#she is too hungry and tired for this sort of treatment Bow

[nny11writes]

WiP Wednesday -HtQY

Instead they’d barely made it to the butcher shop before Bow squinted at both of them with deep suspicion and then a slow growing smirk. A smirk! The gall of that man!

“What?” She’d huffed, exhausted and desperate for whatever cheap cuts he had since they’d run clean out of even salt pork and potted meat a week before.

He only gave a small squeal of excitement.

Catra stared at him trying to make sense of it before looking at Glimmer. They were both a little thinner, scraggly, exhausted, and generally looked like hell. “Archer, what in the hell are you on about?”

It wasn’t until he looked pointedly down that she remembered her and Glimmer were linked arm in arm, something they hadn’t done in public in, well…damn near ten years.

“Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.” Catra barely managed to put a hint of bite into it, flushing as he laughed at her. “I’m getting a haircut, you deal with him.”

[emerald-echeveria-plant]

Baozhai's Crew

WARNING: MENTIONS OF MURDER, PROSTITUTION, AFFAIRS, DRUGS, ALCOHOL, EXPERIMENTATIONS, RACISM(?), SEXISM, UNFAIR TREATMENT, COLONIZATION, KIDNAPPING, & DEATH OF LOVED ONES

Viewer discretion advised.

(lol what did you except?)

Ex-Captain

Stede "Longbow" Bonnet

Personality: Kind, gentle, hot-tempered

Gender: Male

Age: 54 years old

Species: ???

Ethnicity: European

Looks: ???

Backstory: Before turning to a life of crime, Bonnet was a wealthy man that unfortunately went bankrupt after a storm ruined all crops and house. Seeing the successfulness of the pirating, he decided to become one too. Commissioning for a ship to be made. He then got himself a crew at a local tavern.

Bonnet was a terrifying looking man. No one knew what alien species he was. Yet, some would describe him looking like a horrific dinosaur with his sharp teeth on the outside. Nearly many pirates didn't want to interfer with him. Yet, he was a gentle giant. He never killed anyone during his piracy and instead chose to set the free after he raided all their Treasure. This earned him the nickname "the gentleman pirate". He swore to never kill anyone. That was until Baozhai joined his crew, where at times he wanted to strangle the woman to death. Bonnet would often butt heads with Baozhai because of her decision in murdering victims instead of letting them go. She didn't care for their lives and it was obvious that she enjoyed the brutality. Baozhai didn't like Bonnet because he was an ex-noble and thought he was only trying to get his precious comfortable life back. Bonnet wanted to get rid of Baozhai at times but couldn't because the crew loved her. She was charismatic, fierce, and determined when it came to pirating. Baozhai was everything that Bonnet wasn't. Unfortunately, his life came to an end when Baozhai killed him in a duel for the role of captain. He fought hard yet only managed to leave her with a mutilated face. Bonnet never wanted her to become Captain because he knew she would do horrible things.. and he was very, very right.

- Another nickname he earned was "long bow" because of how good of an archer he was.

- Bonnet may or may not be the same species of the future Captain Flint

Quartermaster

Ironbeard

Personality: unafraid, ambitious, revengeful

Gender: Male

Age: 43 years old

Species: Robot

Ethnicity: ???

Backstory: ???

Looks: ???

- Ironbeard was made to be apart of navy. They made him smart, calculated, tough, and have a bold attitude.

- The robot would be often mistreated at the navy as he was never really taken seriously and the others only saw him as a piece of equipment than a person. This made him have grudge against the navy for a very long time..

- Ironbeard joined her crew around the time Baozhai took over the role of captain. He saw an opportunity to leave behind his old life and to stick it to the navy for mistreating him.

- Ironbeard quickly rose up in the ranks from cabin boy to second mate because he proved to be much more qualified for the job than any of the other crewmates on board.

- A sort of friendship sparked between Ironbeard and Baozhai. She trusted him a lot. So much so that she even shared pieces of her life with him. Ironbeard is the only person that knows of Baozhai's past.

Gunners

Lilliana Solace & Lenny Solace

Personality: weird, quiet, secretly judging

Gender: Female. - Male

Age: 17 years old. - 17 years old

Species: Terran. Terran

Ethnicity: Swedish

Looks:

Backstory: At birth they were conjoined twins. A sister attached to her brothers side. It was a phenomena that twins of different genders could be conjoined. Scientists wanted to test and observe the children. So, her and brother were taken away from their parents in order to be experimented on. They were one of many conjoined twins that were experimented on. Yet, the only ones that survived. After years of studying the two, the doctors were finally able to tear them apart without killing one or both. It was a major success that they were able to split. Newspapers were printed out, congratulating the doctors on the success. After they were given back to their parents at the age of eleven years old. Although the twins acted abnormally strange... For days, they wouldn't speak to anyone else. Only to themselves. The twins refused to speak to their own parents. They'd have these cold, dead expressions on their faces as they whispered to each other. Their whispers were so quiet, no matter how close you got, you still wouldn't be able to hear them. Their parents grew worried and told the doctors about their behavior. Once again, they were taken back to be watched over. The twins strange behavior were observed. For a majority of the days, the twins would sit and watch the passing stars through the window they had. Lenny would point out a star as Lilliana whispered something to him. This was on repeat for several days until the doctors had enough and separate the two for a while. Even then when they were separated, the didn't answer any of the questions the doctors would ask.

"are you hungry?"

"tired?"

"are you okay?"

Nothing came out of their dry lips. That was until the final day came when they finally saw each other and the two began to speak in rhymes. It seems that the two being kept apart made a change their behavior. Perhaps keeping the two away from each other was the best thing to do... The doctors thought so. The twins, not so much. Hearing that the were to be kept apart, this time not for a short period, the made a decision then and there. The twins ran away and hopped onto the nearest ship. The ship happened to be Bonnet's ship. When finding the two children, huddled up in the corner of their supplies. After they explained their story through rhymes, Bonnet made them his cabin boys. If they didn't want to work, he'd "unfortunately" have to return them to their home planet. The two agreed to this even if they didn't really like it. For a year, they proved themselves to be capable of being pirates. They fought off enemies, stole tons of treasure, and freaked people out just by doing nothing. The twins weren't really liked or disliked amongst the crew because they were very weird and oddly quiet. Their strategy in working together by copying the act of the other like a reflection of a mirror, made them be respected amongst the crew members. Yet, the thing they were most impressive at were being gunners. After observing other pirates use the machines, they themselves began to practice using them when everyone else was asleep. The twins impressed some of the crewmates by taking out a rival pirate ship all on their own. The twins believed they were capable of handling the gunners. Bonnet didn't think so and still kept them as cabin boys. That was until Baozhai took over the role of captain and promoted the youngesters to gunners.

