrinking down scene where we traverse through a model of Penacony was so odd. Poor Ratio had to be rolling his eyes so hard just watching a tiny Aventurine run around like that.

I feel like we didn’t learn much about Sunday last patch, but hearing him speak about how orderly and presentable we should be at all times really fits his personality. The pretty boy certainly knows how to look good and leads me like him even more..

But only for a moment as he then uses some Harmony trickery against Aventurine so he’s forced to answer his several questions truthfully, or at least that’s the feeling I got from watching this interrogation. Seeing this was quite interesting to me because there’s this anime call No Guns Life where a character by the name Tetsuro has an ability called “harmonie” which allows him to control other extends (robots basically) and they way the anime shows it looked very familiar with all the color.

Moving on, Sasuke Uchiha vibes are coming in strong with our gambler being a potential sole clan survivor, not to mention Aventurine admitting his love toward his family is something he values more than himself. Also, I don’t like this bird.. sitting there, keeping an eye on everything, even during Aventurine’s chat with Sparkle later on. I know the Family has a big Nightingale theme going on but still. Big Brother (or in this case the Family) always watching hm?

NOPE. Any small hope I had for Sunday being someone we could safely trust has flown straight out the window with this sinister smirk of his, no matter how handsomely good it makes him look here.

I love that no matter what is going on or who he’s talking to, Ratio always manages to mildly insult others without a care in the world.

So stuff about the Cornerstones gets revealed, how all Ten Stonehearts have one of their own and how very important said stones are to them, so what on earth was Aventurine doing with both his and Potaz Pazto Topaz’s? Also found it interesting how closely hers resembles Qlipoth’s body when she isn’t a Preservation unit like Aventurine is.

Sunday then gives Aventurine only 17 system hours to live and he has to spend it solving Robin’s case with little to no outside help or hints on where to begin. Talk about immense pressure. Let my man gamble in peace!

And if all that wasn’t enough to make me start feeling bad for our fancy man, we get a sad backstory featuring his sister and even learning how both their parents died! Because OF COURSE they’re setting me up to get upset about him for some reason later on in the story and now I’m so terrified because if I learned anything from anime it’s that these kinds of flashback are major red death flags.

The feeling of joy came back to me though upon seeing Topaz show up. Despite Aventurine being around and all the mentions of the IPC, I honestly wasn’t expecting her to visit Penacony at all, but I’m very pleased to see her again! She definitely grew on me after that one quest in Belobog and even though she doesn’t have access to most places on Penacony like her coworker currently does, it’s nice she’s willing to lend a helping hand to us.

It doesn’t settle well with me that none of the Bloodhounds know who Gallagher is. Ain’t he supposed to be top dog around here and in charge?

Oh red text, why must you haunt me so easily? Imagine how different all of Penacony would feel if we had the option to completely turn off subtitles. People would definitely have various opinions regarding Acheron if they knew of her ominous words or not.

I wanna chalk this up as a HI3 reference, but I can’t be sure as I’ve never played. If so, I love how they can toss in hints about Welt’s past like this.

And hers.. I imagine bits and pieces would line up with her past one way or another too.

A little while after that, we cut back to Black Swan and y’all, we FINALLY get some sort of Boothill interaction in the story! Only audio for now but I’ll take it!

Hearing about bullets, him getting annoyed about Acheron being a “galaxy ranger” and the Hunt path are wonderful ways to confirm who it is and I can’t wait to eventually see him in game.

Seems like he isn’t too thrilled with Acheron though and of course, he too knows of her Emenator status. There goes my brief hopes of them being in friendly terms and seeing them work together I suppose.

This item that Ratio gives Aventurine before he suddenly disappears (again) and how it features one of his voicelines.. hilarious. It’s like it was spoken specifically for Aventurine and no one else.

I may be a little stupid.. do we know who the other mute is? The one dead is clearly Robin, but surely the other can’t be Sunday right? He spoke perfectly fine. I’m thinking back to all the Penacony characters we’ve met and they all sound fine, aside from Sam but he’s robotic so naturally he would sound a bit different yea? Maybe we haven’t met this other mute yet, I dunno. The “again” part of Sparkle’s line makes me feel like we have met them at least once.

Sweetie, how the fuck did you manage to sneak such a dangerous device into Penacony?? Even Aventurine is concerned about how the Family doesn’t know of it.

Okay.. so the whole flashback with Aventurine being bought as a slave and used to gamble for his master is tough. I know many people speculated what the mark on his neck said, and majority did think “slave” was written, but man, the hint didin’t make this story any easier to hear. Being blessed with luck ain’t always a good thing hm? Hearing the guy say “all or nothing” and learning from Topaz about how that phrase is now Aventurine’s mantra.. oh boy.

Siobhan is gorgeous and if she was playable I’d definitely pull for her.

SERVAL MENTION HUZZAH! I’m aware they mentioned my girl during the livestream and how they’re both the rebellious ones in their respective families, but Siobhan actually wanting to meet her? Oohhh~

Okay but the fact we’re encountered so many deaths, during the many story and side quests, in a short amount of time shouldn’t be normal. The way he seems so indifferent about it too.. “so what?” like sir, people are dying.

Oh, we did indeed receive one as well. That was the invitation, wasn’t it? I thought the music box Acheron stole from Duke was something different and special for different reasons. Nevermind.

I seriously need to check back into the creepy dream we experienced last time after Sparkle knocked us out, where we encountered that memory zone meme and listen to all the shouting we heard of this Mikhail guy. I figured he had to be someone important, but the Watchmaker and betrayer of the Family? Oh dear.

I bet you anything it’s Misha. Working behind the scenes in the hotel this entire time would definitely be an effective strategy, and his technique outside battle literally stops time and that seems like the perfect kind of ability for someone named “Watchmaker.”

Gallagher wondering if this certain person is real or not is another reason I think it’s Misha because apparently no one notices his presence at all. During that one scene with us, Firefly, Acheron, Misha & Clockie last past, the girlies didn’t acknowledge Misha at all. Only us and Clockie spoke to the boy. In return, Clockie is only seen by us and Misha as well. So that’s just strange.

For a moment I wonder if Misha is actually like.. a ghost of sorts and we’re just going insane seeing visions of people and cartoon characters everywhere. But that’s all stuff I shall find out later. Hopefully. If the story decides to answer my many concerns.

(originally written on 3/28)

[bishiglomper]

Jesus I am so fucking useless

I had trouble today. Like standing was hard. It made my heart work overtime and my limbs felt too heavy. Like your body just has to work so hard to stand there until you cant do anything but sit. And then on top of that i got another migraine. Only this time when i took my maxalt it knocked me tf out. I missed dinner. It was too hard to roll out of bed at a decent time.

I thought i would perk up this evening but its still hard to be upright. I'm just exhausted. My sister tried to have me pick up the living room but it required a lot of bending over and i didnt know what to do with any of it anyway.

I tried to help mom with the sheets. After 30 minutes I said i had to go get my back braces. Mom excused me until later. Then she said she had to wash all the sheets again because they were damp.

Our basement leaks in wet weather. On top of that, our washer, which mom has been running nearly 24/7 for weeks, leaks. I don't wanna be there when the landlord finds out.

Apparently hes coming in the day before to do his landlord diligence as far as the City inspection. I dont think he knows the wiring in the basement bathrooom is fudged up. 👀

I think the guy is expecting to test the smoke alarms and be on his merry way. I think we're all going to be disapppinted.

Mom was saying her boyfriend wants to spend saturday with her. We both agree he should come lend a hand because mom is gonna be busy and if he wants to spend time with her... 👀

But shes like "hes allergic to dust, and has back and breathing problems. He wont be of much use."

And I'm all "Hey I tick all those boxes too! ....yeah, I'm not much use either." Oof.

I still need to clean the litter box area. Reno left some unfortunate marks along the wall.. 😶 At least I can sit there to clean it. I still need to find the spoon to do it before bed though. Ive only been up for like 2 hours but I already want to sleep.

Tomorrow we'll be out all day. Mom promised to drug me up but im more concerned with energy. And the fact that my body is gonna need a recovery day. But the day after recovery day is a day out too.. Theres no time to be a chronically ill blob 😭😭😭

[gloryofroses19]

Plight of the Pilots

Main Pairing: Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x wife!reader

Additional Pairings: Hangman x trouble, platonic!Phoenix x reader

T/W: Allusions to sex

“Hey Rooster, I’ve been meaning to ask.” Hangman began causing every pilot in the room to brace themselves. They were dispersed across the training classroom trying to enjoy a few free moments in between the cramming and planning for the mission. “Where’s that pretty wife of yours?” 

Rooster took his time drinking from his water bottle refusing to take Hangman’s bait as he locked his phone. “She’s visiting her parents.” 

“What? And leave her husband alone before the biggest mission of his life? And here I thought nothing, but God could separate you two.” Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin had been subjected to the lovefest that was the Bradshaw couple on numerous occasions. And every time he made his displeasure known, apparently even when she wasn’t there. 

With his signature cocky grin, Hangman exuded an air of nonchalance as he leaned back in his chair. “Well maybe it’s not such a big deal considering you’ll be riding the bench Roos.” 

Meeting Hangman’s gaze, Rooster replied in a dry tone. “Not that it’s any of your business Hangman but her dad had surgery.”

“Wait, shit, really? When? She didn’t tell me.” Phoenix broke in. Phoenix had met [y/n] early on in her relationship with Rooster when Phoenix joined Rooster in a San Diego post. The women had clicked instantly and Phoenix now considered her to be a sister, which she was forever grateful for between her own two brothers and the Navy’s gender inequality. 

Rooster gave Phoenix a reassuring smile. “It was minor gastric surgery for his GERD yesterday. Don’t take it to heart, I don’t think she wanted to bother you because of the mission.” 

Drowning out the rest of the conversation, Rooster placed his hand over his heart as he thought about his wife. Rooster hated how Hangman words put a familiar ache in his chest. When he and [y/n] were apart, he often had a feeling of longing in his heart that was dulled by their calls and texts. And if given the time, [y/n] would come along or at least visit when Rooster’s posts allowed it. But on the mission that sounded impossible and forced him to see Maverick, Rooster couldn’t ask her to choose between him and her parents. He would have to make due with calls and pray for a miracle that would allow him to survive and be held by her again. 

“Yes, actually I was one of her bridesmaids.”

“Oh, is she the bride in the photo in your locker?” Bob chimed in once again causing everyone in the room to consider again if Bob truly was a stealth pilot. 

Hangman’s eyebrows raised as he gazed at Phoenix in wonder. “You have a picture of Rooster’s wife in your locker? Wow, Phoenix, never would have pegged you as the type to steal your friend’s girl.” 

“Shut up, Hangman.” Rooster replied heatedly, rejoining the conversation. 

“Ok, now I’m curious about this photo.” Coyote stepped into the middle of the room, severing the glaring standoff between Rooster and Hangman. The tension between the two hadn’t dissipated in the following days after their blowup during the briefing. Every pilot in the room, including Captain Pete Mitchell who reentered the room, had been running interference between the two lieutenants ever since. 

“You’re not seeing the inside of my locker, you creep.” Phoenix stated as she tied the arms of her flight suit around her waist. 

“Hey now, -” But Coyote’s retort was cut off by Rooster holding out a paper pulled from the left breast pocket of his flight suit. Taking it from his outstretched hand, Coyote was met with the image of Rooster and assumedly his wife, if the wedding gown gave any indication. 

Murmurs of praise began to fill the room as the photo was passed around. Rooster nodded and smiled but it began to slip as Hangman ignored Yale’s offer and instead moved closer to the bronzed brunette.

“Aw, he keeps the photo near his heart. What, Bradshaw? Hoping she'll ask the Wizard of Oz to lend you some courage?” 

Rising from his seat, Rooster faced the blonde. “Maybe the wizard will decide to gift you a heart so you’d be able to understand the experience of being loved.” 

Sharing a look of distress, Payback moved forward to place his hand on Rooster's shoulder as Fanboy softly asked, “How long have you been together, man?”

Catching sight of Maverick watching him while holding his wedding photo, Rooster was reminded of the conversation he shared with [y/n] the night of his fight with Hangman. He never intended to cry while speaking to [y/n] but he wasn’t embarrassed that he did. The fear of crying in front of his wife was lost years ago after he showed up unannounced reeling from a nightmare months into their dating. 

So after the tears subsided and he relayed what had happened, Rooster listened to what his wife had to say. It wasn’t advice that he could think of himself but hearing it from her made it real. Hangman and Maverick’s opinions didn’t matter, the past doesn’t have to be forgotten but it has to be learned from. And the best way to do that is to be the better man and show them how ‘by the book flying’ has its own value within the ‘Maverick’ style. 

With a final withering glare at Hangman, Rooster let the tension leave his body as turned to Fanboy. “We dated for a year and been married for almost two years.” 

A sigh of relief was felt by everyone as Maverick cleared his throat. “Bad news kids, we’re being rained out, or more accurately winded out with the dust storm. Training will be postponed and I talked Cyclone into giving you the rest of the day off with promises that you’ll ace the offensive and defensive exam tomorrow. We’ll be meeting at the beach outside the Hard Deck at 08:00.” 

Though confused by the meeting place, cheers and shrouts erupted across the room. Rooster Bradshaw was the only pilot not joining in as he preoccupied himself with packing his things. Shooting a text to his wife, Rooster factored that with the four additional free hours, the Bradshaws could have a nice long FaceTime and also find time to cram for the exam.

“Here, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to lose this.” Accepting the outstretched photo, Rooster gave Maverick a final nod before dashing out of the room to pick up the incoming call. 

“Hi baby, I think we need to have a quick intervention about your kleptomania of my belongings.” 

Grabbing his sunglasses from the place on his chest, Rooster smiled at the lithe tilt of [y/n]’s voice. “What stuff?” 

[y/n] rolled her eyes as she was both amused and endeared at her husband for playing dumb. “Oh, first it was my old college t-shirt, then my chapstick and chargers and now my favorite mug!” 

“Wait, how do you know I have it? You left our place before I went on this mission!” Rooster never slept well without [y/n] by his side but the night he spent alone in their bed when she left to her parents’ was more tortuous than any night he had to spend alone during a mission. 

“Because I’m standing in your bungalow looking at it, Bradshaw!” 

Bradley chuckled listening to her faux annoyance before stopping short in the hallway as he words settled in his ears. “You’re where?!” 

“Surprise baby, hope training ends quickly because I miss you.” [y/n] teased before ending the call leaving Lieutenant Bradshaw to ignore Hondo’s shout of “no running in the halls”.

[Bonus]

Worried about Rooster’s quick exit, Lieutenant Natasha Trace knocked on his bungalow door. Hearing no reply but instead the scrapping of furniture against the floor, she knocked again. “Rooster! I know you’re in there! Just answer me so I can tell your wife you’re at least alive!”

“Goodbye Phoenix!” Rooster yelled out as he stopped kissing her, allowing his minx of a wife to begin to place open mouthed kisses up his neck.

Removing her lips from the spot behind his left ear that left him trapping her between the wall and his body, [y/n] called out to Phoenix. “I appreciate it Nat, but I think I got it under control.”

“[y/n]? Oh my god…!” Walking away from the door, Phoenix joined Bob, Fanboy and Payback who were expectantly waiting.

“He okay?” Fanboy asked as Phoenix laughed. “Yeah, but I pity the pilot living next to his bungalow.”

The sound of feminine laughter from within the bungalow had the three male pilots turning to the window. But they all quickly turned away as the action allowed them to catch sight of Rooster’s tanned broad bareback with a pair of arms and legs wrapped around him.

“Guess he won’t be joining us for study group!”

“I’m the pilot next door to him!” Bob exclaimed, cutting off Fanboy.

With a bark of laughter, Payback clapped Bob on his back turning the man away.

Passion of a Pilot is the sequel to this piece

A/N: Feedback is always welcomed! And a massive thank you to everyone who’s read, liked, commented and reblogged my other works! Also, kudos to anyone who may have realized that while all my Rooster imagines are stand-alone pieces, they can be read as a series and more so, there are Easter eggs within each of them of the other imagines/possible future works.

