#or Caleb will crate chaos like

[grabby-smitten]

What if the MC has to “bite” the “apple” in order to finally see the truth? I mean, being able to distinguish between evil and good. Kind of an awakening? MC will finally be able to… idk? Remember her past life or will discover stuff thanks to Caleb?

I am actually excited for Caleb. Been thinking yes yes

[iatethepomegranate]

Just a fic about Caleb buying a house in Rexxentrum with Beau and Yasha, and coping with that kind of change and newfound stability (and becoming Professor Widogast). Angst and fluff are at war in this fic.

Chapter Summary: Caleb was loved, in so many different ways, by so many people. The Nein were a whirlwind of chaos and dick jokes, but they were his. And Essek... even when Essek did not use the words "I love you", every word he said and every touch he offered was proof enough. In other words, the Mighty Nein crash at Caleb and Beauyasha's place and shower them with affection.

Notes: Chapter title is from Five by Sleeping at Last. Here's some fluff. Caleb is still Caleb, but everyone loves him and wants him to be happy. Hug your sad wizard friend/research partner/it's complicated.

****

Chapter 2: But something gets lost from a safe distance and now I can't put my mind to rest

There was enough furniture in the house to sleep for the night. After an enormous grocery shop that made gratuitous use of Yasha’s muscles, Beau’s superhuman balance, and Caleb’s telekinesis, the three of them collapsed on the couch.

Beau piled her feet onto Caleb’s lap, resting her head on Yasha’s. “Hey, Caleb?”

“Ja?”

“You good now?”

“I think so.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Nein.” Caleb had zero interest in talking about how much he had cried on their kitchen table earlier. He wasn’t ready to process it.

“Cool. Good talk.”

Yasha smiled down at Beauregard, fondly but with an edge to it. “Shh.” She put her finger on Beau’s lips. “Let us just… be quiet for a while.”

Caleb tipped his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. He drifted close to sleep, but Essek’s voice filled his mind.

“Caleb. How was the house? I am in a safe place. I will visit when you have a safe landing spot. Talk soon, love.”

Caleb couldn’t help burst into a grin. “Hallo, Essek. We bought it. Veth gave me the money. Go to the Grove when ready. I will come get you. Ich liebe dich.”

“Gross,” said Beauregard. “You know I can understand you now, right?”

Caleb pinched her ankle. “I remember.”

“Beau,” sighed Yasha.

“I’m kidding. I’m happy you’ve worked things out with him.” She shifted, digging her heel into his thigh. “Look, I don’t give a fuck about your sex life--”

“Good.”

“--but you know you can tell me shit, right? It was just the two of you for weeks, and now it’s… not. Are you okay with that?”

Caleb sighed; he already missed Essek dearly, but he always knew it would be like this. “Ja. We talked about it a lot. We want to be together as much as we can, but we are practical people, ja? I will bring him around soon, for a few days at least. Rexxentrum is not safe for him.”

“Well, good thing you have your own space. I don’t wanna hear that shit.”

Caleb rolled his eyes at her. “We are more likely to stay up late talking.” Sex with Essek was more of a (great) side benefit than a core element of their relationship A relationship they had never bothered to define. It was what it needed to be in the moment.

“That’s even worse, Caleb.”

“How the fuck is that worse?”

Beauregard shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s fuckin’ romantic as shit.”

“Ja, I am sure that you, the woman who makes out with her girlfriend in front of all our friends, is disgusted by romance.”

Beauregard grumbled incoherently at him.

****

Caleb was soon preoccupied with ferrying the Mighty Nein to the new house. He first collected Veth, Fjord and Jester from Yussa’s tower. Kingsley had wanted to explore Nicodranas for a while, without Fjord and Jester’s supervision. They had tentatively allowed it, not that they could’ve stopped Kingsley even if they had wanted to.

“Omigosh it’s so pretty !” Jester screeched upon seeing the house. “The windows are kinda boring, though. Can I paint them?”

Caleb was not in the habit of refusing Jester anything. “I suppose. Ask Beau and Yasha.”

“Which door is theirs?”

“The right. It should be unlocked.”

Jester tore ahead and disappeared inside. Fjord hooked his thumbs into his belt loops, gazing up at the exterior.

