#now he looks too similar to cleaver pet

[starrysharks]

frankenstein cats will seem strangely sadistic

[bluepenguinstories]

Remoras Full Chapter XXXVI: Winds of Change

I

Early spring, the rustle of the reeds against a gentle breeze. An indentation made among several rows of them as I lay, pressed into the damp soil. Arms under my head, eyes closed, thoughts floated away, just as they ought to. There were many reasons to worry, many wrongs to correct, and many mysteries to solve. But none of those things could happen unless I allowed myself a moment’s rest.

What of the others? Did I abandon them? No. But I wasn’t meant to stay for very long, it just wasn’t who I was. By nature, I was a drifter. By trade, almost, if such a thing were possible in the current age.

Ray gave me a phone so that he could call whenever things got bad again. It was like an ebb and flow, little tremors. Sometimes the activity would quiet down, but not long enough for anyone to think that the nightmares were over. Then they would build back up and people would show up with gashes, scrapes, bruises, all over their bodies with no explanation. Some reported whispers and little shadows that resembled people, but not quite. Whenever it slowed down, I went away again and found some place to hide out.

Why? Well, let’s just say I had my suspicions that I was just as much a target as were Ray and the others. Just the simple fact that an anonymous letter requested my death was enough to warrant such a suspicion. Ha. If whoever was behind that note wanted me so bad, they should have just fought me themselves. No games, no beating around the bush. My time could come any day now, but if someone wanted to take this life from me, by all means. But they ought to expect a fight.

Speaking of notes, there was one which was left for me that night when I met Remora in that abandoned building (well, not so much “abandoned” now, as I managed to get the electricity working before I left. Tragic as it may be, that was all I could do before I left and things turned south for me. I guess too many tip offs and “authorities” grew suspicious. So I bailed, as I often did, and I could only hope that those homeless friends I met weren’t so homeless, even if there was so much more I could have done had I managed to stay). It had Ray and Sunny’s address, as well as the phone number of the one who killed Rhea.

When I awoke, the piece of paper had been next to me, and curious, I picked it up. As soon as I looked over the contents, I scoffed, let out a little laugh.

“She’s really insistent, isn’t she?” I shook my head as I mused to myself. On the back of the paper was a further explanation of the events which transpired between ‘Ves’ and Rhea:

“Ves told me the story at the bar. Not that I needed to know the details from her, I already had an idea. Her original name was Etna Modelo. If that name rings a bell, it’s because she was part of the original ‘ETNA’ project. She had begun to grow unstable as the part of her that housed the angel of happiness clashed with the part of her that was human. Such a clash had adverse effects on those around her. The other ‘R’ and Douglas Fir were tasked with removing her from the world. Both met their end, although Ves seemed rather mournful of ‘R’ when we met, and although cured, it’s evident that the ordeal still effects her.

As I wasn’t there, I don’t know the full story, so I would still recommend asking her yourself. Your call, though. I’d just like to move on from it.”

Remora probably wrote that figuring I wouldn’t want to contact Ves myself. Yes, ‘Etna’, I’ve heard of her before: the girl on the run, the experiment, the artificial doctor. All of her incarnations. Hotheaded, explosive, short-tempered were all words that were used to describe her in reports and between eavesdrops of idle gossip from those who were aware of The Flashbulb’s pet project.

I considered contacting her, but felt it best not to. We were strangers, and she probably wanted to move on from such a thing as well. Besides, that was all I needed to know. Maybe whatever angel was with us now came here because they sensed one of their kin? Who the hell knew?

Rather than solve some cosmic mystery, some existential threat, I was instead relaxed in the fields of a small town in Idaho. As of late, I’ve been staying with this middle-aged man named Cleaver in his little shack. Two hammocks hung inside, he slept below, I above. Next to him was a wolf who he named Mange. Not my first choice of names for a wolf, but it wasn’t my place to judge.

I got up and stretched.

Still early in the day; a crisp air, a cerulean hue in the sky. Everything was early, yet not. As I made my way back to the shack, I caught a glimpse of cleaver with his sagged, sunken face and his potbelly hanging low out from his white T-shirt. Scruff all over his face, gray hairs all over.

“Fancy day for a squirrel barbecue,” he scratched his chin and announced in a low voice.

“Ha. You and your meals,” I replied as I brushed aside some tall grass. “You do realize there’s a restaurant nearby, right?”

“Bah! You just don’t get it, Zephyr: that shit costs money. You know, our ancestors got by just fine without money.”

What makes you think your ancestors are my ancestors?

“Sure, but are you really gonna subsist on corn and rodents?” I retorted.

“Hey, if it tastes good and it doesn’t kill me, what does it matter?”

I put my hands in my pockets and shrugged my shoulders. Fair, I guess.

My swords were laid inside his shack. Mange knew better than to knock them down. When it came to food, I had two options: The Garage Cafe, or run 8 miles to the nearest city and get some Wendy’s.

“I might be gone for a few hours,” I mentioned, “so see you later in the afternoon?”

“You know I don’t care where you go,” he waved off. That was something I liked about staying with him, is that neither of us ever minded the other’s business. He reminded me of an old man I once knew who I also crashed with. Rather literally, but I’d rather not get into that. He was kind enough, and I might not have survived without the help, but it was clear he wouldn’t last. I was just glad that I got to see off that old man. That was a few hundred years ago, but memories were funny that way, how they didn’t care how long ago something was, just how important they could have been.

Before I could depart to Wendy’s (let’s be real, while I knew it was junk food, I couldn’t help but love that place because of its name), I heard the sound of shoes against soft soil, someone running, and their short breaths.

Sounds of Mange’s growls could be heard from inside the shack. I scanned the area until I spotted the source of the running: a young woman, about a foot shorter than I, with messy, shoulder-length blonde hair. Still, there was no denying that I recognized that face.

“Fi...finally,” she huffed and hunched over to catch her breath once she approached me. “I found you. You wouldn’t believe how difficult it was to find you.”

Tell me about it.

I blinked. I opened my mouth, then closed it. It took a while before I could figure out what I wanted to say.

“How did you find me?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“I asked some of your friends in Chicago. Otis, I think was his name, told me how you said you were headed to Caldwell, Idaho. So I went there, asked around, and apparently an employee at the Wendy’s there says she’s seen you head over toward Notus.”

“Dammit, Otis,” I cursed under my breath.

Really, it’s my own fault for telling anyone where I’d be heading. I just figured after I returned from Ray’s diner that I’d check in on how some of those folks were doing.

“You know this girl, Zephyr?” Cleaver called over.

“Yeah. She’s fine. Tell your dog to knock it off,” I called back over to him.

“MANGE! SHUT IT!” Cleaver yelled to the shack. There was a low whimper, then nothing after that.

“Zephyr?” She asked.

“Yeah. That’s my name now. Demetria, was it?” I asked right back.

“Mm-hmm. That much hasn’t changed.”

I studied her but nothing looked all that different from when I met her. If she had an air about her that was different, I didn’t sense it.

“So, Demetria, what can I do for you? It’s clear you wanted me for something, but for what, I don’t know.”

She straightened up her stance and looked up at me, a more resolute expression took hold on her face. One which said that she was ready to get right down to business.

“I want you train me,” she stated.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me: I want to hone my skills with the blade.”

I puffed up my cheeks, desperate not to break into laughter.

“What?! You think I’m some wise, old master? Do you expect me to take you on as a pupil, and at the end bow and go ‘you have done well, my student?’ Is that it?”

“If that’s what you want to do, go ahead. But I’m serious.”

That much was obvious, but it still didn’t make sense to me.

“Why do you think I’d be a good fit to train you?” I questioned.

“Because our weapons of choice are similar. The way you fight, act, react, every movement has a purpose and it’s like you’re ready for anything. You don’t leave yourself with openings. If I had to pick someone whose style of attack was similar to my own, it would have to be you. Meanwhile, I’m reckless, less refined, and don’t know what I’m doing half of the time.”

“OK. But is there a particular reason why you want to be trained so bad?”

“Because I want to learn restraint.”

That still wasn’t good enough. I felt like I was missing the full picture, and despite how plain her answers were, it was like she was holding back, or avoiding giving anything away.

“Restraint, huh? And you think me, the cop killer, can teach you that?”

I glanced behind me. Cleaver didn’t seem to react to what I said. Strange, I thought that he would have. But I guess he figured it just wasn’t his business.

“You’re right,” she replied, “but I never said I wanted to be you, nor did I say what I meant by restraint.”

“Indeed. You didn’t.”

I paced about and thought it over.

“You use knives, I use large swords,” I pointed out, “each blade is different, with its own style and use. You don’t use a kitchen knife the same way you do a hunting knife. You don’t use an Oodachi the same way you use a Kodachi. Catch my drift?”

She nodded.

“What I can teach you, and let me be upfront, I’ve never taught anyone, may not help you.”

I continued to pace. While I explained such things, my mind was yet to be made up.

“That said, I do have some experience with small blades, but they’re not quite like the knives you’ve got,” I thought back to that night when we fought, “throwing knives and a hunting knife, right?”

“Yes. Although I’d like to broaden my horizons a bit.”

“Mm...I see. Short sword may do, then. But let’s not rush anything. Because if I’m going to train you, you’re going to need to learn more than just how to use a short sword.”

“Of course. So does that mean you’ll accept?” Her words were ones of excitement, anticipation, but her voice was flat. As for me, my smile widened and I let some teeth show through.

“Under one condition: every day, I want you to buy me Wendy’s.”

“Okay, sure, there’s one eight miles away, I can just take Cybele’s plane and head right back.”

“On foot,” I clarified. While I didn’t know who this ‘Cybele’ was, taking a plane would have defeated the whole purpose of such a training.

“What? Really? Do you know how long that would take me? Your food will get cold by the time I bring it back to you.”

“Then learn to get faster,” I shrugged. Wasn’t my problem, so long as I had my grub.

“Hey, don’t mean to butt in, but I got a solution,” Cleaver hobbled forward and chimed in.

“Oh yeah? What?”

“You and this girlie here should run together to the city, then you both can eat once there.”

“Ooh, like a race?” I liked the sound of that.

“Something like that. I’ll even take you back home in the back of the truck by the end of the day, since I can already tell she’s just starting out.”

“Hey! I bet I could run right back here!” Demetria protested.

“Go ahead and try, but I’m doin’ you a favor. Trust me,” he replied. He was right, of course, too, and that gross overconfidence of hers was all the more reason why she needed training.

“By the way, if you’re going to be running, you’re going to need a bottle of water,” I advised, then went into the shack to grab my water bottle: a nice and thick tin thermos. “Take this. We can stop at the Garage Cafe on our way to the city so you can fill it.”

“What about you?” She asked.

“I’ll get water once we get into the city. Plus, I can always get another thermos.”

“All right, all right, so when can we start?” She tapped her foot. Ever so impatient to be tortured, I see.

“Now,” I answered.

“What? Now? I just got he –”

Nope. Wouldn’t hear it. Especially after she begged. I took off toward town, then toward the highway right away. I’d glance back to see her in the distance, and it was clear that she was trying to run.

Okay, when we get to the city, I’ve got to teach her proper form.

Down on the highway, she was still quite behind, but she started to speed up.

“How...how much longer?” She huffed, short on breath, and still early in.

“Like, seven more miles?” I guessed. Really, we weren’t even a quarter of the way there. More like a quarter of a quarter.

She stopped and hunched over to catch her breath.

“You’re not going to get very far standing still,” I stopped too. Even though I was ahead of her, the training would have been moot if I just ran off without her. “It’s not about speed. If you try to sprint your way there, you’ll tire out fast. It’s about sustained motion.”

“How is anyone supposed to keep running for eight miles?!” She gasped out and threw her hands up.

“I just told you. You will get faster, eventually, but what’s important is to build up stamina and use up as little energy as possible. You can walk every now and then if you have to, but you need to keep moving.”

She gasped a few more breaths, then straightened up her posture.

“Okay. Let’s keep going.”

Throughout our run, she’d stop to walk for a few seconds, or take a sip from the thermos, then she kept going for a short burst before walking again. It wasn’t ideal, but I suppose she had to start somewhere. When we finally made it into the city, and Wendy’s, about two and a half hours have passed. Again, not ideal, but I suppose it wasn’t too bad.

She was collapsed at a booth in the Wendy’s, all huffing and puffing and complaining about feeling sick.

“You should get yourself something to eat,” I looked down at the suffering apprentice.

“I can’t. I feel like I’m gonna throw up,” she wheezed.

“Yeah, that’s how it is at first. But hey, I’m amazed you made it at all. It’s a good start. But seriously, some food will help you feel better. Plus you need the calories to replenish your energy.”

“...I’m...vegetarian…”

“Okay? So? Get a freakin’ salad. Go to another restaurant. But eat something.”

Her hands shook as she grabbed on to the edge of the table and struggled to sit up.

“I suppose I can do a salad,” she heaved out the words. I gave her a heavy pat on the back, which made her bellow out, “oof!”

“That’s the spirit!”

A few minutes later, she returned with a box salad, a large thing of fries, and refilled her water.

“Fries, huh?” I pointed out.

“It’s not meat,” she shrugged. Eh, fair point.

I myself had one of those big burgers, large fries, large soda, large chicken nuggets, large everything. Again, it was junk, but considering the name, I was biased.

“So, I should tell you this upfront: if you’re going to train under me, you need to have a reason. I don’t need to know what that reason is, but I won’t accept it if you don’t have one.”

“Trust me, I do,” she responded, not quite focused on me, and more looking listless as she dipped her fries in a pile of red sweetness.

“By the way, do you have a place to stay?”

“No, but I can check into a hotel. It’s not like I don’t have money.”

“If that’s what you wanna do, sure, but while you’re here, you can sleep over at the shack. It’s not the most comfortable, and you’d have to sleep on the floor, but it won’t cost ya anything. More convenient, too. Cleaver won’t mind.”

“Cleaver, huh? You sure seem to make friends easily,” she observed.

“Heh. It’s not quite like that, but I try to form connections where I can. I think you’ll find that it’s practical, pragmatic even, to get on someone’s good side wherever you go. Doesn’t matter if you think you’re stronger or weaker,” I shook my head and smiled, “it’s a lonely world. Universe, even. But there’s things you can do to make it less lonely. I’m a loner, both by trade and nature, but we’re all here on this Earth to help each other.”

“That’s a good philosophy. I’ve never given such things any thought.”

“You probably never needed to. It’s better if you don’t have to give it thought, but when you’ve lived as long as I have, with as many experiences as I have, you get plenty of moments to think. Reflect.”

“Huh?” She looked my way, as if I had caught her attention with my little musings.

“Huh what?”

“Oh, I thought you said my name.”

“What? ‘To think’? I guess that sounds like Demetria…”

‘My hearing’s probably off because of all that running,” she shook her head and groaned, “seriously, my ears won’t stop popping.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“How long do we have to keep this running for, anyway?”

“Until you can manage to do it without stopping to walk. Stopping for water is one thing, but even then, it shouldn’t take long. As I said, it’s not about speed. It’s fine if you run slow, just don’t stop running.”

We stretched outside after our meal and wandered around.

“I’m taking online classes, actually, so I may have to pass on your offer,” Demetria mentioned as we walked through the city.

“There’s Wi-Fi at the shack. I’m an engineer, it wasn’t too hard to do.”

“Oh, okay. You really think of everything, huh?”

I denied such a claim.

“I just try to see what’s possible. So tell me about these online classes of yours.”

“There’s not really much to tell. I’m studying marine biology, but I don’t really care for it. I’m just doing it to finish what I started,” she gestured toward me and I caught a glimpse of her reflection through the glass of an electronics store. She looked so animated, even as she told me how little interest she had in her studies.

“That’s still impressive in its own right,” I replied. It got me thinking about how many projects I left unfinished, how many times I had to leave a place and its people behind, how many missions went abandoned when new information made me see a different perspective. Even the times when I just abandoned a project out of a loss of faith or desire to see it complete. What could have come of them had I completed them?

We wandered around town for a little while, then sat at a park, although little was said. Just before sunset, Cleaver’s rusty pickup truck sputtered and screeched as it arrived at the base of the park. Both Demetria and I hopped in the back and we let the gentle breeze of early spring overtake us. Soon we were back at the shack and once we landed on the soft soil, I broke down the plan.

“While she’s training with me, can she stay here?” I asked.

“I don’t see a problem with that, but she’ll have to sleep on the floor next to Mange.”

“Who’s Mange?” Demetria leaped out from the side of the truck and landed on her feet with a thud.

“Eh, just my dog. He’s friendly. Might growl at ya. Might even bite your arm. Might even rip it off. But he’s friendly.”

She squinted.

“It’s a lone wolf he found,” I explained instead. As it turns out, Cleaver wasn’t very good with this stuff. “I think as far as Mange is concerned, as long as you don’t actively pose a threat, he’ll probably consider you part of the pack.”

