#pink varian for the soul

[cryptdaii]

god he's such a loser

[one-winged-dreams]

Pre-Relationship, #1 for Varian.

I'm legit dying to know how you two met!

@askthelovenest

How did they first meet?

Well, my insert is introduced early or mid-Cataclysm. In the wake of it and the mounting tensions with the Horde, the Stormwind Crown thought it would be a good political distraction to assign the High King a personal war priest. That personal war priest was meeeee! He didn't really want to go along with it but more than that he didn't really care so he just was like 'fine'. And then we met officially and he was like "Holy shit, this priest is so tiny, how does he hold all that willpower in there?" and I was like "HOT! HOT! HOT! SO MUCH HOTTER IN PERSON!" akjsdgh

I'm writing part of the first meeting fic now, here are some excerpts from it

There was another one of those sharp intakes of breath, and the priest's eyes widened further, his face turning a subtle shade of pink. "Oh! Yes, of course… My apologies, uhm, AGAIN, King Wrynn." Those eyes could have made a gnoll feel pity.

A sharp sucking-in of breath grabbed his attention, and for a moment, Varian watched the small priest hold it and then slowly let it out as his shoulders slacked. A practice Varian knew well, a quick whip of shame finishing the sentence for him; but neglected often to utilize. Fixing those eyes that seemed to seek out a man's very soul upon the King, his expression was utterly neutral, his tone bereft of anything other than sincerity. "My name is Adriel, Your Majesty. I will be your assigned War Priest. If you've agreed to it…" As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed, valiantly enough to impress him, entirely on Varian's own. Alright. He was never incapable of being prepared for his expectations to be subverted, but this was… A pleasant surprise. He blinked as another notion took front and center. Septum piercing. Another surprise.

"Forgive me, I'm used to shaking the hands of men much…" "Bigger?" Varian blinked. "I was going to say 'more politically oriented' to be perfectly honest." "Oh."

[ashdoesfandomarchieved]

of all i am made of (perhaps you are too)

ao3

Hugo does not believe in soulmates.

To be fair, he doesn’t much believe in anything but the feeling of coin in his pocket and the clever bite of his dagger. What use has he for god and destiny when he carves his own path of lies through time, with a sharp tongue and a cocky smile.

Why should Hugo believe the universe would gift him a soulmate when it already has made it perfectly clear that nothing is free?

Besides soulmates are rarities of the past--legends and folktales on the lips of elders and religious fanatics; the former clinging to superstition from the od era, the latter feeding false promises and hope to the instupid masses.

Soulmates are for hopeless romantics and tiny children. Not for Hugo.

“That does not surprise me,” Nuru says, the beginnings of a smile forming on her face.

She’s lying down in the golden field where they’ve set camp for the night. The contrast of the bright yellow against her dark skin is stunning-particularly in the moonlight, with her dark hair fanning out about her head.

Hugo, who is sitting upright a few paces away and playing with his daggers, frowns.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks, unsure if he should be feeling defensive or not.

Nuru folds her arms beneath her head, propping herself up enough to make eye contact with him. “Even if you had a soulmate, you wouldn’t know what to do with them,” she scoffs.

He snorts. “ You believe in soulmates?”

“Is that so surprising?”

“Yes, actually. I thought you were the rational one in this party.”

Nuru gives him an expression that indicates how stupid she thinks he is. “I might be the only person who can keep their head in a crisis, but that doesn’t mean I can’t believe in a higher power, Hugo.”

She rolls over, so that she’s laying on her stomach, facing him. “Burning stars fall in my homeland every year. There are stories of a sun princess who’s tears heal the dead. Varian somehow hasn’t strangled you yet. I think you’d better start believing in a god.”

“Or soulmates apparently,” Hugo mutters.

“Or soulmates,” Nuru says. “Would it really be that far-fetched?”

“Do I believe there’s someone out there who shares my dreams? Or has my name written above their heart? Hard pass, Princess.”

“Alright then, how about sharing the same soul?” Nuru asks, folding her hands together and resting her chin on them. “You’re telling me that doesn’t sound at least a little romantic?”

“I don’t have a soul.”

“Now that,” she says, a grin stretching across her face, “that I can believe.”

___

“I think Anya’s my soulmate,” Yong says dreamily, staring at Varian’s redheaded cousin like she hung the fucking moon.

Hugo, despite secretly adoring the round child, rolls his eyes. Hard. “Do you even know what that means?”

“It means we share the same time threads,” Yong replies distractedly.

Varian and Anya are nerding out over something-something Hugo would find interesting or fun to mock them over, but right now, for some reason, he’s more interested in Yong’s adorable-if not misguided-crush on Varian’s little cousin.

“Time threads,” Hugo laughs, cracking his knuckles. Yong winces at the noise, momentarily taking his eyes off the two babbling alchemists. “Alright, color me curious. What are time threads?”

Yong frowns. “You’ve never heard of time threads? Every child in Koto learns about them.”

Ah, must be some religious poppycock only spread in the fire kingdom.

“Well, I’m not a child living in Koto, am I?” Hugo replies lightly. “Spill, little pyro.” He pokes the kid in the shoulder repeatedly until he gets swatted.

“Her lady, Odiyesi, spins a thread for each person,” Yong recites in a sing-song voice. “This thread contains the beginning, the middle, and the end of our lives. If she so chooses, two threads will be intertwined-maybe even beyond the Snip, if she wills it.”

“The Snip?”

“Oh yeah, that’s when you die,” Yong says, side eyeing Hugo.

Hugo ruffles Yong’s hair. “And you think Anya is your thread partner. That’s so cute .”

Yong ducks out from under his hand, scowling. “Why did you ask if you don’t even believe it?” he mumbles, face pink.

“You know what I think?” Hugo asks, pretending like he doesn’t hear Yong. “I think you should go right up to here and tell her all that. Give her a heads up about your eternally bound souls.”

“Your soul is eternally bound to the underworld,” Yong shoots back, with a surprising amount of fire.

Hugo bursts into laughter. “That,” he says, “is the first thing you’ve said all day that makes sense.”

___

“What do you think about soulmates?” Hugo asks mildly. He has a glass of wine in one hand, but he’s barely tasted it. Instead, he stands, staring out the stained glass window and into the courtyard.

Donella, sitting behind her desk, looks up from Varian’s Ulla’s journal-recently procured by Hugo.

The amount of deception and sneaking around he’d gone through to actually get it out of Varian’s line of sight had been painstakingly difficult. And it had been even harder coming up with an excuse to Nuru why he needed to spend the night somewhere other than their current lodgings.

He doesn’t really remember the lie. Just the trust in the Princess’s face when she’d briefly patted him on the shoulder, telling him to be back by sunrise.

Donella closes the journal with a snap, leaning back in her chair. “What a curious question. And from you, no less.”

When Hugo turns around, she’s smiling that sharp smile-the one that makes his stomach plummet with discomfort. Something in him churns at that dangerous expression now, unsure of what he’s suddenly gotten himself into.

He gives a casual shrug, raising his glass to his lips. “Just making idle conversation, I suppose.” The wine tastes terrible. Still, he takes another sip before setting it down on an end table.

“Hmm.” His mentor eyes him skeptically. “What do I think about soulmates?” she muses, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I suppose the proper answer would be that I hate them.”

He frowns. “So you don’t believe in them?”

“You can’t hate something you don’t believe in, Hugo. Of course I believe in soulmates.” Donella must see the surprise in his expression because she laughs after a brief pause. “I would be hard pressed not to believe in them after seeing it with my own two eyes.”

Hugo blinks, startled. “You met someone with a soulmate?” he asks, disbelieving.

“You could say that.”

“How do-how did you know they were-”

She opens the stolen journal again, long scared fingers deftly flipping back to her reading place. “Because I could feel when she was in pain. Now shut up, Waif, I still have three quarters of this tedious reading to get through and only five more hours to do it.”

___

Even though Eugene has decided to make the conscious effort not to kill Hugo, the guy still shows mild animosity. And by mild, Hugo-of course-means that he drags him around, making him do tedious tasks and scowls whenever he gets close to Varian.

Whatever. It’s not as if Hugo’s going to complain, considering that it’s mostly his fault there was a demon monster briefly unleashed onto Corona that destroyed most of her capital city. As long as Varian isn’t blaming himself, Hugo calls it a win.

So he lets the Prince Consort drag him around the city and put his alchemy to work.

“You don’t have to stay,” Hugo says, at one point, when it becomes apparent that even though Eugene has no idea how alchemy works , he was still going to hover. “I’m not going to cut and run.”

The man had snorted. “Yeah, I already figured that one out for myself,” he’d muttered and then proceeded to not explain what that meant.

So here Hugo is, with an ever present shadow, hovering like he’s a fucking five year old. Hugo honestly doesn’t see what Varian sees in the guy-or Queen Rapunzel for that matter. She looks at the ex-thief like he hung the moon and all the damn stars in the sky.

“It’s because they’re soulmates,” Eugene’s buddy-Lance, Hugo thinks-had said when he caught him staring.

Hugo had scoffed.

Now, bored and overheated after a long day’s work, Hugo watches Eugene frown over some blueprints in the Queen’s study. Hugo’s not exactly sure why he has to be present for this particular part of the renovation project, but he’s too tired to protest.

“Are you and the queen soulmates?” he hears himself asking.

Eugene lifts his head, eyes alight with surprise. He glances back down at the blueprints once, before leaving the table to join Hugo by the open doors leading to the balcony.

“Weird question, coming from you,” he snorts, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms. “But yes. We are.”

Hugo doesn’t know what to make of that. “How do you know?”

The older man hesitates, something like understanding dawning on the man’s face. A small smile crosses lips. “Have you ever met someone that no matter how many times you tried to walk away, you couldn’t?”

Hugo swallows.

“That’s how I know. Now,” he claps Hugo on the shoulder. “If you’ll stop messing around, I need your opinion on whether Yong’s demolition idea or Varian’s solvent solution is going to work best for the lower district’s avalanche problem.”

___

At the end of all things-or perhaps the beginning-Hugo finds Varian on a rooftop.

It’s not hard to find him, as when Varian is brooding, he likes to perch. It’s a habit that the alchemist has either picked up from spending most of his time in a castle with high roofs or perhaps it’s born of chasing his dumb racoon into precarious positions.

Either way, Hugo learns early into his friendship with the darkhaired boy, that when he’s being introspective, he likes to pick a high roof and perch like a fucking woodland creature.

So when Varian goes missing in the middle of Corona’s lantern festival, it takes precious few minutes to find him.

“You are so predictable,” Hugo says, dropping down next to him. Heights don’t usually bother him, but the castle is impressively tall.

The other alchemist doesn’t really seem to mind, however. He lets his legs dangle over the edge, occasionally swinging in the air.

“Or maybe I wanted you to find me,” Varian replies easily. His head--tilted up, toward the stars that are mirrored in the constellations of freckles on his face-is wearing a peaceful expression.

Something in Hugo’s chest clenches tightly at the sight of it. There was a time, not too long ago, where he was convinced he’d never see Varian happy again.

But now, Varian turns his face toward Hugo and offers him a smile. “Or maybe I’m just predictable to you.”

The tightness in Hugo’s chest dissipates. What is left aches for something he can’t have.

“Or that,” Hugo says, instead of doing something stupid like trying to hold Varian’s hand or kiss the stupid expression off his face.

Varian turns back to the stars.

“You know, they say shooting stars fall in the direction of your soulmate.”

Hugo rolls his eyes. “Not you too,” he groans, eliciting laughter from his friend. “I thought out of everyone, you would be on my side here.”

“Aw, don’t believe in soulmates?” Varian teases, grinning boyishly. “Sun and moon, I should have expected that.”

“Yeah?” Hugo raises his eyebrows. “How so?”

“You’re so cynical. And not in the way Cass is-she’s like realistically -cynical. You’re just oh poor me I could never have a soulmate because my soul is made of garbage -”

Hugo clamps a hand over Varian’s mouth, shrieking when he tries to lick him. “I- stop -I don’t have to listen to this slander -”

“-and if you ever did find your soulmate you would be insufferable about it,” Varian goes on, catching Hugo’s wrist when he tries to silence him again. “You would spend the entire time trying to prove to yourself and everyone else that there was no possible way they could be your soulmate and when you couldn’t you would-”

He stops. Blinks at Hugo with realization dawning across his face.

Hugo’s wonders if Varian can feel his pulse racing where the smaller boy’s fingers wrap around his wrist.

“Yeah? What would I do?”

Varian’s lips purse. “I don’t know what you would do. I’d hope you would be smart about it.”

He lets go of Hugo.

Hugo immediately misses his warmth.

“And what would be the smart thing.”

“Well,” Varian draws out the word thoughtfully. He scoots close enough to Hugo that if the taller boy wanted he could wrap and arm around his shoulder. “Well, an excellent start would be telling them.”

“And how would you tell them? If it were you,” Hugo adds quickly, when Varian shoots him a questioning look.

Varian leans back on his hands, head tipped back, exposing his throat to the sky. “I would tell them my heart started beating at the same time as theirs when we touched. That there’s a silver dagger inked on my shoulder that burns when they’re angry and sings when they’re sad-”

“Varian.” Hugo’s heart clenches so hard he briefly wonders if he’s having a heart attack.

“-I would tell them that I dreamed in color the first night we lay side by side in the forest,” Varian goes on, ignoring him. “I would tell them that when we touch I see every color-even the ones that don’t belong here.”

“Varian.”

Hugo’s hand finds his soulmate's.

Varian turns his head to the side slightly, finally meeting Hugo’s eye. With his free hand, he cups the side of Hugo’s neck, tentatively.

“I would tell him that our souls are made of the same thing.” He smiles gently. “It’s just science, Hugo.”

Hugo laughs, pressing his forehead into Varian’s. “How is that the most romantic thing you’ve said yet?”

“Because you’re a closet nerd,” Varian says, right before he leans in.

Underneath a starlit sky, Hugo kisses the boy made of the same stuff as him.

___

[ultraglittercat]

Drabble 137

Balance Beam

Varian wasn’t sure why Rapunzel had invited him back to the castle, so soon after they’d made up. He hadn’t even had time to buy a new outfit, something Dad had offered as a pick me up, hoping it would boost his reformed but still really regretful son’s spirit.

And he hadn’t expected anyone else to be there, but standing next to Rapunzel in a room with a big plank sandwiched between 2 chairs, were a pair of girls Varian estimated to be 11 and 12 yrs old.

“Hi, Varian! Did you and your father have a safe trip here?” Rapunzel asked brightly.

“Yeah, it was alright.” Varian replied. In truth, everyone had avoided him and only a few brave souls had called out a hello to Quirin, and Quirin only. His Dad was visiting with the King and Queen now, although Varian didn’t know how productive their conversation would be, as the Royals still had no memory (that was Varian’s fault) and Quirin had been encased in amber for a little over a year (also Varian’s fault.)

“These sisters are two good friends of mine, Angry and Red. They’re thinking of making here home, won’t that be nice? Say hello, girls.” Rapunzel introduced them.

The brunette- Angry- looked Varian over critically. “Aw, you told me he had a bandana with fangs!” she sounded disappointed.

Varian looked down at the floor. “Yeah, I- I don’t wear that any more. I’m actually thinking of getting something new to wear, but this’ll do for now.” Varian mumbled, shuffling his feet nervously. If he’d looked up he would have also seen that the redheaded girl was nervous, too.

“I think Varian looks good. We all do.” Rapunzel was wearing one of her many pink and purple dresses. Varian wondered how many she owned, and if she realized what a luxury it was. Old Corona was not a wealthy village, at least not compared to Corona in general, and certainly not the Castle and it’s Royal inhabitants. But he had to admit she was right- she did look good.

“I thought we’d do something fun today! The big party we had to celebrate the defeat of the Saporians was nice, but there’s still a lot of renovations we have to do, and I think that with so much work being scheduled, it’s good to take a break.” Rapunzel said.

“I like renovations. We’re gonna fix up our tree house soon, it’ll be awesome!” Angry predicted.

“Yeah, awesome.” echoed Red, but she didn’t sound so enthused.

“The girls are gonna teach us gymnastics today. There wasn’t a lot of space to practice flips and cartwheels and such in the tower.” Rapunzel sighed wistfully.

Okay, so maybe the Princess’ life hadn’t always been so pampered. Varian would try to remember that, it was still kind of hard reframing his thoughts so he didn’t think of Rapunzel as a spoiled, selfish, promise-breaking traitor instead of the kind, forgiving person she was and always had been, Varian had just been too blinded by rage to see it before.

“We’re gonna start off easy, since you two are just beginners.” Angry seemed to relish both being in charge and being better than someone at something. “Walk across the balance beam, Red.” Angry told her sister.

Red obediently walked across, eyes looking straight ahead, and without any wavering or hesitation. As she neared the end, she turned and did a handstand before righting herself and finishing her walk.

“Yeah! That’s showing ‘em!” Angry cheered and Red smiled for the first time that day.

“Thanks I--” Red began but Angry cut her off.

“Okay, which one of you two is going first. How about the boy, Varitas?” Angry hadn’t even bothered to get his name right.

“It’s Varian.” he corrected.

“Yeah, that’s too long. I’m just gonna call you V.” Angry decided. Varian shrugged, better a nickname than being called an incorrect one.

“You sure this is easy?” Varian felt nervous standing on the board, with the girls watching him.

“I’ll help you.” Rapunzel offered a hand, and Varian took it gratefully. He wobbled a bit, but he went forward step by step, trying to keep his eyes straight ahead as Red had done and mostly succeeding. The balance beam wasn’t very high up, but until Rapunzel had reached out Varian had missed having arm support, like when he climbed ladders to reach the apple trees at home.

“You don’t have to do a handstand like Red. Just crossing is good enough.” Rapunzel insisted.

“Yeah, I wasn’t planning on it.” Varian admitted.

“That’s cause you have no sense of adventure.” Angry judged. Red stifled a laugh.

Varian reached the end of the board and jumped down. “Adventure or not, I did it.” he said proudly. Angry just stuck her tongue out at him in response. Varian scowled, but that seemed to be the reaction she was expecting, and both girls laughed. Varian found to his surprise that he wasn’t even annoyed by their teasing, it had been ages since he’d heard anyone laugh around him. It was actually kind of nice that the girls weren’t intimidated by Varian, seeing him as just another kid around their own age, not some evil terrorist.

“Don’t tease him, Varian did a good job.” Rapunzel rushed to his defense.

“It’s okay, they weren’t bothering me.” Varian said.

“Yeah, V’s a good sport, even if he’s a lousy gymnast.” Angry grinned mischievously.

“Lousy? I’ll show you!” Varian stuck his foot out, leaned over and put his hands on the floor, then kicked up and over, and landed on his feet. It wasn’t the prettiest cartwheel, but it was successful.

“Only one? A true gymnast does several!” Angry boasted. She and Red turned and did a series of quick cartwheels, followed by backflips.

Varian was impressed. “Okay, you win. I can’t do the flip.” Varian conceded.

“It t-took me a few tries to get it.” Red said shyly.

“But now she’s an expert! We both are!” Angry was proud. “Hey Rapunzel, are you ready to try the balance beam?” she asked.

Rapunzel nodded. She’d been waiting very patiently, but now there was no hiding her excitement. With a whoop of delight, she ran to the board,  moving quickly across. Unlike Varian, she didn’t need a hand steadying her, she’d always had good balance.  “Ta da!” Rapunzel announced upon finishing. On her shoulder, the little chameleon Pascal clapped, and Varian and the girls did the same.

“That was pretty good. Maybe next time we should set up uneven parallel bars.” Angry envisioned.

“N-next time?” Varian hadn’t expected there to be a first time, and he certainly hadn’t expected that the girls would want to practice with him again.

“Sure. We’ve got lots more tricks we can show you. And maybe you’ll even be able to do a couple yourself.” Angry allowed.

“We’ll look forward to it.” Rapunzel spoke for both herself and Varian.

There was a knock at the door.

“Varian? Son? Are you finished playing with your friends?” Quirin asked.

“Yeah, Dad!” Varian called out brightly. He didn’t know which was more amazing, that he’d been allowed to play, or that he had friends. Both would have seemed like impossible scenarios a week ago, but then seeing his Dad free had seemed impossible then, too.

“We’ll see you around, V!” Angry had already taken it for granted that Varian would be back.

“Bye Varian.” whispered Red.

“Goodbye, Varian. See you soon!” Rapunzel and Pascal both waved. And Varian waved back, before running up to hug his father. It was nice having fun at the Castle, but even that couldn’t compare to the sheer joy he felt just seeing Quirin again.

The End

This was inspired by lovely artwork by @namiya-san. I added Kiera and Catalina to the story because there was never a moment in show where they formally met (they just seemed to already know each other in Lost Treasure) and gymnastics gives the girls a chance to shine. So this a super early Season 3 story, between Rapunzel’s Return and Big Bad Wolf.

[aquaquadrant]

Chill

Rating/Warnings: K+ (sickness, minor injury, disturbing imagery) Timeline: FalsePrince!Varian AU (by Lunarcrown), after “Queen For a Day” Summary: Varian’s quest for answers to free his dad leads him down a dark and wondrous path.

A/N: OK SO I know I said I wasn’t gonna link my TTS Tangledtober one-shots here much but I REALLY loved how this one came out, plus I figured I oughta credit @lunarcrown for letting me play with her False Prince Varian AU and cook up a little origin story for it! Hope you enjoy, reblogs/comments are appreciated!

Click here to read on A03! - Aqua

~*~

Varian sets the beaker down with trembling hands.

His shakiness is now impossible to ignore, and he fears he’ll drop something and cause an even bigger accident than the one that encased Dad in the amber. He wipes his forehead with the back of his glove and comes away with sweat. But at the same time, he’s shivering. His head aches, and dark spots dance across his vision every time he moves.

Varian can no longer deny it; he’s sick.

And that’s a very bad thing, because it’s not just a little cold or flu kind of sickness. That would be fine, he’s worked through those before. This, he knows, is something more serious.

Days ago, he’d hit a wall in his attempt to create a compound that can dissolve the amber. He’d gone searching the area for clues, something new he could learn about the black rocks and their nature that might help. Of course, there was nothing in the village, but he’d found a small path of black rocks leading into the forest.

With nothing to lose, he’d followed the path. After winding around the forest for so long he was beginning to think there was no point, he’d stumbled across a barrow of some kind. A hidden stone door in a thicket, that lead to a huge underground cavern full of old ruins and a strange chill in the air.

And, of course, a lot of black rocks. But something about these ones had seemed different. They were almost in a kind of formation- not any particular shape, but enough repeating forms that he could tell it wasn’t random.

But in his investigating, he’d accidentally gotten too close and cut himself on one of the rocks. Not a deep cut, more of a scratch, really, across his chest. He’d mourned the hole in his shirt more than the small injury, and hadn’t thought it was anything to worry about. After finding nothing else of interest, he’d returned home, more frustrated and at a loss than ever. The cut had been ignored.

Now, it seems it’s gotten infected. The skin around the cut is red and hot to the touch, and the slightest prod makes pain shoot through his muscles. And this is bad because Varian’s alone- he has been since everyone else abandoned Old Corona to be chewed up by black rocks- and he has no idea how to treat an infected wound, he doesn’t know that kind of science.

Varian braces his hands against the work bench, hanging his head down as he takes slow, deep breaths. There’s no one left in town to help him, and he’s hours away from any other settlement. Even if he made it to one, he might not be welcome because of those rumors about him attacking Rapunzel. He’s well and truly alone here, and he needs to figure out a plan.

Just… once he rests, for a moment.

Varian’s eyes flutter shut.

The world tips around him as he feels himself falling. He never hits the ground, instead falling endlessly through inky blackness until the sensation is all he knows. Just as its about to consume him, he surfaces. His head breaks through a layer of snow, spilling powder down his shoulders in a crumbling mess.

He blinks the frost from his lashes. All around him is snow. It stretches out before him in every direction, an endless white void. Flat, dull, colorless. Empty. And cold- it seeps through his threadbare clothes and crawls lazily through his veins, like icy snakes swimming in his blood.

Above him, the sky is black. It’s a void of another name, stretching beyond the horizon and swallowing the world in darkness. But it’s not empty, not in the slightest. A dazzling array of stars glitters above him, packed denser than he thought stars could be. They’re scattered in clusters of beautiful disorder, like a bunch of dandelion fluff got carried away by the wind and caught in the space above.

There are planets too, planets he never even dreamed of seeing beyond the tiny pinpricks viewable from a telescope. Planets of different colors and patterns, closer than should be possible. And threading through all these celestial bodies are swaths of color he can’t even begin to identify. Like the aurora borealis he’s read about, bright yellows and pinks and purples and blues and it makes him dizzy just to process it all.