“It’s bigger than I expected,” he said.

“Ja, the previous occupant is a professor at Soltryce Academy. She lives alone, and it was too much space for her.”

“You’re okay with that?” asked Veth.

“Ja, she was very nice. She lives on Astrid’s estate now.”

“Trent’s old place?” asked Fjord.

“Ja.”

He whistled softly. “That must be weird.”

Caleb didn’t want to talk about it. “The professor gave us a good deal. I am meeting her for coffee tomorrow to talk about Evocation.” He looked down at Veth. “Thank you for the money.”

“I just wish I could’ve given you more, Cay.”

“It was plenty, Veth.” Caleb led them inside and picked Veth up so he could give her the hug he had wanted for days.

******

Next, Caleb teleported to the Blooming Grove. The grass had grown back where it had once been burned, and the house had been repaired. The tangled residuum trees had held strong, keeping the corruption of the Savalirwood at bay. It was quiet, save for the distant clattering of dishes coming from the house.

Caduceus appeared in the doorway before Caleb had taken more than a few steps. “Oh, excellent. Essek’s in the garden. Go get him. I’ll be out in a moment.”

Caduceus didn’t specify where in the garden, but Caleb assumed he was giving him the satisfaction of figuring it out for himself. Caleb walked further into the grove, occasionally stopping to cradle a blossom or sniff a particularly sweet scent.

He spotted Essek’s broad-brimmed hat first. On loan from the Clays. Caleb approached quietly, watching Essek hover over the bed of a herb garden, wearing the rose gloves Jester had made him while he carefully pulled weeds with a look of utmost concentration. The kind of look that made Caleb remember how attractive it was to watch him work.

As Caleb drew closer, Essek froze. Looked up. Relaxed as his face broke into a smile.

“I am sorry I startled you,” Caleb said, closing the distance.

Essek floated away from the herbs and opened his arms, accepting Caleb into them. “It’s all right. You know I’m a little… jumpy these days.”

Caleb kissed his neck; Essek was taller than him when he floated, and only when he floated. “Are you sure you want to visit Rexxentrum?”

“No one will expect to find me there. It will be fine for a few days.” He kissed Caleb’s forehead, and then lifted Caleb’s chin to kiss his mouth. “I wanted to see your new house. And you.”

Caleb dropped his head to Essek’s shoulder, breathing him in. This was the only peaceful moment they would have all day. Essek tucked Caleb’s head under his chin and gave him a squeeze.

“Caleb, are you all right?”

Caleb laughed softly, remembering the first time Essek had asked him in the heat of battle. “I don’t know. This is a lot.”

Essek kept squeezing; they had both discovered one rough night in Aeor that Caleb found this kind of careful pressure extremely comforting. “I understand. This is a huge change for you. Are you overwhelmed?”

“Ja, very.”

“I hope having me there will help, for what little time I can give.”

“You are already helping, Essek. Danke.”

Essek kissed the top of his head. He had slowly begun to initiate more physical contact, and their time together alone in Aeor had accelerated the process. It let Caleb pull back a bit and let himself accept Essek’s affection once in a while instead of constantly being the one to initiate. It was good. They were good.

Fuck , Caleb had missed him.

****

After saying his hellos and goodbyes to the Clays, Caleb palmed a small stone Yasha had dug from the garden bed behind the house and teleported himself, Caduceus and a disguised Essek. They landed in Caleb’s currently sparse sitting area, as planned.

“This is my side of the house. We are working on the furniture situation.” Caleb took them on a quick tour of the house, and was pleased to find Essek equally excited by the possibilities of the study as he had been.

They then used the door on the middle floor to cross into the other side and down the stairs into the crowded sitting area. Yasha was sitting on the rug, stitching a thick floral fabric to make curtains while Jester “helped” by painting tiny dicks on it. Beau and Fjord were sitting on the couch, watching with a mix of amusement and concern. Veth had probably been with them, but launched herself at Caleb for a hug as soon as he had appeared.

She had more or less glued herself to him since she had arrived, evidently sensing his lack of equilibrium. He was grateful she was there to ground him. For a long time, she and Frumpkin had been all that held together the tattered shreds of his mental health.