“Hold up. Why do you have a pet wolf?” She turned to Cleaver. He scratched the back of his head.

“Helps keep away the cougars,” he answered all matter-of-fact.

“Why do you need to keep away older women for?” She questioned and I almost spat out the soda that had already been digested three hours ago.

“I like this one,” he pointed his thumb to her, “she knows what’s up.”

“Actually, I think it’s the opposite,” I refuted.

“So while we’re training, what if we practice sparring right outside the shack?”

Then it would get interesting, I thought the devious thought. Of course I wasn’t going to disclose that.

“We’d just have to keep the door closed, I guess,” I said instead.

We all made our way inside, a very cramped space. There was a bathroom in the back, complete with a shower, but aside from that, it was a bedroom with little room to house one person, let alone three plus a gray wolf. Besides the bunk bed hammock and the wooden planked floor, there was a dresser on the left end once we entered, and on the right was where Mange slept (when he wasn’t sleeping outside).

“You don’t mind if I have my laptop open while you sleep, do you?” Demetria asked Cleaver as he was already headed up to the top hammock to get some shut eye.

“Do what you want, but if the bright screen wakes Mange, don’t come cryin’ to me when he bites ya.”

“Here, I’ll sleep on the floor across from you,” I offered to her, “so don’t even worry about it.”

“Thanks,” she turned quiet and looked down to her side.

“She’s working toward her degree!” I cupped my hands to tell Cleaver. “Her studies are very important to her!”

“Really, now?”

“How the hell should I know? They’re her studies, not mine,” I hissed out the words, trying not to be too loud as to wake Mange.

“Bah, you know it’s all a scam,” he grumbled.

“You’re a scam,” I mimicked back.

“Are you gonna be okay sleeping on the floor?” Demetria seemed puzzled at my offer.

What about you? I bet you’re more used to sleeping on a bed than I am.

“I’ll be fine. I don’t care where I sleep. I’ve slept just about everywhere,” I reassured her.

“Bah, there she goes again. ‘Look at me, I’ve slept in penthouses and castles and trash cans alike’. We’ve heard it all before,” Cleaver started up again. I ignored him, and leaned in to whisper to Demetria:

“That’s him on his good days. Now type away.”

Sleep never came easy for me, if much at all. That’s always been true, or at least as far back as I could remember. The dim glow of Demetria’s laptop didn’t make much of a difference. Mange for his part stretched during a couple of intervals, but other than that, didn’t seem to pay Demetria any mind. Not even as she was leaned up against the back of his fur.

There wasn’t much else to do but watch. After a while, she started to yawn and her eyelids started to droop down. There were a few more clacks against the keyboard, then she pulled the laptop screen down slow and closed it before setting it aside. She didn’t seem to notice me at all. All the better for it. I wasn’t fixated on her, but my surrounding as a whole. It was a quirk of mine which I attributed to countless years of pursuit. Always alert, always looking forward. If someone were to try to kill me in their sleep, they would be left disappointed.

If somebody managed to kill me while I was asleep, I’d like to live long enough to thank them.

Still, for what it was worth, I was still human. Tiredness was still a thing. Sleep came eventually. Even if just a single wink, I would have liked that. An hour must have passed, and I felt ready to nod off when I heard Demetria mutter something. It was faint, but I had peachy keen ears, and was able to make out what she said:

“Games? Like having a snowball fight? Building a snowman? Then again, it doesn’t have to be a snowman…”

“Snowman?” I mouthed. I had to think about it, because it sounded familiar. I soon began to hum a little tune.

“Isn’t that...from a movie?” I asked myself in a low mutter.

Not something I ever watched, but I’ve probably passed by TVs in display windows playing that thing. Those kind of animated films with songs are inescapable, regardless of the quality of said tunes. Well, I’m not going to speak on the quality of something I’ve no interest in. It’s just kind of amusing that she’d be reciting such a song in her sleep. Despite her moody exterior, maybe she’s just a kid at heart.

Demetria started to stir and then her eyes crept open.

“So, Frozen, huh?” I asked, my voice a little hoarse. Likely due to my lack of sleep.

“Mm...what?” She yawned a sleepy little mumble.

“You were talking in your sleep. I think you were singing a song from Frozen,” I pointed out.

“Huh. The only Disney movie I like is Finding Nemo. So what song was I singing?”

“Hmm...’do you wanna build a snowman?’ I think it’s called.”

“Oh wow. Asleep me has poor taste. Can’t say awake me has any better taste, but still.”

“Whatever. Just let it go and get back to sleep.”

She nodded, then closed her eyes again and leaned back. Soon it seemed that sleep had taken her once more, though I did hear her mutter one more thing before departing to a soundless rest:

“Not like I plan on being around much longer, anyway.”

Heh, I leaned my head back against the dresser. You and me both.

In the morning, I stepped out of the shack and took in the crisp morning air. It was bliss, it was serene, it was –

“Ugh...so sore…”

Behind me, a shambling zombie-like figure groaned. Almost as if someone had raised the dead.

“Right. I should have taken that into consideration,” I groaned as well, realization of who was behind me set in.

“What are we going to do?” She scratched the back of her head and a look of general displeasure possessed her face.

“We eat some food, we do some stretches, we do some heavy lifting,” I ran through the check list.

“Heavy lifting?! I thought we’d be taking it easy today since I’m so worn out!” She was flabbergasted and most devastated.

“This is taking it easy. We’re not going to be running to the city today. Instead we’ll work the upper body.”

“What happened to ‘buy me Wendy’s every day?’” Demetria mentioned, something I didn’t expect to get brought up.

“Eh,” I shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be every day. How about just every time we go into town? Now, I’m going to make it so you hurt in other places, so are you ready?”

She gulped, being given an answer she didn’t expect, herself.

“If at any time you want to quit, just say the word,” I offered. “Because it’s not going to get any easier from here. You’ll just need to get better.”

She gulped, being given an answer she didn’t expect.

“If at any time you want to quit, just say the word. Because it’s not going to get any easier from here. You’ll just need to get better.”

Another gulp, then she shook her head.

“I’m not going to quit. I can’t afford to.”

Her determination was commendable. I had to give her that. If I didn’t end up breaking her spirit, she could very well end up a force to be reckoned with in her own right.

So it went: we stretched. We walked around the fields near the shack. Our day came and went with little word save for what was spoken on her resolute face. Another night. Another dim glow from her screen as she typed away at whatever project she had.

Dusk turned to daylight; we ran once more the following morning. There were still some stumbles, still some hurdles. She steadied her movements more, and with only being the second run, it was a startling improvement. Maybe minuscule in the grand scheme of themes, but I would have thought it would take longer for her to show any signs of improvement.

Two or three miles in, she stopped, slowed to a walk, then a few minutes later, built back into a jog. This happened another mile out, as well as the next. During the second half, however, whether it be a high or just having found a rhythm, she managed to keep pace the whole way through.

After our meal, we found a nearby park and wandered into a deeper portion of the park, less populated, with the thicket of trees concealing us from the potential misunderstood eyes of passerby.

“All right. Now it’s time to fight.”

She was slumped over as she had followed me into the park already worn out. However, upon the word ‘fight’, she perked up. That, or it was a look of shock. Either way, I had her attention.

“A...Already?! It’s only the second time running here and I’m still a little worn out.”

“Your enemies aren’t going to care if you’re worn out. Hell, they’ll use that to their advantage,” I corrected her. Not that she had enemies. Maybe I was just drawing from experience with that example.

“You’re right,” she agreed, something which took me by surprise. However, as poised as she looked, it was little more than show, and her knees wobbled before the fight even began.

I swerved my left leg to the side and dragged my foot against the soft grass, which tripped her and she fell before she could even attempt to avoid it. She landed right on her butt and struggled to get up. Before she could bring herself up, I stomped down, and that time, she reacted well enough to roll over.

“While the idea does turn me on, some things are more important,” she remarked with a grimace.

...What?

She hurried up that time and I swung my right fist in a slow and deliberate manner, slow enough that it would have given her enough time to do any number of things in response. She chose to block it with her left arm and although she reacted in time, I soon overpowered her. In spite of that, she tried to hold her arm up. As she was distracted, I once again swept my leg to the side and knocked her down.

“Don’t try to block if you can’t withstand the hit. Dodge instead. Also, don’t leave yourself open. Your enemy could find an array of maneuvers to attack you if you leave yourself an opening.”

She winced and gave a short nod.

II

Further days passed; what was one week turned to two. Run, stretch, block, dodge, react. After two weeks, she managed to run the whole way through. From Notus to Caldwell with a reserve of stamina left over. At the park, she jumped when I did a side-sweep. Either a short jump, or jumped back. When I swung my fist, rather than block it, she would either duck down, or lean back.

Another week went by and on the third week, I introduced weapons into the mix.

“Dodging, avoiding hits, all that’s well and good, but you’ll also need to fight back,” I instructed.

“Of course,” she replied.

I knew she had her knives on her. I also gave her a short sword to use. For my part, I had my signature katana, though to make it more fair for her, I pressed a button on the blade’s scabbard and split them into two kodachi-type blades.

“Wha – how did you do that?” Her eyes widened and she blinked, astonished at the sight.

“It’s not an ordinary blade. It came with my old profession, you could say.”

“You mean as a janitor? Did everyone have weapons like that?”

“Some. I’m sure you’re aware that Remora’s rifle can split into two smaller, pistol-like guns which fires off a wave of energy. My blade, or blades, are coated in an oil which repels a certain kind of creature.”

“Angels,” she answered.

So you know? Whatever the reason, I’m sure it’s not a good thing.

“That is one way to call them. But not angels in the biblical sense. No, more like the ‘beings beyond comprehension’ sense.”

“Yet we comprehend enough to craft weapons to deal with such things,” she added.

“Sorta. It’s hard to know when these weapons will be useful, or even how useful they will be. Especially when dealing with beings that are unheard of.”

Like what Ray and Sunny were dealing with up in the arctic. Whatever was behind it, I had little to go off of. If they even wished to stand a fighting chance, I would need to know more, but I didn’t know how to learn further.

What was known wasn’t comprehensible, either, as it didn’t seem to fit a specific pattern or intention – creatures that were an amalgamation of other creatures, contorted to a strange shape. Shadowy mass filled with various materials and limbs, like rope, wire, legs, and tentacles that could cause others to lose their sense of self. People whose limbs grew out from their backs, who could control such strange hybird creatures. Then the latest addition – a fog which blanketed the area near Ray’s diner and gave injuries to passerby. Some reported shadows of strange shapes, others reported voices.

What exactly did it feel? What did it embody? How did all of those phenomena correspond with what the source embodied?

At any moment, one of the diner’s proprietors would call me up to tell me that things got bad again and I’d have to cut the training off there so I could hurry to their aid. Remora’s rifle more than likely protected the diner from the inside, but the surrounding area was fair game for the entity and the beasts it produced. For now, however, I could focus on training Demetria, who still had a great deal to learn, even if she picked up on things at an alarming rate.

We clashed with the blades, and that time, she was able to block well. At one point, I swung down only for her to block it with the scimitar I let her borrow. When I swung the other blade to the right, she side-stepped to avoid the swing. Then the left, and the same. However, she kept up the block the whole way and even if she managed to dodge in spite of the openings she left, she was still overpowered when I swung both blades down against the scimitar. She tried to bend her knees and apply more pressure, but it wasn’t enough, and both blades were but a hair’s breath away from her face.

Without any more strength to give, she fell. I put aside my weapons before they could cut her down, then I scolded her.

“Again, don’t block if you know you can be overpowered. You did good blocking one blade, but you left yourself open. If the enemy starts adding more pressure and you can’t keep up, release and get out of the way.”

“Right…” She sounded wiped out. I couldn’t blame her, and she was improving, but she needed to know where her weak spots were.

“We’ll call it a day for now. Tomorrow we’ll spar by the shack.”

“Right on! I’ve been wanting to do that since the beginning!”

Are you that excited to get beaten up?

“What’s so special to you about training near the shack and training in this park?”

“Well, for starters...I’m always worried someone’s gonna show up and get concerned. It might scare someone and they could even call the cops!”

“Let the cops come. I’ll skewer them all with glee,” I dispelled any unease she had.

“It’s not just that! The field by the shack is really secluded so we can go ahead and go all out!”

Ah, yeah. That is a good point.

Our training continued the next day at Cleaver’s shack. We had an open dirt clearing where we weren’t as hindered by tall grass. Both of us stood on far ends of the circle with our weapons in hand.

“Come at me, bro!” She shouted.

I had a moment of weakness. As in, I hesitated, hearing such a ridiculous statement. Or phrase, rather. It only took a moment, though, and after that moment washed away, I rushed in.

Our blades clashed once more and she dodged the attacks, struck when she saw an opportunity, and timed her blocks well as well. Although I could also block and dodge each of her attempts, it had more to do with my experience.

You really are a fast learner, aren’t you?

However, another weak point showed through once more as soon as I struck with a side-slash. No, she managed to dodge it. That wasn’t the problem: the problem was that she pushed her legs in and jumped up. If she didn’t manage to jump high enough, or didn’t move in time…

“Wrong!” I shouted as I stood in place.

“What’s wrong?” Her voice squeaked and she scowled. To her it must have been just a disagreement of ideas, and she looked ready to protest my scolding, but it had to be done regardless.

“You dodged it, but the way you did so was way risky and took up more of your energy that it should have. You’ve built up a lot of stamina, but in a fierce battle, every bit of energy counts. It would have been less risky and have used up less of your energy to have stepped back, even jumped a little backward, than to try to jump over it.”

“Yeah...I see what you mean now,” she looked down and shook her fists, obvious shame written all over her.

“I’m not saying this to be rigid. If you didn’t jump high enough, you would have gotten slashed for sure.”

“I’ve been slashed in the stomach already,” her voice turned low, and a sullen look took over. She then lifted up her shirt, which made me take a step back. Across her stomach was, indeed, a long thin scar. “So it’s not so bad, right?”

“It’s true that slashes are generally less harmful than stabs. It’s said that in old wars, soldiers would slash rather than stab their enemies so they wouldn’t have to bear the weight of killing another person. But a slash can still be very harmful depending on how much force is placed, and the proximity. If you get a deep slash, like say you strike a vein, expect blood to spray out. An endless flow that you wouldn’t be able to stop, and if unable to be treated soon enough, death. Given enough force, one could even slash a limb clear off or cut someone in half.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Sheesh. Such gory imagery,” she made little “ack, ack” sounds to accompany her statement so that she could further express her disgust.

“It’s just muscle memory is hard. I know the right moves but sometimes I do the wrong one because so used to a particular pattern,” she added, something which I understood.

“Which is why we need to take it from the top until you get it right.”

We continued through the afternoon until sunset hit. After we called it good, Demetria headed back into the shack.

“Well, this thesis isn’t going to bullshit itself,” she told me as she waved before entering the shack. I waved back, but sat out for a while, letting myself bask in dusk’s chill.

“Is this what I’ve been reduced to? A mentor? An escort?” No, such thoughts weren’t good, especially not when spoken out into the air.

It was too late, of course. Once those words were spoken, the rest of the thoughts followed. Like, was I ever alive at all? What did it look like when I had a life? What was I now but a ghost, a shade, a wandering remnant? It wasn’t even that I didn’t want to help others or be a mentor, but that the only semblance of a life I had was one that would never leave. Violence was ingrained in me, ran through my bloodstream as I lived and breathed. There could be no help without it and the only justice I knew was an unshaken, violent justice.

For a while longer, I let myself sit beside the comfort of darkness. Close to silence, with the only sounds to fill the air being the crickets and the frogs which hid out in any given direction.

With a sigh, I allowed myself back inside. Demetria sat there, as she had many nights, with her face glued to that laptop screen. However, when she saw me enter, she closed her laptop and addressed me.

“How are you feeling?” She looked up.

I sat down and crossed my legs. I smiled, for I knew no other way to express anything.

“Just how I always am,” I shook my head, it sounded like such a carefree dismissal. Part of me expected her to be satisfied by such an answer.

“And how is that?” She asked instead.

That was a more difficult thing to answer than it should have been. It wasn’t a sense of monotony, but something else. Loss of life, or a loss of humanity.

“Forgive me if I’m unable to give a straight answer,” I replied after some thought.

“That’s okay, I’m gay.”

Fine, but just know that you brought this on yourself.

“Some say that ghosts are just memories, so in that sense, nothing ever leaves, does it, so long as the memory is there?” I posed the question. As I said, I couldn’t give a straight answer.

“Are you saying that you feel like a ghost?”

I shook my head.

“Not quite. I told you once that I considered my old self dead, right?”

As well as my current self. But only in a different sense.

“Yeah. How you were accused of –”

“I told you what my original name was back then. It was a lie. Not the story, but the name. Considering how long ago it was, my name was more than likely a simple one. Like Kuso Gozen, or something. There were bits and pieces of that life, that girl, that I remember. Being accused of an assassination, being put to death...but much of the details are lost. Forgotten. Hell, it’s enough for me to question if what I remember is real or made up,” I let out a deep breath. I was doing this again, wasn’t I? And who was I to say that was to confide would be any more real than last time?