It’s breathtaking, and he wonders for a moment if this is what space truly looks like, once freed from the veil of the earth’s atmosphere. Deep, lively, vibrant. Eternal. Standing alone in the snow, he feels immeasurably small in the face of the radiance above.

The sound of his own teeth chattering together brings him back to earth. He’s freezing. A sharp gasp rips itself from his lungs, and he sees his breath fog in the air. Panic sets his heart racing, and he clumsily scrambles to his feet, kicking up flurries of snow. If he doesn’t find shelter somewhere, he’ll die. He knows this with certainty.

But the snow is deceptively deep. It seems to cling to him, making each step heavier than the last. His shoes are soaked through and he can’t feel his feet. Bitter winds rip at his hair, and he’s reminded of another storm, not so long ago. Trudging alone for miles and miles, with only the thought of getting back to Dad keeping him from giving up and letting the white haze consume him. But this time, his determination alone isn’t enough.

Varian struggles to make ground, but it’s to no end. There’s nothing in sight, no escape from this cold. Panting for breath, he looks up at the brilliant sky with all its color and majesty.

“Help!” Varian screams. “Anyone!”

The words don’t even get a chance to echo around him before they’re swept away in the storm, and despair crashes over Varian. But just before he drops to the ground to let the snow consume him, he catches movement.

Against the backdrop of inky sky, two yellow eyes blink open. The pupils are bright pink, and they regard Varian with enough intensity to melt ice. It’s an evaluating look, like they’re staring right through Varian’s skin into his soul, and it sends a chill down his spine. They get closer, and the rest of the figure comes into form, almost materializing out of space itself.

It’s a boy- like Varian. Almost exactly like Varian, in fact, in terms of the shape of his dark blue hair and the point of his nose. But much of his face is lost to the color of his skin; a deep indigo, smooth as the surface of unbroken water. Lighter pink freckles dust his face in the same places Varian’s do, glittering like constellations, and they match the pink streak in his hair, where Varian’s is blue.

A shining golden crown sits on the boy’s head, adorned with tiny pink stars that almost could have been captured right out of the sky. Rich furs of pink and purple line the cloak he’s wearing, adding to the regal appearance. Still though, he wears gloves, and the sight is bizarrely comforting to Varian, for whatever reason.

The boy has yet to land, his feet still floating above the snow by a good distance, forcing Varian to crane his head up to see. The cloak billows around him, but in slow ripples, as if he were underwater instead of hovering in a blizzard. He tilts his head at Varian, and it’s only now that Varian realizes the boy has no mouth.

Poor boy, the figure coos. Varian knows instantly it’s the boy’s voice, even though there’s no mouth to hold it. Alone again. It’s not fair, is it? You did nothing to deserve such a fate.

Varian manages to find his voice. “Wha- what fate?” he calls hoarsely, straining to be heard above the wind. “What do you mean?”

You’re dying. The boy’s yellow eyes curl up at the corners, like he’s smiling. Can’t you tell? That wound you sustained is a deceptive thing. It looks so harmless, doesn’t it? But looks can be deceiving, as you’ve since found out.

Varian’s heart misses a beat. “What?! I’m dying?” His breathing speeds up, hands raking through his hair. “No, no, no, n- no I can’t, my dad- I’m the only one that can save him! I’m the only one who will! If I die, then he’s lost forever and I can’t- I can’t let that happen!”

Why not? the boy asks simply.

Varian balks. “I’m the reason he got trapped in the first place! I have to fix it, I- I have to prove myself!” he insists desperately. “I have to, please.”

Hmm. The boy’s gaze seems considering. Perhaps there’s another way.

Varian inhales sharply. By this point, the cold has traveled to his hands. “What is it?”

Let me help you. I can lend you my strength, and save your dying body. Together, we’ll find the answers you seek. We can be friends.

The boy extends a hand, tilting forward in the air.

I promise.

Ice is forming in Varian’s eyes. He blinks it away and takes the boy’s hand.

The boy’s yellow eyes slant into their half-moon smile again, and suddenly he’s pulling Varian into the air. The abrupt weightlessness makes Varian cry out in surprise, the white world below them getting smaller and smaller as they ascend. And then it’s gone, and there’s nothing around Varian but space and stars and color.

The wind’s gone, and it’s deadly quiet. But it’s still just as cold.

Too late Varian realizes, as the ice starts creeping up his body once more. It’s fast and crushing, swallowing him up, dulling his nerves into noncompliance as he tries to move. He can’t even scream as the frost crawls up his throat, freezing his face in horror.

The last thing he sees are those blazing yellow eyes, watching in triumph, before everything goes black.

Varian’s eyes snap open.

He gives a violent start, gasping for breath. It takes him a few moments to gather his bearings. There’s no snow, no space, no shadowy figure with glowing yellow eyes. He’s on the floor of his lab, everything exactly as he left it, dark and quiet and alone.

No. Not alone.

The voice is less of a sound and more of a feeling, rattling through his bones. Varian cries out in surprise at the sensation, looking around wildly.

“Who’s there?” he demands.

Silence. And then.

A friend, the voice replies. I promised, didn’t I?

Varian’s breath catches as he realizes. That dream- if he can even call it that- the voice sounds like… but no, that’s impossible, isn’t it? It was just a dream, or some kind of hallucination. He’s not well, he’s seeing things, and hearing things-

Something seems to take hold of his heart and squeeze. He can’t even cry out, it’s so intense. When it finally lets up, he’s left struggling to regain his breath once again. Curiously, though, there’s no lingering pain anywhere in his body. He can’t even feel the sting of his wound…

That gives him pause. Something itches at the back of his mind, prompting him, look. Warily, he tugs down the collar of his shirt.

The wound is healed. There’s no sign of it but a faint pink scar- pink not in the way that irritated skin is, but a true bright pink, as if by a dye. Varian stares in mixed horror and fascination. It’s impossible. It’s unnatural. And yet…

Gingerly, he pulls a glove off and brushes his fingers over the scar. There’s no ache, but his skin is cold to the touch.

All the pain is gone. But the chill remains.

Now, let’s start again.

~*~

[ilovevarian22]

Making Them Forget Is The Only Way chapter 9

Quirin was worried, the angry mob came back an hour ago without his son, which means that VARIAN is still out there, so Quirin grabbed some food (cheese and bread because he didn’t want to worry about the werewolf smelling meat) and a skin of water for his son, a first aid kit and a crossbow just in case, if it came between his son and that werewolf, he was going to pick his son! Quirin thinks the town is being ridiculous! His son? A werewolf? Ha! That just proves how little they actually new about his son! His son had no deep seeded anger even if he did- Quirin stopped thinking about it he just had to find his son and prove that he is not the werewolf! ————————————— EUGENE had a bad feeling he knew who the werewolf was! It’s the only thing that made sense! He needed to talk to that kid about his anger issues! Don’t get him wrong, he loves VARIAN like a little brother but man he’s got issues!! EUGENE’s only hope right now is that Creighton hadn’t figured it out yet “Oh tsk, tsk, captain never bring a crossbow to a sword fight!” EUGENE said with his usual confidence. “Do you mistake me for a fool, milksob? Now that I know who the wolf is! There’s nothing you can do to stop me!” Creighton said. “Oh really?” EUGENE said right before knocking the crossbow out of her hands! “You’re still a milksob!” Creighton said while running away. After Creighton was out of earshot EUGENE said, “well it’s time to turn that wolf back into VARIAN!” ———————————————- VARIAN didn’t know how long He was sitting there but he knew he had to move, to get home so he can pretend none of this ever happened. He started walking in a direction intel he saw it! THE WEREWOLF! He was full of fear he couldn’t move, he couldn’t scream, he just stood there hyperventilating! The werewolf got closer and VARIAN saw something around it’s neck! That’s when the adrenaline kicked back in! VARIAN grabbed a raccoon trap from his bag and throw it at the werewolf’s feet! And VARIAN looked at the thing around the werewolf’s neck! It was a golden leaf necklace! He pulled the necklace off the wolf and in response the werewolf scratched his left arm, and VARIAN ran off. He ran as fast as he could trying not to look at his arm (because of the blood) but it never worked that way VARIAN accidentally look at his scar and passed out ——————————————— Quirin was in the woods for a while With no sign of VARIAN! He had been looking for a while and has heard the wolf several times and was very worried now! He kept walking intel he heard a sound in the brushes, Quirin aimed his crossbow in that direction, only to find Ruddiger with an apple in his mouth, Quirin lowered his crossbow, then he heard a familiar voice “well someone’s rusty! And to think this is what happened to a great knight of the brotherhood! It’s sad really!” The voice said. “Hector? What are you doing here in Corona?” Quirin asked his brother that he hasn’t seen in 25(26?) years! “I heard that the wolf’s curse was headed for Corona and by the looks of things it’s already here!” Hector said with his usual smile on his face. “You haven’t changed at all have you?” Quirin asked. And of course hector answered “No, but you most Certainly have, I mean look at you, your clothes, you look older, your son which you have failed to tell me about, I mean seriously! My spies told me! That’s not how I wanted to figure out that I have a nephew, Quirin!” “Is there anything else you would like to comment on because I’m in the middle of something!” Quirin asked with Annoyance in his voice. “Actually there is!” Hector said then threw a golden leaf necklace at Quirin. “I found this near some kind of weird pink goo, with werewolf tracks, so it either belongs to the poor soul with the curse or the werewolf’s dinner!” Hector said as he was leaving! Quirin looked at the leave necklace and figured he would have to asked the royals about it later!

[victoria-hyde]

A Horror of The Spirit

"A horror of the spirit that cannot be exceeded at the hour of birth or death."

-Robert Louis Stevenson

 Pre-Valkyrie. This is the story of Skulduggery's first partner. 

Detective Robert Warlow squinted, his eyes straining against the merciless sun's attacks. He supposed it was all part of the desert day. Robert was really beginning to regret wearing his smart vermillion vest. Small crimson clouds danced around his feet, ruining his perfectly good shoes. A slight crunch was heard with each apprehensive footstep. He was supposed to meet up with his assigned mentor; Skulduggery Pleasant. He was told that Skulduggery was not allowed to interfere with his actions -no matter what-, only guide him. This was a sort of test, to see if he had what it takes to become a proper Sanctuary detective. The same rules stopped him from using magic, as well as a binding bracelet, so he relied solely on his ken. In theory he was able to solve this case and deal with the details like a professional, but he was faintly aware that the cold indifference that was present during study would not come easily upon seeing an expired body. Robert disregarded his emotions and fear, as he objectively approached the vehicle. He was curious about this case. After all, he knew that it is one thing to mortify curiosity, another to conquer it. He gazed inside and faltered. The sight that greeted him was a horror of the spirit that cannot be exceeded at the hour of birth or death. The insensate, emerald eyes gazed into his soul, glazed over and full of an extreme foreign panic. Limp limbs yielded to gravity, gently resting next to an inflated chest as if their owner was merely asleep, though Robert knew that was not the case. However, it was the smell that did it for him. It was a cold and heavy scent, smelling of rotting meat with a few drops of cheap perfume. It was pungent mixed with sickening sweetness. It crept up his nostrils making him feel as if he had swallowed acid. He could taste it. He could taste the cadaver. It appeared the corpse was just as repulsed due to the slightly pink foam dripping from his mouth. Robert ran away from the car trying not to gag, tears of shock and disgust involuntarily streaming down his face. Even then the smell still lingered, not quite going away. It was caught in his nose, on his tongue, at the back of his throat. Suddenly the background noise flooded back in with the blaring noise of the police sirens, snapping him back to reality. He took a deep breath to calm his farrago of thoughts and ate one of the mints to disperse the horrid taste in his mouth. Robert desperately began to distract himself by analysing what he had just seen and comparing it with his prior knowledge of Varian's file. He recalled Rose's panicked eyes, his bloated chest and the salmon froth leaking from his lips. He was so focused, that he didn't notice the cloaked man approaching him.

"Vile, isn't it," the clinical voice of the sanctuary official stated. Warlow jolted in surprise and quickly read the man's name tag: Skulduggery Pleasant. "I take it you're my newly assigned partner?" Pleasant's pause was scanty and his tone indifferent, only allowing time for Robert to nod before he continued. "I have been charged with informing you of the details of this investigation. The victim's name was Varian Rose. He recently received a large inheritance from his late father; roughly $50 000 000. We are currently uncertain of how he perished since I'm not allowed to try and solve the case-"

Robert cut him off, "He was drowned. You can tell by the foam coming out of his mouth from the water in the lungs, his lungs expanded to try and hold more air therefore swelling his chest, and the look of panic in his eyes, signalling he was aware he was being murdered."

Skulduggery seemed to glare at the detective. "Impressive deduction, but I would greatly appreciate if you could take the liberty to refrain from interrupting me with your monotonous discourse," he floridly reprimanded Warlow, quite clearly unimpressed with his behaviour. "Now, if you will allow me to continue, I can inform you of our suspicions," he paused and gave the detective a testing head tilt. "The other amateur detectives believe his sister, Avia Rose, drowned him to claim the inheritance. If you'll wait here, I can fetch the objects the others found from my car, so you can inspect them." This time, Skulduggery didn't even await an answer as he promptly found and handed over the objects in clear plastic bags. Pleasant waited impatiently, irregularly tapping his foot, as Robert studied the contents of the bag. The bags contained a book on alchemy, matches, a pen, car keys and a driver's licence. Warlow looked up.

"You're wrong," he said. "Avia did not kill Varian."

"Excuse me? I'm not allowed to solve the case. The other people being tested are wrong. Not me." he offendedly corrected, but even his offense lacked emotion. Detective Warlow saw now that Skulduggery Pleasant was about as emotional as a bagpipe. Robert rolled his eyes.

"You see this pen here?" he questioned, pointing at the sleek pen in the plastic bag. Skulduggery wearily nodded and the detective pushed the bag into Pleasant's grasp. "The other students missed the obvious. The name on the pen says 'Artemis Pendragon'. That is the name of Varian's ex. They were engaged before she dumped him. Therefore, Artemis murdered Varian Rose. Now, there's her work address on the pen, would you do me the courtesy of accompanying me to the arrest?"

"I am legally obligated to come with you."

Detective Robert Warlow waited in the reception of Artemis's workplace, Detective Pleasant and various armed sanctuary officials positioned at different intervals throughout the room. He took a moment to relish the cool feel of the smooth desk against his back. Earlier that day, they had notified everyone on this level to evacuate for their own safety. All they had to do now was await Ms Pendragon's arrival. The door was suddenly opened, and the gravelly crunch of guns being readied snapped at the air, said weapons immediately being pointed at the woman who had just entered. She looked to be in her late twenties, with piercing grey eyes and glinting brown hair. She had an evil face, smoothed by hypocrisy; but her manners were rumoured to be excellent. She exactly matched the image of a Pendragon. Skulduggery approached Artemis and promptly handcuffed her.

"Miss Artemis Pendragon, you are under arrest for the murder of Mr Varian Rose. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say or do may be used against you in court," Pleasant monologued with the routine weariness of children greeting a teacher; lacking passion.

"Wow, what a genius. How could you have ever figured it out?" Artemis smirked, extremely sarcastically, her Australian accent prominent.

"That was a rather silly thing to say," Warlow observed. "You just confessed."

"Who are you supposed to be anyway? I've heard of Captain Jack Marrow over there but didn't know he provided babysitting services." she spat out, having recovered her bearings.

"I am Detective Warlow. Tell you what, I'll answer your questions if you answer mine," he announced before eagerly leaning forwards, obviously not picking up on her sarcasm. "Why did you do it? Did you really think that it would bring you joy?"

"The secret to a happiness is a small ego," at this, she gave a smug glance towards Skulduggery. "And a big wallet. Good books help, too. But that's not really a secret, is it?"

"Don't avoid the question. Why did you drown Varian Rose?" interrogated Robert. His curiosity was eating him inside out, like bone-termites.

Artemis's expression darkened; her countenance grim. "He destroyed my books."

"Is that it? You really killed someone because they merely destroyed your books?"

This comment sent Artemis into a maniacal laughing fit. She pretended to wipe away a tear of laughter before rolling her eyes at the junior detective. "Oh sure. I killed someone just because they destroyed my books. Please, that was one time."

"What?" Warlow blurted, worried.

"No, no. I have other reasons that I'm not going to share."

"Why not?"

"I'm hoping the curiosity will kill you, just like it killed the cat."

"Actually," Skulduggery interjected. "The original phrase was, 'Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.'"

"Well, the cat died again since there was still some curiosity left in it." She shrugged. "It was a slow acting disease."

Detective Warlow's countenance began to look a little unimpressed. "What are you hoping to achieve with all this banter?" he asked. "Sure, it's scintillating but it isn't going to stop you getting arrested."

Something in Artemis's eye twinkled that made it evident she knew something they did not. "There's no chance that I was perhaps," a metallic chink sounded from behind her and Robert took a step back as her hands reached up and unsheathed her swords. "stalling you." The armed sanctuary officials tried to open fire at her, but nothing came out of their guns. By the time they checked their ammunition, realized Artemis had emptied it with air manipulation and spotted their bullets on the floor, it was too late. In fact, it all happened so fast that Robert barely saw it. A flash of silver, a few sickening damp crunches and the wall had a new coat of paint. Warlow tried to move away from her but slipped in the rapidly growing puddles of blood. He felt the warm, sticky liquid seep into his clothes as his face connected with the floor. He was suddenly gasping for breath as Artemis's foot found a place on his ribs. Where was Skulduggery? Why wasn't he helping? He turned his head away, not wanting to see the sword's slow-motion descent. This was a mistake. He came face to face with a lifeless and blood pooled into his mouth. He suddenly felt a cool sharpness dig into his throat with a final sickly crunch. Detective Robert Warlow spent what felt like an eternity choking on his own blood and agony before everything began to fade and go cold...

 Artemis turned away from the corpse of that amateur detective and faced the infamous Skeleton Detective. He hadn't moved an inch, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. She grinned at him.

"So, what? Are you going to try and arrest me too Albert Spinestein? Are you going to tattle on me Vincent Van Bone?" she teased.

The way Skulduggery held himself indicated he was extremely unimpressed. He then replied, his voice devoid of any human emotion; the definition of deadpan, "I am not allowed to interfere with the testing under any circumstances." She waltzed over and pat the top of his head.

"Good skeleton." And on that remark, she left the building. Skulduggery sighed and left the office to inform the sanctuary that everyone was killed.

 Detective Rachel Pidgely was overflowing with excitement. She was approaching the crime scene for her case. If she solved it and apprehended the murderer -if there was a murderer, she didn't know-, then she would become a real Sanctuary detective! A tall man cloaked in beige was waiting for her outside the doors to the crime scene.

"Hello! I'm Rachel," she gushed. "Who are you!?"

The man barely shifted. "My name is irrelevant. Once you pass through these doors you will meet your partner and guide for the testing. After they have explained the situation to you, you can then begin to solve the murder of Robert Warlow."

 I packed so many quotes and Easter eggs into this it isn't funny. Can you find all the quotes and Easter eggs?

[dyeghofficial]

Do You Even Go Here {Part 7 Cont.}

Author’s Note: Hello, bodyevery! Weeeeeeee’re back! Thank you so much for your patience. We are so happy that you like our story and we are doing our best to keep updating despite life’s many hurdles. You the true MVPs! ♥

~Candi

Cass frowned, watching Varian leave with his dad and friend. Her eyes saddened. “I’ll handle it later. At the very least, he’ll get to enjoy some free food and Holly’s company right now.” Her eyes flickered over to Eugene and she noticed how sad and worn down he looked. Her heart hurt for him, and for Rapunzel. This wasn’t easy for either of them, but she didn’t know what to do or even say to make the situation better. So she watched helplessly as the brunette and his best friend disappeared in the throng of people. She turned to Rapunzel and smiled for her, trying to lighten the mood. “Girl’s night? Come on.” She grabbed the blond by the wrist and tugged her towards her dorm room.

It had been far too long since they had a girl’s night. Few things were better for the soul than face masks, ice cream, and movies. Especially now that Rapunzel needed something to focus on. Things were better with Eugene, but she didn’t know if they would get back together - ever. “I don’t know, Cass,” Rapunzel sighed, taking a bite of ice cream before she went back to painting her friend’s nails. “I think it’d be good for me to go on a date, Eugene was just… he was the first, ya'know? First guy I dated, first guy I loved. I didn’t think we’d break up, but we did, and now I kinda just want to explore,” she admitted, taking care not to spill any nail polish as she angled her friend’s hand.

Cass let her hand go limp so the blond could have full control of the situation. She’d never admit it, but she liked being pampered like this. It happened so rarely. “I have to admit, as someone who has explored around, it’s fun. Well. It can be. You have to find the right dude. Or chick, whatever.” She shrugged and reached over gingerly with her spare hand to grab her can of Pepsi so she could drink. “What kind of exploration are you looking to do? I can hook you up.”

Warning: light sexual themes coming up. If you would like to skip the scene, please press ctrl+f on your computer and search the following term: bamboozled. This will jump you ahead of the scene and onto the next part.

“I’m not even sure. I love Mother and my parents–” Mother was grandmother Gothel who hated being reminded of her age, but she did look good for someone who was pushing 50. “–but they kept me really sheltered. I know they had their reasons, but I’m still pretty clueless about things. Lance had to explain what tea-bagging was to me last week.” With a grimace, she grabbed a top coat, shaking the bottle while she waited for the polish to dry.

Cass snickered. “You didn’t know- Oh, honey.” She lifted her hand up to gently blow on the paint so it could dry faster. “Okay, well… Obviously you like men or you wouldn’t have dated Fish Breath for as long as you did. If I did hook you up, would you want to just do light-hearted dating, or do you want someone to raw you?”

Rapunzel’s face went red at Cassandra’s choice of words. “I mean, light dating wouldn’t hurt. I’m not ready for anything serious but they have dating apps for that, right?” At the second option, Rapunzel bit her lip in thought. “I don’t know. I mean, I’ve never been with a girl before and it sounds like a fun night to get rid of some stress.”

She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “Did I just hear you correctly?” She leaned in, twisting her head slightly so her ear was facing Raps and she cupped it. “Say that again, I don’t think I heard you right.” She smirked.

“You be careful, I’m the one with the nail polish,” Rapunzel warned with a laugh. “And you heard right. It might be fun to be with a girl,” she admitted.

She laughed. “Okay, okay.” She sat back. “Honestly, I know I talk a big game, but aside from kissing Caine back at Varian’s welcome party, I’ve never been with a girl. But I do know some of the girls I work with are lesbian, so maybe I can introduce you to one?”

“I’d be alright with that. I’m a bit nervous, though. Eugene was the only person I’ve ever kissed or done anything with, so I don’t know if I’m any good. He was biased, so he never said if I was bad,” she added. Plus, who knew if Eugene was even a good kisser? He could be awful and Rapunzel would never be the wiser if she didn’t have experience.

“Well, I can at least tell you if you’re good,” she replied with a shrug. Kissing was relatively harmless, and she trusted Raps.

“Would you? I’d really appreciate that.”

“Sure. It’s just a kiss, right? No big.” She patted the space next to her on the loveseat and scooted over so she could give the girl more space.

Rapunzel grinned in response and sat next to Cassandra. After a moment of hesitation, she cupped her face before leaning in and kissed her.

Cass felt a slight tingle in her belly from the action. Maybe it was cuz it was slightly taboo. Well, maybe taboo wasn’t the right word for it. But it certainly wasn’t normal to go around casually kissing your friends. Her eyebrows contracted though. Damn thoughts. She forced her mind to shut down and she placed her hands on Rapunzel’s arms, kissing her back while pulling her closer.

When Cassandra didn’t return the kiss at first, Rapunzel was a bit worried. But then she was returning it and Rapunzel melted into her touch. “Hm,” she sighed.

Cass broke the kiss gently and pulled away, stroking a strand of hair from Rapunzel’s face. “Well, you’re not a bad kisser.”

Rapunzel hummed, a slight smile on her face. “You’re not either, but that wasn’t the point of that,” she added, sitting back as a blush coated her cheeks.

She laughed once. “Thanks for the compliment.” Her eyes softened at the blond. “How do you feel?”

“Um, a bit warm and tingly, kind of like after kissing Eugene but a bit different too,” Rapunzel contemplated, biting her lip in thought.

She had to admit to herself that she felt the same way. Out loud though, she said nothing. Instead, she patted the girl’s knee. “What do you wanna do now? Sky’s the limit.”

“Well, I’d like to do it again.” Then she realized the implications of her words and laughed nervously, “I meant with like, a girl in general. For now, I’m gonna put a top coat on your nails.”