Caduceus slipped into the kitchen, but was the least sneaky man alive when he wasn’t trying to prank his siblings. He had a parcel in his hands, brought from the Grove. Caleb followed him.

Caduceus carefully stripped off the brown paper packaging to reveal a small wooden crate, from which he lifted a tea set complete with a kettle. He filled the kettle with water and set it over the fireplace, directing Caleb to light it. Caduceus pulled out a few small boxes of tea and cooking herbs from the Grove, arranging them in cabinets.

“I’ll bring another set next time I visit,” Caduceus promised. “Until then, you are required to spend time with the ladies. No locking yourself in the study and forgetting to eat.”

Essek chuckled from the doorway, knowing full-well Caleb would do exactly that. Repeatedly.

“We’ll go shopping together tomorrow,” Caduceus continued. “There are some things you three need for a good, complete kitchen and I don’t trust you to remember any of them, even with your memory.”

“Thank you, Caduceus.” Caleb was getting emotional again. “I, uh, am having coffee with an Evocation professor tomorrow morning, but we can go after that.”

Caduceus smiled at him. Soft, knowing. “I look forward to it.”

****

The Nein had apparently agreed without Caleb’s knowledge that they would stay on Beau and Yasha’s side for the night to give Caleb and Essek some privacy.

Caleb had ultimately decided to use the larger bedroom (the rest of the Nein may have insisted he treat himself). He was glad for it now that he had Essek in his bed. They were too tired for sex, and not really in the mood, but cuddling is a lot more comfortable when you’re not afraid of falling out of bed.

Essek had arranged things so he was lying on his back with Caleb curled around him. Caleb rested his head on Essek’s chest, listening to the gentle drumming of his heart, while Essek drew lazy patterns on his back with a finger. Spell symbols, mainly. Some Caleb recognised, and some he didn’t.

“This is a good location,” Essek said quietly. “Beauregard showed me a map of the city. It is central, but not too close to anything that would upset you more than the city in general already does.”

“Rexxentrum doesn’t upset me,” Caleb mumbled, halfway to sleep already. He tended to sleep better with trusted company these days.

“Beauregard told me what you said the first time you stepped foot here in years,” Essek said softly.

I don’t know if I can do this. “That was some time ago. It’s… easier now.”

“That does not mean it is easy.”

Caleb sighed deeply, closing his eyes. “Okay. It’s not. But that’s not… the last time I had a house was the Xhorhouse, and we all knew that was never permanent. The only home I’ve ever had that was supposed to be long-term… I burned it. The shitty hospital room they kept me in for eleven year was a roof over my head, one I barely remember, and that was… not a home. I was homeless for a long time. I have slept in the woods, in the streets, under bridges, where I could find even the tiniest bit of shelter. Now I own a house .”

“Caleb, I told you in the Grove this is a huge change for you.” Essek’s voice was soft but firm, as it often was when he thought Caleb was being needlessly stubborn or foolish. “You have been through so much , and now you are doing normal things like buying a house and putting down roots. And you have many painful memories here. I believe you will be okay, but you do not have to be. Not before you’re ready.”

Caleb felt foolish for letting this get to him so much. The last few days had been full of nothing but good things. But he was exhausted nonetheless, and eternally a hair’s breadth away from tears. Even in his worst moments, he had never been fragile in this way,  like he was a bucket of water with a hole in it that would leak at the slightest provocation.

Essek pressed his palm down between Caleb’s shoulder blades, forcing him to exhale. “Caleb. Be gentle with yourself. Give yourself time.”

Caleb chucked a little, despite his mod. “That is your specialty.”

“And I have taught you well.”

“The best teacher I ever had,” Caleb said quietly.

“You deserved better. Let yourself have better now, in your own time.”

“I’m trying.”

“I know. Stop pushing it. You know better than anyone it doesn’t work that way.” Essek’s hand slid into Caleb’s hair, cradling the base of his skull. “You of all people deserve patience and kindness, most of all from yourself. I will remind you of this.”

“Thank you.” Caleb pushed himself up on his elbows, finding Essek’s features in the dark. “You know, this is probably the safest I have been in close to twenty years.”

Essek reached up, tucking a strand of Caleb’s hand behind his ear. “Good. You deserve it. Even if I never have a moment’s peace for the rest of my life, all I want is for you to have all the safety and kindness you could ever need.”