“It could have been that I did murder someone. That I was given due punishment, and chose to evade such punishment. Based on what I know of myself, I wouldn’t put it past me to take out a corrupt official. But that’s beside the point.”

“What is the point?”

I shook my head.

“Ha. If I knew...well, I suppose the point is: maybe it’s better that I don’t remember. Maybe it’s better to be forgotten. To be more than dead, less than a memory.”

“I think I can relate with that. I suppose most people would prefer to be remembered, but I suppose to some, it may be better to forget. Like if you did something bad.”

“Mm...that’s not quite what I mean. As for that old self, yes, she’s forgotten. But my current self? I don’t mind people knowing my deeds. But this life I’ve had...I don’t want to preserve it.”

“What? You mean you’re going to let yourself get killed?”

No, that wasn’t quite right, either. But then, what ever was?

“Hell no,” I refuted, “I wouldn’t go down without a fight. But I’m just waiting for my time. Some say I’m like a cockroach, the way I’ve survived so much and had so many lucky breaks. But for the sake of my own sanity, I hope that’s not the case.”

“Why live your life that way? Why are you so eager to die?”

“It’s not like that. Maybe it’s a curiosity. How it will end and when. Will it be a quiet one, or a roaring crescendo? Will I be remembered afterward? Talked about? Or will I be forgotten, not even a passing name.”

“I’ll remember you. I already met you. Plus you’ve got all those homeless friends,” she pointed out.

“Ha! I guess you’re right about that one. It’s easy to call anyone a friend when you know you’re just passing through! We form a connection, make small talk, and then I disappear into the wind. It’s not really any different than how life was like with that company – I’d visit different places in different timelines, meet some people, do my job, and then go onto the next one. That’s just how it was. I suspect everyone who worked there, it didn’t matter what their personalities were or how big of a heart they had, got that way: just passing through, not really being alive. If any of us ever were in the first place.”

“How do you even know others were like that?” concerned dripped from her lips. Despite her stoic front, she really couldn’t keep all of that in, could she?

“Let’s call it an observation. I’ve seen how others were: some cope by indulging in their vices. Sex, drugs, booze, you name it. Some go numb, others break down, unable to find a sense of calm. Some can try to settle down, live a quiet life, maybe try to start a family, but it never leaves them. That feeling, like life, death, it may as well be the same thing. I think it’s the job, it does something to you. To all of us. Maybe that’s why I think that the ones who died were the lucky ones. Otherwise you just end up like me, waiting for your time to come.”

I gave a hearty laugh and smiled, not caring who I would wake up.

“I guess that’s why it’s so easy to talk to you about all this, because it doesn’t really matter. I may as well be talking to myself.”

She turned her head, puffed up her cheeks, and scowled. I thought she was ready to blow up at me, talk about how unkind that statement was, that I shouldn’t have had that mindset, but when she finally spoke again, it was about something else entirely.

“Do you know how Rhea died?” She asked, a fun topic for the whole family.

“Yeah. Was assigned to get rid of someone who was possessed by the embodiment of happiness. It was a pretty big task: potential world at stake scenario. Anyone could have lost to something like that.”

“Are you sure? Because I’m not so sure.”

“Why do you say that?” I stroked my chin, eager for her explanation.

“Ves is my cousin’s wife. She’s still mournful about the whole thing. She never wanted to kill her, and in fact, I think Ves was the one who could have easily been defeated. Apparently the two actually talked, tried to work out a compromise. Rhea actually showed her mercy, and in the end, I think Rhea was holding back because she wanted to be the one to go.”

How interesting. Mercy. Well, I suppose I would have at least tried to figure out what all of the options were before going in for the kill. So it’s not too surprising if it happened to be the same way.

“Did your cousin’s wife tell you all that?”

She nodded.

“It may have been the case that she was holding back, who’s to say?”

“But why would she do that if she knew the world was at stake? Did she just forsake the world?”

I remember the first time I met up with Demetria, she said that she had little interest when it came to Rhea. So now the sudden interest struck me as a little odd. But then again, maybe there was something to spurn such interest and I just didn’t know it.

“It’s doubtful the world ever mattered in the first place. After all, it was just one instance of the world, out of an endless amount of instances.”

“Yeah, but it’s my world! It’s the only instance I have!”

I leaned over and pressed my finger to her lip.

“Shh. Others are sleeping.”

After I released my finger and returned to my original position, I continued.

“She didn’t have a world she belonged to. While I’m sure she understood the risk, the stakes weren’t the same for her as it may have been for you. Maybe she was just done, and knew of no other way to go but through a fight.”

“But why did she show Ves mercy? That’s just not like her, is it?”

“Maybe she had a last minute change of heart. It’s possible.”

“Do you think she was infected by the entity? Is that why?”

I shook my head.

“It’s a possibility. There’s no way to know that for certain, though. As much as it’s natural for many of us to speculate, the bottom line is that the only person who knew what was going through her head was herself, and she’s not around to give us any answers.”

“You’re right...I was just wondering: what would you have done if you were in her position?”

I thought it over some.

“I don’t think I would have done anything different,” I concluded.

“Do you think she was lucky as well?”

Ah. So maybe that’s why she brought it up. I had to close my eyes for that one, lest the piercing glare give anything away.

“What do you think the answer to that one is?”

There was a pause, and there was something serene about such a pause. The heavy breaths of the wolf behind her, the snoring of the middle aged man at the top hammock. It carried with it a peaceful wind.

“I’m worried about you,” she said at last.

“Don’t be,” I shook my head and smiled, “the student has no need to worry about the mentor. You should get some rest.”

When we picked up on the following day, her growth was more than apparent. I’d strike down, but she’d sidestep, then do a sweeping slash, which I blocked, then did a slash of my own. She surprised me next, by sliding down, then struck up. I had to react fast just to block it.

“Ha. You’re getting better at reacting, but you’ve yet to land a hit,” I remarked.

“Just you wait,” she shot back with a smug smile.

Such confidence. I wonder if it will last.

In an effort to show that it wasn’t just a bluff, she rolled once, did another side step, which made me turn around as she made her next strike. Again, our blades clashed, and I still had another blade in my other hand. However, this time, she pulled something out from her pocket and I leaned my head back just in time not to get hit by what turned out to be a knife.

When I realized what she just tried, I couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t a condescending laugh, in fact, I was quite impressed. All the same, I was as amused as I could ever be.

“Ha, good one. You fancy yourself a ninja or something?” I gave a hearty chuckle.

“Not quite. I just need to learn all that I can,” she dispelled any such idea. She didn’t look any short on energy, either. That was good.

We’ll have to hone that aim of hers, but she seems to already have some sort of grasp. Force and precision, two things to work on.

“Let’s make things more interesting, shall we?” The proposal slithered out from my mouth as I slipped a cunning grin.

“MANGE!” I called out.

She looked over, a sharpened glance. It wasn’t even so much of a reaction, but more of an acknowledgment.

Has she adopted some of my traits? Is it from the training? Or did it just come with the confidence?

Busted out through the door of the shack came Mange, all fired up. That tired old wolf may not have been much but a heavy sleeper on his good days, but he could still be tricked into thinking there was trouble.

“Now you’ll have to dodge both of us.”

Before, I’d have expected her to react like, “really? Wolves are much faster than people! And they’re huge!” But instead, once again, a single nod of acknowledgment.

We clashed further, clangs of our blades as we maneuvered around each other. But soon, Mange gave chase, and as expected, darted toward Demetria. She stepped back, but he was quick to turn. She stepped to the side, but that didn’t stop him in the slightest. It was getting to the point that she was backing further away from me without even realizing it.

Panic seemed to set in and she turned her head from side to side and noticed how much further she had gotten. Mange was seconds away, and Demetria rolled forward, which seemed to do her little good. I charged toward her, like a little nudge to remind her who her target was, and I watched as she knew she was cornered on both ends: Mange behind her, and I about to strike her down in front.

So in a twist of events, she crouched down, then when Mange got close enough, she leaped into the air and launched herself off of that poor wolf’s nose, which propelled her further. I watched as she tossed a knife down in my direction, and I blocked it with the sword at my right. However, she then swung her blade down from over her shoulder, and I reacted just in time, with the blade at my left hand overhead. However, the force was strong enough that I needed both arms free, and before I could lift the other sword, she swung her legs together and flung herself forward against my abdomen, knocking me to the ground.

With her on top, the blade raised against my head and her head close, I could feel her warm, heavy breaths on my face. They weren’t breaths of exhaustion, but excitement instead.

I wonder if that’s what she meant when she said she wanted me to teach her ‘restraint’.

“Well, you’ve got me pinned down. What’s next?” I flashed a sharp-toothed grin.

No answer. Mange didn’t seem so interested in pulling her off, despite the image present. So it was up to me: I grabbed her by the wrist, even with that sword firm in her hand, and tossed her off of me.

“Waah!” She squealed, caught off guard.

I got up and brushed off any dirt that had gotten on me.

“Good job. That was a risky move, but it paid off. To think I had just tried that today and you had already figured out a counter,” I commended her. However, she walked off and seemed to have brushed aside every word.

“It’s still not enough,” she grumbled.

“What is enough?” I demanded. As much as I hated to admit, her attitude got to me.

“I don’t know yet, but I’ll know when I get there,” she huffed out a reply.

“Hey,” I called her out. That time, she turned around. “I know I said you didn’t need to tell me the reason, but what is it that you’re after, anyway?”

“I need to improve my aim when throwing knives, I need to improve my reaction time. My reflexes still aren’t enough.”

“Bullshit. What more do you need?”

“I need to be able to dodge a bullet,” she replied with such conviction that despite the absurdity of the statement, I had no choice but to take it seriously.

“If that’s your goal, you should give up right now. It’s never going to happen, no matter how good you get.”

“I need to.”

“Nobody’s fast enough,” I shot down once more, “you think I can dodge a bullet? You think I’m faster than what comes out of a gun? I just have to get lucky and hope there’s something I can shield myself behind. That, or hope that I’m faster than the one with their hand on the trigger.”

“Fine. Then I need to be able to block a bullet,” she was adamant, which only served to irritate me further.

“With what? A sword? Even if you could react fast enough, it’s more likely that the bullet will break the sword. What then?”

“I’ll…” She grit her teeth, “I’ll think of something.

How stubborn. Looks like I’ll need to compromise.

“Fine. How about this? For the next few days, or however long it takes, I’ll borrow your throwing knives, toss them your way, and you’ll have to dodge them. I’ll paint some targets on trees and I’ll have you keep throwing until you can manage to hit the middle. I’ll make sure you’re using proper form. Does that sound good?”

She gave it a few seconds pause, then signaled her approval with a single nod.

“Good. Now, let’s practice some sprinting. Run around the field for a while until you get worn out. Mange will chase you around, but don’t worry, he won’t actually hurt. He may knock you down, and he is heavy, but he’s friendly enough.”

With a sprint, she took off. As she went busy with that, I returned to the shack and decided to lay down for a little while on the bottom hammock. For whatever reason, as I lay, a smile formed, then plastered its way onto my face. Above me came the gruff voice of Cleaver:

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Maybe I am,” I replied, “who’s to say?”

“You’re not fooling anyone. You’re getting a kick out of this.”

“Of course,” I gave in, “I’m most alive in a fight. Not to mention, it feels refreshing. Both to fight without such high stakes, and to be a mentor. It feels like I’m passing on my knowledge to the next generation.”

“I don’t really get it, but I could tell there was something up with you ever since you first showed up.”

“Oh?” Consider my interest piqued.

“I mean, c’mon, some tall Japanese swordswoman just shows up looking for a place to crash? Like, what time period do you think this is? Obviously there’s something up with that, either that, or you’re just a weirdo.”

To be honest, I’m more of an oddball than I’d care to admit.

“But you know,” he went on, “I never pried, I never asked about what your story was, because I just didn’t care. As long as you’re going to help me out and mean no trouble, then it’s none of my business.”

“See? That’s why we get along so well. I’ve never asked you what your deal was, either,” I threw at him. If it wasn’t clear, I was a little cheeky.

“You wanna know something else? When you and that girl are talking late at night, I can hear you. You’re not as quiet as you think you’re being.”

“Aw, Cleaver, at your age, you need your beauty sleep.”

“Guh,” he grunted, “you’re one to talk. What with your talks. I’ll be honest, I don’t understand most of it, but your whole ‘I’m just waitin’ for my time’ bullshit like you’re some old woman about to croak.”

“Heh. I am. I’ve lived a long life, Cleaver.”

“You’re younger than I am. I bet you haven’t even hit forty.”

“I bet you’re right. But I’m past my expiration date, so to speak. With the kind of life I’ve lived, I’d say I’m past the average life expectancy. It’s a little strange...just to exist at all.”

Large breaths of air lingered just before the last few words were uttered. It was as if I had gone speechless, starved of oxygen.

“Well, if you’re havin’ fun, that’s gotta count for something,” he seemed like he was trying to make some sort of attempt at encouragement.

“Never said it didn’t, but thank you for the sentiment.”

“Another thing, uh, for what it’s worth, what does it matter if you’re just passing by? Doesn’t mean it don’t got meaning. Plenty of people are just passing by, having chance encounters. But it still has value.”

“I agree. Try not to put too much stock into the things I say,” I advised him. Selfish as it may have been, part of me wanted to know what kind of life he had lived, and why he lived in a shack out in an open field. Was it choice or circumstance? Was there another option? But just like him, I was fine with not knowing.

I think it’s always been that I’ve gotten along most well with older folks of a certain kind. Lost souls, or those who were destitute, vagrant, fallen on bad luck and hard times. Hermits whose own lives had become a distant memory. There was nothing to be fascinated by it, nothing romantic. It was just a certain kinship I felt. I in no way ever wanted to just scrape by with whatever I could reach for. It was just what I developed into, and now I felt as if I could live no other way. If I could even live at all.

III

Even as the days passed, and another couple of weeks flew by, it proved not to scratch that itch she so desired. Despite every throw closer and closer to the bullseye, every projectile avoided, every knife caught in the grip of her gloves (that one surprised me the most. Another risky move, but one I allowed, despite the trouble that could have caused. It seemed like less of a mistake and something she wanted to do. Still, I made sure to drill in her head not to try that with bullets, because all that would do, best case scenario, is give her a bloody hand), it wasn’t enough.

Throughout the training, I had wondered what her reason was. Although I told her she didn’t need to tell me, it was still important enough to her that she sought me out. She could have sought out anyone, a professional trainer, for example. But no, it was me. There had to be something specific there, and I had my suspicions as to what it was.

“Satisfied?” I inquired after she had managed to hit the target, square in the middle.

“Not quite,” she shook her head. That all but confirmed it; no more beating around the bush, I had to ask:

“Are you trying to be like your crush?” I drilled to the center of the matter, hoping to find gold.

“Excuse me?” She asked in turn.

“Remora. You haven’t mentioned her since you got here. You mentioned Rhea, which is surprising in of itself, but she never mattered much to you. As I’m sure you’ve thought, yourself, her and your cousin’s battle had nothing to do with you. But it was Remora who you were interested in, wasn’t it?” Her brows creased, and I could tell she didn’t enjoy such a topic.

“I’ve just had nothing to tell. Feelings can change,” she replied, her voice lowered, guarded in its response.

“Indeed. So it was a falling out?”

“Something like that. It’s a period in my life that I’m done with, so I don’t need to think about it anymore,” she flat out stated. Still, she didn’t echo the same confidence that she did in our spars.

“So that’s just it? Yet you came here, to someone you knew worked the same job as her, and talk about wanting to dodge bullets. Even if you don’t feel like you don’t need to think about her, you either have her in mind, or something similar.”

That time, her defensive face relaxed, and she changed her expression: a smile took hold and stretched to a smug grin.

“Something similar, you could say that. You could say I want to be just like her.”

I figured as much, although a part of me hoped it wasn’t such a case.

“Or rather,” she added, then turned away, “I’d like to be strong enough to be able to kill someone like her.”

Such confidence. This could be interesting, if also disconcerting.

“Someone like me?” I suggested.

She shook her head.

“I’d rather not kill. That was the whole reason why I wanted to learn restraint. But if my suspicions are correct, then I may need to. Which means I have to make sure I’m strong enough to do so, even if it means becoming like one of you guys.”

“Suspicions? What are you talking about?”

It sounded like some delusion of hers, although I knew better than to think such a thing. If there was even a chance of someone else like Remora or I, even alive and out there, then what did she want with someone like that? Did she have some personal vendetta? Did someone kill someone close to her? What could have prompted such a desire?

“I think I’m ready to show you,” she paced about, then brought out her phone.

Yes. Please. Show me.

I watched her put her phone up to her ear, then speak into it.