[dylanmunson]

Hellcheer / Munson

word count: nearly 3k

wattpad / masterlist / taglist / eddie fic

Summary: Fem Henderson, dustins older sister, on the cheer team, ex nerd and dnd player. stuff happens, eddie happens, its a mess but i regret nothing. youre welcome. 

You were proud to be a cheerleader at Hawkins High, you werent so proud of the group of 'friends' that came with it, but you were proud none the less. It was mid way through middle school when you had gotten your braces off and grew a pair of boobs, that was went the basket ball team started noticing you, so you ditched the dnd dice and math club and joined the cheer squad. Sure you werent the best at the start but you put your everything into it. You'd practise all your high kicks and flips till you were bruised and sore. It all paying off since you were now one of the best on the team, and one of the flyers. 

There was nothing better than having a little boogie in your bedroom with your pompoms, walkman on your hip and your dirty blonde hair in a messy bun on your head. That was until your oh so delightful brother came into your room. 'y/n' he chuckles, you snap out of your boogie pulling the earphones from your head 'what dustin?!' you groan, 'can you drive us to school tomorrow?' you huff throwing your pompoms at him 'ill take that as a yes, thank you big sister i love you' he grins before running out your room. 

Its now 10minutes till you have to leave to get to school, and dustin is rushing around like a crazy person 'come on dusty' you sigh leaning against the door, keys in hand. 'i cant find it' he groans 'find what?' you shout back 'dusty!' you mother says coming into the hallway 'dusty its here! i washed it yesterday so its all nice and fresh for your game today!' she says holding out the hellfire tee your younger brother loved so dearly. 'thank you mother' he grins kissing her cheek before taking it from her and changing into it and pulling a shirt over it. 'ready now loser?' you grin, he rolls his eyes as you both walk out and get into the car. 

You drive along, tapping at the wheel as the music softly plays in the background, Mike and Lucas in the back and Dustin in the passenger seat. 'what time does your game finish?' 'around 8?' he hums looking back at his friends, they all nod 'but its coming to the end of his campaign it could go on' mike grins. You just nod 'well ive got cheer practise so ill meet you outside ok?' you nod at your brother, 'your the best thank you bye' he grins as the car stops, him and his friends rushing out of the car and over to the van that is parked a few cars over. 

The day dragged, but it was finally lunch time. You walked into the canteen, spotting dustin and his little hellfire gang a few tables over. You sit and pull out the brown paper bag with your lunch, noticing theres another one, realising dustin mustve  forgotten to take his morning after all that commotion about his top. You put everything back in your bag and walk over to him. 'hey, sorry but you forgot to grab your lunch this morning' you smile at your brother handing him the bag. 'life safer! mike was just about to lend me some money' he chuckles, you smile placing a hand on his head. 'Eddie,Eddie Munson, i dont believe we've met' the older curly haired boy says holding out his hand. You smirk taking it 'y/n, y/n henderson' you smile. 'henderson?!' you grin 'indeed, this ones older sister, now if you dont mind' you grin 'see you later dusty' you shout before walking away. 

Eddie just looks at Dustin 'what?' he mumbles eating his sandwich 'thats not.. no i refuse' 'what?!' he says a little louder. 'how are you both related?' 'well ya see' dustin starts 'dont even, shut up' Eddie groans flicking a chip at the younger boy. 

'What were you doing by the freak table?' 'was giving my brother his lunch jason' you sigh 'be careful henderson, munsons a cult leader, a freak' he spits, you roll your eyes even more at the stupid lies jason starts to spread about eddie. Knowing hes just a massive nerd and wouldnt do anything to hurt anyone, after all your brother has been in this club for more than a couple of months now. And the fact you used to play, but nobody needs to know that. 

Two weeks later, you and eddie had crossed paths a few more times since that day at lunch where you gave dustin his lunch. You'd stop and wave when you saw him in the hallway, before youd be dragged away by the cheer team. He'd also dropped dustin home a few times, one night even bringing you a slushie, as he had gotten him and the rest of hellfire one after their game that evening. 

'Hey henderson' he grins leaning against the door frame as you open the door letting dustin in 'hey whats up' you smile at the older boy, 'i uh, here' he chuckles handing you the slush, 'huh?' 'we all got slush after the game and dustin mentioned you liked the cherry flavour so' he shrugs handing you the cold drink 'you shouldnt have' you grin, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear looking down. He shrugs 'dude stop flirting with my sister, its gross' dustin says looking at his dungeons master, Eddie doesnt say anything he just raises his fist at the younger boy as he runs up the stairs, you giggle 'i'll see you around munson, thanks for the drink' you grin taking a sip of it 'uh yeaah, no problem, see you henderson' he smiles before turning away walking to his van, you watch him jump in and drive off down the road before closing the door. 

'gross' dustin says making you jump, 'dustin!' 'its gross, please stop' he says folding his arms 'please dont' 'i was-' 'dont. just no. hes my friend y/n, i dont wanna think about my sister and him making out and shit' he groans gagging. 'dustin' you groan 'he just got me a slush' 'yeah your favourite one, yano we only got slushies so he'd have an excuse to talk to you tonight' he groans, you grin 'really?' he nods 'y/n stop' he says pointing a finger at you, you grin as he walks away. Sure he was a very pretty man, his eyes like swirls of chocolate that you could definitely get lost in. His smile also made your heart feel fuz- shit you thought 'fuck' you mumble walking to your room realising you have a small crush on your brothers dungeons master. 

It was now Wednesday and you walked into the library, it not so busy as everyone had class, you having a free period so decided to get some homework done, you spot eddie in the corner. You walk over and tap his shoulder 'hey is this seat taken?" 'really dude theres a t--' he stops and realises its you 'oh uh sure henderson' he smiles, you giggle taking the seat opposite him 'whatcha studying' you grin looking over his work, 'just some english shit' he shrugs, you nod pulling out your own english book 'whats it about?' he sighs leaning back in his chair. 'short story' he shrugs biting the end of his pencil, you nod before going to read your book. 

'hey i uh' he says 'i know your super smart and get stupidly good grades in english could you maybe check over this?' he mumbles playing with his hands. You put the book down and look at the curly haired boy in front of you 'of course i can' you chuckle 'and im not super smart' you chuckle, he grins shaking his head pushing his paper to you. You bite your lip and begin to read. 'can i?' you say, he nods, you write above some of the words, either putting the correct spelling or adding to the sentence. 'i uh' you smile 'sorry' 'no no its fine thank you' he smiles as you hand it back 'its really good, just' 'spelling mistakes' he chuckles 'but its good' 'thanks henderson' 'eddie i mean it' you sigh. 'its a good piece of work' 'well hopefully its passable' he sighs 'come over later?" you rush 'what?' 'i mean, come over and i could help you with your english?" you shrug. 'if you want to, that is' you say biting your bottom lip, he raises a brow at you 'forget i said anything' you sigh beginning to pack your things, feeling your cheeks heat up and the little anxiety bubble getting slightly bigger. 

He places his hand on top of yours 'youd really help?" you nod looking at the older boy 'of course' you smile softly, he nods 'mums out at book club tonight so its just me and dustin we could order pizza and work on your story' you smile at the boy, he nods 'that'd be great' he grins, you nod standing up 'i'll see you later?' he nods 'see you later sweetheart' he grins 

It was now the last class of the day, and you were in the gym practising for the championship game that was this Friday. The basket ball team were at one end of the court while you and the rest of the cheer squad were the other practising a new routine for the game. 'y/n your flying' coach says, you nod finishing your warm up before getting into position. 

the base, Jennifer, Gemma and Lisa push you into the air, them all holding your foot as you stand in the air pulling your body into a bow and arrow pose. You feel one of the girls grips loosen on your foot, you look down and notice that Gemma has stepped back, you wobble a little. 'Hey henderson catch' you hear and the next thing you know your tumbling to the ground. 

You clutch your head 'ow' you groan laying down, feeling a warm liquid run down your face, you move your hand in pain and realise your head is bleeding, 'hey dont move' coach says making everyone move away from you, you begin sobbing, 'dustin' you mumble. Putting you into the safety position while they wait for an ambulance to get there. 

Lucas had seen what had happened, you were being thrown in the air, doing the little pose you do, the girl behind had moved away and jason being the dick that he is threw a ball your way, all because he had seen you with eddie a few times, bit extreme but this was Jason. 

He runs out of the gym and down to the old drama block pushing the door open knowing the club will be in there 'dustin!' he shouts gasping for air 'lucas i thought you had practise?' 'its- its yo- your sister' he says catching his breathe 'what about her?' he stands up going to the door 'jason' he says standing up, its then that they hear the sirens, Dustin looking to his friends before running to the gym to see what Jason had done to his sister. 

'where is she?" dustin shouts at he bursts into the gym, Jason getting a scalding from Mr Coleman, while the coach talks to the girls who were doing the stunt. Dustin rushes to your side as he sees the paramedics move to your side. 

'dustin?' you mumble turning to your brother 'hey what happened?' he says looking at you, the blood from your head now stopping, but your cheer top covered init. 'everything hurts dusty' you begin to sob, Dustin looks around and sees the rest of hellfire by the doors of the gym. Tears now flooding his eyes 'dusty' you grin, the blood lose now starting to making you feel dizzy 'dusty i love you man' you grin gripping his hand, the paramedics, begin moving you onto a stretcher and taking you out of the school building and into the ambulance. Dustin stands there watching you get taken away. Eddie rushing to his side, 'come on' he mumbles pulling him away 'we're leaving' he says as they get out of the gym dragging the younger boy to his van and following the sirens. 

They didnt let the boys in to see you until gone 8pm, but eddie stayed with dustin, as he paced back and forth, your mother was also sat opposite the two boys, she had been on the phone with the school giving them an earful. 'Henderson?' the doctor says, Dustin looks at the doctor, 'my sister, i-is she ok?' he says, the doctor smiles nodding, 'we are going to keep her overnight but she should be alright to go home tomorrow, and no more cheer' he softly says. 

Your mother rushing to your side before letting dustin go in, Dustin rushing to your bedside 'dickheads the lot of them' he says giving you a hug, you look at the door and see eddie leaning against it 'i dont bite yano' you grin softly, everything still feeling extremely sore, eddie smirks 'i cant believe they did that' dustin says looking at you, you shrug 'i can' you sigh 'its so stupid' you chuckle dryly, tears coming to your eyes 'take it easy sweetheart' eddie says going to your other side and sitting down. 'i quit cheer' you mumble, dustin chuckles 'good, arseholes the lot of them' he says you grin at your younger brother 'got any openings for hellfire?' you grin, Dustin sighs looking away 'really?' he chuckles, Eddie frowns confused. 

'she knows how to play?' 'who do you think taught dusty, wheeler and Sinclair' you grin at the older boy, 'no extra school activities y/n you go to school and come home do you hear me' your mother says walking into the room, 'but mom' you sigh 'just until your better lovey' she sighs 'dustin come on its getting late' she sighs, 'i uh, ms henderson, i could drop him home?' eddie says standing up 'we're all abit shaken u--' 'dustin, come on' she says 'you can come back tomorrow' she says Dustin sighs standing up 'love you dusty' you grin at your brother pulling him into a hug before whispering something in his ear, him giggling as he walks out waving at you and eddie. 'Get some rest lovey ok, well be back in the morning' your mother says before blowing a kiss and leaving you. 

'I can leave if you want me to?' eddie says looking at the door as your mother and dustin leave. 'stay?" you mumble, 'i uh i dont wanna be alone' you shrug he nods moving his seat closer to you 'shes always been that little bit more protective over dustin' you chuckle looking at the older boy, he hums 'i can see that' he chuckles, 'sorry for not helping you with your homework' you chuckle, Eddie shakes his head 'please shut up' he chuckles 'got more important things to worry about' he smiles. 

/////

Its now been a week since the accident, if you can call it that. You were in your room, just having woken up from a nap you cuddle the teddy eddie had gotten you closer. He had gotten you a small gift when you were in the hospital. He hadnt given it to you in person, it was more left on the bedside with a note when you woke up in the morning, but it was the thought that counts right. 

The note was simple, but you held it close to your heart with the teddy, that boy made your heart feel warm. 

You groan and get out of bed, teddy in hand as you follow the loud shouting, 'can you shut up' you groan, rubbing the sleep from your eyes standing in the door way. 'hey sweetheart' you step back realising your only in a baggy band tee and fluffy socks in front of the hellfire club. 'for fucks sake dustin!' you groan turning around and walking back to your bedroom. 

You decide to shower and change, the cut on your head now feeling a lot less sore, meaning you could wash your hair without crying. You place Edward, the teddy, on your bed before hopping in the shower. 

Once out you put on dustins old hellfire shirt and a pleated skirt, grabbing Edward the teddy and walking back downstairs. 'can i join?' you say leaning against the door frame, biting your bottom lip. 'y/n' dustin groans, 'we dont need anyone else on the team right now' Jeff says, you roll your eyes 'but she already has a shirt' eddie grins at you, 'she could be our own little hellfire cheerleader' he chuckles pulling you onto his lap. 'Besides she taught these losers to play' eddie says more to jeff and gareth. 'dude gross' dustin sighs now noticing your on eddies lap. 'enough shes staying' he says making space for you to sit next to him. 'sweetheart' he grins as you sit beside him. 'thank you kind sir' you giggle. 

'suits you by the way' eddie mumbles in your ear as the others are arguing over what to do next. 'thanks, its dustins old one' you shrug, he nods 'say no more princess' he grins. 

the following day there was a package on your door step, the handwriting almost unreadable but you knew who it was from, you open it and grin as you see your own hellfire shirt, and another little note which reads 

"welcome to hellfire princess, you still owe me a study date by the way! - eddie" 

Munson taglist

@alicefallsintotherabbithole  

@steves-robin @stephanie-lkj @get-me-to-wonderland @bdpst-massacree @lagataprrr @goldenharrysworld @oo0lady-mad0oo @onlydruig @tenderhornynihilist @itsyouimagines @witchsbitchestime @kyomiite @girl-with-an-orange-cat @flatoust11 @udontcarethisshit @chloepricerk800 @kellysimagines @caitfrogs @tinkbasically @bdpst-massacre @lagataprrr @goldenharrysworld @oo0lady-mad0oo @smxling @presidential-facts @qu7nn @pleasantlycrazyworld @ladyapplejackdnd @meaganjm @dixontardis @megsrose

[etherealvoidechoes]

What If? - Sinew & Crimson - Blood Hunt - Vampire Zhang Au

Art drought incoming. I am not in the best of moods and may be a touch depressed, but here is some writing.

Zhang and Karris taking out a bandit encampment and Zhang indulging in a darker side of himself.

Warnings for blood, gore, cannibalism, and mild language. Oh and liberal use of Google Translate. So sorry.

6.8k

---------

Zhang softly hummed to himself. Head swaying side to side, foot tapping to the beat to the harsh electronic music playing through his earbuds. Even his soldering tool was matching the beat as he went about desoldering some components from some old broken tech that had been recently found. Scavenging and recycling were a necessity to survive, and he just couldn’t give up his love for making IEDs. It was a stress relief and then his skills came in quite handy for the wandering group and an absolute nuisance for ADVENT.

He continued to work contently, a few times his hand went over to his music device to skip songs as he worked or pause it to give a few thank you’s to those bringing in more stuff for him to salvage and put to use. 

“Next time, Orkos. Until that venom is out of your system, you know you can’t handle the wires.” He had grown fond of the former Stun Lancer who had started to hover over him roughly around the time he “deemed” he could during his “poor health”. She was quick to pick up the art of IED making and became a great help. Though right now, after a nasty run in with those dreadful bugs, she couldn’t lend him a helping hand like she usually did.

“I understand!” Her tone was cheery like a songbird. “I have other things to keep me occupied like learning from my Skirmisher brothers and sisters on how they disable and remove chips!” She was just beaming with excitement. “I must get going as lessons are starting!” 

She gave Zhang a few playful pats on the back before running out. Zhang just shook his head and chuckled. He returned to his work.