- Supposedly, the two can predict the future because the night before Bonnet died, the twins told him to swear an iron plate near his chest. Bonnet was obviously confused by this and ignored them... Baozhai ended up stabbing Bonnet in the heart, killing him.

First mate

Islay Lee

Personality: Aggressive, fierce, talks her own mind, and avoidant

Gender: Female

Age: 32 years old

Species: Heloderma

Ethnicity: Australian

Looks:

Backstory: Islay always lived aboard ships. From the day she was born to her very last breath. Her father was a boatswain and taught Islay all the things she'd know about the duties on a ship. Her mother was unknown and left Islay when she was a baby. Islay was very smart but never put that intelligence into school or an academy. She often got into a scuffle with other students because of her feisty behavior. Islay ended up dropping out of school at the age of ten years old. Her didn't seem to mind. As long as he had his daughter by his side, he'd be happy. When Islay turned seventeen years old, her father died from tuberculosis. She mourned his death heavily as he was her the only family. Her father's death never really left her mind. The thought of losing someone again, scared her. So, she tried to never open herself up to people. This made her very aggressive towards others, especially with those who tried flirting with her. She'd end up fighting anyone who tried to comfort her or sympathize with her. Islay didn't want to be sympathized with. She only wanted to be left alone.

Her old crew ended up kicking her out for always fighting with others. So, Islay looked around to find a new crew ship to join. This is when she came across Bonnet. He hired her on the spot for as he needed more people to join his crew. Islay never cared for Bonnet, she thought he was always too slow with his plans against merchant ships and when they were underattack, he had no idea what to do. She thought about taking over the role but never went through with it because she didn't think she was strong enough to lead. When a new member joined, Baozhai, Islay didn't like her either. Then after seeing Baozhai in action against merchant ships, Islay's dislike for her changed to tolerance. She saw the potential in her but thought she was too much of a lunatic that shouldn't even be near any in position of power...

Oh, would you look at that, Baozhai killed Bonnet and became captain. Islay continued to tolerate her but would sometimes argue with Baozhai over her decisions on planning.

- It's rumored she was in a relationship with Billy Bones and she ended the relationship after her father passed away.

Mechanic

Leonid Gorbachev

Personality: stoic, mysterious, unfriendly

Gender: Male

Age: 42

Species: Ursid

Ethnicity: Russian

Looks:

Backstory: ???

- Has an unknown backstory and wants to keep it that way.

- is a skilled mechanic that previously worked for a secret organization that ended up falling apart.

- Was the first crewmate Bonnet hired.

- Never really liked Bonnet because Leonid thought he was a weak man who didn't know what he was doing most of the time. Leonid wanted to take over the ship himself but feared the captain too much to do so.

- When Baozhai joined, he grew to like her because of her hatred for the Nobility. Leonid would often encourage her to take over the role of captain because she'd make a much better one than Bonnet. Truth be told, he wanted her to become Captain so that he could then kill her and have the role himself. He didn't go through with the plan after realizing how much treasure they were getting from Baozhai's strategic plans against the nobility.

- Fluently speaks Russian.

- Has a thick accent.

Crewmate

Fleance Bal

Personality: sarcastic, witty, ambitious, clever, and weak

Gender: Male

Age: 28

Species: Robot

Ethnicity: ???

Looks:

Backstory: Fleance was made for the single purpose to satisfy customers. As in satisfy, I mean sexually pleasure patrons that would come into brothels in exchange for payment. Fleance was one of many pleasure bots that would go on and be sold to the highest bidder. He was sold for about three-hundred gold coins. His purchaser owned a brothel. They wanted a new attraction to bring in more patrons to their brothel so they bought Fleance for that sole purpose. Pleasure bots were fairly new at the time. So, this would be a great way to bring in more money. Fleance never questioned it. As long as he made his owner happy, he never would. He was the main attraction at the brothel. Many patrons, woman or man wanted to go "for a test run" on Fleance. Fleance heavily enjoyed this attention. He liked being able to make others happy. Even if his sole purpose was to satisfy them. And only them. After years of working at the brothel, Fleance became very depressed. He grew tired of being used as a s*x toy. The thrills of pleasure made him bored. Alcohol and drug use only made him dependent on the substances for a very long time. Fleance was treated awfully at the brothel. It took him a while to notice when the other workers began to ridicule and mock him. Even his owner would treat him as such. Fleance only wanted to be treated like everyone else. Yet, he never got it in the end. That was until Bonnet walked into the brothel. The kind captain noticed Fleance crying in his private room. Never had Bonnet seen a man cry before. Yet, he felt incredibly touched by the robot after telling him his woes. Bonnet feeling sympathetic towards Fleance, gave him a way to leave his cruel life behind by joining his crew. Fleance eagerly agreed to the idea. There was one problem though... The owner of the brothel didn't want him to leave. They demanded a heavy payment if Fleance was to leave. Bonnet, threatened the owner of destroying his entire brothel if they didn't let Fleance go. The owner, terrified at this threat, finally let Fleance go.

Happy at his new freedom, Fleance dedicated to making Bonnet happy. Whether if that was through stealing treasure or rounding up more crewmates. Fleance went from crewmate to first mate in only a matter of months. Bonnet enjoyed the company of Fleance. As most of his crew members questioned his leadership, Fleance stood by his side. He always tried convincing the other crewmates that Bonnet was a great captain but they'd always dismiss him. When Baozhai aboarded the ship, Fleance could already tell she was going to be trouble. Yet, he never thought she'd kill Bonnet. Unfortunately, that was the case when she became captain. Fleance, extremely furious that she killed Bonnet, began to plan on killing Baozhai. He tried several methods like poisoning her or flat out killing her in her sleep. Unfortunately, his methods were often foiled by the quartermaster, Ironbeard. Ironbeard was not about to let Fleance murder the captain. Ironbeard would threaten him and beat him up if he even thought about it. Fleance huffed and said, "fine." It was amazing how he managed to stay apart of the crew despite him trying to kill Baozhai. Well, he still does on a few occasions try to kill her but they're always foiled by Ironbeard.

- Baozhai knows that Fleance tries to kill her but never threw him overboard because she thought his attempts were hilarious.

- Leonid gave him some upgrades with the addition of arm canons and being able to fly

Doctor

Octavia Oshima

Personality: regretful, intelligent, revengeful, compassionate, and hard-working

Gender: Female

Age: 35

Species: Cephalopid

Type: Archithan

Ethnicity: Japanese

Looks:

Backstory: Octavia is a sophisticated young woman who entered the field of medicine. She was inspired to become a doctor after her five-year-old brother died from measles. Octavia was determined to find a cure for the disease so that others wouldn't meet the same fate. She went to one of the best academies to study about medicine. Octavia struggled though as many of her peers would put her down for wanting to become a doctor. She was one of the only women in the classroom. The teachers never gave her any respect because of her species and gender. She'd be harassed while trying to get to class. No matter how hard they put her down, she was incredibly determined to become a doctor.