“Hey Cybele. It’s me. I’m ready for you to pick me up. Oh, and I’ve got someone with me. There’s a place I want to show her. Both of you. I might be able to get you your money, there, too.”

There was a short pause.

“Cool, see you soon? Cool.”

She ended the call, then turned back to me.

“You can take your sword with you, if you want.”

Was planning on bringing it, anyway. I’ve got some bad vibes from all this.

“What is it you want to show me, anyway?” I asked her.

“You’ll understand when we get there,” her smile held as she assured me.

What was left in me was a sense of confusion. Before me wasn’t the same Demetria that showed up a couple of months ago, but then, she must have had such a thing planned out. So either she had been masking how she really was, or it was an alarming determination. Something which she was driven to see through.

“By the way, you should get that dog back inside. I don’t think my friend would like seeing them,” she advised.

“Mange is a wolf,” I corrected, then stuck two fingers in my mouth and whistled. “Hey Mange! Get inside!”

Mange let out a whimper as he slowly walked toward the shack. He looked over at me, let out a soft, “awoo,” then pouted and went inside.

“Yeah, yeah. Awoo to you too.”

About fifteen minutes later, a woman with a blonde ponytail and wearing a blue blouse and a pencil skirt walked approached us. At first, she stood up straight, but as soon as she saw us, she slumped over.

“Ugh, lemme tell you, it’s so hard to find parking when you fly a plane everywhere,” she bemoaned. Then she stood right back up and looked over to me. I raised an eyebrow and gave a short wave.

“Hey, who’s this?” She asked Demetria, who looked up at both of us.

“Cybele, this is Wen...err...Zephyr,” she introduced.

Cybele then smiled a big smile and held out her hand.

“Heya, nice to meet ya! Nice muscles,” she greeted. I took her hand and shook it, then tilted my head.

“Thanks, I made them myself?” I replied.

She let out an awkward laugh, then turned to Demetria.

“So, what’s this place we’re going to?”

“You’ll see,” was all she said in response, then made her way toward the plane.

“Oooookay. Looks like we’re off,” she strutted off. I followed behind.

Aboard her plane, I just realized that I had heard Cybele’s name before.

“I think Ray’s talked about you,” I mentioned to her.

“Oh?” She sounded curious.

“Yeah. He’s really serious about this thing that’s been going on.”

Demetria scowled and sat across from me, her arms folded.

“So you know what’s going on too? Was I the only one who didn’t?” She accused and stuck her nose up.

“Of course I know what’s going on, girl. I showed up at the diner a little after you left. You would have known too, had you stayed.”

“I was under no obligation to stay,” she rebutted.

“You’re right, but I take it you would have, had you known.”

“No shit.”

“Still, she knows now,” Cybele butted in.

“She found out?”

“Ray told me, then I told her. She seems pretty serious about saving them.”

My ears perked.

“Is that so?” I turned back to Demetria.

She shook her head, arms still crossed.

“Finishing up school is more important. They can handle themselves.”

“Wow, cold,” I reacted.

“Not as cold as the arctic,” she shrugged.

“Well, you’re right about one thing: there’s no reason for you to get involved. If it gets to be too much, Ray will call me back over there.”

She didn’t say anything after that. By the looks of her, she seemed disappointed, as she hung her head low, but she didn’t make any objections.

“Say Cybele, you got any drinks on this plane?” I called over to her. She walked over and got into stewardess mode.

“Yes, what would you like?”

“Got any alcoholic beverages?”

“We have spiced rum,” she offered.

“Cool. I’ll take it.”

“I’ll be right back with your drink, miss,” she did her best to sound polite, then raced off to the back of the plane. I leaned back and awaited our arrival to the mystery destination.

We landed a few hours later in a clearing through a forest. Demetria got out of the plane first, followed by myself. Demetria looked up to Cybele, who was still next to the door of the plane, then addressed her:

“Cybele, can I ask you to stay there? We’ll be out soon, promise.”

“Trust me, that place looks foreboding enough as it is. I’m totally cool with staying here,” she assured.

Demetria gave Cybele a thumbs up, then we walked toward the building in question: this long and high marble building with few windows. Around the perimeter was a barbed wire fence.

“Apparently this place used to be a prison,” Demetria explained. Not that I was interested in the building’s origins. My interest was more in what we were doing there in the first place.

She opened the door inside, then motioned me to follow her in. As if that was really necessary. I would have done so anyway.

Once we stepped foot inside, I noticed the thin tunnel-like corridor, many rooms on the floor above us, and an absence of sound. Another thing of note was that the lights were on, which made it appear less abandoned than it really was. Demetria looked around, then remarked in passing:

“Looks like she took care of the dead bodies like she said she would.”

That caught me off guard, and also made me take note of the floor. Indeed, there wasn’t any hint of bloodshed or anything of the sort.

“She?” I inquired.

“I encountered someone who wants to kill Remora. She said that Remora killed her father, so I take it it’s personal.”

Figures. That frosty bastard wasn’t as good at taking care of loose ends as she thought she was.

“Do you know whose father she might have killed?” Demetria asked.

“No idea. I never shared any missions with her, and I don’t know what kind of jobs she took on. Could’ve been anyone’s father.”

“That makes it difficult,” Demetria shook her head. I wonder, do you still have some concern for her?

“What is this place, anyway?”

Our journey took us to the end of the hall, where two flights of stairs to the upstairs were situated, and we stopped at a door along the back wall.

“There was this organization. They were trying to revive the janitor company. Don’t worry, though. I took them all out, so it’s not going to happen.”

“You mean, you killed them?” Was my first question, although there were many others which could have taken precedence. Like why anyone would want to do such a thing, let alone how they knew of such an organization in the first place.

“Their turret killed them,” she corrected. “They were too heavily armored for me to have done anything on my own.”

She opened the door, then stepped inside. I followed suit, and my jaw just about dropped at the sight of stacks of cash lined up along shelves on the walls. Aside from that, there were several guns strewn about the floor, and alongside those weapons, there was something else quite peculiar: minerals which appeared to change shape and color without end, going from smooth to jagged to crystalline. Brown, gold, blue, purple, green, black, white. No specific consistency, and yet at the same time as it made those constant changes, it was as if the ‘minerals’ or whatever they were, were still objects and objects which made no such movements to warrant such a change.

“Concentrated celestial aura…” I heaved out the words. Demetria turned to me as she shoveled stacks of cash.

“You know it?” She asked.

“They’re the materials created from the essence of angels, made solid. They were used to forge the weapons we use. What they’re doing here...no, how they got their hands on…” I was just about speechless.

“Yeah, I don’t have an explanation, either,” Demetria echoed my sentiment. “There’s many things I don’t know, but I figure with this, I’ll have a fighting chance.”

“Fighting chance? What are you talking about?” I snapped.

“I want a new weapon of my own created from this stuff. I’ve already got an idea as to what I want, it’s just a matter of finding someone who could forge with these.”

Astonishment turned to irritation, and I held my fist against the wall.

“That’s not what I mean! What do you expect to do with a weapon like that?”

Her face turned sullen, and her voice lowered.

“I have an idea of what’s causing these phenomena that Sunny and Ray have been dealing with at the diner. If my suspicion is correct, then I need to make sure I’m prepared.”

“Prepared? How the hell could you possibly know what’s going on up there?”

“Because I’ve dealt with it already!” She snapped right back. “There was a man who ate two people alive, two people who I tried and failed to save! Who claimed to serve an indescribable creature, and even though I burned that place down, I know it didn’t take care of anything! There were still monsters in the arctic, strange things that went on, and they’re still going on! I have to put a stop to him! It’s my responsibility!”

“No, it’s not. You need to stay out of it. I get that you’re worried about them, but you don’t have the experience that I do. So just go back home to your family, live a quiet life, and let me deal with it.”

She didn’t budge.

“I know I lack the experience, that’s why I had you train me, so I could be strong enough to take them on. Like it or not, they are my family just as much as my biological family, and you better believe that I will protect them.”

“So you were planning to go there after all? Was the education thing a lie?”

“Not at all. I’m graduating at the end of the month. After that, it will take another month or two to forge the weapon. Then, I’ll find a way to get there. Mark my words. I just hope that I’m not too late by the time I get there.”

I pulled out my sword.

“Maybe she no longer matters to you, but do you think Remora ever wanted you to be like her? What about me? We went through hell to become the kind of people we are, and you’re saying you want to be like that too?”

“You’re right: I wouldn’t want to go through the same things you guys did. I can’t even imagine how you dealt with it. But I’m willing to put myself through hell if I have to for those people, because damn it, they’re worth hell. So we can fight right now if you want to, but I’m not backing down from this. Not when their lives are at stake.”

I let out a single heavy breath, then eased my nerves as I sheathed my blade.

“Fine. I did tell you that I didn’t need to know your reason, but you better understand that there’s no guarantee of success and if you’re not careful, this will cost you your life. Are you still willing to proceed?”

“Without a doubt,” she answered without hesitation.

“Very well. We’ll take these materials with us,” and before we could get ready to do so, I spied something beside the boxes of celestial auras. “Hey. You said you wanted to be able to block a bullet?”

She nodded. I picked up the small devices and handed them to her.

“These are miniature bounded fields. I’ll train you how to use them.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

“I still don’t like the idea, but I can tell that your mind’s made up.”

So I grabbed a couple of boxes of the minerals while she carried stacks of cash and the miniature bounded field devices. My load was heavier, but I could take it.

“By the way,” she spoke up while we hauled the items back to the plane, “I don’t remember if I’ve asked, but did you know any janitors named Cronus?”

“No,” I replied, “do you think someone by that name is behind these attacks?”

“Yes. Or someone using that name as an alias. What about someone who ate people alive, or had a big mouth. Anyone like that?”

I had to think back a little, there were so many others, now lost to time.

“There is one person who comes to mind, but I don’t know much about him,” I suggested.

“Who?”

“He had the codename ‘Tarrare’. Apparently his specialty was more akin to a true janitor...as in, he cleaned up messes, all right. From what I heard, the higher ups would find jobs that had to do with disposing of dead bodies, and they’d send him out to devour the corpses. It’s kind of gross to think about, but I guess he had the stomach for that sorta thing.”

“Anything helps. It’s hard to believe there’s any other janitors alive, but I’m not going to rule it out.”

Just a few minutes later, we arrived back on the plane and took off. Demetria handed Cybele the cash, Cybele hugged Demetria tight, and few was spoken after that. In fact, I stewed in my thoughts.

I can’t believe I’m letting her do this. She must have been planning this a while, but how will she manage? For that matter, will she be okay with who she becomes? Or was it who she already was, and she just needed the resources? Then I considered that it must have been the latter.

We returned to the field later in the afternoon. Demetria waved goodbye to Cybele.

“How will you get around without me?” Cybele wondered.

“I’ll figure something out. Besides, I’m sure we’ll meet again soon enough,” Demetria assured Cybele.

“Okay. Stay safe, and remember: you’ve got friends!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Demetria waved off and dismissed. “You take care, yourself.”

As soon as Cybele took off, I turned to Demetria.

“What’s next?” I inquired.

“We keep training, I go to campus to get my degree, and then I take off to get my weapon forged.”

“I see. What kind of weapon do you have in mind?”

She flashed a smile.

“I dunno. I was thinking a sword,” she gave a little wink. So much for originality.

“All right, so we’ll train a bit more, you’ll graduate, but do you even know a blacksmith who can work with this stuff? For that matter, how will you get back to the diner? In case you aren’t aware, normal flights aren’t going near there, and if Ray knew you were coming, he’d try to pull out all stops to keep you away.”

“I don’t know yet, but I’ll figure it all out.”

I couldn’t help but smile in response to all that.

“Now I’m curious as to what you’ll come up with.”

She shrugged. Looks like I’d just have to wait and see.

The end of the month came, so too, did the end of spring. Demetria rushed out the door of the shack that morning, laptop and backpack in hand, and woke us all up.

“What’s the rush?” I turned to her, voice all hoarse and groggy.

“It’s my graduation. I’ve gotta get my degree in person. I think it’s dumb, but rules are rules. So going to take a Greyhound bus a few states over. See you in, like, a day at most.”

I clapped.

“Well good for you. It’s like you’re growing up and everything.”

“Oh, shut it,” she laughed. “Anyway, bye.”

“Have a good time,” I waved to her, then she was gone.

Cleaver sat up from his hammock and looked down.

“That kid gone?” He looked around.

“Yeah, but she’ll be back,” I informed him.

“I can’t believe it’s been three months already,” he shook his head. “Crazy, huh? She turned from a pipsqueak to a powerhouse.”

“She was already a powerhouse, she just needed for that power to come to the surface,” I corrected him, “now I wonder if she’s something more than a powerhouse.”

“Don’t know, don’t care,” he climbed down. “I’m going to find some possums to barbecue. Wanna join me in the hunt?”

“I’ll pass. But send my regards to Mange, will ya?”

He grumbled an incomprehensible grumble, then walked out the door.

“I suppose all that’s left for me to do now is wait,” I spoke into the air. Wait for Ray to send me that call, telling me that the place was in danger, or wait for Demetria to return. Wait for so many things, up to and including the prospect of an eternal rest.

So I went around town, I rested in the fields, I swung around the sword, but for the most part, I just sat and waited. On the following afternoon, Demetria returned running toward the shack, with plenty of stamina in tow.

“Hey, welcome back,” I greeted.

“Thanks!” She replied, and there was something different about her, as she was grinning and a glow seemed to surround her.

“You seem in a good mood. How was it?”

“Oh, you know, boring stuff. But you wouldn’t believe who I saw there. It was an old friend who I thought I’d never speak to again, let alone see! I guess we’re really still friends after all. It’s hard to believe,” she seemed to wipe a tear from her eye, and she continued to smile.

“Who was it?” I asked.

“Not who you’re thinking!” She backpedaled, and I was a little confused.

“I wasn’t thinking of anyone in particular,” I argued.

“Well, it’s not who you weren’t thinking of in particular, I can tell you that much! It was just an old friend from college. We used to be roommates.”

“Look at you! Being all social and stuff!” I congratulated.

“Stop it. I doubt I’ll see her again. My life’s just heading in a different direction and I probably won’t be able to have as many bright and cheery moments as that one. I have to accept that.”

How unfortunate.

“You should at least allow yourself the moments of happiness you can find,” I advised her.

Her smile lowered down until her face turned more serious.

“Yeah...you’re right.”

Before either of us could say anything else, Demetria’s phone rang, and she answered.

“Would you look at that, perfect timing,” Demetria remarked as whoever was on the other end must have greeted her, “been a while, hasn’t it, Hera?”

Hera? Was that the friend Demetria knew back at her university? I didn’t know, but I continued to listen in.

“Oh my. You want me to come over? Gee, I’d love to do that, but I don’t have any way to get there. I don’t have...how do I put it...the coin.”

You need a coin to get...well, she was probably talking of transportation money. But still, doesn’t she have plenty of money considering what she took at that building?

“Wait. You’ll come get me? Well this changes everything. Okay. Hold on. Slow down. I’ll meet you in Caldwell, Idaho. You can probably find me at a coffee shop. Thanks so much,. Bye.”

She then hung up and looked down where I sat.

“Well, time for me to run down to the city while carrying rocks in my backpack,” she announced, then tossed me her phone.

“Why did you give me this?” I looked down, confused.

“Can you hold onto it for me? Where I’m going, it’s best if I don’t have this.”

I was still confused.

“What am I supposed to do with it? I’m a homeless old bat!” I griped.

“Oh, come on. You’re not that old. Just pretend to be me if anyone texts.”

I shook my head and sighed.

“I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this, but what the hell?”

“Thanks! So I’ll see you around!” She rushed out the words and was in such a pose that suggested she was ready to run off then and there.

“I just hope you know what you’re doing,” I cautioned.

“Ha. Do I ever?”

We both allowed ourselves a little bit of a laugh, and then she ran off inside the shack, then ran back out with the backpack on her shoulders. Without so much as looking back, she ran off at once. Before long, her image faded from view. Then I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the shack.

“I think if fate will allow, I’d like to live at least long enough to see how this plays out. If not a little longer,” I sent my wish out into the air. It wasn’t so much of a wish as it was a certain sentimental idea. I wouldn’t have minded if my time came tomorrow, or that very instant.

