#now fry bread has a sad beginning

[chronicparagon]

“So, I know this may not be something people will like. I don’t know much about the event either but want to share. I can cook something else but I want to share something from my background. This is Three Sisters stew with some fry bread.”

[Three sisters is a name of three produce that is grown together: corn, squash, and beans. Traditionally, different American Indian tribes grow them as a system because they support each other’s growth.]

[anglophiletraveler]

In My Life

I really wanted to have a clever picture collage to go along with this new chapter, but alas, it's not meant to be this week.

Chapter 7

While My Guitar Weeps

Written By George Harrison

This is a different type of chapter.  It’s a little sad as we delve into Demelza’s childhood.  I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard  While My Guitar Weeps before today.  But it seemed very fitting for this chapter.  The lyric “I don’t know why nobody told you how to unfold your love.  I don’t know how someone controlled you.  They bought and sold you” jumped out at me when thinking of Demelza.  Plus, if you listen to the song, there is amazing orchestration in the background of the song.  You can hear violins, and very possibly a cello or two, so I thought that was “fitty” for Demelza.  Also, another fact of this song, George Harrison had Eric Clapton play the lead guitar on this song so he could concentrate on his lead vocals and the rhythm guitar.

*****

The sunlight was peaking through the dark blue curtains of Ross’s bedroom.  Ross was on his side with his arm stretched over a sleeping Seamus.  The canine rolled slightly and placed a paw over his eye as if the sun was starting to bother him.  Then there was another wiggle and a slight whine from Seamus.  Ross stirred and covered his eyes with his arm replicating Seamus.  Pretty soon Seamus became anxious and felt the need to go outside.  He stared at Ross as if by looking at him he could will him to wake up.  When that didn’t work he scooted closer to Ross and laid his head on his chest.  Ross grumbled and rolled the opposite direction.  That was it.  Seamus couldn’t handle it anymore and started barking to get some.  “No Seamus, it’s too early.”  Seamus started whining and making noises that sounded like he was actually talking to his master.   “Stoooop!  Seamus it’s Saturday morning.  We can sleep in today.”  Seamus stood up on the bed and was barking now!  “Fuuuuck Seamus!!”  Ross gave up, started growling at Seamus,  pulled his comfy robe on, and headed for the back door.   A couple of years ago he had decided to fence in the back garden for Seamus to run around in and not have to worry about him getting out into the neighbours gardens.  Ross opened the door and Seamus bolted through his legs, practically knocking Ross down.  He noticed that most of the autumn leaves had come down from the trees leaving a golden blanket on the ground.  Seamus was enjoying the extra sniffing around the leaves, then started to roll around in them.   Ross was not amused.  “Hurry up Seamus!”  The beautiful dog sniffed around some more until he was satisfied.  “Here boy, c’mon get in here!!”  Seamus came running back inside.  Ross filled up his water dish and food dish.   Ross was rubbing Seamus while he ate,  “Maybe later on we can go back outside and run around.  Hmm would you like that buddy?”  He looked around the kitchen trying to decide on whether to go back to bed, or to just accept the fact that he was up for the day.  He saw that the clock on the stove said 8:24.   “You know Seamus I was really looking forward to sleeping in today, but nooooooo!”  He chuckled at his friend’s face.  “I guess I might as well stay up and get my laundry started.  Oh what joy.”  The coffee maker was beginning to create a wonderful smell.   Dwight had pulled into a shop on the way home for Ross to pop in quickly and get a few things to get him through the morning.  He started frying up some bacon while he decided on frying a couple of eggs sunny-side up.  A couple pieces of bread were toasting in the toaster.  

Ross had sat at the kitchen table while he devoured his breakfast, scrolling through his phone.  He stopped at the one picture that he had of Demelza that he took of her when she wasn’t looking.   He hoped that he had been as sly at taking it as he thought so she didn’t think he was a creeper.   Crikey, she's beautiful.  He was wondering what she would be doing today.  Probably sleeping in since she has a performance tonight.  A performance tonight…. Why didn’t I find out where it is!!  Oh, but maybe that would be too much, too soon.  I don’t want to scare her off.  She told me that she wouldn’t be able to see me until during the week, so that’s what I’ll stick to. 

*****

Ross had sorted his laundry, and was now on his way to the dry cleaners.  He had become quite fastidious about his clothes and laundry over the years.  He always had a huge bill at the dry cleaners between all of his suits, ties and expensive jumpers.  About the only things he didn’t take were his jeans, t-shirts and his boxers.

“Good morning Mr. Poldark.  How are ye tday.”

Ross smiled to himself hearing Drake’s Cornwall accent.  “Good morning Drake, I’m fine, how are you?”

“Very well sir.  Haven't seen ye for a couple o weeks.”

“Ah, I've been in New York for a couple of weeks for work.  Hence the large amount of suits and things that I have today.” 

“Okay let’s go through this and make sure we have everything….  Six suits, 3 waist coats, 9 dress shirts, and 3 jumpers.  Do ye want your usual order for starch and scent?”

“Yes please.  Oh and this shirt here might need some extra attention from the stain on it.  I tried to get it out in my room but it’s not completely out.   And can you have this delivered to my home when it’s done, please?”

“Ais sir.  I’ll handle it meself.  Will Tuesday or Wednesday work for you?”

“Yes, that’s fine Drake.  Tuesday will be good.  I have a couple of suits and shirts at home to get me through.”

Ross prepaid for his drycleaning for the discount, including a tip for Drake.  

“Very good sir.  Thank ye for your business.”

“Do you have any plans for the weekend, Drake?”

“Aye sir.  I’m going to the symphony tonight.”

“Oh wow, I never would have pictured you as a classical music fan.”

“Aye sir.  My sister got me into it years ago.”

“Well, have a good time.  See you Tuesday.”

*****

Demelza’s Saturdays were usually spent with her cello, and this Saturday was no different.  She was zoned out in the corner of her bedroom sitting with her cello.  She had started with the same warm ups that she had learned in college, and was pulling out her music for tonight’s performance.  She always tackled the most difficult piece or her least favourite piece first,  so she went for the Bach piece.  She could hear James and Henry warming up with their instruments as well.  She often wondered if their neighbours ever complained about having three musicians playing at all times of the day and night.  Although, she did know that there were other musicians that lived in the neighbourhood.  This was one of her favourite times of the day, when all three musicians were practising at the same time.   Even with all of the music going on, it was still a peaceful and calming time for her when the thoughts of her childhood would disappear from her mind.  

*****

To say that Demelza’s family was dysfunctional is a huge understatement.  She was the eldest of a family of six kids, all brothers younger than her.  Demelza was named after her mother who also had red hair.  Once her mother told her that their shared name meant ‘thy sweetness’.  It seemed like her mother was always pregnant from her drunken father never leaving her alone.  They lived in a 3 bedroom shack in Illugan that had at one time been a mining shack.  It was always cold from little insulation and cracks in the walls.  Besides the three bedrooms, there was just a bathroom with an old clawfoot bathtub that had a makeshift shower installed in it.  The old white porcelain sink was cracked and never held water and the medicine cabinet above it had a cracked mirror for a door.  Demelza remembered when it was cracked from the time that her father shoved her mother’s head into it.  She could still picture the blood dripping down the mirror before she cleaned it up after tending to her mother.   

Demelza used to beg her mother to leave her father…. Take them all away from this violence, but the elder Demelza would just say, “Twon’t do no good.  I donna have any mony to go anywhere.  Nobody wants t’take in six kids and their mama.  He’d just come out an find us anyway.  Probly make things worse.”  When Tom Carne wasn’t using his fists on his wife, he used them on Demelza.  His usual excuse was that she was a girl.  Her back bore the scars of the times he used his belt on her.  Now, she rarely ever wears a bathing suit or a dress with a low back because of those scars. 

When Demelza was 13 her mother had finally worn out and Demelza found her dead one day when she came home from school.   She had been sitting on the couch and actually had a slight smile on her face, and her bruised arms folded in her lap.  To see her like that made Demelza think that she just decided to sit down and die.    “Oh mama,” she cried.  “You’re finally free from this livin hell.  I love you mama and I promise I’ll make you proud of me.”  Demelza told people that she died from a broken heart.  

Life became harder for Demelza after her mother’s death.  She used to just help her mother with the other children, but now she had the sole responsibility of making sure the brothers were clean and fed and made it to school on time.  Heaven knows her dad wasn’t going to make sure it was done.  Fridays were the worst because it was Tom Carne’s payday, and most of his check was spent at the local pub before he even stepped foot in the door.  Then he would come home blaming everything on Demelza and beat her for it.  If there wasn’t food in the house it was her fault, if the tea wasn’t done in time it was her fault.  If her brothers’ clothes were dirty it was her fault.  Of course he would make sure the bruises were in places that couldn’t be seen on Monday morning.   Then he would pass out.  That’s when  Demelza was able to sneak a little money out of his wallet without him noticing it.  By the time he woke the next day he wouldn’t remember how much he spent at the pub.  Hopefully he would give her more to get groceries in the house.  

It was in 9th grade that Dem took notice of the orchestra at school.  She started hanging out around the band room when she could just to watch and listen to the music.  It mesmerised her.  The first time she heard a cello solo she was in love with the tone and the way the cello player leaned into his instrument and felt the music.  She loved to watch the bow go back and forth while the musician placed his fingers at certain spots on the neck of the cello.  The orchestra teacher kept his eye on Demelza and noticed her hanging around the band room for a couple of weeks.  He could tell that she was intrigued.  One day he approached her.

“How are you today?”

“I didn’t take anythin I promis sir.  I jus love lisnen t the music.  But I didn’t touch anythin, I promis.”  She got up and started to scurry away like a rat.

“Slow down there!  I didn’t say you took anything.  You don’t have to leave, unless you have another class that you should be in.”

“Oh no sir, this is my free time, ifn I donna ave any work t do, I like t come dow here and listen.”

“Good, good.  Do you play an instrument?”

“Oh no sir.  My da would nevr buy me somethin like that.  He would think it stupid.”

“Well would you like to learn an instrument?  I could teach you here at school.  The semester has already started, but I could give you private lessons after school to get you caught up with the other students… at no cost of course.”

“Oh Judas sir!  I donna know ow tha could appen.  I always afta run home afta school to do me chores and take care o me brothers, and get supper on the table befor me da ge home.”

The teacher could sense the kind of home life this child had.  Her appearance was a little rough around the edges, and skinnier than a stick.  Her red hair probably needed a good scrubbing, and her clothes were obviously not hers.  But when she watched the orchestra practice, her big blue eyes became even bigger than saucers.  He had to help this girl out.  

“I’m Mr. Taylor.  I teach all of the sections of the orchestra.  What might be your name?”

She wasn’t sure if she should answer him in case she was in trouble, but she eventually gave in.  “Demelza Carne.”

“Nice to meet you Demelza Carne.  I would love to help you learn an instrument.  I won’t charge you for lessons, but like I said you would need to get caught up with the rest of the students, so we would have to find a time to meet that would work out for you.  I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble at home.”  

“Oh sir, I would be that glad if I could.  Which instrument could I play?”

“Well, which one do you think you would like to play?”  He was trying to make sure that she knew that he was being sincere by the tone of his voice.  He didn’t want to scare her away.

“Oh sir, I would love t play the cello!  I just love the sound it do make.  Sometimes it can sound so mournful.  Like someone is cryin.”

The teacher was touched by her insight into the instrument.

“But I donna hav money to buy one.”

“You leave that up to me Demelza.  I’ll find a cello for you.”

Demelza’s eyes were starting to tear up at this point.  “Oh sir.  I would be that glad… I donna what to say.  You donna even know me and yer bein so kind t me.”

Mr. Taylor handed her a box of tissues to dab her eyes with.  He was so touched by this waif of a girl.  

“Alright Demelza.  Just leave everything to me.  I’ll talk to the head mistress about your class schedule and see what we can do.  Now, I think the bell is about to ring for the next class.  Are you okay to go on to your next class?”

“Oh yes sir.  I’m so excited I won be able t sleep tonight!”

“Just one thing Demelza.”

“Whas that sir?”

“Please stop calling me sir!”  he chuckled.

“Oh yessir, I mean Mr. Taylor! She giggled and skipped off to her next class.  

*****

Demelza was running that fateful day with Mr. Taylor, through her mind as she got ready for the performance.  She thought about it often and how grateful she was that Mr. Taylor had found her and mentored her.  She doubted that he knew that he had saved her life that day…

She was dressed in a pair of black palazzo pants and a black see-through blouse over a silk camisole.  The blouse had gentle ruffles around the v-neck, just low enough to show the creaminess of her skin.  There were ruffles around her wrists as well.  She felt so pretty in this blouse, feminine.  Her hair was beautifully styled in long curls hanging down over her shoulders.  She was applying her red lipstick when she heard James yelling out for her.

“Dem!  Let’s go!!  It’s 5 on the dot and Henry has the car warming up for us!  We can’t miss our call!”

“Alright, alright, I’m coming down.”  She had brought her cello down earlier in the day so she wouldn’t have to worry about carrying it down the stairs in her black heels because she could be a klutz.

“Is it raining?”

“Nope.  Just a little chill in the air.  You look beautiful!  Is that a new blouse?”

“Ais.  I picked it up in New York.  It cost a fortune, but I couldn’t resist!  Does it look alright?  I was wondering if it was too scandalous to wear for a performance?  You look pretty handsome in your tux.”

James chuckled to himself whenever her speech reverted back to Cornwall.  He knew she was sensitive about it, so he didn’t tease her about it.  “No, no it’s fine.  It’s beautiful.  I wouldn’t call it scandalous, you have a cami underneath it.  But we have to get gone.  You take the violin case and I’ll carry your cello.”

“Wow, that’s awfully nice of you.  Thank you James.  I’d give you a kiss but I don’t think the maestro would like the red lips on your cheek!”

“Mmmm probably not!  Is your brother Drake going to be in attendance tonight?”

“Yes he is!  We’re going out after the performance for drinks.  Would you like to go with?”

“I thought you’d never ask!   Now off we go to the Barbican!”

While My Guitar Weeps

Written by George Harrison

I look at you all

See the love there that’s sleeping

While my guitar gently weeps

I look at the floor

And I see it needs sweeping

Still my guitar gently weeps

I don’t know why nobody told you

How to unfold your love

I don’t know how someone controlled you

They bought and sold you

I look at the world

And I notice it’s turning

While my guitar gently weeps

With every mistake

We must surely be learning

Still my guitar gently weeps

I don’t know how you were diverted

You were perverted too

I don’t know how you were inverted

No one alerted you

I look at you all

See the love there that’s sleeping

While my guitar gently weeps

(Look) look at you all

Still my guitar weeps.

[dinosaurtsukki]

haikyuu!! masterchef au (second-gen captains vs. first-years edition)

hello my brain made another thing again. to check out the first masterchef au (captains vs. setters) just click here

due to popular demand, masterchef is hosting another team challenge with volleyball nerds

they had to pay gordon a bit more and ensure the freezer is available at all times in case he needs to hide

so we have team second-gen captains with shirabu, akaashi, yahaba, taketora, ennoshita, and futakuchi

then team first-years with goshiki, lev, koganegawa, hinata, tsukishima, and kindaichi

shirabu is back to win while akaashi had to be patted down to make sure he's not sneaking another rat in

team first years look very nervous except for probs tsukki and goshiki

hinata is always out of frame because all his team members are so tall

they give him a box to stand on while he's cooking and suddenly he's taller than kindaichi

when the time starts, team second-gen are off cooking like pros

HAHAHA JK

most of them have never been to a kitchen

yahaba's poking an onion with the tip of his knife

yahaba: this,,, this isn't how its like in cooking mama

taketora: yah, no shit

ennoshita's washing the dishes and futakuchi tries to tell him he doesn't need to until he realizes that maybe washing the dishes is all he can do

over in team first-years they have Absolutely No Clue

and then hinata's like 'wHY dON'T wE mAKE sOUFFLE'

koganegawa and lev: Y E A H 🤘🤘🤘

none of them know how

everyone else did contemplate helping them but its more fun watching lev crack an entire egg, shell and all, into a bowl and take out the shell bits after

gordon, realizing its going to be a repeat of last time: *surprised pikachu face

kindaichi: do we,,, have a plan tho ???

tsukishima: *pats mysterious bulge in his jacket pocket* we got a back-up plan

meanwhile team second-gen is standing in a circle still trying to figure out what to do

and then futakuchi brings out an alexa device (idk wat these are called im poor)

futakuchi: we must consult a higher power

gordon: is he allowed to do that?

producer: this is a no-rules match

futakuchi: alexa, how do u boil an egg?

taketora: no alexa. play despacito

alexa: *plays despacito*

*cut to montage of futakuchi beating up taketora with despacito playing in the background*

ennoshita: what if,, we jus make a salad? just throw a bunch of leaves and crunchy bread cubes in there?

akaashi: did u mean,,, croutons?

yahaba: i shall make the crunchy bread cubes

shirabu: i'll chop the leaves

akaashi: like how u chopped your bANGS?

taketora and ennoshita have to stop shirabu from killing akaashi

meanwhile lev, kogane, and hinata are working on their ✨✨~~souffle~~✨✨

except kogane and lev keep accidentally spilling stuff on hinata because our li'l guy is li'l

gordon: their souffle actually looks pretty decent and by that i mean it looks half-burnt and barely edible

they're so proud of it tho

that is until they're all carrying it to the front when lev accidentally trips and throws the souffle up in the air 

its heading straight to kogane and his Setter Instincts kicks in and he sets. the. souffle

and its heading straight to hinata whose Spiker Instincts kick in

shirabu, watching the entire thing happen: alexa, play mm watcha say

im sorry idk the name of the song

alexa: ~~mm watcha sayyyyyy~~

hinata: *spikes the souffle into the ground*

goshiki: so whats plan B?