After years of jumping through hoops at the academy, Octavia finally graduated amongst her fellow classmates. She felt like the hard work finally paid off. She could finally work with others like herself in order to help others. Unfortunately, that's not what happened. Octavia had a hard time finding a job in her field. She was shoved aside for other doctors who they already had some connections with or those who weren't an Archithan. Having enough with this discrimination all her life, Octavia decided to work by herself if she wasn't going to be allowed to work with others. In her own spare time, Octavia tested, observed, and published her own findings. In one case she was able to find the reason why measles was caused. She worked hard to find a cure for the disease, the very same one that took her brothers life. It involved her getting it herself in order to test various cures, to see which one would work best. After months of dealing with the painful disease, she was finally able to find the cure. Octavia had her work published to the press for her amazing discovery. After the news spread like wildfire, those who had turned her away, began to finally take notice of her work. They allowed her to work alongside them... for a while. What they wanted was her work which they successful stole when she was away from home. They later went to the public, announcing they were the ones that had actually found the cure. They presented their evidence with the research Octavia worked so hard on. Octavia was framed as a fraud and a thief in the eyes of the public. When the news finally reached her, she tried hard to clear her name but the damage was already done. Octavia's reputation was ruined....

In retaliation, Octavia wanted to destroy the lives of those who had lied about her. That's when she came across a pirate named Baozhai in a tavern. Octavia had overheard Baozhai's conversation about wanting to burn down an opera house. An opera house many nobels liked to visit. After observing her for a while, Octavia came up with a plan for her revenge. She'd join Baozhai, convince her the ones that ruined her reputation were nobels, and watch them get what they deserve. And that's exactly what she did. Yet, Octavia hadn't realized the damage she would cause. Not knowing of Baozhai's brutality, she murdered the liars in the worst ways possible. Their mangled corpses were ingrained Octavia's mind as she realized what she had done. Yet, there was no turning back now. Octavia became a wanted pirate amongst the other crewmates and Baozhai. This was her life now, a life she despised.

- Octavia would often drink to forget her mistakes. This later made her become an alcoholic.

Cook

Cletus Callaway

Personality: might be a sociopath, humorous, teasing, and hard-working,

Gender: Male

Age: 30

Species: Terran

Ethnicity: European

Looks:

Backstory: Cletus grew up on Terra to a loving southern family. He never cared to going to school, so he decided to work on his family's farm to make a living. In his late teens, he met Georgia Maine. A beautiful young woman who easily wooed the young lad. It didn't take long for the two to end up in a relationship. Georgia never truly loved Cletus as she was only after his family's land. She'd have a multitude of affairs behind his back for their entire relationship. In their early twenties, the two finally got married. Cletus decided to sell his family's land at the persistence of his wife. He went off to work at a factory who is something he deeply hated. Yet, did it for his wife. Cletus was unaware of her having affairs behind his back. One day when Cletus came home earlier than usual, he came into his and his wife's room only to see his wife and her affair partner in their beds. After catching them in his bed, he proceeded to murder them both with an axe nearby. He turned himself in after committing the crime. Cletus didn't feel any guilt for what he did. So, his reasoning for turning himself in is still unknown. For a short while he was put inside an asylum before he'd sentenced to execution for his misdeeds. Although a certain asylum uprising happened, causing the patients to revolt against the doctors and the nurses. All of this was led by Baozhai who started the uprising in order to escape. She wasn't the only one to escape as Cletus and a few other patients did as well. He didn't really know what to do after he escaped. Cletus knew he'd be wanted on Terra. He left the planet before the police found out that he escaped as well. Cletus was able to leave be joining up with Bonnet's crew. Bonnet needed a cook so hired Cletus after Cletus proved he was qualified for the position. He proved it by making a rather tasty soup with very few ingredients. After traveling around a bit, Cletus immediately recognized Baozhai when she first aboarded the ship as the same person who started the asylum uprising. He quickly became close to her because he liked her ambition and psychopathic personality. Cletus saw her as a natural born leader and advised her to become the new captain.

- Cletus has a southern accent.

- It's unknown whether or not he has a mental illness.

Boatswain

Noëmie Von Marietta

Personality: Timid, polite, easily scared, talented, and organized

Gender: Female

Age: 23

Species: Canid

Ethnicity: French

Looks:

Backstory: Noëmie was one of thirteen children to Jean and Charlotte Von Marietta. The family lived a comfortable life with her father Jean being apart of the Senate on their home planet. Jean was a respectable and likeable man. He'd often put others before himself and would seek to improve the life of the people. At his time in the Senate, he wanted to put an end to the monarchy of the eitherium in order for an established government to be made. A majority of people agreed with him, even young Noëmie and a few of her family members. While her husband was away dealing with political matters, Charlotte ran an Inn with her children helping alongside her. Noëmie and her five older siblings would be waiters/waitresses and cooks. At the same time, Noëmie would go to a girls only private school along with her sisters. At school a passion for music grew in Noëmie. She'd often practice playing several instruments like piano, harp, and flute. Noëmie would even practice singing as well. She became a very skilled singer that she'd be apart of several theater shows just for others to hear her sing. Her siblings never had to pay to go to the shows though. Because they could just press their heads against her bedroom door to hear her sing. She became just as likeable as her father because of her musical talents and kindness. Jean tried convincing Noëmie to get a career in law because he wanted her to join him in the Senate. Noëmie decided against it. as much as she agreed with her father's views, she never actually wanted to be in the senate. Instead, she already made her choice in becoming apart of the musical arts. Her father was saddened but respected her choices. Later on, his two older sons would join him. At the age of eighteen years old, Noëmie became very beautiful. Many men would often ask for her hand in marriage. She'd always say no because she became overwhelmed at the many proposals. Her life truly changed when a young nobleman by the name of Jacque Levi, constantly persued her. No matter how many times Noëmie said no, Jacque continued to ask her. Noëmie didn't like Jacque because he'd often make fun of her father, his beliefs, and he'd never leave Noëmie alone. Jean having enough of Jacque's bullshit, wrote him a letter to knock it off or he'd challenge him to a gun duel. The two men never really liked each other as Jacque supported the continuation of the monarchy while Jean didn't. It didn't help that Jacque would make unflattering remarks of Jean whenever he was around. When Jacque received the letter, he decided he did want to duel Jean..