[valkavavaart]

hi im bored so im doing an oc thing

i decided i wannan do this w multiple soooo im going wwww ophelia, alice, and beatrice thats all bye

1. how easy is it to make them angry? do they show their anger or hide it?

ophelia - it's kinda easy to get under her skin, and she holds a grudge so if u piss her off then she won't forget it. but also she doesn't really ACT on grudges, she'll just be a little rude next time u talk to her. she doesnt really show much emotion but does kind of having a permanent :| or >:| on her face, so she'll look annoyed even if she isn't...

beatrice - generally just being rude or annoying will make her mad, but she gets over things within seconds and doesn't take people all that seriously to begin with, so it's not like pissing her off will do much. she'll be like pouty and tell u to knock it off, but she also doesnt rlly care

alice - it's difficult to make alice mad. like you have to be SO annoying or hurt him in such a drastic way for him to get pissed. usually when hes mad hes still all smiley and happy tho so he'd kinda just be >:)

2. do they believe in soulmates

ophelia - she believes in them in the sense that one person may have multiple people that can come into their lives and be considered a soulmate bc nothing is permanent and blah blah blah she doesnt rlly care tho

beatrice - she doesn't believe in soulmates but enjoys soulmate au fanfiction

alice - he definitely believes in soulmates and fate drawing people together, but is conistantly disappointed when he finds out people he like arent destined to stay with him

3. do they have any pet peeves?

ophelia - people with no concept of personal space (unless theyre like merrick or one of her close friends)

beatrice - ppl who eat w their mouth open

alice - the sound of violins

4. do they have a happy place? somewhere they go in their heads when they need to relax?

ophelia - oph just goes to the library man

beatrice - she doesnt need one bc shes always vibing

alice - when the man needs to relax hes either drunk as hell or hanging out with as many friends as he can get together, spending time alone with his thoughts is literally a nightmare for alice

5. at what stage of their life were they the happiest?

ophelia - the current stage of her life

beatrice - there hasnt been a stage where beatrice hasnt had fun :) she doesnt have anything to worry about!

alice - the current stage of his life

6. at what stage of their life were they the least happy

ophelia - the ages of 12-17

alice - any time he gets to the point in a relationship where he breaks up w someone and then he goes into "my life sucks wahhhh" mode for a few months

7. at a bar are they more likely to buy someone a drink, or have someone buy them a drink?

ophelia & beatrice - have someone else buy them a drink

alice - buy someone a drink

8. have they ever broken any bones? if yes, how?

ophelia - when her powers manifested at the age of 12, oph lost the ability to feel physical pain which lead to her straining herself more. she'd get into accidents or push herself too hard because she couldn't feel that it hurt and wold get injured through that (and she still does, but she has more knowledge of her limits now) so i guess she wouldve broken some bones through stuff thanks to that.

beatrice - never ever broken a bone!! she drinks a lot of milk to keep her bones STURDY :)

alice - has broken like his arm or fingers or just anything in that area due to a fight or something. he'll probably have broken a leg at some point too. again, probably in a fight. or maybe he fell out a tree. who knows.

9. do they have any memories/experiences they'd rather forget?

ophelia - she generally wants to brush most of her teen years away and forget things relating to her family, but also cant bring herself to hate them despite how garbage they are, so,

beatrice - there are probably a few conversations she's had with alice and percy that she's like to never remember ever again

alice - he cherishes all his memories, good or bad! he always thinks that he can learn from his mistakes and hardships! even though all he does is repeat the exact same things over and over and o

10. what is their favourite memory from their childhood?

ophelia - although her parents have always been cold to her, they used to go camping when she was about 9-10ish, and she always enjoyed spending time with her siblings around then.

beatrice - in the method she had been created she technically never was a child um. but in her early life, she enjoyed hanging out with levi! :D

alice - haha

11. do they have a "type" that they are usually attracted to?

ophelia - no

beatrice - bea will generally befriend anyone if theyre cute or theyre like her guy friends. as for a partner, she wants someone thats at LEAST a head taller than her normal form (her regular form is 5'5"), they need to be someone that likes hugs, someone who would coddle her, someone who would cosplay with/for her, someone who would buy her things..

alice - his "type" is just "someone interesting", but he thinks all people are interesting in their own right- you have to be SUUUUUUPER boring for him to not be into you in some way.

12. do they have any favourite possessions?

ophelia - ALL her alien plushies (most of which were gifts from merrick)

beatrice - everything inside her wardrobe

alice - cleaver

13. do they have any tattoos? if no, would they ever consider getting one?

ophelia - she doesn't have any, and doesn't really want one, but she's seen some real cool space ones, and--

beatrice - tattoos vanish when she changes her form unless she focuses REALLY hard on keeping it there, so she's given up on trying to get one to be permanent.

alice - he doesn't have any, but thinks that getting a sleeve would be cool. he doesn't have any idea for what he wants, though, so he hasn't bothered getting one. he also gets worried that if he gets one of his current aesthetic, he'll get bored of it and have to do something drastic to remove it.

14. do they have any piercings? if no, would they ever consider getting any?

ophelia - has her ears pierced

beatrice - doesn't want piercings, wears clip-on earrings

alice - wants a tongue piercing r belly-button piercing maybe.. and ear piercing might also be cool...

15. what is their dream house like?

ophelia - she'd like to live in a small town on the coast or something.. she doesn't really mind living in a small house since it'd just be her and merrick. but also if she had a house with an observatory, she'd love that a LOT. generally just wants somewhere nice and laid back.

beatrice - due to her void realm taking the form of whatever she wants, she has her dream home! it's literally just an apartment with a few rooms, but it has enough space for all the stuff she wants.

alice - he's in a similar position to Beatrice in that he already has his own dream place bc teehee void realm. He's a little more selfish in that he gave himself a big house with lots of space and rooms for him to fill with stuff- but also he wanted somewhere big so that all his friends could stay with him :)

16. what is something about them that people would not expect just by looking at them?

ophelia - UHHH just how lazy she is, probably.. woman barely tolerates having to jog somewhere please let her sit down

beatrice - idk probably the fact she befriends murder boys like alice

alice - all the music he listens to is like crazy frog and caramelldansen

17. how good are they at choosing gifts for others?

ophelia - she'll either just outright ask you what you want, or she'll give you money or a gift card, she doesn't like having to guess for people

beatrice - she literally picks gifts for other people based on what SHE likes.. like she'll get u something cause she tinks it's cute it doesn't matter if u've ever mentioned it before

alice - if ur his friend then he will have a list of all ur interests in the back of his brain at all times and does a pretty good job picking out gifts thanks to that

18. do they have a certain skill that they're particularly proud of?

ophelia - she's very good at researching things and digging up information that a lot of people can't find so she thinks that's kind of epic for her

beatrice - she's good at dancing, video games, and memorizing things. she will show off these skills as much as she can.

alice - umm... eyeball removal...?

19. how would a stranger they just met describe them?

ophelia - UHHHH... she's just polite to strangers so i think she'd be described as just that?? she doesnt really leave lasting impressions on people

beatrice - cute, bubbly, maybe super annoying

alice - friendly? :D

20. how would a close friend they've known for a long time describe them?

ophelia - kinda stupid but really cute

beatrice - just a lil ray of sunshine :)

alice - if you're asking like.. kai or beatrice then it's "he's cute and fun and pretty and nice to hang out with!!" but if youre asking like percy or nero then its "hes creepy and gross and im gonna beat his ass"

[lizzylunawizardessfanfics]

Not Your Time

Pairing: Light X Lizzy

Summary: Having been assigned to take care of the nameless that have been appearing in Gedonelune; Florin and Light were heading there though as there was a slight change in mission when word got to them about a natural born dragon having shown up. (Slightly spoilerish) 

“Why do they keep just appearing,” I shouted in frustration while I sliced through more of the shadow like figures; it didn’t matter how many I took out as only more would appear. “Light! Light look out,” I heard Florin shouting as turning around I was going to slash the shadow that was attacking me, but when turning I felt something hit me in the chest causing a rippling pain as I could feel it spread. “D-Damnit,” I cursed under myself already starting to feel light headed when the last thing I could remember seeing was the shadows dissipating before everything went black. 

I don’t know what happened but I must have passed out, I thought to myself as though I tried to open my eyes they wouldn’t for some reason. Was this what it was like to die, or could it be a coma, whatever it was I couldn’t move. I started to hear a gentle hum, a gentle voice, I could hear the female voice say, “You should be more careful, it isn’t your time.” There was a soft brush of a hand over my eyes as they felt like I could finally open them though when I did so my vision was still blurry. Blinking a couple of times I started to see a girl; long hair as I could make of the soft blue color that faded down to an ash gray, was she wearing small flowers in her hair. But the most surprising feature I noticed was that where the whites of the eyes were, they were black instead as it oddly made the girl’s blue eyes stand out. 

“Are you an angel,” I asked as it would certainly surprise me if that was what they really looked like. Hearing her laugh I was now sitting up and looking around to see I wasn’t in the open field we were fighting at; it was a forest well I should say more like a dead forest as there were no leaves on the branches and the trees themselves appeared to be shriveled up as a thick fog covered the ground and all around the trees giving it an eerie feeling. “Who I am, or what I am isn’t important. It’s time for you to wake up,” she said as when I looked over to look at her she was gone and in her place a light shined causing my eyes to close.

“Light! Light wake up,” heard Florin’s voice when I started to open my eyes letting out a soft groan in pain. “Glad to see you’re alright,” Florin said with his usual large grin as Zurvan came over to us. “If that’s what you wanna call it sure,” I said while rubbing the back of my neck as the image of the girl flashed in my head. Deciding to keep what happened to myself I started to get up as I could only question if it was real or could it have been just some odd dream. Having made sure my wounds healed up the two of us headed off to make our way to the academy in Gedonelune on Zurvan’s back. It wasn’t too long of a trip to the esteemed academy thanks to Zurvan’s speed. It certainly was a big place, we were currently following a member of the Ministry to the headmaster’s office. “I can’t believe we’re going to see a natural born dragon,” Florin spoke overly excited. I rolled my eyes at how he’d just go on and on, I just wish he’d stop rambling. Then when we came to a stop in front of double doors “Here we are,” Albert said with a smile before giving a knock and pushing the doors open. Upon entering the room it was a spacious room that had a group of people inside. “Welcome thank you both for coming,” The man dressed in black, I could only assume the headmaster thanked us which I gave a simple nod of the head.

Looking over to the group of people there were a mix of people in uniforms of white, red, and gold as the rest were dressed in uniforms of black and blue. The one holding the small white dragon was a girl, and that’s when I took in a sharp breath; looking at her she had medium pastel blue hair and baby blue eyes. It struck me as a sense of familiarity, but this was the first time I’ve seen her. That was when I saw her looking over at us and her eyes suddenly went big and then quickly glanced away. “Oh look at him he’s so cute,” Florin shouted, running over to the girl as she seemed to jump back a bit from Florin’s close proximity to her. The baby dragon already looked like he was weary of Florin but when he went to reach out to probably pet the dragon it chirped angrily and nuzzled closer to the girl. “It’s alright, you’re perfectly safe,” I could just barely hear her talk to the dragon while she petted his head which he seemed happily content. The meeting went on as it seemed that for the mean time it was decided that the dragon was staying with Lizzy until he was more grown. She even named him; Shu. The meeting went on a while longer before it came to an end. 

It was a couple of days as I’ve been watching over Lizzy and Shu since that’s what Florin has wanted. Lizzy certainly was a strange girl, but she was interesting; though I will admit there are times where it seems she acts slightly stranger than usual, but I don’t think much of it. We were all currently gathered in the cafe that was in the night class, I silently watched while Zeus and the other guys were being loud. ‘Hey,” I heard Lizzy’s voice greet as she sat on the stool next to mine as Shu was happily nested in her arms. “Hey,” I replied back plainly before adding “Are they always like this?” She let out a giggle as hearing that caused something in my chest to stir. “Yeah the guys can get pretty rowdy whenever we’re hanging out here, haha but then again they’re pretty rowdy no matter where we are,” she answered as she said it more in a fond manner than an annoyed one. The door suddenly slammed open to reveal Klaus as he looked completely out of breath as he was missing his hat. 

“Klaus, what are you doing here, what’s wrong,” I heard Elias ask when he went over in which everyone else stopped what they were doing. “There’s something approaching the academy,” he said while trying to catch his breath as everyone seemed to be in shock and when I looked over to Lizzy she was surprised but recovered and jumped off the stool. We were all running to get outside and once we did the sight that was in the distance was a disturbing one. “What are those,” Zeus shouted as in the distance it looked like it was a flock of creatures as though it was hard to make out what they were from here, but I already had a bad feeling. Looking over to Florin as he was already looking at me with the same expression of concern. I suddenly heard Zeus and Lizzy having a small argument; “Just take him for me,” she said at Zeus as he just gave her a narrow look before shouting back “What for?!” Letting out a frustrated growl Lizzy carefully but forcefully handed Shu over to Zeus as she snipped back “Just shut up and hold him for me please!”

She was quick to walk away as she was passing by us all when she started to undo the buckle of her cloak, I could only raise an eyebrow in confusion. “Lizzy you got-” I heard Albert calling over to her as to my surprise when the cloak came off and tossed to the side she was dressed in a white uniform instead of her usual prefect uniform. “I’m already on it Albert,” she shouted back as what she was doing with a pocket knife-wait... Is she about to hurt herself?! Watching as she sliced her right palm while reciting a spell I could see the trickle of blood when three purple magic circles in the air appeared. “She’s a necromancer,” I heard Florin say in shock as there before all of us appeared a reanimated griffin, hippogriff, and a thunderbird. 

She ran and hopped on the back of the thunderbird as it let out a loud squawk before taking off into the air as the other beast followed as storm clouds gathered. “Well what are we waiting for, let's go help her,” Caesar jumped in until Albert shook his head in a no manner. “It’d be safer if we stayed out of her way; aside from Florin and Light being here, right now she’s the only Ministry agent here qualified for combat,” Albert said as Zurvan finally arrived and landed for us to hop on. “Surely that can’t be-” I heard Elias interjecting until I heard Klaus’ voice cut him off. “Unfortunately as much as I hate to say this, but Albert is correct. Out of the three of us here she’s the only one extensively trained for these situations,” Klaus said as looking out there were bolts of lightning and other spells flying through the air. 

“Don’t worry we’ll provide her back up,” Florin said right before we took off and Zurvan flew through the sky. “It was just as we feared… Demi-wyverns,” Florin said in a worried tone as I felt an overwhelming feeling of anxiety ripple through my body; if they were here… She could only be close by. For a moment I was drawn to watching the reanimated thunderbird maneuver through the sky as the rain was pouring and there was Lizzy fighting casting spells but she also was wielding a blade that was in a similar shape of a cleaver, but only much longer. It was actually amazing to witness it was almost captivating, but I focused on helping fight and taking out the demi-wyverns. Letting out a low growl I cut through another beast as there really was just no end to them but then the sound of the all familiar roar that would haunt my dreams echoed throughout the sky. The storm clouds seem to only grow darker as from the clouds was when she came out of the clouds; the sorrow dragon. “What the hell is that thing,” I heard Lizzy shout which though I couldn’t see her face I could only tell how shocked she must feel, this wasn’t good; the sorrow dragon is a lot bigger than last time.

“Lizzy, do not engage it! Repeat do not engage! That’s the sorrow dragon, you’ll get badly hurt,” Florin shouted loudly as another clap of thunder filled the air. The dragon’s mouth opened as it was charging up a blast as I wasn’t sure where she was going to aim it. “Zurvan be careful dodging its attacks,” Florin told Zurvan while the black artificial dragon nodded his head. The countless beams of lasers came flying out of the dragon’s mouth as Zurvan was flying and weaving through the sky to avoid them. Glancing over to check on Lizzy, her thunderbird and other beasts were evading the beams. But that all changed when I witnessed a demi-wyvern fly right into them allowing the sorrow dragon to unleash an attack. “Lizzy,” I shouted as I watched in horror as she held onto the now plummeting thunderbird until it hit the ground. 

Zurvan was already starting to fly down to land while continuing to avoid the beams; lord please let her be alright. I adjusted myself and jumped off of Florin’s dragon and once I landed I started to run over to Lizzy as from here I could see her slowly moving. “Get up! Lizzy you gotta get up,” it seemed the both of us were shouting as glancing up at the dragon she was already aiming another attack at Lizzy. Lizzy rolled out of the way right in time as the beam blew up the ground she was just laid seconds ago, what a relief. Cutting down the demi-wyverns that were getting in my way I didn’t stop, I couldn’t stop running; I needed to protect her. Lizzy continued to jump out of the way of the beams and dodged them, good to see she was light on her feet.

I was getting closer, if I could just grab her and summon my bird I could at least get her to safety. I heard her shriek in pain as my eyes widened in fear when seeing the blood spill from her left arm, oh no she was slowing down. A twisting pain in my chest constricted my chest with every beam that just managed to nick her. The attacks came to a stop as I noticed the dragon was going for one big attack; no, no, no! I can’t allow her to kill another person I care about! Finally having reached her that beam was already flying right this way, I had no other choice in which I pushed Lizzy out of the way. I felt the familiar searing pain when the attack hit as I heard my name being screamed. Lizzy was the last thing I saw before my sight became blurry and feeling my body dropping to the ground. “I’m… Sorry, please forgive me,” I softly said and then everything went black.