tsukishima: *reaches into his jacket* instant mac and cheese

goshiki: good enough

kindaichi's really good at making mac and cheese if that’s possible

like the macaroni is cooked perfectly and all

meanwhile in team setter someone has managed to burn the salad leaves

it was actually ennoshita but he blamed it on futakuchi and everyone believed him

taketora: now we only have crunchy bread cubes

yahaba: this is so sad. alexa play--

shirabu: NO ALEXA DONT PLAY DESPACITO THIS ISN'T OVER

futakuchi: WE ONLI HAV CRUNCHY BREAD CUBES

shirabu: BUT WE ALSO HAV RAT CHEF !! *points at akaashi*

ennoshita: he didn't bring ratatouille with him

akaashi: his name is remy not ratatouille omg u fake fan

taketora: what if,,, someone sat on akaashi's shoulders,,, and pulled his hair to control him like remy???

all of the next-gen captains who have lost braincells at this point: 🆗️🆒️

so yahaba mounts akaashi's shoulders and u kno,,, does the rat chef thing except both of them are flailing around

kindaichi, watching from the other table: alexa, play the ratatouille theme song

*insert montage of yahaba and akaashi flailing around with the ratatouille theme song playing in the background*

i hope y'all can picture is in ur heads as well as i can because it has the dynamism of a renaissance painting

also did i mention that tsukki smuggled in dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets?

he's frying them with a smol smile on his face

hinata took a picture of it

goshiki's doing the plating and he's arranging all the dinosaur nuggets around a wad of mac and cheese

kindaichi grating fresh parmesan on top

 it looks spectacular

koganegawa and lev eat one of the dino nuggets and tsukki s C R E A M S

kindaichi’s trying to calm tsukki down while goshiki drags koganegawa and lev into the freezer

which stresses gordon out because the freezer was supposed to be his place

have rat chef akaashi and yahaba managed to cook something?

no they both fell to the floor

and are contemplating their life decisions

akaashi: i miss remy

yahaba: me too man

futakuchi and ennoshita decide to add peanut butter and jelly on a plate and sprinkle the crunchy bread cubes on top

and now the judging begins

gordon: *looking at team second-gen's dish* what are you?

taketora: a deconstructed pb & j sandwich

gordon: and there's no way i'm eating this mac and cheese it looks terrible

tsukishima: i thought you'd be used to it with the food from your country

shirabu: *keying 911 into a microwave* hello, police? i'd like to report a m u r d e r

im sorry british food sucks except for like fish and chips which are only good sometimes

gordon: did this child just sass me? 

in the end he chooses team second-gen as the winner but its not because they cooked the best dish but because he feels bad for yahaba and akaashi

also because tsukki sassed him

futakuchi: alexa, play despacito again

also the microwave explodes

koganegawa and lev are still locked in the freezer

(check out pt. 1 feat. captains vs. setters)

[currycurrie]

Next RQG fic prompt fill! AO3 link. Based on the prompt asking for Zolf & Azu talking about Sasha. Mild spoilers for episode 155!

---

"I think you have killed it."

Azu had walked into the inn's kitchen to find Zolf beating a section of dough into such submission that it would likely not come out as anything but flatbread at this point.

At hearing Azu's words Zolf stopped his merciless bludgeoning of the dough and turned around to face her, arms crossed, breathing heavily, and covered head to toe in a light dusting of flour. He did not say anything, but tilted his head to signal he was waiting for her to continue speaking.

"I am… Hmm…" Azu paused to consider her words, "You are a hypocrite."

"Oh. Right. Excellent." Zolf threw his arms in the air in frustration releasing a cloud of flour with them. "That's exactly what I needed to hear in this exact moment. Thought you Aphrodite lot were all about compassion and empathy, yeah? You are bad at your job."

Zolf huffed, and made a move to exit the kitchen. Azu for her part anticipated this and used her large frame to block the entirety of the doorway. She looked down at Zolf who had stopped directly in front of her and he raised his head to meet her gaze.

"I will not take that personally, Zolf. I just wanted to return the favor for the conversation we had on the way back from Shoin's. You told me not to hide my emotions, that it would destroy me, and here you are hiding from all of us. I want to talk about this. Maybe you have not destroyed yourself yet, but I do not think that the bread you are making deserves this."

"Now is not a good time, Azu." Zolf replied not breaking eye contact and demeanor dripping with malice, "Please move."

Azu widened her stance like she was readying for a fight, and squinted down at Zolf, "It will never be a good time. Did you put yeast in that dough?"

Zolf just blinked at her, dumbfounded by the oddness of the question. "...No?"

"Good. You may not be ready to talk, but I will not let you sacrifice our dinner for the sake of your anger." Azu relaxed her stance and walked past Zolf over to the counter and the abandoned, sad lump of dough. "I am going to teach you how to make chapati. It is a bread we made in my village and very good with stews."

Azu began to busy herself with gathering ingredients as Zolf stared. She did not say anything or so much as glance over at him, just busied herself with the task of cooking.

Despite himself, Zolf was hungry, and maybe if he went through the motions of whatever this was he could get it over with as quickly as possible. So they began to work together in silence, Azu fussing over the bread and Zolf largely forgoing that task in favor of getting a stew going. While it was incredibly awkward at first, they did eventually settle into a rhythm.

Some time into their tasks, Zolf found that there was nothing else to do with the stew except let it sit and cook, and he became frustratingly idle. He looked at Azu who was still kneading and folding a much more cohesive looking lump of dough than what he had originally made.

"So…" Zolf spoke, but Azu still did not look up at him, seemingly engrossed in her task. "What is chapati?"

"It is a many layered bread with no yeast that is usually used for dipping. Sometimes you can put honey on it to have it with breakfast instead. You fry it instead of baking it. It was very common in my village and I miss it. The bread...and my village."

Zolf watched Azu attempt this very intricate spiraling coil with the dough. It looked very messy, but seemed to be working regardless. He took a few steps forward to get a better view.

Azu began to flatten out the spiral into a thin layer, and began speaking again. "My brother, Emeka, used to say the spirals looked like snails. I never liked that because you have to flatten out the spirals so much, and I did not like thinking about doing that to an actual snail."

Azu finished her current spiral, and began rolling it out flat. Zolf took a few more steps forward, finding himself standing next to Azu at the counter. He gingerly reached for a lump of dough and tried to copy what he had watched Azu do. It was clumsy and even messier looking than hers. Azu made no comment as she picked up a new lump of dough to begin the process again.

"I will be honest, I was never very good at making these." Azu wiped a hand across her forehead leaving behind a large streak of flour. "It will not be as good as what I had at home. I also do not think we are using the right flour."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Zolf responded quietly.

There was another long stretch of silence as they worked together. Azu demonstrated her technique wordlessly as Zolf followed along. There was, blessedly, no awkwardness to this silence, just two people working in tandem.

"This seems like a lot of effort for some bread." Zolf muttered this to himself as he worked, not really aware he had said it out loud.

Azu looked at him this time as she responded, "Sometimes the things that are worth doing are harder to do. Sometimes they are worth doing simply because they are harder to do. Also the texture would be all wrong unless you fold it like this."

"Right." Another few moments of silence passed as they returned to their work. "Hey, Azu?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think there's a chance? That we win? The last time I tried to save the world it ended with blood in the streets of Paris. Among other not so great things."

"Well you are the one that has dedicated yourself to believing in a better world. You tell me."

"If I had an answer I wouldn't be asking."

"That is fair." Azu stopped her current work and turned to fully face Zolf, and seemed to be looking for something in his expression.

"I just, I've already lost so much and things are so bad and I don't even know what winning would look like anymore." Zolf also stopped his work, and leaned against the counter. "Times like this I really miss Sasha."

"I miss her too. She had a certain way of being very practical. Her insight would be very useful right now, I think."

"Yeah, you get it." Zolf suddenly became aware of himself to an uncomfortable degree,  and quickly got back to busying himself. "No messy god stuff, no magic, just a girl and no problem a good knife can't solve."

Azu chuckled at this. "I think she would be very pleased with what we've done."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. We have made things better. The storms have stopped. We are alive and safe for now. We are moving forward. That counts for something."

"Moving forward. Right. Think Sasha would probably kill me if she saw me moping around again. This is a pattern, if you don't know."

"Oh shush." Azu flicked her hand over Zolf's head making flour fall into his hair. "We are moving forward. Change is hard. People are difficult. You do not just decide to completely change who you are overnight and have it stick. You have to work at it."

"Yeah I'm living proof of that."

More work. More comfortable silence.

"Hey Azu, have you finished reading that one Campbell novel I was talking about the other day?"

[thelittlesttimelord]

The Littlest Timelord: Cracks in Time Chapter 2

TITLE: The Littlest Timelord: Cracks in Time Chapter 2 PAIRING: No Pairing RATING: T CHAPTER: 2/? SUMMARY: A little girl escapes the Time War when the Timelord’s return in “End of Time Part 2″. The newly regenerated Doctor must now raise the little girl while trying to find out why cracks in time keep following them around.

The Doctor and the little girl were falling out of the sky.

The TARDIS was going haywire and the little girl was trying her hardest to hang onto the Y-beam as the TARDIS exploded around her.

The Doctor was currently hanging outside with his sonic screwdriver in his hand as he tried to pull himself back in. He pointed his sonic at the controls just as they were about to hit Big Ben. The Doctor climbed back inside and shut the door behind him. He sat there for a few seconds until the TARIDS lurched again. The Doctor went sliding down the corridors of the TARDIS.

The TARDIS crashed violently and the little girl lost her grip and went sliding after him.

She screamed as she was plunged into cold water. Two hands grabbed her and pulled her up to the surface.

“Are you okay?” the Doctor asked her.

She nodded as they climbed out of the swimming pool. The little girl looked around and realized they were in a library.

There was a swimming pool in a library.

The Doctor started rummaging around looking for something. “Ah ha!” he said, coming back with a grappling hook. He swung it and it caught on something outside the TARDIS. “Can you climb?” he asked the little girl.

She looked up with wide eyes.

“Okay then”. He knelt down and said, “Hop on up”.

She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Now hold on tight”, he told her as he started to climb.

When he reached the doorway of the TARDIS, the little girl carefully climbed out and sat on the edge. Something bright was pointed at her face.

A redheaded girl stood there. Amelia Pond.

The Doctor popped up next to the little Timelord. “Could I have an apple? All I can think about”, the Doctor told little Amelia, “Apples. I love apples. Maybe I'm having a craving? That's new. Never had cravings before”. He climbed out and sat on the edge of the TARDIS next to the little girl.

“Are you okay?” Amelia asked.

“Just had a fall. All the way down there, right to the library”. The Doctor rolled up his sleeves. “Hell of a climb back up”.

“You're both soaking wet”.

“We were in the swimming pool”.

“You said you were in the library”.

“So was the swimming pool”.

“Are you a policeman?”

“Why? Did you call a policeman?”

“Did you come about the crack in my wall?”

“What crack? Argh!” The Doctor fell to the ground.

Amelia stepped closer to him and shined the flashlight in his face. “Are you all right, mister?”

“No, I'm fine. It's okay. This is all perfectly norm…” He was cut off by a breath of golden energy coming from his mouth.

“Who are you?” she asked him.

“I don't know yet. I'm still cooking”. he said looking down at his hands, “Does it scare you?”

“No, it just looks a bit weird”.

“No, no, no. The crack in your wall. Does it scare you?”

“Yes”.

The Doctor jumped to his feet and picked up the little Timelord and set her on the ground. She immediately grabbed onto his hand.

“Well then, no time to lose. I'm the Doctor. Do everything I tell you, don't ask stupid questions, and don't wander off”, he told Amelia.

Amelia gestured to the little girl. “Who is she?”

The Doctor looked down at the small Timelord clinging to his hand. She hadn’t spoken to him yet, so he quickly thought up a name. A normal human name. “Elise”, he said, “She’s my…”

“Daughter?”

“Uh yeah”. He turned around and walked straight into a tree.

The two girls looked down at him.

“Are you all right?” Amelia asked him.

“Early days. Steering's a bit off”.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They went into the kitchen.

Amelia walked up and handed the Doctor an apple. She offered one to Elise who shook her head. “If you're a doctor, why does your box say Police?”

The Doctor bit into the apple and then spit it back out. “That's disgusting. What is that?”

“An apple”.

“Apple's rubbish. I hate apples”.

“You said you loved them”.

“No, no, no. I like yogurt. Yogurt's my favorite. Give me yogurt”.

Amelia went and got him a yogurt cup from the fridge and handed it to him.

He poured it into his mouth and then spit it out like he did with the apple. “I hate yogurt. It's just stuff with bits in”.

“You said it was your favorite”.

The Doctor wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “New mouth. New rules. It's like eating after cleaning your teeth. Everything tastes wrong. Argh!” The Doctor twitched violently.

“What is it? What's wrong with you?”

“Wrong with me? It's not my fault. Why can't you give me any decent food? You're Scottish. Fry something”.

Amelia got a frying pan out and started to make bacon as the Doctor dried his and Elise’s hair with a towel he found. Amelia placed a plate of bacon in front of the Doctor.

“Ah, bacon!” Again, he took a bite out of it and spit it out again.

Elise was beginning to wonder what was wrong with him. What happened to the man who saved her? He had been so sad and this one was so happy and hyperactive.

“Bacon. That's bacon. Are you trying to poison me?” the Doctor asked.

Amelia heated up a can of beans.

“Ah, you see? Beans”.

The Doctor took one bite and spit them out in the sink. “Beans are evil. Bad, bad bean”.

Next, Amelia spread some butter on toast.

“Bread and butter. Now you're talking”.

The two girls watched as he got up and threw the plate out the front door. “And stay out!”

Elise watched as the Doctor came back into the kitchen and started pacing. She was getting rather hungry now, but she didn’t know what she wanted. She’d never been to this planet before, so she didn’t know what she liked here.

“We've got some carrots”, Amelia told the Doctor.

“Carrots? Are you insane? No. Wait. Hang on. I know what I need”. He walked over to the fridge and opened the freezer. “I need, I need, I need fish fingers and custard”. A few minutes later, the Doctor was dipping his fish fingers into a bowl of custard.

Amelia made Elise some as well, except Elise was eating her fish fingers and custard separately.

“Dip it in the custard”, the Doctor told her.

Elise shook her head.

“It’s really good. Just try it”.

Elise shook her head again.

“Okay then. You’re a stubborn one, aren’t you?” She reminded him of Donna. He could only imagine what would come out of her mouth when she finally talked to him. The Doctor finished his custard and fish fingers and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Funny”, Amelia told him.

“Am I? Good. Funny's good. What's your name?”

“Amelia Pond”.

“Oh, that's a brilliant name. Amelia Pond. Like a name in a fairy tale. Are we in Scotland, Amelia?”

Amelia sighed. “No. We had to move to England. It's rubbish”.

“So what about your mum and dad, then? Are they upstairs? Thought we'd have woken them by now”.

“I don't have a mum and dad. Just an aunt”.

Elise felt sorry for Amelia because she knew how she felt. Elise was technically an orphan, but the Doctor (instead of leaving her on her own) had taken her in and was treating her as his own. She would be forever grateful to him for that.

“I don't even have an aunt”, the Doctor told her.

“You're lucky”.

“I know. So, your aunt, where is she?”

“She's out”.

“And she left you all alone?”

The Doctor would have never left a child on their own. It was part of the reason why he had taken Elise in. Because without him, who knows what would have happened to her.

“I'm not scared”.

“Course, you're not. You're not scared of anything. Box falls out of the sky, man and girl fall out of a box, man and girl eat fish custard, and look at you, just sitting there. So you know what I think?”

“What?”

“Must be a hell of a scary crack in your wall”.

[notsosmallbean]

Weee, it’s tangled the series time!

King Pascal

Huh, its a boat now??

That storm came in FAST

OH DEAR GOD HE HAS TO BE DEAF NOW

Everyone did ignore Lance though??? That joke felt like a reach...

oh oof ouch

did Disney not hear that dodos went extinct?

How did Rapunzel know that he tried to tie the ropes?

Wait so is this island inhabited?

No, Cassandra, new moons are monthly. You guys won’t be trapped for months or years. Dummy.

They could probably accomplish more, faster if they worked as a big group.

Where did Rapunzel get her new digs? At least Cassandra’s look like her old clothes minus some.

WHAT THE HELL IS IN THE WOODS

They are... leaf people... huh.

Hold on a hot second, I gotta go research animals for a second.  It’s important I swear.

OKAY SO ahem - Chameleons actually live in Europe (which is where Tangled is supposed to be based), and yet nobody seems to know what Pascal is (Eugene and Stallion calling him “frog” eg), but Raccoons weren’t introduced into Europe until the 1930s, and yet Varian still has had enough of a problem with them that he has had raccoon-specific traps.  Come on Disney, what’s with these inaccuracies?

I just bring this up because the whole premise of the episode is that Pascal, some generic-ass chameleon, can get mistaken as a god/prophet.  Like, I’ve brought it up before, but it irks me that nobody knows about the existence of chameleons.

BACK TO THE EPISODE!

Why do these leafy shits speak English?

Better yet, why do they insert random words in some other, made-up language?

Fire demon??

That makes me wonder - did the leaf assholes carve that thing Lance read from earlier?

Okay but for real, I actually am watching this for the second time today, and their accents made it so I’m literally getting more info than last time just because I couldn’t understand them before

These guys are a little species-ist...

Hehe, Max and the girls are at the kids’ table

Oh Cass knew that was gonna happen

"Oh come on! Guyyyys, what have we discussed about Shorty and tools?”

Ahhh, Fire Fly, not firefly.