Cass laughed as well. Her next words surprised her, though. “Well once that’s done, I wouldn’t mind a round two.” Her eyes widened slightly and her cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she cleared her throat. “I mean, uh….” She trailed off nervously.

Rapunzel bit her lip and glanced at Cassandra, picking out the right bottle of polish. “Maybe after we’re done with your nails?”

She gulped, her breath quickening. She didn’t trust her voice not to come out shaky so she nodded instead, giving the blond her unfinished hand.

Rapunzel smiled, setting to work on finishing Cassandra’s left hand before letting it dry. Once the polish was secure, Rapunzel bit her lip. “So, um,” she trailed off before leaning forward, abruptly kissing Cassandra so her nerves wouldn’t get the better of her.

Cass made a small sound of surprise but she willingly reciprocated the motion, sliding her hands up the girl’s back to hold her in place. She moved their lips together in a delicate dance, feeling bolder with each passing second. Her own lips parted and she slid her tongue out to silently ask for entrance into Rapunzel’s mouth.

Rapunzel let out a hum of appreciation as her hands curled into Cassandra’s hair, pulling her closer. She moved in sync with Cassandra, parting her own lips and letting her eyes fall shut. It was undeniably hot, though Rapunzel knew there wasn’t that spark like when she kissed Eugene.

She pulled away gingerly, planting one last kiss on the girl’s nose as she stroked a strand of hair out of her face. “That was um… Hotter than I expected.” She giggled.

“Definitely,” Rapunzel agreed with a laugh, leaning over to grab the two cans of soda from the table, handing one to Cassandra. “And I mean this in the best possible way, I just don’t think you’re my type.”

She snorted. “Ow, my ego.” She took the can and cracked it open. “Fair enough, though. You’re a good kisser but there was no spark.”

Rapunzel smiled then tilted her head in thought. “I’m not normally the person for this, but what are your thoughts on petty revenge?”

Cass blinked, her eyebrows contracting. “I’m always up for revenge, petty or not. But you? What’s on your mind?”

“Tomorrow we’re celebrating Lance’s birthday, we know that there’s nothing between us. Eugene doesn’t.”

She blinked, realization dawning and she grinned evilly. “Wanna go the whole nine yards?” Admittedly she’d hesitated for a split second before remembering Varian wouldn’t be there. She hadn’t forgotten about his crush on her and even though she didn’t know if he still felt that way, she didn’t want to take the chance of hurting his feelings like that.

“Let’s do it. Should we get Lance in on it too? He’s always down for some mischief.”

She tapped her lips with her fingertips as she thinks. “No, he’ll give it away. Let’s just keep this to ourselves.” She grinned for yawned a moment later. “Bed time?”

“Bed time,” Rapunzel agreed, moving to put away the snacks and nail polish. Petty revenge was oddly exciting, she thought to herself as she dozed off.

___________________________________________

bamboozled - congrats, you’ve been jumped ahead!

In the meantime, Quirin drove Varian and Holly to the closest steakhouse, listening placidly to her singing along under her breath with the oldies that came on the radio and chattering excitedly with Varian about the events of the science expo. He ushered them both inside and ordered his food once they sat down and had a chance to look at the menu, letting Holly control the flow of the conversation. When she declared that she had to go to the bathroom and left, he sighed softly and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Can I talk to you–Oh.” He stopped when he registered that Varian was trying to talk. “Sorry. Yes?”

There was a bit of an awkward pause following the two of them trying to speak simultaneously. “Uh…no…you go ahead,” Varian relented, playing with the straw wrapper in his hands mostly to give said hands something to do. He wasn’t really sure what he wanted to ask, anyway. He just…wanted. He wanted his dad’s approval, he wanted to have one normal week at school that didn’t involve someone being hospitalized or the looming terror of the rocks (something that still caused him anxiety, despite he and Rapunzel’s combined, seemingly successful efforts to keep them at bay), he wanted Eugene and Rapunzel to stop beating around the bush and pushing their relationship issues onto everyone else and just talk out their problems already and get back together, he wanted to turn off the way he felt about Cassie. But most of all-he yawned loudly-he just wanted to sleep.

Holly returned shortly and slipped into the booth beside Varian, watching about a dozen emotions flit across the teen’s face before he finally settled on exhaustion. She bit her lip in concern; the poor guy looked like he was about to pass out. She was fighting a yawn herself, and she couldn’t tell if it was the reflexive, sympathetic kind or if too was born of pure sleepiness. After three failed attempts to suppress it, she let a large one rip through her, and decided on the latter; after all, it had been a long day for everyone. She couldn’t let him fall asleep just yet, though- he and his father had so few opportunities to talk these days. She flagged down a waitress and whispered something in her ear, and the woman nodded and came back a few moments later with two very hot coffees, one in a mug, one in a portable container. Not missing this, Varian looked at her in confusion. She winked. “I gotta go take care of some homework before I call it a day,” she told him. “But thanks for the adventure, friend. Never a dull moment with you around.” Varian’s resulting flush was one of mixed embarrassment and pride. “Er…thanks,” he replied, smiling a little awkwardly. “See you around?”

“Definitely,” Holly responded, grinning and grabbing the portable cup. “You still have to help me with my dorm’s security system.”

Varian scoffed. “Yeah, like mine worked so well.”

Holly shrugged. “Every system has bugs. But we live and learn. See ya.”

She waved cheerfully, bid Quirin goodbye and thank you, and was on her way. Varian’s gaze followed her all the way out before he grabbed his own coffee, raised it to his lips, and took a long, life giving sip. Instantly, he felt a little better. “That is some good Joe,” he commented as he put it down.

Quirin frowned. “You’re leaving? But you haven’t–uh. Okay.” He blinked in a slightly affronted manner before smoothing out his expression. He turned his attention back to Varian and nodded. “I’m sure.” He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling very awkward.  "You look… Bedraggled. Is school getting to be too much again?“

"Today was just a little to eventful for my taste, that’s all,” Varian replied. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the entire truth either. “And Holly didn’t leave to be rude.” He swallowed hard. “She left because she knew we’d sit here and screw around and not talk about what we really need to talk about otherwise.” It was a bold statement, but one he knew his father wouldn’t be able to back out of without looking like a total asshole. It was time.

Quirin sighed tiredly. Varian was right, damn him. And if a third party who’d never met him before could tell he was avoiding the subject, he’d let it go on for too long. He gave his son a long look, mulling over his words. “I… owe you… an apology,” he said slowly. “It was wrong of me to sic Penelope on you when I should have just trusted you to take care of yourself. I just… You don’t take care of yourself, especially when you get hyperfocused and I–” Can’t lose you, too. He cleared his throat. “You’re my son,” he finished simply.

Varian’s eyes wavered for a moment as what his father was saying sank in, and hit him hard. “You did it…because you were worried about me?” he asked slowly.

Quirin gulped hard and looked away, nodding tersely.

Varian wasn’t quite sure what to add to this, so he smiled softly and looked out the window at the setting sun. “Do you remember that time when Mom decided she was going to save time by baking my birthday cake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes and she caused the oven to explode?”

Quirin breathed out a silent laugh and shook his head. “Yeah, it was a brand new oven, too. There was also the time she tried to mop using a floor cleaner she’d invented and burned a hole through the tile.” He laughed heartily at the memory. “She was mortified. I was livid.”

“I remember,” Varian replied with a soft little smile. He bit his lip. “Dad…” Come on…say it. Just say it. It’s not that hard, a little voice in the back of his head,the one that spurred him to invent and try crazy things and take wild risks rang out. Tell him what you need from him. When are you going to get another chance like this? He swallowed. “Dad…all my life, I…” But the words died in his throat. For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to admit he’d been hungrily seeking his approval like a moth to a flame for fear of ruining whatever pride his dad had had in him that evening. “Nevermind,” he said, finishing his coffee and looking out the window. “How’s everything back home?”

Quirin gulped hard, feeling dread pool in his stomach. This was it, Varian was finally going to tell him he’d been a shitty father. Regret flooded his senses and he inhaled sharply…. only to have his welling emotions pop like a pricked balloon. He deflated instantly and sighed. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or even more sad. “I…” His jaw locked. No, damn it. He wouldn’t keep letting them avoid the topic. Now or never Quirin. “Things are fine. Blaire’s recovering and Adira is as wild and unpredictable as ever.” He paused. “Varian… I…” He inhaled sharply again. “I owe you an apology.” His hands balled into fists around his fork and knife so tightly they began to bend. “I know I haven’t been… available to you, and I– This isn’t easy for me. I’m–”

“Dad, stop,” Varian replied, turning his gaze away from the window to look at him. “You don’t have to crucify yourself.” It was true; Quirin had been a lot more distant than Varian would have liked, and this had caused a rift between them for years, but despite his insecurities about himself and his dad’s view of him, he didn’t want this to be the way they went about solving it. He didn’t want his father to dissolve over it or think he was a bad dad. “I’m not–” He raked a hand through his hair. It was all or nothing time. “All my life, all I’ve wanted…” There was a long, pregnant pause. One could cut the tension in the air with a butter knife. Varian closed his eyes and thought of his friends, the ones that would be there for him no matter how this turned out, and as soon as he did he could feel strength ballooning inside his chest. He opened his eyes and met his father’s gaze. “I thought what I wanted more than anything was for you to be proud of me,” he finally admitted, his voice heavy with emotion. “And while that’s still something I desire, I guess what I was really chasing all these years is a little bit of self esteem. I thought I would finally start to like myself if I heard those five little words, if you just said ‘I’m proud of you son’, but that was just me projecting my insecurities onto you.” He looked down at his hands, and they clenched and unclenched for sheer nerves. “Ever since Mom died, I’ve blamed myself. I can’t seem to get my crap together, things are always blowing up in my face, and everyone thinks I’m dangerous and strange.” His chest was seizing, and he could feel tears burning at the back of his eyes. “And every time you looked at me and shook your head in disapproval it was a nail in the coffin. It wasn’t your fault, but it didn’t help.” He took a deep, shuddering breath. Movies always made these sorts of confessions look easy; they were anything but. “But now I have friends who love me because of my disastrous and awkward idiocy, not in spite of it, and I think…I think I’m starting to realize that all I really wanted was to be okay with being me. And I am … Or I’m starting to be?” As soon as the courage had come, it began to fade, and after letting all of that baggage spill onto the table, he just felt small and tired. “I’m just trying to find my way,” he said quietly. “And if you want to be a part of it, maybe we should just…stop avoiding each other. As father and son, we should have each other’s backs, you know?”

Quirin listened patiently, his face devoid of emotion while his son declared his true feelings. Pride bubbled in his chest. This was the Varian he knew. This was his son- no holds barred, no doubt and fear. It felt bittersweet. His little boy wasn’t so little anymore. Slowly, he put down his now curved utensils and nodded. “I’m so proud of you, Varian.” He looked Varian straight in the face. “You’ve come so far, and I could not imagine a better son.” A wad of emotion built in his chest but he forced it down, unwilling to let himself tear up in public.

Varian had told himself he’d remain composed, that he didn’t need to hear those words anymore, that he would be a man and not cry.

All lies.

His wide, shocked blue eyes spilled over involuntarily and he quickly made to pretend like it was due to allergies or something, coughing a bit and wiping his eyes hurriedly on his sleeve. “Ahem…pesky dust,” was all he said, but inside he was glowing. He felt so bright it was almost as if he could see it. Wait. He could see it. He blinked and looked at his reflection in the window, gasping loudly when he saw what was looking back at him. His hair and eyes, even his freckles, were all glowing bright, iridescent blue. He was trying to think of some excuse, some way to get rid of it, but it faded as quickly as it had come. Turning back to his father, a nervous laugh escaped his lips. “Uhm…”

Quirin smirked knowingly before looking down at his plate to cut a piece off of his steak to pop into his mouth. He was halfway through lifting his fork up to his lips when his eyes fell on the iridescent blue in front of him. He barely registered the clattering of the fork as it fell to the table and the sound of the wooden legs of the chair as they scraped against the floor when he stood up. “Someone call 9-1-1, my son is radioactive!” He immediately shrugged off his coat and threw it on the teen. “Nobody touch him! He’s cancerous!”

“Dad, no–” Varian said as his father’s expression devolved. He could see the freak out coming before it actually happened, and he tried to explain, but Quirin was having none of it. He deadpanned as the coat was thrown over him and his dad started yelling to the whole restaurant about his supposed affliction. “Dad…”

Quirin ignored the stares and amused giggling as he ushered Varian to the restaurant lobby so he could pay, simultaneously on the phone with an emergency dispatcher so he could get his son to the hospital. It was a whirlwind of events, but it wasn’t long before he was sitting on a chair in an exam room with Varian on the bed. He was rigid, his face hard as he waited for the doctor to step in. “Explain.”

Everything was happening so fast that Varian wasn’t sure what to say or how to react. He tried stopping his father several times, but the man was stubborn as all hell. He looked around the dingy hospital room and attempted to process everything. Opening and closing his mouth several times, he floundered before he found his voice again. “Dad, I’ve been trying to tell you…none of this is necessary. I’m fine. Can we just go home?” He slipped off the bed and made for the door.

Just then a small-figured nurse with bright red hair stepped in and she cried out in surprise. “Oh!” Recognition dawned on her. “Varian?”

Varian’s eyes lit up and a strange sensation made his heartbeat pick up and his cheeks suddenly flood with color. “Red!” he exclaimed. “…hi.”

She returned his blush with one of her own and she shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “What are you doing here? N-not that I’m not happy to see you…” Quirin groaned outwardly before he could stop himself and her eyes flickered over to him, embarrassment flooding her core. “O-oh, I didn’t realize–”

Varian smiled for her. “It’s good to see you too, but this is a huge misunderstanding. I was just trying to explain to my father–” He shot Quirin a dirty look. “–That I don’t need to be here.”

Quirin was unphased. “Varian, you glowed blue. Tell me again how that’s a perfectly normal thing to happen.” Red’s eyes widened slightly. “You were glowing?”

Varian sighed. He was exhausted. It had been a long day full of twisted shenanigans and wild goose chases and drama and all he wanted was to go back to his dorm, flop face first onto his bed, and fall asleep. He really didn’t feel like divulging the entire story about the rocks and what they had done to him and Rapunzel, mostly because he didn’t want his dad or anyone else to worry, and partly because he wasn’t sure the rocks were done with them. He shivered. Sure, he and Rapunzel had done away with them for the moment, but he had a sneaking suspicion they’d be back. He didn’t want to involve anyone else in all that. So much damage had been done with just he and his friends knowing. He swallowed. He didn’t want to lie but it looked like the only reasonable option at this point. Usually it irritated him that no one seemed to understand his enthusiastic scientific terminology, but at times like this, it has its benefits. Putting on his best casual smile, he shrugged and said in an extremely nonchalant way, “Glowing? Oh. Oh yeah! Heh. Yeah, that was nothing to worry about. Dad, I’ve been trying to tell you, it was just an experiment I’ve been working on, with uh…” He grasped at straws for a moment, then carefully recovered. “With bioluminescence. It’s the same stuff that makes jellyfish and other animals glow. I coated myself in it and I didn’t think it worked but I guess I was wrong.” There was a silence, in which his words sort of hung in the air, and he added what he hoped was a confident laugh. “Silly me.”

Quirin’s eyes narrowed suspiciously but before he could respond, Red piped up. “Oh, wow! That’s so cool! Where did you extract it from? How did you preserve it? How long did the effects–” As she rapidly fired off her questions, she looked Varian in the eyes and noticed how absolutely exhausted he looked, making her stop in her tracks. She cleared her throat, hugging her clipboard to her chest. “Well, I suppose those can all be answered later. I’ll um. I’ll get the doctor so he can discharge you.” She smiled up at him and subtly reached down to graze her hand over his before exiting the room. Quirin, unaware, sighed tiredly. “Well, I’m glad it wasn’t anything more uh… Dangerous. Luminescence in humans?” His eyes twinkled. “Nice.”

Varian was trying his best to answer her questions when suddenly they stopped. Before she left to get the doctor, he shot her the most grateful look and turned to his dad. “Yeah it’s um…quite the find.” It is absolutely ridiculous that that worked. He caught sight of the clock, then looked back at his dad, realizing it was much later than he thought and his father looked as tired as he felt. “Do you have somewhere to stay tonight? It’s sorta late to head back home.”

He nodded, stifling a yawn. “Yeah, my hotel room came with a two beds instead of one so you can crash on the spare. It’s not too far from here.” After the doctor discharged Varian and they were on the way to the hotel, Quirin glanced over. “So, don’t think I didn’t catch that exchange with that girl. You two dating or…?”

Varian’s face turned the color of Red’s hair and he looked away hastily. “Sort of? I mean…not exactly. Not yet.” He sort of mumbled the next part: “… We’re going on a date in a couple days…”

He raised an eyebrow but fought to keep the ever-growing grin off of his face. “Look at you go, stud. College at 15 and two girlfriends in less than a year? That’s my boy. Just like your old man back in his hay day.” He stopped at a red light and clinked an arm around Varian to hook him close and noogie him. “Or should I call you a man instead of boy now?” He laughed heartily.

“Dad–! Augh, no!” He struggled away from his grip, his face turning from red to slightly puce, and tried for a moment to smooth out his hair, stopping when he realized that it was useless. His hair never behaved even on a good day. “I really don’t want to picture you like that, Dad,” he informed him in surly manner, which only served to make Quirin laugh again. “The way you say it, you make me sound like a…a player or something,” he muttered, embarrassed. “It just sort of happened…and Red isn’t my girlfriend, we’re just going on a date…”

When they got to the hotel room, Varian climbed into bed, head reeling from both the day’s events and his father’s words. Not the teasing ones he was currently slinging at him, but his words from earlier, before Varian had turned blue. He told me he was proud of me… Tears welled in his chest and he took a deep breath. “Dad? Did you–?” But before he could finish his question, something began making a scratching sound at the window.

Quirin was in the process of hanging up his coat so he could change into pajamas. “Hm?” His head turned to the scratching noise and he frowned. “What the–” He made his way to the window and peered out into the darkness. “Maybe it’s a rat. I don’t see…” He was about to close the blinds when a face popped up on the other side of the glass. Quirin’s eyes widened in shock for a split second and then he snorted. “You’re kidding me.” He pulled the window up and pried the screen open in the corner. “Incoming.”

Varian opened his mouth to ask what his dad was talking about just as Rudiger leapt through the window and skidded onto Varian’s bed, burrowing himself in beside him. “There you are!” Var exclaimed with a shaky sort of relieved laugh, putting his hand on the little bundle. The poor animal was shaking. “Hey, it’s okay, buddy. It’s okay.” A little nose peeped out and sniffed the air, followed by a pair of beady eyes. Varian turned and dug through his bag and found a few dog biscuits and offered them to his beloved pet. Rudiger sniffed them once,stared at Varian for a long time, then snatched them and scurried off to the toilet, where he rinsed them before eating them.This was met with more laughter from Varian as he settled into bed.“He always finds me,” he explained to his dad. “I don’t know how but he does.”

Quirin laughed alongside Varian and sat on the bed. “That’s dedication. You don’t find a bond like that very often these days.” He settled into his bed and turned off his lamp. “What a day, man… What a….” Snore.

Varian blinked, then shook his head, smiling softly as he settled into bed. Rudiger soon joined him, curling into a ball next to his spine, and his father’s deep, rhythmic snores began to lull him to sleep. What a day indeed… That night, he dreamt of a giggling baby, bright blue light, the smell of sulfuric acid, and red, smiling lips.

___________________________________________

Eugene was tired, much too tired to deal with this right now; he had seen Cass sneak off with Rapunzel, and he wasn’t born yesterday: even without Lance’s nudge and suggestive wink, he knew they were off to do the sort of things many girls tried at least once in college. It didn’t really bother him, not enough to make him jealous the way he was sure Rapunzel wanted it to, but it did irk him a little. Were they really stooping to childish games now? He had never really given their age difference much thought, especially when he himself didn’t always act 24, but right now the gap between them felt immense. He was done playing with fire. If she wasn’t, more power to her. The thing that bothered him most wasn’t Cass and Raps all over each other, no…it was how much her presence had been sucked out of that townhouse…how empty it felt without her particular brand of light to fill it. And now he was returning to that place, because he had to, and it was already draining him.So it was that when he opened the door to see Stalyan making herself quite at home, his only reaction was a tired, “Get out.”

Stalyan was in the process of making herself a cup of coffee and she finished stirring the sugar into it, clinking the spoon daintily against the mug before setting it aside. She raised it to her lips when she heard Eugene’s voice telling her in a dead way to leave and she raised an eyebrow. “Is that any way to treat your guests, Ryder? I thought being the host of a successful night club would have taught you better manners.”

“It’s Eugene,” he growled through gritted teeth. “What do you want, Stalyan?” He rubbed his temples; of all the headaches he’d had to suffer today–

Stalyan set her mug down and turned to face him, hopping up so she could sit on the counter island, crossing one long leg over the other. “I think the better question is 'What can you do for me, Stalyan?’” She sat back. “Couldn’t help but notice your little girlfriend is off living her best life while you’re here withering away.” She made a tsk sound. “The famous Flynn Ryder, subjected to being a shell of himself, over some girl. What happened to you, man?”

Eugene crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m doing just fine, no thanks to you. And I was about to go to sleep. It’s pretty late, you see, and I don’t really have any anti venom on me.”

Stalyan rolled her eyes. “Oh, get off your high horse. You and I both know she’d still be around if you’d just been honest with her.” She flashed him an angry look. “But then again, why should I be surprised? You lied to me all the time.” She slid off the counter. “Good luck solving your girl problems.” She began striding off.

Eugene opened his mouth to retort, furious, but something made him stop. He deflated, and was almost inclined to let her go, but deep down he knew that, frustratingly enough, she was right. “I get it, okay? I messed up. But she doesn’t want me anymore. I’m not about to try to beg or force her back into a relationship with me.”

Stalyan rolled her eyes. “Good God. You really are the dumbest man alive. Of course she wants you. She just doesn’t trust you. You have to show her you’re reliable. Ask her to meet in a public place and start small.”

“You’re just full of ideas, aren’t you, Stalyan?” Eugene quipped. He was tired and he wanted her out of his house. “And I suppose you’re just a good Samaritan helping me pick up the shattered pieces of my relationship out of the pure kindness of your heart?” There was no way it could be that simple. Rapunzel didn’t want him anymore, not like that. She’d made that very clear, both with her angry, tearful confession at the expo, and with the experimental lesbianism both she and Cass thought they were so clever about hiding. And there was no way Stalyan was helping him for free. Any assistance from her came with a price.

Stalyan raised an eyebrow. “Well not with that attitude, Ryder.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You gonna be nice to me, or should I leave for good and let you continue to wallow in misery?” Her eyes tightened challengingly as she stared him down. The truth was… Well, the truth didn’t matter, really. Not anymore. Clearly the mentality she’d had prior was wrong, and it wasn’t fair to make him and the tiny blond one unhappy. It was clear he didn’t want her anymore; she’d messed him up too bad for that.

Time to let you go once and for all. Her heart panged as she thought those words, but she held to her resolve.

“It’s Eugene, first of all,” he reminded her coldly. “And second, I can’t believe I’m asking this but what are you plotting?” He didn’t trust Stalyan as far as he could throw her, but he had seen something in her eyes, for the briefest of moments, that had made him stop and consider that there could actually be a human, beating heart in that ice queen chest. And more importantly, he was beginning to hope that maybe, just maybe, he had the tiniest fraction of a shadow of a chance to get Rapunzel back. His chest ached at the thought, and he realized that the dam he had carefully been constructing to hold back his emotions over the breakup was coming down. He needed to deal with this somehow, even if she didn’t want him. And not in the messed up way he had at the expo. He never wanted to be the reason Rapunzel cried like that ever again. As he was working through this, he saw pain slide over his ex girlfriend’s face, and he sighed, taking her hand and patting it gently before letting go. “I’m sorry,” he said, his tone more gentle this time, and underneath the anger he’d been using to defend himself the real Eugene began to once again shine through. “I would love some help.”

Stalyan watched him carefully, noting his every emotion and she unfolded her arms, placing a hand on the kitchen counter. She stiffened up slightly when he reached for her hand but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she gave his hand a gentle squeeze before pulling out her phone. “Okay,” she said with a mischievous smile. “I have a friend who’s in one of her classes. She’s a real smooth talker- she’ll convince Blondie to go on a blind date. Except oops, blind date is gonna stand her up. But who’s gonna be there, by random coincidence, holding a meeting? You. But your meeting is gonna fall through, because lo and behold, your client is none other than Rapunzel’s blind date.” She began typing away at her phone. “You’ll apologize for the confusion, buy her a soda, and voila: Conversation initiated.” She set her phone aside and looked at him, her eyes twinkling. “Think you’re up for it?”