I felt myself laying on the ground, though I didn’t feel any pain my whole body felt so sore, so heavy. Again just like the first time I couldn’t open my eyes as I didn’t hear humming, I didn’t hear the girl’s voice. “This must be it then… huh,” I thought to myself as I came to terms with death a long time ago, but why do I feel so sad. “Light!” I suddenly heard my name be called when I felt hands on my shoulders and I was being shook. “Light you stupid jerk wake up,” I heard the voice say again as feeling my eyes being able to open I froze; that sounded a lot like Lizzy. My eyes opening up I blinked a few times and there she was. “Wait-wait… Lizzy is that you,” I asked as I know I was confused last time I was here but… Why was she here, how was she even here to begin with. “Yes it’s me! Now what the hell were you thinking throwing your life away like that,” she shouted as though she sounded angry she looked more upset than anything.

Shaking her head she pulled her arms away and back to her side. “It was the only thing I could think of! I didn’t want to watch another person I cared about dying to that creature… I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if you had died,” I answered slightly looking away though I felt her eyes on me. Hearing a sigh slip from her mouth I looked over at her when she said, “Look we don’t have time for this, we both gotta wake up now.” I opened my mouth to ask her something, but just like the first time there was a bright light blinding me.

My eyes shot open as I was quick to force myself to sit up, heavily breathing. Wincing I hunched over in pain, feeling the soreness of my body but then I remember Lizzy had to be around here. “Lizzy,” I called out her name picking my head up and looking around which right by me resting against a tree she was. I watched as she woke up and looked over at me before she started to get up. Looking at her she had a couple more tears in her uniform. She walked over to me and held out her hands to me as she told me “Come on, we gotta get out of here. I have no clue if all the demi-wyverns are gone or not.” Taking her hands I was able to get up with her help as thankfully it wasn’t that painful to stand, her hands felt so warm. 

“Wait Lizzy tell me how you were able to do that, how is it even possible for anyone to be even able to do that,” I asked as it made no sense, never in my life have I ever heard of a human being able to even do such a thing. “Now ISN’T the time for this talk, once we’re safely back at the academy I’ll tell ya okay,” she said before pointing at my chest before quickly adding “And don’t you EVER do that again got it!” Not wanting to anger or upset her any more I just silently nodded in agreement and with that the two of us started walking. “Say what happened after I blacked out,” I asked after a little while of there being silence between us. “I freaked out and ran over to grab your body to get you out of there. Florin and Zurvan were continuing to fight off the demi-wyverns as thankfully some friends of ours from the Ministry showed up to help out though… The sorrow dragon did get away,” she softly explained as while walking she stopped for a moment, wincing as if she was in pain and slightly hunched over.

“You’re hurt,” I said, making my way over to her as quick and carefully as possible, but she just seemed to step away from me. “I’m fine, nothing that I can’t handle. It’ll heal on its own,” she responded quickly as when she turned to start walking again my eyes widened at the sight of her back. Her once medium long hair looked shorter like it got sloppily chopped but that wasn’t the worst of it; the back of her uniform had three long diagonal tears as the fabric was stained red. Rushing to catch up to her I grabbed her wrist and carefully pulled her back, she must have been in so much pain as it only made my chest get that familiar twisting feeling. She looked like she was ready to say something but paused only to say, “While I was trying to carry you to the forest a demi-wyvern attacked me from behind is all. Like I said before it’ll heal on its- ugh.”

I tensed up at the sight of her starting to slightly stagger, even the look on her face made it look like she wasn’t doing so good. Lizzy just suddenly started falling towards me as I closed the little distance there was catching her in my arms before I fell to my knees while holding her. Pushing her still wet hair out of her face I noticed a small cut on her cheek, well it looked more like a small scar now. “Lizzy, Lizzy,” I called her name in a panic which I put my fingers to her neck to check her pulse; her pulse felt normal but maybe not as strong. Gritting my teeth I felt so angry with myself, I tried to protect her yet I still failed to even do that. I was brought out of my thoughts by a screeching sound and when I looked up I saw there were a couple of demi-wyverns. “Shit this isn’t good,” I growled to myself taking a small moment to glance down at Lizzy holding her head to my chest protectively. Grabbing the handle of my sword it wasn’t going to be easy to fight in my condition, but if I don’t it’ll be the end of both of us. 

The next thing to happen took me by surprise; suddenly out of nowhere the nameless appeared and attacked the creatures until they were destroyed. “Great first the demi-wyverns and now the nameless; could anything else make this day any worse.” I thought to myself as oddly the nameless seemed to just… Melt away but I was back on alert when I heard an unfamiliar voice. “To think things have taken a turn for the worse, though I guess it hasn’t gone to complete shit,” I looked over to see a man with long pink hair that was tied back and only one eye visible and wore a mask covering his mouth; needless to say I didn’t like the looks of this guy. “Who the hell are you,” I asked loudly, giving him a cold glare. “Who I am is none of your business. Give her to me,” the mystery man said as he seemed to be eyeing Lizzy, taking a step closer which I held her closer to me while being mindful of her injuries. “No way I’m handing her over to you,” I snapped back as the pinkette just seemed to look mad by the furrow of his brow. “Just to make myself clear I could care less what happens to you, but on the other hand I need her to be alive or everything I’ve worked so hard on will have just gone to waste. Now hand her over so I can bring her to the safety of the academy,” he repeated himself as I had no idea what this guy was talking about as he continued to walk closer. “I said no! Wherever she goes I go with her. There’s no way I’m just letting some stranger take her,” I sternly said as he rolled his eyes. 

“Heh another knight keeping guard, how annoying,” he simply stated while I was slowly standing up and carrying Lizzy in both arms. Another knight, what’s that even supposed to even mean? I mentally questioned to myself but decided not to dwell on it too much. Keeping my distance from the man I followed him as I was ignoring the tiredness my body was feeling with every step I took. I don’t know how long it took but soon enough I saw us drawing near the academy entrance, we finally made it. Collapsing to my knees I heavily breathed as I felt so tired, but I was happy to have managed to get us back safely. “You better protect her, if anything is to happen to her I’ll hunt you down,” I heard the pink haired man say and when I went to look over to where he was, the man was suddenly gone. Too exhausted to care I felt my eyes growing heavier and harder to keep open. “Hey guys I found them,” I heard a loud voice in the distance that I couldn’t make out. “Alfonse! Alfonse get over here,” more shouting voices I heard but I passed out before I could see anyone.

Feeling myself stir in my sleep I moved my hands to rub my eyes before opening them and all I saw was a ceiling. Just at a glance I guess I was in an infirmary and when I looked down at myself I saw I was wrapped in bandages. I really couldn’t remember much besides getting us back to the front of the academy- wait where’s Lizzy?! Scrambling to sit up in the bed, I needed to go find her. “Light stop! You can’t strain yourself, your body is still healing,” I was stopped by two hands and looking to my right was when I saw it was her. She was in casual clothing, I noticed how both her legs and arms were wrapped in bandages and a large band aid on her face where the small scar was. “How are you feeling, I was so worried when you just fell over- your hair,” I asked as I reached a hand out to put it over the bandaid and it was then when I noticed her hair was shorter, moving my hand to her hair to lightly run my fingers through it and gently held the end of it.

“I’m sorry for scaring you like that, I kinda overused my magic. Huh, oh right haha,” she explained as seeing her back to her usual self more or less made me feel relieved though seeing her face slightly grow pink was cute. “After I woke up and Alfonse checked up on me Klaus helped fix my hair. Can’t walk around looking like a five year old gave me a haircut haha,” she continued to talk which I couldn’t help but chuckle a little, but deep down I couldn’t help but still feel guilty about everything. “Lizzy, why did you save me the first time,” I asked suddenly which I seemed to take her by surprise when she looked at me with wide eyes before they went back to normal. “Well I guess I should first explain myself huh,” she said as I looked at her, carefully listening to her tell her story. 

“So your contract with death… In exchange for you to perform more advanced spells of necromancy; you became one of his apprentices in maintaining people who die,” I repeated the main aspect of her story in which she nodded her head in a yes manner. “I saved you then because it wasn’t your time, as when I saved you again it still wasn’t your time; however even if it was,” I heard her talk more but she paused momentarily and my eyes widened when I saw she was starting to cry. “Even if it was, I would’ve saved you regardless because I couldn’t let you die like that! I didn’t want you to die protecting me,” she said in between her crying as it broke my heart to see her like this. Putting both hands on her face I cleared her tears away when I said, “Hey, hey please don’t cry. I’m sorry please forgive me.” Not only did she only get more hurt because of me, I made her cry because I made her worried; way to go Light. “J-Just don’t do that again,” I heard her say after sniffling to which I softly smiled leaning closer and placing a kiss on her forehead “I promise.” 

“You should get some more rest; if you need anything just let me-ah” I heard her talking when she started to move to get up from the bed, but I carefully grabbed her and pulled her back over until she was lying beside me. “L-Light what are you doing,” she seemed to grow flustered and embarrassed by my actions as I lightly rolled my eyes. “You’re saying I need rest when you should be resting too, I wasn’t the only one who got hurt during that fight and if I have to hold you to keep you here I will,” I stated as I watched her puff out her cheeks in a pouting manner. “Fine fine you win,” she said giving in as it actually felt nice holding her in this manner, that warmth she gave off; it was relaxing. Briefly staring at the ceiling I then looked back down to Lizzy to say something but it seemed she already fell asleep as even Shu was fast asleep next to her. Softly smiled I brushed her bangs out of her face before carefully removing the flower from her hair so it wouldn’t get damaged. “Sleep well my angel,” I whispered, deciding to close my eyes to rest able to rest easy knowing she was safely beside me.

Bonus: here’s a lil drawing done by your’s truly a while back when I first came up with the fic idea~ 

[hrharthurkirkland]

12. "I want you. Only you." GerEng bby give me that good shit.

is anyone surprised I got the GerEng one done first? I’m not. Similar to yours, I also did something with dogs. Enjoy!!! (thank you for doing my prompt by the way u know how much I loved it lmao) will I put this on ao3? maybe. in with the FrUK one B) 

The kind of stillness you get in an empty street at 3am is unique, a feeling Arthur often enjoyed on his walk back from the pub. He didn’t always like going out on his own, but sometimes it was needed to just clear his head for a while after the social strain of so many people he already knew. It was good to just kick back and not worry about having to see someone again for a while. But now, he was totally alone as he walked, his path illuminated by the street lights ahead of him. Sometimes a car would drive by to break through the silence before fading off and leaving him once again to this peace. His half drunk state really did help to keep it comfortably numb, like he was floating on a cloud to his destination.

He didn’t actually own a key to the little retro house he eventually stepped up to, it wasn’t his, and he probably shouldn’t be trusted with immediate entry whenever possible. But it was late, and he really needed to crash head first into some pillows. It wasn’t that he was uninvited, in fact, he was supposed to be staying here anyway, just not blessed with easy access, and at this time of night, knocking was out of the question.

By some stroke of luck, Arthur wasn’t drunk enough that he couldn’t bend down and retrieve the spare key hidden under a false rock – otherwise this would have been a disaster and he might as well have knocked in the first place. But, as he clumsily slid the key in and stepped inside the dark home, he felt a sigh overcome him. Comfort. With a hint of dog. Speaking of which, the two he had expected didn’t rush towards him like they usually did when he visited, which meant they could only be in one place.

Quietly, he climbed the stairs, creeping onto the landing and down towards the soft light of the room ahead. It was dim, but as he entered, he noticed a head pop up, ears pointed and eyes fixed on him before deciding he wasn’t a threat, while it’s lazier companion only shifted it’s head slightly. “Ladies.” He nodded to each of them, pulling off his shoes.

“Your back late…” A voice grumbled from somewhere on the bed.Behind the larger dog, Ludwig turned over, eyes barely open as he did his best not to disturb the two dogs he had been sleeping beside.“Yeah, got a bit carried away in a conversation about something.” The Englishman waved his hand, “There enough room in there for me?”“Always.”

The duvet was moved, revealing a comfortable spot just between Ludwig and the Alsatian currently trying to get back to sleep. Warm and inviting, it was hard not to dive right in. Instead, Arthur chose to carefully climb over the animals, apologising as he went before slotting in nicely, still in his jeans and t-shirt. Despite this, he pressed himself up against the warm muscle of his partner and immediately felt comfortable.

“How gentlemanly of you to save me a spot.” He sighed, nuzzling his face in the crook of his partner’s shoulder,“Why wouldn’t I?”“Dunno. Because you have two pretty girls in bed with you?”Ludwig chuckled, a soft, low chuckle as he struggled to stay awake for the conversation, nose in the Englishman’s hair, “They missed you too.”

As if on queue, the yellow dog on the end of the bed shifted, flopping heavily onto the legs of her companions.

Blondie, a younger golden retriever with a heart of gold and an unhealthy obsession with food. While well trained and wonderfully gentle, she was cunning and cleaver, opening doors and going down bins to get at something to eat or chew. She lay there on her back in the slight crevice between the two men, tail sweeping over the duvet, eyes squinted happily. Arthur reached over awkwardly to pet her cheek, watching her tail go faster and her head move back to guide his hand under her chin.

The other girl, Brownie, was an Alsatian. Loyal and brave, the older of the two and often more restrained, but faced with a ball she was outright goofy and had no sense of the fact she only had one skeleton. She rolled over, realising there was attention to be had and pushed her face under Arthur’s arm. He laughed lightly, moving to scratch the softest part behind her ear.

These dogs were Ludwig’s pride and joy, they were on a tight schedule with daily walks and two meals a day, the occasional treat here and there. To befriend them was something the Englishmen felt was an accomplishment, and made him feel all the more closer to the man he would share a bed with whenever possible. He looked back to the German beside him, finding his eyes open, admiring how Arthur pet each of his babies.

“What?”“Nothing…” He smiled, “You’re just… cute.” Before a reply could properly form, Ludwig reached out, brushing his thumb over the flushed cheek of his partner, “Thank you.”“For what? Letting you keep them in the bed?” Arthur joked,“Yes actually.” He let a light laugh move his chest before shifting forward, using his hand behind Arthur’s head to guide in him into a gentle kiss. The Englishman moved his hand from the dog and let it land comfortably on the one at his cheek, stroking it as they kissed sweetly.

When it broke away, Ludwig made a noise. Something like a grumble and a huff, and oddly enough quite dog like in itself. He dipped his head down, eyes closed as he pressed a few trailing kisses against his neck as he settled there. His arms pulled his partner closer to him, tightly around the man’s waist as he sighed.“I want you… Only you.” He muttered into the skin.

The words made Arthur blush, but he smiled softly and wrapped his own arms over him, encasing those large shoulders as best he could, “I could hope for nothing more, puppy.”

[jackaccletonhonours-blog]

S.O.V route plots

Wrath

With wrath the player decides to go out drinking on thier first night in the holiday and happen to end up in a bar full of really tough looking people including wrath, if the player chooses to act tough upon entering and to wrath himself its possible for wrath to fight and even kill the player here. However if you do not act to aggressive and just look to have a drink wrath will sit next to you and the two of you will have a drink and chat some.

With drinks in your system you either drunkenly flirt or drunkenly try to fight him, if you flirt he will take you back to his place, if you fight he will win but take you back to his place to ‘mend you’

This is the point where you will be kidnapped in a sense, if you fight you will instantly wake up tied up in his garage, if you flirt you will get a small scene explaining what happened however you will still end up in the garage when you try to leave. Wrath is of course a very aggressive man so after this point alot of the time spent will be you being attacked, shouted at, almost killed and trying your best to calm him down in hopes of survival.

Endings

He won the fight - Challenge wrath to a fight before you go drinking with him (Death)

he needed a parking spot - make him so angry he uses your head as a parking spot for his bike (Death)

Blood brothers - You survived his punishment and he thought you had what it takes (Survival)

Lust

With lust the player decides a similar path however they choose instead to drink at a fancier lounge club where lust is preforming, lust will always approach the player however her reason depends on what the player does, if they ignore her singing she will come over to comment that she hasnt see you here before and to asks if you liked her performance, if you payed attention she will comment that your new but instead skip right to her sins.

She will offer you small talk for a moment or two before inviting you too the backroom of the club, if you accept you and her will leave to the back and have some ‘alone time’ but this will lead to your kidnapping

If you refuse she sees to understand however when you get home later on two large men will visit and take you to her starting the kidnapping.

Once kidnapped you will awaken handcuffed to a bed in her private backroom where she wants to make you submit to her and embrace the lust through her sexual torment and domination

Endings

You couldnt keep up - lust cannot get enough of you and in her lusty state for you she doesnt stop having ‘fun’ with you (Death)

you need practice - She choked you to death...but it wasnt with her hands (Death)

Petplay - You became her loyal pet ready to play with her whenever she wants - (survival)

Envy

Envy occurs when you decide to stay at home and relax instead of going out, when that is the option envy will eventually knock on your doo asking to be let in and also welcoming you to the neighbourhood. If you choose not to let him in he will try twice more but then back away, you can also choose to ignore the door which has the same effect, choosing this path will make it so that in your sleep he will break into your home, do something to you in your sleep and when you wake up the kidnapping will begin with you trapped in your own home.

