#nephien peg'asi

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love is in the air, I just gotta figure out a window to break out buried alive inside my dreams

I got this beautiful commission of Nephien from @stellorc and I have no words to describe how much I love her, thank you so much 💕

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Losing my mind over this gift from @stellorc of Vexx and Nephien having a soft moment together. Thank you so much! This was a surprise I wasn't expecting 💕

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Style practice ft one pretty princess

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@stellorc and @commander-krios made me this and I'm crying from how beautiful Nephien and Vexx are

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And I Was Set Alight

Fandom: Andromeda Six

Characters: Vexx Serif/fem!Traveller

Rating: T

Summary: In the span of about twenty minutes, Vexx learns one of Nephien’s hobbies—and why she doesn’t have hobbies.

—

When Nephien halts before some gilded door in an obscure part of the palace’s south wing, Vexx isn’t surprised that she gestures for him to stand guard outside. The princess likes her privacy a little too much. Or maybe she just likes hiding. Either way, that leaves Vexx standing in an empty hallway as she disappears inside the room.

On the upside, he manages to hold back his sigh until the door swings shut behind her. On the downside, he’s in an empty hallway, bored out of his mind. Somehow, he’s already worn through two pairs of boots just by standing still. And it isn’t like he’s not used to being on his feet, but exploring city streets is nothing like standing beside a door, doing his best impression of a wooden plank.

At least there’s a painting hanging on the wall opposite him. Not a good one, but a big one, almost five metres wide. From the look of the thing, the seller got the better end of the deal. This thing is covered in rough brushstrokes, depicting what Vexx thinks might be a pond. Probably. But it’s too abstract to entertain anyone for more than ten seconds, and that leaves him even more bored. You’d think the palace would be the least boring building on the entire planet, but sometimes he’s left with no entertainment other than seeing how far he can count, and he’s getting better at not losing track past two hundred and forty.

The first few notes of a tune float through the air behind him, and Vexx realises the door didn’t shut properly. Just slightly ajar, a thin lance of gold light streaks across the floor, and the note rings again. Like a guitar, but not quite. Too… pretty, for lack of a better word.

The coast is clear, so Vexx peers inside.

[Read on AO3]

[eluvisen]

In the Eye of the Beholder

Fandom: Andromeda Six

Characters: pre-relationship Vexx Serif/Traveller

Rating: T

Summary: Vexx offends a Peg’asi and it isn’t even on purpose.

It all starts with a painting. A stupid one, of some long-dead Peg’asi whose head is so round it may as well be a balloon.

Vexx fights a snicker, but that only results in a strangled snort.

Nephien turns around, eyebrow raised, and Vexx tries with all his might to stop laughing, to no success whatsoever.

Her eyes travel from him to the nearby painting set in a point of misplaced pride on the landing. She doesn’t smile, but her eyes are lighter as she says, “It’s hardly the worst one in the palace.”

With a quick flick of her hand for him to follow—as if he can do anything but—she leads him through a dizzying series of corridors and staircases to one of the many galleries scattered throughout the palace. She stops in front of a painting of a different Peg’asi.

Nephien didn’t lie—you’d have to be charitable to call this one a portrait, with dark murky blobs for hair and torso while its face is a large smudge of blurred paint as if someone spilled turpentine on the canvas and only made it worse by trying to wipe it off, only to give up and redraw the face with crayon.

Vexx can’t help his surprised bark of laughter, and it’s a good thing there are no Guardsmen stationed around this gallery or he’d be written up on the spot. Nephien stands to the side, watching him.

Tapping his chin, Vexx considers the painting. “You know, I can see the family resemblance.”

Nephien goes still, her expression closing off.

[Read on AO3]

[eluvisen]

Omen of Death

Fandom: Andromeda Six

Characters: Vexx Serif/Traveller

Rating: T

Summary: A building as old as the palace contains its share of ghost stories, and Vexx certainly isn’t afraid to investigate them. Or so he thinks.

Art by the incredible @stellorc!

—

“What was that?”

Grabbing Nephien’s hand, Vexx pulls her away from their private dance, their footsteps masked by the orchestral music coming from the ballroom. Nephien takes the lead from him, finding a narrow staircase just before the Royal Guard patrol turns the corner.

Spiralling up two levels, Vexx and Nephien step into a wide hallway lined with statues like dread spectres rearing out of the gloom and paintings like black mirrors. Some kind of gallery, it seems. Wall-mounted lamps are set at regular intervals, dimmed to almost nothing to keep any lost partygoers from coming this way.

Even with the nearly non-existent light, Vexx can tell the space is too open to offer any hiding places if the patrol follows them up, and the back of his neck itches with a sharpshooter’s instinct to find cover. “Is the plan to distract them with bad art and escape while they roll around laughing?”