At the break of dawn near a channel, the two men prepared for the gun duel. Most people believed Jean would win because he was an experienced soldier. When they turned their backs and stepped ten steps forward. They turned and a shoot was fired... Shockingly, Jean was the one bleeding to death. He was quickly taken to the hospital but it had already been too late. He passed away before the doctors could help him. His family mourned his death. Yet, the one who mourned the most was Noëmie. She felt guilty because she felt as though it was her fault for his death. Noëmie would spend days locked away in her room, crying. Her two older brothers, angered that Jacque killed their father, challenged Jacque on separate occasions. Sadly, the first older brother met the same fate as his father. The second brother had to have his eye replaced with that of a cyborg one. Jacque became heavily disliked on their home planet. Yet, the people could do nothing as Jacque had connections with the royals. Seeing this as a win, Jacque tried asking Noëmie again for her hand I. Marriage. When no one was home, Noëmie let him inside in order to "discuss" the proposal. Instead of having a civil discussion, what happened was Noëmie bashing Jacque's head in with a piece of fine china. After the adrenaline of anger washed over her, Noëmie was shocked she killed someone. Her mother and her two older sisters walked into house, seeing Noëmie in a frozen state with a dead body nearby. Not wanting her daughter to go to jail or be sentenced to death, Charlotte and her other older sons threw the dead body over a cliff. They managed to hide the evidence and made it seem like an accident. It seemed like all was well but Noëmie's paranoia caused her to spill the beans. Now everyone knew what truly happened to Jacque. The royals, angered at this, wanted Noëmie to be hung. Once again, not wanting her daughter to be killed, Charlotte paid a man called Cletus Callaway to have Noëmie board the ship he was on and take her far, far away. Cletus, happily bribed, agreed and snuck Noëmie on board. It didn't take long before Baozhai found out that there was an unwanted person on her ship. Just as Baozhai was to brutally murdered Noëmie, Noëmie fell to her knees and recounted her sorrow tale to the brutal captain. Instead of feeling sympathy, Baozhai was impressed at what she had done. Baozhai decided to allow Noëmie to be on board the ship as long as she worked and participated in their pirating.

- Noëmie would write letters to her family about her well-being and the adventures she had.

- Noëmie tries to be a good pirate but would often be frightened at killing someone. Baozhai encouraged her to do so by reminding her of their deal.

Cabin boy

Archie Mulligan

Personality: cocky, mischievous, greedy, trickster, unhonest

Gender: Male

Age: 15

Species: Ailurus

Ethnicity: ???

Looks:

[POV: He sees your wallet]

Backstory: Archie was put in an orphanage on Terra when his home planet was invaded and taken over by another alien race. He was only three years old when he lost his family to the invaders. Ships were able to take people off the planet while the invasion was going on. Yet, space was very limited on board. His family couldn't board because there was barely any room left. That they could only got one more person. So, his mother put him on board in order to give him a life that she never could. Archie was one of few people to have been extremely lucky to escape the planet when they could. The rest that were left behind were either slaughtered or kept as slaves. At the orphanage, Archie was adopted by Susan Mulligan, the woman who ran the orphanage. She adored his cuteness and decided to make the boy her son. Susan loved him so much that she spoiled Archie rotten.

She gave him whatever he wanted. New clothing, sweets, and toys. ANYTHING. Because of her spoiling him, Archie became a "bit" of a brat. He'd throw a tantrum if he didn't get what he wanted. Archie would steal other children's things. Especially at the orphanage. He'd often be protected by his mother by pleading innocence. His mother would often believe him and punish the other children who tattled on him. This made the orphans hate Archie and refuse to interact with him. Archie never really had any friends growing up. At the age of thirteen years old, Archie began to steal more than just toys and treats but money as well from unsuspecting adults. The lad had sneaky fingers and would steal jewelry and precious items from anyone and everyone. After becoming skilled at stealing from others, he began to do it so often, he never really had a use for any of the items he stole. He only stole just for the sake of stealing. Unfortunately karma would hit him in the face, when Susan went to clean Archie's room, she noticed all the things he had stolen. From jewelry to bags of gold coins and even her own belongings, Susan became enraged. So enraged, she kicked out the thirteen year old.

Now that he was homeless, Archie relied on his thievery. He wasn't as successful like the last times as people would chase him off for trying to steal from them. Yet, he continued to try because he didn't know how to get a job. Although when he managed to steal something, it was quickly stolen by someone bigger than him. Archie's consequences finally dawned on him when he had to sleep outside in the cold. It led to him crying because of how miserable and tired he was. Although, Archie was able to get scraps of food by people who pitied the boy. After a year of being homeless, Archie tried to steal once again from someone at a tavern. Except, he was stealing from the wrong person. That person being Baozhai. Baozhai noticed her bag of money being pulled out from her pocket by the little red panda. She immediately grabbed Archie by the back of his neck and held him up. Baozhai mocked the boy for trying to steal from her. She took out her dagger and threatened to cut off his hands for being a petty thief. Archie begged her not to do it. Begging he would do anything to stop her from hurting him. Intrigued by this offer, Baozhai agreed to this. She ended up taking aka kidnapped Archie aboard her ship. Baozhai made him a cabin boy and he wasn't allowed to leave unless her say so. Archie hated Baozhai for having him work. He never worked a day in his life! How was he supposed to figure out what he was doing? Baozhai simply told him to figure it out. It took him a while to learn what he had to do but finally got the hang of it. For a while Archie hated being on the ship but realized all the good things about being on a pirate ship. He got to witness action, he actually had a place to sleep, and got a meal once in a while. Archie began to enjoy to live on the pirate ship even if it came with lots of work. He learned to not be a spoiled brat from his experience of being homeless. At fifteen years old, Baozhai began to let him take part of the pirating. Which allowed him to get a share of the riches. Baozhai decided to use Archie for other things as well... Because he was small, fast, and sneaky, she used him to pull pranks against her enemies and steal plans. Archie, went from hating Baozhai to viewing her as a mother figure.

- Octavia would often take Archie somewhere else on the part of the ship when Baozhai was torturing someone to death. Archie knew what was happening by simply hearing the screams. He gladly never actually full on witnessed Baozhai doing these horrible acts.

(Also I would love to thank @aalbliii for letting me use her creation of the Cephalopid and ideas for Octavia!!❤️❤️❤️❤️ Thanks bud! I REALLY, REALLY appreciate it🥺🥺🥺😍😍😍 (つ ◜‿◝ )つ❤️)

[skyemak]

Rumor goes around Yuu has been absent and sick from school the last few days…

Ruggie at first thought little of Yuu’s absence during the first and second day. However, by the time the third day rolled around, he wouldn’t admit it, but he felt a bit…concerned. Growing up in the slums, he’s seen first-hand what a small cold can turn into after a few days. As he sat crossed-armed in the cafeteria during lunch, he was sitting, lost in thought. The tips of his ears pointed out as he pondered to himself.