Then he felt something. A presence. Someone lingering about. His nostrils flared, as he took in several quite breathes, quickly processing new and familiar scents. His eyes closed, rolling them. He didn’t need to look to see who it was. Just someone familiar and probably just entering their “hunting study” mode. How nearly everyone in the group had their quirks.

Ignoring the lingering presence, he continued his work. Until a few crates nearby by rattles, and then the table shook.

“Gāisǐ. Lái ba…” Zhang jerked his tool away from the delicate circuitry he was working on and the other hand slammed down on the table to brace it. 

The table shook under his hand for a few moments more before stopping. 

“That damn animal brain of his.” Zhang’s brow twitched as he kept his eyes from looking at the nuisance disturbing his work. “Though I cannot judge too harshly as I have my own special quirks now.” 

A grumble slipped out before Zhang went back to work. A free hand went over and lowered the volume to his music so he could keep track of his friend. Though the man had never attacked anyone when he was in his “hunger study” mode, it never hurt to listen to any sounds he would make just to track his mood.

His friend was pretty quiet. Just deep and slow steady breathing. 

Tap… Tap… Tap… Tap…

One nail after the other slowly drummed against the metal crate. And this continued… for several minutes.

Zhang furrowed his brows, grip tightening on his soldering iron, as another grumble came out. He could imagine those brown and blue eyes were locked onto him with great intensity. 

PLOP!

His eyes quickly darted to the left. They quickly fell onto something red and shiny that jostled about. It was a packet of blood, filled to the brim. From the looks of it, it looked to be human blood. He felt his throat tremble and teeth ache for a moment.

“No, no, no…” He quietly muttered to himself as he returned his attention back to his work. He didn’t want it. He didn’t need it. That dreadful blood he craved more than a Hybrid’s. How much he hated that.

PLOP! CLANG!

This time the table shook as two items, much heavier Thant the blood packet, fell onto the table. There was the distinctive sound of soft fabric touching the table and then the clinks of metal armor tapping together.

He glanced over again and save indeed there were some clothes and armor on the table. Looked to be some dark gray unders-uit of some sort. It had swirling alien markings on it that reminded him of Lynette’s and Marcus’ symbiotic armor. Then the actual armor, repurposed ADVENT armor, but looked the Skirmishers had done the work with their own flair. The plating was a dark sandy brown and white. The group had been in contact with the local tribes and had been supplying them with any armor they recovered from slain ADVENT for some resources. Perhaps the group had commissioned some armor?

“Hm.” He couldn’t help but raise a brow. He continued his work.

Tap… Tap… Tap… Tap…

A few minutes passed back until a smell struck him. Tickling his nose like a siren song. Sweet. Savory. His throat trembled; swallowing hard fighting back the building saliva. His eyes darted back to that blood back in a heartbeat. 

A finger was now tapping away at that bag. Nails as sharp as his had pierced the plastic shell and sweet globules of crimson were slowly flowing out with each tap.

This had to be an offering. Eyes narrowed quickly onto the culprit. Mismatched “dead” eyes — one brown and the other blue-ish green — locked with his.

“What do you want, Karris?” Zhang’s lip raised in annoyance, though he did his best to hold back a sneer. 

Karris was perched, hunched over like a prowling cat, on top a crate adjacent to the table. His response did not deter him; fingers continued to tap away at that blood bag and his eyes stayed firmly on him. Really, Karris looked barely fazed as he constantly had a more “dead”, plain look he wore consistently. Though those canines… sharp teeth. His teeth were barred revealing both sets of canines were oddly elongated, curving over his other teeth and lips.

“It’s a,” that low, rough voice of Karris paused, taking in a raspy breath, “fresh draw from some volunteers.” He tapped the bag in quick succession, piercing it in a few more spots. “All human… well… maybe one or two Hybrids are in here. But it is good.”

A little system that was developed to help ward off Zhang’s occasional thirst for blood as sometimes he had cravings for human blood and no amount of Hybrid or alien blood and flesh could satisfy it. 

Zhang’s nose wrinkled as more of that blood flowed out. It smelled so good. Feeling that feral thirst grow, he forced himself to look away, rubbing his nose in a futile attempt to get the scent out. “I’m good.” 

That didn’t stop Karris. That finger kept on tapping, punching more and more holes in the pack. He then suddenly stabbed at it, not taking his eyes off Zhang, and slowly pushed the pack towards him. A streak of crimson stained the table. 

Zhang’s brow twitched. The next moment, he slammed his tool down on the table; his other hand clawed into it. A flash of gold crosses his eyes as they narrowed. “Why are you here? Out with it.” 

The blood packet stopped just a few inches away from Zhang. Karris didn’t remove his finger.

“Craving some people.” He nonchalant answered. His canines flexed in and out. “Heard you are too.”

Craving some people. 

Sharp nails scrapped the table, causing the wood to splinter. A few curses in Mandarin slipped out. Zhang felt like a vein on his head was about to burst. “You know I don’t like eating humans, Karris.”

“Unless they’re the loathsome kind.” His face barely changed.

“… mhm.” Zhang couldn’t deny that. One of the few exceptions to his no hunting humans rule.

“So, I’ve found a nasty bandit camp we can make our dinner.” He tapped the blood pack a few more times, coating his finger quite heavily in blood. He then retracted his finger, bring his hand to his face and licked it off. “Mm, sweet and sharp. Your favorite right?”

“Fuck you.” 

This time a little smirk peeked through before Karris’ face became plain again. “So the bandit camp. They’ve attacked the local trading hub we’ve become friends with. Some kids got killed.”

Feeling his brow twitch ones more — and giving himself a headache — Zhang raised his hands to head and rubbed his temples. Karris, oh Karris. He wanted to strangle the man, but did he knew how to get to that animal side of him for certain hunts, and then the emotional side. Explained why camp was light this morning and some of their more resource people and “pack animals” had left around noon. Must have been helping survivors of that trading hub.

Just how many bandit groups had they run into now that were more troublesome than the local ADVENT patrols? Far too many. And he had killed more than a handful himself.

As he mulling over how he would respond to his pestering friend, he noticed that hand inching its way back to the blood pack. Oh, hell no.

Like a cracking whip, Zhang’s hand quickly snatched that packet up before Karris could start tapping it again. Then he bit into it, teeth sinking in, a spray of blood bursted out before he threw his head back and drank the blood. Sweet and sharp. Just delicious.   

Once every drop was gone, and his elongated tongue had cleaned up the mess he made of his face, Zhang tossed the pack aside and looked back at Karris. 

“When do you want to do this?” He was still annoyed, but could tell Karris wasn’t going to leave the subject alone. And after tasting that blood, he wanted more. Especially some fresh flesh.

“Tonight, if you’re available.”

“Tonight works.”

“Good.” The corners of Karris’ lips turned upwards as his canines partially retracted. He then patted the clothes and armor he brought. “Something for you to wear tonight. Should fit your flexibility. Supposedly the under-suit is made from the same symbiotic stuff Lynette’s and Marcus’ armor is made from.” Pressing his hand down on the pile, he pushed it over to Zhang, avoiding the blood streak on the table. “Unless you feel like hunting in the nude.” Those brows raised up in down quickly. A rare time for him to joke.

“Gǔn dàn.”Zhang’s remaining patience was thin.

“Meet you around the south side of camp tonight.” With that, Karris hopped off the crate and made his out of the tent. Still on all fours. Looked like that “hunt and study” part of his brain wasn’t off yet.

Zhang slumped deep down in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. Claws digging deep into his skin, almost drawing blood.

“I’m going to regret this aren’t I?” He just grumbled under his breath. How much he hated part of the new him; how easily it could be manipulated at times.

“Just hope neither of us go feral tonight if things get too hot.” 

He looked over to the clothes and armor Karris brought and picked them up and some examined them. As he ran his fingers over some of the armored platting, he felt it reverberate and a few psionic sparks popped off of him.

“Huh?” He ran his fingers along the metal again, nails skipping across the scratches and dings as his psionics fully activated. There was a pull coming from the armor, somehow entangling and enhanced his psioncs. “Part of this looks like that Priest armor. So… elerium has to be in this… Where did they get this?” Now he was curious. And he couldn’t wait to try this out.

“Tonight will be interesting.”

——

Hours passed, and day turned into night. A bright crescent moon shined above, accompanied by hundreds of stars. A chorus of bugs were happily chirping into the night.

Camp was humming with some activity. People were back from helping out the survivors of the trading hub and back to doing this usual duties around camp.

“I have a lot of questions concerning this armor, Karris.”

“Ask Burne and Navi when we get back. Just know they told me to deliver it to you.”

Karris and Zhang were are their meeting place and Zhang was showing off his new armor. Light, flexible, and plated sections covered the most vulnerable parts in all the right places. 

They started hashing out their plan. They would work carefully survey the bandit camp, get a headcount, and figure out their movements before striking. 

“Quick or slow?” Karris asked, picking at his teeth with a claw.

Quick or slow. A question Zhang didn’t want to think too much about. That wild part of him enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, his prey struggling to survive as he overpowered him. Sometimes he wondered if it was slowly eroding his humanity.

“We’ll see what happens.” He answered. 

After a few more plans being made, the two set off towards the bandit camp.

——

It took a few hours, but the two located the bandit camp. It was just a small shopping center they had taken over. There was some decent activity, people moving gear around, chatting around the fires, or messing around and firing off their guns are some bottles. There was a decent amount of rabble from those talking about some of their recent raid and plans to commit some more.

Nearby the east end of the center, perched high in the thicket of some deciduous trees were Karris and Zhang. Glowing eyes peeked through the dense foliage and scanned the camp.

“How many are you picking up?” Zhang asked.

Karris took in a deep breath, flaring his nostrils. He then exhaled sharply, causing a white mist to wick out. “Good amount. Over 20, possibly more. Decent feast.”

“Hm…” His throat trembled. He could already taste their blood.

His eyes glowed gold for a moment as they darted around picking up small little pings as he did a quick scan. “Around 25, give or take.” That nose of Karris seemed quite accurate. ”Something’s blocking my psionics with counting some of them.”

“Probably some shields they stole from the trade hub.” Karris growled.

“Who ever has them may be a minor nuisance.”

“Locate them first?”

Zhang nodded. 

“Hm…” Karris scratched at his throat. His eyes bounced around the landscape, taking in all the people and the buildings. “Find, mark, and meet at the top of the Burger Town.” He pointed a claw in the direction of the old abandoned fast-food chain.

“Sounds like a plan. Stick to the shadows.”

“Fadâye saret.” Karris chuckled before he carefully made his way down the tree and slinked off into the shadows.

Zhang soon followed, using his psionics to put out a small distortion field on any who may cross him.

Their reconnaissance began. 

Zhang prowled the grounds, shifting from wall to brush to dumpster as he searched for those with those troublesome mind shields. As he was doing so, he was making mental notes of what these bandits had. They had amassed a collection of weapons and armor; a decent amount was ADVENT. Though those DNA locks on the ADVENT weapons made them practically useless, especially if one didn’t know how to disassemble them safely. Then they had an abundant amount food. Canned, MREs, dried meats and more. Looks like they had food for months. 

Once done here we need to get the others so we can make better use of it.

As he continued his scouting, finding a few of those wearing the mind shields and making note of what they looked like and where they were; his disgust towards the bandits grew immensely. Those sharp ears overheard conversation after conversation of them gloating on their raids. How they easily overpowered them. How they slaughtered them. And then the trophies they took. Articles of clothing, jewelry, stuffed animals. The last made his chest hurt; a great fired burned within.

“All will die tonight.”

As he continued to skulk, his cover was nearly blown. By chance, he bumped into one who had one of those pesky shields. They are wandering, if not staggering, around out back, but he got them. A quick dash forwards, claws extended, and they dug deep into that unprotected neck before ripping it out. A gasp barely sputtered out as blood gushed out, crashing to the ground. Except it didn’t. Just mere centimeters from touching the dirty asphalt, the globules of blood began to pool just above, slowly pooling together into an ever shifting orb of shimmering crimson. Wisps of golden energy surrounded it.

Another gasped sputter came forth from them as eyes their trembled; mind trying to comprehend what just happened. A pained gasped slipped out. One that was twofold. What had happened had just set in and then they were feeling something else. Something being pulled out of them. Something warm.

Eyes shifting down, golden wisps circling around their gaping wound as their precious life blood was being pulled out. Their hands flew to their neck, grabbing at the blood in a desperate attempt to keep it in, to close the wound. But the liquid just slipped through their fingers. They opened their mouth to yell, to cry for help, but nothing came out. As they took a step away from their attacker to get back to their friends, sharp pain shot their spine. A swift pounding headache before everything grew numb and distant. Those hands loosened around their neck. Wobbling, they fell. 

Zhang quickly caught them before they hit the ground and dragged them away towards some bushes nearby. That floating pool of blood followed.

With the body out of site, he kneeled down, head closing in on their neck. Flesh around his mouth quivered as his maw split into two revealing rows of teeth, all closing in on the neck of his victim. Just a quick bite. A taste. And to put them out of their misery.

As his teeth sank in, a ragged gasp came out and hands quickly flew to his face; nails scratched at it. Looked like they still had some life in them, but that didn’t matter. That maw clamped down even more, crushing what was left of their trachea as more blood spluttered out. There was another ragged gasped as those fingers tightened on his face before they loosened and dropped to the ground. His tongue lapped up that flowing blood before he pulled back, tearing out a hearty chunk of flesh. 

First kill and snack of the night.

The meat was everything he had been craving for a while. Savory and sweet. And that blood. It had a slight buzz to it; hints of alcohol was in the victim’s system. 

“Something new to jot down in my journal.” A few dark chuckles slipped out as he took a few more bites before hiding the body some more and plucked the psi shield off of them and pocketed it. As he was cleaning his face, that blood gathered by his psionics caught his eye.

The ever shifting orb of blood, sweet crimson twinkling under the moonlight. He couldn’t let it go to waste, he had to collect it. With just a thought, a simple flick of his finger, the blood traveled to his mouth, and he sucked it up. Delicious. After indulging, he went back to prowling.

He had no other run-ins as he located those other potential problems before heading to the Burger Town to meet Karris.

As he swiftly scaled the barely hanging on gutter, his ears twitched, picking up the sounds of someone gurgling and flesh being torn. He darkly chuckled. 

Reaching the roof, he had his answer. Karris hunched over the body of a bandit. Looked like he had claimed his first kill for the night and was tearing away at their throat.

Ears twitching, Karris slowly turned his head; those mismatched eyes met his. A thick chunk of flesh between his teeth and face covered in blood. He quickly snapped up the meat.

“See you indulged quite quickly.” He noticed the blood on Zhang’s armor and bits that lingered on his face.

“Shut up.” Said with a half-heartedly tone. ”Had a run in. Took care of it. See you may have done the same.” Zhang replied as he went over. “How many did you find? Located about five with the shields, minus one I eliminated.

“Found four, killed two.” He tapped the body he was eating. “Drunks away from camp, no one should notice they are missing.”

“Mhm.”

“So,” Karris paused, picking at some meat stuck between his teeth, “quick or slow?” A deep rumble of a growl came out. His canines shuttered.

Quick or slow. That question again.

Zhang just grinned, eyes twinkling gold as his lower jaw split open for a moment. “Terrorize.”

“So slow.” A smirked peeked through that usual dead expression. “Psi madness bomb?”

Zhang nodded. He raised his hand, flittering his fingers as a golden psionic orb appeared. “Turn them against themselves. It’ll give us an edge during all the confusion.”

“And single out the shield wearers.” Karris liked the plan. “Now where did you find yours?” 

Zhang told him the locations of the other shield wearers were before they would spring their plan.

——————————

Taking a few minutes to indulge in his kill once more, Karris left the roof and headed back to the sections where he had found those with the shields once they finished their talk.

Zhang stayed on the roof. Hand rotating a psionic orb around as he watched the activity below. The bandits were still partying, doing their own things, completely oblivious to their presence. 