Nephien loops her arm through his and strolls down the marching rows of statues as if they’re fashionably late for some high tea instead of evading the RG. “This gallery is believed to be haunted. Most people avoid it at night.”

Framed in the gloom, she looks nothing short of phantasmal. Her gown is just a few shades darker than the silver hair cascading down her back, and the insane amount of fabric in her skirt gives her a dramatic air, thanks to Lucrezia deciding trains just have to be the latest court fashion.

Vexx’s mouth curls up. “Haunted, huh?”

The lights might be dim, but it’s enough to see Nephien eye him sidelong. “Don’t tell me you believe in ghosts, Serif.”

“You live in a haunted palace and you don’t want to look for ghosts?”

“No, because ghosts aren’t real. And if they were, it would be terribly rude to disturb them.”

[Read on AO3]

[eluvisen]

Still Waters

Fandom: Andromeda Six

Characters: pre-relationship Vexx Serif/Traveller

Rating: T

Summary: Queen Nikolle’s youngest daughter has a habit of swimming in the fountains, and Vexx discovers some of the currents beneath the palace’s surface.

—

The first time Princess Nephien emerges from her suite wearing only a silk robe, Vexx has no idea what’s going on.

He follows her to one of the many gardens scattered throughout the palace grounds, stopping beside a fountain. This one is as large as a swimming pool and maybe as deep, lined with bright mosaics in blue and gold. A three tiered sculpture rises from the centre, sending streams of water into the basin. Vexx finds an unobtrusive spot in the shade of a wisteria trellis that gives him a decent view of the garden at large.

Nephien sets her towel on a nearby bench and slides the robe from her shoulders. It finally clicks when he sees the swimsuit she’s wearing beneath. Her skin is a flawless brown, and he’s surprised to see the shift of sinewy muscles as she steps up onto the edge of the fountain, highlighting her slender shoulders and the curves of her hips. 

Despite himself, he’s caught by the arch of her body. She’s more graceful than he expected as she dives into the fountain, sailing beneath the water’s surface. Not that she’s ungraceful on land, exactly, but she’s usually doing everything she can to pretend she doesn’t exist. But she owns the water with sure strokes as she makes several quick laps around the pool, and it’s frankly impressive how long she can hold her breath for. While her gills might be more pronounced than his, they aren’t any more usable. If she wasn’t half-human—and Kitalpha wasn’t a graveyard—she’d probably do better underwater than above it.

Vexx watches Nephien drift by, now floating beneath the surface with her eyes closed, and she propels herself with a lazy flick of a foot. She looks positively lustrous with her skin all but shimmering and her hair billowing around her in thick ripples. For the first time, he notices—okay, lets himself admit—that she’s beautiful. It’s a shame, really.

The princess’s fountain dip becomes something of a routine as the weeks pass. Regular, but not so regular that anyone can predict her schedule as she visits different fountains across the grounds, and it takes Vexx longer than it should to realise she times her swims after the patrol has swept through the garden to maximise her time alone. She never quite relaxes, either. Whenever she comes up for air, the first thing she does is scan her surroundings, and her shoulders don’t come down from around her ears until she’s confirmed the coast is clear.

The only threat in the palace is the royal family itself, he’s learned. 

One afternoon, Vexx notices movement in the garden. A member of the Guard, and one he can’t place by sight. Not part of a patrol, not at this hour, and not one stationed at the south wing. Which means he’s someone’s security detail—and the asshole he’s assigned to has to be nearby. 

The guard captain emphasised that Vexx isn’t supposed to initiate conversation with his charge unless it’s a life-or-death emergency, and shitty family doesn’t qualify. But what the hell. Out of all these pricks, the princess is one of the least awful. Between her and the rest of them, he doesn’t want them to win. 

And who knows, if he gets in her good graces, she might drop some more interesting tidbits about the palace.

When Nephien next surfaces, Vexx says, “Your Highness. You have company.”

[Read on AO3]

[eluvisen]

Small, Dark and Handsome

Fandom: Andromeda Six

Characters: Vexx Serif/Traveller

Rating: G

Summary: It’s not the snake incident, but it’s certainly a snake incident.

—

Evening settles over the palace in a shadowed hush, and Nephien shivers as she steps into the small garden. An unseasonable chill currently grips Silta Vie, and the back of her throat stings with every breath. The pavers are warmed to gold by light spilling from the palace’s arched windows in a facsimile of sunlight, but they shouldn’t be spotted as they cut across the courtyard to reach an unused gardener’s passage.

Nephien leads the way with Vexx on her heels, passing the circular fountain that stands in the centre of the garden. Between the palace lights and the moon rising overhead, it’s easy to spot a thin branch lying on the ground nearby—and as they pass it by, one end curls up.

A yelp rings through the courtyard. Nephien jumps at the sound, her heart hammering in her ears, only to find Vexx scrambling backwards to the doorway they’d just come through.