Pfft, firstly - I love that they’re real about that net meaning nothing

Secondly - I love this cutaway to the guys.  It’s funny.

Is he somehow not concussed?

OH SHUT UP YOU LEAFY CUNT

Who caaaares about the village?

WHY IS THE DUMBASS BUG STILL EATING THE PEPPERS IF THEY HURT IT

but yo does that mean Rapunzel could breathe fire when she ate one?

Oh please, this is the second time the series tried to convince me that Pascal died.

Is it an Ice Fly now?

Gross, no, don’t be their friend-

Umumum sooo final thoughts!  Big filler, no song, and obnoxious characters.  Not a big fan, but I clearly don’t hate it, otherwise, I would never have rewatched it.

There’s Something About Hook Foot

Awwwwuh, I don’t wanna watch this episode... I’ve just started and It’s gonna be some dumb romance episode starring a character I don’t like...  The only romance plots I want are Eugene x Rapunzel, Max x Apples, and Varian x literally anyone who will make him feel accomplished in life.

Oh dear god are they gonna do this narration thing the whole episode-

Pfft, nice tact Eugene.

Where did he get bread?

Haha! Callback to season one, episode one Eugene!

Oooh, a thicc mermaid with tattoos and sass~  I don’t blame Hook Foot.

Yeah she’s definitely evil as hell-

The key is to just be naturally charming, believe me, I know.

Woah okay so they aren’t even gonna pretend she’s not evil

Yep, hearts are the only thing that you need to be in love! This is why I prefer to bang octopi, as they have many.

Hey I just realized that this chick looks like a combination of normal Ursula and human Ursula.

Wait what- she told him those things about sea glass!!

Hah, I’d ship it if I hadn’t seen the beginning

OH SHE SCREE

Oh is she gonna regret- oh oof

Hey, that’s kinda cool that her hair can be used as a shield

Wait so... are they against her? and with the tangled crew?

Cass is so badass~

OH SHIT THEYRE THE COPS

Yeah she’s totally lying to him right now

RAPUNZEL JUST BREAK IT WITH YOUR HAIR

Since when has Owl been here?

Woah, nice job guys-

“It’s a frying pan”

Haha, Lance is so excited to have that trident

Cassandra you doof-

Awww she really does care about him~

Aw nooo, thats sad.

Okay like, I loved this episode a lot and I’m really ashamed of my past self for judging a book by its cover.  The end was so incredibly sweet and also sad.  Dear me, stop being so cynical.  This show has continually great content, so don’t ever expect otherwise.  10/10, would watch over and over. I take back all of my superstitions about Serifina not being good and also about this episode being cheezy from earlier.  This is, like, top 3 material.

[petshopboyss]

pet shop boys share their favourite things interview

‘Lowe says nothing, just carries on eating his chocolate bar. He has the benign look of a dog who's just had his dinner. I begin. “Okay, well, this Favourite Things piece is just a bit of fun,” I say. There is a short pause. 

“We don’t really do fun, we do ranting,” deadpans Tennant. Lowe chirps up: “Neil's only done two rants today.” And Tennant bats the ball straight back: “I’ve done being gay and politics...”

This, then, is the essence of their double act: one serves, the other returns. Let the games begin.’

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE CHILDHOOD TOY? Neil: Train set. Actually it was my cousin’s train set, it was passed down to us. It was on a green board. Potter’s Bar station. Even now when I get the train to my house in Durham and I go through Potter’s Bar I think of it. It didn’t even occur to me it was a real place until I moved to London.  Chris: I had, it was like a Scalextric but it wasn’t. I think it was called Minitrix, but it was made by Hornby and the two were linked together. My brother had a train set so you could have a level crossing and you’d have to stop the car to let the train go past. It was fantastic.  Neil: The train going round the villages and little plastic cows… I would have fantasies about where it was. I still would now. I have a very strong fantasy life, which is probably why I do what I do. I could look at this coffee table and imagine it was a country.

  SUBJECT AT SCHOOL Neil: History. Still my favourite subject. My history teacher, Frank Keegan, [goes into hysterics] used to be known as Underpants Frank because he wore big Y-fronts and he tucked his shirt into them. He was actually ahead of his time … underwear above his trousers in the 1960s.  Chris: [A little nonplussed] That is weird. I didn’t have a favourite subject. I was a bit of a swot but school was just a means to an end, so I could get to university to do architecture.

  WAY TO WASTE TIME Chris: Well, I spend a lot of time comatose in front of the telly…  Neil: Going through my iTunes finding artwork for tracks I haven’t got artwork for.  Chris: …I’ll spend hours flicking through the hundred-and-odd channels on Sky. Just going round and round and round. I really like doing nothing. Literally nothing.  Neil: What do you mean, literally nothing?  Chris: Watching the television. Flicking.  Neil: Chris has always liked watching television. I was reading this book about John Lennon and I’m thinking, “Who does this remind me of…?” Chris! John Lennon is just at home all the time watching the television and sleeping!

PLACE IN THE WORLD Chris: I’m very happy in a very nice hotel room. Anywhere. 

Neil: You’re probably in your bathrobe.  Chris: Luxuriating in the bathroom, with all the products. You switch your phone off. No one knows where you are. You’re lying on fantastic Frette bedding… Maybe you’re in Miami, or something like that.  Neil: And you’re filling out the card for breakfast. [Laughs] I only learnt to drive last year. I passed my test on the first attempt. There’s this big moor close to where I live near Durham, where I love driving. I have my dog in the back of the car. He’s a Lakeland terrier called Kevin. So, Kevin’s looking out of the back and he’s hoping he’s going to get a walk. And I might stop the car and just smell the air, which is really peaty and fresh…

TIME OF DAY

Neil: Breakfast. First thing in the morning the day is full of expectations.  Chris: Lunchtime.

TIME OF YEAR Chris: Spring, because you can sense the season’s change and you think, “Great, we’re back” and you feel “Weh-hey” and you can see all the buds and leaves growing.  Neil: Mine’s ruled by hay fever. I had a hay fever injection this morning. I’m allergic to trees. The beginning of summer; although it’s all a bit sad because you think it’s going to end. And at the end of autumn, I love walking home at half-past-four and everyone’s got their lights on and they haven’t shut their curtains yet. It’s cold but you’re going to have a nice cup of tea when you get in.

ANIMAL Chris: Dog. I love dogs. I just find their faces so funny, they crack me up. They always look so happy when you’re all in the room together, it’s like “Ah, we’re all here.”  Neil: Mine’s a dog as well. But I like guinea fowl.  Chris: Because you can eat them?  Neil: I had a load in my garden. The only thing is they make a bit of a mess, they shit everywhere, and they make a lot of noise. They’re not that favourite actually. But they look so funny because they have tiny little heads and these great big bodies. And they walk right round the garden, round the perimeter, and it takes them all day. They look like dowager duchesses.

  FLOWER Chris: Well, the other day I bought a load of tulips.  Neil: Tulips! That’s mine. That’s my answer.  Chris: They’re such gorgeous colours. They are like a pink.  Neil: I will buy, like, just white ones, and I like them crammed in one vase. I like arts and crafts furniture and the tulip is often a symbol in them because it’s a very beautiful shape.

COLOUR  Neil: I don’t have a favourite colour. But I always buy everything black.  Chris: I think the colour I would go for most would be blue.  Neil: Blue for a boy.  Chris: Although I do like wearing outrageous colours as well. Like cerise.

  SMELL Neil: I think I am one of those people that likes the smell of wet grass in the morning.  Chris: I used to love - I still like - the smell of the London Underground.  Neil: When I first came to London I used to get the Northern Line to Kentish Town and recently I got the Northern Line and I thought, “God, It smells exactly the same.” It smells different from the Circle Line. And the Victoria Line still has a slightly new smell; when I first came to London it had just opened.

HOUSE YOU’VE LIVED IN Neil: I had a house in Rye in Sussex for ten years and in some ways I regret selling it. I sometimes think about it, and mentally walk around it. My bedroom had a bay window and you could see the harbour.  Chris: I liked this bungalow that we all lived in when we were kids in Blackpool, and there was a big field opposite and a rose garden, and a bit round the back where we could play on this big tree.

POSITION TO SLEEP IN  Neil: I sleep on my right side.  Chris: I toss and turn a lot.

JOB BEFORE MUSIC Neil: Smash Hits. I was the Assistant Editor at Smash Hits in a great period of pop music, 82-85.  Chris: I went from being a student to this. But I always had summer jobs in Blackpool, and I think the most fun one was being a ride operator on the Pleasure Beach. It was a bit - what was that film?  Neil: That’ll Be The Day [1973 cult hit in which David Essex and Ringo Starr pick up girls on the dodgem cars].  Chris: It was all a bit like that [belly laugh].

FILM Chris: I can’t keep saying The Sound of Music. What else?  Neil: John Waters?  Chris: What are you going to say?  Neil: I always say The Servant. Although actually it tails off, the last half hour is not very good.  Chris: Actually, the last half hour of The Sound of Music’s not brilliant.  Neil: There’s a very strong argument for The Sound of Music finishing at the wedding.

MOVIESTAR Neil: I very much like Marlene Dietrich. I like that icy glamour. The thing about Marlene Dietrich is that she’s not really that good-looking. Truly glamorous people are not normally beautiful. Jackie Kennedy is not beautiful - she’s funny-looking.  Chris: I’d probably say James Dean.  Neil: [Aghast] Do you like his films?  Chris: That wasn’t the question. Didn’t say the films had to be any good.

DAYTIME SHOW Chris: I could run you through my viewing: I get up at nine o’clock to watch the papers being reviewed on The Wright Stuff, then I switch to This Morning. Then there is the joy of Loose Women. Then it’s Countdown, then maybe Neighbours and Home and Away.  Neil: It’s a whole day’s work.  Chris: I don’t like the cooking programmes, got no interest in them.  Neil: I’m afraid I simply don’t watch the television. I live in Chelsea in a late-Georgian house and my television is in the basement.  Chris: I’ve got a television in every room. [Laughs] I never want to be far from a telly.

THING YOU COOK YOURSELF  Neil: Well. It used to be the notorious Neil Tennant grim stir-fry, which is brown rice, broccoli and soy sauce. That’s it. Surprisingly tasty. It’s all about the soy sauce. However, I now cook roast chicken. But to be perfectly honest, in London, when you live near Jenny Lo’s Tea House, There’s no reason to cook for yourself. The only reason I don’t have it every day is that it’s the same guy who delivers it and I get embarrassed. I always give him a massive tip. It always costs £15 and I give him £20.  Chris: None of my dishes are favourite, or anything I like that much. They’re just functional, eating things. So maybe Penne Arrabbiata. I always cook the same things. I often get pre-prepared chicken pies from Marks & Spencer - they only take 30 minutes. I should really go the whole hog and get a microwave: dinner in six minutes.  Neil: You love your chicken pies.  Chris: Chicken pies. Chicken kievs. [Laughs] They do good breaded chicken. What I like is everything is ready to put in the pan, all washed and everything.

TIPPLE  Neil: Red wine. I only drink red wine and champagne. Very occasionally I drink beer in Germany because it’s very good. And if I was in Russia I might have a vodka.  Chris: I like all of them. Depending on the time of day. Sometimes there’s nothing better than an ice-cold beer, is there?

COMEDIAN  Chris: Steve Coogan. I was really honoured - I went to see him recently at the Hammersmith Apollo and he made a very cruel joke involving the Pet Shop Boys and I was thrilled.  Neil: Who’s Mr G, what’s his real name?  Chris: Oh. Chris Lilley.  Neil: Chris Lilley. Summer Heights High. My favourite character is - Chris: Ja’mie.  Neil: Ja’mie! [They both laugh]

COLLABORATION  Neil: Dusty, I think. I can’t believe it’s ten years since she died. And she’s now a genuine legend.  Chris: Yeah. Dusty. I’d agree with that.

ITEM OF CLOTHING  Chris: [Camping it up] Oh I never have anything to wear! I wear these Y3 trainers all the time because they are incredibly comfortable. If I like something I tend to wear it to death, until it has to be thrown out.  Neil: I have a pair of boots that I like. Which are not these. I actually don’t like these very much. [Sticks out his foot over the coffee table and inspects it] I’m wearing these Yamamoto Dr Martens and I think they’re too clumpy. I made a decision at lunch not to wear them again.  Chris: [Teasing] It’s good that they were really cheap then, isn’t it?  Neil: These were 230 quid.  Chris: [To me] Can you imagine? For a pair of Doc Martens!  Neil: I’m going to take them to Durham and use them for walking in… Um. I’ve got a pair of Patrick Cox - when Patrick Cox was still Patrick Cox - boots that I wear all the time. But I’ve stopped wearing them recently because they have become part of my official outfit. I wore them at the BRITs, with that Gareth Pugh coat. I was wearing the Patrick Cox boots with the trousers tucked in and the stylist said it looked great so suddenly they went, “Hello, I’m now part of the Pet Shop Boys’ wardrobe, hands off me!”

SONG BY ANOTHER ARTIST  Chris: Oh, That’s too big.  Neil: I can’t think of any songs at all now, of course.  Chris: Ain’t No Stopping Us Now by McFadden & Whitehead. That is my default position.  Neil: My default song is I Don’t Want To Hear It Anymore by Dusty Springfield.  Chris: [Jokes] Well, don’t listen to it then.

SONG Of YOURS  [Long silence]  Neil: It changes. I don’t think about it very much. We are writing this ballet. There’s a piece of music, the duet, but I can’t remember what we’ve called it. It’s Scene Six.  Chris: Last night I was going through iTunes and I listened to The Survivors by us, which I thought was really good.

SIN  Neil: They’ve all got something going for them… actually my least favourite is envy.  Chris: Envy, lust are bad ones, because going through life being lustful is just obscenity. Sloth’s pretty good. [Laughs]  Neil: You’re definitely more slothful, I’m more gluttony meets - what’s drunkenness called?

SAYING  Neil: You can’t make chicken soup out of chicken shit.  Chris: [Laughs] It’s Tom, our old producer [Tom Watkins was the Pet Shop Boys’ manager from 1985 to 89].  Neil: It’s completely stupid, it sums him up. We still say it though.  Chris: We just tend to repeat people that we know’s catchphrases. We had another manager and she used to say, “Well, you’ve had a good go.” [Laughs] Old Mitch [Mitch Clark, 1998-2003]. She was “Upwards and onwards as well”

[femmecollections]

Going Forward

Chapter 5

The next morning Rook awoke to the grumbling of her stomach. Thinking back to the last couple of days, she realized that the can of tuna was all she had eaten. She must have been running on pure adrenaline to make it as long as she did. Getting up from the bed, she stretched and looked around the room. The bedroom was messy. Dutch wasn’t one for cleaning she knew. The sudden thought of Dutch made her pause. She tried not to think of his body outside of the bunker in God knows what hell fire raining down. Rook pushed those thoughts away. She wasn’t ready yet to face the truth of what happened. It was too much to take and she still hadn’t recovered from her dealings with the Seed family.

Thinking of the Seeds her mind wandered to Jacob and what he was up too. Grabbing the knife and strapping it to her back, she found a jacket in the pile of clothes and threw it on over her black shirt. Pulling the chair from the door, she slowly opened it and listened. She could hear Jacob in the radio room again. He was trying to get a hold of Joseph. Walking out she made her way toward him and paused only to take a glance in. He was sitting on a stool with his back to the open door. She noticed he had on the clothes she had left for him the night before. He had also put his Army jacket back on. She wondered if he ever left without that jacket. As she was peeking at him, he suddenly straightened his back and froze. Knowing he knew she was there, she hurried off to the kitchen to make something to eat.  

In the small kitchenette, Rook found some fresh eggs and bread. Since those would go off soon, she didn’t feel bad about using more than she should have. She was starving, and right now she just wanted scrambled eggs and toast. Cracking the eggs and cooking them on the small electric griddle, she almost felt normal. Like it was just another Sunday morning breakfast. She wondered out loud “Hell is it even Sunday?”

A voice behind her made her jump “it’s Monday”.

She looked behind her and saw Jacob staring at her from the door with his pale blue eyes. He looked tired and still a little weak, but much better than the night before. He was eyeing the food cooking and Rook pulled out two plates and began to serve breakfast. As she placed the food near him, he grabbed her wrist and asked “Why are you helping me Deputy? After all I’ve done to you and all the trials you’ve been through, why?”.

Rook started at him and realized she didn’t even know. She thought for a moment and said “To feel normal again I think”. She walked back to the frying pan and served herself. Sitting on the couch Rook began to eat, not looking at Jacob. After a moment he began eating too. The silence wasn’t as awkward as she would have thought. If she closed her eyes, she could almost pretend it wasn’t Jacob eating with her, but Pratt or Hudson. The thought made her sad and comforted at the same time.  Opening her eyes again, she saw Jacob had finished his food and left the dish on the counter. She made a mental note not to cook for him again, since he couldn’t even be bothered to clean up after himself. Getting up she went to the sink and cleaned the dishes. She heard him back in the radio room calling for his brother to pick up. Personally, she hoped Joseph was dead, but she would keep that comment to herself. Sighing and wondering what to do, she decided to search Dutch’s piles of paper to find out what was stored in the bunker. She’d need to figure out rations eventually why not now.  

A few hours later, she determined they had enough food for at least 4 people for 10 years. A welcome thought to know at least they wouldn’t starve to death before the end of the 7 years. She wondered if 7 years was even needed. How long does nuclear fallout last? The sudden image of the mushroom cloud filled her vision. She began to get dizzy and her breathing became shallow and short. Not knowing what was happening she tried to walk down the hall to her room. She got half way there before the blackness came. The last thing she remembered was the flooring coming up fast to her face.

Rook came too on one of the beds in the makeshift medical room. She had a wet towel on her forehead and the lights were dimmed more than normal. Sitting up she looked around the room. Jacob was in a chair looking at the ceiling.  