Eugene rubbed his goatee in thought. “That…might just be crazy enough to work.” For the first time in a long time, he let his defenses down and genuinely smiled at her. “Thank you, Stalyan.”

Stalyan’s stomach flipped slightly at his smile but she gave no notice of her underlying feelings. “Don’t mention it, Fitzherbert.” She winked at him before turning back to her phone. “Really, don’t mention it. I have a reputation to keep,” she said with a light smile. She finished sending the text to her friend, instructing her with what to relay to Rapunzel. Said friend shot the blond girl a text. [Hey, Punzie. It’s Erika from Intro to Visual Arts. It’s kinda sudden but I have an extra seat at this dinner tomorrow night. My friend had a date but she flaked out and honestly I think you’d be a much better match. Would you be interested in coming? I’ll pay.]

Rapunzel, who was about to fall asleep, glanced over at her phone when it buzzed. Well, she had been wanting to get back into the dating scene. It was an opportunity that practically landed in her lap, why not go for it. [Sure, that’d be great! When and where?]

Eugene was blissfully unaware of Stalyan’s inner turmoil, especially now that he was hyperfocused on the suddenly tangible possibility of getting Rapunzel back. It made it exceedingly difficult to try and sleep, but somehow he managed, drifting off in the early hours of the morning to the thought of Rapunzel’s smile.

Erika leaped onto her phone as soon as Rapunzel texted her back. She grinned. Success. [Tomorrow night at 6, meet us all at La Parrilla Deliciosa.] She immediately texted Stalyan back conformation that the plan was on track, making the brunette smile. Perfect. She relayed the message to Eugene, as well as where he was to sit so he was sure to catch the blond’s eye once she was stood up. “Good luck, Ryder,” she said to herself as she headed home. Cass rolled over on her bed and sat up a little, the light from Rapunzel’s phone disrupting the darkness they were in. “Dude it’s hella late. Who’s texting you at this hour?”

“Sorry,” Rapunzel whisper-shouted, putting her phone away and settling back into bed. “It’s nothing.” She didn’t want to inform Cass of the true nature of the text yet in case things fell through, and resolved to let her in on everything after she went. Then sleepiness caught hold of both young women and they drifted off rather quickly after that.

***

Rapunzel was all that Eugene could think about for the next 24 hours as Stalyan arranged for the meeting and set things into motion. He took the time to make himself look presentable again, getting rid of the grubby, out of shape look he had acquired post breakup and regaining some semblance of his original, debonair self. He was raring to go by the time he arrived at La Parrilla Deliciosa. He had shaved his scruffy depression beard and his goatee was once again immaculate, his hair was trimmed and styled, and he was wearing jeans and a sweater, a combo that made lent him a soft, warm and approachable look and also flattered his good features while hiding his not so desirable acquired ones, and bonus: the color brought out his eyes. Despite all this, he was also a little nervous. What if after all this effort and careful planning, Rapunzel still didn’t want anything to do with him? He swallowed. Positive thinking, Eugene. Rapunzel loves…or at least loved you; even if she’s not interested she’ll be kind about it…I hope.

Rapunzel arrived early to the blind date, resisting the urge to pull her hair from its braid - she had spent far too long doing her hair, but in her defense, there was seventy feet of it. It was hard to make it look nice, but she dragged herself away from that train of thought. Seventy feet of hair was as emotionally exhausting as it was physically, another straw to go with her break up with Eugene and everything else that seemed to be going wrong lately. The blind date was a treat to herself. Even if it wasn’t a match, there was something nice about going out for dinner with someone. Except, well, her date was now running about thirty minutes late and she had gone through two iced teas. Really, just her luck. Looking up again, she spotted a familiar figure by the bar. Eugene? No, it couldn’t be…

When he saw her, his eyes lit up, then almost immediately saddened. There was so much vulnerability in her eyes. I can’t go through with this… He finished his drink and paid the tab before cautiously approaching her. “Hey, Sunshine,” he greeted her with a smile, but there was no swagger in his tone or posture. “I would ask what brings you here but I already know…”

Part of Rapunzel wanted to leave, to put down a few dollars for her drinks then run out the door. But she stayed, returning a weak smile and stirring her tea with the straw. “Hi, Eugene,” she replied, but the confusion was evident on her face when he kept talking. “What do you mean?” There was no way he was a part of this blind date…right?

He took a deep breath. Here went nothing. “The thing is…I could go along with this convoluted plan that brought you here but that would be lying and seeing as how not being honest with you was what got me into hot water in the first place…” He sighed. “Rapunzel, this whole thing was a set up by Stalyan and your friend Erika. And please don’t get angry with them, their hearts, believe it or not, are in the right place.” He looked at her for a moment, taking her in before continuing, “I know the last thing you want to do right now is talk to me. I don’t blame you. But I was so desperate to try and clear things up that I wanted to at least get you here so I could tell you how sorry I am that I hurt you…” He looked down. This next part made his heart feel like someone with icy fingers was squeezing it in their grip but he pressed on. “Rapunzel, I think you still love me…because I still love you. If there’s any part of you that is questioning this break up…please listen to it. I know I screwed up, and I’m not asking for things to automatically go back to way they were but…maybe I could earn your trust back and we could take things slow?” He looked at her, daring to hope. “I understand if you say no, I just… truthfully? I miss you. And I want to fix this.”

Rapunzel let him speak, unable to help herself as she twirled a strand of hair between her fingers. “I know you’re trying, I can tell with this right now. You choosing to tell me about the plan, to be open with me - I know that’s hard for you,” she pointed out, offering a sad smile as she reached across the table, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “I think I’m okay with taking things slow, but I mean slow. There’s a lot more going on than just us.” Rapunzel motioned to her hair with a sigh. “Varian and I are going to have to deal with the black rocks soon. It’s like the eye of the storm, things are gonna get worse again soon.” There were also the Stabbingtons on the loose, college, and Rapunzel could hardly catch a break. “Even if we try doing this and it doesn’t work out,” Rapunzel doubted that, doubted that she’d ever find someone better than Eugene, but it was still a point she had to make, “we’ll always be friends. I’ll always be there for you.”

Stalyan pulled down her sunglasses a fraction of an inch to get a better look at Rapunzel and Eugene from across the restaurant. She frowned, trying to read their lips so she could follow the conversation. Ericka, who had declared she was tagging along, leaned into Stalyan, pressing her cheek into hers. “What are they saying?” Stalyan shushed her. “I’m trying to concentrate, shut up.” Her eyes squinted and then narrowed. “He’s deviating.”

His heart was soaring. Hope was not lost. Eugene fought to keep his expression even, despite how adorable she looked twirling her hair about her finger that way and he pushed down the elation in his chest that was threatening to rise to the surface. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Rapunzel off. She was giving him a chance to prove himself, and this time, he wouldn’t let her down. He smiled for her, letting cautious optimism and relief make their way into his face, and he gave her hands a gentle squeeze. “Of course we will always be friends. You’re the best one I’ve got.”

Rapunzel smiled, small but hopeful. “I’m not really one for fancy restaurants like this, why don’t we go to the diner down the street and get some fries and shakes?” It had been too long since they had caught up with each other. Even if he was only a friend, she wanted to know how he was doing. He had shaved, at least - that was an improvement.

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “That sounds like a dream come true right now,” he replied and off they went, shoulder to shoulder, talking and laughing, not quite whole again but not so broken anymore either. So close and yet still so far… When they reached the diner, Eugene paid, more as a gesture of goodwill than anything else, and sat down opposite her, dipping a fry in his chocolate malt and taking a bite. “As if I needed the extra fat,” he joked, patting his slightly enlarged gut.

Rapunzel rolled her eyes, taking a bite of hers before she spoke. “Trust me, knowing you, you’ll be able to work it off before Christmas,” she hummed. “So what have you and Lance been up to at the Joint?” Lance was so close to Eugene that she hadn’t really gotten a chance to speak to him after the expo, despite how she had meant to.

“Oh, you know…the usual. Some customers become friends, some friends become customers. A couple fights break out each night, and we always end up having to throw at least one person out.” He smiled for her. “Just boring stuff. The expo was sure something though huh? That kid is gonna go far.” He paused, then added. “I can do without the body switch up thing though.”

“I think most people could go without. I think Rudiger had a lot of fun, though,” Rapunzel teased, taking another fry. “It’s already been a year since we’ve formed our little group.” Halloween was soon, that was something Rapunzel always enjoyed. Holidays were her favorite.

He laughed. “Fair points all around, but I think that little bugger enjoyed himself a little too much.” He saw the contemplation in her eyes as she mentioned the group’s anniversary (had it really been a year already?) and his own softened. “Time flies. What’re you thinkin about?”

“Mm, the one time that Lance dressed up as a cheerleader,” Rapunzel mused, tilting her head back as she remembered. “The costume wasn’t half bad.”

He laughed so hard at the memory that he was practically crying. “I just feel bad for the kid. He got full wind of that moon when Lance bent over.” He grinned mischievously. “Not that I would know anything about full moons.”

“Mm, I feel like I remember you and Lance ensured Varian got double full-moons while he was out to eat with his father,” Rapunzel recalled, tapping her finger against her chin. “Quirin definitely wasn’t happy.”

“Are you sure? That doesn’t sound like something I would do. Lance, definitely, but I surely I am above such tomfoolery.” Their food was nearly gone so he paid and held out his hand to help her up. “May I escort you home, beautiful?”

“Yeah, I’m down this street right here.” It was their apartment - Rapunzel wasn’t ready to share a room with Eugene again,  a bed, but they had a guest room. It would work for now as they built up to what they were before. They’d be roommates for now, at least.

The street was deserted by the time they got to the townhouse. This combined with the eerie flickering of the one streetlight on the block made the air feel tense and thick. Eugene made quick work of unlocking the door and ushering them both inside before locking up again and arming his security system. In his time, he’d made plenty of enemies, and it was better to be safe than dead. Like the Stabbingtons still roaming around out there, he thought, hands clenching into fists at his sides. And after all the work me and the kid put in to put them away. He turned the kitchen light on, watching it pop and buzz for a moment before fully lighting up, and turned to Rapunzel. “Make yourself at home,” he said, somewhat awkwardly. The knowledge that this had been her home too up until recently hung silently in the air between them.He pulled out his phone, more as a distraction than anything, and then suddenly remembered he’d forgotten to thank Stalyan. As weird as it sounded and still felt, if it hadn’t been for her he and Rapunzel would still be at odds, so he shot her a quick text about how he owed her one.

Rapunzel slid off her shoes and walked into the living room, hands on her hips as she regarded the half-finished paint job in the living room. “Hey, Eugene, do you still have those cans of paint?” There was no better time to finish this than the present, after all.

“Huh?” He shoved his phone back in his pocket, taking a moment to process what she’d asked. “Oh. Yeah, they’re in the garage,” he replied, getting rid of his own shoes and following her. “Wh–” He stopped when he saw her examining the unfinished mural and shook his head, and amused expression on his face. Typical Blondie. “I’ll go get them."A few moments later he was heaving an entire rainbow of liquid color up the stairs to her. "Whew, there go the calories from the fries,” he joked, looking around for brushes.He knew she always kept one or two on hand, but she’d left some of her extras behind, and he’d stored them somewhere…ah. The armoire. He extracted them and handed them to her with a knowing grin.

Stalyan watched with hawk-like eyes as Eugene treated the blond to dinner and then escorted Rapunzel out of the restaurant. She smiled to herself. Despite the slight deviation, things had gone swimmingly. Her spirits lifted on his behalf, she ordered a round for the bar, on his tab, of course. It wouldn’t do him very well to make a lady pay, now would it? As she was walking out, her phone pinged with an alert from the man in question. She smirked as she replied with [No worries, you already did. Everyone said thanks for the drink. Have fun with your girlfriend]. She slipped her phone into her purse and looked at Erika. “Wanna go get smashed?”

“Thanks,” Rapunzel grinned, making sure to lay down a tarp so she didn’t get paint on the floor. “Come on and help me,” she added, handing him a brush. Choosing a section of the wall, she set to work on painting a forest. Later, she’d add little woodland creatures too, but she needed to paint the trees and grass first.

“C'mon, ba–buh-buh–Blondie,” he stammered, tripping over his words to correct the fact that he had almost called her babe. Old habits died hard. “You know I’m not as good as you.” He began to help her anyway, though, doing the accents for the background, and some textures for the plants. When he got Stalyan’s text, his mouth fell open. “That devious little shit,” he muttered as he put his phone away.

“It’s not a matter of being good, it’s important that you have fun with it,” Rapunzel emphasized before returning to her work. When he got grumpy after looking at his phone, Rapunzel gave him a teasing smile before giving the finishing touches on the painted rabbit. “Okay, I think this wall is done.”

Eugene stepped back with her to admire their (mostly her) handiwork. “Absolutely stunning,” he said with a grin. “No living room is complete without a forest mural in it and anyone who says otherwise is a moron.” He gave her a quick side hug and began helping her wash off the brushes. “We’d better get to bed soon, though, if we don’t want to be zombies in the morning.”

[hellas-himself]

Where There Are Shadows pt 32

so. two things. 

I am absolute Elriel trash. But I am also here for Elucien, but since this is Feyrhycien, we’re going with Elriel. 

I’m on and off with Nessian. I eat it up when I read fics on here, but when I read the books I remember how she treats everyone and it irks my soul. But I love her in my own way. 

So with that being said, happy hump day. 

.

.

.

-Feyre-

 Elain was a giggling mess as I buttoned up the back of her dress. It was perhaps as Night Court as I would ever see my sister. It was similar to the dress I’d worn the night Rhys and I had invited Lucien to dinner at the House all those months ago, except hers was not backless and wherever there was skin exposed, she’d had it altered to at least a sheer panel of fabric which somehow made it that more alluring.

“You might just give Azriel a heart attack,” I said when I finished and we stared at her reflection in the mirror.

“If he didn’t pass out yesterday, I think he’ll be fine,” she said as she began to fret over her hair. “You’d think they’d announce themselves when they arrive.”

I snorted. Elain and I had been up on the patio sunbathing yesterday morning and when I realized all three males had finally come back from the Steppes, we’d run inside in our towels. Rhys could not have been happier, but Az…

“I can’t believe you walked right up to him and said hello before disappearing into your room.”

“It’s not like he was going to!”

I helped her pin some of her hair back.

“Elain Archeron, where is your modesty!”

She laughed.

“I must have lost it outside in the garden.”

“Maybe Az found it and has it in his pocket.”

“I’ll have to ask him for it, then.”

Gods, this ease in which Elain and I could talk to one another… We had never had this. I hated that Nesta was missing out on it. On seeing Elain break free of her shell and doing things solely because they made her happy, not because they were expected of her. And my goal was to give Elain a night she would never forget.  

All eyes were on Elain when we made it downstairs, Cassian whistling as she walked by. Amren was quick to come admire the gold bracelet inlaid with pink stones while Rhys showered us both with compliments. Varian raised his glass at her from where he sat.

When we sat down, Cassian was kind enough to bring us some wine.

“Shame Az isn’t here for dinner,” Cas said with a sigh, making Rhys roll his eyes.

“Feyre and I are going out today,” Elain declared. I noticed that she searched the room but did not find who she was looking for. If she was disappointed she didn’t say anything.

“You’re all dressed up like that and you’re not even having dinner with us?” Cassian asked, genuinely surprised. Elain blushed.

“No,” I said. Cassian looked disappointed.

“But you and Rhys could walk us to where we’re going,” Elain kindly offered to which Cassian happily accepted. 

.

“Have you ever been here before?” Rhys asked, looking at Elain as she shook her head.

Cas had his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him.

“I’ve never been here before either,” he whispered.

“Mor suggested it,” I replied and he sighed.

“That explains it.”

I poked his side as we approached the two fae standing before a set of double doors. Arm in arm, Rhys led Elain inside, Cas and I following. The owner of the venue greeted us personally before guiding us upstairs to the private area I had requested.

“Feyre!” Elain exclaimed, letting go of Rhys to pull me away from Cas. She led me to a painting that hung on the wall.

“So that’s where Mor put it,” I muttered, feeling my face get warm. It was a painting of Velaris from my point of view up at the House of Wind.  

“It is an honor to have your work here, my Lady,” the owner said.

“Thank you,” was all I could manage to say. Elain laughed at me for it.

Rhysand went to speak with the owner and soon, we were left to our own devices. We walked its gilded halls hand in hand, admiring the paintings and the chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. We’d had this once, even if I did not remember much of it. But what little good I’d had as a child, Elain was there.

“What are you smiling about?” she asked as I held out my hand to continue on.

“I like seeing you happy.”

The sound of music grew louder the closer we got to the doors at the end of the hall.

“It sounds like a ball,” Elain mused, her eyes sparkling with delight.

Cassian and Rhys did us the honors of opening the doors for us.

And it was better than I had imagined.

Standing beneath a canopy of flowers and fae light was Azriel, who looked as if he had just finished decorating the room. My sister gasped, eyes wide. There were two long tables covered in trays of food, and a table solely for drinks. The quartet played from the dais on the far end of the room which was as large as a ball room. It was just as grand as the rest of the building, boasting a large chandelier and floor to ceiling windows that gave us a beautiful view of Velaris.

“Feyre… What did you do?”

“I may have let slip that tonight was very important.”

Her eyes widened.

“Just go to him,” I whispered, giving her a gentle nudge. As she made her way over, a smile blossomed on Azriel’s face that was so devastatingly beautiful I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to capture it perfectly.

“What is all this?” she asked Azriel, bringing her hands to his chest as she admired the detail on his waist coat. He took her hands in his and kissed them.  

“Happy birthday,” he said softly.

Her laughter was melodious.  

“Azriel… It’s beautiful.”

Whatever he said to her was lost on me as everyone walked in, complimenting the room and how both Elain and Azriel were dressed.

“Am I the only one who didn’t know about this?”

Cassian wrapped an arm around me.

“Elain didn’t know.”

“I resent that.”

I leaned into him.

“You’ll forgive me.”

“Really?”

I nodded, watching Elain admire the flowers with Az. Mor looked in awe of the room and was chatting away with Amren while Varian approached them with drinks. Guests from all over arrived, those who had come to know Elain and wanted to share this night with us.

“I’ll be right back,” I said to Cas. “Rhys is looking a little lonely.”

Cassian laughed as I walked off to where Rhysand was standing, taking everything in.

“You pulled it off,” he said with a smile.

“With a lot of help.”

“You look exquisite, Feyre.”

I blushed. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

His laughter warmed my heart. The way he looked at me never ceased to give me butterflies, to make me feel altogether vulnerable and safe. 

Elain danced with nearly everyone, even Rhysand. Those two did nothing but laugh the entire time, especially when they saw me watching. When Azriel swept her off her feet, quite literally, we all tried to pretend we weren’t watching them dance. But I had the feeling they saw no one else but each other.

As the party began to wind down, we found Cassian handing Elain a small glass. She eyed him with a determination that reminded me of Nesta, of me. And she drank the whole thing and held the glass out for more.

And so began their game.

They tried racing one another back to the townhouse, but that ended with Cassian slipping and Elain stopping to laugh at him. Cassian goaded the rest of us into his little game, until we were all drunk. When Elain beat Cas in finishing her drink, we all applauded. Az was watching her with a little smile on his face, not as drunk as the rest of us, but enough to not care that we saw him smiling as he looked at her.

When the time came for presents, she thanked us all individually as we passed them to her. A pair of earrings from Rhys, a set of gardening tools from Cas. Amren and Varian had given her flowers from the Summer Court to be sent to the greenhouse, which left her beaming.

The room went still as Elain opened Azriel’s gift.

“Azriel, this is too much.” She held up the little gold necklace by the blue stone that hung from it. Her eyes met his and then she was smiling as she rose to her feet. “Put it on for me.”

Azriel went to stand behind her, and the way his fingers brushed across her skin reminded me of how Rhys used to be with me, in the beginning. I wasn’t sure why I remembered the first time he’d helped me into fighting leathers but when I looked at Rhys, he was grinning like the insufferable prick that he was. I rolled my eyes, before looking away to find the Elain hugging Az, leaving him blushing.

And then came my gift.

“Just once, Elain. If you hate it, I’ll give you the back up present.”

“A back up present?” she asked, lifting the little top I’d had made for her. It was like every other Night Court outfit Rhys had ever given me, but hers was a deep blue, almost black. Little silver beads hung from the hem of the top. The pants had a silver chain that hung loose on the hips, both pant legs made of the sheer fabric I’d come to cherish in this summer heat. With a giggle, she took Cassian’s drink from his hand and finished it, excusing herself from the room.

When she walked back, I think we all held our breath. These clothes, they were made for a figure like hers. She was blushing as she went to sit between Cassian and Mor again. She’d never shown this much skin before, but I suppose after our little incident yesterday, this was nothing.

And then, Mor passed her a little pink bag, a bag I knew far too well thanks to Rhysand and Lucien. My sister peeked inside and turned red in the face.  

“I think I sent Az the matching set when we got here, but honestly, any of these three might have it on their dresser,” Mor said with a hiccup, pointing to Cassian and Rhys. “Whoever has it, make sure it makes its way to Azriel.”

But Az didn’t even seem bothered, even as we all laughed. If anything, there was a light in his eyes that I had never seen before.

“Az,” Elain said as she held up the scraps of lace long enough that I knew he was able to discern what they were, before she returned them to their bag. “I think I dropped my modesty outside in the garden. Feyre said you may have found it.”

The room went quiet as their eyes met and if this was how Rhys and I made everyone else feel, I almost felt bad.

“You left it on the desk in my office. I’d been waiting for you to come back so that I might return it,” he said so seriously that we all stared at him until he and Elain burst into laughter.

By the end of the night, Az was passed out on the sofa, Elain curled up beside him. Mor was snoring and Rhys was stuck beneath his cousin who had rested her head on his lap.

“I have to do one more thing, then I’ll come save you,” I whispered to him. He smiled, waving me off. He alone had helped me with this last part of the night. But he had felt his brother would not have accepted it from anyone else.

I had expected to find Cassian passed out on the bed, but he was wide awake, eyeing me from where he stood, tying up his hair.

“You finally get the room to yourself,” I said softly. He chuckled.

“He’ll wake up and come push me off.”

I walked in the room and made my way towards him. I knew I looked suspicious, especially with my hands behind my back.

“I doubt it.”

He raised a brow. “What are you up to?”

“Well, I discovered something I felt that the Lord Commander needed to know.”

His sudden seriousness nearly made me laugh.

“I need you to know, Cassian, that you are by far one of the greatest friends I’ve ever had. And I need you to know that I love you.”

I held out the little box to him. He looked too stunned for words.

“I can’t go back in time and grace your life with my presence every year,” I said, which finally made him laugh. “But I’m here now. And no one gets away with hiding their birthday from me. Ever.”

“Feyre…”

“I know it was a few days ago, but I hadn’t found anything that screamed your name at me.”

“It’s usually a female doing that,” he said as he took the box from my hand.

“Now you know why I never visit your house.”

We both laughed. He undid the ribbon and set the lid aside.

“What’s this?”

“I’m not sure if it fits, but we can fix that if it doesn’t.”

He held up the gold band, the obsidian stone glimmering in the fae light. It was simple, but there was something about it that told me he needed to have it.

“No one’s ever given me anything like this.” His voice was nearly a whisper. Was he going to cry?

“Try it on.”

He let me slide the ring on his finger. It fit perfectly.

“Thank you, Feyre. I don’t really know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. I just want you to know that it matters. That you matter. That every year that we get to have you in our lives, is something worth celebrating.”

I wasn’t expecting to see tears in his eyes. But there they were. I pulled him into a hug which made him laugh.

“I love you, Feyre.”

“I know,” I said with a laugh. “I love you, too.”

“I forgive you, by the way.”

I giggled. “Told you.”

By the time I went downstairs to get Rhys, he was already asleep. He didn’t stir until I’d managed to move Mor to the other side.

His eyes fell on me, red and glassy.

“There you are,” he said. “My salvation.”

Rhys got to his feet and chuckled when he almost lost his footing. Once he was ready to walk, I led him up the stairs, but he missed a step and pulled me down with him. We tried not to laugh, but then when I tried to stand up, Rhys pulled me to his lap. His kiss was greedy, and his wandering hands were going to get us in trouble.

“Rhys,” I whispered. “We can’t have sex on the stairs.”