“Hey, Ruggie,” a sudden voice growled.

The hyena’s ears perked up in surprise and he quickly faced towards Leona across from him. “W-What is it?”

“Why are you spacing out?” Leona snarled, looking impatient. “I told you to get me sauce for my ribs.”

“Aye, Leona!” the hyena stood up with his usual happy-to-please smile before making his way to the sauce counter.

Before the lunch period ended, Ruggie was making his way toward the men’s room when just before turning a corner, he caught the sound of Ace, Deuce, and Grim talking in the hallway.

“Awww man,” Ace sighed. “Just how long is her cold gonna be?”

“You’re telling me,” Grim’s shoulders drooped. “They expect so much from me when Yuu isn’t here.”

“Aren’t you two concerned for Yuu? She doesn’t seem sickly type,” Deuce said.

“Yeah, but the headmaster’s been asking us to catch her up on the notes,” Ace protested. “I’m tired of writing everything down.”

Deuce crossed his arms, “Maybe if someone else had legible handwriting we’d be able to split the work up more evenly.”

Grim snickered to himself, “Not my fault my paws can’t write!” Deuce and Ace sighed exasperatedly.

“Should we visit her after school to check on her?” Deuce proposed.

“Nah,” Ace waved his hand dismissively. “You saw her text saying not to visit. She doesn’t want us to get sick from whatever she’s dealing with.”

Deuce grabbed his chin in thought, “I suppose that’s true… Grim, how has she been?”

“Hmm,” Grim crossed his arms and looked up. “She’s just been in bed. Yuu’ll get up if she has to use the bathroom or something.”

“What has she had to eat?” Ace asked.

“I don’t know,” Grim shrugged.

“Grim, you haven’t been checking to see if she’s been eating properly?!” Deuce exclaimed.

“Tch,” Ruggie frustratingly responded, still by listening in. They’re not even checking on her? What if she gets worse?

Ruggie continued to listen to their conversation and was growing more agitated. Without warning, the hyena felt a large hand pat at his shoulder. He flinched and his ears sprang up in response. When he turned around to see who it was, he saw Jack looking down at him earnestly. “W-What do you want?” he asked.

“You know,” Jack began, “no one’s stopping you from visiting Yuu after school if you’re so worried.”

“Huuuh?” Ruggie placed a hand on his hip. “Why would I be concerned about that human prey?”

“Well, for one you were staring at the table she usually sits.” Ruggie flinched.

“Two, you’re eavesdropping the others as they’re talking about her, looking irritated.”

“S-So?” Ruggie averted his gaze.

Jack crossed his muscular arms. “I’ve heard when humans get sick, they’ll place a cool damp rag on their forehead to cool them down. Some cultures will feed them something called ‘chicken-noodle soup’ or ‘rice porridge’. They also have sorts of potions they take to help treat symptoms of a cold too. The school store might have some useful stuff.”

“Why are you telling me this?” he furrowed his brows. “I didn’t say I was going to visit her.”

Jack smirked a bit to himself. “Heh, just talking to myself.” He turned around and walked away. Ruggie crossed his arms and frowned to himself. That Jack better start minding his own business…

“Oh, Ruggie,” Deuce voice came from the corner behind him. He jolted slightly and turned to them. “Oh, hi, wazzup?” he placed his hand on the back of his head. “Gonna visit Yuu after school?” Ruggie slipped. Ahhhhh why did I just ask that?!

“Oh, you heard us talking?” Deuce said.

“Not today,” Ace replied casually.

“We were gonna wait one more day to check on her if necessary,” Deuce finished.

“I-I see…” Ruggie trailed off.

“Hey! Let’s go see if there’s any leftover goodies! Sometimes they sell leftovers at half-price!” Grim shouted, starting to fly away.

“Hey, Grim, stop!” Ace started to run after them.

“Oh, excuse us, Ruggie,” Deuce quickly gave a short bow to Ruggie before jogging off himself.

Ruggie watched them as they went, then sighed heavily to himself. “Why would I visit that dumb human…?”

---

“IN STOCK!” Sam exclaimed. “Why hello there, more errand shopping for your dorm leader?”

Ruggie found himself in the school store. The shelves were filled to the brim with a number of different products as usual, but he wasn’t sure where to start.

“Uh, not today…” the hyena answered, absently looking away. “I’m just…looking for something for myself…”

“Well look around! Your business is always welcome!” Sam smiled.

“Y-Yeah…”

Ruggie wondered around the store shelves, scanning over what may be useful. He started at the medicinal potion area, glancing at the different treatments they promise. Some mentioned reducing nausea, some helping fever, some helping nasal drip…

He wasn’t sure which would work the best, so he snatched a general cold medicine pack that claimed to help multiple symptoms. Ruggie kept it close to his body, looking around the store to make sure none of his classmates saw him. Figuring that was good enough, he started to stroll to the counter. At his right, he saw a small section of canned goods on the shelf. From the corner of his eye, he saw a soup can labelled “chicken-noodle soup”. At the soup, he narrowed his eyes in consideration, then glanced at the medicine already in his hand. His ears lowered as he thought to himself. Medicine or soup? Both? Which is better for humans? It’d be too expensive to get both so which one…

It’s just for some human anyway…

She’s lucky to just get anything from him…

Nah, maybe I should just drop the idea, put the medicine back and head home…

…

…

“Medicine and soup today?” Sam confirmed as he placed the items in a small paper bag. “That’ll be 800 madol.” He folded over the paper bag and pushed it towards Ruggie. The hyena begrudgingly opened his wallet and calmly handed over the cash. Sam looked at the money, a bit confused at first. “What?” Ruggie asked leaving his arm extended. Sam only smiled in response and took the cash. “Come again!”

Ruggie clutched the bag quickly and beelined for the door. As he made his walk to the Ramshackle dorm, grumbling to himself about how expensive it was, he made a realization and stopped in his tracks.

“I forgot to haggle him!!” Ruggie screamed, ruffling his hair in frustration.

---

Ruggie stood at the Ramshackle dorm doorstep, mulling over if he should knock or just sneak inside. Yuu may not answer since it sounded like her fever was acting up, but he also didn’t want to deal with that furball. Eventually he relented and lightly knocked at the front door with his back knuckles. Lightly enough that it was barely audible, so if he were caught sneaking in, he could technically say he did knock. After a few seconds of silence, he twisted the doorknob open and stealthily made his way inside.

Should I check if she’s awake first?

He took a few steps inside and realized: this was his first time at Ramshackle dorm. He has no idea where Yuu, or anything else is. Well, he made it this far...