“Well Deputy, looks like you had a panic attack”.

Panic attack? What the hell was he talking about?

“I’m surprised you’ve held on this long after all that’s happened. Stronger than you look, I guess. Keep the towel on your head and try and sleep. There’s not much more that can help with PTSD induced panic attacks. Not down here at least.” He turned his head down and stared at Rook unblinking.  

PTSD? She thought about it and it made sense. She was trying not to deal with the horrors she had seen and it finally caught up with her. How could anyone go through a nuclear blast and be okay.

She was silent for a while and then asked quietly “How do you deal with everything you’ve seen? How do you make it feel alright?”.

He abruptly stood and went to the door. She was almost sorry to see him go. Just has he was about to leave he turned and said “My brothers kept me together. Only family can help someone like me.”.  

Shutting the door, she heard him go back to the radio room and begin transmitting again. Rook closed her eyes and tried not to think of what he meant. That night she didn’t dream. There was only darkness and void.

[michaelimarkey-blog]

Permanent account number

there are so many specific recollections i will think of when I examine that old cast iron pot. plainly they were such an essential tool in all varieties of cooking that I, as a touch Italian American boy, could be exposed to. All of those memories are very hot and loving. additionally I just now remembered that each time I look at that cast iron pot i'm able to usually scent sweet Basil and tomatoes. With a solid iron frying pan i'm able to odor olive oil, oregano and lemon. humorous I do not get that sensation searching at stainless steel or non stick.

Read More:

what is pan card

at some stage in the 40s inside the summer time my parents could take us all from Chicago to a bit town in Ohio wherein my Father's mother and father and his brothers and their households lived. His  sisters lived in neighboring states but no longer too some distance. To me I concept we were out of the country. The ride was lengthy and on small one lane highways (There had been no expressways again then). It seemed like we have been going for hours with out seeing a stay man or woman but it positive become quite. every so often we might see a farm and an occasional cow or horse grazing. For exhilaration my dad could examine the 'Burma Shave' signs that had a special elements of a funny limerick on them. normally each limerick become about 5 signs and symptoms lengthy. Such easy fun but it was magical all the way to my Gramma and Grampa's residence.

i would be ecstatic as soon as we were given there to look, kiss and hug my Grandparents. I cherished the whole thing approximately them and their antique house which smelled like tobacco and basil. The handiest thing i was hated turned into the fact they didn't have an interior rest room. they had an outhouse which usually scared the hell out of me especially at night. in the residence there have been spittoons (My Grampa chewed tobacco and smoked a pipe) amongst all of the old-fashioned fixtures.

My Gramma Rosalie would have at the least 5 loaves of bread freshly baked and he or she changed into always canning stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, gabanadina, jams and preserves. She did this all summer season lengthy from the veggies from her garden which turned into a lovely miniature farm. The yard turned into long with a brick direction down the center and also you walked between rows and rows of tomatoes, masses of basil, eggplants, oregano, lettuce, carrots Celery plus exceptional sorts of fruit bushes. She had enough to develop, cook and can the entirety from the garden to remaining the entire winter. She did all this even as she made bread all day, cooked dinners and clean residence now not to say laundry and ironing. What an improbable ladies. however, , she usually had a grin and become continually thrilled to peer her circle of relatives. At night time they could all play playing cards, Gramma included, and she or he was the excellent card participant out of all of them and they had been a massive circle of relatives too.

Her old-fashioned range would have all extraordinary sized solid iron pots and pans on it. After breakfast i would watch her begin via selecting tomatoes and fresh basil from the backyard. Then we would cross into the house, rinse off the tomatoes, boil them for a bit time, then skin them and put them into a big sieve and mash them into the holes of the sieve till all of the juice and mashed meat of the tomatoes became pureed into a massive pot underneath the sieve, all besides the seeds. I don't recollect the cooking manner. All I recollect was her filling up the jars that have been boiling in massive forged iron pot with warm water in it to sterilize them. After filling them she could placed the rubber covered lids on them and boil them till they were sealed air tight. One aspect I did neglect become Gramma always placed one complete sparkling basil leaf in each bottle of everything with tomatoes in them earlier than sealing them for storage.

Their basement became like also like a film set. It changed into very lengthy darkish and musty with shelves on all the partitions with masses of bottles of the whole lot you can consider and it became everything from the garden and the fruit timber all around their house. some of the bottles might have cob webs and dirt on them. that is how massive poorer families made do in the ones days. both my Grammas were high-quality women.

considering this has my nostril packed with all those aromas right now. It makes me sad when it fades away.

My spouse and that i owned and operated a own family Italian restaurant in Chicago for over 30 years. We ate, slept and drank Pots and Pans. the general public of our pots and pans had been stainless. We also had a few cast iron frying and multiple massive sauce pans in cast iron. in the main all of our roasting pans were tooth and some have been stainless as we replaced them. They have become a part of our lives together with china, cutlery, silverware simply to mention some. It become a number of difficult paintings however additionally very profitable. So it was only a natural issue my spouse and that i determined to open an internet keep promoting pots and Pans and extra.

[youcallthisautopia]

Drained

Why’d you even come around if you’re going to be such a downer?

Everyone can easily become happier if they acquire these few simple new things!

Can you just not take a hint, or what? Way to bring down the mood.

I got my eye on you, boy. Don’t even think about tryin’ anything funny.

Seriously, it’s like he goes out of his way to be sad or something.

You could at least try to smile.

Boney’s head rests heavy on the bedside. The dog looks up at him, dark eyes doleful and worried. He whines, smacks his chops, tongue peeking out the tip of his muzzle.

It’s late afternoon, but Lucas hasn’t found it in him to do anything these past few hours but lie in bed and drift in and out of uneasy sleep. He doesn’t stir much, only moving his arm enough to gently stroke his dog behind the ears. Boney turns his head, licks his boy’s hand.

Poor boy. He’s starting to get hungry, Lucas is sure. Okay. Up and at ‘em.

Takes him a good deal longer to get himself up and out of the bed than he’d prefer, but he’s up. Finally. He crosses the few feet to the other end of the house, catching his reflection in their sole mirror. His hair’s an unkempt disaster. What else is new?

He really shouldn’t have gone into town yesterday.

Lucas searches the cupboard and retrieves a few eggs and the flint, lighting the stove and readying the sole frying pan. Boney sits beside him, head tilted and ears drooping with a look that plainly says “Lucas, are you feeling OK?”

“I’m okay enough,” Lucas replies. Expression absent, he starts whipping the eggs into a wooden bowl. “Thanks for reminding me.”

He focuses on keeping the omelet from getting too thoroughly cooked, though his mind keeps wanting to wander.

He shouldn’t dwell on it but he can’t help it. Lucas can’t exist solely on his own. Boney is a pillar, but he can’t bake bread. And Flint’s never around anymore, so of course he has to go into town every now and again.

Ugh. It wasn’t so bad before, but after anyone that expressed any drive to help him out was driven out by lightning strikes...? He can’t rely on Alec; his grandfather is basically incarcerated. Lighter’s too busy trying to salvage the wreckage of his family home. Who even knows where Duster is, or the older girl from the castle.

The lightning is merciless. It’s as if God himself has a grudge against him, taken sides with the invader. No one but the passive and unsympathetic remain in Tazmily. It’s a wonder the people there are willing to sell him anything he needs to live at all, taking all the open hostility into account.

He flips the omelet and lets it cook for just a moment more before sliding it out of the pan. He cuts it in half, the center just soft enough to begin flowing out. Half is deposited into Boney’s dish. He sits down to eat his share.

It’s edible. Compared to Mom’s it sucks, but considering just how drained he feels it’s a miracle that it tastes this decent.

[ecofinisher]

¡Vamos a España! - Chap 17

Chapter 17

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29442912/chapters/74196645

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13819897/17/Vamos-a-Espa%C3%B1a

https://www.wattpad.com/1041988108-%C2%A1vamos-a-espa%C3%B1a-chapter-17

Rollan stood in the next Saturday morning in the kitchen toasting two bread slices on a frying pan and down around his legs sat the cubs observing the tall human prepare the breakfast.

„These two are almost done, then I suggest you all wait for it as long as it is hot,“ Rollan warned, then picked up the spatula and removed the two slices out, and added two newer ones into the pan to toast them. The cub who Rollan hasn‘t figured out the name yet pulled the boy on the pants and pointed at his mouth announcing to him that he was hungry, then Rollan nodded at the message. „I know little fella, just wait a little bit it‘s almost done,“ Rollan assured moving the two slices around seeing the white side, which was now turned tan. „Only a few more seconds,“ Rollan warned and Ivan got up from the floor and leaned his hands on the counter moving his feet up trying to take a look at the counter, but due to his small size he couldn‘t. „Don‘t worry boys, I‘ve got it,“ Rollan announced taking out the bread slices off the pan to put it over the next ones. Rollan held down the plate to the cubs and each took one slice along with Rollan and began to eat it. „I‘ll do two more, if you‘d like to,“ Rollan mentioned cutting two slices down of the small uncut bread he had near the stove. „I could eventually make five and we split it up with each other, is that okay?“ Rollan asked watching the cubs eat, then Rollan shrugged his shoulders and split with the knife the rest of the bread and added two more slices into the pan to toast them. While he was toasting them he ate the toast he made for himself.

„Have you got any idea, what we could do today?“ Rollan asked looking down at the cubs nibbling on their bread slice. „I‘m here for you for the next two days…..,“ Rollan mentioned beginning to think how awkward it is to have the cubs locked up at the house because of the fear of the outside world. Leonid, which was done with his toast jumped up at Rollan trying to catch him by his arm, then Rollan picked the cub up which smiled at him, then Rollan copied the cub‘s face, which pointed at the window to show the outside. „I know little guy, but I‘m not sure how people out there will react if they see you three. Here people aren‘t used to seeing trolls and will think you‘re…..bad. I‘m afraid, that if that actually happens, that they take you away from us,“ Rollan explained making Leonid sink his ears down sad. Rollan moved the toasts on the pan, which were now brown, rather than the tan color he had expected and he sat Leonid next to him on the counter.

„We will still find something entertaining for us all, like always,“ Rollan promised earning a sad nod from the cub, then Rollan caressed the cub on his face. The brown cub pulled Rollan on his pants, then pointed to his mouth making Rollan nod and take out the two slices of toast and handed it out to him and Ivan. Rollan added the last three into the pan and took a look at Leonid, which neutrally observed Rollan cooking. „You still want one, right?“ Rollan asked making the cub shrug his shoulder, then Rollan placed his hand on the cub‘s head. „At least a small bit, okay?“ Asked the raven-haired boy making the cub nod making Rollan smile. „Very good,“ Rollan responded. Rollan had an idea and moved the spatula to the cub, which stared at him unsure about, what Rollan wanted him to do, then Rollan gently held the spatula on Leonid‘s hand and slowly helped him move the toast around, afterward they moved to the next one repeating the same move and Rollan removed his hand waiting for the cub to do it by himself. The cub became fear from seeing the tumble inside the pan, then Rollan noticed the cub and smiled amused seeing the adorable face the cub made, then Rollan placed his hand again on Leonid‘s to help him move the toast around and drop it carefully on the frying pan‘s ground. „You just need some practice and you get over it,“ Rollan mentioned and removed the pan from the stove, turning the flame off. He held the pan, then handed the spatula back to the young cub, which carefully removed each toast out of the pan.

„Good job, amigo,“ Complimented Rollan holding his hand toward the cub, which looked at it, then pressed the spatula on Rollan‘s hand confusing him at the cub‘s deed, afterward he began to laugh along with the cub. „Okay, that actually was funny,“ Rollan admitted, then Leonid shrieked as he heard from the outside noise and grabbed Rollan on his arm, then Rollan looked out of the window to see a boy ran with a stick in his hand followed by a middle-sized mongrel barking at the boy while wagging with its tail. The dog jumped around watching the boy wave with the stick, then he threw the stick away and the dog ran behind it making the boy chuckle and follow his pet. Rollan chuckled and took Leonid on his arm after figuring out, what the cub was afraid of.

„Don‘t worry, that‘s just a dog playing with a boy……,“ Rollan explained, then he had an idea and sat the cub back on the counter. „You just gave me a brilliant plan,“ Rollan announced making Leonid look out of the window, then glance back at Rollan shaking his head. „No, that‘s not what I meant, my idea is getting you some clothing and hats, so you would look like children to everyone, that see us,“ Rollan suggested. „I still believe in some aspects the dog idea would work better, but I don‘t think you three are able to bark, right?“ Rollan asked, then felt someone kick on his leg making him jump. „Ivan!“

„Ruff, ruff!“ Ivan copied making Rollan give him a thumb up.

„I guess I was wrong,“ Rollan said looking at Leonid, which made the noise of a mule. „Nevermind,“ Stated the Spaniard followed by the troll giggle at his reaction, then he picked up the three cubs. „Okay, mama‘s sewing box must be somewhere in the living room. I may need your help boys, I‘m not sure how useful you can be without any experience in sewing, but at least the basic things I need from you are sufficient enough,“

The trolls exchanged looks with the others bewildered at what Rollan‘s plan was, then Rollan made his way out of the kitchen heading to the living room.

Orm and Kai hung together on the side of Alfida‘s ship watching the coast of the French countryside where a couple of citizens were running and playing in and outside of the water.

„Believe it or not, I would rather be down there having a little fun, than being up here,“ Kai mentioned earning a nod from the troll.

„Don‘t worry, we‘re almost in Spain according to Alfida. Well……. This evening she said,“

„Yep and presumably we will be another night traveling over Spain until we reach Rollan‘s home. Or it will be longer again. It already got a bit longer due to Alfida‘s route change because of Gerda‘s state,“

„Thank goodness, she‘s feeling better now,“ Mentioned the younger brother making the troll nod. „It would have been terrible if she would get worse,“

„We all better avoid fish for the next few days, unless it‘s cooked,“ Orm commented. „The best for all at the moment,“ Assured the troll making Kai nod.

„Yeah,“ Agreed the boy, then he looked back at Gerda, which sat next to Alfida‘s steering wheel reading a book and the raven-haired girl had her eyes focused forward. „I‘m asking Gerda if she‘s fine with playing cards,“ Kai announced walking across the ship followed by Orm and the brother sat down next to his sister. „How are you doing so far?“ Kai questioned the older sister, which smiled at the boy.

„I‘m great, thanks“ Gerda commented making Kai smile.

„Are you all interested in a small match of cards?“ Kai offered watching Gerda ponder about his offer, then she nodded and made a fold in the page she was reading and closed it.

„Wow you managed Gerda to stop reading that book,“ Alfida commented surprised. „What is even so great about that kitschy drama book?“

„I don‘t know, but I‘m surprised that there‘s a possibility that two people can be in a love square with themselves,“ Gerda responded making Alfida furrow her eyebrows.

„Sorry laddie, but this makes no sense. How can the two same people be in a love square with themselves?“ Alfida asked earning a nod from Orm.

„Love squares only work with four people. This is total nonsense you‘re talking about,“ Orm warned making Gerda shake her head.

„It works because both have a secret identity and they don‘t know that about each other. That‘s what makes it funny,“ Explained Gerda. „Imagine me and Rollan knowing each other and then, for example, our other us‘ with the Snow Queen and Fire Demon power we interact as other persons unaware of who we really are and then you see me as the Snow Queen have a crush on Rollan, while Rollan as the Fire Demon has a crush on me as the Snow Queen, but he doesn‘t see, that I and the Snow Queen are the same persons,“

„And you two aren‘t“ Kai pointed out making Gerda shake her head.

„No, I mean that I with the dress and magic of the Snow Queen looked a little different to Rollan, but he was crushing on my Snow Queen looks while I was crushing on the real Rollan, but I always rejected his fire-Demon identity‘s flirt attempts thinking he‘s someone else, but it‘s actually Rollan. I admit it, it‘s not easy to explain, but if you would read the book you would understand,“

„I‘m lost,“ Kai commented, while Alfida stared at her friend in utter confusion.

„That book made her lose her mind,“ Orm commented picking up the book to look at the summary, then widened his eyes and threw the book off-board.

„Why did you do that?“ Gerda asked watching Orm lean back on the wall.

„You could just have put back the book in the shelf like everyone else,“ Alfida mentioned.

„Sorry the back of the book had an incantation of something,“

„That‘s how the summary begins. Did you read the rest?“ Alfida asked making Orm shake his head.

„No…..,“

„Anyway…….I can more or less play along. What about we play two against two?“ Suggested Alfida earning a nod from Kai and Gerda.

„Good,“ Orm responded and Gerda got up.

„I‘m going to get the cards,“ Gerda mentioned, then Kai got up to look above the ship at the coast.

„Are we heading to Spain non-stop or did you plan to take a break?“ Kai asked his girlfriend, which shrugged her shoulders.

„Eventually before we enter Spain we could use a little stop again. Eat for real, walk a little, check our next route….. Wouldn‘t be a bad idea after all,“

„After these days it‘s really notable how big the world is,“ Kai commented earning a nod from Orm.

„The earth is flat after all, boy. You look forward across the world and don‘t see an end anywhere,“ Orm commented making Alfida chuckle.

„Did you call the earth flat?“ Kai asked.

„Of course. What shape did you expect the earth would be?“

„Actually the earth is round,“ Kai answered. „We had that at the school,“

„We learned it at the school too. In our books, the earth was flat and not round,“

„Are you sure it wasn‘t round there? Kai asked with a smirk hoping for Orm to realize he was wrong.

„It had two circles, my friend. The right and left sides. We‘re on the left side. Am I right, Alfida?“ Orm asked looking at Alfida, which was chuckling amused at the conversation between the two.