If you let him in you two will cha on the cough and then he will tyr to advance on you, if you deny he will not take no for an answer and continue, if you say yes he will go to your bedroom with you and have fun. in the morning when you try to leave he will keep you in your home thus kidnapping you.

after that he becomes extremely possessive but tries to make things seem like you and him are an item and have been for a long time. 

Endings

If i cant have you - Envy kills the player if they wont conform to what he wants, if he cant have you no one else can (Death)

Did he say you could leave? - You tried to escape and envy caught you (Death)

Only his - You broke and settled into your role as his property and significant other (Survival)

Gluttony

Gluttony’s route occurs when the player wishes to make a meal for thier firts night on holiday, the fridge/freezer has been stocked with all you need except for the meat so you go out to get some which leads you to Cale’s Cleaver a small nearby butchers shop.

When the player enters they can either be a nice and understanding customer or a very poor and hate filled customer, the second will lead to you eventually being attacked in store by the butcher leading to your kidnapping. If not however he will give you recommendations and help you find the meal you want.

However when you get home and eat it you find he has drugged it, your world becomes trippy and hazy and he even appears to you at home before you pass out and are kidnapped and taken the the butchers shops back room where you must survive gruesome attacks and his unending hunger

Endings

A slow burn - Gluttony cooks you alive (death)

Rotten meat - He deems you bad meat to serve to himself or his customers and kills you (death)

seems you found a job - Cale hired you as his ‘willing’ assistant (Survival)

Pride

If pride is the route you wish to take then you must go out and look for some culture for your first night, look to learn about some art. You will head ot the art gallery where depending on your choice pride will either be watching you drawing your form as you explore or she will come up to you and talk to you if you look at her art in the gallery.

the two of you talk for a long period of time before she asks you what you thought of her piece before, if you praise it she will eventually offer for you to come see more of her pieces at her home, accept to be ‘kidnapped’ decline to set yourself into the other path in which if you critique her work she will seem upset and when you are going home later she attacks you form behind.

When you are kidnapped you will be taken to her messy art studio where she will obsess over you and try to turn you into a model or her next masterpiece

Endings

Blood, sweat and tears - she will drain you of to much blood to use for a painting thus killing you (death)

the perfect pose - You wouldnt play along so she was forced to make sure hurt you (death)

Modern masterpiece - through your combined efforts her art becomes a masterpiece over time and she wants to work with you more and more (Survival)

Greed

Greed begins if the player decides to spend their first night on the town gambling some of their hard earned cash away, the casino will be a lavish golden place where the layer can either opt to get attention by shouting and screaming about their money or being quiet, either way greed will approach sooner or later and he will invite you to play a casino game with him however it is rigged. 

The first two times you win big but the last you will either deny to play and try to walk away or greed will make you bet big and lose. if you walk away greed will accuse you of cheating and security will take you to the back room or he will take you himself on a private matter which of course starts the kidnapping

Greed will have you in the basment of the casino that has clearly been used for this thing before, he will torment and torture you like he were a member of the mob to try and squeeze every last bit of money and possessions from you.

Endings

Life debt - You lost everything, even your life (death)

rigged roulette - You played Russian roulette and lost but the game was rigged from the start (Death)

Luck be a lady tonight - you got you r money back and then some escaping the casino (Survival)

Sloth

sloth is the path that happens if the player decides to stay home but instead of relaxing they opt to go straight to sleep, in the morning the player character will go to a local gym to conduct a morning work out at which point they can choose to work out alone or with an instructor, if they work out alone they may feel eyes on them, if not the instructor you get will be sloth and he will help you work out.

Another option to change this path is how you work out, if you go all in with it sloth will ambush you late on in the shower knocking you unconscious and jamming you into his work out bag because he finds it odd how pumped you got and wants to learn more, find out your secret so to speak. If you half arse it he will kidnap you the same way but he will kidnap you both proud and somewhat annoyed at how outright lazy you are

you awaken inside sloths home which is a messy barely looked after apartment where you now find yourself locked up and suffering through the foulness of sloth.

Ending

He forgot - He forgot you needed water or food to survive or was to lazy to care (death)

Hell of a workout - He worked you to death (Death)

He just couldnt keep up - Exhaust him enough that he himself dies (Survival)

[therightnewsnetwork]

We Hear You: ‘No More Reasons Why Congress Can’t Totally Repeal Obamacare’

Editor’s note: Republicans’ failure to repeal Obamacare after assuming control of the White House as well as Congress registered strongly with our audience in recent days. The day after President Trump’s 100th day in office, today’s mailbag leads off with two related letters, one signed by 17 GOP and grassroots activists in Pennsylvania.—Ken McIntyre 

Dear Daily Signal: Since it was enacted into law in 2010, most Americans have opposed the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. In elections since then, Republicans have campaigned on the promise of total repeal of Obamacare. We, political constituents and grassroots supporters, responded by giving Republicans the House, then the Senate, and, in 2016, the presidency.

There are no more reasons why Congress cannot totally repeal Obamacare (“What’s in the New Obamacare Deal That Could Unite Conservatives, Centrists“).

The new American Health Care Act, as it stands now, is not Obamacare repeal.  Most Americans agree, given that only 17 percent support the bill, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll.

We ask nothing more than our legislators honor their campaign promises to repeal Obamacare.

Repeal means dismantling the Title I regulatory structure in the legislation that has caused insurance premiums to skyrocket, swelled Medicaid rolls and inserted the federal government between patients and our doctors.  The 2015 repeal bill, which passed both the House and Senate, is a starting point for repealing Obamacare.

Replace means implementing free market solutions, eliminating taxpayer-funded abortions, and returning to patient-centered health care.

The House Freedom Caucus is not the problem. They are attempting to honor what the Republican Party has promised its supporters since 2010.

We, the undersigned, represent local grassroots groups whose members are your readers. We now ask that promises to us are honored: Congress must repeal Obamacare, then replace it. No more excuses.—Betty Dunkel-Hernon, for Valley Forge Patriots Republican Committee, Schuylkill Township, Pa.

Also signing: Lucy Tscherne, Valley Forge Patriots; Linda Hertzog, West Chester Tea Party; Lisa Esler, Delaware County Patriots; Jane Marie Toal, Citizens for Liberty; Don Reimer, Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots; Larry Denver, president, Faith & Freedom Coalition, Pa.; Charles Beatty, vice president, Faith & Freedom Coalition, Pa.; Susan Hancock, Smart Girl Politics; Donna Ellingsen, Republican Committee, Elk Township; Linda Cleaver, Republican Committee, Londonderry Township; Marsha Spencer, Republican Committee, Lower Oxford West; Margaret Layden, Republican Committee, Tredyffin M-6; Barbara Albright, Republican Committee, West Bradford 4; Beckie Laughlin, Republican Committee, Valley North 635; Jane E. Brown, Landenberg, Pa.; Rita Misero, Coatesville, Pa.

Editor’s note: The above letter arrived April 24, before House conservatives announced support for new revisions of the health care bill.

Repeal Obamacare, Don’t Replace It

Dear Daily Signal: I don’t understand why this Republican Party is so completely unable to understand what it is Americans are asking for (“Health Care Talks Continue as Republicans Face Questions on Obamacare Repeal“). You can forward my frustrations:

I am a taxpayer with a lifelong chronic medical condition, Crohn’s disease, and I work in the medical field. You’d think I’d be ecstatic to have Obamacare, except that I’ve grown up having private insurance and for a brief time in young adulthood I was on disability/SSI.  I’ve had to sacrifice and struggle to have insurance coverage all my life.

So let me make this clear: The worst year of my life, bar none, in terms of dealing with this disease, insurance, etc., was the year I was prostrate to the federal government for my support. I vowed, never again.

Government does nothing efficiently or well. I’m sorry to burst the bubbles of our hard-working, dedicated Congress, but they cannot make anything at all work economically. At all.

Congress should repeal Obamacare completely. Why can’t Congress just set the rules, and then just let the free market solve the coverage issues by itself? Why not just let insurers offer coverage anywhere, without restrictions to certain states, and then get out of the way?

Check your (huge) egos, Congress! Let health care be handled by people who know how to manage money and who know something, anything, about health care and health insurance. Please, I’m begging you: Get out of health care.—Galen Jackson

Republicans Shrink From the Budget Battle

Dear Daily Signal: I am a very conservative person who reads a lot about current events online across seven to 10 different websites, excluding “mainstream media” sites.  I read Genevieve Woods’ commentary on congressional Republicans and couldn’t agree with her more (“Even With Republicans in Charge, Upcoming Budget Battle Looks Grim“).

The GOP is a bunch of spineless wimps who are continually outplayed by the bully “illiberals.”  The GOP doesn’t seem to have learned any lessons on strategy  from the Harry Reid/Barack Obama years.

The lessons: Get out in front of it, stick disliked legislation in a drawer someplace and forget about it.  Do not put anything forward that the president will veto. Finally, when all else fails, threaten the GOP, and if that doesn’t work, threaten them some more. Why isn’t the GOP following the Democrats’ model?

I particularly like Ms. Woods’ following recommendations, quoting from her commentary:

They should be calling the Democrats’ bluff and put forward legislation that does what they promised—reins in government spending, starts addressing America’s debt, and secures our border and national security needs.

If enough Democrats in the House and Senate don’t vote for it (such legislation requires 60 votes in the Senate), they should make it clear that they will go into every state where vulnerable Democrats are up for re-election in 2018 and tell voters there that their lawmaker was responsible for shutting down the government over liberal pet causes—such as funding for sanctuary cities and Planned Parenthood—or because he or she didn’t want to allocate funds to secure our border.

As a result of reading so much about current events, I am definitely of the opinion that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been around too long and needs to be gone.

He doesn’t appear to be strong enough nor clever enough to lead the GOP and Senate to victory on important issues for this country.  The budget and debt ceiling are two of the really important ones.–Tracy Gore, Vancouver, Wash.

The Best Thing Trump Has Done for the Country

Dear Daily Signal: Morgan Walker’s article regarding ‘SKYPE’ reporters is excellent (“This 1 Change Trump Administration Made to White House Press Briefings Is Shaking Up the Media“). Finally, a great example of a positive spin on political news coverage.

The goal of the “mainstream media” has always been to manipulate and control the way the public thinks. It could be the most powerful force for good on the planet.  Unfortunately, it runs in the opposite direction, and is clearly the greatest threat to the Trump administration and democracy in our country.

Isn’t it ironic that the media is missing such an incredible opportunity?

Love him or hate him, perhaps the best thing President Trump has done for the country is to finally expose the biased and corrupt mainstream media for what it really is.  The “swamp,” our incredibly stupid and inept Congress, is a close second.

Please share with Ms. Walker. Also, kudos to Fred Lucas and others for continuing to investigate the George Soros conspiracy to cripple the USA from within. Glad to be a member of The Heritage Foundation.–Hank Mattox

Trustworthy News Sources a Rare Commodity

Dear Daily Signal: Your news organization, and like-minded others, should consider creating a set of standards defining acceptable practices for certification as an Associated Conservative Press Certified News Source, or similar copyrightable name (“By Choosing Trump Hater as Dinner Speaker, Mainstream Media Embraces ‘Opposition Party’ Status“).

Trustworthy news sources are a rare commodity across America for everyone, but especially for conservatives.  Someone with the resources of the Koch brothers could create a nationwide news brand on their own.

But in lieu of that, it would be helpful to have a branding device that conservatives could use to validate online media, and possibly also print and broadcast media, as reliable and accurate.  Not in the sense of dogma, but rather accurate and true by professional journalism standards.

If you think this idea is worthy of consideration, please contact your worthy peer groups for possible action.—Newell S. Jones

No Trump Voters Need Apply?

Dear Daily Signal: Having once had a mainstream media job, I prefer to remain anonymous here. Read the last paragraph of this recent New York Times ad for “a new Rio de Janeiro bureau chief, one of the most exciting and dynamic assignments in the world,” including coverage of both Brazil and Argentina:

The New York Times is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of an individual’s sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics.

Quite a laundry list.

But would The New York Times hire a Trump voter? Or do they rule out 50 percent of the U.S. population?—A Reader

Dear Daily Signal: I was very disappointed in the lead letter in your recent “We Hear You” roundup (“I’m a Sailor, a Marine, and a Transgender Woman Who Was Born This Way“). In all honesty, if we allow human beings to determine what’s acceptable in American society, we might as well neuter the Constitution because it only can be read through the eyes of biblical understanding.

John Adams stated: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

What I am saying here is not my opinion or prejudice. This is historical precedent, as well as legal precedent. This is not right-wing rhetoric from the lunatic fringe. This is legal and historical fact.

By the way, The Daily Signal is wonderful. Better than reading all of the other “rags” out there. If you want good success, maintain honesty and integrity. It will reflect well on The Heritage Foundation, which has always been a refuge for honesty and truth.—Bobby G., Woodstock, Ga.

On Racial Groupings

Dear Daily Signal: Regarding Mike Gonzalez’s commentary (“There Is Time to Reverse Obama Census Proposal That Promotes Group Identity Politics“), national or regional origin and ethnicity does not constitute racial origin. It should not be used to determine the population mix in the USA.

Skin color is irrelevant. We all should strive to be Americans and determine our race according to the basic four: black, Caucasian, Native American, Far Eastern/Oriental.—Cone S. Underwood

How Are We Doing?

You are doing very well.  I look forward to each new edition. Keep up the good work. And thanks.—Bill Williams

The border wall needs to be started and the national debt reversed. Still top of list.—Vtext

I’m a big fan and daily reader of The Daily Signal.  I was wondering if someone could write an article analyzing why all the Earth Day / March for Science hoopla didn’t include any outrage for the lack of the “scientific method.” It was a rigorous standard for science in the past hundreds of years, but now isn’t being followed 99 percent of the time.—Darren Richardson

Great job. I enjoy reading.—Christine Dukart 

Thank you!—Margi Wallo

Keep up the good work.—Ed Phillips 

Receiving The Daily Signal keeps me up with what is going on, not only in the U.S. but all over the world. And that, I really appreciate. The commentary is good and accurate, which is not offered on too many websites. Thanks for all the good you are doing.—Howard Shoemaker

The post We Hear You: ‘No More Reasons Why Congress Can’t Totally Repeal Obamacare’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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from http://www.therightnewsnetwork.com/we-hear-you-no-more-reasons-why-congress-cant-totally-repeal-obamacare/

[patriotnewsblogger-blog]

We Hear You: ‘No More Reasons Why Congress Can’t Totally Repeal Obamacare’

New Post has been published on http://www.therightnewsnetwork.com/we-hear-you-no-more-reasons-why-congress-cant-totally-repeal-obamacare/

We Hear You: ‘No More Reasons Why Congress Can’t Totally Repeal Obamacare’

Editor’s note: Republicans’ failure to repeal Obamacare after assuming control of the White House as well as Congress registered strongly with our audience in recent days. The day after President Trump’s 100th day in office, today’s mailbag leads off with two related letters, one signed by 17 GOP and grassroots activists in Pennsylvania.—Ken McIntyre 

Dear Daily Signal: Since it was enacted into law in 2010, most Americans have opposed the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. In elections since then, Republicans have campaigned on the promise of total repeal of Obamacare. We, political constituents and grassroots supporters, responded by giving Republicans the House, then the Senate, and, in 2016, the presidency.

There are no more reasons why Congress cannot totally repeal Obamacare (“What’s in the New Obamacare Deal That Could Unite Conservatives, Centrists“).

The new American Health Care Act, as it stands now, is not Obamacare repeal.  Most Americans agree, given that only 17 percent support the bill, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll.

We ask nothing more than our legislators honor their campaign promises to repeal Obamacare.

Repeal means dismantling the Title I regulatory structure in the legislation that has caused insurance premiums to skyrocket, swelled Medicaid rolls and inserted the federal government between patients and our doctors.  The 2015 repeal bill, which passed both the House and Senate, is a starting point for repealing Obamacare.

Replace means implementing free market solutions, eliminating taxpayer-funded abortions, and returning to patient-centered health care.

The House Freedom Caucus is not the problem. They are attempting to honor what the Republican Party has promised its supporters since 2010.

We, the undersigned, represent local grassroots groups whose members are your readers. We now ask that promises to us are honored: Congress must repeal Obamacare, then replace it. No more excuses.—Betty Dunkel-Hernon, for Valley Forge Patriots Republican Committee, Schuylkill Township, Pa.