He focused on the area with the biggest campfires. Most were there. Chest flexing, a deep dark chuckle escaped. A carefully planted psi bomb would allow him to ensnare their minds.

“Been a while since I pulled at fears. Wonder if I’m rusty.” 

He mused to himself how he was going to twist their vision and thoughts to cause infighting. 

“In position. Set it off.”

Receiving a message from Karris, he grinned. 

Outstretching the hand holding the orb, his eyes glowed brightly. More golden wisps appeared around it as coils traveled down his arm. A few more seconds of intense concentration, he clutched is fist, and the orb disappeared in a flash.

“Let’s begin.”

——————————

Things were mostly nice and calm down in the camp. Music jamming. A little revelry amongst friends and lovers. Target practice bets going on. The night was good and tomorrow would be even better. More plans for more raids. This territory was theirs.

The celebrations continued on without care until… there was an odd sensation that crept in. A small tingle in the air, like little sparks of electricity was dancing on their skin. Then a breaching surge crashed forth, sudden skull-splitting shocks made everyone stop.

Before questions could be asked, a golden orb appeared in the middle of camp. Shining brighter than all the lights around. It lazily hung in the air, bobbing like a fishing lure.

“What the?” A few muttered as they fought to get their barrings. Maybe they were seeing things? Most had been drinking; some to excessive levels. A few went over to investigate.

The orb shuttered and grew. That just attracted more attention. Like a siren call, more went over to the possible new entertainment for the night.

“Wait…” But one didn’t. Pesky psi shields. “GET AWAY FROM THE THING IT’S PSION—“

The orb shuttered and grew once again before collapsing on itself like a dying star, then exploded outward throwing back those where too close to it. Psionic energy lashed out like a cracking whip, striking hot, linking on after another, ensnaring all minds without mercy. 

Cries of pain filled the air. Screams of terror soon followed. Gun shots rang out.

The world was thrown into disarray for all this affected, twisting into an ever turning, ever shifting, chaotic flurry of colors, thoughts, and hallucinations.

Friend became foe. Guns changed into biting cobras. Drinks and foods burst into a mass of spiders.

Those wearing those psi shields were not affected. But they had to worry about their friends trying to kill them now. Desperately, they were trying to snap some sense into them, but nothing they could do would shake off those entangling psionics.

There was one that finished putting a few bullets through their crazed friend’s chest and was making a break for the trees.

“Gotta get out of here! Damn ADVENT… This is probably that Warlock and his guys!” To them, it was every person for themselves. Too great of a risk to try and help any of the still sane out with how thick the madness was.

Just as they reached the tree lined, something hard hit their chest. A burst of energy reverberated through their body, knocking them onto their back hard. The trees and stars spun above them as their vision flickered in and out. Then something from the corner came towards them. A being shrouded in shadow. Their eyes glowed a bright gold. Didn’t look like the Warlock or any of his Priests.

A wheeze came out as this being placed a foot on their chest. The bandit grabbed at it and tried to shove it off to no avail.

“Bù, bù, bù.” Foreign words came from them. White teeth showed a twisted smile and oddly sharp teeth.

“Who… the hell… are you!?” 

The being kneeled down; the unnatural darkness shrouding them never shifted once, nor did that smile. 

“Ó, zhǐshì yè zhī èmó.” Still, they spoke in a foreign tongue. 

“Speak English you— ah!” A sharp gasp came out as they felt something in their throat. Something pierce their throat and dig around and pull at the muscles. Plucking at them like their were strings on a guitar. 

The bandit quickly shifted their hands to free their throat from the new pain but quickly found both hands pinned to the ground by the being’s hands and psionic coils. 

“Nǐ zhā zhā de èmèng.” The shrouded being growled. 

Then a terrifying sight unfolded before the bandit. How much they wanted to run away but all they could do was scream. That lower have of that smile split open like unfurling bat wings, revealing rows of sharp teeth. The next thing they felt were a searing pain and intense pressure on their throat. Desperately their tried to breathe. Desperately their fought trying to break free to get away from this monster. All was for naught as they felt their flesh being rendered and trachea being crushed. Then another searing pain came and so did a futile gurgled cry of pain.

“What the hell is this man?” Though the world was growing cold to them, that thought was clear in their mind as they watched this mad cannibal eat a part of them. And they were enjoying from the series of chuckles coming out. “To die to a freak like this!?”

The shrouded being’s eyes wandered to the side as they raised a hand to their face, that was coming back together, tapping at it “Kěkǒu. Duìyú dìqiú de zhāzǐ lái shuō, yīdiǎn yě bù chā.”

The bandit wanted to scream at them, curse them out. What sort of freak were they!? The only thing that came out were gurgles.

“Hm?” Golden eyes darted back down at them. That smile came back, but it was now crimson. “Bùnéng ràng zhè kǒu xuè báibái làngfèi.”  

Raising their free hand, golden energies swirled around it. The bandit “gasped” as their whole body shuddered. Energy coursed through it like a million needles were pricking them everywhere and something was compressing them. And then they felt an ever growing chill slowly form over them, starting at their toes and heading upwards.

“What’s… going… on… now…?” They could feel their mind grow heavier as the cold grew stronger and stronger with each passing second. Eyes felt like anchors as they futilely fought to stay awake. But the end was coming. And they saw how. Just from the cracks of those falling lids, they spotted something else swirling in the hand of their attacker besides the psionics. Glistening red. It was blood. Their blood. And their attacker was flicking a few globules over to their mouth like they were grapes.

“Cannibal freak.” Those lids closed fully.

——————————

Zhang finished siphoning the blood from the bandit and soon drank it all down.

“Heh, heh, heh.” He darkly chuckled as he licked his lips. “Wonder how they enjoyed the show.”

As he was kneeling down to get another bite out of them, a series of gunshots, shooting, and an animalistic roar caught his attention. His head jerked back in the direction of the bandit camp and he caught a glimpse of Karris scrambling down a gap between the building and to the rooftop and a small group giving chase. He wasn’t quite sure if they were ones with psi shields or ones driven insane as a few were partially overcoming the psionic trickery.

“Looks like he needs a hand.” Zhang quickly got back to his feet and moved to help his friend.

In little time he closed the gap. Though he had to put down a few of the surviving maddened that attacked him as he moved passed, but that took little effort.

He struck first at the last bandit that was climbing up the ladder to the roof. Dragging them down by their legs and throwing them to the ground. He was a silver blur as he pounced on them and clawed at their chest and throat with a furry of swipes like a rabid animal; snarling all the way, ignoring their cries of pain that quickly grew silent.

Shots rang out. There were a few pings then a hiss. A sharp, piercing pain to his left shoulder made him stop. His eyes met the shooter. Teeth bared, a snarl came out, and he darted off as more shots were fired; heading towards the back and out of sight.

The bandit followed only to be surprised by this human leaping the height of a single story building with little effort. Shots and snarls rang out until both stopped and a cry of pain was cut short.

“We’ve got another freak!”

“What the hell!?”

“There two of these cannibals!”

Zhang was barely done tearing into his target when he heard them, but he looked over and saw at least five guns trained on him. Beyond those targeted him were a few others still giving chase to Karris who looked to be holding his own.

He snarled, unfurling his jaw and thrusted a psionic imbued hand at them. Two cried out, clutching their heads. They fired at him, but he was already on the move. Towards them. The two he ensnared soon fought their friends, attempting to disarm them, and before they knew it Zhang had pinned the free one down and was tearing at their throat. One by one the others feel to his blood-soaked claws, desperately trying to close a wound before all went cold.

Zhang was about to pause to collect the blood until a pained yelp of a cry caught his ear and his eyes snapped to where Karris was. Looks like a shot found its way through Karris’ armor and nailed him in his stomach from the way he was clutching that area. He snarled and quickly headed over to him.

Just like the others, Zhang ensured the minds of the weak and had them turn on their friends, allowing him and Karris to eliminate the others with ease.

Finally, the night was silent — minus the music still jamming away.

Zhang panted hard, wiping the sweat away from his brow smearing more blood on his face. He looked over at Karris, panting as hard as him, and just blood soaked as he was, who was still clutching his stomach.

“Rrrgh?” A growl came out as he gestured to him and towards the wound. He raised his hand and let his psionics flow. Karris shook his head. A few grunts and he dug the slug out, tossing it to the side. Seeing that, Zhang turned his psionics onto himself to treat his own wounds.

Once done, he sniffed the air a few times. Nose tempted by the smells of blood and flesh, Zhang got down and sniffed at the bodies, figuring out which one he wanted to dig in first.

“Hm!” One that reeked of alcohol tickled his nose and he quickly made his way over to it. He wanted that buzz of a spice flavoring again.

As he reached the body and was about to grab it, it moved away. Furrowing brows, he looked up and soon snarled. Looked like Karris had similar ideas.

“RARGH! With a deep, ferocious snarl, Zhang quickly grabbed an arm and pulled back. He bared his teeth.

“RRRGH!” Karris snarled and pulled back. He too bared his teeth.

The next second, the two were wrestling, clawing and biting at each other like a pair of angry dogs. The fighting went on for a while, at times the two nearly rolled off the roof, until one of the came out on top. It was Zhang.

Deeps lines etched into furrowed brows, eyes glowing with great fire, his face twisted into a grimace. That maw opened wide as a long, deafening roar came out as he closed in on Karris’ face. Karris turned away, slightly closing his eyes.

Once that roar finished, Zhang panted. He was still angry. Karris barely made eye contact with his, but closed his mouth and kept his palms open. Submission. Zhang let out another snarl followed by a snort before getting off of him and claimed his prize. He dragged it away from him before he dug in.

Letting a few minute pass, Karris finally got up and found another body to claim.

The two ate their fill for the night, thankfully not getting into another spat. Instead, there was more play fighting like brotherly lions once they had their initial cravings satisfied. Tug o’ wars over arms and legs and sometimes bone.

 Before the food would make them drowsy, the two swept the camp and gathered the leftover bodies into one spot so Zhang could “preserve” them for later. After that, Zhang then set up a few psionic traps and alarms just in case they could have visitors.

They then found a place to turn in for the night after their invigorating hunt. They found some bed rolls and blankets and brought it to one the fires that had more secure surroundings with at least three walls standing.

Enjoying the warmth of the fire, Zhang was busy cleaning a few chunks of flesh stuck under his claws and occasionally licking off the blood. Though his sane mind was not fully there as his more animalistic side was still strong, he knew he was going to take a long soak in the local river to clean himself.

He barely noticed Karris move over to him until he heard a few clangs on the floor. Glance down, he saw several of this psi shields. A few were broken. He looked at him; the man was on all fours and avoiding eye contact. Zhang flared his nose rolled his eyes. A peace offering. Still must be a bit leary from earlier.

 He let out a gruff growl pointed at Karris’ bed roll before patting the spot next to him a few times. He was over the spat they had and didn’t care where he slept. With non-hostile approval, Karris fetch his roll and came back over and got himself comfortable. 

Zhang noticed something on his head. Blood running from a portion of skin split open around those black and red implants on his head. Must have come from a bullet.

“Rrrrgh…” A sad, annoyed growl slipped out. He leaned over and picked at it with a claw. Karris growled back and pulled away only to yelp when Zhang grabbed him by his collar and pulled his back. He picked at it some more before letting some psionic energy loose and into the wound. Karris gritted his teeth as the energy burned the area as the flesh stitched itself back together. After it did so, Zhang picked at it a bit more, studying his handiwork, before he looked him all over like a worried hen, making sure there was no more damage.

“Hmph. Mhm.” He let go of Karris and went back to picking at his claws. 

A few grumbles and gruff snorts came from Karris as he got comfortable once more.

Eventually their meals caught up to them and the two were out like a light. Soundly slumbering, huddling together, until morning came.

——————————

A deep groan came from Zhang as he came to, knuckles firmly planted to his temples and rubbing furiously away.

“What the hell?” He grumbled under his breath with eyes closed tight. 

Not only did his head hurt, but his whole body hurt. There was just a numb soreness radiated through all his limbs that would occasionally become a shooting pain.

“What happened…?” He muttered mostly to himself. His hands shifted to his and gave them a good rub. Which was somewhat hard due to the lingering stickiness. A stickiness that made him pause. 

Eyes fluttered open as he pulled his hands away. They were mostly clean. He glanced down. His armor on the other hand was not. The dark sandy brown and white plating was coated in dried blood with flakes of flesh decorating it. Looking down further, there was more blood on his pants and his feet were just coated in dried blood.

A deep sigh slipped out as he pinched his nose. “Ugh… how did last night go?” It was all a blur to him and that worried him.

“Pretty well.” Karris answered, followed by some smacking.

Zhang’s head spun to find him. Karris was sitting a few feet away. It did not surprise him to see he was snacking on someone’s leg.

“Your definition of well is different from mine.” 

“We’re still alive, minus a few wounds.” Karris grinned.

“Niánqīng rén…” The small chastisement only made Karris let out a gruff laugh.

“We both went a bit feral after you let off that psi bomb.” Karris began to explain as he had near perfect recollection of the night. “Got into the slaughter, especially with the few that remained. And then…” He paused taking a bite of the leg.

“Then what?” Zhang just felt a lump grow in his throat and no matter how hard he swallowed it wouldn’t go away. And Karris was taking his sweet time eating that leg. “Spit it out!”

Barely phased, Karris took his time with the meat before swallowing. “We attacked each other.”

Zhang’s brows went up. They did that? He was expecting something bad happened, but that wasn’t too terrible. “We… we attacked each other?”

“Had interests in the same meal. Time to assert dominance.” He bared his teeth for a moment. “You won, got the point across, and I backed off once free. You’re pretty strong.”

“Huh…” Still that did plant a few seeds of worry in Zhang’s mind. An animalistic part of his brain though could make him turn on his friends at a possible challenge or slight. He need to see if he could wrangle that part with his psionics. “Sorry if I… If I caused you any harm.”

Karris waved him off. “What’s done is done. Small spat, no real harm done. Probably less testing for dominance in the future.”

Zhang wasn’t sure what to make of that, but didn’t feel like dwelling on it for the time being.

“You mother hen-ed me later anyway.” He tapped at the side of his head, near a inflamed slash by those implants.

“I did what now?”

Karris explained it and then filled him in that he had already fetched the more “open-minded” part of the group to come and get the bandits’ ill-gotten gains while he was still slumbering. Since many at camp would throw an absolute fit if they brought back human corpses as food for certain people, they would just leave the bodies here. And the two had already had their fill for human flesh. Hopefully that craving would be satisfied for a long while.

Once Karris finished his breakfast, the two did a few more rounds around the place to make sure nothing was missed before heading back to camp.

“Do not speak of last night to anyone. Understand?” Zhang said with a slight growl to his voice. Narrowed eyes shimmered gold for a second.

Karris barely raised a brow, barely breaking the “dead” look in his eyes. “Understood.” He pinched two fingers together before sliding them against his lips. “And you mother hen-ing my wounds.” He grinned.

“Good.” He really didn’t want to think about his actions, but he knew he would have to make contingencies for them in the future. His brow twitched hearing the mention of that. “Shut it.”

[wizardofahz]

Sentinel vs. CatCo

Kara sighs internally as she spots the Superfriends whiteboard.

While it has become a permanent fixture in Andrea’s office, it doesn’t always feature so prominently. The focus of the meetings determines its location. If it’s an internal meeting unrelated to the Superfriends, it can be pushed off to the side: towards the balcony or in front of the cabinets. If the meetings involve board members or anyone Andrea wants to impress, it’s tucked into a corner and discreetly covered.

Today, the Superfriends whiteboard stands right beside Andrea’s desk, which means their meeting is going to entail more requests for Superfriends interviews.

Kara braces herself.

And then Andrea says some of the worst words possible: “I want an interview with Sentinel.”

Kara wills herself not to react. On the other side of William, Nia actually snorts.

Nia has worked her way back into Andrea’s good graces, but Kara very much doubts that openly snorting at their boss’s request will lead to another mental health day. Before Andrea can react, Kara says, “I, uh, I don’t think she likes giving interviews.”