„You know you two have hands and a brain, here‘s my book. Just check it out you two and solve it together,“ Alfida responded, then Orm smiled triumphantly at Kai and grabbed the book of Alfida and opened it near the end, and showed it to Kai.

„See, it‘s flat,“ Orm pointed out.

„Orm as a skilled artist I‘m telling you, the earth is round. The design here even shows it obviously, that it‘s round. It‘s just flat because this is a book and not a three-dimensional model or something,“

„And why are we always going straight?“ Orm asked crossing his arms. „Isn‘t that what happens on a flat earth?“

„Orm remember the horizon we see when we fly or swim over water?“ Alfida asked earning a nod form. „If the earth really was flat, we would have fallen down at the horizon, did we fall yet from the horizon?“

„I don‘t know, nothing has ever happened to us at the horizon,“

„And that means?…...“ Alfida added waiting for Orm‘s response, then he sighed as Alfida seemed to be right on her words.

„Okay, you convinced me,“ Orm commented. „This with the drawing actually makes sense,“

„See?“ Kai bragged making Orm stick his tongue out making the raven-haired teens laugh, then Gerda came back with the pile of cards, then sat down at the stairs.

„Is it just me or were you two having an argument about something?“ Gerda asked earning a nod from Kai.

„Orm and I weren‘t sure about the earth‘s shape and now we got it thanks to Alfida,“ Kai explained earning a nod from the troll,

„I really was convinced the earth was flat,“

„Funny, right? I used to believe the earth was a square,“ Gerda added making Orm wide his eyes surprised along with Alfida, therefore the blonde began to laugh at their reaction. „I‘m just kidding, just wanted to see your reaction,“

„I‘m starting to like this on you,“ Alfida confessed making Gerda smile and Kai shake his head.

„I‘m fine with only Alfida doing that,“ Kai admitted sitting down on the stairs making his girlfriend chuckle and caress the boyfriend on his head.

„Gerda, if you‘re okay with it before we reach Spain more or less we make a stop,“

„I‘m good with it,“ Gerda agreed mixing up the cards, before handing out four to each player.

Rollan stood in front of a black iron-made sewing apparatus kicking with his foot on the handle under the table to sew a small yellow shirt together out of a textile he cut out off an old clothing of himself.

Leonid and Ivan already had on a shirt in a different color and ran together around the living room while the last cub sat beside Rollan on the ground watching him doing his last job on the t-shirt.

„Okay, I think it should be fine for now. It serves so far as a disguise,“ Rollan took out the shirt, then watched the cub raise his arms up, so he could easily put the shirt on over the cub‘s body. „There you go, now I need to give you some hats and this is quite difficult to find out......Hmm….wait a second,“ Rollan warned running stairs up, then the cubs walked to the stairs to hear Rollan rumble with the drawers of a commode and looked at each other. Rollan showed up with a few sheets on his hand and got downstairs to meet the cubs, then sat down on the ground and handed out each of the cubs a sheet.

„What about making a hat made of paper?“ Rollan suggested watching the cubs tilt their head, then Rollan made the first part folding the sheet in a half, which the cubs slowly copied. „Now you take both of these corners here and put them down here, afterward you pull this long part up like this,“ Rollan instructed watching the cubs do the exact thing as the boy. „Then you fold this back and it‘s finished. I will just need to sew these loose parts, so it won't open up, while you wear it,“ Rollan explained taking Ivan‘s hat to sew the loose edges and handed it back to the cub. „Try it out and see if it fits,“ Rollan asked watching Ivan place the hat over his head, then it covered his eyes and he raised it up with a smile, then gazed at Rollan with a happy face.

„Aww,“ Rollan murmured, then Leonid and his older brother held up their hats at Rollan, which he took to fix it for the troll cubs.

Soon Rollan made it out with the trolls walking along the sidewalk at the port, where they had the sight at many boats and ships which were parked, and a couple of larger boats were coming back from the sea with a charge of fish. Rollan walked both Ivan and his younger brother by the hand and Leonid was sitting over the back of the boy gazing above his head at the ocean.

„That‘s the ocean,“ Rollan mentioned as the middle-aged cub with the yellow shirt was pointing at it. The cub shook his head and pointed again at the ocean, where there was a large platform leading to the middle of the sea, where a lighthouse stood at the end of it. „Oh that tower there, that‘s uhm…...el faro….I‘m not sure how it‘s called in your language, but it‘s a house, that lights at night the boats and ships the way. It warns them, that they‘re closer to land,“

Leonid placed his hands under Rollan‘s chin and lied his head over Rollan‘s head to look forward, therefore Rollan moved his eyes up at the troll and chuckled.

„You‘re not about to fall asleep right now? I worked hard to find us a way out here. I have to admit 5 pm is a little late, but the good thing is we can be alone at one of the beaches. We could hang there at the spot there right after crossing the bridge. There we got sand, those bunch of stones and water,“ Rollan suggested. „Hey, you know what we could do? Build a castle in the sand? Have you ever done that?“ Rollan asked watching the cubs shake their heads. „Then we will have to try that out. I promise it‘s cool,“ Rollan assured making the cubs nod.

Later as they were at the beach Rollan sat on the sand together with the cubs near the water, then Rollan used his hands as a shovel to pick up water and dropped it on the sand in front of him and began to make a square shape on the wet sand. Rollan went to get more water, so he could form the ground of the castle and at one side he began to form jags on one small tower he had shaped, which began slowly to resemble the points of a crown.

„I have to admit it‘s not easy to make them with hands. If you had a bucket or anything else it would work better, but you three probably can do that better than me,“ Rollan spoke watching the cubs walk toward the water and carry a very small amount of water to their spot. Rollan watched the two older trolls trying to walk together with a larger amount of water to the sand, then Rollan smiled and came to aid them and took with his hands more water and gave them a larger wet spot on the sound, making them applaud at his assistance. Rollan brought them another bit of water, then sat down watching Leonid begin to work on their castle along with the second-oldest brother and Ivan gave Rollan a hug on his arm. Rollan chuckled and patted the cub on his head and watched them together try to build a castle on their own under the supervision of the Spaniard.

[wetlaprasfanfiction]

Ghosts & Echos - Chapter Four

There may be edits to come, so please take time to check back and please suggest any. 

Catagory - Supernatural/suspense/hurt/comfort/romance etc

Parings - Carol/Daryl

Chapter Four

 No sooner had Daryl finally fallen into a somewhat peaceful sleep, she got comfortable in the big, soft chair and exhaustion finally caught up with her too and she joined Daryl in sleep.

 It was morning when Carol woke up again, Harlan standing across from her near the medicine cupboard, finishing up preparing some painkillers for Daryl for the day.

 ‘Morning Carol, are you okay?’ Harlan asked with an edge of concern to his voice. ‘Yeah, but I am worried about him, when he is hurt, I hurt too’ Carol told Harlan, her voice beginning to crack.

 Harlan placed his hand gently on her shoulder and said ‘you’re an incredibly strong person Carol, Daryl needs you as much as you need him’ he told her.

 ‘We’ve got to find out what really happened in there, how he got these injuries’ Harlan said to Carol. ‘Whoever did this could be planning an attack as we speak, we’ve got to find out what really happened’.

 ‘You know, I am inclined to believe him Harlan, when he says it was Negan’s ghost’. ‘Hmm, I’m not too sure about that, I think someone living attacked him in there and maybe he doesn’t want to say who, or he doesn’t remember’ Harlan spoke up again, this time he sounded both worried and puzzled.

 ‘His injuries are consistent with being hit with fists, and something else, these were made by some kind of blunt, hard object’ Harlan said as he gently rolled up Daryl’s shirt and began to show Carol bruises on the still sleeping Daryl’s chest and the right side of his ribs.

 ‘I did notice that he has absolutely no defensive injuries on his body though, not one, no bruised knuckles, nothing. If Daryl was attacked, even if whoever it was overpowered him, there’s no way he’s going to lay back and take it without throwing a single punch’ Harlan told Carol.

 ‘Unless he was punching something that had no physical form, like a spirit’, Carol chimed in, causing a frown to appear on Harlan’s face. Harlan made no comment, after all he was a doctor, a man versed in science and reason.

 A grunt broke their conversation as Daryl began to wake up. He was still very groggy, but he seemed less agitated than he had yesterday. He looked up at Carol, his big blue eyes met hers. ‘Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?’ she asked.

 ‘Like a truck hit me more than once’ Daryl replied, his voice sounding gruff and tired.

 ‘Are you hungry sweetie?’ Carol asked him, ‘damn yeah I am fucking starving!’ Daryl shot back.

 ‘Well then I’ll be right back, let me go get you some breakfast’ Carol told him as she headed to the main house to put together some food for Daryl.

 When Carol got to the kitchen, she was a little surprised to find it was empty, the others all doing their tasks for that day. She glanced out of the window and saw Carl and Edith mucking out the stables, Dwight and Tara, probably the most tense paring in the compound, were both stood on watch above the gates, Maggie had gone to spend some time alone putting flowers at Glen’s grave with their son, and Morgan and Jesus were just leaving for a supply run.

 Carol began to examine the cupboards, looking for something Daryl would enjoy. Good food was hard to come by, but they’d been doing better lately. The vegetable garden had produced well the year before, and they were expecting a good harvest this fall too.

 Carol opened the big heavy pantry door and was greeted by something she’d not seen in a good while, it was a tin of baked beans and sausages, something she remembered Daryl really enjoyed back at the Greene’s farm, when some had been bought back on a supply run to a nearby town. 

She had made them both beans and sausages on big slabs of homemade bread when he was recovering from the injuries he sustained when he had fallen from the horse into the ravine while searching for Sophia. They’d both sat outside Daryl’s tent and enjoyed them while Carol expressed her horrendous grief for her lost daughter and thanked Daryl for almost giving his life to find her.

 When Sophia had been found, he never left her side. Once the mess of the barn incident was over, he carried her to the RV, lay her on the bed and lay next to her for the night, neither of them spoke, he just held her in his arms. The Cherokee rose he’d picked for her a couple of days before till looked fresh and strong in the little bottle it was sat in.

 Someone had lit the range that morning, so it didn’t take Carol long to find a pan and heat up the beans and sausage. While she was doing this, she cut two big slices of bread from a loaf that had only been made the night before.

 Carol was about done when she heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen.

 Maggie’s head appeared around the big old oak door. ‘Morning Carol, are you alright hun? I heard about what happened to Daryl and I’m sorry I’ve not been in to see him yet, I’ve been very busy tending to the gardens and I just crashed last night’.

 ‘It’s fine Maggie hun, Daryl’s ok, but we’re struggling to work out what actually happened to him back there’ Carol began to explain to Maggie.

 ‘He keeps telling us he was attacked by Negan’s ghost, that somehow, Negan’s evil spirit came back from the other side and attacked him’

 ‘Now if you were telling me anyone else had said that, I think I’d laugh, a lot’ Maggie continued, ‘but this is Daryl, Daryl is an honest man, never told a lie in his life, not to us anyway, he believes in truth and honesty above much else’.

 ‘I know’ Carol replied as she lifted the pan with the beans & sausages in off the heat of the hob, then placed a large slab of bread into a frying pan and shaking it slightly as it turned a golden brown color.

 ‘He is really adamant that this happened, when I found him he was in that little cell where Negan held him prisoner, he was just layed on the floor shaking terribly and nobody else was around, I didn’t hear footsteps or another person’s voice or anything’.

 Would you like me to talk to him?’ Maggie asked Carol as she placed the huge slab of golden toasted bread onto the plate, cut it into to two pieces and poured the beans & sausages over it. For a moment she paused, wondered what Daryl would like to drink with his breakfast as she put the plate onto a serving tray ready to carry across to the medical trailer where Daryl was recovering.

 ‘You could try hun, but he’s still pretty groggy from the painkillers’ Carol replied.

 Carol remembered the last supply run Morgan and Dwight had done had been quite fruitful, they’d found still in date cartons of orange juice. Carol picked a glass from the overhead cupboard, cut the corner off one of the cartons and poured the juice out into it and placed the glass onto the tray.

 Maggie and Carol both left the kitchen together and made their way across the yard to the medical trailer.

 When they arrived, Daryl was sat up talking to Harlan, who had taken the chance to speak to Daryl alone about the incident. Daryl stuck by his story, saying he knew what was right, and he would stand by the truth, always.

 Harlan pointed out that it was important to know what happened as someone could be out there who has less than good intentions should they stumble upon the Hilltop compound.

 Daryl told him ‘if that thing ever comes here, we’re going to wish we had every single Savior and every single walker in the world at our door’.

 Harlan shook his head in quiet bewilderment.

 ‘Oh Carol, thank you’ Daryl said, sounding a better than he had yesterday.

 Carol handed him the tray of food and he went to work eating it.

 ‘Mmmm, this is lovely!’ he mumbled between forkfuls.

 Carol sat with Daryl as he finished off his breakfast.

 ‘You can go back to the house today’ Harlan told him, handing Daryl the bottle of Oxycodone he’d prepared for him the night before.

 ‘Take these for the pain and I want to see you again in the morning ok?’.

 ‘Alright’ Daryl grunted as he sat up on the gurney, pulling his legs over to the same side and perching on the edge as Carol put her arm around his middle to help him stand.

 ‘Agh, that hurts like a motherfucker’ he complained when his feet met with the ground, his body still exhausted and unsteady.

 ‘I got you, come on, let’s get you back to the house and we’ll have to tell the others something’ Carol said calmly.

 Neither of them had decided what they were going to tell the others, Daryl wanted to be what he always had been, honest.

 ‘I have to tell them the truth Carol, I can’t lie to them, I know what really happened to me, and I would not make that up, you know I wouldn’t’ his voice took on a frustrated, sad tone.

 ‘I’m not sure Daryl, but I suppose there is no harm in trying but I think there’s going to be a good few people who will want to go after someone for doing this to you’.

 Carol was starting to believe Daryl’s version of events, what did he have to gain by making this up?. There is no way Daryl would put the group at risk by concealing information about a violent individual out there trying to hurt people like they had him.

 If it had been a living person who had beaten him, he would have been baying for blood, and Carol knew that as a fact from living with Daryl for so long,to her, what Daryl was saying made sense, he had nothing to gain from lying.

 (Disclaimer - I do not own The Walking Dead or any of the characters sadly, this is just for fun and entertainment.)

[opepin]

nov: week two

13: 5/6 pto day~ it was pretty gloomy outside so i felt a bit gloomy on the inside. kevin went to work and i woke up before he left. i ate another cinnamon raisin english muffin for bfast and then i hopped on my computer to update my tumblr. until i get my new gratitude journal, i am going to continue writing about my day, but i might change it up so that it’s bullet points again. we’ll see. i was pretty productive today. i finally decided on a gratitude journal to try it out and ordered it on amazon. then i chilled and watched some youtube videos and caught up on anime while eating lunch. after lunch, i digested a bit and then hit the gym. i thought i was going to spend it all in the yoga studio but i ended up needing to go to the fitness center so after glute activation exercises, i went across and did sumo squats and deadlifts. my legs felt so weak today. it could have been my form as well because my mind was scattered from going back and forth to the fitness center and yoga studio @_@; i managed to get through all the weighted exercises and then went back to the studio to do a burn out and hip dip exercises. i might have scared off someone in the studio, but i was in the zone so... ahha...

i came back, cooled off and stretched, and then showered and made myself a smoothie. i started prepping dinner and then kevin told me he left the office late so i just made dinner tonight. i made our spicy kale coconut fried rice and it came out pretty good (: i’m so happy with the outcome haha. kevin was also real happy to come home to a hot meal. it was nice. before cooking, i spent some time looking for my chocolate molds. they disappeared somewhere. i don’t know where they are :( i looked in all the small places as well as the storage room and no dice. kevin even looked with me after we ate :( sigh. i’m sad but i hope it will turn up somewhere. we asked the front to check our old apartment to see if we forgot it. i mean, it is transparent right? kevin went for a run after helping me look and i just continued looking until it was time to sleep. i was really bummed so i slept early. lol. 

14: i got up at 7:45 am and then did my 30 minutes of stretching. it was nice and quiet in the morning and i felt like doing something but not cardio or anything of the sort. then i changed and made my smoothie for breakfast, said goodbye to kevin, and left for work. only john and haowei were in the office today. cole was waiting for a furniture delivery so he wasn’t in. mmm the moment i got on the train, i felt really sleepy. when i got into the office, i felt pretty kjsfnbkjsdf. i don’t know if it’s the heating, lack of people, etc. but i wanted to go home asap. there wasn’t much for me to do in the morning so i did some testing. then at around 11:50 pm, i ate my lunch and then packed up and headed to a chinatown market to get a carrot for our slaw tonight. i waited 10+ minutes to buy one carrot for 46 cents because the people in front of me chose to buy soy sauce that wasn’t entered into the system yet -____<” i mean it’s not their fault but the two other lines started moving faster after i was boxed into this line...

i got out and then rushed over to south station to get on my train. i waited 7 minutes for my train because it probably had left before i got to the station :( luckily, i got back at 1 pm and phil didn’t ping me about our meeting until i asked him if he was ready at 1:06 pm. we talked about next steps and upcoming sessions and then he went into a meeting and i continued to work while watching an episode of ‘jane the virgin.’ i got my blender bottle in the mail today! i washed the dishes as soon as i could so i could use it after my workout today. i also got kevin a ‘pre xmas’ gift! i saw that there was a christmas caroling and hot chocolate boat cruise so i got tickets for us because last year, he went on a team outing instead of the jazz cruise i booked for us (i took hillary instead because it made sense and we had funn!). so i thought it would be nice if he actually went this time~ hehe. kevin went climbing so after work, i cut up the carrot and cabbage and let it wilt with salt for about an hour while working out. i felt like doing a few cardio hip hop routines, standing abs, abs on a mat, and then ending everything with hip dip / bodyweight butt exercises. it was a good and fun workout. i finished seasoning the slaw after my workout and used my blender bottle to mix my protein with cashew milk. lol, the lid wasn’t locked in properly so i spilled a bit of my expensive af protein on the rice cooker and counter T___T on the bright side, everything was blended perfectly! tomorrow, i’ll try putting in some honey to see if it will mix well or not.

as i finished up with the slaw, kevin came back. we showered and then toasted burger buns, heated up the leftover pulled chicken, and ate small burgers for dinner. we were still hungry and i got an idea to make “curry buns.” i flattened out one burger bun, put leftover curry inside, sandwiched the curry inside and sealed the bread by pinching the outsides, and then pan fried it in butter. well, i did the stuffing and kevin did the pan frying. if we heated up the curry before pan frying it, i think it would have tasted better but it was fun cooking on the spot with kevin :3 <3 we split one and then i had a bite of kevin’s guava strudel while we watched the latest foodwishes video. we want to make his new soup video as well as his hasselback turkey breast video when we come back from thanksgiving. we cleaned up a little and then beat battleblock theater! omg the last few levels are so hard lmao. the ending was trololol but i think there will be a sequel. it was challenging and fun playing with kevin. :) we half-planned what to get our families for christmas (gift baskets for each of us visiting our families from harry and david). 

then he gamed and i got ready for bed. this night, i was on my phone later than usual because i was chatting with daniel about working out with him when i get back, michelle about daylight savings dahkness, and chewy about us missing each other and i want to see her and i want to visit her so badly but ticket prices are so expensive from coast to coast T__T and then i did the thing where i stayed up on my phone doing nothing productive. if i got a new phone, i think i would spend more time on it, which is bad. lol. my oneplus one is my longest tech relationship with a screen (lol): 3 years and still going strong (well, my phone’s body is chipping).