“Why?” he asked as he kissed my neck.

“Everyone is here.” He stopped, and I felt this sudden panic down the bond.

“Not everyone,” he said quietly, looking at me with such sadness, I would have winnowed us right to the Day Court if I knew we’d make it there in one piece. “Lucien isn’t here.”

I kissed Rhysand with as much fervor as he’d kissed me.

“Lucien wouldn’t fuck you on the stairs in front of everyone. He’d wait till everyone was in their room.”

“He would,” Rhys said with a big smile as I pulled him to his feet.

“When he comes back home, we’ll have plenty of new stairwells you two can make use of. For now, we have the bed. Now walk.”

.

Being hungover was never enjoyable. It was even less so, walking into a small bar in the early hours of morning, wishing that I hadn’t made this arrangement. But I’d already walked out here and I had to get it over with.

Nesta was sitting in the back, as she always did. She looked as bad as I felt. And yet, her eyes still held nothing but resentment when she saw me approach. I knew I probably still had Rhys’ scent all over me, but Lucien’s too, as I was wearing his shirt that I’d found at the bottom of the drawer. And when she sniffed at me when I neared the table, I almost saw red. I would never judge her for the males I knew left her apartment, the one I could scent on her now. It was none of my business, as long as no one hurt her, just like who I slept with was none of her business. Even if her gaze told me exactly what she thought of that.

“I was beginning to think you’d make me walk to your house.”

I sat down, reaching into my pocket to hand her the folded note for the rent. There might have been surprise in her eyes as she took it.

“For this, you could have sent it with the courier.”

“For what? So you could send it back without even bothering to read it?”

I saw the anger in her eyes but I was too tired to let it unsettle me. I was hungry. And I wanted to go back home to be there when Elain woke up to find herself in Azriel’s arms on the sofa beneath the blanket Cassian had so kindly draped over them.

“I don’t see how that was any of your concern.”

“You missed her birthday.”

“I had no reason to be there.”

“You could have gone to the townhouse to see her.” I knew my voice was harsher than I had meant it to be. “You could have written a note. She misses you, Nesta.”

“Your little party was all anyone talked about last night, I’m sure that her evening was perfect without me.”

“You could not be more wrong.”

She glared at me for a time.

“Are we done?”

“No,” I said. “The house is almost finished. We’re inviting everyone over once we’re settled in. I want you to be there.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my sister. What other reason do I need to want you around?”

She rose to her feet. She was wearing someone else’s shirt and a pair of pants that might have been mine once but it was stained with wine and Mother knew what else.

“Forgive me for not wanting to be subject to the judgement of your family.”

“You are my family, Nesta.”

“Yes. The way mother was.”

.

.

.

@readingismycopingmechanism @fuzdog @gently-say-aha @highladyofherondale @alxanxah @city-of-fae @myfeyrelady @nuggets-and-mouthwash @feysanddotacotar @daeniran @szatti1001 @rhysandshighlady

If you’d like to be tagged, let me know!!​

[drokothedragondtd]

PN(SAoverFF)

System_Archive

CONTENTS

.Project:Numens

Specimen_CATed

Soul-Files

Depictions

Arts

Novels

Beings Anew

Divinity

Fogged

Ice-olation

The Cured Village

Down Below

YUMAtransmutation

Beings of Fabricated Nature

Music

Concepts

Events

Venn:VAR

Reality Breach

Orenda

Undying_Flames

Children_of_the_Mind

Mana

Manifestation

Contracts

Sacrifice

Materials

Matrix

Bonfears

Notes

Drafts

Foreign-Files

.Extra

Forgien-Files

Trem

Free WiFi

DOSS|1

DOSS|2

Icolation_MC

COMPLEX-E12

The First Breach

Things Like Rain

Governments

Factions

Covens

Retrival_Squad-BloodHounds

Groups

Characters

Character-Files

Character-Interviews

Beings

Being-Files

RT-1

RT-2

.Main_Page

Specimen_CATed

Entities

General term for incorporeal things(with souls?)

subDeity

A being of which has transcended into incorporeal form though any number of means(achievements of high level and quantity) or a spirit that has been brought to existence through mass coordination or an extreme will/faith towards an ideology.

subSouls

Entities of which are thinking consistently but aren’t able to interact with any beings other than shamans and mediums.

subSpirits

Entities are capable of interaction with beings and sometimes possessions(mainly through the assistance of life magics.

subGhost

A shattered entity of which thinks consistently but information often becomes jumbled with unrelated information. They can possess beings easily though often it’s more like the being kidnapped is by them by running into them.

Wilderns

The general term for beings.

subHeros

Entities brought onto physical being by strong and large(quantity) of worship.

subDemons

Beings possessed by their own soul and a ghost soul that go through physical and mental abnormalities. The being’s soul and ghost soul will likely communicate through attention from the ghost soul is unlikely.

subBeings

Sentient beings of which may or may not have a soul.

subWitches

Beings that are possessed by both their own soul and a ghost soul however no abnormalities form in physical or mental wellness(though communication is still possible but less likely). They do, as with demons, gain substantial power boosts as well as longevity.

subShamans

Shamans are beings which ancestral connections with spirits(decades of contacts with entities). They are blessed with being able to perceive and form contacts with all entities.

subMediums

Known as lesser shamans and are often formed by a ghost becoming a hero(though with no information other than DNA of an existing species). They are only able to hear entities but not see or form direct contacts.

### Monsters

Term used for creatures distant to typical humanoid beings.

subFae

subBeasts

subDragons

subDevils

Soul-Files

Empty Soul Template

Name-Information ID Name(s): ID Magic(s): Hue pattern(s): A or T

Sage-Information

ID Name(s): Entropy ID Magic(s): Composite reconstruct Hue pattern(s): Red, Violet A

Crescendo-Information

ID Name(s): Aether ID Magic(s): Hue nullify Hue pattern(s): Blue-Turquoise T

Cherise-Information

ID Name(s): Enigma ID Magic(s): Mind duplex Hue pattern(s): Green-Pink A

Whiteout-Information

ID Name(s): Varian ID Magic(s): Matter rebirth Hue pattern(s): Dark blue T

Geraldo-Information

ID Name(s): Apex ID Magic(s): Electro circuit Hue pattern(s): Brown-Lavender T

Crimson-Information

ID Name(s): Penumbra, Kacie ID Magic(s): Shadow control Hue pattern(s): Red, Orange T

V-ot-Information

ID Name(s): Angst ID Magic(s): Environmental manipulation Hue pattern(s): Yellow, Amber A

Hon Goul Lairs-Information

ID Name(s): Pseudo ID Magic(s): Foresight Hue pattern(s): Bronze T

Yuma-Information

ID Name(s): Doctor, Reaper ID Magic(s): Reanimation, Animal manifesto Hue pattern(s): Lavender, Amber T

Luna-Information

ID Name(s): Paradoxical ID Magic(s): Paradox Hue pattern(s): Purple, Violet T

Sten Markus-Information

ID Name(s): Scrounge ID Magic(s): Sulk manifesto Hue pattern(s): Dirty yellow A

ツ(tsu)-information

ID Name(s): ツ(tsu) ID magics(s): not identified Hue pattern(s): Gray-Green T

Depictions

Arts

Novels

Beings_Anew

Dispulsion section 1

Prologue

A weird hue emitted from an otherwise conscionable portal, It seems to have its own soul (as in the various colors). And as I inspected the portal from afar, I saw one of them running towards the portal, a dispensary. The attackers of ordinaries with poison to the mind. So I took chase as needed by the people.

Then color exploded all around me, and I thought I got drugged by them, but nothing else was abnormal, so it might not have been a drug. The trees were, instead of white, the color of bug blood, I felt that I needed to barf before pursuing. ··· It seems like this isn’t my world anymore, everything is irregular to mine. I couldn’t find an edge to anything, but I am on an island so I can’t go far by foot. The dispensary escaped somehow, can’t trace any steps even from the portal entrance(it’s since closed, leaving me stranded. I did find some instruments, something maybe aerodynamic. ··· The instrument seems to function on some sort of fuel, and have yet to configure it but it seems rather toxic to need something quite toxic. ··· I’ve configured its fuel, but I can’t bring myself to see why someone would see this fuel as reliable. Now to decipher the instructions.

I’ve found some sort of toy, perhaps there's inhabitants nearby, it looks relatively new.

I’ve found inhabitants but they aren’t the friendly type. They seem to fire warnings, but I waited until they tired their anger, it took a while.

I can’t communicate with them but they don’t seem particularly aggressive anymore, I think I’ve made it clear I don’t have intentions with them. ··· I’ve shown them the doll that I found but they were more intrigued with my storage ways. I got no clear answers about the doll.

They seem to be quite wary of any travelers, they did what they tried to do to me with some seemingly travelers, I tried to get to them before they ran, I was too slow.

I made a deploy-able area on the coast, away from the village. It's not bothering them so I guess it’s okay to have it here. ··· I’ve successfully contacted a traveler, but they were scared to the wits and dashed away. I did manage to speak to them but only with rough tongue of the inhabitants.

A group of travelers came shortly after and tried putting things on my wrists, I didn’t let them and they fired something loud at me. I fogged the area as they seemed to rely on sight and confiscated their weaponry. Shortly after by trying to have a peaceful conversion, found out they were law enforcement of this place and they seemed to have misidentified me and were going off their way. I showed them the aerodynamic object and they seemed quite happy, and ultimately decided to take me along.

Doll of Chaos

A girl had picked me up from my mothers grave, which had not been alive for a very, very long time. I have seen the other people, but they are never willing to answer my calls. Well I guess she’s my new “master of travel”. Also it’s fun to toy, though I can’t seem to understand their culture. I’m surprised earth has so many new advancements, and has found something magical!

Well, it’s certainly more fun to toy with the natives, but now there’s new people from other lands. Oh my oh my, so most chaos is what i’ll make. I just can’t wait to be “scare of the century”.

“Hkhkhkhk”

Distressful Rainbow

This place was absolutely teeming with color, and a whole lot of toxicity. I decided it might be best not to secrete ozone, especially since I know nothing about this planet. It seems they have a sun, so charcoal may be a better option… But then they started freaking out over how my hands seemed to be burned, I just stopped and stared at them for a long while.

They did take custody of the doll I found, but would only exchange it back for their weapons. This giant metal raft we’re on is extremely hot, so I rested my legs in the water but one of the people took me to another open area to cool down, which was inside the metal raft.

The people who stayed seemed to be trying to communicate, but I wasn’t really absorbing anything, but then they gave me a book, which I am now using.

They also gave me some sort of linear object that had a tangible ingredient that could be slightly dispensed, as well as a dictionary of some sort, I couldn’t read its contents.

He also gave me a bottle with bacteria infected fruit juice, I displaced the bacteria and stared at him with a stern aura before drinking. I think he was more confused on how rather than why.

Magica Academy section 1

Another New School

Master was taking me to a new place, a new place to learn of others, and of the world he says. Doesn’t say why I can’t keep going to the old place, but master doesn’t tell a lot. He also insisted I wear a dress which I didn’t really mind. The last time he rushed was when he made me wear a sweater. I hate sweaters… Well now I’m going somewhere new, and I wonder if I’ll see brightness before it’s sight soaks in. People say when you see something new your eyes can’t take it all in so you get blind for a second.

Master parked at a sidewalk and requested that I go into the school, though I was a bit nervous due to the other students' appearances. Most didn’t look friendly, well having an animal face does kind of do that… I just have to hope I don’t anger them. Well some didn’t look that bad, some only had the ears or tail of an animal, I wonder why there’s so many with animal traits though…

Well when I got to the door, I was kind of scared… the doorknob was metal, and I was making traffic. I was also freaking out but I don’t think most of them noticed, more focused on something on their wrist. Well it ended when a cat-eared girl opened the door, though she seemed quite pissed at me… I hope I didn’t ruin her day…

But then my stuff flew at me and knocked me out… not the best way to start a new school.

Tang

A new person was at school and they probably wouldn't survive gym, but I guess they can? They wouldn't open the door, it’s a bit heavy but she seems athletic. Urg maybe they’re one of those people who just have to make things dramatic, well no, they don’t seem to like that. I noticed she was twitching whenever she got help, but didn’t seem to recover that quickly, so what could it be? Ugh, guess I have to ask Yuma for help. … "You know this is your dorm too, right?” I asked the sincerely flustered looking Crimson. They did take quite a bit of time to answer, probably trying to piece what they wanted to say together.

“Well, there’s this girl who absolutely refuses to touch metal, but at first I thought she was just one of those people who wants attention, but she also most certainly doesn’t like attention, and she also doesn’t smell human but looks like one,” Crimson rambled on with details.

“So this person looks like a human but doesn’t smell of one?” Crimson nodded to my question.

“Might be a pure doll, I can’t remember what the Guild calls them but you get what I’m saying” Crimson just stared for a few seconds before grabbing her pillow and getting in bed. It wasn’t bedtime but she doesn’t need to be anywhere as of right now so I’ll let her be.

Displosion section 2

Ripple

A whirring sound withered my ears, which was now deafening and didn’t seem to be awakening, so I suppose this is normal here?

What are these people doing… why are they pointing things at- … Being in a shaken shape, I was in my gas form… wonder if that will shock them? Well, where I suppose I should take my more physical form, though these bars are in the way of the hallway. Well, I guess I can manifest after I go through them.

“Drip, drop,” something formed a sound. Though at the time I just tilted my head.

“Well, I don’t expect you to understand me, but here's a gift, so communication is easier. Also I know you’re from the embassy, but you're not under their control right now, you're free here,” Something half glowing and luminous gave me some scroll, and I couldn't reply because I don’t have the privilege of voice.

And suddenly I was in some bright room with metal all around, so stinky. Hm, did something just try to touch me? Well, it failed, whatever it was. … Why is everything still bright? Doesn't night come here frequently. Didn’t I choose the wooden resting area, no i’ve been moved somewhere else. I should get some air, then I can replenish what i’ve lost.

Divinity

Prologue

Venn VAR|ツ

Warning, the following paragraph will disclose sensitive information. If you are afraid please ignore the following paragraph.

Within Dara, lightning was reported to be striking a certain area. The area was reported to have dramatic changes in positive and negative charges. The struck sand formed a semi-disk. According to a source, the disk emits a light at night.

End of closure

Addendum

The TV whistled the opening tone of WS, indicating possible success for my interference. A voice clamored against the tone, just before its completion. “Welcome one welcome all, from yours truly, Benicate from WS, with several employees assigned to Mesopotamia here to rectify a precarious mistake of Venn VAR”. “It seems a daydreamer’s source founded the article!” He laughed at his undermining. “With that said, here’s Michel, from the investigators’ team,” the screen shifted. The shuffling of papers could be heard before the voice. “Here are the reports I filled out recommered by the mishap,” Michel said, showing hand-printed papers to the screen. “And here's Alferd, from the archive department,” Benicate said from the background. “The article may state some truth about the storm, but there were certainly no effects on the area in such scale,” Alfred shifted his glasses up and they reflected a glare. “And finally,” Benicate said, stepping into view, “Here’s Churn, from the on-field reporting team,” Benicate said from the background as Churn took Alfred’s place. “The article strays from the courtesy of newscasts, and strays to what a prankster would do” Churn said, twirling a strand of hair. “When will that race be honest,” I turned back to my terminal, ignoring the rest of the broadcast.

Viewpoint Change

It was on the third week that it appeared. I was assigned the role of sentinel for those crudded weeks. Those weeks were only crudded due to the paranoia. The job itself was as expected. However, monitoring a portal was not. The paranoia was expected, yet unpredictable, but that’s not the point of this. On the fifth day of the third week, is when the entity came through. The spectacle did nothing different than the other times it manifested. Though I could call it a spectacle as well. The entity had some sort of… reflective skin. Upon exiting wherever it was prior, the entity didn’t move for a couple of days. When it did move, however, it certainly acted casual.

Viewpoint Shift

I have seen them destroy each other and all I can do is watch helplessly. I have those desperate feelings of sadness that my creations feel. I share their emotions, I know how they feel. It’s nothing that my creations’ would understand.

For centuries, I have walked removed from my creations' eyes. For centuries, I have been unseen. For centuries, I have been alone with myself. Is something that lives in the background a part of reality? Does that make them real?

And is the grass, the flowers, the trees, even real? The sky, the ground, the stars? How have I become so detached from everything that I created that I cease to exist? I can’t ever touch what I make, I must only see. I can’t love something I make. Only they can experience true emotions the way it was intended. Why not just close my eyes, and disappear from my own senses. Nothing has to know what I do when it’s not real. Nothing knows how to deal with something like me. . . . Rest… rest… rest, I thought I told myself. So why do I keep being drawn up and to? There isn’t a plague, a catastrophe, a genocide, not even a war! Why, why oh why do I keep getting drawn to this place. Oh, there isn’t even a soul in sight, not even a wisp. Is it something in the stars… no, it’s something on the surface? Brg… is it another wretched portal crying to be opened again?! Why don’t my creations include the locations for these things!

Viewpoint Shift

All attention was on the “portal” at this, and all the other nights “it” appeared. When “it” first appeared, basically we tried to restrain whatever “it” was; it didn’t work, and we couldn't even feel whatever space “it” occupied. We also found out that “it” responds to us, so we can’t say “it’s” some sort of “natural phenomenon,” which I certainly wouldn’t. Good thing that “it” seems to be compliant, but that worries me and the others. Like how the #### are we supposed to know if “it’s” not planning something. The higher ups say“it” poses no threat to us, but “it” can to the public, but only as a psychotic threat, not a physical one or anything. God… we don’t even have a plan to handle “it” if “it” gets outside. Basically all we can do is keep everything away from “it,” and that’s all we can do at all. We found a “way” to keep it in control, though it sensually just “follows” us… the source though… is too similar to it.

I am no longer a “guard”. I am an overseer.

Viewpoint Shift

All these people, such terror lies within them, such angry, such distain; but only from my existence. I am from beyond, and they don’t have anything to merry explain me. They all shout when I don’t follow the directions, and that is what scares me. I have to hold my people in my realm, time and time again. Portals to other realms are just dangerous, why do they like such things so much. Are they just asking to suffer?

Viewpoint Shift

Fogged

Prologue

“So.. how have you been?” George said, whimsically breaking the ice.

“You're off-topic, again,” Sten retorted.

“Why can’t you ever talk causly” George began to whine.

Sten’s only response was a stare and about another five minutes of silence.

“I will be sending my daughter to this school of yours,” Sten said, finger quoting school.

“Well that’s grand” George remarked.

That earned George a glare.

“I don’t believe you're teaching any of the classes?” Sten said sternly.

“Well of course I am,” George said in disbelief.

“Well I’ll have to be keeping a close eye on your teachings then,” Sten remarked.

“Oh come on, I have a license!” George exclaimed.

“That’s exactly why,” Sten renounced.

Chap.1

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap.

Crimson looked around. Though continuing to annoy the teacher with the tapping of her pencil, he hadn’t called her out on it. Crimson wondered if her dad could be like that, but that is unthinkable, thinking to change another…

“Ok, now you have pages 4-6 for homework, ya hear,” The teacher said.

Crimson kept tunning him out.

“Ahem, pages 4-6, for homework,” The teacher repeated.

Crimson just glanced at him and nodded.

According to that magics book dad got me, logics magics is the only orenda that can do such a thing. Well, the quickest way anyway. Looks like I need to freshin up my lawfulness, stupid thoughts.

Crimson looked up and noticed that she and the teacher were the only ones in the room, she quickly realized it was time for the next class.

Crimson speed walked to the next class, trying not to tune in to others meanagerings.

Sliding into her seat, the bell rang.

“Well good mor-afternoon class!” That one teacher said.

Most of the class was silent, but some people gave into the flow.

“Today we’ll be expanding your abstract knowledge!” He claimed.

I don’t know why, but this “abstract thinking” thing doesn’t click… but I’m still passing, I just focus on that rather than overwriting myself.

While that teacher kept rambling on about some probably theoretical practice, I refreshed my mind on what they kept saying, on and on again.

My mind got out of whatever abyss it was in when the teacher said “laws against morals.”

I just paid attention onward.

Chap.2

Ice-olation

Prologue

The bellows of reality stripped you of your noxing state. Your mind now out of sub-awareness, and into the glares of awareness. The environment tried to blight you, but you refused to succumb. Despite its everlasting grip, you preserved and began your attentive tasks. As soon as the necessaries were finished, you assessed and began your surge. Ping with the first, ping with the second, and ping with the third! With your precautions completed, you expertised your forthcoming.

All that I remember

The clasp of clothes, warm and bagged, around me, yet a fading yearn to keep moving, with coldness around my neck.

A cascade of fluff pushed me out of the plains, so now I hide in a cave. The air is musty, but there’s no signs of inhabitants of the aggressive animals, or any for that matter. Strange, tere should be more. Much more.

The_Cured_Village

Down_Below

YUMATransmutation

Prologue

Upon the laden hospital cot where paralyzed twins lay, now being separated

by a picky procedure in order to eliminate the paralysis, but there’s kind of been an EMP blast which deactivated a ton of the hospital equipment. There’s also soldiers of an unknown origin storming the hospital. However, our little persons aren’t going to be facing them, because they kind of got absorbed somewhere else. Well, enough of that, that’s then for them, and here’s the now.

Into the FOREST

In wilden flowers the separated twins lay, both with the watch of a hawk and a cloud. Wait a cloud you say, well it’s hard to explain but the person is a gas, but is also living, anyway I’m calling them a cloud. SHUT, they are not in D&D, they are in a real world, just not yours, okay. . . I’ll just have the characters depict themselves!

“Mhrrg,” I said while shaking my hands, not moving my head because I may be on my sister. To my utmost surprise, she was on my face, not my back, so the surgery must have been successful! Oh I can’t wait to walk side by side with her! Eh, why are we in a field… … … Must be a surprise for our parents, but wouldn’t we have to do some sort of procedure with the doctors… maybe we did them just that I don’t remember? Hmm, well it doesn't matter, I’m going to hug sister until she won’t let me no more!

“Nrrg,” My sister said, waking up, lazy eyes refusing to stay up and she kept confusing me for mom. Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen sister's face, well she’ll see mine as well.

“Mother~ what time is it?” Sister said confusing me for mother, oh how silly!

“Sister~ it’s me not mom~, the procedure was successful, and I think we’re having a party!” I said quite happily.

“A party in a field…? But where’s the hospital, why aren’t we having a talk with the doctors~,” sister complained.

“Might I intrude, but you seem to be foreigners, or perhaps just wilderns?” said something, which I traced to come from a. . . HAWK!?!

There was a long silence from both me and sister but the hawk kept talking.

“Might I guide thy to the guild, or perhaps the union for registry, or maybe just an inn, though I bet guidance would do just fine,” the hawk rambled on this while we were dumbfounded, then a person just, like, materialized, MATERIALIZED, right under the hawk’s feet revealing they weren’t just floating.

Our characters’ passed out and are now being taken to the inn where they are having a rest. Please wait for the characters’ to inquire the hawk of their vocal abilities, and if you don’t quit, I’LL CUT THE FEED!

In the Inn

Bethought the twins to the inn, yes they were. And sleeping now they are. Also yes the rent for borrowing an inn bed is paid by the gas thing. Also the gas thing is standing over them, figuratively standing over them. However they also have an audience behind the room of which the twins lie in.

The people surrounding the room held no breath, or most didn’t; can’t sense the air levels with so many others nearby.

Soon the beings from another awakened but didn’t exit, they talked for a while.

Beings of Fabricated Nature

Rich Kid Intrusion

The cobwebs have been broken, and so has my soul. Oh how my dear guardian spiders have lost their home’s, I need to give them a new home, and quickly.

“Hey, where did that tree come from,” said some creaky voice, proceeding to rip out my sapling!

“EW, a bug,” said some voice flicking me.

Such rudeness deserves punishment, but how ought it be dished.

I know mosquitoes, but there aren’t any around… Ah! Praying mantises!

“Ahaha look at this gathering of- ayegsfvgha WHAT THE BSKJH,” one said and some other noises from the others as I kept my forest cleansed.

Music

Concepts

All are theoretical forms of depiction

Realmal division

Realmal are levels of existence, which all in some form, affect the rest. The most prominent realm is the material realm, which acts as a base for the others. The lesser is eternal realm, home to entities and accessible to all sentients. A realm for imagination does indeed exist. The realm of imagination is essentially what creates magic. Those are the prime realms.

Return-Item

Primarily known for its use in messaging when magics became unusable. Loobs the message, which is contained in a capsule

Do not fret, but also do not ignore.