Also signing: Lucy Tscherne, Valley Forge Patriots; Linda Hertzog, West Chester Tea Party; Lisa Esler, Delaware County Patriots; Jane Marie Toal, Citizens for Liberty; Don Reimer, Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots; Larry Denver, president, Faith & Freedom Coalition, Pa.; Charles Beatty, vice president, Faith & Freedom Coalition, Pa.; Susan Hancock, Smart Girl Politics; Donna Ellingsen, Republican Committee, Elk Township; Linda Cleaver, Republican Committee, Londonderry Township; Marsha Spencer, Republican Committee, Lower Oxford West; Margaret Layden, Republican Committee, Tredyffin M-6; Barbara Albright, Republican Committee, West Bradford 4; Beckie Laughlin, Republican Committee, Valley North 635; Jane E. Brown, Landenberg, Pa.; Rita Misero, Coatesville, Pa.

Editor’s note: The above letter arrived April 24, before House conservatives announced support for new revisions of the health care bill.

Repeal Obamacare, Don’t Replace It

Dear Daily Signal: I don’t understand why this Republican Party is so completely unable to understand what it is Americans are asking for (“Health Care Talks Continue as Republicans Face Questions on Obamacare Repeal“). You can forward my frustrations:

I am a taxpayer with a lifelong chronic medical condition, Crohn’s disease, and I work in the medical field. You’d think I’d be ecstatic to have Obamacare, except that I’ve grown up having private insurance and for a brief time in young adulthood I was on disability/SSI.  I’ve had to sacrifice and struggle to have insurance coverage all my life.

So let me make this clear: The worst year of my life, bar none, in terms of dealing with this disease, insurance, etc., was the year I was prostrate to the federal government for my support. I vowed, never again.

Government does nothing efficiently or well. I’m sorry to burst the bubbles of our hard-working, dedicated Congress, but they cannot make anything at all work economically. At all.

Congress should repeal Obamacare completely. Why can’t Congress just set the rules, and then just let the free market solve the coverage issues by itself? Why not just let insurers offer coverage anywhere, without restrictions to certain states, and then get out of the way?

Check your (huge) egos, Congress! Let health care be handled by people who know how to manage money and who know something, anything, about health care and health insurance. Please, I’m begging you: Get out of health care.—Galen Jackson

Republicans Shrink From the Budget Battle

Dear Daily Signal: I am a very conservative person who reads a lot about current events online across seven to 10 different websites, excluding “mainstream media” sites.  I read Genevieve Woods’ commentary on congressional Republicans and couldn’t agree with her more (“Even With Republicans in Charge, Upcoming Budget Battle Looks Grim“).

The GOP is a bunch of spineless wimps who are continually outplayed by the bully “illiberals.”  The GOP doesn’t seem to have learned any lessons on strategy  from the Harry Reid/Barack Obama years.

The lessons: Get out in front of it, stick disliked legislation in a drawer someplace and forget about it.  Do not put anything forward that the president will veto. Finally, when all else fails, threaten the GOP, and if that doesn’t work, threaten them some more. Why isn’t the GOP following the Democrats’ model?

I particularly like Ms. Woods’ following recommendations, quoting from her commentary:

They should be calling the Democrats’ bluff and put forward legislation that does what they promised—reins in government spending, starts addressing America’s debt, and secures our border and national security needs.

If enough Democrats in the House and Senate don’t vote for it (such legislation requires 60 votes in the Senate), they should make it clear that they will go into every state where vulnerable Democrats are up for re-election in 2018 and tell voters there that their lawmaker was responsible for shutting down the government over liberal pet causes—such as funding for sanctuary cities and Planned Parenthood—or because he or she didn’t want to allocate funds to secure our border.

As a result of reading so much about current events, I am definitely of the opinion that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been around too long and needs to be gone.

He doesn’t appear to be strong enough nor clever enough to lead the GOP and Senate to victory on important issues for this country.  The budget and debt ceiling are two of the really important ones.–Tracy Gore, Vancouver, Wash.

The Best Thing Trump Has Done for the Country

Dear Daily Signal: Morgan Walker’s article regarding ‘SKYPE’ reporters is excellent (“This 1 Change Trump Administration Made to White House Press Briefings Is Shaking Up the Media“). Finally, a great example of a positive spin on political news coverage.

The goal of the “mainstream media” has always been to manipulate and control the way the public thinks. It could be the most powerful force for good on the planet.  Unfortunately, it runs in the opposite direction, and is clearly the greatest threat to the Trump administration and democracy in our country.

Isn’t it ironic that the media is missing such an incredible opportunity?

Love him or hate him, perhaps the best thing President Trump has done for the country is to finally expose the biased and corrupt mainstream media for what it really is.  The “swamp,” our incredibly stupid and inept Congress, is a close second.

Please share with Ms. Walker. Also, kudos to Fred Lucas and others for continuing to investigate the George Soros conspiracy to cripple the USA from within. Glad to be a member of The Heritage Foundation.–Hank Mattox

Trustworthy News Sources a Rare Commodity

Dear Daily Signal: Your news organization, and like-minded others, should consider creating a set of standards defining acceptable practices for certification as an Associated Conservative Press Certified News Source, or similar copyrightable name (“By Choosing Trump Hater as Dinner Speaker, Mainstream Media Embraces ‘Opposition Party’ Status“).

Trustworthy news sources are a rare commodity across America for everyone, but especially for conservatives.  Someone with the resources of the Koch brothers could create a nationwide news brand on their own.

But in lieu of that, it would be helpful to have a branding device that conservatives could use to validate online media, and possibly also print and broadcast media, as reliable and accurate.  Not in the sense of dogma, but rather accurate and true by professional journalism standards.

If you think this idea is worthy of consideration, please contact your worthy peer groups for possible action.—Newell S. Jones

No Trump Voters Need Apply?

Dear Daily Signal: Having once had a mainstream media job, I prefer to remain anonymous here. Read the last paragraph of this recent New York Times ad for “a new Rio de Janeiro bureau chief, one of the most exciting and dynamic assignments in the world,” including coverage of both Brazil and Argentina:

The New York Times is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of an individual’s sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics.

Quite a laundry list.

But would The New York Times hire a Trump voter? Or do they rule out 50 percent of the U.S. population?—A Reader

Dear Daily Signal: I was very disappointed in the lead letter in your recent “We Hear You” roundup (“I’m a Sailor, a Marine, and a Transgender Woman Who Was Born This Way“). In all honesty, if we allow human beings to determine what’s acceptable in American society, we might as well neuter the Constitution because it only can be read through the eyes of biblical understanding.

John Adams stated: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

What I am saying here is not my opinion or prejudice. This is historical precedent, as well as legal precedent. This is not right-wing rhetoric from the lunatic fringe. This is legal and historical fact.

By the way, The Daily Signal is wonderful. Better than reading all of the other “rags” out there. If you want good success, maintain honesty and integrity. It will reflect well on The Heritage Foundation, which has always been a refuge for honesty and truth.—Bobby G., Woodstock, Ga.

On Racial Groupings

Dear Daily Signal: Regarding Mike Gonzalez’s commentary (“There Is Time to Reverse Obama Census Proposal That Promotes Group Identity Politics“), national or regional origin and ethnicity does not constitute racial origin. It should not be used to determine the population mix in the USA.

Skin color is irrelevant. We all should strive to be Americans and determine our race according to the basic four: black, Caucasian, Native American, Far Eastern/Oriental.—Cone S. Underwood

How Are We Doing?

You are doing very well.  I look forward to each new edition. Keep up the good work. And thanks.—Bill Williams

The border wall needs to be started and the national debt reversed. Still top of list.—Vtext

I’m a big fan and daily reader of The Daily Signal.  I was wondering if someone could write an article analyzing why all the Earth Day / March for Science hoopla didn’t include any outrage for the lack of the “scientific method.” It was a rigorous standard for science in the past hundreds of years, but now isn’t being followed 99 percent of the time.—Darren Richardson

Great job. I enjoy reading.—Christine Dukart 

Thank you!—Margi Wallo

Keep up the good work.—Ed Phillips 

Receiving The Daily Signal keeps me up with what is going on, not only in the U.S. but all over the world. And that, I really appreciate. The commentary is good and accurate, which is not offered on too many websites. Thanks for all the good you are doing.—Howard Shoemaker

The post We Hear You: ‘No More Reasons Why Congress Can’t Totally Repeal Obamacare’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Powered by WPeMatico

http://www.therightnewsnetwork.com/we-hear-you-no-more-reasons-why-congress-cant-totally-repeal-obamacare/ %cats%

[ozzie177-blog1]

STT: Origins, Part 8 ^Massacre^

Jackie places her hands onto a steering wheel, cracking a faint smile. A pigeon flies by as Jackie stares at the palms of her blood covered hands, standing in front of a lifeless James. [2 days earlier] "What the hell are we gonna do about our lack of ammo?" John asks, putting on his electronic mask. "I mean, I don't mean to piss off the psycho..." "Fuck you John." Jackie says, chuckling slightly. "We'll use our fists, if necessary." John, James, Jackie, and Sky hop into a truck, speeding off to a dockyard. Sky looks through her rifle down at a warehouse as John and Jackie cut open a hole through the fence. James parks a truck in the lot in front of the warehouse, waiting for the others to load in supplies. "How's the salvage going?" Sky asks, scanning the area. "Yeah, it's in here!" "Well then get it out of there then! The less time we spend here the better!" Static overwhelms the radio frequency. A door behind Sky busts open as she throws a knife at the guard behind her. "Shit!' Sky runs out of the room, filling every guard she sees with bullets from her large handgun. John and Jackie move a cart towards a truck James is driving, dodging gunfire. "Vete a la mierda, puta!" Jackie fires a grenade at a group of guards, hopping into the truck as John blows up a gas tank with his detonator, jumping into the front seat of the truck. Sky jump into the truck, grabbing her hip in pain. "Nice fucking Spanish teacher you must have had!" John shouts. "Fuck you too! Is everyone okay?"

A man in a bright neon jacket wearing a cat mask, a man with a ripped suit covered in powder and blood, and a woman with an electronic backpack wearing a suit walk through into a bank through the back door. The Cat cracks open a guard's skull, kicking him down to the ground as The Addict and The Hacker eliminate the staff in the offices. "Right eh, we just gotta open up the vault now..." The Hacker sets up a brute force hacking tool at the vault's door as a loud screeching noise is heard with all the lights and power going out. In the lobby, a team of suits in clown masks control the crowd. "Did the EMP go off?!" "Sure as hell did, guys we got about 60 seconds before the alarm reactivates!" The Cat rushes upstairs to the lobby and tackles one of the clowns, ripping off their mask. "JACKIE, GET THIS FUCKING FREAK OFF ME!" One of the clowns kick The Cat off John, aiming her gun at her. "Take off that mask!" The Addict heads upstairs, pointing a revolver at the clowns. "Nobody fffffFUCKIN move! This is...a fucking robbery!" Another clown kicks The Addict down. "The fuck is going on?!" Ann and Exo take off their masks as The Cat takes off his mask, revealing blue hair and eyes scary enough to pierce souls his face looks similar to The Addict's, but slightly less thin.

Lights and whirring sounds fill the room again as an alarm goes off, cops shortly arrive as Jackie shoots them both dead. "Look at what you fucking did! We're all gonna get cuffed now!" The Cat throws a cleaver at a guard behind Exo and picks up The Addict. "Okay, this might work." Ann says, taking cover behind a half-wall. The Addict, The Cat, and John pile up down by the stairs as Exo and Jackie hide on the upper floor. "What are your names, just for the...Just for the sake of communication?!" The Addict shouts, reloading his revolver. "The Shark is Jackie, two bunnies up here are Ann and Exo. My name is John." John peaks his head out above the half-wall. "That's...a little funny. Our friend with the cat mask is actually named-" a wall in the basement explodes as a man in a juggernaut suit walks through the dust, pulling out a machine gun. "JACK, GET THAT MOTHERFUCKER!" The Hacker shouts, retreating into the vault as Jack pulls out a drill and attempts to kill the juggernaut. TEAM vans roll through the streets as strike units roll in, John and The Addict fending them off as a bus crashes through the wall underneath Exo's floor. Jack pulls the drill out of the Juggernaut's faceplate, grabbing 4 bags of money and heading to the bus. Gunfire is still exchanged between the two sides as the group rushes towards the bus, Jackie and The Hacker falling behind. "Get the fuck out of here! There's a bike in the parking lot!" Jackie hotwires a bike with a side seat as The Hacker hops into the side seat, crouching her head down. Jackie speeds off, catching up to the bus as police cars pursue them. Wildlife flee the forest as the bus and bike speed past trees on a dirt path, the cars behind them slowing down. A deer runs into the bus, the driver turning and causing the bus to flip over the bike. "Shit!" Jackie pulls over by the edge of a cliff, kicking up mud as the bus almost teeters on the cliff's edge. Money bags being thrown out of the back emergency exit. John, Ann, Exo, The Addict, and Jack piling out the back. "Bus is fucked, I'm calling Wiz to get the truck." Ann, Jack, and John sit in the shade as the bus teeters and falls, someone screaming right before it lands. "What was that?" Jackie asks. "Probably a hiker or something." "I'm gonna check it out anyways." Jackie climbs down the cliff, hearing groaning and pain. Jackie grabs a long pointy stick, opening the doors on the bus and staring at the driver's seat. A bullet flies past Jackie as she runs up to the seat and disarms the shooter, dropping her weapon. "James?!" "Oh, shit sorry... I thought you were a cop." "You were in here?! Why didn't you say?" James shuts his eyes and stops breathing. "...This isn't funny! We need to patch you up!" Jackie tugs on James, his torso being ripped in half from the sharp metal. Jackie immediately pukes on the ground, retching in disgust and sadness. "Fuck!" Jackie walks out of the bus, climbing up the cliff again. "What was down there? Drunktard? Hiker? Maybe a very very stupid coyote?" John says as the rest of the group laughs, despite the grim situation. "James is dead." Everyone turns to Jackie, gasping or staring in silence. "He was in the bus, got stabbed on some metal and..." A truck shows up, Tucker, Sky, and I.Ps hopping out of it. "Whats with all the frowning for guys?! You guys need to be happ-" "James is dead." I.Ps' expression turns from one of confused happiness to shock and fades into sadness and disbelief. "What?! You're lying, James can't die!" Jackie hugs I.Ps as he breaks down into tears, everyone bowing their heads and taking off their facial apparel.

Sky puts a tattoo onto her arm, Most of the gang spends time in the living room as I.Ps stares over the edge of the fence on the penthouse. Sky walks out to the fence, smoking a cigarette. "Do you want a puff?" Sky holds a carton towards I.Ps, I.Ps gently pushing it away. "James just meant a lot to me. I really just..." "Meant a lot to you? You were always shy around him." "Well, I uh, I..." I.Ps' face flares up in a bright red, the white side of his face turning pink. "I'm sorry you never got the chance, but you shouldn't let it get to you." Sky pats I.Ps on the back, heading back into the living room with the others as I.Ps stares into the sunset, rain starting to fall from the sky. Jackie sits in her room, pulling out a bottle of pills and a machine gun. Wiz walks up to Jackie, handing her a letter. "James made this for you, we were cleaning out his room and..." Jackie stares at her, emotionless. "Give it to me and leave. Now." Wiz quickly backs out the room as Jackie opens the letter. "Dear Jackie. I'm sorry I didn't give you my thoughts on this, but I know that the money will keep this place good for a while. Please don't be sad at what happened to anyone, even me. I doubt everyone is gonna walk away from this alive. Go to Chewo Street, address 452nd. Ask for a reservation of James." Jackie leaves the letter on the table, softly crying for her lost friend. "I shouldn't have brought you with us." Jackie sets her assault rifle down on the table, heading into James' room and grabs a black hoodie with red writing on it. Jackie hangs it up on her wall, along with a picture of a snake named "Sifira". Jackie drives past a beach, the sunset being covered up by the rain clouds. Jackie pulls up to a pet store, heading into the store, saddened. "Hello miss, how is your day?" A clerk behind the counter says. "Can't say it's been good. I'm here for a reservation." "What is your reservation name?" "James. James is the name." The clerk heads into a back room, pulling out a pet carrier with a trap inside of it, covering what's inside it. "It's already payed for, so we just need you to sign some papers." Jackie scribbles her name into a document, picking up the lightweight pet carrier, heading back into her car. Jackie arrives back at the penthouse, only Neo and her still awake. Jackie heads into her room, setting the pet carrier down on a couch. Jackie slowly opens the door and takes away the tarp, revealing a small boxer dog. Jackie breaks down into tears as Neo walks in slowly, crouching down by Jackie. "Cute dog." "Y-yeah...he is..." Jackie pulls out a blanket, using it as a makeshift puppy bed. "Poor thing probably hasn't eaten for a little while, I'm getting him some food." Jackie sets the dog down in the blanket, petting it gently. Neo sets down a dog bowl near the puppy before hugging Jackie. "You have to slow down now, okay? We can just live out fun times, we don't have to kill or maim anymore." Jackie lays down on her futon, staring at the ceiling. "It's what keeps me alive. I can't not kill." Neo lays next to Jackie, hugging her. "I'll teach you~" Jackie smirks, kissing Neo.