“I would give it up in a heartbeat if I could help you.”

“I would never ask that of you,” Essek said warmly, but with a firm edge. “There are a great many things we have already given up. That one is not an option. Of all the people I have known in my 120 years, you deserve a lifetime of peace the most. Even if you will get bored eventually.”

Caleb slid a hand over Essek’s cheek, rubbing the soft skin with his thumb. “Remember when we thought we would never be the kind of people who would make big declarations of love at each other?” Because even if Essek wasn’t explicitly saying I love you , the words he did say were dripping with diamonds of unadulterated affection.

Essek huffed a soft laugh. “Most things between us do not need to be said. This does.”

“Thank you, Essek. I love you too.” Caleb rested his head over Essek’s heart once again, and let the gentle rhythm lull him to sleep.

[sockablock]

“AAAUUUGGGHHUUAAAGGHHHH!” 

Beau instantly shot upwards, hands clenched into fists, teeth bared and ready for battle before her mind had even awoken. 

Then she glanced down and saw a little goblin staring nervously back up at her.  A pair of enormous yellow eyes gleamed in the darkness.

“Nott?” she hissed. “Nott, what the fuck?”

Around them, the rest of the Mighty Nein had jolted into consciousness as well. But upon realizing that there was no threat, they all sighed, muttered irritably to themselves, and returned to their bedrolls in tired exasperation. 

“Sorry,” Nott whispered, though she did not sound it. “Was that too much?”

Beau sat down on her sleeping bag and ran a hand through her hair. It hung loosely around her shoulders.

“That depends,” she grumbled. “What the fuck were you tryin’ to do?”

“I was trying to wake you up,” Nott shrugged. “I promised I would, remember?”

“Well, you definitely accomplished that,” Beau sighed, rubbing her temples. “Why?”

Nott blinked. “I told you, didn’t I? I’d help you remember your dreams. Did it work? What were they about?”

Beau gave her a blank stare, then sighed and shook her head. “Gods above, Nott, even if I was dreaming about something—”

“—which you definitely were—”

“—don’t you think that I’d forget if a screaming goblin woke me up?”

Nott seemed to ponder this. “Yeah, okay,” she admitted. “Yeah...maybe that’s possible.”

Beau sighed. “Why do you even care so much?” she asked. “My dreams can’t be that interesting. Otherwise they’d stick, right?”

"Who knows?” Nott argued. “Maybe you’re getting secret messages from, from unknown gods or demon princes! Maybe your brain is unlocking the mysteries of the universe, or your mind is being visited by spirits every time you close your eyes!”

Beau snorted, and shook her head. “Definitely not. And anyways, why the hell would that happen to me?” she asked.

“Well, it’s happening to everybody else, isn’t it? Fjord keeps getting saltwater dreams, and Yasha got dreams about islands, and Caduceus is following his dreams, and Jester talks to the Traveler in her sleep and I think Caleb has night terrors, but don’t tell him that I told you that.”

There was a pause. Then Beau flopped down onto her bedroll and sighed. She waved a lazy hand for Nott to sit as well and the goblin did, lowering herself slowly into the grass, back turned to the campfire.

“Our friends are fuckin’ insane, huh?” Beau mumbled.

“I don’t know if that’s the exact word I’d use,” Nott said, “but we do get into some pretty crazy shenanigans.”

She chuckled. “Not what I meant.”

“What did you mean, then?”

Beau extended a hand skywards. She considered the outline of her fingers.

“Like you said. All of them have fucking weird-ass dreams. But it’s not just that. They’re all, all weird in the day time too, and they’re powerful. I mean, Fjord eats swords and walks on thunder and makes black holes full of tentacles. Jester’s childhood best friend is an illegal god of mischief and chaos, and she talks to him on the regular. Caduceus calls holy fire down from the fuckin’ heavens and has a staff full of bugs, and goes around spillin’ people’s deepest darkest secrets that they don’t even know about!  And Yasha, well, Yasha is a goddamn motherfucking angel with skeletal wings and glowing eyes—and as hot as that is, it can be a little fucking weird! Plus Caleb, Caleb would almost be normal! Except that he goes around setting people on fire and going into comas and conjuring explosions and talkin’ about bending the universe to his will.”