Ruggie stepped into the hallway discreetly to first look for Yuu’s room. He could first prepare the soup, but if she were sleeping then there would be little point to start with that. The hyena looked toward the first open door down the hallway to peek inside. At the sound of a toilet flushing down the hall, one of his ears faced toward it before his eyes glanced the same direction. Ruggie panicked a bit over what he should do. Is it Grim? Yuu? Should he hide? Wouldn’t that be suspicious though? Before he could come to a decision, the next door down creaked open, and out stepped Yuu. She was in her pajamas with a small throw blanket around her shoulders. Her face looked flushed from the fever, and she looked exhausted, but she could still make out his figure.

“Rug…gie…?” Yuu’s bare feet over the wooded floor made small thud noises as she strolled her way over to him.

“Uh, no,” Ruggie stammered, looking away from her to come up with a non-embarrassing excuse. “I was just asked to uh, check on you! Yeah that! No one’s seen you in a while and that Grim is pretty unreliable when it comes to this and—”

Thud.

Ruggie’s eyes shot back in front of him, and he found Yuu had fallen down to one of her knees. She leaned on one of her hands to keep her upright, but her breathing was heavy.

“Hey, you idiot!” Ruggie exclaimed, dropping down to a knee to find her face flushed. “You’re burning—why did get out of bed?” The hyena grabbed the arm that wasn’t supporting Yuu and wrapped it around his shoulders, helping her to her feet.

“Toi…let…” she muttered.

“Let’s just get you back to bed,” he started walking down the hall, then paused, “…where is your bedroom?”

---

About 10 minutes after Yuu had collapsed, Ruggie managed to find her bedroom and get her tucked back into bed. He managed to find a small cloth in the bathroom to dampen and place at her forehead. After placing it on her, Ruggie made a sigh of relief when her breathing calmed down. Yuu appeared to have fallen asleep. Glancing around the room, he saw dust on the window and the floor. No wonder she hasn’t been getting better.

He took the initiative to find a broom and other spare cloth in the old dorm building and tidy up her room a bit. It was a quick sweep-through of the room, but he nonetheless stood at the doorway with the broom and his chest stuck out to admire the great job he did. From Yuu’s bed, Ruggie heard a weak moan.

“Hrgh…Hungry…” she mumbled. Ruggie remembered the paper bag he set by her bed and went to fetch the canned soup from it.

“Yuuuuuu! I got some frozen pizza. It’s meat lovers—” Grim appeared at the doorway, holding a frozen pizza box. “Ruggie? What are you doing here?”

Ruggie flinched and turned around toward Grim. “Pizza?” he marched toward Grim. “You’re feeding a sick girl pizza?”

“It’s got a whole bunch of meat though!” Grim protested. “Oh, it looks clean in here. Yuu, did you get bored and clean?” he started to head towards Yuu.

“It was me, furball!” Ruggie grabbed the broom he had earlier to present to him.

“Furball?!” Grim turned around, “I’ll have you know—”

Yuu made a weak, annoyed groan. Not wanting to bother the sick girl, Ruggie grabbed Grim, exiting the room, and shutting the bedroom door. The hyena heaved a sigh.

“…Does this mean I get the pizza to myself?” Grim meekly asked.

“Hey, show me to your microwave. Apparently, I have to warm up this soup,” Ruggie gestured to the can in his hand.

“We don’t have any appliances like that.”

“What? Then how do you warm up your food?”

Grim smirked, “With my fire magic of course! It took a few burnt pizzas to get it right though…”

Ruggie pointed down his ears, pinching the bridge of his nose frustratingly, pointing his head toward the floor.

Grim looked as he remembered something. “Oh, Ruggie, you still haven’t mentioned why you’re here!”

“Furball, show me where ya got some soup bowls and warm this up for me.”

“Nah?! Why should I?!”

“’Cause if you don’t,” Ruggie put on a mischievous grin and looked down towards Grim, placing his hands at his hips, “I’ll use my unique magic to force you to slap Leona behind the head and leave you—”

Suddenly the door beside them creaked open. Grim and Ruggie both flinched and froze in place as Yuu stood there, rubbing her eye with her fist sleepily. She moved past them and started making her way down the hallway, muttering something about food, before collapsing on the floor again.

“Oh, she fell again,” Grim said matter-of-factly.

“Again?!” Ruggie yelled, running towards Yuu.

---

With some effort, Ruggie was able to return Yuu to her bed with the same damp cloth on her forehead. Following some…heavy persuasion from Ruggie, Grim used his fire magic to warm up the soup. When the hyena returned to Yuu’s room, bowl of soup in his hands, he found Yuu sitting upright on her bed.

“Yo,” he smiled, “got ya some food.”

Yuu glanced at Ruggie as he strolled over to her. There was a bit of a glazed look in her eyes, either from the fever, falling over twice, or a combination of both. He sat down near the foot of her bed and gestured the bowl towards her, expecting her to grab it. Yuu simply looked down at the bowl then back at him, expectantly.

“What?” Ruggie asked, after a pause. She again glanced down at the bowl, then back to him. He sighed, knowing exactly what she wanted him to do.

“Fine,” he mumbled, getting a spoonful from the bowl. and gesturing it to her mouth. Yuu opened her mouth joyfully in anticipation. She seemed to enjoy the taste, putting Ruggie a bit at ease. After she ate each spoonful, the hyena would quickly return the spoon to the bowl with a slight clang noise from the spoon and bowl contacting each other. Following a few spoonful’s, Ruggie noticed Yuu looking up at something. At first he thought nothing of it, but at the next spoonful, she didn’t break her gaze as she opened her mouth. This caused a bit of the broth to drip down her chin.

“Hey,” Ruggie said sternly, gripping the cuff of his sleeve to wipe her face.

“No~” Yuu protested weakly, breaking her gaze, and moving away from his sleeve. “It’ll get dirty.”

“It’s fine. I’ll be doing laundry later anyway.” He leaned forward to finish wiping her face. Yuu looked down with a pout but didn’t give any further protests.

“Cute,” he thought to himself, then flinched away in realization. “Oh, I also got you medicine!” Holding the bowl, he Ruggie leaned towards the table by Yuu’s bed to grab the paper bag with the medicine he bought before. He removed a small vial and presented it to her.

“I don’t wanna,” she whined.

“Wha?” Ruggie asked, surprised by her blunt response.

“It’s probably gross.”

“Do you know how much I spent on—” he cut himself off and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Please, just take it.” Ruggie sighed.

Yuu glanced up at his head and muttered, “I will if you let me touch your ears…”

“Huh?” he looked towards Yuu. She quickly looked down to avoid his gaze, with a slight embarrassed blush swept over her cheeks. Ruggie reflexively blushed a bit himself. He looked down at the vial in his hand. He did spend money on it, and touching his ears wasn’t hurting anything…

After a pause, he looked off to the side still with a light pink over his cheeks. “If you take it, I’ll let you touch them after eating,” he mumbled nervously. Yuu’s eyes lit up. She leaned towards Ruggie, “Really?”