15: i’ve been working out when i actually feel like it so i didn’t work out this morning and slept in :) i’m getting back to 7 hours of sleep now (more than once or twice a week)! kevin headed out for work and then i made my breakfast smoothie and started work. i’ve been craving warmer foods because it is colder now but my protein won’t taste as good if i put it in oatmeal or something. hmm, maybe i could just blend milk and protein and then eat an english muffin with pb and bananas on it. it’s a bigger breakfast but if it’s hot, i don’t think i would mind at all :) work has been chill this week because it is nearing thanksgiving and things are winding down for now. this day is a bit of a blur for me. i’m not sure what i did. i stayed at my computer for the most part until kevin got back home. i did talk to phil for a bit and then signed off and hurried to get the chicken thighs into the slow cooker. i didn’t realize it would take 4 hours for the slow cooker recipe. so i chopped up onions and garlic, put in the sauces and spices, and turned on the slow cooker. kevin got back early-ish but it he was in a heated argument with jon about sentencing. -___- this debate went on even after i went to sleep...

i snacked on edamame while kevin angrily typed away at his keyboard and waited for him to go to the gym with me. i knew it would take him more time to stop so i just left and did arms and back. i lifted mostly with 8s and 10s and took it slower this session. my arms are pretty flimsy and i still think my form is a bit off. i’m gonna check with daniel when i come back to chicago. after my workout, kevin was still debating. so i forced him to stop and go run and then i showered and added cornstarch to the thighs before it was done cooking 30 minutes later. i was pretty hungry by the time we ate. while kevin showered and cooked celery, i watched the beginning of season 5 of ‘mind of chef’ featuring ludo. lol kevin could see how excited i was and i kept gushing. i have 2-3 favorite chefs: david chang, ludo lefebvre, and christina tosi. i go nuts when i watch documentaries about them. lol. i now want to go to LA just to try all of ludo’s restaurants. instead of opening a big fancy restaurant, he went for a bit grungier strip malls in LA, which is fascinating. lol ok i’ll stop fangirling. we managed to get in a few games of helldivers before i rq’d and went to sleep because kevin would not stop debating with jon. i slept pretty late at 1 am (my phone dammit). i wrote in my gratitude journal that i just got as well. i want to think more positively. i think after this week, i’m going to stop updating my tumblr for a bit and just write in my gratitude journal.

16: i got up to go to work but after eating breakfast and changing my outfit twice, i really didn’t feel like going. so i changed back into my sleep clothes and worked from home. when it rains and looks gloomy and i’m not sure if my team is in the office, it makes me want to stay home. kevin got out of bed a bit later than usual so he went to work straight away. then i did a bit of work and phil pinged me with a new thing to do so i hopped on that. i worked on that until lunch time. then i ate lunch while watching youtube videos and downloading videos and movies to watch on my flight tuesday morning to chicagooo. after lunch, i anxiously waited for the eggie season ii drop. when it happened, i got a password screen and then all the items slowly came loading in. tbh, i wasn’t impressed :( mindy and i looked at the same time and she said she kind wanted the blur tee and i kind of wanted the oo dang long sleeve but $7 shipping is not worth for two shirts that are a bit pricey. we decided to wait for the next drop and bundle the shirts later. yeah, i had really high expectations. the season is inspired by the 2000s fashion, which i’m not a huge fan of, so maybe that’s why?

after that anti-climatic moment, daniel talked me into trying to bypass the $20 guest pass fee for his gym by live chatting someone for a free pass on his gym’s website. what he didn’t tell me is that they would call me and ask more and try to sell me their membership... man, i can’t lie. i feel so bad about it. :( i’m not gonna pick up sigh. i feel guilty for lying. anyway, i hopped on stand up and finished with the assignment phil gave me. the stand up took longer than i expected but after, i took a break to do some internet errands and stretches while watching more mind of the chef ft. ludo <3 after work, i made rice and chicken thighs for dinner. kevin came home and he made some chinese broccoli. hm i think today, i was feeling pretty moody. i watched some anime probably and some youtube videos while walking around the apartment. kevin went ahead and gamed with the guys. i think it was a pretty typical evening for us. we watched more ludo <3 while eating dinner and i continued watching after. hehe. i love this season.

17: today, i had a stressful day because of work. i didn’t work out in the morning but i ate my breakfast and then asked phil some questions and at the end of the conversation, i felt overwhelmed with the amount of videos i had to remake because of our monthly releases... so right after our talk, i hit the yoga studio. i started out with kickboxing with weights and then into hiit and a bit of legs. i ended up working out for over an hour. then i went back, drank a protein smoothie, showered, and ate lunch. i tried starting on my massive pile of work by figuring out how to streamline this process so that this won’t happen again. i like doing video tutorials but not when i am told i have to redo all the ones i’ve done because of small navigational changes... so i googled, researched, thought, brainstormed, etc about ways i can make this process easier for me and maybe for someone else in the future. i did this for a while alone until i decided to ask winston, kevin, and vivian for their ideas. winston actually video chatted with me for a while and it was nice catching up with him even though no solid solution came up. vivian gave me her best answer, which was plausible but not in the long run. kevin came back home and gave me two interesting ideas, but in the end, i had it in my mind that i had to remake all of them. oh well. it was the end of a week, so i set my mind to rest.

kevin brought me back sliders from his friday happy hour and we ate that while playing pokemon ultra sun and moon! i could have not worked a bit more and started playing but i wanted to start with kevin. we played a bit and then kevin went out for a run and then for dinner, reheated some broth to make korean rice cake soup. we watched ‘mind of a chef’ until i realized, that ludo’s season was only half of the season’s episodes... i forgot that this is how it was laid out after david chang in season 1. so we started watching the ‘best of’ episodes while eating. we ate the rest of our pomelo for dessert. we gamed for the rest of the night happily. we obviously, stayed up and gamed lol.

18: oh yes, we woke up late and we played pokemon in bed until we got hungry. then we decided to be responsible and went to do a quick grocery run. we just got edamame and bananas from bj’s because that’s what i eat on a daily basis lol. we got some ingredients to make caldo verde with the leftover kale in our fridge as well. kevin got me a slice of chocolate cake and some dark chocolate because i’ve been craving it like crazy. i know it’s going to be my time of month when i have a craving for rich dense chocolate cake lol. we also picked up chocolate covered wavy lays chips -- it’s a no. i ate it all but i would not buy again. lol. i would suggest getting ferrero roche instead. well, we got back and kevin felt like going climbing. i think we put everything away and then played more pokemon for a bit and then kevin went out. i tidied up a bit and got myself in the mood for working out. i wasn’t sure what i was going to do but i went to the yoga studio anyway. there was a girl facetiming someone in there... i felt awkward but i just did my thang in the corner while she did that. i don’t think she meant to go into the yoga studio for just that purpose because i heard her saying that he was interrupting her workout session. she left like 10 minutes after i started working out lmao.

i did full body strength today because i won’t have access to weights for most of next week. it was a good workout! i got back, made myself a smoothie, cut the potatoes and onion, and then washed some dishes. kevin got back, we showered, and he got to cooking caldo verde. i was pretty munchy at this point so i kept picking off the sausages lol. the soup turned out delicious! i think we ended up playing pokemon for the rest of the night. well, at least i did. i think kevin stopped and played hots before going to sleep. zzz.

19: today will be the last post before my gratitude journal break. we were bums again :P we played pokemon in the morning and then i was getting cramps and feeling out of it. i think we kept gaming for a while... ryan asked us if we wanted to game with him and terence and we ended up playing gauntlet together. after that, i started cleaning to be productive. at some point, i think kevin went for a run and then i worked out as well. we showered and then kevin made us fried rice with leftovers for dinner. after dinner, we digested a bit and then... hmm, maybe we ate then digested and then worked out, showered, and then cleaned the kitchen. lol. i am updating this on the 21st (when i stayed up to catch my flight to chicago) so i’m a bit out of it and 3 days ago is a lot @_@; anyway, it ended up being a really productive night. we cleaned everything and i got to rest a bit with my cramping and stuff. i tried going to sleep a bit earlier than we’ve been going to sleep because i needed to check in for southwest and get up to see the gymshark sales as well as take a call from kristen. yup. it didn’t feel like tomorrow was going to be a start to a new week aka work. i loved the way we spent this weekend just chilling and enjoying each other’s company. :)

20/21: okay, so that’ll be it for a bit. yesterday and today has been crazy. we spent monday working. i actually came up with a great game plan for the videos currently and worked a bit longer than i expected to -- i was on a grind though! we gamed together after eating dinner and when we left, we thought we had everything down, but when i got to chicago, i realized we didn’t take out the garbage... so i hope i don’t see a million fruit flies when i come back T__T i’m a bit worried but we’ll see! anyway, i stayed up yesterday because kevin’s flight to china left at 1 am and i wanted to go to the airport with him even though my flight left at 5 am. so after he went through security, i headed back to my terminal, brushed my teeth, and found a place to charge my phone. i started watching ‘psycho pass’ and i did stay up for the entire aiport process. i ko’d when i got on the plane. now it’s 10 pm and i am getting a bit sleepy. not sure if i want to do 10-15 minutes of abs anymore and/or play pokemon. i’m kind of ready to sleep. well, talk to you later, tumblr! thanks for being there for me and helping me document my life from sophomore year of high school until a year / two years after college graduation. it’s been real. i’ll be back in some way! <3

[xiumin-on-this-shit]

Kitten: Part 2

Hi! I’m sorry to say there is no smut in this part but lots of fluffy bonding, I hope you like it! I don’t really plan on doing a part 3 but if I think of one I’ll definitely do write it! Please let me know how you all feel about it!

“We have a guest,” Kyungsoo groans, but he doesn’t move away from where we are tangled together on the large couch in his living room. I hum snuggling deeper into his side, not to happy about the idea of him getting up either. I’m completely exhausted from the hours of, um, activities with Kyungsoo. There is a knock on the door, we both glance at it. “Go away,” He snarls without hesitation.

“Hyung,” A familiar voice whines. I sniff the air and recognize the scent of the pale man I had seen the night before. “You owe me something for leading you to your mate.”

“You are lucky you aren’t dead.”

“Does it help if I say it’s work related?”

Kyungsoo scoffs, “You don’t work.”

“I’m coming in!” The younger announces, stupidly ignoring the horrifiying growl coming from his hyung. The door opens revealing the hot blonde I was expecting but in a neat suit compared to the shredded outfit from before. I click my tongue, he cleans up nice.

“Do you have a death wish?” Kyungsoo snarls, shifting slightly so I’m pressed up against the back of the couch, hidden from his brother.

The younger coughs awkwardly, “Sorry, I didn’t know you guys were naked.”

“What the hell do you want?”

“I just wanted to check in, the others were curious and you weren’t answering your phone…”

“Don’t you think there was a reason I was ignoring you?”

The younger huffs, “You never have very good reasons.”

“I have very important things to be doing!”

I chuckle, shoving Kyungsoo off me a bit to pop my head over the edge to smile at the blushing man, “Hello again.”

He jumps back a bit, “Um…Hello.”

“I’m the very important thing incase you were wondering,” I muse with a glance over my shoulder at a frowning Kyungsoo. “Why are you pouting?”

“I want him gone.”

“He’s your younger brother, stop being so hostile Kyungsoo. We can’t just block out the whole world.”

“He tried,” The brother muses. “Called into work, took all week off, turned off his phone, put extra security around the building, he really tried.”

“Yet here you are,” Kyungsoo snarls once again. “I figured you would have gotten the hint that I want some alone time with my mate.”

“Is he always like this?” I ask his brother.

He nods, “Yea but this is a bit more extreme than usual and you can assume why.”

“An unmated alpha in the room with a naked omega, I can understand.”

“That reminds me, the others want to meet her,” He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Not a chance in hell,” Kyungsoo deadpans.

“Who are the others?” I whine at Kyungsoo, “Why can’t meet them?”

His eyes shift to me and automatically soften, “Because Kitten, I don’t want those dirty wolves anywhere near you. At least not for awhile, I want to keep you all to myself for as long as I can.”

“You can’t just keep me locked in here.”

He chuckles, “Says who?”

“Kyungsoo,” I warn.

“Okay, Kitten I’m just kidding. At least, sort of… That reminds me we need to talk about a few things. You,” He looks back to his brother, “You need to leave.”

His brother his whole time has been watching our interaction with wide eyes, “She called you by your name… no oppa or ssi… no formal speaking at all… how old is she?”

“I’m 23!” I answer happily.

His jaw drops, pointing a finger at me and stomping his feet, he looks like an upset child, “And you don’t speak formally to me either!”

I look to Kyungsoo confused, “What’s the big deal? He can’t be that much older than me, can he?”

My mate chuckles, “He is almost 900 years old.”

“What?!” I yell, nearly jumping to my feet if not for his arm around my waist. “Than how old are you?”

“Use that brain of yours, you are a smart little kitten. You know a lot about our politics and rules, how old could I be?”

My jaw drops, “To be a council member you have to at least be… 800 years old…”

“My smart kitten,” He muses, rubbing our noses together before nosing along my jaw to my neck.

“This is making me sick,” The brother pretends to throw up.

Kyungsoo glares at him, “Than go. I’ll consider taking her to the pack house later this week but for now, I’m keeping her here.”

“Fine. But if Chanyeol hyung pops up and mobs the girl in excitement, I warned you.” He turns back and grips the door handle, “One last thing, they need your signature on a few things before today is over.”

Kyungsoo groans, “Why didn’t you just bring them with you?”

“I forgot.”

The next roar has the younger scrambling out the door, I chuckle as he goes. My mate groans once again, shifting himself closer to me and burying his face into my neck. My fingers tangle through his hair, “So what are these things we need to talk about?”

“How about we talk over breakfast? I can’t have you starving on my watch,” He kisses me softly before standing up, leaving the blanket with me, confident in his naked existence. I watch him disappear down a hallway and emerge a few minutes later wearing a pair of black boxers with a shirt in his hand. “Arms up,” He commands softly, even though he didn’t use his alpha voice I quickly obey and throw my hands above my head so he can slide the shirt on for me. It’s obviously his, I crawl over the back of the couch to follow him into the kitchen, noticing how the hem of the shirt reached my mid thigh. His wolf notices to and purrs in approval.

“What’s for breakfast?” I plop down in one the tall chairs at the breakfast bar.

“Nothing too fancy, eggs, toast and fruit sound okay?” He pulls out a fry pan and some eggs from the fridge.

I nod, “Better than what I usually eat. Do you need any help with anything?”

He hums eyeing up the knife block on the back counter, “How good are you with knives?”

“I have worked in a kitchen before, I know my way around them, what do you need me to cut?”

“There is a watermelon in the fridge, if you want to grab the cutting board from under the middle cabinet, I’ll grab the melon.”

I jump up from my seat and find the cutting board in seconds, taking note of all of his fancy pans and appliances. “You cook a lot don’t you?” I question once I have my station set up, a large knife in my hand. He sets the decent sized melon in front of me before quickly rushing back to the stove where the eggs are cooking.

“I find it relaxing.”

I hum as I quickly chop the melon into triangles. It doesn’t take him long to finish the eggs and grab a few slices of bread. It all feels weird, so domestic, like we’ve done this a million times before. My heart flutters in my chest, something he quickly notices, he stops and looks at me with concern in his eyes.

“Are you okay?”

I smile up at him, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing those beautiful lips softly, “I’m completely over the moon.”

He fights with himself to pull away from the kiss, “Eat first. I know were tigers are strong but you need to eat.” He pulls me back to where I was sitting before, placing a plate with two fried eggs, a slice of bread, and a couple slices of watermelon, he stares at me expectantly.

“You eat too.” It only takes him a moment to make his own plate and take the spot next to me. We eat for a few minutes in silence, just enjoying the others company when I remember, “So what are these things we need to talk about?”

“Well firstly I would like to apologize for being such an ass last night. As an older man I should have been in control of my wolf and should have stopped myself from basically kidnapping you last night.”