“That’s what Nia said about the Superfriends,” Andrea says, completely undeterred, “and we have since gotten interviews with most of them.”

As much as Kara hates to admit it, Andrea’s right. They never participate in puff pieces about what they do for fun, but when they have a cause to promote, they lend their voices in support.

Through his PI work and with his deep ties to the alien community, J’onn had been encountering many others who were also the last of their kinds. With an interest in preserving these alien cultures, he had dedicated a portion of the Mars space in the planetarium to a rotating exhibit of those cultures. He had also teamed up with Kara to revive her Aliens of National City series for a special feature.

Brainy had volunteered for a live public service announcement when a toxic chemical spill had breached the boundaries of an industrial complex and threatened nearby neighborhoods. He had been a little too thorough with the technical details though, and Dreamer had had to intervene to make it more vernacular friendly. His PSA had been big with the scientific community, where some of his equations had been beyond current understanding and sparked contentious debates.

Nia had done a fantastic interview of the new Guardian about marginalized human communities. To quell any curiosity, Guardian briefly mentioned that she wasn’t ready to reveal her identity, but she did reveal that she had the previous Guardian’s blessing to pick up the mantle. Annoyingly, most media outlets chose to focus on that rather than the deep dive into intersectionality.

Alex hadn’t done any interviews. None of the Superfriends had thought twice about it.

Until now.

Knowing how private Alex is, Kara can already picture her reaction to this request.

“If it’s about the ratings, I could get another exclusive from Supergirl,” Kara volunteers. “You said she’s the ideal Superfriend for interviews.”

“Mmm, but we’ve had Supergirl,” Andrea says. “We’ve had all the other Superfriends. We don’t know enough about this Sentinel.” She taps the board under Alex’s picture where it says “HUMAN?”. “Is she fully human? What is her motivation? If she is human, how did she come to join the Superfriends? I want to know.”

“And if Kara’s right?” William asks. “We seem to get interviews with the Superfriends on their timeline, not ours.”

“Then get yourselves on their timeline,” Andrea says. “But I’ll be generous and give you a week instead of 24 hours. If you still fail, well, you’ve heard me say your alternatives enough by now.”

On their way out of Andrea’s office, Nia passes by Kara and mutters, “I’m not touching this one.”

Kara cannot disagree with that life choice.

“What did Nia say?” William asks.

“Nothing.”

...

Alex looks up from her console as Kara enters the Tower. “Hey, what did you want to talk about?”

Knowing how little Alex will appreciate the conversation, Kara says, “You love me beyond measure, and that will never change, right?”

Alex turns around completely, resting her back against the console. She crosses her arms. She knows the difference between Kara approaching her abandonment issues and something Alex will find unpleasant. “Yes? Am I going to change my mind?”

Kara grimaces. “Andrea wants an interview with Sentinel.”

The look of horror on Alex’s face would be hilarious in any other circumstance. “Why?”

“Because you’re the last Superfriend not to give an interview. Andrea thinks that makes you mysterious and intriguing.”

“Not happening.”

“I figured as much. I tried offering up a Supergirl exclusive instead.”

“I love you.”

“Well, she didn’t bite.”

At that, Alex’s head drops back, and she stares at the ceiling.

“I'll write something up anyway,” Kara continues. “Hopefully it will keep Andrea happy in the meantime.”

“Thanks.” Alex gestures for Kara to come in for a hug. “I know you don’t like puff pieces either.”

“It’s okay,” Kara says into Alex’s shoulder. “I’ll find something meaningful to write about.”

...

Alex glances around the downtown street. Luckily she, Brainy, and J’onn had arrived in time to stop an Infernian from destroying a private lab. The police had also shown up and set up a perimeter, which was helpful as a crowd had developed to the south.

“Sentinel!”

Alex spots William Dey at the front of the crowd. "Oh, hell no.”

She normally likes William well enough, but given what Kara told her about Andrea’s request, he’s now on her list of the last five people she’d want to see at any given moment.

“I gotta get out of here,” Alex tells J’onn. “You and Brainy got this covered, right?”

They look over to where Brainy is explaining his containment technology to the police officers taking custody of the Infernian.

William says her name again.

J’onn glances at William then back at Alex with amusement. “Go. We’ll be fine.”

...

“Sentinel!”

Alex looks across the chaos of overturned cubicles and office supplies to see William Dey approaching.

Alex frowns. How did he get here so quickly?

Luckily they are on the fifth floor of the building, which means Alex has an exit strategy William doesn’t. “Supergirl, meet me outside.”

“Copy that.”

A few of the windows were broken in the fight. Dreamer already has the offending meta-human contained, so Alex doesn’t feel bad leaving William behind.

Alex picks the window with the cleanest break and jumps through.

...

Andrea drops something on Kara’s desk. “What is this?”

“An interview with Supergirl,” Kara responds after a quick look.

Andrea sighs. “Kara, I know you heard me when I said I wanted an interview with Sentinel, not any Superfriend.”

Kara shrugs. “I couldn’t get ahold of Sentinel, neither could William, and Supergirl had something she wanted to say.”

“Did you ask Supergirl about talking to Sentinel?” Andrea asks expectantly.

Kara blinks. “I think they have more important things to do than to act as messaging services to one another.”

“It’s not your job to think about their priorities. It’s your job to think about CatCo’s priorities,” Andrea says. “Get me an interview with Sentinel. You, specifically. And again, I don’t think I need to give you the consequences spiel. You have 24 hours.”

Kara reaches out to clear the Supergirl interview from her desk, but Andrea snatches it back up.

“I’m still publishing this.”

...

Kara looks apologetically across the couch.

Just as Kara had tried to give a Supergirl exclusive to spare Sentinel an interview, Alex is now giving an interview to spare Kara’s job.

“Okay, I have to make this on the record, so let’s maybe do a rehearsal.”

Alex sighs but shrugs her agreement anyway. “Yeah, okay.”

Kara hands over her notepad where the questions are written out. “These are the questions I’m going to ask you.”

“You already know the answer to most of these,” Alex says as her eyes glide down the page. “And there’s no way we can publish them.”

“I know. That’s why we’re rehearsing. We’ll have to come up with something that’s real but not revealing.”

Alex balks. Kara doesn’t have to wonder which question its at because Alex reads it out loud. “‘You’ve been a super hero for a while now, but this is your first interview. Why now?’ Seriously?”

Kara grimaces. “Yeah.”

“Because my little sister’s boss is a pain in the ass.”

“Alex.”

“Right, come up with a fake but real answer.”

But their quest for acceptable answers is a tedious process that comes up short.

“I can’t do this,” Alex groans and flops back into the couch cushions. “How about I promise that when I have something to say, I’ll say it to you? You can have that promise on the record.”

“I’ll try,” Kara says. She’s also tired, and she hates forcing this on Alex.

Andrea won’t be thrilled with it, but Kara will make it work.

...

The next day Alex sighs in relief at Kara’s single emoji text.

A thumbs up.

[petersasteria]

The Best Day - Haz Osterfield

Osterfield || Main || Taglist

Pairing: Single Dad!Haz x Step mom!Reader Requested? Nah. 2,572 words Happy Mother's Day to all x

Italics are flashbacks, bold is Christine singing, and [ ] is a 'video'. Thank you to @capwogers for telling me I should do mom!reader instead of sister!reader.

* * * *

When Harrison had his daughter, his first born, he never would’ve thought that his life was going to change. Suddenly his life was colorful and filled with laughter. Sure, it was hectic, but he loved every second of it. As if it wasn’t enough, he was blessed with a son five years later. His life was perfect.

As far as good things go, bad things happen. Harrison’s partner suddenly left. They weren’t married, but it seemed that way. They lived together and they’ve been together for a long time, but after their son’s second birthday, she decided she didn’t want to ‘play house’ anymore. It hurt him, but he knew he had to be strong for his kids.

Three years later, he met you. He was scared that his kids would scare you off, but it was the opposite. He watched as you tried to interact with them and he saw how his kids didn’t warm up to you. He frowned, but he knew that in time, they’ll like you.

Christine, his thirteen-year-old daughter, didn’t seem very fond of you. Meanwhile his eight-year-old son, Ethan, was the opposite. You two would get ice cream together and he’d always kiss your cheek whenever he’d see you. He was also the only person excited when Harrison told them that you’d move in with them.

You could still remember Christine being so mad about it. She was glaring at you and you told her, “I know I’m not your mom and I’m not trying to be her, but I want you to know that I’m here for you. I love your father and I love you guys too. No matter how mad you are at me, I won’t leave.”

And you didn’t. Harrison proposed to you after being together for three years. You both knew that you both were meant for each other and you knew it was going to be hard because you felt like Christine will never get used to you being around, but you were proved wrong when the day of your wedding came.

You got married on Mother’s Day and yours and Harrison’s mom absolutely cried so much because they claimed that it was the best gift they’ve ever received. Everyone at the reception was busy eating when the host, Tom, started talking again.

“Hi, everyone! I’m sorry to interrupt.” Tom chuckled. “But someone wanted to take this time to give their ‘special gift’.” He looked at Christine with a smile and waved her over to where he was standing.

“What’s she doing?” Harrison whispered in your ear and you just shrugged. You both watched as Tom adjusted the mic to Christine’s height and Harrison could see the fear on his daughter’s face, but when he smiled at her, her fears disappeared and she calmed down.

“I, uh, I want to say Happy Mother’s Day to everyone here.” Christine said nervously as she played with her fingers. “Most of all, I want to say Happy Mother’s Day to my dad because ever since mom left, he’s been acting as a mother and a father to me and Ethan. I also want to greet Y/N a Happy Mother’s Day too because she’s pretty cool for taking care of us when daddy’s busy.” She added as she looked at you with an innocent look on her face.

“I, uh, I have something prepared for both of you. It’s my wedding gift. I’ve been taking secret singing and guitar lessons for this.” She mentioned before looking behind her to see Tom lending her his guitar.

Tom stood back with Ethan and Christine started playing a familiar tune, “I dedicate this song to my dad and Y/N.” Then she began to sing.

I'm five years old, it's getting cold, I've got my big coat on I hear your laugh and look up smiling at you, I run and run Past the pumpkin patch and the tractor rides Look now, the sky is gold I hug your legs and fall asleep on the way home

“Nina, be careful!” Harrison shouted as he watched his little one run. Both of them were at a farm and he thought it was a good idea to spend some extra time Christine; just the two of them. Harrison knew that she won’t be five years old forever and he knew that once his son was born, he wouldn’t spend time with Christine as much anymore.

“Daddy, look at the pumpkins!” Christine stopped running and stared at the pumpkins. Harrison smiled to himself and jogged over to where she was.

“Wanna see the farm animals, love?” He asked sweetly. She looked at him with a bright smile and nodded quickly.

After a full day of spending time with farm animals and getting to pick some fresh fruits, Christine grew tired and it was then that Harrison knew it was time to go home. He carried her to his car and buckled her in her car seat.

Her eyes fluttered open slightly and smiled at him. “Go back to sleep, sweetheart. We’ll be home soon.” Harrison smiled and kissed her forehead.

“I love you, daddy.” She said before drifting off to sleep. He didn’t want to tell anyone, but he cried on the drive home. Those four words were enough to make him cry and he wanted to cherish them before she grew up.

Christine sang the chorus beautifully and you could see that Harrison was crying. You held his hand and rested your head on his shoulder.

I'm thirteen now And don't know how my friends could be so mean I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys And we drive and drive until we found a town far enough away And we talk and window shop 'til I've forgotten all their names

I don't know who I'm going to talk to now at school But I know I'm laughing on the car ride home with you Don't know how long it's going to take to feel okay But I know I had the best day with you today

You were feeling a bit sick and you decided it was best to stay at home. You still did work in yours and Harrison’s shared bedroom. It was only you in the house and you heard the door open and get slammed shut. Heavy footsteps were running up the stairs and straight into a room. The door was slammed shut too.

You took a deep breath and checked the time on your phone to see who was home at this time. It was Christine. Knowing that she wasn’t particularly fond of you, you braced yourself before going to her room to check up on her.

You knocked and heard a muffled ‘go away’ from her. You shook your head and knocked again and said, “It’s me, Y/N. I just wanted to check up on you. Are you okay? You sounded really mad when you came home.”

In Christine’s mind, she knew she didn’t have a choice. She needed to talk to someone and you happened to be home. Perhaps it wasn’t so bad, right? She wiped her tears and got up to open the door. You frowned at the sight and immediately pulled her in for a hug.

She hugged back and cried. She opened up to you about her mean friends and you just listened. When she was done, you wiped her tears and said, “My friends did the same thing, you know.”

“Really?” She sniffed and you nodded with a small smile on your face. “What happened?” She asked.

“We’re not friends anymore. It hurt a lot, but I got new friends and they’re way better than my old ones. We’re still friends up to this day. You’ll have new friends too, I promise you that. They’ll be better and your friendship will last.” You smiled, causing her to smile too.

“How about we go out? We can get ice cream and eat dinner. I can call your dad and tell him to pick up Ethan.” You suggested. Christine thought about it for a second and she nodded and pushed away her long blonde hair from her face.

“We can get a makeover too, if you want.” You added and she squealed excitedly.

“Daddy never allowed me to have makeovers.” Christine said. “He said I was too young.”

“Well, lucky for you, I’m not your dad.” You winked. “I’ll let you get dressed and we can go, alright?”

“Alright.” She smiled and turned to go further in her room. Before she closed the door, she called your name and you turned around. “Thank you… and call me Nina. Christine is too long.” She said with a sincere look on her face.

“It’s no problem. I’m on your side, Nina. Never forget that.” You smiled.

Later that night when you and Christine got home, the boys were on the couch and gasped when they saw you and Christine sporting your new looks. You dyed your hair while Christine had a new haircut. You even allowed her to pick out clothes that she liked and bought it for her. You never splurged, but you figured it was okay to splurge just for once.

“Why don’t you show Ethan what you got him?” You told Christine and she quickly went to the couch to show Ethan the stuff she picked for him. Harrison got up from the couch and walked over to you, “I thought you never splurged.” He joked.

“I never splurge on anything, but I made an exception. She was upset about something and I wanted to make her feel better.”

“By buying her stuff?”

“No, by making her happy and by distracting her. We window shopped first and she narrowed down what she really wanted. Then, we bought them. The things she bought Ethan came from her own money.”

Harrison nodded with a smile, “Thank you for making her happy.”

“It’s no big deal.” You shrugged. “I went through the same thing and no one was there for me. I want to be there for her.”

I have an excellent father, his strength is making me stronger

Christine saw the whole scene the night her mother left. She saw how upset and sad Harrison was while he carried her two-year-old brother. He turned around and saw Christine sitting on the steps.

He didn’t know what to say. “Darling, I-” Harrison was lost and he held back his tears.

“Are we going to be okay, daddy?” She asked as she cried.

He nodded and sat next to her with Ethan in his arms. “We’ll be fine. We’re gonna be okay, I promise you that.” Harrison smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulder. That night, Christine and Ethan slept in the same bed as Harrison, so he wasn’t lonely.

Harrison never knew, but Christine would hear him cry himself to sleep at night and she would notice the tear stains on his cheeks whenever he made breakfast. It was then that Christine realized how strong Harrison was and that she wanted to be just as strong as he was.

God smiles on my little brother, inside and out He’s better than I am

Christine took a long time to get used to you, but she noticed how Ethan immediately let you in without hesitation. He always tagged along with you wherever you went and it made Harrison a bit jealous that Ethan preferred you over him, but it made Harrison happy.

Ethan even helped you in the garden, something he never did. But Ethan’s favorite moment with you is when he would sit on the kitchen countertop and help you bake cookies for every occasion.

I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run And I had the best days with you

Christine stopped playing and looked on the projector to play an old video of hers. Harrison was filming and he laughed when he saw the video.

“I remember that video.” He laughed as he reminisced.

[“What’re you painting, Nina?” Harrison asked as he filmed Christine painting. He smiled when she looked at him with a toothy grin, “Flowers!”

“Those are pretty flowers, baby.” Harrison complimented. “You’re beautiful like a flower as well.”