Ruggie tilted a bit away from her involuntarily, not expecting her to get that close. “Yes, now take it!”

Yuu drank up the medicine in one gulp and stuck her tongue out due to its bitter taste. Ruggie couldn’t help but snicker, but still offered her a spoonful of soup to quickly get rid of the bad taste in her mouth. She happily leaned forward to accept the spoon.

“By the way, Ruggie,” Yuu started. The medicine seemed to have an immediate effect and she  seemed more attentive. “Why did you come to visit? Did the Headmaster send you?” Yuu took another spoonful Ruggie directed towards her.

“Uh…” The hyena tried to think on his feet. “Yeah… I just  so happen to be in his line-of-sight, so he asked me to check on you…”

“Oh, I see.”

Ruggie nodded to himself, happy she accepted the lie. He took one last spoonful from the bowl for Yuu.

“Let’s just go with that then,” Yuu stated before accepting the spoon.

“What?” Ruggie asked. Yuu just giggled in reply and pointed at his head.

“Lemme touch your ears now,” she smiled. Ruggie stared at her in disbelief. She saw past his lie. Giving up and feeling embarrassed, Ruggie dejectedly tilted down his head, leaning over to her with his arms to support his weight. It was a convenient bargain now, since it allowed the hyena to hid is flushed face. Yuu took no time to touch Ruggie’s ears and playfully stroke them.

“So soft~” she said gleefully. Yuu’s touch was gentle and sweet. She didn’t tug or try to flip them inside-out, as some curious children had done in the past. She just lightly caressed them with a dumb, happy smile on her face. Ruggie found it surprisingly soothing, his eyes shutting calmly. Gradually, any tension inside of him began to melt away.  His arms he used as support grew more relaxed, and he leisurely let himself lay his head by her lap. Yuu took the opportunity to use her fingers to also stroke through his hair, along with lightly caressing his ears. She presumed he was just exhausted. Day in and day out, Ruggie had to do so much for Leona on top of his tasks as a regular student. Yet, he took the time out of his day to come visit her while she was sick. Yuu smiled down at him affectionately, continuing her sweet touch.

At the brink of falling asleep, Ruggie realized what position he was in and shot up, almost falling off the bed. “Uh,” he looked at her with a tomato red face. Most likely, he felt embarrassed. “Well,” he stood up, grabbing the bowl. Yuu looked up at him curiously. The hyena fumbled through his words, “I should get going! I hope you feel better tomorrow enough to go to school!” He beelined for the door, but Yuu managed to tell him, “See you tomorrow,” before he left the room.

The next morning, Ruggie strolled into his classroom and noticed something at his desk. Stepping closer, he  saw it was a small folded over paper bag. Written on it were the words, “Thank you”, along with a doodled on smiley face. He picked it up from his desk and peeked inside. “Idiot…,” he chuckled to himself weakly. From the bag, Ruggie pulled out a small cake donut and took a bite.

[inthispagewestanikon]

GD scenario - pt1

I decided to divide this into parts because it’d be too long, but I hope you enjoy it :)

After returning  from the military it was well know that Jiyong was taking a break from his career and enjoying life as he pleases. So, like other nights he got ready and went out to drink with his friends.

The bar they met up was very underground and owned by an old friend so he could trust that none of what he did in there would leak to media, which was hungry for News. It was almost 5 am when the group decided to call it quits.

“Ya jiyong-ah, call a taxi” one of the noonas suggested.

“I am not that fuck up, I can drive” He answered laughing.

“Ya, I am your noona, listen to me” She said while jokingly hitting his head.

The others in the group each called a taxi, but Jiying insisted on driving his expensive car home.

“Your manager can pick it up tomorrow first thing, jus take the fucking cab” His hyung said as Jiyong kept walking away towards his car and just waved his hand as an answer.

GD’s POV

I got inside the car and sat there for a while. I was not that drunk, at this point in life I could handle alcohol pretty well, but I was a bit sleepy because also, at this point in life, I’m 30 years old so I can’t handle long nights.

I started the engine and it revved, this car was a precious item I owned and I was just not going to leave it here in this dark ass neighbourhood. I started driving and making my way home, I turned on the radio and was jamming to the song playing when I realized I was driving towards my old house.

“Fuck, I’m still not used to the new route” I cursed while I had to turn around and drive for even longer now.

I used to live at Seongsu-dong  and now I live in Hannam it wasn’t that distant, not when you have a car, specially a fast one like this, butI still had to drive back. I decided to stop complaining and just drive, it was getting lighter outside, meaning the sun was going to rise any minute now and my eyes were getting heavier and heavier. My blinks were longer and I just wanted to get home and sleep the rest of the day.

In order to get to Hannam-dong you need to cross the bridge and I could already see it but I don’t know what happened next because everything just went dark.

I woke up and there sirens all over and those blue lights shinning, I blinked a few times trying to make sense of what was happening, I tried to look down but I had something around my neck that prevented me from doing so, I was laying on a stretcher and it downed on me.

Fuck, fuck, fuck I hit my car...

As my eyes were closed and I cursed myself internally I heard my managers voice and opened them. He was by my side talking to the paramedics but I couldn’t hear much because I was still a bit out of it.

“Ya, open your eyes you idiot.” He said.

“I’m hurt, don’t you think you should be nicer?” I replied while opening my eyes.

“Why didn’t you just take a taxi, I said I’d get the car first thing” He complained “Aigoo, look at you, all hurt, you’re Lucky you only broke a leg” He sighed and walked away to answer his ringing phone.

Now that he mentioned my broken leg I actually started to feel the pain and to be honest, it fucking hurted, I really am an idiot. And, worst than breaking a leg or busting my cari s the fucking press talking about me drinking and driving, for fuck sake. Thank God I didn’t hurt nobody...

I was quickly rushed to the hospital as soon as we heard the press was coming and the whole time inside that ambulance I kept thinking about how annoying it’d be dealing with this, specially for the managing team.

The ambulance stopped at the emergency entrance and the doctors were waiting for me, they pulled the stretcher out and started shinning lights in my eyes and asking me questions, honestly it was hard to process all that, I’m pretty sure I still have alcohol running on my blood system and I haven’t slept.

As I was being rushed to a private room and all those doctors were up on me, one feminin voice suddenly said:

“Can everyone just back off?”  silence “If you keep getting all up on him like this he’ll probably die suffocated” I swear I would laugh at that comment if the “he” she mentioned wasn’t me and my whole body wasn’t starting to ache like a bitch. However, I did silently thank her, whoever she was.