I shrug, “I went willingly. There is no need to apologize. No matter how old you are, you got excited when you saw me, I get it. My friend’s mate was no different when they met.”

He nods, obviously thankful for my understanding, “So I wanted to ask you a few questions that I should have asked last night. Like what is your surname?”

I chuckle realizing we really haven’t done a proper introduction, I turn to him with my hand out, “Kim, Kin Eunbi, and you are?”

“Do Kyungsoo,” He shakes my hand with a small smile.

“Well Kyungsoo, as an old man what do you do? Seems like it will be important.”

He nods, “I am the head of the Do group. CEO Do industries.”

I click my tongue, “Wow, my mate is pretty damn impressive.”

“And you are a dancer?”

“Lets not talk about me now, my life just looks sad compared to yours.”

“I have had a long time to get my life together, you are still just a little kitten. You have plenty of time to grow.”

“Thanks for inspirational words. Next question.”

“Of course, I hope you don’t mind my asking but about your ears…” He stares at them for a moment, I forgot that my wig had fallen off last night. My hands automatically go up to caress the soft fur. He watches me, his hand twitches in his lap making me chuckle.

“You can touch them,” I lean my head towards him. He is hesitant at first but once I lean closer he lets one hand graze them slightly. A purr begins to go off in my chest as his fingers gently caress one of my ears. “When I was little something happened to one of my human ears and I got scared and was only able to partially transform at the time, hence cat ears. I have tried getting them back to normal but I can’t so I just wear wigs to get people to stop staring,” I shrug.

He hums, staring at them with some kind of adoration in his eyes.

“Any other questions?”

“I was wondering about how you wanted to do things after today,” He looks down at his food, suddenly bashful.

“What do you mean?” I frown, thrown by the question. He made if very clear last night and this morning that there is no if, ands, or buts, about it, we are mates. Did he not want me as a mate? Did he want me to leave or something?

“What I said earlier, about keeping you here all week, I don’t want that-”

My heart stops. I can’t my mouth to open, I just stare at him, is he rejecting me?

He gives me a side glance when my breath hitches, “Please don’t be mad, it’s just how wolves are. We are possessive creatures when it comes to our mates. If you don’t want to move in that’s-“

“Wait a minute, move in? I thought you were going to kick me out!” I snarl, ready to murder him for giving me a heart attack.

“No, no, no, of course not!”

“Well you just said you don’t want to keep my here all week.”

“I want to keep you here forever!”

“Oh.” Now I feel like an idiot.

“I just don’t know how to say it without sounding like some crazy obsessive beast.”

“How about saying, ‘hey, we are mates, how about you move in since we are destined to be together forever anyway?’”

He pouts, “I didn’t know how well over that would go.”

“Well better than sounding like you were trying to get rid of me.”

He turns to me, “I would never try to get rid of you Kitten, understand? We are mates, you are going to be lucky to get away from me at all, okay?”

“I understand.”

“Good,” He kisses the top of my head. “So is that a yes?”

“I need to talk to my roommate first. I’m 100% sure her boyfriend would take over my half of the rent but I also want to let her know that I didn’t die.”

“We don’t have to go today,” He almost whines.

“Soo,” I warn when his hand slides up my thigh, “If we don’t her and her boyfriend are going to go to all alpha and murder someone trying to find me.”

He sighs, “Fine.”

“Now the only probably is I need some clothes since mine aren’t even whole enough to be consider clothes anymore, not that they were much before.”

“Just wear mine.”

I shrug.

He goes back into his room while I finish my breakfast, I’m not surprised that his plate is already empty, freaking wolves. He returns five minutes later in another nice suit with a pair of sweatpants in his hand.

I groan at the sight of him, “Why do you get to look so hot while I look like a bum?”

“I have to stop at my office on our way back so the suit is required. Plus I love the idea of you wearing my clothes everywhere,” He hums coming to stand in front of me. His hands rest on the breakfast bar, locking me in place, “Tells everyone who you belong to.”

I have to bite my lip to keep myself from whimpering. I push him away with all of my strength, only getting him a foot or two away, “We don’t have tome to go another round right now.”

He straightens his suit and clears his throat awkwardly, a pink hue gracing his cheeks, “You are very right. We should get going.” He hands me the pants, allowing me to pull them on myself. His eyes scan the doorway and down the hall, “Where are your shoes?”

I scoff, “I didn’t have any. I was being dragged along barefoot.”

Without a word he scoops me up bridal style and carries me out of the apartment. We take same path as last night, down the hallway, down the elevator and into the, I’m assuming, private garage. He gently places me in the passenger’s side seat before closing the door and going to his own door, grumbling something under his breath.

“What was that sir?” I raise a brow at him as he begins driving.

“I’m damning myself to the lowest part of hell for being too angry to even realize that you didn’t have shoes on last night. I pulled you across that dirty club floor and parking lot, there could have been anything on that floor! Glass, needles, vomit, anything!”

I laugh, “You worry way too much.” I place a hand on his thigh, “Kyungsoo I’m fine. I can handle walking barefoot, it’s actually what I prefer, you know basically being a cat and all. Now lets for get about it and turn here!” I frantically point to the left, realizing he has no idea where I live. I feel like we’ve known each other forever, not that we just met last night. He turns and listens quietly as I babble on, giving him directions as needed. You can tell the moment we switch to the slum of Seoul. I sense his anxiety rising, noting his hands tight grip on the wheel but choose to ignore it. I know I live in a dangerous area for a small girl but it’s all my friend and I could afford so I didn’t have much of an option. When we pull up to my building Kyungsoo is fuming.

“You live here?” His distaste and concern is written all over his face.

I sigh, “Yes, I know it’s shitty but it’s all I can afford, now do you want to stay in the car or-“

“You don’t think I’m letting you go in there alone do you?”

“Of course not,” I roll my eyes, “It’s not like I haven’t been doing it for the last three years.” He climbs out faster than me and once again picks me up like a princess. He carries me up the three flights of stairs and down the dirty hall littered with trash, his nose scrunched up in disgust. It only gets worse when we reach my door and I stretch my hand out to knock only to get pulled away right away after. Kyungsoo snarls, his teeth bared, eyes fixed on the door, his arms around me tighten. “Whoa there boy what’s with the teeth?”

His eyes glow red, “There is another alpha inside. The whole place reeks of him.”

“It’s-” The door rips open revealing another snarling alpha, this one a bit more familiar. “Yongguk oppa!” The other alpha’s eyes scan the situation in front of him for a  moment before yet another alpha appears, this one smaller, “Hyorin!”

“Eunbi!” My friend yells happily, reaching for me only to be pulled away by her mate. “Ya!”

“Who the hell are you?” Yongguk snarls.

“I was about to ask you the same thing. Heel mutt,” Kyungsoo seethes back, his eyes glowing more intense. Two alphas seem to enter a trance automatically going down on one knee and tilt their heads to the side, bearing their necks.

“What in the world is going on?” I demand, slapping Kyungsoo’s chest lightly.

“It’s a trick you pick up as an older alpha, you can make younger or weaker wolves submit without fighting.”

“Well stop. This is my roommate, and best friend, Hyorin, and her mate Yongguk. They are both very nice people.”

He growls again, “His scent is all over this place.”

“Yea, it’s how we keep other alphas away, Yongguk is pretty strong, at least I thought he was, he has helped me out a lot so stop this.”

“Fine,” He grumbles, he stops growling allowing his eyes to go back to normal ad allowing my friends to snap out of their trance. Hyorin shakes herself out of it before glaring at Soo, she reaches for me but once again I’m pulled away. “No touching.”

“Soo,” I whine kicking my legs, “Let me down.”

“Bi, you going to explain who this strange wolf carrying you is?” She questions.

“Oh yea! Oppa, Hyorin, this is my mate Kyungsoo. We met last night at the club.”

Hyorin nods, “And also broke a bouncer’s hand.”

“Yea he did…”

Soo pouts, “It’s because he was going to take you away.”

“I know, don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

“So, mate?” Yongguk eyes the older man up.

“Does this mean you are going to move out?” My friend pouts.

“Yea, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Her mate smiles, “I can finally get her to move in with me and you both can get out of this dump.”

“Great, now that all of that is settled, grab your things so we can go,” Kyungsoo finally puts me down past the thresh hold.

“What’s the rush?” Hyo muses, wrapping an arm around me almost possessively. “I would like to get to know the man who swooped up my best friend. You are an old powerful alpha from what I can tell, who exactly are you?”

He doesn’t answer, just glowers at her.

“Do Kyungsoo,” I answer.

Her eyes go wide, both her and Yongguk take two large steps away from me. “Do Kyungsoo? As in the councilmen?”

“Yes?” I look at him confused, “How big of a deal is that for other wolves?”

“Bi! You aren’t speaking formally to him! What the hell?” She warns, full of panic.

“Soo?”

“It’s a big deal to other wolves but please don’t worry about it,” He admits but shrugs it off. “Now please gather your things. Are you going to need help?”

“No, I don’t have much. You should come along anyway,” I hold my hand out to him, which he quickly takes. I lead him through the small apartment into my tiny bedroom which only has room for a twin sized bed and a dresser. I grab my only large duffle bag and begin cleaning out my drawers.

“How long have you know them?” He asks suddenly. I turn around to see him sitting on the edge of my bed, his eyes fixated on me like usual.

“Um, for about six years now. I met Hyorin in high school and she met Oppa right after we graduated.”

“You seem really close.”

I nod, “We were all we really had at the time.”

“What about your family?”

I sigh and run my fingers through my hair, “My dad, who is a were, hooked up with my mom and ran away right after she found out she was pregnant with me. My mom took care of me until the whole thing with my ears happened. She didn’t want to be know as the woman with the freak child so she gave me up when I was about 5. After that I went to a home for were children and I just kind of took care of myself after that.”

He is right behind me in a second, his arms wrapping around me tightly, pulling me into a soothing hug, “I’m so sorry Kitten.”

I shrug, “I’m over it now.”

He kisses my shoulder a few times before licking the bite mark on my neck, “You will never have to deal with things like that again.”

“I know,” I turn around in his embrace and kiss his lovely lips softly, “Thank you.”

……………..

“Wow,” I whistle at the sight of the massive building across the plaza. “That’s yours?”

He nods proudly, “My office is on the top floor. Over there,” He points to another skyscraper on the left, “Is Kim Industries. They are our partners and pack members. Than over there on the right is Wu, our Chines pack members. Behind them is Park.”

“All of them are part of your pack?”

“Yes, the Wu’s have four sons, Park two, Kim also four, and that leaves Do with two also.”

“So the twelve men in the council are you and your friends?”

“Yes, now do you want to come in with me?” He offers but looking down at my outfit I grimace and shake my head. I changed at my place but my outfit probably doesn’t fit the requirements to go inside, even with the boss on my arm.

“Next time I’ll wear something more appropriate so you can show me off without me feeling like an idiot.”

He chuckles, “You look absolutely beautiful.” His eyes scan over my pale blue jean and ratty black t-shirt down to my black heels and looks at me with so much adoration I feel like I’m wearing a ball gown with a full face a makeup.

“Thanks Soo but I’m just going to wander around the plaza for a few minutes, stretch my legs and enjoy some fresh air before we get home and lock ourselves in again,” I smirk at how his breath hitches and his eyes flash red.

“I’ll be back as fast as possible,” We both get out of the car, he walks with me to the center of the plaza but I shoo him away to do his work. He is hesitant to go but after a few kisses and a kick to the butt I get him going. The minute he is gone I feel eyes on me. I am out of place in the business centric plaza but I ignore the looks and begin to take a small stroll around the area. My eyes scan over the tall building that belongs to one of his pack members, Kim, I believe, before wandering over to Wu and even glancing back at Park. I thought they would all be the same boring inside but each has their own style, ranging from modern to classic to edgy. I feel tempted to wander inside but from the dirty looks I’m getting from the receptionists through the glass I have a feeling I’m not welcomed. Staring up at the top of Soo’s building I wonder if he’s watching me now or if he’s focused on work. I don’t feel the tingling down my back like I usually do when he stares so I go with the latter. So distracted by my thoughts I don’t notice the man on his phone walking my way until we are slamming into each other.

“Sorry,” I mumble stepping away quickly, noting it’s another wolf and don’t want his scent anywhere near me.

“Bi?” A familiar voice muses.

I look up and automatically grimace at the sight of an old customer, “Hello Jay.”

“What are you doing here?” He grins wide at me, completely ignoring my obvious distaste for him. We ended our client dancer association after I found out he was mated to a pretty little wolf, actually I ended it after she came to the club bawling. The alpha didn’t seem phased by his mate’s tears, he makes me feel disgusted with myself for not seeing his asshole ways earlier.

“I’m waiting for my mate,” I answer sharply.

He sniffs me, “Do I smell a wolf on you?”

“Yes,” I grit out between my teeth when he takes a step closer. Forcing me back a few more. “He should be back soon so get out of here. We are no longer acquaintances.”

“I would say we were more than acquaintances.”

“No. You were my customer until I banned you from the club, now we are nothing. Got it? I have a mate.”

He rolls his eyes at me, “Cats don’t have mates, you know that. It’s a wolf thing. Who is this wolf you fucking? Is he good? I thought you wouldn’t do it with a wolf? Are you expanding your clientele? Could I get a little taste?” He winks at me, making me feel sick, “How much?”

I growl at him, “No. I have never had sex for money, we both know that. Remember all the times I turned your nasty ass down? I have a mate now so I will be finding a different job so mind your own god damn business and get on with your life.”

“You can’t talk to me like that you little-” He is cut off by a horrifying snarl from over my shoulder. An arm wraps around my shoulders, it’s a tall handsome man with sharp features, his teeth bared at the man who had been yelling at me. Jay gulps but tries to put on a brave face, “Back off man I’m talking to the bitch.”

Another man appears, this one just as tall with bags under his fierce eyes, “Watch your mouth mutt,” He snarls. His hand is on the back of Jay’s neck, squeezing until Jay yelps in pain and drops to his knees. “Apologize. Now.”

“Who the hell are you guys?” Jay whimpers. I realize more attractive men in suits have surrounded us, each looking absolutely pissed, eyes glowing red, fangs peeking out from their upper lips. Even with their deadly aura I feel completely safe under this man’s arm. Not as warm and safe as I feel with Soo but it’s similar. I notice one familiar face.

“Do you really need to ask?” The man holding on to me growls.

Jay studies them for a moment, his face pales, confirming my thoughts.

“You are the council,” We both mumble together.

“Yes. Now I’ll say it one more time before I rip your head off for attacking a council member’s mate. Apologize.”

Jay presses his forehead to the ground, crying loudly, apologizing just as loudly. I roll my eyes, what a bitch. I sigh and look up at the one hanging on me, “If I threaten him will you back me up?”

He chuckles, “Happily.”

I smirk as I crouch down closer to where Jay is bawling. Feeling brave I tap the back of his head, “Stop your bawling and look at me.” He slowly obeys, only peeking up at me, “I will forgive you on one condition.”

Jay nods eagerly.

“Stop being a piece of shit. IF I hear tat you cheated on your mate one more fucking time I will murder you. She did nothing to deserve your shit. I have known my mate for under 24 hours and it destroys me to think about doing that to him or him doing that to me. So get a fucking heart, okay?”

He nods.

“Good, now scram.”

Jay is on his feet rushing away faster than I ever thought possible, leaving me with the eleven men who came to my rescue. I bow to them deeply, “Thank you.”

The tallest chuckles, “Doesn’t really look like you needed us.”

I shrug, “It’s always good to have some muscle.”

“So you are our Kyungsoo’s mate,” Another tall one hums, this one has much softer, even child like features.

“Yes, you are his pack.”

“Yes, we are.”

“You must be head alpha,” I note, staring down the tallest.

“I’m Kris Wu,” He bows his head slightly. “How could you tell?”

“You have this thing about you, screams head alpha.”

“I take it you are a were cat,” Another speaks, this one looks young but carries himself like an older man, and by the way the others separate for him I’m going with much older.

“Tiger,” I point out, flashing my blue eyes.

“Those are interesting,” He muses coming closer to get a better look at my ears. I move them slightly making him jump back like a child. Three others come closer to stare at them as well.

“I’m Eunbi by the way,” I smile at them.

“Minseok.”

“I’m Chanyeol!”

“Baekhyun!”

“Jongdae,” One with a Cheshire like grin bows his head. I scan the other six who have yet to say a word.

“I already know you,” I smirk at the blond man slowly creeping up.

“There you go again,” He huffs.

“You are the only one who seems to have a problem with it.”

“What?” Baekhyun glances between us confused.

“See Baekhyun doesn’t even notice it.”

“That’s not an excuse!”

“Sehun what are you whining about now?” Kyungsoo finally appears. I beam at him and rush over into his open arms.

“Soo,” I playfully whine, casting a glare at Sehun, “Sehunnie is being mean.”

“I am not!”

“He is the youngest isn’t he?” I suddenly realize why it must be bugging him.

“How can you tell?” A pretty doe eyed man snorts.

“Is he always this childish?”

The man nods, before narrowing his eyes on me, not in a pissed way, more amused than anything, “Oh.”

“There you go,” I chuckle.

“What?” Baekhyun joins in on the whining.

“Come on Baekhyun, you can figure it out,” I stare at him for another moment before his jaw drops.

“Oh!”

“Oh?” Sehun pouts. “She just gets an oh? No scolding or punishment? You guys would murder me if I did that!”

The others slowly catch on, Kris is chuckling at the realization, “How the hell did I not realize she was speaking informally?”

“How old are you?” Minseok questions with the same amusement.

“23,” Soo and I both respond.

“She is going to fit in well here,” Kris sighs.

“Fit in?” I look to Soo confused.

“As my mate, you are now part of our pack,” He kisses my temple.