“Thank you, daddy. You’re beau’ful too.” Christine smiled at him, causing Harrison to laugh. It was silent between them, but she broke it. “Can I be a flower for Halloween?”

Harrison chuckled and said, “I’ll see what I can do. I might need your mum for some help. She knows more about flowers than I do.”

“Otay!” Christine giggled and continued painting.]

There is a video I found from back when I was three You set up a paint set in the kitchen and you’re talking to me It’s the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarves

After the video, it showed a slideshow of pictures. The first picture was her on Halloween dressed as a flower. Every other kid was a monster or a superhero, but she was different. Needless to say, she went home with more candy than any other kid.

The next picture was of her and a one-year-old Ethan and that made Ethan scrunch his nose and cover his eyes. Everyone was overjoyed to see old pictures of Christine and Harrison with Ethan’s pictures in it sometimes. Then their first family picture without her mom showed up and that made you smile at Harrison.

“You raised them well without her, you know.” You said and he nodded.

“Thank you.” He grinned.

Christine continued singing and decided to switch up the lyrics last minute, “Daddy’s smart and Y/N’s the prettiest lady in the whole wide world.”

Harrison looked at you and chuckled when he saw you crying, “Now you’re the one crying.”

“Yeah, sue me.” You sniffed and wiped your tears away.

Christine walked to where you two were and Tom quickly held the mic for her.

Now I know why all the trees change in the fall I know you were on my side even when I was wrong And I love you for giving me your eyes

Christine cried as her mother yelled at her. Harrison got mad and said, “Don’t yell at her! She’s just a kid, okay?! It’s not her fault!”

Her mom huffed and left the scene to get some air. Harrison turned to Christine and said, “What did you do?”

“I was mad at her so I got her mug and broke it.” Christine frowned and Harrison shook his head before pulling her in for a hug.

“Don’t do that again, yeah? Someone might get hurt.” He said softly before pulling away and wiping her tears away. He stared in her eyes that resembled his and smiled a bit, “Wanna watch cartoons?”

“Yeah.” Christine grinned.

“For staying back and watching me shine and I didn’t know if you knew, so I’m taking this chance to say that I had the best day with you today.” Christine ended the song with a smile. “I hope you liked it.”

Everyone clapped and Harrison got up from his seat to give her a hug, “That was amazing, darling! I loved it.”

You hugged her too and said, “It’s the best gift I’ve ever had. Thank you, sweetheart.”

She smiled at you and said, “You’re welcome, mum.”

It was the best Mother’s Day ever.

* * * *

feedback is sexy

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐇𝐀𝐙 𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @blueleatherbag @cocoamoonmalfoy @thatforgottenangel @parkerpeter24 @turtoix @givebuckyhisplumsnow @hotforharrison @chewymoustachio @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @yourstrulyamour @pearce14 @juliediggory @lharrietg @thevelvetseries @buckymylove @quxxnxfhxll @angelsgrxzer @more-like-reyna @caitsymichelle13 @aayaissaa @wannabemobwife

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @holland-styles @trustfundparker @alinastarkrovs @felicityparkers @hufflepuffprincess24 @tommysparker @justasmisunderstoodasloki @quaksonhehe @call-me-baby-gir1 @itstaskeen @theonly1outof-a-billion @lost-in-the-stars03 @justafangirlduh @piscesparker @speedymaximoff @miraclesoflove @lexirv @blairscott @getbywithasmile @pqrkerr @lavender-writer @blackbat2020 @hoodpankow @bi-lmg @emmastarz

[leaderintitleonly]

So... I am going to need rp as a distraction today. Despite being in a lot of pain, the skies have dumped a lot of drama I can’t do anything about. And rather than cry I’d just want to write instead. Even if I might have to put a hand brace on.

Angry Aunt Ranting Below, Some Bad Vibes. WARNED YA.

Favorite Niece got caught with my number on her phone. She tried hiding me but unfortunately the older niece is uh... Well she threw her under the bus to get a lesser punishment. Not really happy with her but... hey we’ll cross that bridge one day. Favorite niece is inconsolable and has had her phone and... literally everything taken from her. In the middle of freakin’ summer. So she can’t even talk to her crush. Can’t be a normal preteen right now. (omg and I was so rooting for them cause UGH PRETEEN CRUSHES) I can’t talk to her for two weeks rn. :( Not until her grandma (who is awesome) can lend her phone. Even my birth mother would be better at sneaking stuff cause screw my half sister. But now she’s (favorite niece) more fired up than ever and has vowed to the family she’s moving in with me. She doesn’t care if she gets emancipated or she gets to eighteen. She’s done. She’s 100% done. And my heart is breaking. But I’m going to make it happen and I don’t care what part of my soul I have to sell for her to finally be happy for one freakin’ day. I’ll do it. Enjoy your extra tmi to why I might not move from my spot today and you’ll see tons of replies. It’s cause despite my agony... WOOO DISTRACTION NEEDED. I’ll be floating back and forth between Doc and Blue, health allowing.

[thecagedsong]

Forgotten Light Chapter 14: Crescent Lagoon

A/N: Chapter 14 is here, and fairly short, especially after chapter 13′s monster length. Might even post chapter 15 today. We’ll see. 

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14

Chapter 14: Crescent Lagoon

           The sombrosa swords were apparently a type of dual swords whose handles were half of the other, kind of like cutting a curved sword down the middle lengthwise.

           No, Seth wasn’t allowed to touch them, yes they were magic. The wielder, with proper concentration, could make the swords sharp enough to cut through almost anything, even dragon hide, or sturdy enough to withstand tremendous pressure, though only one affect could be applied to each sword at one time. Apparently the Knights of the Dawn had had a combat tournament back in the day, and Grandma Gloria and Grandpa Stan had been the two finalists.

           Vanessa took over discussing what an umbraka was and why them running loose is the perfect reason to end a tournament, but kept referencing other animals that Seth didn’t know, and it was decided there wasn’t enough time to get into that. There was another sanctuary that needed saving.

           He was helped out of the Canoe by Warren, who had gone through before him. Instantly the humidity hit.

           “It feels like I’m trying to breath in the ocean,” Seth complained.

           “You’re welcome to compare a bit of humidity to the real experience,” Vanessa said, gesturing to the harbor. Tanu came through, then Grandma Gloria. Holding the canoe steady were short halflings. They were covered in black tattoos over their reddish skin and more of them were scattered between their spot and the treeline.

           Their group gathered around a tall islander woman. Her long, curly black hair had a couple of gray streaks, but her age didn’t show otherwise. Next to her was a red-headed surfer dude.

           “Welcome to Crescent Lagoon,” the woman said, “I am the caretaker, and due to the assistance of Knights Warren and Vanessa, we were able secure this small area to be protected under treaty. Be aware that the boundaries cover the beach, the water inside the cove, and about ten meters out on either side of where the beach turns into forest. And of course, my home, which you are all welcome to.”

           Seth looked around, trying to make out houses around the enormous trees, but couldn’t see anything. Then a halfling came down an elevator from the big tree in the center, and Seth’s eyes went up. And up. Because this caretaker’s home made their old treehouse back at Fablehaven look like a doghouse.

           “Wow,” Seth said, looking over the rope system. “We sleep in hammocks, right?”

           “I’m sure we can string one up directly over the dragon-infested ocean for you, if you like,” Warren said with a grin.

           “There are plenty of dangers here already,” Tanu said, “I don’t believe we need to tempt more.”

           “Thank you for receiving us during these difficult times,” Grandma said, bowing to the caretaker, “I am Gloria Larsen, a knight of the dawn. Allow me to introduce my Grandson, Seth Sorenson, a shadow charmer, and Knight Tanu Dafu, an expert potion’s master. We will look forward to working together as we pursue our mutual goals.”

           “Well met,” the Caretaker responded. “I am Savani, and this is one of my assistants, Grady. We will speak of more sensitive issues inside, particularly our mutual goals.” Savani started leading them away from the beach.

           “Do we climb a rope latter to get up there?” Seth asked, looking at the interchanging platforms for a rope that hung all the way down.

           “Not quite,” Grady said, “The Maze keeps us on our toes, but we spare ourselves at least the effort of getting up there.”

           “It’s called the Monkey Maze?” Tanu asked, “Do the rooms shift?”

           “Against intruders,” Grady answered, “We work closely with Heliconia, the dryad of this grove, to keep them together for most uses. Certain parts are forbidden, of course.”

           “Is it required for all preserves to have dungeons for the horribly dangerous?” Seth asked, straining his ears to hear the sounds of the undead. There was a faint whispering, but it was slightly different than the Blackwell or even Fablehaven’s dungeon. He couldn’t make out anything but a low murmur, almost hidden by the sound of waves.

           “Yes,” Vanessa said, “it is part of the base foundational treaty that all the sanctuaries are copied after. The caretakers must remove those who threaten the integrity of the treaty, and the undead rarely agree to be bound while being attracted to the magical souls of those on a preserve. Or they do, then break their word, and wind up in jail.”

           “Noted,” Seth said.

           “I would tell you that you should disregard that information,” Grandma Larsen said, amused, “but I suppose you should take note.”

           “Here we are,” Savani said, bringing them to a platform that had a rope going up into the trees. “Please assemble on the platform.”

           “It’s easier if you hold onto the rope in the center,” Vanessa warned, and everyone but Warren grabbed on. Seth grinned and kept his hands off.

           “Brace yourself,” Warren said, crouching a little. The platform shot upwards, and Seth fell on his butt with a surprised laugh. He made it back to his feet before the platform stopped, and the adults were all chuckling at him.

           “Do we get everywhere in the treehouse with unbuckled rollercoaster elevators?” Seth asked, jumping onto the bigger room the platform had become a part of.

           Savani chuckled, “No, the rest is walking, I’m afraid. Come, the Menuhene have prepared refreshments to welcome you.”

           “Menuhene?” Seth asked.

           “Think of a breed of dwarves that hold agreements similar to brownies,” Tanu suggested, “Though their specialty if building, rather than maintaining households.”

           “Awesome,” Seth said.

           “Here we are,” Savani said, leading them to a different enclosed room via rope bridge. It had a couple of tables and wicker chairs. “Now, explain to me what brings a child to my nearly fallen preserve, former caretaker or not. Vanessa and Warren promised allies, not liabilities.”

           “Hey, I saved Wyrmroost, and I’ve handle more secret vaults than you would ever believe,” Seth said, “I thought we were past doubting me and Kendra.”

           “Be respectful Seth,” Grandma said gently, then turned to Savani, “It’s true, that Seth is young, and if it hadn’t been for the opening of the demon prison and the upcoming dragon war, we would have preferred him to grow up before venturing near any dragon sanctuary. He does have experience. Unfortunately, Seth is one of few true Dragon tamers in the world, able to move and converse with ease. Seth has also become a shadow charmer, and his skills are necessary for upcoming trials, one of which involves retrieving his sister from the Phantom Isle. One of our goals here is to find training for Seth from a demon whose interests are strongly aligned against dragons.”

           “A dragon sancturary is an odd place for a dragon hating demon to lair,” Savani said, “Who is it you seek?”

           “Talizar,” Grandma said.

           “I am familiar with him,” Savani nodded, “he’s one of the rare demons that invoke boundary magic as one of his tools, rather than relying on his own strength against dragon neighbors. Caretakers in the past have mentioned him activating Moai to more strictly enforce dragon boundaries. His lair is on the same island as the corrupted pool.”

           “Another of our goals,” Tanu said with a nod, “We have reason to believe that Ronodin kidnapped Seth’s sister and our dear friend, Kendra Sorenson. Any chance to capture and interrogate him needs to be investigated immediately.”

           “And, of course,” Warren added, “We want to help further restore the boundaries of Crescent Lagoon, prevent it from falling and all that jazz.”

           Savani nodded slowly, eyeing them. “I see where our interests align. I will lend you aid where I can, but my aid is further reduced by the fall of this preserve, though it improves with the aid of Warren and Vanessa, who were able to bring back the Moai that protects the Monkey Maze. As long as one Moai is active, the outer boundaries of this preserve are intact. Unfortunately, this is a temporary refuge.”

           “Why is it only temporary?” Grandma Gloria asked.

           “I see there was not time for complete explanations,” Savani said, going to a map on the wall, “We lost the Sunset Pearl, which was the magic source for all the Moai in the preserve. As a failsafe, individual moai can be activated independent of the sunset pearl, as the moai currently protecting here was by consuming a sacrifice of a person’s most treasured object. I will not be able to pay the debt I owe to Warren for being willing to sacrifice his.”

           “What was it?” Seth asked.

           Warren was looking at the floor, “A limited print baseball card I always carry with me. The player was my dad’s best friend, an Uncle to me, close as family can be. He died of cancer years ago, and it was all I had left of him.”

           “Warren’s sacrifice was accepted,” Savani said, “As was my sacrifice of my family’s ancestral tablets. I can read the Moai, and we have two weeks of protection before another sacrifice is required by someone else.”

           “It’s harder than you think,” Vanessa said, “Deciding on a most important object. I couldn’t think of anything then, and still can’t think of anything that the Moai would have accepted. Obviously the goal is to restore the Sunset Pearl before our current sacrifice runs out.”

           “Any idea where the Sunset Pearl was taken?” Tanu asked.

           “None,” Savani sighed, “I’ve lost many allies in the process of looking, but nothing has come from those sacrifices.”

           “They also need to know about the Triclops,” Vanessa said.

           Savani nodded, “Mombatu the Triclops is the designated dragon slayer of this sanctuary. He became active when the sanctuary fell, and he is savage. He will slay a dragon before a human, but he has lost his faculties over time. He is so ancient, my people supposed him dead, and now he is a danger to anyone who comes near him, including me. He has driven the dragons away from this particular island, and is therefore the current greatest threat to our borders.”

           “Really, there is no way to talk to him?” Grandma Gloria asked, “Seems a poor choice for a dragon slayer allied with the treaty makers.”

           Savani shrugged, “Our legends say the original caretaker could soothe him to peace with a flute song, but the song and the flute have been lost to legend.”

           “Shame we didn’t bring Newel and Doren with us this time,” Seth said, giving a little grin. The cowards would absolutely refuse to play their panflutes for the triclops unless the only other choice was to be eaten.

           “As Savani suggested,” Vanessa said, a wry grin on her lips, “The magic was in the flute, rather than being a fan of the instrument. We’ll let our satyr friends recover another day in Fablehaven before testing their bravery once again.”

           “Have you seen the site where the Sunset Pearl was kept?” Tanu asked.

           “I saw it with Hako,” Warren said, “We didn’t find much. Ten really big moai in a ring facing inwards. An altar of piled stones at the center with a bowl on top. Supposedly three guardians protected the pearl, but there was no sign of them. There were tracks from the triclops though.”

           “No sign of the three guardians and triclops tracks,” Grandma Larsen mused, “Were they dependent on the Pearl for existence?”

           “I believe so,” Savani said, “and the triclops tracks are likely from it’s rampaging, rather than having to do with the theft. The triclops appeared long after the pearl had vanished.”

           “Okay, so we need a pearl, would like a flute, have to watch out for a rampaging triclops, Ronodin was spotted lurking around a corrupted pool, and we need to locate a demon to negotiate some training with him. Anything else we should discuss before planning?” Seth asked.

           “What remains of your staff?” Tanu asked.

           “Grady here,” Savani said, “Hako, our gamekeeper. And Uma. Uma is frail and in a wheelchair, but she will likely interest you, Potion Master.”

           Tanu blinked, and his took on a bit of awestruck, “Not Uma Stormbrewer.”

           “The same. She joined our staff after her legs gave out, but she and her skills remain sharp,” Savani said.

           “That’s…she’s a legend,” Tanu said, “She’s a grand master of potion making, I hardly deserve the title compared to her.”

           “Good thing you got courage potions in abundance,” Seth said, slapping him on the shoulder, “And I suppose you two should know about another ally we brought. Calvin, say hi.”

           Calvin peeked out of his pocket, “Hello,” he waved. “I wasn’t sure to introduce myself or not, I’m one of those assets best left hidden. I’m Calvin the Nipsie.”