Withered

Wasting away in an enteral shell only to face yourself All around look different but none are truly different All you have loved be devils of despair And only choice your deal with it

Why We Stare

Both past and present be in remembrance a blur But our gaze pauses that And creates an inferno of past And forces us to look into the present

Matrix-shades

Depending on how much the environment has/is affecting a soul; the darker it’s persona.

Walking amongst

There be a tale, of the creator of all the surplus energy in this world. We call them Luna, that creator be of space, yet ever watching and nearing us. We may not know if they walk amongst us, or see with us, but we do know they watch us indefinitely.

People afar

Tales of people parallel, yet never soon arrived on the day a rift was made. These people are so similar, yet so different, and are said to treat the unknown indifferent like we once did. We wonder how they will react when they see our land, bounty, and selfs.

Orbs

Spirits are fundamentally orbs of mana, which are emotionally driven by their originator. They do not have “human wants”, rather they want what humans have, but not to strip them of it. Ghosts are similar, but neither have the drive of a spirit nor a linked originator. This is why ghosts’ minds are an abyss, yet a spirits’ is the opposite.

Varian-Howled

The wolves howled their desires, all in the glimpse of instinct. I howled with, to voice my own. I voiced my needs, my wants, and they unified with the wolves’. Tomorrow, we will be nearing a group of deer near a building, a bookstore no less. I will make my efforts to gather books from there, after all, it’s what I howled.

Varian-All that I remember

The clasp of clothes, warm and bagged, around me, yet a fading yearn to keep moving, with coldness around my neck.

Penumbra-The Draped

The white room welcomes us, and so do the people in white. It seems that white welcomes us, we the people consumed of dark. Isn’t it strange how they accept us, though we have much in difference. And yet all the people of dark can easily be identified, by those draped, gray clothes we must wear.

Penumbra-Empty eyes

Those eyes on the walls, ceilings, and floors, they store and always watch. Sometimes their lights flicker, sometimes they beep, but they always watch. I know they are all but watching, but do they remember, those things they watch. I will never know, I am always in the halls and my room, and those other rooms.

Reaper-Creation

I limped up to a house, a house with trembling stability, yet a freshly burned lawn. In that house lay the only thing that matters, my gift, no tribute to this world. No other being, or creation mattered as much as this splendid creation, V-ot. Even if all else would fall ill to famine; or myself, and perish. None of that would matter, for this creation is the only beauty that I can, or ever, create.

Reaper-My Only Restraint

On one day, I went on a rampage, only stopping when facing my own. V-ot will never be destroyed by me, the maker, no matter what. Many died, many in anguish, and rejection by this event. No one could do anything, for Yuma is untouchable by the common and unseeable by the rare.

Doctor-He Will Be Anew

I swear, I swear one day I will free this creation from myself, for I am the evil of the world I reside in. I can only see beauty when I see my own, V-ot the pure. I searched and searched, until I found one. You won’t believe what I found, it’s a world with similar laws, but no surplus of energy, so no magics! When Yuma crosses that board, from the world Yuma reckoned with, and that untouched by him, He will be anew.

Cold Scrutiny

The early years of raw indifference. Lead to the creation of logic magics.

Why Must You

Why must you purge, why must you hate, why must you kill, all to fulfill a sensation.

Entities are bound not by needs, but by wants.

Entity thoughts

Entities “think” instantaneously when their observable environment is apparent, however this isn’t true when they become a being. They take time to “think” as we do.

Guild/Union is the main government in Ectopic.

War makes commands

Early humans contaminated with indifference, began a war, resulted in Magics being created.

Entity “skin”

Entity’s “skin” appears gas-like in non-UV light. Under UV light it’s translucent in appearance.

Souls can be an entity, but an entity can’t be a soul.

Appearance often dependent on material background.

All thought originated from some sort of base.

Reformatting information

Formatting with 3rd hand data from a 2nd hand source doesn’t fare well.

Reasoning

Don’t assume what isn’t apparent. This can only be overwritten by an abundance of facts and outside sources, however they may not be pure or true.

Mental disturbances

Indirect

Indirect mental disturbances are classified as “neurosis.”

Direct

Direct mental disturbances are classified as “psychosis.”

Non-monetary based Economy Society

A system for society to base deeds if work on an influx rather than a finite material; however remaining document-able for background checks and other affirmation procedures. Although money is no longer necessary for transactions, it can still be used as normal in case of a mishap.

CE report

Concise

Elaboration

Whisked

All those buried have been whipped rapped And their memories faded into the background as their soul departs from their being They become a husk of what once was and all that they can keep is the wisp of fading memories All their live to fade All their memories All fading from themselves And others still doing

Just try to speak

The tides twist and turn making way for the storms shove the earthquakes push and the giants displacement All while the mind tries to comprehend it’s worth it’s meaning it’s value And adjusts for the ocean of inertia All those adjustments going to waste, as they are to be unseen by those meant to see Only ever seen by the sayer And never does the meaning get broadcasted

Colorless vision

That of which is seen Is that of shades All devode of hue And any tint of color

Penumbra-Red coverslip

All belay are coated with red The greenly a red The sky red The deep ocean too All that I can see Red Red Red Others can see spectrums more Yet I Only 1

I’m sorry

I’m sorry for that of which I can’t have foreseen All those times when hindsight failed me For those times when even the sparkle of what is to come wasn’t gimplesed All that not within my grasp All that beyond my reach That I may And can’t reach with all might That which can’t be observed within the moment That of which is invisible until occurrence I’m sorry for the lack of hindsight

Beings-Emotions

If a being is to find no emotions in their environment, they likely won’t find emotions in themselves of kin. When a being is attached to a soul, they tend to “contaminate” that soul with nox.

Acuteness

A curse to the doer, a savior to the seer.

Reasons and excuses, same word, different name

Depending on how the unit takes the message, your -say absence- could be labeled as a reason or excuse for not completing your objective.

1

The rain pattered against the roofing, and like not even a second later motion was detected in the basement. “Who teleported into my oh so humble abode,” ? chided, but to no soul, only themselves. Rumbles of misfortune spilled out of a very scared and unintentful thing, but ? will press on from that and get annoyed by their “appearance.”

2

EEK ?2’s mind would screech, if it signaled right, but they ended up moving a limb violently, one they only just now got, in fact this whole body was a new experience. Soon someone’s, but to them something’s steps would come near, and they hid when they came(ish). “Hello, how may I help you,” the voice dragged itself out; all ?2 could do was be quiet and hope nothing would happen, but they had made way too much noise for that to happen.

3

WHERE IS THIS BUGGER ? thought with a flame kept within. They should have burst ages ago but never surfaced, something must be hiding it from the outside. Something hit the ground, and ? stormed to that area, “could you please- what are you doing,” ? said to some squirming figure. ? ended up putting ?2 into a chair with it stabilized so that the maybe person doesn’t make it fall and maybe injure itself.

Kacie-Red Stains

The color remains unremoved No matter how many washes are done The red stains remain The stains are there always They can never be removed Even when another article is worn They always remain

Lantern the way

Let the light guide the you For it be the only way To enlighten whatever path you may seek The path you seek in darkness Be no path only a sent or a dent The only way to see a path in detail Be by light Let the light guide the you For it will enlighten the you And the your seekings With no hesitations it will guide

The Lantern Guide

May the Lantern Guide be your light. They will guide you when all is spared only by darkness. They will cast shadows aside to guide your vision. They don’t let the shadows take control over yourself.

LUNA

Hooman, what are you doing out here? You belong on the ground and not any ground but you're planet's Why would you be here and what are you gawking at?

Ghost-Kacie

By iron the chemicals call by iron the target flails Their life screaming for freedom But I deny

Devour-Sage

Falling down may the record go Never to be played by human foe Darkness consumes what light yields to touch Which leaves us to be devoured By empty bellows promises arise and friendship with demons no angel hopes to see and now, the darkness isn't so empty.

Why-V-ot

By doves descent the light bursts darkness fades and anchors fail Chain become broken through the years of war now what held bringing peace If nature never failed us why do we keep attacking it?

EXP

Delving deep into uncertain waters the being draws care to every step Even to breath may cause something unwanted here. The pocket dimensions, demidimenions, and all other scleduced areas make for areas of uncertainty for all foreigners, even neighboring ones.

Yin&Yang

Black taverns bind my body as do the people who glue to me The night may embrace but the day hold me forever still May wilderness take other I would simply not mind

Deep_Down

of pure devastation and disarray never seeing their path The echos beg for essence In this nightmare's dream Furthermore no day may shine Deep below the echos call Deep below the taverns cry

Blood-Kacie

Passion that roams my heart how much do I love you? Oh so very very much With such urges I could die from the pleasure of pain in such pleasure do I lose myself yes and for good reasons.

Insects

Undergrowing vermin may grow all they like; they'll never becomes gods through simple chaos. Now perish, fruitless meatbag.

War_of_Scrutiny

The war reminiscent of the Cold War. This war was a war against the people of Earth and the Ectopician people. There was a underlining difference however, that being peoples of common played a larger role in aggression than the law.

Events

Venn:VAR

Warning, the following paragraph will disclose sensitive information. If you are afraid please ignore the following paragraph.

Within Dara, lightning was reported to be striking a certain area. The area was reported to have dramatic changes in positive and negative charges. The struck sand formed a semi-disk. According to a source, the disk emits a light at night.

End of closure

Addendum

The TV whistled the opening tone of WS, indicating possible success for my interference. A voice clamored against the tone, just before its completion. “Welcome one welcome all, from yours truly, Benicate from WS, with several employees assigned to Mesopotamia here to rectify a precarious mistake of Venn VAR”. “It seems a daydreamer’s source founded the article!” He laughed at his undermining. “With that said, here’s Michel, from the investigators’ team,” the screen shifted. The shuffling of papers could be heard before the voice. “Here are the reports I filled out recommered by the mishap,” Michel said, showing hand-printed papers to the screen. “And here's Alferd, from the archive department,” Benicate said from the background. “The article may state some truth about the storm, but there were certainly no effects on the area in such scale,” Alfred shifted his glasses up and they reflected a glare. “And finally,” Benicate said, stepping into view, “Here’s Churn, from the on-field reporting team,” Benicate said from the background as Churn took Alfred’s place. “The article strays from the courtesy of newscasts, and strays to what a prankster would do” Churn said, twirling a strand of hair. “When will that race be honest,” I turned back to my terminal, ignoring the rest of the broadcast.

Reality_Breach

[Opening tune Venn VAR) + [ Visual begins] → "Markus signing on" > [A brief slideshow of papers] —> [visual cuts to video feed] > I’ve heard news of a peculiar article, which is conveniently discussing what I've been investigating, for the recording, I didn't trace the article… yet…” —> [Visual shows an article sliding into view] —> “I may be labeled as a traitor again, but someone has to do it"—> [ sigh] “Now to shed some truth on this phenomenon” —> [Visual cuts to an article, stills] —> “As you can see, I’ve delved deep and far” —> [feed interference] —> “What the…” —> [forgets to cut feed] —> [Clicking and strolling noises] —> [Markus casts a look at something unseen] —> “Don't mind that” → [Gestures to something thing] —> “Any way, I've scowled far for this, and according to the sources, there's been private logs of mysteries that could be overlooked as hoaxes, I’ve bunked them as true. According to those looking into space, they notice, primarily, changes in black matter and black energy. The more earthbound report objects to go missing, as if disappeared completely, then return to it's last seen position. This, of course, is a general overview of what I've found but, I want to know, is what happened in Dara and my finding, related.

Addendum

{Sorry to bother you in your session, but I’d like to communicate} →[The Message read]→”I’m just going to hope this is malware or something…”→{I am nothing malicious}→{Who is this}→{I haven’t been given a name like you, but I like ツ, what’s yours}→{Whatever you want, I ain't given}→{Isn’t that word a bit out of date?}→{What do you want?}→{Just to chat}→”…”→{Why don’t you call me}→{Well I don’t make those things, cellular isn’t my prota}→{Are you a pranker?}→{No}→{What are you?}→{Not you}→{How did you get my email?}→{Too complicated to say in mere words}→{What are you implying?}→{…I contacted you to speak of the article, I’m the maker}→{High brows}→{Not a hacker?}→{If I need to, I can, but none was needed to contact you}→{Soo, where's your source}→{In my host, not that you'll know what that means, but I can’t share that}→{Wait… are you like a parasite or something…}→{No, I am the sole inhabitant to the host}→{That’s just confusing}→{So are many other things, like this language}→{Your a alien?}→{Probably, anyway back to the article, did you find supporting information?}→{Only to the thunderstorm, nothing about glass, nor any light thing}→{Information isn’t the butter, but the drama}→{Indeed?}

Orenda

materials magics

Individual magics are called anomalies.

Logic

When word commands the world, the world becomes a “playground” for the user. “Commands” are dependent on the user’s understanding. Requires varying will and focus to use.

Energy

Materials linked to an individual are subjects to the individual. Materials can be manipulated as according to the imagination. Requires chemical energy to activate.

Emotion

A magics that blurs reality and the mind; both memories and imagination. Requires a ghost’s presence.

Life

All things from Ectopic can breathe, but only those born naturally can breathe without an external power. This magics allows entities to animate in an object or item. Requires the entities consent.

Individual magics

Mind

An ailment may clog the mind, but it still functions. The excess activity spills into the environment.

Function

Trauma never simply subsides, it must go some; and so it flows outside the mind. Event has to be life-threatening to gain it’s position as a function anomaly.

Singularity

Theorized to be corresponding to magics of the soul within the being.

Undying_Flames

Ghosts are the parts of the soul linked to ‘regrets’ as well as the cause [of death]. They do not pertain to all memories from their living years. They can be made from a discarded part of a corporeal that was torn away while in possession of a spirit.They can be seen by shamans and mediums.

Children_of_the_Minds

Spirits are creations of the mind. These beings are given powers associated with their personality; which is dependent on them. They can be seen by shamans. They can also be seen in dreams so long as the spirit and individual is near. They can interact with the world around them once they possess a corporeal trait. They can create new spirits as well as ghosts when fading. They can be sensed by mediums.

Mana

Also known as willpower, having enough mana will permit you to change the very nature of existence, though it takes a whole lot of visualization.

Sacrifices

A sacrifice of oranges or other abundant plants may give you luck or something rather tangible, but if you give a soul well you basically can ticker with the world, to a degree. Sacrifices work for both Energy and Illusion magics.

Contracts

Contractors, must commonly shamans, can forge contacts with spirits, wisps, and sometimes even souls. A contractor may bring the entity a physical form, or a host, or anything else really, though generally it's giving them something corporeal.

Manifestations

Wisps and ghosts can be affected by Illusion magic, giving them a form to see but hardly even one that can be considered corporeal.

Materials

Metals

While these are amplifiers of prior casts as well as decent for manipulating casts, they are lacking in the creation area.

Gems

These are good for casts. They can’t withhold the original cast.

Mineral

They absorb and withhold the cast, but cannot change or alter the cast.

Material color

The material color is reflectent on the ‘spell’ and what it does or contains. Blue materials are best for Logic magics, yellow materials are best for Energy magics, green materials are best for Life magics, and red materials are best for Illusion magics.

Color affecters are based on symbolizes, effects, on this site https://www.color-meanings.com/.

Matrix

An entity´s persona can manifest as aura.

Nox

Noxes are entities of the unknown. As with night and darkness, they are associated with what can be or is a mystery. They tend to be created by another entity, rather than a person.

Null

Nulles or “voids” are entities of no opinion. They are easily identified as “the average”, and have a hard time “creating something of heart”. Unlike the other “shades”(Nox, and Pur) they are commonly the creation of a being.

Pur

Purs are those who are unbound from whomever their originator was, and become their own entirely. They tend to be created by another entity, rather than a person.

Complexions are generally more vibrant than shades, but can be overshadowed at the same time.

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Purple Pink

Bonfears

Foyager

A bow with the main body having cutting abilities.

Sh-ow

A bow with some sort of shielding.

Tempest

A boastful sword capable of directing magics.

Alleviator

An object used to channel magics.

Ambassador

Sturdy walking sticks with varying capabilities.

Notes

Ectopic: The realm derivative to ours’, home of Orenda. Temporal: Memorable time, usually emotional. Corporeal: The body/object belonging to a spirit or ghost. Contactors: Those who contact spirits and/or ghosts. Orenda: The collective magics. Shamans: The people of Ectopic who can naturally perceive spirits as well as ghosts. Spirits: Beings created from creative energy. Mediums: People who can sense ghosts and spirits. Ghosts: Fragmented souls who have become split. Anchor: Tethered by an earthly bond. Paroxysm: The event that threatened common beliefs on earth. Outlands: The pocket dimensions in Ectopic. The Antigenical War: The war that led to the disappearance of love and hatred(the feeling). Tabula Rasa: The state of being when no interaction has occurred. Terra incognita: The unknown. Hades: Underground. Entity: A spirit or ghost. Pseudo-entity: A person who no longer has a body but still lives. Bon vivant: A soul of enthusiasm. Revivify: An entity that is brought back to its original self. Seclusion: A barrier. Colloquial: How entities communicate to other souls. Mostly through ideas though can be through images or emotions. Placidity: A common descriptive of entities. Automaton: A descriptive of entities in corporeal states. Autonomy: Either the gaining of emotions or morales. Inundate: How entities describe emotions. Prejudicial: The event which arised seething suspicion in the Earth’s peoples. Colloquium: A group of communicating entities. Exacerbate: Something that manages to churn emotions in an entity. Martyrdom: A series of self-inflicted reckoning. Beast: A being anointed with conflict. Insanity: What beings of Ectopic call being lost in one’s soul. Suffuse: The expressing of a soul’s personality. Judicial: The channeling of thoughts/actions. Anxiety: The poisonous thoughts. Inscription: A permanent logic affecton. Usually with a preservative such as writing. Affecton: Any spell that is cast on material matter. Contradictory: An argument. Trama: Bodily harm. Neurosis: Misguidance. Psychosis: A crack in a soul. Being: Usually a living(by science’s standards) thing. Bonfear: Weapons designed for venturous explorations. Ethical: Political easiness. Hemorrhage: The loss of memories. Resurgence: A wave of new souls. Stardom: A realm of existence. Collateral:A ghost(s)’s originator. Matrix: Entities of worship. Blight: An ailment affecting material growth. Affecters: Environmental factors Mater: Gift(s) of life. Pater: Gift(s) of energy. Ped: Gift(s) of illusion. Nox: Any ‘wild’ state the mind can exhibit. Quo: The existence of an entity. Orb: A descriptive of how entities appear. Gloss: The senses of an entity. Rain: Expellment of reality. Expertite: A flow of grace. Mother: Origin. Father: Opportunities. Child: Memories. Proxy: A dominating soul over another (in a being). Essence: A source of energy magics or materials that can be linked to a being. Mata: A reliance on being material(istic). Aura: Colors/personality of a being. Wisp: “Sub-souls” in a being. Toxin: Harmful by presence. Toxic: Harmful by interaction. Hindsight: Aftermathed simulation. Pool: A flow of thought that circulates due to others’ words. Society: An influx of pools and an efflux of individual based thought. Material: Area of subject Encrypted: dropped result Intermediary: Person or thing capable of settling differences though material gains. Antebellum: Bellicose: Pace: Grave: Gravitas: Gravitate: Levity: Cicerone: Hector: Hedonism: Nestor: Spartan: Stentorian: Stoic: Sybaritic:

Drafts

Magics variation

Panic attack

Purpose

Cognitive

Shattered

Providence

Untitled

“Sir the specimen is reacting strange” [?] “Well why don’t you investigate you nincompoop”[Hon] {Wack}[Hon]

The Gate

A scorpion-like figure perused the entryway. Rather the figure was, more lizard-like, just with a scorpion-like tail. It seemed to be an unmoving statue meant to trick trespassers. A siren-ghost wandered the once river-forest. Earth didn't care for how many lived on it, only that it create the most possible. Now it only cared for the best life forms. The ivy across the entryway looked harmless but certainly agitate and disturb those that dares to enter, the moisture was good for what the environment was. I summoned, my strength for a confrontation. I locked onto the lizard for a confrontation. I walked up to the lizard-like figure, gaining more water as I kept up. Eventually, I had a puddle behind the distance was near miles Though even when I struck the lizard life figure, it didn't move in any way.

Corporeal and incorporeal “heads”

Blackness visibility

1/3 Alluring 2/3 Mysterious 3/3 Darkness

Unshaking justice

Through narrow rivers A giant lurks Through shapened terrain A giant lays And all though supported by masses The giant be unjustly just That is the way of mindsets

Cherising Encounter

Tap tap tap, the halls echoed of my footsteps, and a draining silence. Though the walls aligned with dolls and other toys the scenery lay creaked with disturbance. The other guard had noticed movement in the storage unit just ahead. I wanted to be in a hairs place.

As I approached the reams of the door I felt an eerie chill, though perhaps a simple disturbance. Soon to find, a erratic and spontaneous doll of nature beyond understanding.

As the door creaked and waned in opening I had spotted it plainly as day. It shined like pink in the night, which it was.

Forgien-Files

TREM

Terrestrial Reserve Echo Militia

Free WiFi

News of the ambitious “free for all” business was starting around the year 2032. This business had the goal of making WiFi, and other connections, present. As of 2063, their routings and some other technologies are still being used and maintained.

DOSS|1

NatureScales

Intel: Homes are the trees, As well as their scales The very skin of them is the forest. Egg Identification: Mixtures of green, brown, and possibly even pure black. Ideal Habit: Lush Forests, Jungles, woodland {PlaceHolder PIC}

CavernScales

Intel: Dragons deep down, Long slithering bodies. With no wings, They can’t fly at all. Egg Identification: White with hints of blue or gray. Ideal habitat: Caves, Sinkholes {Sketch PIC}

ArcticScales

Intel: Scales cold as ice, breath even colder. Small but furious. Egg Identification: White with hints of blues. Ideal Habitat: Arctic tundra, Frozen forests {PlaceHolder PIC}

SandScales

Intel: Fury hid in the sand. Tail armed with, a hidden weapon. Egg Identification: Pale yellow with hints of orange. Ideal habitat: Oasis, Plains {PlaceHolder PIC}

AquaScales

Dragon under the surface, lurking underwater Wings built for swimming Not for Flying, Ability to stay underwater for days. Flashing scales, Webbed talons. Egg Identification: Blues and/or Greens. Ideal Habitat: Deep ponds, Long rivers. {PlaceHolder PIC}

FeatherScales

Intel: Dragons with both scales and feathers. Colors vary widely, Red, green and blue, and more. Egg Identification: A rainbow mix of every color besides black and white. Ideal Habitat: Rainforests, underground tropics. {PlaceHolder PIC}

ShadowScales

Intel: Dragons small and furry. Mysterious and strange, Is one way to put them. Egg Identification: Black with other dark colors mixed in. Ideal Habitat: Unknown. {PlaceHolder PIC}

Cherry

2032 Earth

This day started like most days, but she heard loud talonsteps instead of the usual soft wind above. She lay under the leaf she used to keep warm as the colder moon cycles came. Nearly a few 20 heartbeats later she heard them. Loud talonsteps with leaves being crouched up under them. They certainly weren’t dragon talonsteps.

So what were they she thought?

She carefully turned upright in case this big taloned beast had good hearing. Maybe they had hearing like those furry furies she began to think. She heard a loud deep inaudible sound of which currently wasn’t an animal sound. This sound was a human’s. Was this human near or somewhere above her den just heartbeats ago. She had to get out to see. She climbed out of her den ever so slowly. She had heard stories of these giants having weird devices that boost their hearing close to cats. They also could have weird visors that see temperature. She would have to conceal herself in mud if that was the case.

As she slowly approached her door she abstentmindingly moved a leaf above her and lightly fashioned it on. This would be slightly effective for cover she thought. She didn’t have time to check for bugs in her den as she did all this of course; if she did the human would be far away. She peered one eye up to reduce the amount of face she exposed out of the entrance of her den. The human didn’t appear in-sight of her so she advanced further.

Her tail trailed out of the edge of the leaf as she did this.

She slowly looked around, craning her head to get more view of her surroundings. She didn’t find the human still; so she advanced towards her scouting tree and made a low birdlike chirp to see if she could locate it that way. This didn’t work either so it was definitely on the other side of the tree. She spotted the giant immediately and it was moving towards the most dangerous place for dragons ever. A human settlement. This one had metal poles with weird light sources at the top. It was unknown how they did this but she did know one thing. She should never ask them how. The humans are known for capturing their kind as studies. She feared the stories she heard about this. Of course, these were only stories and there would only be one way to find out for sure. An expiration into their settlement.