She examined the glittering stars between her bruised knuckles. 

“Then look at me. Look at you! You’re a goblin who likes buttons, and I’m a fucking rich girl that ran away from home. I love those assholes, I really do, but what the fuck are we doing, traveling with people like them?”

She lowered her palm. She turned toward the small silhouette seated before the fire.

“What’ll happen to us when their destinies start calling? What’ll we say when their gods take them back? What’re we gonna do when...what’re we gonna do when they leave us behind?”

There was a long, long pause. The embers of the campfire crackled. A breeze ruffled the grass, a cricket chirped in the distance.

“Beau?”

“Yeah?”

“You punch ghosts.”

A moment’s hesitation.

“What?”

“You. Ghosts. You punch them. All the time, actually.”

Beau frowned. She posted up onto an elbow and stared into what she could see of Nott’s face.

“That’s different.”

“Oh, really?” Nott raised an eyebrow. “Is it really? Because when you’re hiding behind a crate and cowering on the ground and putting little metal bolts into a crossbow that somebody else made and your fingers shake, and you see someone else backflip over a wagon and punch a floating ball of electricity in the face, it doesn’t really look all that different.”

Beau opened her mouth to protest, then sighed. “Alright,” she admitted, “okay, I guess, that’s...fair. But that’s not what I mean. I mean, the rest of them are all...working towards something. Even if they don’t know it. They’ve all...they’ve all got their own huge ambitions or they’re being guided by fuckin’ otherwordly forces, and they’re a part of something so much bigger than themselves. You’ve gotta agree with me there, right?”

“...yeah.”

“Right,” Beau nodded. “And doesn’t it, I don’t know, doesn’t it scare you sometimes? Aren’t you worried that they’re gonna go on to do insane things and change the world and then...I don’t know, and then maybe one day they realize that all you do is hit stuff good—don’t argue with me there, you know that’s all it fucking is—and then they decide that...that they don’t need you anymore? Haven’t you ever worried about that?”

Nott considered this. 

“Well...I’ll, I’ll admit that I have. But really, it doesn’t bother me.”

“Oh yeah?” Beau asked. “Why’s that?”

She shrugged. “Because I’m certain that they won’t ever leave me behind. I...I know what it’s like to be around people who don’t want me. But being in this group? I’ve never felt that way, not even once.”

The campfire sparked, briefly illuminating her frame.

“I love these people,” she said softly. “I love this group. I’d like to think that they love me too. And that’s not something that goes away, even if a god demands it, and even when fate gets in the way.”

Amid the silence that followed, Beau sat up. Nott stared at the grass by her knees.

“Do you really think that?” Beau asked. “Really?”

“Yeah,” she shrugged. “I do.”

Beau bit her lip. Then she sighed, and nodded slowly. “I...I know what it’s like when people don’t want me, too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. This is nothing like that.”

There was another pause. This one held its breath, waited with the still air. Then:

“I do have one more question,” Beau said.

Nott blinked. “Uh...sure. Shoot.”

“You still haven’t told me. Why do you care so much about what I’m dreaming?”

Nott gave her a tiny, toothy smile. “Oh, that’s easy,” she said. “I just wanted to make sure that you weren’t also picked by an otherwordly being, and that you weren’t missing your destiny, or something.”

Beau snorted. “I’m pretty sure you can rest assured, there.”

“Oh, really? How come?”

She laid back down on her bedroll, looked to the night sky.

“Well...maybe I’m starting to get the feeling that I’ve already found it.”

Nott followed her gaze up. She leaned against her palms, and let the warmth of their campfire tickle her back.

“Yeah,” she murmured. “Yeah, I think I have too.”

• • •

☕ ☕ ☕

[what-the-crit-is-going-on]

Episode 41

The pirates set sail from the island of Uruk'azel and begin their two week long journey across the seas to the island of Darktow. Caleb finds Caduceus in his room on the first night and asks him his thoughts and whether or not he plans to stay with the Nein after such terrible times. Caduceus agrees it's been hard but he understands that his destiny isn't supposed to be easy. Caleb gives him the periapt of wound closure he got from Molly to help protect him and leaves him be to rest up.