           “You are welcome here, small ally,” Savani said, bowing her head in a nod of recognition. She waited a moment, then said, “I believe we have reached a summation of our assets and current goals. Onto planning. Hako was planning on investigating the corrupted pool alone today, since we had no timeframe for how long it would take Warren and Vanessa to find allies, even with the small dragon’s help.”

           “I want to go with and help with the investigation,” Seth said.

           “I go where Seth goes,” Grandma Gloria said. “Depending on what we can locate at the corrupted spring, it would also be foolish to not to greet Talizar and open negotiations for training while we are already outside the protections granted. Just as it would be foolish to delay, if our time limit is really only two weeks.

            “I believe I will skip this venture in order to consult longer with Uma,” Tanu decided, “I have many fresh ingredient from dragons that I hope she will be interested in.”

           “I believe she will be,” Savani said with a smile. Everyone turned to Vanessa and Warren.

           “Well, what do you say?” Warren asked Vanessa with a smile, “It’s been, what, almost twenty whole hours since our last near death experience? I think we’re up for another round.”

           “Right, practically a vacation,” she said drily. “Wouldn’t want to become bored with existing.”

           “Count us in for one trip to the corrupted spring,” Warren said.

           Finally, he could start following a lead on Kendra. She just had to keep Ronodin’s slimy hands and stupid words away from her for a little bit longer.

[resilicns-multi]

Vision

A short-ish drabble (fic?) of how I imagine Viktor would get his vision. Cut for length.

Viktor had slowly fallen in love with Mondstadt. Lily had been the first to melt his cold exterior, the sisters that cared for him when he fell ill being the second. He fondly remembered Rosaria herself dragging him from his hotel room and to the chapel, snapping something about him being “irresponsible” and “only doing it to get Barbara to be quiet. However, her watchful gaze from the doorway when her turn to watch over him came said otherwise. 

The women had made sure he was fed and kept warm. All suspicion was gone after that. It was almost like he had suddenly gained a hoard of mothers and sisters fretting over him. They made sure he ate three meals a day, made sure he took breaks, and often talked to him throughout the day. 

The payments he was supposed to receive from Signora stopped coming a while ago. To make ends meet, he took up commissions and errands, mostly fetching things for the sisters and doing their shopping for them. His favorite job, however, was babysitting. 

First, it was just Lily. As the other parents in Mondstadt noticed how well-taken care of she was, other children quickly began to join her. He took them to the docks and to the bridge to feed the fish and ducks, taught them games from Sneznhaya, and read to them in the evening. 

Mondstadt was starting to feel more like a home to Viktor than his homeland ever had. He rarely wore his uniform these days, opting instead for the cheap, local clothes he could buy. It had been a long time since he last wore his mask. The first day without it was also the last day with it. The sisters had immediately gushed over his “pretty blue eyes,” Jilliana telling him he had “such long eyelashes and cute freckles.” He, of courses, tried to brush it off and act annoyed, but he threw the mask away on instinct the moment he returned to his hotel room. 

He relished lovely evenings like this one. The wind was soft and refreshing, the sky was gaining beautiful hues from the sun just beginning to set, and people were out and about getting dinner or going to the taverns. Many of the people of Mondstadt still viewed him with some suspicion, especially the Knights of Favonius, but he no longer let it bother him. He still felt welcome and cared for by those that did, and that was more than enough. However, on this evening, Viktor paused near the side gate, overhearing a familiar voice. Rudolf...

“I’ve already searched the town, she’s not here! Please, Guy, you have to go out and look for her!”

“I’m sorry, Rudolf, but I can’t leave my post. The other Knights are searching the city as we speak. A group will be sent out to search the surrounding area if they can’t find Lily here.”

Anger boiled under Viktor’s skin. The useless bureaucracy was one of the reasons he disliked the Knights of Favonius. Clenching his fists, he made his decision in an instant, turning on his heels and hurrying to the front gate. He left the city without any hesitation, hand on his sword’s hilt. The thought of the danger Lily could be in, how scared she probably was, pushed him to break into a run halfway across the bridge. 

He had no idea where to start, until he heard something that made his blood run cold. The faint, unearthly, and metallic groans of a ruin guard. His eyes darted around, landing on the familiar rubble near one of the domains, where anemo slimes and a constant gust of wind were. Gritting his teeth, he charged towards it, scrambling up the hill and hoisting himself over the cliff edge. Immediately, his eyes landed on the automaton. It was turning over rubble in the ruins, searching for something. He looked around, relief and then anxiety rushing through him when he saw a familiar shoe.

Ducking down, Viktor crouched and made his way around the circular area until he reached Lily, who was hiding behind a collapsed pillar, tearful and covering her mouth with her hands. 

“Lily,” he whispered, kneeling down in front of her. “I’m here. I’ve got you. Are you injured?” He smiled when she shook her head. “Good. I need you to go back to Mondstadt and get a Knight, okay? I’ll keep this thing busy.”

“I-....I can’t, Mister Fatooey,” the girl sniffled, shaking her head again. “I can’t move...it’s too scawy...”

Dammit. I can’t carry her out of here, what if it spots us? I don’t have a choice here. I have to take it down. I can only hope she runs while I’m at it. Taking a deep breath, he drew his sword. “Please run, Lily. Stay hidden, run.” Narrowing his eyes, he rushed forward.

Drawing from his training, Viktor drove his sword forward, aiming for where the ruin guard’s leg met it’s hip, hoping to disable it. There was a crunching sound, but it didn’t seem to actually harm it. He scrambled back, swearing as the thing turned its torso to focus its singular eye on him. It swung its fist, making contact with his torso and throwing him backwards. The pillar behind him was what stopped his body, his back slamming into it. The wind was knocked out of him. Gasping shakily, pain coursing through his body, he pushed back against the pillar, standing back up.

“Alright, let’s go!” Narrowing his eyes, he took a few more breaths before rushing it again, ducking under another swing and slicing through one of its legs. This time, he was able to get a better understanding for its makeup. The leg had a more brittle section between the armor plating. I can knock it down if I can get through that. 

Using the momentum, he kept going past it, staying low to avoid the other arm as it spun once. Drawing himself together and focusing, he fell into a cycle of running and slashing. Everything was going well, until it suddenly turned its body, planting its arms in the ground. It was like the entire world was suddenly moving in slow motion. The panels sliding open, light glowing, missiles flying out. He felt frozen in place for a moment, before covering his head with his arms on instinct. The blast threw him back, his body rolling along the ground. He went limp when he tumbled to a stop, wheezing. His head was spinning, and every inch of his body ached. Dammit! I’m not strong enough! Just- just a bit more! I just-!

“Mister Fatooey!”

Viktor lifted his hand, gasping shakily. “LILY, GET DOWN!” The girl had stood from her hiding place, standing in plain sight as she stared at him. I can’t move, but- but I have to protect her. I have to-..! He winced, pressing against the ground as he tried to push himself back up. He could see the machine turning to focus on the girl. He didn’t even have seconds to waste. I- I have to...I have to-..! Tears stung his eyes. His body was protesting, but he managed to get back up on his feet, his legs wobbling under him. Clutching his sword in his hand, he made up his mind. He couldn’t run, not in this state, and he wouldn’t be able to move fast enough to reach the ruin guard. He threw the sword, the weapon clanging against the automaton’s back. 

His distraction was successful. The machine turned to face him. “Stay...away from her!” He snarled, wincing and clutching his arm as he took a step forward. “Don’t...touch...her!” As he lifted his right foot to take another step, the toe of his shoe hit something, pushing it forward. Looking down, he couldn’t believe his own eyes. A glowing, teal orb nestled in the metallic wings of the city of freedom, resonating with him. Shaking, he reached down, grasping the vision. He fashioned it to his belt, tying it there. He lifted his head to stare at the ruin guard once more, feeling a new burst of energy surging through him. Is this the power of a vision? Is this the power of the gods? He grinned. That didn’t matter right now. The only thing that mattered was protecting Lily, and things were finally turning in his favor.

He ran forward, snatching his sword up from the ground with a speed he didn’t know he was capable of. It felt like the wind was pushing him, lifting his body to take the weight off of his tired limbs. Like it was cradling him. Barbatos, lend me your strength, even if just for now. You’ve blessed me enough by letting me live in this city, but please, help me save this girl.

Viktor swung the sword, slicing the ruin guard and sending forward a gust of pure anemo energy. Unlike before, where his blows merely glanced off of the metal, this one cut into it and pushed the hulking machinery. Confidence and excitement pulsed through his blood. Metallic clangs filled the air as he landed blow after blow on the thing, pushing it back and back and back. Hitting its body will do nothing. I have to strike its eye. Almost without thought, he braced himself against the ground, focusing on that feeling of weightlessness, drawing from it. 

“This...ends...HERE!” He leapt forward and into the air, clutching the grip with both hands and drawing it back above his head. Anemo lifted him up in a burst, giving him the perfect angle and distance to drive the blade down into the thing’s eye, burying it to the hilt. He pressed down further, pushing off of the ruin guard with one more gust of wind. Completely paralyzed, the machinery could not fight back, tumbling backwards and over the edge of the cliff, plummeting to the ground below. The sounds of the ancient machinery dying echoed as its light faded.

Viktor landed on the ground with a heavy thud, his exhaustion immediately catching up to him as he collapsed. The strength had not dulled his pain, but that was okay, in his eyes. Lily was safe. He smiled weakly up at the approaching girl. She was crying again, for him, this time.

“M-Mister Fatooey...don’t- don’t move, I- I’ll go get hewp!” Lily choked out, turning and running towards Mondstadt. Viktor watched her until she reached the bridge, letting the darkness draw him in as he fell unconscious.

-----

When the man awoke, his pain had dulled significantly. He lifted his head, staring down at his own heavily bandaged body. “Wh-...where..?” He whispered, finding his voice hoarse and his mouth cottony. 

“Ah! Don’t move like that! Lay down!” Barbara’s familiar hushed voice scolded him. She rushed to his side, guiding him back down onto his pillow. “You took quite the beating...Lily told all of us what you did, but-” The young blonde looked tearful. “But you should have gotten help! You- you could have died, you-!”

“He wouldn’t have been fast enough.” 

Viktor looked up to the doorway. He was in one of the backrooms of the chapel, reserved for the sick and injured, he could recognize that much. Rosaria stood in the doorway now, leaning against the frame as she twirled something in her hand. Upon squinting a little, he recognized it as a vision. His vision.

“You forgot something. You know, you should have a little more respect for something like this, after it saved your life.” The red-headed sister muttered, setting the vision down on the nightstand by his bed. As cold as her tone was, there was a softness to it that made her concern clear. “That was really idiotic of you to do, but,” she paused, looking down at him. “...you saved that girl’s life. There’s a reason that Mondstadt’s god,” she motioned to the vision. “And now its people...have all welcomed you.” The woman made a face, sighing. “You’ve caused us a lot of trouble, too. People have been asking about you all day. The Knights even want to speak to you. They probably want to give you some useless medal.” Rolling her eyes, she took a step back towards the door and folded her arms under her chest. “...get some rest. The sooner you get better, the sooner we can get you out of here.”

Viktor smiled softly to himself as he watched the odd woman leave, followed by a suddenly very huffy and distressed Barbara. He felt a strong fondness towards both of them. They’re my family now...and Mondstadt is my home. He glanced at his vision. Mondstadt is my real home.

[curiosityunsated]

In Pursuit of the Scholarly

Triggers: Racism against elves. If there’s anything else you feel should be mentioned, please let me know. No violence included.

Not beta read, cross posted on AO3. Also, I have no idea of the Sindarin here is accurate- I used a translator I found on Google. Don’t @ me.

——

Prince Kíli, second in line for the throne of Erebor, was incandescently angry.

The Council sat and watched, though most did not really listen, as the Prince railed at them and yelled counter arguments and indignity. Most of the council, save for a very select few outside of the presence of the royal family, were not swayed by the show of temper. Some, in fact, looked rather smug (though those were typically not well liked in the Lonely Mountain).

The King, the King’s Consort, the Princess Royal, Prince Fíli, and Her Ladyship Tauriel sat in tense silence as their kinsman slowly ran out of steam. Tirade ended, he stared at the Council and waited.

Kern, who had held his seat on the Council even prior to the Desolation, was barely able to swallow his smirk before he responded.

“Be that as it may, Your Highness, Khuzdul is our sacred language, and it must be... protected. It is... understandable,” it looked as though the word hurt to say, “that you would wish to share it with your wife. But I’m afraid that we cannot agree with your insistence to allow Princess Thiliriel to take Khuzdul lessons.”

The young father bristled, and for a brief moment the Council braced for another round of ire. But it wasn’t the Prince Kíli who spoke, but Prince Fíli.

“Surely you see how difficult it would be to keep Thiliriel from learning Khuzdul completely, my Lords, as she lives in a Dwarven city. Some would say restricting her education in this way was born of ill will directed at the race of her forebears.” He pointed out, politely. Kern’s eyes narrowed.

“We can’t control the opinions of the uninformed, your highness,” he allowed, “and it is understood that there has been, and will be, some unfortunate transference. But perhaps this may be managed if the Royal Family would consider limiting their use of Khuzdul while in the company of the young Princess?” His polite tone matched Fíli’s syllable for syllable.

The Royal Family, save Lady Tauriel, stiffened as one. Prince Fíli’s eyes glinted at the response.

“We are approaching the Noonday bell. Perhaps this is a matter best settled another time.” Balin tried to intervene, and another dwarf would have accepted it for the diffusion that it was. The majority of the Council was prepared to do so, had Kern not spoken.

“I believe we’ve made our decision clear, Lord Balin, but thank you for the reminder. A pleasant day, my Lords.”

And an infuriated Prince Kíli was storming out of the chamber after Kern’s final words, gently tugging Lady Tauriel with him, even before the King had officially ended the meeting.

——

It started with Prince Fíli. This, perhaps, should not have surprised the Council as it had.

The Prince had been spotted, overheard really, in a training ring with the young Princess. That itself wasn’t unusual; the heir had made it routine to ‘train’ with his niece a few times a week, and nearly all the dwarrow who frequented the upper training halls had seen the two playing rambunctiously under guise of hand to hand combat. If this time usually came just before the Princess’ bedtime, well, no one could say Prince Fíli wasn’t efficient.

As far as the Council could gather, the incident happened just before the Royals had left for the evening. The Prince had been crouched on the ground, beckoning the little one forward and playfully taunting her. She had responded in kind, rushing at her uncle and jumping at him with a battle cry that, according to multiple reports, was very cute. He had taken her momentum and propelled himself backwards, landing flat on his back. And then, he had exclaimed:

“Cin got nin! Im’m dad!”

Apparently no one had clearly heard what the little one had said, but the Prince had smiled and kissed her forehead, replying:

“Cin did eithel, lend emel.”

Of course the Prince knew multiple dialects of elvish- the entire royal family did- but only so that they could interact with Elvish representatives without fear of coercion! It was unheard of for it to be spoken so- so- familiarly within an everyday setting! Especially in a Dwarven stronghold such as Erebor! Even Lady Tauriel chose to speak mostly Westron in the presence of the mountain’s public eye. It had left the Council feeling slightly wrong-footed, but perhaps it had been a one-time occurrence. A bit of practice, perhaps, so the Prince wouldn’t get rusty.

It was not a one-time occurrence. Only days later, King Consort Baggins was overheard in the library casually reading aloud to Princess Thiliriel in Sindarin... though the book itself was Westron! The Head Librarian hadn’t even asked him to lower his voice- though as the Head Librarian was the young Ori, son of Lori, that wasn’t surprising in the least. The former Company of Thorin Oakenshield was very close, even now.

Lord Ori had even pointed out a few words and asked for the translation in his own book, an act which garnered stares of its own.

The next day, Prince Kíli and Lady Tauriel gathered stares of their own as they strolled through the market, Princess Thiliriel between them, speaking exclusively in Sindarin! In the middle of the Marketplace! At one point, one scout reported, the Prince had swung his daughter around in his arms, exclaiming something in the lyrical language he hadn’t understood. It must have been humorous, though, because both Mother and Daughter had burst into giggles.