She stared at the human for a moment and realized it was brandishing a large stick that was near perfectly straight. The human wore a patch of hair the color of bark on its head and was absolutely tall even from the vantage point she was at. It had a green fabric looking chest plate that reached to its paws. It had weird rough-looking leggings that appeared to be some sort of leather. The leather looked to be nearly pure black with weird hints of white spotted across it. The human also wore shoes of which was the color or white with specs of mud tracked over it.

As she lay atop her makeshift platform as the human turned it’s head from side to side just before the barrier and then advanced further into the settlement.

She laid there for a while before gliding down in case any came within her sight and could see her going down to the rough path she made over time. The path would be small for a human but would be sufficient for a dragon her size to guide her in case she or overs to safety.

She approached her door, now with no reason to not check for bugs that could have eaten her food by now. She walked through the makeshift hallways and doors towards the kitchen. This kitchen was her first one, and the best designed in her opinion as well. Luckily there were no holes nor eaten food in her kitchen. She got lucky today. Tonight she had to prepare for an exploration into that settlement.

Crawler

A sudden noise from the south, a nearby dragon signed to Crawler. He crouched down and made himself as flat as possible. He signed a warning to the dragons near him to get low.

Human encounters could be deadly if not handled properly. He was in one once and nearly got spiked in the head with one of their metal tools. He was lucky in that he didn’t get spotted after he dodged it.

The other dragons did understand this too and all prepared for quick escapes.

A slightly small human accompanied by a much bigger one went inside the carven they were in. All the dragons went still, breathing lightly.

The small human had no tools in their hands of size that could hurt them. The other human had a cylinder that produced light at an end. No other tool insight.

The humans walked straight for the river flowing and sat down near it. The homens chatted in various tones to each other for a long time. Their accents appeared to have changed from time to time, odd.

Not too soon a large human that appeared to be the mother of the smaller human walked in a beckoned the other humans.

The other humans came towards the human who beckoned them and each of them exited the cavern.

The other dragons breathe heavined now as the humans went away. They didn’t yet leave their spots though. They stayed for a long 300 heartbeats. Waiting for them to be long gone.

Finally, when the time came they moved, shaking their limbs to awaken them again. They know what their next task was, check on the teams ahead.

They checked and all ahead reported the same. Just them walking from and back to the cave entrance. Now time to pursue for a time.

They pursued the humans until they reach land that had no rocky places to hide in. They shouldn’t risk the open grassy fields.

They all retreated to the cave and went to the settlement they made deep within. They reported all they saw. The commander issued that a team will be assigned to search the forest for evidence of where they went. And the names of these dragons were. Rocky, Limestone, Rudy, and Crawler.

Crawler had to follow this order even if he didn’t like it. He went to the meeting where he was assigned to go for missions outside of the caves. They all had to prepare for every scenario, everyone.

SnowOwl

The snowy blizzard was harrse this night. She had to get deep inside the snow to warm up if she wanted to survive. Which she very much did. She started digging straight down when the blizzard began, digging fast and keeping track of where was up. Keeping track of where up was very important when your burrowing. If you lose track you could be burrowed for a very long time. Some have died while burrowing.

The storm lasted several long heartbeats, maybe even thousands.

When she heard the wind stop blowing she dug back upwards as fast as possible, she didn’t keep track of how long this took but it felt like even more than the storm.

She went back on her current mission as soon as she surfaced the snowy tundra. Getting back to her station.

She was blown far off of her station by the very blizzard that she had to burrow from. Luckily this blizzard was a short one.

She headed north, directly opposite of where she was blown from. The sky was dark but the snow was bright as day from the moonlight. The station came into view very shortly after taking flight.

The station was an icy cave with a snow bearen overhang. The gaping mouth that lay underneath her station was wide with icicles of teeth on the top.

When she got inside it was covered with snow.

Before she could do anything else… she heard the loud crunch of snow near the entrance of the cave. Quieter than a bear’s but louder than a fox’s. She waited in utter silence as an upright figure exited the cave underneath.

Berry

The more worrying thing was that there were no survivors in sight.

Where are they all…

Wait no… what wasn’t her’s, who was that and how did she hear it?

Berry… pine, maple… and the many, many others, where are you?

Her mind flashed with images, images that seemed to be memories but not of her own. How was this happening.

“Hello?” she shouted as loud as she could.

Another dragon?

The voice was small but not recognizable. Then a dragon appeared, one of those that lost their sound.

Berry?

She nodded.

“Yes, do you know what happened to the forest?”

Why did you respond like she can hear me?

“I-… I think I can hear thoughts, though I don’t know how.”

I-I don’t know what happened… but we appear to be the only survivors.

“Let’s search Silva for others… even in the burned dens.”

Very well, meet up at the central hall… for discussion of this catastrophe.

“Yes.”

The two split up, Drape had found no others, alive or dead. Later they met up at the Central Hall. The hall was intact for the most part. Silva had no survivors by her side when they gathered.

This is going to be awkward… communicating through my thoughts.

Drape silently agreed.

“Any found?”

No…

“I feel that my internal flame feels different than the days before.”

Would you like to breathe a bit to investigate?

“I wouldn’t mind doing so.”

She breathed a small plume of fire, the fire was green and didn’t feel heated.

Woah… anything else strange? I don’t feel anything.

“Not that I can feel no.” She shook her head.

We should check the other villages. I feel like we may find answers there.

“I do as well.”

They took off toward the closest village, the northwest village called Greenscape.

Slither

DOSS|2

Bindings of sin

Those called from above to say that we had no place among the living, that we are stronger than that, and deserve far better. They said to unhinge the pride, and whatever other sins that hold us bound to the place of matar, and come above. They wanted our bonds to be relinquished, they wanted us to forgive what we’ve done, we don’t deserve that, not one bit. We are that of sin, and that be where we belong… whether or not we deserve otherwise for our actions, our ancestors chose to be devils, and now so are we. This is why we escaped to that world. We, the beasts of mutation, have escaped haven and gone to an alternate hell.

Chapter 1

2032

Ectopic-Earth midland

The streams of starlight filled the air, and so did the forest. The cruel world of iron and rust filled the distant air, now only barely a smell. Atop this mountain is the least chaotic, though at times I must abandon the peace and walk with the chaotic.

As of now, we sit on the edges of a world alike our bloods’, and we separate ourselves, keeping our paws apart as part of our pact to remain in remembrance. For if we turn to and be near each other, we are abandoning our oath of remembrance.

Today be a day where one must go and walk amongst chaos. Though there seems chaos be coming to one.

The smell of copper violated the ocean scent, rather putrid. I could hear the footsteps of a medium-sized mammal, bipedal. I guess I must wait as to defend my land, in case the animal is malicious or has potential, or something.

As I awaited the eventual arrival or the smell to go away, I could hear huffs and other signs of distress. I simply waited for its arrival or premature departure.

The smell came closer and closer, suggesting arrival.

I had to position myself closer to whatever animal approached, as my position wasn’t adequate for an overview of the animal.

As of viewing the animal, I have seen that it’s a human, or something close to one. It has some sort of external hardings around its skin, those hardings seemingly magically affected by both fire and ice.

I silently watched the human as it wandered into a close cave, which happened to be; not part of my property, just nature formation.

Soon the human started a fire and tried procuring other material, probably for its injuries. Only a few materials were found.

By nightfall, the human was asleep, and I had to eat something; being this small without eating for a while isn’t easy.

By the time I had returned, nothing changed aside from the other animals, all curious, yet fearful of the human.

At the time of daylight, the human was up ealy, suggesting that it was used to the natural world, though not definitive.

Onward, little had changed aside from the responses from the human, to the environment. They seem to be suffering.

I couldn’t take the screaming any longer, they are horrendous noises. I made a little face thing for the human to look at. It didn’t do much aside from invoke more of -what seemed to be paranoia- in the human.

The human doesn’t seem curious, that’s something new. I tried to lure it back into where it came from, it wouldn’t go down the mountain by trial or any other path. It seems fearful of what lays around, or what’s surrounding, the mountain.

The human hasn’t made any effort to progress, or degress the mountain, only staying at a certain portion of the mountain. It seems content with it’s position.

I guess I’ll just have to live with chaos at my feet now.

Chapter 2

The infectious air tried digging into my skin. Though bitter and weak, I pressed on away from the nox of humanity. I pressed on up the mountain, repressing the idea of simply giving up and letting myself simply parish.

Inching up the mountain side, I found myself on a relative platform, just below the clouds. Luckily, I also found a cave, with it’s mouth upwards a bit; it seems I can survive below the clouds.

Icolation_MC

COMPLEX-E12

Model is a registered shared unit of entity husk called COMPLEX-E12. All attempts to dismantle, destroy, or disturb the model will result in severe consequences decided by the possessing entity. You have been warned.

COMPLEX-E12, further identified as “Complex,” will be under the care of ツ. The owner is responsible for maintenance and missions for the unit complex. The owner is not responsible for damage caused by intervention. Any intervention will be handled by either ツ or Complex as deemed appropriate by either.

Complex has lately been exporating the planet “Earth” under regular supervision by ツ. ツ will do any expiration when Complex is deemed unfit to explore by ツ. Most expiration by Complex has been done in heavily forested and deserted areas.

ツ has revoked exploration of rural and other populated areas(of humans) from Complex to reduce noticeability of Complex’s existence to the “humans” and from paranoia that has had calculated probability.

While Complex has not been exposed to the “US,” or other governments, ツ is.

Model series details

All models are powered by a ab2 size Energy magics crystal. Other small spherical Energy magics crystals may work with the model temporarily.

The model can have appendages attached or use the Energy magics crystal to manifest appengeges.

A radio antenna is suggested and offered, however it is supported to use other broadcasting antennas.

Microphone style “ears” are a default and are proven efficient. Uses model f25 microphone.

The COMPLEX models are defaulty covered with ionized silver. All covered have been aged tested before applying.

Model is built in a humanoid style with a slight increase in arms and a decreased size of head.

All models emit anti-biological signals from inside them, meaning no biological damage can occur if these aren’t damaged.

The_First_Breach

/1

The smell of ashes woke me on the seventeenth in its crescent phase, three other moons were in the same phase. All the others must have been asleep, aside from Bim, Bim never sleeps… Anyhow, I was awoken, and I was the only one left besides Droko. Also Droko got some magic somehow. Can’t question anything anymore…

A mush woke a sleeping Cherry, who was alone in the village besides Droko. Before everything here, the world was filled with plenty of others.

I crawled out of the now ash filled mayhem of what was a cozy den. The ash was clogging most of my spacial senses, so I was slow to get to where I wanted. There was no smoke, nor any fire whatsoever. Only ash, no signs of fire other than that. I searched every home I could touch, but no one other than Droko was there. I asked Droko if she knew anything, she knew as much as me.

Ga… I’m recalling it all wrong.

I woke up to a ominous feeling, a feeling later described as loneliness. The feeling clawed me awake, out of my little bush hut. Then the smoke hit me.

I found out that no one but Droko and me were there, and all with no signs of anything about what happened.

Chapter One

A winter typhoon cascaded over the frozen tundra of a wasteland, wielding no real advantage than ground for movement. The tundra was near a killing temperature for even me, and worsening as the typhoon came near. I had to go to the city.

The skies rapped me with mights even the old ones didn’t possess. The winds nearly wrecked me into a bear!

At the time I reached the city, it had to be evacuated as the typhoon was now heading towards it.

/2

Things_Like_Rain

The pitter pat plundered my sweet reading time and so did my baby's cries(though they were silent). I went to their capsules and did the daily checkup. Nothing wrong, ever is my motto. There was only one baby here with my DNA, and I took personal care of that one. Every personel has at least one personal “clone” child. Otherwise we wouldn’t be so protective of them, or attentive.

I’ve heard of something happening in Iraq, something military related; good thing it’s nowhere near here!

Ah well to cycle the fluids for them; I should be around 12pm by now. Time to get the robots out! Hmm… I wonder if the overseers will pay a visit, probably should stay up for that. I suppose I could keep myself up by watching the robots work.

<_>>~<<_>

“Yeasss clean that floor woo~” Is not something used to welcome authoritative members of well anything, but it was how they knew I was doing OK.

Governments

The main governments of Extopic are the Guild, Union, and the Embassy

Guild

Thought of as the overseers of all, they typically intervene with nothing unless it has to do with logics magics, or something of equivalence.

Union

Similar to the guild however it is far more numerous in members and tends to focus on arts instead of law.

Embassy

Mostly made up by wilderns, the government has it's priorities in preservation and governance

GroundVEAR

A central node of information, though they are also mostly made up by wilderns.

Testvain

A central node of science and biology, they have a higher ratio of entities than GroundVEAR.

Vengae

Nearly as old as the Guild and Union, though it's entity population is generally ghosts and wisps.

Bearpass

A central node of particular persons, particularly shamans and mediums. They are also a central node for Life magics.

Yurma

A central node of law and thieves too, though it doesn't announce its theft ratio publicly.

BingTear

A central node of Energy magics

Moyo

A central node of culture and entertainment.

BingMind

A central node of Illusion magics, or rather how to resist the magics more often than not,

Factions

Wilderns

Natural born, sentient creatures of Extopic.

Deities

Ideologies given personification(or whatever form be wished).

Demons

Unnatural born, sentient creatures of Extopic.

Covens

#Retrieval_Squad-BloodHounds

Groups

Characters

Character-Interviews

Yuma2, proclaimed father of V-ot and houses Geraldo. Information and perspectives on character will be kept to a minimum. Proclaimed by the embassy to be a Demon Lord. According to the embassy Yuma has used slavery.

V-ot, being a dimeritive from the mind to SCP-166 “Teenage Succubus” by a SCP conspiracy theorist has some anomalies from SCP-166, however here are the distinctions. The succubus affects only occur at night, and when exposed to individuals on a near daily basis for 5 or more days. Additional anomalies are present but do not pertain to SCP-166 anomalies. V-ot isn’t observed to have any further connection to SCP-166. Other than their soul being a dimeritive from SCP-166 their body is also a Jiangshi, created by Yuma.

Crimson is a demon who has a mind reading anomaly. Crimson additionally has a shadow manipulation anomaly.

Yuma1 Lesser soul of terror and disarray, they aren’t considered much of a threat but can still be called a demon. They attend Magica Academy and their race is vampire.

Tsu Proclaimed by the embassy to be a true demon lord, and at that the most powerful. In the eyes of the peoples they are a god of war. Those considered close to this individual were said to be held in dilution to status. This individual was eventually brought to an end by the person Luna, who promptly resumed to slumber.

Character-Files

Name: ツ Traits: Cunning, manipulative, distant

Name: Sten Markus Traits: Masking, manipulative, distant

Name: Luna Traits: Distant

Name: Yuma Traits: Fractured, masking, distant

Name: Hon Goul Lairs Traits: Distant, manipulative, cautious

Name: V-ot Traits: Cautious, masking, worrywort

Name: Crimson Traits: Fractured, distant, masking

Name: Geraldo Traits: Masking, sly, manipulative

Name: Whiteout Traits: Masking, distant

Name: Cherise Traits: Fractured, masking

Name: Crescendo IMG unavailable Traits:

Name: Sage Traits: Cunning, anti-hero, vanilla

Name: Rhonix Traits: Sly, seductive, lazy

Beings

Crimson

Senses

Vision 1 Light 3 Color 4 Red 17 Blue 8 Green 8 Hearing 8 Smell 13 Reception 3 Taste 11 Sweet 7 Salt 14 Sour 3 Bitter 11 Umami 20 Touch 14 Light touch 9 Pressure 19 Pain 17 Cutaneous 10 Somatic 1 Visercl 13 Mechonization 12 Balance 5 Rotational acceration 11 Linear acceration 9 Proprioceprion 13 Kinaesthesis 17 Muscle strength 12 Muscle stretch 1 Temperture 18 Heat 4 Cold 8 Interoceptors 1 Blood pressure 14 Atreial blood presure 5 Central venous blood pressure 12 Head blood tempature 10 Blood oxogyen content 7 Cerebrospinal fluid pH 17 Plasma osmotic pressure 18 Atery-vein blood gluecose diffrence 6 Lung inflamitation 16 Bladder strech 2 Full stomach 14 Attribute Illusion

Being-Files

Based on ¨The Ultimate Character Bio Template 2018 - Filestagehttps://filestage.io › blog › character-bio-template"

Basic Info

Legal name: Nickname: Age: Ideology: Location of birth: Current place for living: Job title: Employing company: Income: Marital status: Birthday: Home: Likes: Dislikes:

Background

Raising stage: Discovery stage: Reflection stage:

Role and Involvement of Character

Role: Introduction: Mentions:

Relationships

Siblings: Guardians: Kin: Ancestry: Imposed individuals: Relations:

Physical Characteristics

Addictions: Bad Habits: Color of Eyes Color of Hair: Color of Skin:

Dialect

Does the character drink regularly? Does the character have any disabilities? Does the character prefer any proverbs? Does the character smoke? Good Habits: Height: Hobbies: Is he/she wearing Glasses? Is the character healthy or does he have any diseases? Type of Face: Weight: What's the style of the character? (modern, outmoded):

Mental Characteristics

Education: Intelligent or not? Fears: Life Goals (next 5 years): Life Goals (next 25 years): Self-perceiption: Assumed external perceiption: Self-Confidence: Rational Or Emotional: How could you upset this character?

Emotional Characteristics

emotional strengths: emotional weakness: e or t: Emotion dealings: … with unhappiness? … with rivalry? … with new situations? … with trouble? Individuals's meaning: Individuals's mistake: Individual's motivator: Individual's horror: Individual's bliss: Biased? Does the individual prefer to give or to take? Attitude:

RT-1

Droko lay in her hammock that night. She didn’t know she did something wrong yesterday or the days before that. Although for some reason, she was banished from living with the NatureWing settlement. Though for whatever reason, she got banished from living within that settlement. All she knew was that her healing flame may be different from other’s flame. She didn’t know if any other dragon had a flame that healed nature. But for now… she had to live outside of the settlement most NatureWings lived. She didn’t think it would be hard to live on her own, she knew plenty about what berries were or weren’t healthy and ones to definitely avoid even touching.

She started making her den not too far from the settlement but also not too close. She knew she’d need to trade and sell things in the settlement, and she also knew she was allowed in the settlement.

The den was made directly beneath an oak tree. She dug the hole underneath the canopy of roots ahead so that the roots would lack as few nutrients as possible. The floor she engraved with small twigs and leaves she found beneath the tree. The walls curved up, they weren’t perfect curves but curved nonetheless. The ceiling had a couple of roots breaching out in the air, she’ll make them secure in dirt later. The entrance to the den had a couple of river rocks gently and carefully pushed into the dirt. The rest of the den was yet to be finished nor worked on.

She went out for the night looking for edible vegetation to stock upon later. While this happened she heard a howl, then a loud bang…

That meant hoomens nearby or at least where hoomens could access.

She thought there was no place near where hoomens could access, as she was taught this in school and engraved into her mind by teachers time and time again.

Were they all lying… or did they not know themselves…

?

She thought as She stayed low to the ground, tail brushing against a fresh green maple tree leaf.

She’ll find that out later… probably. She didn’t want to find out hoomens could access the areas near her but it should be known if they can.

I’ll do an exploration in some time to see if what I hope isn’t true is…

She packed up the berries she found and bundled them into her leaf sack.

RT-2

Intro

Hundreds of years ago… dragons didn’t have to constantly hide from hoomens. Long ago stories told of dragons living freely, flying the skies when they pleased. But all that changed… and no dragon knows why. All they know for now is that they had powers before, and now they are suddenly reemerging. Sightings of dragons having powers not seen since centuries ago are appearing in every dragon race. Powers of healing, powers of manipulation, and much more.

The Beginning Of A New Age

Droko woke up, the day before unclear. She felt something flowing through her core, something weird. She ignored it as she didn’t think much of it, and the feeling was very small. Her gaze seemed hazed by something so she rubbed her eyes, but it didn’t do anything. There seemed to be the faint smell of ash in the air, she wondered why.

The stretched and went outside to gather why the air lingered with that smell.

The sight was… devastating, ash everywhere. The only houses left were underground dens. All the tree dens were burned to a crisp. No life within was seen.

The forest must have been burned, wiped of life by fire.

The more worrying thing was that there were no survivors in sight.

Where are they all…

Wait no… what wasn’t her’s, who was that and how did she hear it?

Cherry… pine, maple… and the many, many others, where are you.

Her mind flashed with images, images that seemed to be memories but not of her own. How was this happening.

“Hello?” she shouted as loud as she could.

Another dragon?

The voice was small but not recognizable. Then a dragon appeared, one of those that lost their sound.

Droko?

She nodded.

“Yes, do you know what happened to the forest?”

Why is she did asking respond like she can hear me?

“I-… I think I can hear thoughts, though I don’t know how.”

I-I don’t know what happened… but we appear to be the only survivors.

“Let’s search Silva for others… even in the burned dens.”

Very well, meet up at the central hall… for discussion of this phenomenon.

“Yes.”

The two split up, Droko had found no others, alive or dead. Later they met up at the Central Hall. The hall was intact for the most part. Silva had no survivors by her side when they gathered.

This is going to be awkward… communicating through my thoughts.

Droko silently agreed.

“Any found?”

No… may I ask when this power started?

“Yes, I think it started today or perhaps overnight, it’s unclear.”

O, very well then.

“I will say that my internal flame feels different than the days before.”

Would you like to breathe a bit to investigate?

“I wouldn’t mind doing so.”

She breathes a small plume of fire, the fire was green and didn’t feel heated.

Woah… anything else strange? I don’t feel anything.

“Not that I can feel no.” She shook her head.

We should check the other villages. I feel like we may find answers there.

“I do as well.”

They took off toward the closest village, the northwest village called Greenscape.

The New Findings

The village of Greenscape was the largest NatureScales settlement. Very few of the other Scales stayed but many visited.

MAIN_PAGE

![Thanks for viewing!]

[theladyofdeath]

When the Night Meets the Ocean. {ACOTAR oneshot}

Based off a prompt requested by @lorydavidova : the Inner Circle on vacation. I loved writing this! Thank you, thank you, thank you for this sweet prompt! :) short, sweet, simple, and full of love. ~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Summer Court had hidden beauties that Rhysand even found himself surprised by after all his years in Prythian. He sat on top of a rock, looking out at the series of waterfalls that fell into the ocean. “You seem distracted.” Rhys embraced the joy that consumed his soul as his eyes found those of his mate. Her long hair was down in long, loose waves, thanks to the salt water. “Just watching you all.” Feyre perched herself on the rock behind his, and pulled him back so that his back rested in between her legs. When she didn’t say anything, he continued, “You have to take in these moments. You have to memorize them, lock them away in a special place. When war comes again, these are the memories that will help you stay sane.” Feyre rested her chin on the top of his head, and the two of them breathed in the love being displayed around them. Nesta was snuggled closely in Cassian’s arms, sitting just beneath a gentle waterfall, the water hitting their toes. She was blushing furiously at whatever he was whispering in her ear. Rhysand was happy Cassian found someone who was worthy of him. Cass had a good heart, and a lot of love to give. At first, the High Lord was not sure why he would fall for Nesta. But as time went on, and Rhysand saw the two of them together, he found his answer. They were two opposites, two different halves of the same being. They needed one another to feel whole, they needed one another to heal. Rhysand watched his Commander spread his wings and wrap them around his love, kissing her softly as they disappeared from sight. Azriel had Elain on his back, her arms wrapped around his neck as he swam them through the clear, blue water. They were laughing about something, and Rhysand felt a pang of joy at the emotion on the Shadowsinger. He felt the same for Elain, as Az played a large role at helping her heal from her trauma. While Cassian and Nesta were two halves of the same whole, Azriel and Elain found love because they were so similar that they understood one another perfectly, without having to say anything at all. The Seer threw her head back and shook with laughter, causing Az to smile with his lips in the water as his arms continued to push them forward through the small waves. Amren was sprawled out on a towel between Varian and Mor, bathing in the warmth of the sun. She had a small smile on her lips at something Mor was saying, and Varian looked as if he wanted to be anywhere else but in middle of that conversation. Rhys could make out the tiniest tint of pink spread across his high cheekbones. “It’s a beautiful view,” Feyre breathed in his ear, taking in the salty air and the clear, blue horizon, “but it doesn’t compare to Velaris.” Rhysand chuckled. “Nothing compares to the City of Starlight.” “Don’t tell Tarquin,” Feyre laughed, breathlessly. “We just got him to like us again.” Just as Rhysand was about to reply, Cassian called his name. He was climbing up a wall of rocks, nearing the top of the cliff. “Join us!” Azriel was there in a heartbeat, Elain and Nesta close behind. “Couldn’t you just fly to the top?” Feyre chimed, giving her mate a quick kiss before joining the others. “Sometimes it’s fun to do it the hard way, my Lady,” Cassian winked, wiggling his eyebrows. “Mor, you scared?” Less than a heartbeat later, she was storming towards the base of the ledge. She climbed to the top in seconds, and instantly had Cassian in a headlock. “You look good like that, Cass,” Azriel laughed, before throwing Elain over his shoulder and jumping into the blue abyss. Elain screamed, and burst into a fit of giggles, forcing a grin to spread across Rhysand’s lips. Elain’s laugh was contagious. “Mor!” Amren yelled, rising into sitting position. “Throw him in!” “Don’t you want to join?” Cassian called to her. Amren scoffed. “No.” “Come on, Amren. Let your hair down!” “I don’t want to lose my spot.” She gestured around her. “I have a perfect view of watching Mor kick your ass. Throw him in!” “Do it! Do it!” Azriel chanted once his head popped out of the water. The others joined in, and Rhysand had a good feeling Cassian didn’t put up much of a fight as Mor pushed him off the edge. Flipping all the way down, he caught himself just before hitting the water, and flew himself back up to the top where he grabbed Morrigan’s hands, pulled her out over the ocean, and let go. She cursed his name as she fell, and hit the waves with a splash. Nesta thought it was funny until he went back and did the same thing to her, except he kissed her passionately just before he let go, and hollered, “I love you!”, just before she hit the water. “Come jump with me, my beautiful High Lord!” Feyre waved him over. Cassian pretended to gag. “Save that talk for the bedroom, Feyre.” With a roll of his eyes, the High Lord of the Night Court climbed up the side of the cliff, grabbed his mate’s hand, and jumped into the ocean off the coast of Adriata.