“So that’s why all of you came rushing over, to help a pack member?”

Kris nods, “Since you are a mate the protectiveness we feel will be more intense until the rest of us find mates.”

“Wow none of you have mates? Aren’t you all really old?”

The pretty man chuckles, “You sure are something.”

Kyungsoo wraps his arms around me tight, “Yes, you sure are. You are all mine, little kitten.”

“Enough of that mushy stuff,” A tan man grimaces at us.

“Jongin is just mad he doesn’t have mate do that with,” A sweet man glares at the younger.

“You are too Yixing hyung.”

“Okay guys that’s enough,” Another calms the two, “I’m Suho, second in command, it’s nice to meet you.” The man tries to shake my hand but Soo pulling me away makes him roll his eyes. The other’s all come forward, greeting me with big smiles and attempts at hugs but stop when Kyungsoo begins kicking them away. I just chuckle as they cause a massive amount of chaos in the plaza, causing people to run away.

“As alpha of the pack,” Kris says gaining everyone’s attention, he smirks at me, “I’m happy to welcome you to the pack, Kitten,”

[hollywoodx4]

Sticking With the Schuylers (17)

So I wrote ahead the other day and couldn’t let it just linger in my word doc anymore...so another update this week!

Alex has some childhood flashbacks...Alex is continually worried....

1  2  3  4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   I   13  14   15   16

               His feet tread rapidly over dirt-covered ground, kicking up dust as he flies, chest heaving, over the familiar path. Rough sand spills into his well-worn sneakers, chafing against the bare and blistered feet inside. Alex barely notices. He continues to run.

               His arms pump wildly as his ‘chicken legs’ carry him, his mind hyper-focused on the task at hand. He can hear voices behind him, hooting and hollering and getting closer by the second. He blinks, gathering his courage in a deep and hearty breath from his stomach, before hopping over rusted railroad tracks, ducking into a rickety doorway.

               He knows this path by heart; lifted floorboard in what used to be the foyer, a doorjamb that’s just about to fall between the old kitchen and living room. Alex skillfully hops over a worn-out ottoman, blocking yet another doorway. And then there’s the stray dog that sits in the kitchen, nestled between a cabinet and a stack of decomposing cardboard. He looks feral; blonde fur matted against a bone-thin chest, teeth scraggly as he opens his mouth in a wide yawn. But Alex simply throws him a scrap of meat from the bag that bumps against his leg as he runs, and the animal is satisfied.

               Not once does he stop in his running.

               And the voices vary, coming closer until they meet the obstacles of the run-down shack, then fading into the distance. It’s the usual pace of the game, this cat-and-mouse that he plays. And there are two paths that weigh heavy on his mind; the probabilities that jump back and forth as the chasing intensifies. The way that he figures it, there is a certain calculated risk to what he is doing.

               One day, he could wake up slow; knees injured from the day before, legs unable to carry him…then, it would be all over. He could trip over an unforeseen obstacle; a new hurdle in the familiarity. At eleven years old, he was acutely aware of just how much was riding on him. He was fortunate…lucky that the people at the market weren’t cruel to him, lucky that they knew his mother. His slender frame let him run and duck and hide; his quick wit and ease of conversation had gotten him out of many a situation before; squabbles with merchants, arguments with the older village kids…

               All in all, Alexander Hamilton considers himself to be very, very lucky.

               Once he exits the abandoned house he climbs half-way up the sturdy palm (the third long branch is just about to break), shimmying along its rough and narrow surface before clinging to it with blistered, work-worn hands. With one long leg out, he can just barely reach the unhinged shingles of another rooftop. His toes curl in his shoes, his thighs burning from the extent of the stretch. He jumps, just in time to hear the clattering of metal on hard ground. The thugs are shouting now, watching as he clambers from rooftop to rooftop, ducking low and keeping himself covered as best he can. But although his heart is racing, this is the checkpoint where he can finally begin to let up on his pace a bit. He knows the complexity of the village below; the ins and outs it would take to even begin trying to keep up with him on foot below the rooftops. It’s this route, with its high climbs and dangerous stakes, that has sent him home free time and time again. So he sighs, successful once more, as his precious canvas bag bumps along his leg; a reminder of his victory.

               When he returns home he pushes back the cloth separating their doorway from the world, grinning wildly as he brushes the dirt from his torn clothing. He can hear his mother’s voice, sweet and demure, ringing out from their kitchen. He tips the canvas bag over onto the table, smiling with pride as his possessions spill out onto the wooden surface. His mother turns, crossing her arms over her chest.

               “Just look at you, you’re a mess.” Her warm eyes linger over his dirt-coated appearance. He kicks his shoes, split and worn, in embarrassment as his mother wets a finger, tracing it along his sand-caked cheek. “Mijo, my sweet brave boy, you need to stop putting yourself in danger like this.”

               “I’m not.” His mother does not scold, but her face has been traced with worry lines and sorrow from the year’s events; nobody had expected his father to leave them, and now that it’s just the two of them she worries often about her young son. Alexander watches as his mother thumbs through the contents of his rucksack; a small, ripe mango, a torn blanket of soft cloth, a loaf of hard bread…she smiles through warm eyes and cradles his face in her hands.

               “You know we can make do with what we have; we always find a way.”

               “You need your medicine.” There’s a small bottle hanging from a ragged piece of twine, kept safe underneath his shirt. A clear, chunky liquid sloshes around inside of it and eleven year old Alexander guides his mother to one of their low pillows, sitting her down before removing the necklace and handing her the vile. She sighs, looking him over; her scrawny, rooftop climbing boy. Her protector. He smiles back at her-tentative. His nerves are clear in his face, gaunt and determined through the near constant frown plastered on it. And his hands-his now blistered, bleeding hands-twitch with anxiety. He’s worked so hard.

               His mother chokes back the lump in her throat before sucking down the liquid, grimacing at the taste. But she smiles at Alexander, handing him the bottle before standing up again, moving to the basin of water in their kitchen.

               “How are you?”

               “-I’m feeling great, mijo. You’re doing a wonderful job going into town like that. I’m sure that we’ll be alright.” Her eyes are warm. She scrubs the dirt from his cheeks as she smiles at him, projects every ounce of herself onto him. And she radiates so much positivity, his mother, that he can’t help but believe her. He beams with pride, with warmth, and with love. “Now, we really should talk about cutting this hair of yours.”

…

               He wakes with the juxtaposition of serenity and sorrow; the dream-like feeling of damp cloth on sand-caked skin weighs heavy on him, as does the feeling of her love. Alexander wonders immediately what the purpose of a reminiscent dream like that might have been; lately, he’d been nothing but blissful. Is that what had brought on such a powerful memory? But then, why had he woken with such a knot of anxiety?

               He knew what happened in the story of his dream, how things had progressed. Surely, his mind wasn’t pretending to forget the moment his mother had died in his arms, how haunting it had been to sit in the scent of their sick. If he let himself trace the memory far enough Alexander could even feel her skin against his, the way it had gone cold so swiftly against his feverish body. But the moment of his dream had felt so real that none of it seemed to matter. It was almost as if his mother had been alive again, as if he had been back in the Caribbean. Before he had been ‘just call me Alex.’ Before the sound of his full name had become soothing again. Before he’d let Eliza, and only Eliza, say it. He liked the way it came from her lips, the way his ears translated it to a dream-like sigh; how she inflected the middle syllable, and always took great care in it.

               But maybe that was it; maybe there was some sort of connection from his dream to his reality. He sits up in bed, pulling a journal from his bedside table as he recounts every detail into it, pouring over it page after page. He wants to remember these feelings. And in some respect, on this morning, he wishes he could go back.

               The memory of his mother’s warm eyes and prideful smile brings him back to his youth; to feeling responsible, accepting the fate that had been bestowed upon him with his father’s absence. And as he breathes through the retelling of this dream, of the memory he’d been able to relive, his mother’s eyes warp between her own and Eliza’s. When he finally closes the journal he sits back in bed, allowing the plethora of emotions to swirl around him once more, a confusing cocktail that is nearly sickening. It’s too much at once, he decides, to linger on the past. It’s too hard.

               As he rises from bed and readies himself for the day, memories of his dream are replaced with thoughts about the night before, about Eliza. He recounts the night, guiding her through the downtown streets as she leaned up against him. He can nearly feel the urgency of her hands on his jacket as she had tried to come on to him…the shut-down when he’d told her no.

               He’d hated to tell her no; to make her upset. But her eyes had been clouded with mischief and incomplete judgment, her hands too quick and too weak to be interpreted as anything she’d been aware of doing on that night. So he’d taken care of her, instead. And she was quiet on their walk to the fry truck, shoulder laid heavy on his shoulder. She’d picked at the fries, too. Eliza hadn’t even picked her way through to all of the larger graham cracker pieces. Eliza always hogged the graham cracker pieces. And then he dropped her off at her dorm room, guiding her shoes from her feet before tucking her into bed. Eliza had looked up at him with eyes that were larger and darker and pooling with a sadness that was then easily readable. She hadn’t even tried to disguise whatever pain she was going through at that point, and it broke his heart. But then she’d fallen quickly asleep, so Alexander left some aspirin and some water on her bedside table, pressing his lips to her forehead and letting them linger there. She hummed happily in her sleep, as if she could feel his presence once more, before rolling back over.

               The moment plays on in his mind the entire morning.

               “Something’s upsetting Eliza.” He begins over the counter of the campus Starbucks, waiting on John to mix his cocktail of dark brew and espresso. His best friend nods, understanding, but does not look up from his work. Alexander knows that he’s listening by the slight hum of his voice, so he continues.

               “When we left last night, she was drunk…I’ve never seen her like that before. And when I think back on it she’d been drinking to get drunk all night-she never has as much as she did in such a short time.”

               “Maybe she’s stressed about student teaching.”

               “No, that’s not it. She likes the teacher now, understands her more. Last time we talked about that she seemed to be at peace with it. This is something bigger.”

               “Bigger how?” John spins around to hand Alex his coffee and stops upon seeing the look on his best friend’s face. His eyes are tired, dark circles engulfing his entire appearance. And he’s shrunken, leaning on the counter with worry-filled eyes. He hesitates, looking down at his cup as his hands play with the cardboard heat protector. He’s not sure how to proceed lightly, so he just continues.

               “Last night, when we first got outside…she was grabbing me, kissing me. She was all over me, but nothing about it felt right. She was so drunk, John. And I had to say no. There’s no way I would have forgiven myself if I’d let myself give in to her, if that had been our first time. I know that I love her, but,”

               “You were being respectful.”

               “I was. Because something was wrong, that’s not Eliza. And so I said no. And then something just clicks, and she’s sobbing. Hysterically. And she couldn’t compose herself, not for a long time. But when I asked she wouldn’t tell me what was wrong. She wanted to, but I think she was so drunk and so upset that she couldn’t find the words. Or the composure. But this is something big, John. This is something that’s really bothering her. So what do I do?”

               “What do you mean?”

               “If she remembers last night-or if she doesn’t…how do I bring this up? This conversation…I know she wants it to happen, but I also know that it’s not something simple. I need to help her. I can’t let her hurt as much as she was last night. Seeing her like that…it killed me. I haven’t felt like that since…it’s been a while.”

               “You need to talk to her. If she’s not ready, it’s her decision. The possibility of an awkward conversation is nothing compared to how she must be feeling.”

               “You’re right. I’ll call her. Today, before she feels like that again. I don’t think I can stand to see her hurt again.”

[rilenerocks]

People talk about their spirit animals. Or about which animal they’d be if there was really reincarnation. My mind has glanced over that topic more than once in my life. I used to think that if I wasn’t human, I’d be a dolphin. I like their big brains. I like that they hang around in groups and are strong communicators. And they’re helpful, seemingly altruistic. All of those traits appeal to me. As I’ve matured and looked at myself differently than I did years ago, I realized that my personality has shifted, along with my interest in nature. A bird girl when I was little, I’ve grown more interested in them in more recent years. I’m a skywatcher, a cloudchaser. I still love water. What could be a better spirit animal for me than an albatross? They’re gliders. They can fly for thousands of miles, never touching land, feeding from the sea. The majority of them mate for life. I mean, seriously, is this me or what?

So you might think the quarantine has pushed me over the edge. Not really. I’ve just been a little raw lately. Unlike the brave health workers who go to their hospitals daily, experiencing horror and death, I’ve been able to have the luxury of distance from that harsh reality for some time. This month will mark the third anniversary of Michael’s death. I was at his side, holding his hand, in our own home. An event so unlike these tragedies I read about, when people drop their loved ones at emergency rooms and never see them again. How unbearable, as is so much in the news cycle. Since March, I’ve experienced three deaths. One was my dear friend, Julie, an expected loss, but the end of a 50 year relationship. Last week, I heard of another friend’s death, this one a more casual friend, the kind with whom you can have a nice chat when you run into each other. She died from Covid19 at only sixty-one. This week, it was a man I’d known since he was very young, a musician who worked in my husband’s music store, and was part of a circle of people who moved in and around the periphery of my world for four decades. Michael and I were invited to his first wedding, an alternative and off-beat affair. I watched him perform in his bands until eventually the 10 year gap between us, meant that I was chasing children around while he was still doing gigs. In the past few years, we’d reestablished contact and exchanged thoughts and music over social media. His death was by suicide at age 59. This tough month of May also contains the birthday of my best friend from childhood, another suicide who I still grieve after 32 years. Everything suddenly felt like too much. So I headed out to chase the clouds on a beautiful sunny day, trying to climb over the mounting pain from each end of life.

The endless changing cloud formations never bore me. Instead they make me feel more centered and conscious of my place in the world. After driving around for an hour, I headed back home to push a little further into my never ending list of things to do. I started with the garden, checking out the latest blooms and the ones getting ready to open. I always have some anxiety every spring as I know there will be losses due to who knows what. And then there’s the satisfaction of the reliable, familiar ones who come back each year. Now, given the always surprising Illinois weather, a polar vortex has been served up for tonight, with frost expected. I admired what plants already arrived, hoping they’d survive this night. The ones in pots, hanging baskets and raised beds cost me an hour of bundling them up as best I could, trying to make sure they have their best shot at seeing another day.

I was really happy that I’d restrained myself from repotting and putting my tropical miracle from last year outside to weather the elements. Last year, a friend of mine gave me a gorgeous plant called a Duranta Sapphire tree for my birthday, also this month. I showered it with care, pretty certain I’d kill it in this unpredictable environment. But it hung on. So I kept watering it until suddenly, it was November and still it survived. I thought that any plant that wanted to live so much deserved a chance, so I brought it into my house.  It’s still alive and soon I’ll repot it and bring it to the garden where I hope it will enjoy another glorious summer. Next I crossed the street to see how my kids’ new chickens were doing. The older hens had them boxed into a corner, making them perfect targets for a few photos.

After that, I went back home to work in the garage for a bit. I’ve made progress in there, finding some things that were easy to toss out and others that I’ll be keeping for a long time. A while back I wrote a blog called “The Soul of a Garage,” basically a commentary on how Michael’s presence was so palpable in there. I’m carving out my own space now,  although his hobbies and projects still emerge from the corners. Today was no exception. Michael was one of those guys who could do almost anything. In the old days before cars were so heavily computerized, he was always fixing carburetors, doing brakes, dealing with oil pans and lots of other stuff I can’t begin to name. So how great was it when I found his creeper and his coveralls? After wiping away some grime, the oak sheen of the creeper came shining through, along with the name of the company which produced it. I looked it up, The Anderson’s and found that it finally closed its doors in 2017. Because Michael was 6’4,” his auto mechanic coveralls were so long I could barely hang them up. But I used a garden tool and finally reached a hook. Those will stay in the garage.

I found one of his baseball bats. His glove is in the house. When he played softball for years with the High and Mighty team, his nickname was “Stick,” because he was such a reliable hitter. He loved that game, but years of swinging gave him a string of herniated disks and one back surgery. I also found his tackle box still filled with lures, reels, filleting knives and other gear. Every summer for many years, he and three buddies headed up to Nelson’s Resort In Minnesota, near the boundary waters, where they fished for walleye and northern pike. At night they played bridge. I always missed him when he was gone but they always had a great time and brought their trophies back for a fish fry.

I was feeling pretty good after hanging around in the garage. I’d cleaned, discarded old junk, found things worth keeping which brought good memories, and had gotten a bit over the top of a sad day. I decided to continue my newly recovered baking skills and went inside to do a banana bread. As I got my ingredients together, I cracked my first egg and got a double yolk. My mom always used to tell me that was a sign of good luck.    I assembled everything, put the bread in the oven and reflected on how my day’s choices were positive and had smoothed the rough edges off my sadness. By this time it was nearing dusk and I went back outside to snap a few shots of the lovely sky. When I came back inside, the bread was a warm golden brown and the house smelled and felt warm and homey. After dinner, I popped the computer open to catch up on social media and  the news.

On a mutual friend’s Facebook page, there was commentary on the man who’d committed suicide. Someone I didn’t know had written the question, “So is anyone else from the Record Service(my husband’s former business,) dead besides Nick and Michael? I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. This stranger couldn’t have known that I was a person who might read that line. I’m sure she didn’t know that the anniversary of Michael’s death is bearing down on me and my family. Reading her dispassionate, gossipy question threw a big bucket of cold water on my improved mood. I couldn’t imagine asking a question like that in a public forum because to me, it’s remarkably insensitive. And so is a lot of the world. Within seconds, I was back in my albatross dream. I am gliding away from any land mass, following the water. I hear no human voices saying thoughtless things. I can go for miles and miles with nothing but sky and clouds ahead and ocean below. Eventually I’ll get back to my mate, my mate for life. And beyond. Sounds like a plan to me. 

Albatross Dream People talk about their spirit animals. Or about which animal they’d be if there was really reincarnation.