She can’t help it. A laugh bubbles free from her chest, echoing over the pavement.

“Vexx,” she says, still giggling, “it’s just a grass snake. It’s harmless.”

[Read on AO3]

[eluvisen]

Beneath the Moonlight

Fandom: Andromeda Six

Characters: Vexx Serif/Traveller

Rating: T

Summary: At one of the rare public events the youngest princess is permitted to attend, she attracts an admirer. She doesn’t seem to notice, but Vexx sure does.

—

Nearly three hundred guests congregate in the palace’s great hall. Since it’s a Silta Vie summer, the room is already stifling despite every door and window being flung open, but that doesn’t stop Goldis’s uppermost crust from dressing in clothes so fine Vexx just knows he’ll be arrested for brushing against someone’s shoulder. Nothing less than perfect for the King’s birthday, especially with the entire royal menagerie in attendance.

Vexx is lined up with all the other royal bodyguards along the walls while their charges mingle below. Sergeant Bernall stands to his left, her face as wooden as ever. He’s never once seen her expression crack, not even off-duty in the barracks. Not that he can blame her when she’s assigned to Auberon Junior out of all the royal brats. Not like Lieutenant Jennis, who probably scored his position because he’s just as much of a shit as Arlo.

Music floats from the adjoining ballroom where the orchestra plays, and flashes of dancers are visible through the open doors. The rest of the attendees either hover by the buffet or mingle in small groups like clusters of prettied-up vultures. Nobody at the palace knows how to throw a decent party, so Vexx spends his time trying not to fidget when the guard captain is looking. With all the Peg’asi present, it’s the perfect opportunity for an assassin to strike.

Kind of ironic, really, that he’s standing here guarding the royal family for real from any would-be kingslayers crashing the event.

His princess hovers in the shadow of a column, doing her best to blend into the corner. He doesn’t know how Nephien can even move in that dress, backless with huge puffy sleeves down to her wrists. The latest trend, supposedly, and Vexx now knows way too much about court fashion after being on duty during several fitting sessions. All the royal women wear some variation of it, as do their most desperate bootlickers. No one pulls it off as well as the Solar Queen, of course, who stands radiant in gold and crimson on the King’s arm.

Nephien’s gown is a more subdued fabric—relatively speaking—that shimmers between pale aqua and bronze, complementing her soft brown skin. As one of the Lunar Queen’s children, her bodice is decorated with intricate whorls of embroidery that are supposedly traditional Kitalphan designs. Vexx has never seen them before in his life.

His gaze follows Nephien as she turns away, scanning the surrounding crowd. Not that he expects trouble, but he doesn’t trust anyone in the palace as far as he can throw them.

[Read on AO3]

[eluvisen]

How to Dance in Time

Fandom: Andromeda Six

Characters: Vexx Serif/Traveller

Rating: G

Summary: When Nephien is having a bad day, Vexx tries to cheer her up the best way he knows how: sneaking her out of the palace. But with the plans for Sorenn’s wedding underway—along with certain other plans—the secrets are getting harder to keep.

—

Vexx stands guard at the edge of the garden, watching the fancy shrubs without really seeing them. With the royal wedding just a few months away, the palace is in a frenzy. Most of the palace, at least. The drama has largely passed the south wing by, since it’s not like any festivities are ever held in this far away from the ballroom. Which is good, because Vexx isn’t paying a lick of attention. Not when there are plans for more than just a wedding coming up.

Nerissa and the Stellar Queen have finally hammered out an agreement, and now they’re making arrangements to send a message to the Council of Eons. On the down low, naturally. Ta’jean is happy to depose her bastard husband in what might become the most dramatic divorce in Seleotan history, but who knows if Tilaarin will go for it. Their policy of ‘screw everyone else’ has been working pretty well for them so far.

It isn’t the only recent event, either. Old Commander Nolam’s death reeks. When the news broke, Vexx wondered for a moment if Nerissa was behind it, but if she isn’t willing to execute her father, she won’t kill one of his most loyal officers just to get him out of the way.

But if it wasn’t her, then it has to be Zovack’s play. Vexx doesn’t like what that means.

He needs to hit up his contacts, get a feel for the K’Merii’s movements. Maybe he can—

At the stomp of boots on the pavers, Vexx snaps to, pretending he wasn’t just a million miles away as the patrol moves through the garden. He’s too close now for a minor screw up to ruin everything.