Jester checks on her weasel, Sprinkles, who is surprisingly still alive but very damp, and finds Nott to ask her about boys. They speak of first kisses and whether or not Fjord giving her his breath constitutes as a kiss. They agree it did count and head off to bed.

The next day the Nein divvy up the jobs in the ship with Jester taking up the role of carpenter. She heads to the Mystake to help patch it up and runs into Orlie giving a sailor a tattoo. She watches and learns from him, even asking to practice on the sailor but being turned down. Orlie offers her and the Nein special to me that increase one of their desired stats if they find him gem dust to do it.

After a few more days or uneventful travel the crew spots a ship in the distance. It's a shipping vessel it seems and Avantica calls up her new temporary quartermaster, Fjord, and gives him the decision on whether to board them or leave them be. He gives the order to intercept and board with the agreement that they will only be violent if they are attacked first.

The boarding goes rather well with Nott firing a warning shot to stop them and their intimidation tactics working to prevent hostility. They loot a few crates of supplies, leaving enough for the crew of the ship to use to sail back to land themselves, and Beau finds a large chest filled with coins in the Captain's quarters as well as a ledger of what exactly they're shipping that clues Beau in to a secret package set to be delivered on board. They search for said package and get attacked by a hidden guard, cutting Fjord up pretty good before being stunned by Beau sand grappled by Yasha. He gives up and points to the crate in the corner that holds the secret package. Opening it they find a smaller chest within that Nott detraps and unlocks to reveal an enchanted ceramic jar and paintbrush.

They take it, give the guard some gold for the trouble and return to their ship (where Jester is giving a crew member of the shipping vessel a tattoo of a smiley face with googly eyes and tusks) successful in their nonviolent (mostly) pirate experience. After hiding the paintbrush from Avantica Caleb identifies it as a magic brush and ink that can make almost anything drawn with it real, and although it's a dangerous move they gift it to Jester as she is the artist of the group.

The Nein then discuss how everyone feels about what they just did and what to do next and agree that they need to make port regardless of what they want to do anyways so they should keep playing the part of gung-ho pirates taken under Avantica's wing for now. Fjord informs them of the dreams he's had and how Avantica now has power over the waters after their excursion to the temple. That night Fjord dreams again, this time of him, Avantica, and a third figure trudging through water when the other two glow and begin to move faster than him, Avantica points to him and he begins to glow as well and make his way through the water easier than before. The images of his dreams and the voice of Uk’otoa hint at where he can find his next destination to get his “reward”, and he snaps awake, rushing to find the location hinted at on his map. Meanwhile Jester is visited by the Traveller, who tells her he's excited to see what chaos she brings with her new paintbrush as she paints him a small statue of himself. He also offers her some advice on boys when she asks and bids her a goodnight.

A few more days of travel go by when they reach the jagged high cliffs of Darktow island. As they approach they see some dock hands take notes of the new additions to Avantica's crew and run off. The Nein give their crew the evening off and begin to follow Avantica and her crew to the Bloated Cup Tavern, however they're stopped by a large human man who is the assistant to the Plank King (the general ruler of the pirate island), named James Tibault, who tells the Nein and Avantica that the Plank King would like to speak to them.

He leads them up the cliffs to the cave overlooking the island where they see the goliath Plank King, Wyatt Merinas. They introduce themselves and explain why they took up the mantle of pirates. After introductions and explanations from both sides he pushes them out to enjoy their night and welcomes them to the island, stopping Beau to whisper in her ear that if she ever sees Avantica doing anything untoward to the island or community to let him know and there will be hefty coin in it for her.

With that business done with they make way back down the numerous amount of steps to get back to the Bloated Cup.

[princessamericachavez]

In Too Deep

So I had to write a drabble for @ozziyo‘s wonderful art. Hope this is alright:

Things were already looking bad when they got caught in the middle of a storm in the open sea, they were looking terrible when a pirate ship came out of nowhere and tried to board them in the middle of the chaos, they were looking downright awful when a hungry Kraken got added into the mix, but even then they were holding their own well enough, fighting back the monster and the attackers with everything they had. Caleb’s fireballs were the final straw that got the Kraken to give up on their ship and settle for the pirate vessel that hadn’t fared so well against its death grip. 

And then, of course, things managed to get even worse.