But the final straw, really, had happened in the Council’s very chambers during a meeting. Princess Dís, during a moment between agenda topics, had turned to her brother and quite clearly addressed him in Sindarin. And the King, with no hesitation, replied in Sindarin.

The entire room went silent, and many stared. Only Prince Fíli and Lord Balin continued perusing the paperwork for the next order of business as though nothing was amiss.

“Is everything alright, My Lords?” The King asked dryly, noticing the attention.

“It is just... well, you see...” Lord Tírn stumbled as the King turned his attention to him, and Kern interrupted.

“It isn’t like you to speak Elvish when there aren’t any Elves around, Your Majesty.” He interjected, and Thorin raised an eyebrow coldly.

“And you would know me well enough to make such an observation?” The Council watched as Kern blanched and then flushed.

“We’ve been hearing quite a lot of Elvish around the Mountain these days, Your Majesty.” He didn’t answer The King’s pointed question.

“Sindarin, Lord Kern. Not ‘Elvish’. There are multiple dialects. And since my granddaughter has been forbidden from learning her Father’s sacred tongue, we have decided to use her Mother’s instead.” Princess Dís replied, and if Thorin was cold then his sister’s tone was frozen solid. The Council felt a rush of fear run down their spines.

“Yes. In fact, I’ve been considering asking Prince Legolas to visit soon- Lady Tauriel is both a working ‘dam and a mother, and I don’t want to take more of her time but there are a few grammar questions I have that Lord Bilbo can’t seem to explain.” The Prince’s tone could be described as bland, even self-musing, but the flash of steel in his eye as he glanced at Kern.

“I- I suppose it would be good for our relations with Mirkwood for the Prince to visit-“ the Councillor tried, and was interrupted.

“Perhaps we should revisit the idea of an Elvish Ambassadorship, as a permanent position in the Court.” The King stated, and Kern turned an ugly puce color.

“Elves living in Erebor!?” He erupted, evidently at the end of his rope.

“My Brother’s Wife is an Elf. I would be very careful how you finish that thought, Lord Kern.” Prince Fíli said lowly, and unsheathed a knife to spin, point down, on the table with pointed intent.

“My granddaughter is part Elf. I will not hear any protest about her kin coming to stay, Councillor. Especially if you hope to keep your seat.” Princess Dís did not need to produce a weapon to aid her threat.

“I meant no disrespect, your Highnesses. I humbly apologize.”

“It seems to me, Lord Kern,” the King began, “that you have invited disrespect with your words and your conduct. Barring my grand niece from learning her Maker’s tongue- don’t look at me like that, I know who’s voice persuaded the rest of Council against it- and now making remarks of such disgust against the lineage of an heir of the line of Durin?” King Thorin trailed off, hard stare never wavering.

Kern, who had already been thrown off kilter by the Royal Family’s seemingly overnight adoption of Sindarin, floundered under such a direct accusal.

“I- Your Majesty, never-“

“In fact,” the King continued, and the Council watched the two with bated breath, “I have been in talks with some of our oldest, most practiced curates and they all agree. The right to learn Khuzdul is a matter of religion, not of politics.”

Kern turned that fetching shade of puce again.

“So while it remains a matter of courtesy for Prince Kíli and Lady Tauriel to inform the assembled Council of their plans for Princess Thiliriel’s education, they are in no way obliged to do more than consider the Council’s opinions on this particular aspect.” The King finished, and it was Princess Dís’ turn to smirk as she, and the rest of the Council, watched the pompous windbag known as Kern to puff up, process, deflate, and stiffly nod.

“Thank you, your Majesty, for reminding the Council of the boundaries of our reach. I am... sure this will not be forgotten.” The words came as easily as blood from a rock, and Kern ground his teeth as though trying to break ore from stone as he spoke.

“Oh, and Lord Kern?” King Thorin said, already looking at the papers for the next topic, and not sparing a glance for the Council.

“Yes, your Majesty?”

“I’d like for you to tell his Highness and Lady Tauriel the good news. Directly after the Council Meeting concludes. We wouldn’t want to delay the Princess’ education any longer.”

Fíli’s smile could only be described as wolfishly sharp, and he clearly inherited it from his mother.

——

Elvish translations:

Cin got nin! Im’m dad! : you got me! I’m down!

Cin did eithel, lend emel. : You did well, sweet heart.

[bookstantrash]

A/N: First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who left a comment, reblogged or liked Part One of this fic. It made my day ❤️

I hope this chapter reaches your expectations. I’m still knew at writing multi-chapter fics, so I apologise if it’s too long or too boring. I want to let you guys know Kaelin better and also show Nesta’s (and Cassian’s) journey. But enough blabbering. Please give a warm welcome to Part Two!

In which she makes a friend, Part Two

Nesta remained frozen beside Kaelin’s body for what seemed an eternity. Seconds that felt more like hours went by until her mind finally snapped back to reality.

She could not give herself the luxury of freaking out right now. She needed to be practical. She needed to help Kaelin.

The sky was beginning to get dark and Nesta knew they had to get out of the forest fast. She recalled Cassian’s warning the first day she had arrived.

To never wander in the forest at dark, for the beasts which roamed them at nightfall made Hybern’s monsters at the war seem like child’s play.

“Kaelin. Listen to me. I’m going to help you” Nesta said, and Kaelin only whimpered as another wave of pain came “But we have to leave”

“It hurts” the young girl managed to say, tears streaming down her face “I can’t— can’t move”

Nesta eyed Kaelin’s figure. She was way too skinny for a thirteen year old standards, even if she’d been having regular meals for the past month.

But Nesta didn’t think she’d have the strength to carry her.

She had not eaten a proper meal in months.

Did not exercise.

You’re too heavy.

The memory of herself trying to raise another body from the ground came to mind, and she gritted her teeth to avoid screaming.

Once again, she was powerless.

This time, however, she would not lay on the ground.

She would rise. Even if her miserable bones broke beneath Kaelin’s weight.

“I’ll carry you, but you’ll have to help me” Nesta slowly sit Kaelin up, and looked straight in her eyes “Can you be strong for me now? I need you to move just enough to get on my back”

Kaelin nodded weakly and, panting, did what she was told.

Grabbing the girl’s legs in a firm hold, Nesta bit her cheek and got up, her knees screaming in protest.

“Okay ” she breathed, silently praying her body could hold on long enough to make the ten minute walk back to the cabin “I’m going to move now, so brace yourself”

She took a step forward and had to muster all her strength to not fall down with Kaelin. She remembered giving piggy back rides to Elain when she little — before her mother had deemed it unladylike and punished her. A long time had passed since then. She had been stronger and Elain did not have wings to add to her weight as Kaelin had.

But Nesta focused on the action of putting one foot after the other, her breaths coming in pants, willing her legs to keep moving.

‘Almost there’ she thought as she slowly made her back ‘Just keep moving. It’s not that far’

She repeated that over and over in hopes to distract her body. Her arms were trembling and her tights burned, yet she kept her pace.

After what seemed an eternity, Nesta finally spotted the cabin’s familiar rooftop. She almost sighed in relief.

Awkwardly opening the door and closing it shut with her foot, she went to her room, trying to lay Kaelin down on her bed as smoothly as possible.

She tried to regain her breath. Cauldron, how her back hurt.

Kaelin had curled up again, and was clenching her stomach so hard Nesta wondered if she was actually trying to claw her way into her own body so she could rip her ovaries out.

“I’ll be right back” Nesta said, smoothing some hair from Kaelin’s forehead.

She went to the kitchen, searching for something that would calm the poor girl’s pain. Nesta had not had her period as a fae yet —the huge amounts of alcohol and lack of food in the last year were probably the reason why — but remembered how it was when she used to be a human. She’d get horrible headaches and just lay down all day waiting for the pain to go away. She could only imagine how dreadful the experience must be for the fae.

Getting hold of some ginger, she put water in a kettle to prepare some tea, hoping Kaelin would be able to at least drink it. After that, she went into the shared bathroom between her room and Cassian’s.

And stopped right in front of the bathtub.

She still had trouble taking baths.

Had grown used to her old and deplorable bathtub back in her shabby apartment in Velaris.

And when she had arrived and came face to face with a bathtub big enough to accommodate wings, its dark stone a stark reminder of the Cauldron... she had frozen up. Refused to enter it. Even now, after months living in Cassian’s cabin, she could not stomach the ideia of doing it.

So she waited until Cassian left for his training and took a bucket to wash herself. It was a long process and rather difficult to wash her hair, but at least she could stay clean.

Yet, she could not do the same with Kaelin. The girl was sweaty and dirty with blood. And Nesta knew that a hot bath would do wonders to the cramps, relaxing her.

Raising her chin as if battling an invisible enemy, she got near the bathtub for the first time, turning the faucet and letting it be filled with hot water. Her heartbeat quickened as the water rose and rose, her powers a volcano in her veins, and she had to close her fists tight enough to hurt to not shatter the whole bathroom.

‘It’s not the Cauldron. It’s not the Cauldron’ reaching a tentative hand, she dipped it in the water to check the temperature ‘This water is hot. The Cauldron’s was cold. They are not the same’

Nesta turned the faucet off, and some tension eased off from her shoulders. Looking around the bathroom, she located the camomile oil Cassian kept. She had once heard it helped ease the soreness of the muscles after extensive training.

Putting it in the water, she found herself feeling a bit guilty for using it. It was not hers. Nothing in that house was. But Cassian was not here, and she doubted he’d notice that the little flask was missing some of its content.

She went back to her bedroom, and helped Kaelin take her leathers and tunic off, as she did with the band the girl had wrapped around her breasts, as small as they still were. Only thirteen, the period in which her body was slowly maturing, yet she was going through those body changes alone. The danger of being found out hanging around her neck like a rope.

Nesta tried not to flinch at the sight of the purple bruises along Kaelin’s back and ribs. A girl training the same amount as an Illyrian boy.... she must be very strong to take it all.

Kaelin wobbled towards the bathroom with Nesta’s help, breathing a sight of relief when her body came in contact with the hot water. Letting her soak for a while, Nesta stripped down some clean linens and left them on the bed.

Now the only matter were the clothes.

Nesta had brought few clothes with her, and most of them did not go along with the ruthless Illyrian weather. She eyed the lower drawer of the dresser. The one which she had not dared to touch.

She had been stubborn and refused to accept any more charity from her sister and her mate, sticking with her old dresses and overcoat instead. It was not as if she left the cabin long enough to die of frostbite.

Yet even if Kaelin was used to Illyria’s harsh weather, wearing warm clothes would make her more comfortable. Nesta was not as ruthless as to lend one of her thin run down dresses.

Sighting, she opened the drawer. And almost took a step back in surprise. For there lay clothes not in Night Court’s colours or the typical winter clothes one would find selling in Velaris.

No, they were Illyrian clothes. And not just leathers.

There were cotton sweaters, leggings, tunics and soft pants that Nesta would have never thought of wearing. And the colours.... Gods the colours. There was a range of colours from grey to auburn, burgundy, royal blue and forest green. The kind of colours that Nesta could imagine herself in.

She was so marvelled by them that she almost missed the small note on top of one sweater.

‘These are for you. I took the liberty of buying them, but if you prefere another clothing style feel free to tell me — Cassian’

He had bought her clothes. He, not her sister. And Cassian had kept quiet about it. Had not said a word before his trip about how she had never opened that drawer.

Had given her space. A choice.

Had she perhaps misunderstood his apparent cold behaviour? Was he perhaps giving her time to get used to her current situation? Was he distancing himself so it was her choice when the time to talk came?

Picking some clothes for Kaelin and laying them on the bed, Nesta tucked that information deep inside herself, feeling an annoying warmth in her heart she had not felt in a long time.

~•~

“What did you say?”

“You heard me perfectly clear or have you become deaf with your age?” Nesta replied to the camp lord in front of her, the mask of a bored and mighty queen mastered to perfection.

“I was not informed about this” Devlon said, anger lacing his every word.

“You were not notified because it was not necessary” she spat back, a cold fury settling in her veins “So let it be known that Kaelin will be staying with me for the time being to help in an important and secret matter, none of which are for you to worry about”

“How dare—“

“Have a good day” cutting Devlon off before he nagged at her some more, Nesta left him standing at the training area.

She heard Devlon bark an order for the Illyrians to get back to training, the sound of swords clashing against each soon rising again. She tried not to flinch at the sounds, keeping her mask up until she was safely back at the cabin.

Once inside, Nesta let herself rest against the door, sighing. She was tired. The events of yesterday and today’s morning had taken a tool on her. It had been a while since she had worn the unfeeling ice queen mask. She didn’t recall it to be so tiring.

But rest would have to wait a little bit. She had to check on Kaelin. And demand an explanation.

The night before, after Kaelin had gotten out of the bath and was dressed, Nesta had given the ginger tea and coaxed her into drinking it all. Not long after that, the poor girl fell asleep.

Nesta, on the hand, stayed awake for the better part of the night, dozing off in a chair near the bed, waking up whenever she heard Kaelin move.

When the birds had started to sing in the early morning, Nesta had came up with a plan. Leaving a tray with light food and tea in the bedside for Kaelin, she dressed herself and braided her hair neatly, preparing to go after Devlon. She had to make sure that Kaelin could stay away from training during her cycle and that her secret kept being a secret.

But the Illyrian had some gaps to fill in.

“Nesta?” she heard a soft voice calling from her room, and taking a deep breath, moved from her position.

“Good morning” Nesta said, finding the girl awake and less pale than yesterday “How do you feel?”

“Better” Kaelin was slowing making her way through breakfast “But, training...Devlon....how—”

“It’s been taken care of off” taking her position from the past night, Nesta squared her shoulders and took a business like voice “You have a story to tell”

Kaelin, noticing how the air had become serious, lost no time and, stopping sometimes when the cramps returned with full force, told Nesta everything.

Kaelin’s mother, as she said before, had a fragile health, made worse by the heavy workload imposed on the females. Add that to a difficult pregnancy, you have the recipe for an early labour.

Right in the middle of the heaviest snow storm to have ever befallen on Illyria. Which lasted for four days and four nights.

Making it impossible for a midwife to get there.

Mikael, her father, aided his wife, Selin, all on his own.

A warrior born to kill. To reap lives.

However, for her he would bring life. He would do everything he could.

It was not enough.

He was not able to stop Selin’s internal bleeding. Or her death.

And so, thirteen years ago, on the day Illyria bled white while Selin bled red, a healthy little girl was born.

Yet after the blizzard stopped and Mikael buried his wife, a boy was announced to have been born.

“Protect her” Selin had whispered with her last breath “Let our daughter be free and strong. Let her know no fear. Let her be as wild as Sanuur, the Mother of all forests. As ruthless as the old Illyrian warriors. As wise as our matriarchs.”

Mikael kept his promise. He raised Kaelin as a boy in secret as best as he could. Until he was killed in the Hybern War.

And Kaelin was alone.

An orphan who nothing deserved to have, save for a duffel bag with whatever she could grab before she was kicked out of her childhood home — a one room wood cabin, built by her father after years of hard work — in the mud.

After the rumours that a Witch now lived with the General, Kaelin had a mad plan: she’d give anything, even her soul, to avoid getting what would raise a red flag to her secret.

“I starved and ate herbs that were said to make one avoid getting periods” Kaelin said, looking down at her empty cup “But those things made me far too weak. I was falling behind training. I am at the age boys grow like trees and start to get buffer. I needed a quick solution”

And Nesta had been feeding her.

Oh, she was going to get sick. Had she doomed Kaelin while thinking she was saving a poor orphan?

“From now on,” Nesta announced “I’ll be the one to keep your father’s promise. You will live with me”

It did no good to dwell on what could have been. What had been done was done.

For the first time in five months, the fog inside Nesta’s mind seemed to lift.

“You will live with me. And I will train with you”

Because never again would she be weak. Never again would she be at someone’s mercy.

Nesta Archeron was going to show Illyria just how much she should be feared.

•

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