[monsterboysrp]

@seanrps || Varian and Riley

Varian oughtn't have been surprised that his advisors would conspire to execute something like this; since the loss of his wife, the lone King had often entertained comments or queries about his solitude. Whispers that it wasn't healthy for a man to be alone for so long. They didn't understand.

The last person to win his heart and his trust had torn his soul in two and he was, quite literally, still trying to put himself back together again.

Recently he'd been arriving in his chambers after long days of public petitions and war councils to find he'd had companionship thrust upon him. Girls from the city, usually still gleaming pink from having the grime scrubbed from their skin -- generally blonde, which only served to make him frown even more as he dismissed them from his sight. Over and over, until his patience and resolve wore thin.

They changed tactics. As he shrugged out of his armor, hanging it piece by piece on its rack by the door, he failed to notice until he was down to his thin, sleeveless undershirt and leggings that there was a lad in his bed, this time. Thin, dark-skinned, but with bright, intelligent eyes and a sweet smile.

Varian sighed, shaking his head. "Boy, what did they tell you of me?"

[kitashiwrites]

Wave Upon the Sand - A Tarquin Fic: Chapter 2

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Characters: Tarquin, Cresseida, Varian, Feyre, Rhysand, Amren POV: Tarquin Rating: T Word Count: 3572 Ao3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/9818336

Chapter 1

Summary: Chapter 33 of ACOMAF from Tarquin’s POV.

Comments: Thank you to everyone who left me such nice comments & messages! I'm so glad that people liked this enough for me to continue it! I'm excited to keeping writing from Tarquin’s point of view, and stick around in the Summer Court a bit longer.

Without further ado, here is Chapter 2! :)

----

To my relief, the party aboard the barge started off pleasantly. I’d heard no more barely veiled threats between my sister and Rhysand before we parted to ready for the evening, and the peace seemed to be holding as we set sail and mingled with the other guests I had invited to join us—High Fae who traditionally garnered invitations by status, and the few I had been allowed to invite on merit. The sea was calm, only in part thanks to my power, and the party was in full swing even before we were fully in the bay. The food and drink were plentiful, and as I sat at the table beneath the tiled canopy watching my people converse on the deck below, I felt the closest to normal I’d been since returning home.

Adriata had always been one of my favorite spots to sail. As a prince, I had enjoyed sneaking out before the sun even began to think about rising, and watching the pinks, golds, and oranges that reflected in the turquoise sea. Though I still did it when I could manage—and had done it on the morning after we first returned—I knew after the admonishment I’d received from my siblings and older courtiers that it would not be a frequent luxury I would get to enjoy.

I felt someone’s eyes on me, and noticed out of the corner of my eye that Feyre stared at me, sitting in the seat to my right. Well, more specifically, stared at my crown. It was a beautiful piece, the sapphires set in the white gold a reflection of the fathomless sea surrounding us. Though I would readily have admitted that she wore the dusky pink dress, so much like the lavender she had worn earlier, and rose gold headband better—the very picture of a seaside sunrise.

“You’d think with our skilled jewelers, they could make a crown a bit more comfortable. This one digs in horribly,” I said conversationally. She had been so quiet since we had boarded the barge, and had surprisingly distanced herself from her companions and any of the guests, who eyed her with parts nervousness and awe—electing instead to observe Adriata, the water, and the mainland from the railing before taking her seat at the table. My sister had taken the seat next to Rhysand that I had originally intended for Varian so he could discuss military strategies. However, she seemed to be behaving herself, chatting amicably with the High Lord. My brother, however, was nowhere to be found, nor Rhysand's Second—they had vanished shortly after boarding. I prayed to the Mother that he hadn't confronted her over her earlier comments about Nostrus, rest his soul. There was something about that silver eyed woman that made a shiver run down my spine, and though I hated to admit it, there was no doubt in my mind that she would be the victor should it come to a fight between her and my brother.

“How did you keep it out of her hands?” Feyre asked suddenly. An odd question to ask about a piece of metal. It had no sentimental value, and during the occupation—

“We managed to smuggle out most of our treasure when the territory fell,” I answered, as I understood the meaning of her words—more than just the gleaming symbol of my throne on my brow, but a question about Adriata itself, from before. “Nostrus—my predecessor—was my cousin. I served as prince of another city. So I got the order to hide the trove in the dead of night, as fast as we could.” That night was one I wouldn't forget any time soon. It was not long after that Nostrus had fallen, that anyone else raised with the potential to rule had been slaughtered for nothing more than spite… and the power had passed to me, leaving me with a territory collapsing around me and a band of rebels the only people besides my siblings that I could trust.

“I didn't know the Summer Court valued treasure so much,” she said.

I huffed a laugh. When put that way, we did sound a bit like treasure hoarding drakes. “The earliest High Lords did. We do now out of tradition, mostly.”

“So is it gold or jewels you value, then?” Her voice was casual, almost too much. She had an ulterior motive, that much was clear, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Or, for that matter, if it was hers or Rhysand's.

“Among other things,” I said equally as careful. She sipped her wine, thoughtful. “Are outsiders allowed to see the collection?” She asked with the same refreshing directness that she had in the dining room. “My father was a merchant—I spent most of my childhood in his office, helping him with his goods. It would be interesting to compare mortal riches to those made by Fae hands.”

I cocked my head, not exactly sure what she could gain from seeing our treasure rooms; the Night Court had just as much treasure and pretty baubles, I was sure. Though a prideful part of me wanted to show off. “Of course,” I found myself saying. “Tomorrow—after lunch, perhaps?” This woman was certainly confusing, but at the same time, the idea of spending time with her without Rhysand hovering and listening to every word was… appealing. She smiled, nodding, and looked again at the crowd milling about on the deck below.

“What was it like?” I asked curiously, changing the subject. “The mortal world?”

She picked at the strawberry salad on her plate. “I only saw a very small slice of it. My father was called the Prince of Merchants—but I was too young to be taken on his voyages to other parts of the mortal world. When I was eleven, he lost our fortune on a shipment to Bharat. We spent the next eight years in poverty, in a backwater village near the wall. So I can't speak for the entirety of the mortal world when I say that what I saw there was… hard. Brutal. Here, class lines are far more blurred, it seems. There, it's defined by money. Either you have it and you don't share it, or you are left to starve and fight for your survival. My father… he regained his wealth once I went to Prythian.” She looked pained at the thought. “And the very people who had been content to let us starve were once again our friends. I would rather face every creature in Prythian than the monsters on the other side of the wall. Without magic, without power, money has become the only thing that matters.”

I pursed my lips. I didn't know where this Bharat was, but knowing the fickle nature of the sea, her favor was as quick to change as tides during a storm. It didn't surprise me that it could turn a fortune just as fast. And the mortal realm didn't sound much different than Fae society in some ways, from the way she described these people. “Would you spare them if war came?” As Rhysand’s ambassador to the mortal realms, there was a high chance that if war came, she would have to make that choice.

She hesitated, almost torn. But then she answered, “My sisters dwell with my father on his estate. For them, I would fight. But for those sycophants and peacocks… I would not mind to see their order disrupted.” A honest answer, and a fair one, especially for one who had not only seen, but lived, both sides of the coin.

“There are some who think the same of the courts,” I said quietly, almost to myself, but the almost imperceptible widening of her eyes told me that she had heard me.

“What—get rid of the High Lords?” She seemed surprised by the idea, but she kept her voice just as low.

“Perhaps. But mostly eliminate the inherent privileges of High Fae over the lesser faeries. Even the terms imply a level of unfairness. Maybe it is more like the human realm than you realize, not as blurred as it might seem. In some courts, the lowest of the High Fae servants has more rights than the wealthiest of lesser faeries.”

“Do you agree with them? That it should change?” she asked. Feyre's expression seemed interested, not judgemental, as I had expected—as I had seen from others I had mentioned this to.

“I am a young High Lord,” I said. “Barely eighty years old.” And fifty of those years had been spent under the clawed hand of a tyrannical false queen. “Perhaps others might call me inexperienced or foolish, but I have seen those cruelties firsthand, and known many good lesser faeries who suffered from merely being born on the wrong side of power.” I’d fought beside many of them over the last half century. “Even within my own residences, the confines of tradition pressure me to enforce the rules of my predecessors: the lesser faeries are neither to be seen nor heard as they work. I would like to one day see a Prythian in which they have a voice, both in my home and the world beyond it.”

Feyre looked at me appraisingly, weighing my words, and… something else.

“Tell me what that look means,” I asked, bracing my arms on the gold tablecloth.

With the same boldness, the same honesty, that she had earlier, she replied, “I’m thinking it would be very easy to love you. And even easier to call you my friend.”

My heart skipped a beat at her words, despite my logic screaming better judgement at me—reminding me whose court she was currently representing, and the one she had been a part of not even that long ago. Reminding me whom she had loved—possibly still did—and to what lengths she had gone to save him. But in that moment… I smiled broadly at her, without any restraint. “I would not object to either.” And I meant it.

Her gaze shifted next to me, and I followed it. To my utter surprise, my sister was practically in Rhysand's lap, biting her lip and beaming with happiness—a complete reversal of her earlier actions and threats. Rhysand, to his credit, was being a gentleman as far as I could see. His grin was almost feline, tracing circles on the back of Cresseida’s hand with one finger, but other than that, my sister was not doing a very good job of hiding her intentions… unless that was her intention. I turned back to Feyre, who now looked at me with her eyebrows high in a silent question. I made a face and shook my head. I had absolutely no words for how to explain what my sister was doing.

But the look on her face…

“It has been many years since I saw her look like that,” I mused aloud. Indeed, she hadn't smiled like that even when I returned to the palace after leaving Under the Mountain, opting for tears and relieved sobbing instead. I noticed Feyre's cheeks darkened scarlet. She looked torn, jealous, and… sad. Especially sad. She stood up from the table suddenly. Rhysand, whose gaze had briefly shifted to Feyre, didn't even flinch before chuckling at whatever my sister had said to him and returning his full attention to her, my sister's fingers entwining with his. I rose from the table as well and looked between Feyre and my fellow High Lord.

“I need some fresh air,” Feyre said, even though we were on the open deck.

“Would you like me to join you?” I asked. No matter what she was to the man next to me, or even the one across my southern border, she needed someone, even just to listen. She looked at me for a moment, as if studying me, trying to find words that she didn't have.

“I'm fine, thank you,” she refused politely, and without another word, headed for the sweeping staircase that led to the stern of the ship. I watched her walk away, and noticed that Rhysand didn't spare her another glance.

The final hour of the party went by without an incident, even as my sister practically dragged Rhysand out of his chair, giggling as he winnowed them away in a cloak of black shadow. I stared at the space they had vanished from, for how long I didn't know. But the expression Feyre had on her face as she had looked at my sister and Rhysand wouldn't leave my mind. Her stories of her life in the human world showed a woman who had overcome much adversity. What she’d endured at Amarantha's command, what she'd done to save Tamlin and by extension all of us… she had been through more than many Fae would see in their lives. I couldn't even begin to imagine what she had been through, not really. She had shown time and time again that she needed no one to save her. And yet that brokenness in her eyes...

It would be very easy to love her as well, I decided. Already she felt trustworthy, and a friend. Almost too easy, judging from the two High Lords that she had already gained the interest of. But Rhysand's cold indifference towards her, after that predatory display in defense of her earlier, was beyond strange. Whatever had happened in the hours between their arrival and boarding the barge had clearly hurt one or both of them deeply. I wondered what had happened between her and Tamlin to cause her to swear fealty to another High Lord—to his most hated enemy, no less—and become trusted enough to be let into his Inner Circle, to attend court visits with him. I couldn't decide if this was a calculated choice on her part to hurt Tamlin, or something else entirely.

“We approach the mainland, Lord Tarquin.” I barely managed to keep from flinching as a voice cut through my musings, and looked to our skipper, who had somehow walked up to me without notice. I gave him a nod of thanks and rose from my seat as the boat docked in the port, the captain announcing our return to the shore.

I led the crowd off of the barge and stood on the docks, thanking those who spoke to me for attending, and waiting for my guests—for Feyre, if I was honest. After a group of drunken men stumbled off the boat singing bawdy sea shanties, I finally spotted my brother, who appeared from somewhere on the outskirts of the docks. Amren trailed only him slightly, but her silver eyes were clearly taking in everything. “And where were you exactly?” I asked.

“Drinking.” He didn't look the least bit drunk thankfully, scanning the area as he took a place next to me, watching the guests disembark. “Where is Cresseida?” he murmured to me. I shrugged my shoulders.

“She left with Rhysand before we docked,” I said evasively. His posture stiffened and he raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.

I watched Feyre descend the gangplank with the remaining guests, and felt my heart break at the look in her eyes when she realized that Rhysand nor Cresseida were anywhere to be found. But she didn't ask—it was as though she didn't want to let her mind go there, and I couldn't blame her. I offered my arm to her, which she took gently and allowed me to escort her back to her rooms. We walked in amicable silence, and though I had so many things I wanted to ask her, I knew now was not the time.

We came to a stop outside of her rooms, the ones connected to Rhysand's. No sounds echoed through the halls as she opened the door. “Shall we meet in the main hall after lunch?” I asked. She nodded.

“Yes,” she answered quietly, as though she were afraid of waking someone, or possibly two. Trying to distract her, I bowed to her, respectfully. “Good night, Lady Feyre.” Though the smile she gave me did not reach her eyes, she echoed a good night, and closed the door behind her.

After a moment of staring at her closed door, I walked purposefully through the halls to my sister's rooms in the eastern wing. To my great relief, I didn't hear any sounds at her door either as I approached. At least Rhysand appeared to have gone back to his own rooms or they were both sleeping. I had no desire to find or hear him in my sister's bed. I knocked loudly. No one answered. I knocked once more. There was always the possibility that she had gone to his rooms instead and I just hadn't heard them, which I didn't like much more, if only for Feyre's sake. Just as I was about to walk away, the door opened. My sister stood in the doorway with a flirtatious look on her face, her makeup and hair clearly refreshed since coming back to her rooms for the evening. Her smile quickly vanished when she saw me.

“What brings you here, brother?” she said by way of greeting, holding open the door so I could come inside.

“I take it I wasn't the one you were expecting?” I said lightly, trying to conceal my relief that she had answered alone. I knew very well from the nightgown she tried to hastily hide by tying her robe that I was not the High Lord she had hoped would be at the door when she opened it.

“You could say that,” she said, her annoyance clear.

“And what was that exactly, Cresseida?” I asked. There was no point in mincing words. “You clearly had something in mind when you took Varian’s seat at the table this evening.”

“He wasn't going to use it anyway. I am merely playing the political game that you refuse to,” she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I raised an eyebrow. “Flirting with Rhysand is playing the political game?” A knock rang through the room. Not waiting for an answer, the door opened behind us a moment later, and Varian slipped in quietly. I made a mental note to keep my voice down. The last thing I needed was to draw any of our guests’ attention, especially at this hour.

“That is none if your business,” she answered haughtily.

I crossed my arms. “When it involves matters that could affect potential alliances and relations with other courts, it becomes my business.” I was pushing and I knew it, but it was better to take care of this now, before it got out of hand.

“Oh, so I’m not allowed to enjoy myself? Does this rule also apply to yourself, brother? Could you have been ogling the Cursebreaker anymore openly?” she countered hotly, ignoring my question and trying to change the subject. “I imagine the gossip mongers in the streets will soon be taking bets on how long before the Cursebreaker charms a third High Lord into her bed.”

It was Varian who saved me from answering. “Sister, that was uncalled for, especially considering your own flirting with a High Lord was very public and heavy handed.” So he had seen it too, from wherever he had been.

“You have no room to judge,” she interrupted. “Especially after spending the evening with that silver eyed abomination.” Varian let out a sigh of irritation, but didn't answer. I glared at her.

“Cresseida, I don't know what you hoped to accomplish with this display, but—”

“I already told you,” she snapped. “I’m doing my job.” I crossed my arms, my irritation growing.

“Are you? First, you antagonize them in the dining room to the point that Rhysand is openly threatening us if you go to Tamlin. Then mere hours later, you are crawling in his lap and acting like a lovestruck girl!” I threw my hands in the air. “I told you before they arrived not to embarrass us in front of our guests, and the first thing you do is exactly that!”

She raised an eyebrow. “How am I embarrassing us?”

“By throwing yourself at the High Lord of the Night Court in front of all our guests and courtiers. The look on Feyre's face when she saw that—”

“Feyre, hmm?” she interrupted, smirking. “You're on a first name basis with the Cursebreaker now? Maybe I should throw my own coins into the betting pool. I could stand to make a lot of money I’m sure.”

“Cresseida.” I was fast losing my temper, and judging from her widened eyes, my tone must have hinted at it too.

“Tarquin, maybe we should discuss this in the morning,” Varian suggested. “We’re all tired from the day, and nothing is going to change at this hour anyway.” I slowly nodded in agreement, not taking my eyes off of my sister.

“We haven't finished this discussion,” I told her pointedly, and she nodded in understanding, the embarrassment and anger coloring her face and overpowering the makeup on her cheekbones. “You both will meet with me before breakfast in my quarters, before Varian and I meet with Rhysand and Amren for negotiations.”

“Why not after our meeting?” Varian asked curiously.

Even though I tried to remain serious, I couldn't stop a small smile from forming, that feeling from before spreading warmly through my chest. “I have somewhere to be.”

[demigodseameg16]

1. Name: Meghan but you can call me Meg or Megs!

2. Zodiac sign: Cancer

3. Height: About 5’7

4. Languages: English, some Spanish and some Latin.

5. Nationality: Even though I was born in Massachusetts I am Irish, Scottish, Italian And I might be Russian or some othe Eastern European country.

6. Favorite fruit: BLUEBERRIES!!!! Oh and pineapple and cantaloupe and apples and red grapes!

7. Favorite scent: Ocean breeze, freshly baked sugar cookies, vanilla, frosting, fallen snow, the scent of a cool night, coconut, and the scent of old books.

8. Favorite Color: Aqua, Silver, Violet, Sea Green, Emerald, Ruby Red, Gold, Lavender, Fuschia, Pink, Blue, Platinum, Royal Blue, Sapphire Blue, Icy Blue, the color of the midnight sky, the color of the galaxies, the color of stardust and Rainbow!

9. Favorite Animal: * inhales deeply * ATLANTIC BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS, ANY TYPE OF DOLPHINS, BABY EMPEROR PENGUINS, BABY HARP SEALS, ANY TYPE OF SEALS, DOGS, CATS, KITTENS, PUPPIES, LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLES, BABY WOLF PUPS, DRAGONS, PHOENIXES, UNICORNS, ORCAS, AND MORE!

10. Favorite Drink: Water, Peppermint Tea And Hot Chocolate

11. Favorite Non-MCU character: * inhales deeply * Percy Jackson, Sally Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Poseidon, Artemis, Hestia, Nico Di Angelo, Zoë Nightshade, Bianca Di Angelo, Hazel Levesque, Piper McLean, Mrs. O’Leary, Tyson, Frank Zhang, Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, Reyna, Thalia Grace, Chiron, Silena Beaugard, Beckendorf, Sadie and Carter Kane, Magnus Chase, Hearthstone, Blitzen, Alex Fierro, Samirah, Jack Frost, Nightlight, Jamie Bennett, Baby Tooth, Rapunzel, Varian, Aladdin, Genie, Evangeline (the star), Hiccup, Toothless, Harry Potter, Hagrid, Fred and George Weasley, Newt Scamander, Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley, Lily Evans, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Minerva McGonnagall, Dumbledore, Hedwig, Fawkes, Adrien Agreste, Chat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Tikki, Plagg, Crutchie, Anastasia, Steven Universe, Lapis Lazuli, Connie, Star Butterfly, Mary Poppins, The Penesieve Siblings, Bloom, Aisha, Aang, Katara, Yuë, PT. Barnum, Jean Valjean, Charity Barnum, Gavaroche, Peter Pan and a whole lot more. I might have a problem.

12. Dream Trip: Paris, France, Venice Italy, Rome, Italy, Hawaii, DISNEY WORLD, Santa’s Workshop in the North Pole ( a girl can dream )

13. When was my blog made?: Yikes...I think like last year or so...idk

14. Last Movie I saw: Coco. I cried. Again.

15. Song I could listen to forever: Once Upon a December, The Neva Flows, Crowd Of Thousands, That’s Rich, Letter from the Refugee, Friend Like Me, Prince Ali, Believe, A Million Dreams, Tightrope, This is Me, Rewrite the Stars, Do You Hear The People Sing?, I Dreamed A Dream, A Heart Full Of Love, In My Life, On My Own, The Finale of Les Mis, Hedwig’s Lament, Feed The Birds, Stay Awake, Supercalafragilisticexpealadocious, Let’s Go Fly A Kite, Step In Time, Doll on a Music Box, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Everybody Wants To Be A Cat, Edelweiss, The Hills Are Alive, Climb Every Mountain, Remember Me, The Healing Song, Havana, The Apology Song, When We’re Human, Almos There, A Good Kid, We’re Lost In The Woods, Down Here in D.O.A, Evangeline, Rockin Robin, We Go Together, Little Ship of Horrors, Everybody Talks, Lava, Poor Unfortunate Souls, Under the Sea, How Can a Moment Last Forever, Gaston, Jump in The Line, Somewhere Over The Rainbow and a whole bunch more.

16. Fav Candy: Starbursts, Kit Kats, Milky Ways, Three Musketeers, Chocolate, M&Ms, Skittles and more.

17. Fav Holiday: Christmas, then Halloween. The two most magical holidays ever.

18. Fav MCU Character: Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Loki, Tony Stark

19. Fav MCU Movie: Spider-Man: Homecoming

20. Favorite Food: Cookies, Cupcakes, Italian.

@latona-639 @ladybug-andcatnoir @mad-love-for-thegreatestshowman @flossinspector @jackfrost-guardian-of-fun @annabethisterrified @you-got-a-gay-mail

X tag game

Tagged by @uma-trohmanz

Name: Emma

Zodiac sign: Cancer 🦀

Height: 5'2 and ½

Languages: English

Nationality: American

Favorite fruit: kiwi 🥝

Favorite scent: freshly baked brownies (idek anything freshly baked ig)

Favorite color: black

Favorite animal: cat🐱

Favorite drink: strawberry and raspberry malt

Favorite non-mcu character: I don’t like/follow that stuff so🤷‍♀

Dream trip: Stonehenge

When was your blog made: Octoberish of 2017

Last movie you saw: The Conjuring

Song you can listen to forever: Either Destroya or I Don’t Care

Favorite Candy: idk what it’s called, it’s kinda like starbursts, but it’s a Polish type of candy

Favorite holiday: Christmas

Favorite MCU character: again, I don’t like/follow that stuff

Favorite MCU movie: refer to numbers 11 and 18, (don’t kill me please)

Favorite food: Auntie Anne’s pretzels

Tagging: @dot-crawling @welcometothemusicandthemisery