As their enemy’s ship is dragged into the ocean, its hooks, grappled to the Mighty Nein’s, tense and begin dragging them along. The whole thing tips over to the right and as he slips towards the railing, Fjord finds himself cursing against whatever deity has a vendetta against them. He accuses the hit of the wood against his ribs and huffs, trying to recover. The others aren’t doing much better. Beau is the only one that managed to maintain her balance somehow, the others are trying to hold on to whatever they can to keep themselves to slip into the stormy waters.

“We gotta free those hooks before we tip over!” He shouts at the others from the bridge. 

“On it!” Jester and Yasha both move towards the hooks on sync and begin working on the first of the tense metal hooks. 

Distracted, Fjord barely manages to dodge the blade falling on him. He rolls over and catches only a small cut to his cheekbone. The pirate before him strikes again, eyes gone mad with panic. He’s desperate to survive, to take whatever he can from them instead of joining his crewmates. That kind of desperation is dangerous. Fjord takes a jab to his leg but manages to kick the man off of him, enough to brace himself for the next attack.

“Why won’t they give up?!” Beau groans, from afar, as she catches an arrow. “You’re screwed, man! Stop attacking!”

The three remaining pirates don’t seem to be listening to her, but the Nein can handle them for now.

“C’mon, one more hook!” He hears Jester shouts, sees her move from the corner of his eye, along with Yasha. 

That’s good. The sooner they are freed, the faster they can get the hell out of here.

He prepares to send an eldritch blast towards his attacker when a large shadow flies over his head. He barely manages to dodge as the tentacle swings over their ship.

“Watch out!” Nott shouts from somewhere in the shadows near Caleb.

Before Fjord can figure out what she means, the ship takes a hard hit. The deck shakes, everything tumbles to the right and Fjord barely manages to hold on to the railing to keep himself from toppling over. Then, the ship rocks back with the same violence and he falls to his knees, thrown off balance. 

Hooks are off. Better get the hell out of here before-

“Fuck!” Beau’s loud voice carries even over the loud thunder above them. 

From the floor, Fjord glances over towards the deck and feels his blood run cold. The grappling hooks are gone, alright, along with a good chunk of railing exactly where Jester’d been standing a moment ago. Next to it, Yasha is getting back on her feet and glancing at the water with rage.

No. Fjord stands up, glances around the deck searching for a familiar blue form. No. He looks down at the water where the Kraken and the ship disappeared. Fuck no.

He takes off running. The man he was facing manages to slice a cut across his ribs but he doesn’t stop until he reaches the impacted area of the ship. He jumps. As he falls towards the water, he can hear Beauregard screaming his name, but there’s no going back now. All he can think is he’s not gonna let Jester drown down there like he did. 

As his body hits the freezing water, it takes him a moment to take in his surroundings. There are pieces of wood, armor, crates, and bodies floating around him and, for a moment, he finds himself back in the night when Vandrin’s ship sunk. He relives the panic taking over his body, the water burning his lungs, his consciousness sinking into the darkness... 

Focus, Fjord. He holds on tighter to the falchion and looks around. Several feet below him, Jester is getting dragged further down by a giant tentacle that she’s uselessly trying to cut free from with her ax. He swims as quickly as he can towards her and, as soon as he’s close enough, he takes a swing at it with his falchion. The magical weapon manages to do what her’s couldn’t and leave a deep slice on the Kraken’s skin. 

Jester makes a sound by his side, looking surprised and terrified. Fjord holds on to her so that he won’t lose her as the monster drags her deeper in, and she grabs on to him in return with a desperately tight grip. Fjord slices down again and again and, with every attack, the tentacle seems closer to give in. Then, tightening her hold of him, Jester reaches down to touch it with her palm and speaks. He can’t hear the words underwater, only see the bubbles leaving her mouth and her hand light up with a spell that sends a dark shock through the appendices holding her. The creature’s screech rumbles through the water as it finally let’s go of Jester and retreats into the darkness with its much bigger prey. 

Immediately, both of them start swimming up towards the surface, but a couple seconds later he notices Jester’s movements becoming jerkier and desperate. That’s when it hits him that casting that spell must have left her without air. She’s drowning. 