[Read on AO3]

[eluvisen]

Teaser Tuesday

(For the purposes of this tag, we're pretending it's Tuesday)

Tagged by @commander-krios thank you! <3 Here's some more of the idiots hunting ghosts:

“Demelyn, you have ten seconds to appear, or this parlour will be mine.” Vexx grins. “Yeah, she’ll throw out all the furniture and redecorate. Paint the walls, ditch that creepy mirror. She’ll host her own tea parties here, and only living guests will be invited. If you don’t want that to happen, you better show up right now!” Shadows gather in unnatural places around the room, thick enough to cut and growing somehow darker with every second that passes. Vexx checks the servant’s corner in case the dead princess has a sense of humour, except the space is vacant. But for just a moment, he thinks he sees—something, just in the corner of his eye, but when he glances towards the doors, there’s nothing. Nephien says, “I’m afraid this is my parlour now.” Vexx laughs. “Sorry, ghosts, you just got evicted—” Something clacks on the landing outside. A footstep. They look at each other. “Guard,” Nephien whispers. Lunging for the torches, they switch them off and pile into one corner of the room, out of immediate view if the patrollers open the doors. Every fibre of his being is focused on the footsteps on the landing outside, getting closer. Except there’s only one set of footsteps. Guard patrols move in pairs.

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A6 Incipient for the wip game, please?

Incipient is a oneshot where KY-L3 meets Nephien for the first time when she's a little kid. While I don't think I have K's voice down at all, I'm having a lot of fun with it! And giving myself all the feels over Nikolle, ow my heart.

“Most organics are intimidated by my presence.” Queen Nikolle smiles at them both, idly running a hand over her daughter’s hair. “You are most impressive. But if intimidation isn’t your goal, you could wear some article of clothing to soften and distinguish your appearance? A cloak, perhaps?” “I know!” Nephien breaks away from her mother to bolt into the gardens. Three minutes later, she returns with an armful of flowers and dumps them on the ground. Sitting cross-legged before the pile, she grabs two samples at random and twists the stems together. Queen Nikolle kneels beside her, and KY-L3 observes with some curiosity as the two of them fashion a wreath from the foliage. When Nikolle secures the last knot, she hands the finished wreath to her daughter, who jumps to her feet. Halting in front of him, Nephien holds up the circlet of flowers. “This is for you.”

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A6 Cascade?

Cascade is the longfic I've been plugging away at for the last few months. It wasn't supposed to be this long, but I played myself yet again. Originally each chapter was going to be one pre-coup scene followed by a post-coup scene with thematic resonance, but I had an uneven number of pre- and post- scenes and the pre-coup ideas took on a life of their own (and they became their own oneshots).

Anyway Neph and Vexx live rent free in my head now.

The storage compartment is small, made smaller by haphazard stacks of boxes pushed to either side. Vexx sits with his back to the far wall, one wrist resting on a raised knee, as casual as she’s ever seen him during their trips to Gold District. A hot, sick feeling rises inside her at the sight. Something makes her step over the threshold. The door snaps shut at her back, cutting off the rectangle of light that slants across the floor. Vexx’s eyes gleam in the gloom. “Oh, goody. They sent in my last meal already.” She thinks of Queen Lucrezia—as radiant as the dawn, the burning centre around which all life orbited, too brilliant and terrible to behold with bare eyes. Queen Ta’jean—a pillar of silent dignity, as cold and eternal as the vastness of hard vacuum. Her mother—a ghost of reflected light, untouchable by mortal hands and mortal hearts, luminous when she chose to shine. Nephien isn’t made in their image, but she has to try. “Vexx, please.” She speaks with infinite patience, as if this were nothing more consequential than the sandwich fillings at one of the Solar Queen’s high teas. “You had countless opportunities to kill me…” Now her voice drops, silk hiding steel. “And you didn’t take a single one.” He’s watching her now, silent and wary. Nephien spreads her hands. “If you’d like to try, then go ahead. I’m yours.”

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WIP Whenever

Tagged by @alyssalenko thank you! <3

These idiots are going ghost hunting... once they're finished getting distracted:

Nephien emerges from her suite wearing perfectly tailored pants that tuck into slender knee-high boots, along with a blouse that has billowing sleeves and a sweetheart neckline that captures his attention. Stepping closer, Vexx lowers his head to brush his lips along the side of her neck. She shivers as he just barely makes contact with her gill scars, and his mouth pulls up in a self-satisfied smile before he presses a kiss against her hammering pulse point. At her hitched breath, his hands settle on waist to keep her exactly where he wants her; the bodice of her blouse ends a few inches above the waistband of her pants, leaving a strip of tantalisingly soft brown skin, all his to touch. Vexx skims his mouth across her collarbones. “Nervous, Princess?” She scoffs in a perfect mimicry of Queen Ta’jean. “Hardly.” “And yet your pulse is racing…” Her hand fists in his hair, and she pulls his head up. “I assure you, there are no ghosts hiding in my bodice.” Vexx grins at her. “What kind of ghost hunters would we be if we weren’t thorough?” That earns him a scoff and a shove. “You and I have different definitions of thorough.” Straightening, Vexx grabs her hand. “All right, Princess. Show me the most haunted place in the palace.”