Shit. Fjord reaches for her, grabs her by the waist and begins pulling her up as fast as he can, praying whatever magical advantage his armor gives him will be enough for both of them. It’s an exhausting emersion that gets worse when Jester goes limb in his grip. Desperation twists his insides as he pushes past the pain of his wounds and the horror of his memories until they finally break the surface. 

Fjord gasps for air, hears Jester do the same by his side. He takes one quick look at her, both breathing heavily... but alive. He doesn’t risk speaking —breathing is hard enough in the wild sea—, he focuses on keeping them both afloat and getting to their ship. Jester helps him as much as she can, but he doesn’t let go of her out of fear of losing her to the current. 

“There they are!” Beau shouts looking down at them as they approach them. 

“Here!” Caleb runs over and throws a long rope their way. 

Fjord grips it and ties it around Jester’s waist.

“But, Fjord-”

“I’m good. I’ve got my armor,” he replies matter-of-factly without meeting her eyes. “You go first. I’m right behind you.”

“O- okay,” she mumbles, and he can barely hear her over the storm but he can feel the hesitation in her voice. He makes himself meet her eyes and give her a tight smile, hoping it’ll reassure her. It works like magic. Doubt disappears of her face, replaced by blind faith. She gives him one nod, then he gives the rope two tugs.

“Pull!” Yasha roars somewhere above their heads, the rope tenses, then slowly start raising Jester towards the deck. Fjord keeps an eye on her until she’s pulled in safely. 

The rope falls again and he repeats the process mechanically, ignoring the way the grip around his ribs makes the battle wounds flare up with blinding pain. He represses a groan and grits his teeth. Several hands reach out for him when he’s high enough and pull him over to the deck, where he rolls over on his back and finally breathes out. 

“Fjord! Are you alright?!” Jester kneels over him, hair dripping wet and windswept by the storm around them. 

“M’good, Jester,” he assures her, sitting up, but the sudden stab of pain across his torso betrays him, making him wince. It’s harder to ignore the pain now that they are safe. Now that she’s safe.

“Fjord, you’re hurt!” Jester cries, looking him over, kneeling so close that he can feel her shake. 

“Jester, it’s okay just-”

“Why did you do that?!” Her voice shakes, as she reaches down to touch his wounds. 

“Jester,” he puts his hand over hers to steady her.

He can’t tell if the droplets dripping down her cheeks are tears or sea water. She’s still breathing heavily, shaken and scared... but she’s worried about him. She nearly drowns down there, and she’s more worried over a few slashes on him than that. 

“It’s okay. I’ll heal you, just let me-”

“Jester.”

She finally looks up and that’s when Fjord realizes something has changed. The second she fell over was the exact moment when he knew that losing her was not an option, that he’d drown himself before letting that happen, that the choice was not even a choice at all, because the answer would be the someone time after time. The answer would always be: her.

“Fjord, really I should heal you before-”

He bends over and steals a kiss from her lips.

It happens like it never has before, naturally, like his body has no other option in that second than to satisfy the urge to fill her mouth against his. By the time his brain catches up to his feelings, he’s about to pull away and apologize, but her free hand comes up to caress his neck and Jester pulls him in deeper. A groan escapes Fjord’s throat as he reciprocates with renewed excitement and for a single moment, nothing else exists: no enemies, no gods, no storms. 

“Uh, guys?” Reality comes crashing back down on them when Beau interrupts. “We kinda still really gotta get out of here.”

Fjord pulls away quickly, suddenly realizing what he... what they just did, in front of everyone else. The Mighty Nein are looking down at them with expressions that range from mortified awkwardness to smug satisfaction. 

“Right, uh-” He clears his throat. “Right. We should.”

“Yeah. Yeah. We should. Uh. Yes. Yes, let’s do,” Jester, to his surprise, is every bit the mumbling mess he is. Her cheeks are flushed dark blue and a smile dances sheepishly on the corner of her lips. 

A wave of relief washes over him as her familiar magic closes his wounds, right before she pulls away.

“Thanks,” he manages to say, sending her a smile that she returns before rushing away to help the others.

It still takes Fjord a full minute to recover, before he realizes that they need him to sail and jumps back to his feet. Perhaps whatever deity has been playing with his destiny has finally decided to let him catch a break.