Ji ae’s POV

I was working a double shift today, being a resident is tiring but I did choose this job. I was at the resting room making some ramen after checking on a patient who had heart surgery earlier today when I was paged to the emergency. I left the ramen there and just ran off, I was really hungry and all that went through my mind is that the noodles were going to be all soggy when I come back.

“What happened?” I asked as soon as I got there.

“Car accident. Male, 31 years old, fractured leg and possible concussion” The nurse described. “Ya, apperently it’s a celebrity, a really famous one” She added and I nodded, still thinking about my noodles.

Few minutes later the ambulance pulled up and we went closer to get him out and since news travel fast, everyone knew it was a celebrity and the order was to rush him to a private room in the VIP area.

When we pulled the stretcher out you could hear the gasp coming out of the nurses and doctors mouth.

“Ya, it’s Gdragon” one pointed out and all I could hear was everyone repeating this same sentence over and over.

We entered the hospital and we needed to be quick, so usually we start acessing the patient while he is being moved but since this was Gdragon every doctor wanted to check on him and ask questions and I couldn’t take that anymore.

My day had been hell, I assisted on a heart surgery that lasted over 5 hours and had to stay the night so I could check on the patient plus I had to study for the exam AND I couldn’t eat my ramen.

“Can everyone just back off?” I said loud enough for everyone to turn their attention to me “If you keep getting all up on him like this he’ll probably die suffocated” and then everyone just kind of backed off.

“Ok, so if are not from the neurology team, the GS team or a nurse then you can leave the room” I added and watched as 5 or 6 people left the room. “Alright, let’s get to work” I finished and we all started working.

A bunch of tests were done and his cognitive functions were normal, his heart was fine too, only the leg was broken and his ribs probably hit the steering wheel when the crash happened because there were signs of bruising around that area.

All the procedures were properly done, his leg was casted and we put him under some morfine due to the bruises on his ribcage area, those are going to get really dark and sore by tomorrow. Finally, he got some rest and we could get too.

When I left the room in order to talk to his team they seemed to have found me first.

“Hello! You must be Dr. Jang Ji Ae.” A man approached me.

“Yes, it’s me” I bowed back. “You must be Mr. Kwon’s manager” I said.

“Yes, correct” He smiled “So how’s he?” He asked and I could see some other people behind him, they all seemed older than him but none old enough to be his parents.

“He’s stable. His wounds were easily treatable and he should be fine. Right now he’s under morfine due to the pain, but don’t worry, as soon as he wakes up you can all see him. Also, there were no concussions meaning his cognitive abilities were untouched” After I finished my monologue they all smiled, thankful that he was good.

“Thank you so much Dr” They thanked me and the man who approached me first got closer.

“Dr, could we speak in private, please?” He asked and I nodded.

“Yes, let’s go this way” I showed him the way “Excuse me” I said to the rest of the group after walking away.

I took him to the Dr’s lounge and offered him to seat.

“So, Dr. Jang, you must already know by the blood test results that our Jiyong was under the influence of alcohol when he was driving and since he’s a public figure I’d like to ask you and the rest of the team that treated him to not give any interviews or realease informations regarding his treatment or test results” He politely asked “I already solicited a meeting with the hospital’s director and will ask him the same thing, anyhow, I wanted to talk to you about this so nothing gets released before I can do so” He added.

“Yes, of course. I will call a meeting with everyone that was caring for Mr. Kwon  and will make sure no information is leaked. However, I cannot control the whole hospital, maybe the Director can, but you can count that the team responsible for him will not leak out any sort of information” I stated and he seemed please, not entirely, but oh well...

[countessmorgasson]

Life of Luxury

Angsty scene featuring my newly created OC! I’m most likely going to use this scene in a longer fic, but I figured I could put a snippet out if anyone’s curious :)

(Disclaimer: Female MC, based on Lucio’s route)

A year after the devil’s defeat, plans for the next masquerade fall into place. Oliviette is temporarily living in the palace as a stand in for Nadia who has a matter to settle in Prakra before the celebration.

I can let my cloak hood down once I reach the palace. What a relief. As I enter through the main hall, I sneak a peek into the first room- the salon. Nobody is there. I think back to the meetings I had here with Nadia, the first countess. I truly hope she’ll be home soon. 

A few days ago, Nadia stopped by the shop- just like she had the first time I ever met her. She informed me that she had to rush back to her homeland to settle a... private matter. That’s all she would say, I remember.  Of course, she wouldn’t leave Vesuvia completely under Lucio’s control. She assured me of that, and despite the uncomfortable feeling I felt when she went on about his lack of responsibility... I had to agree. It was too soon, not just for him, but for Vesuvia.  Before I know it, I’ve been granted access to the palace for the rest of the week while Nadia returns to Prakra. 

Living at the palace does have it’s upside, of course- in many ways, but Vesuvia doesn’t feel quite the same without our honorable countess.

I catch myself wondering if she decided to leave Vesuvia now, that we’ve begun preparations for the masquerade. I couldn’t blame her if she had.  We all know how last year went...

I shake my head, freeing myself of those memories. It was over now. This year will be... a real celebration.

I enter the kitchen, watching one of the cooks stumble against the wall in shock. 

“Oh, um... Oliviette!” He bows, to my embarrassment. “What brings you to the kitchen? Are you hungry? We haven’t finished supper but we can surely fix you something-“

“Please,” I blush. I’m still not used to this treatment. “I only came to hand you this.” I reach into my bag and pull out a small container. I press it into the cook’s hand, watching as he inspects the jar curiously.

“It’s mint. I’d like to make mint chocolate cookies for the masquerade.”

“Absolutely, miss. We can-“

“Actually... I’d like to make them myself. At least one batch.”

The cook’s eyes widen once more.

“We can’t ask you to cook- and on the day of the masquerade, no less! You’re a friend of the palace- and-” I gently wave the thought away, smiling through my discomfort. I’m not used to being treated like... well, like Nadia, I suppose. 

“I look forward to it.”

I exit the kitchen, despite the cook’s confusion. I stroll down the hallway, hearing someone’s boots clack against the tile flooring.

Finally, a familiar face beams at me from across the hall.

“Julian?” I stroll quickly to catch up to him, watching his famous smile break out as I approach. I’m tempted to hug him, but it feels kind of weird to do that in these halls. We’re both here as professionals. I decide to settle for a beaming smile. “Long time no see! How was your study abroad?”

Dr. Julian Devorak was now the official physician for the court. Just recently he embarked on a trip to Romania for a lecture by the world renowned Franklin Deveere, master of the arts and sciences.

“Oliviette.” Julian bows with a dramatic swish of his black cape, and for a minute I forget where I am. I scoff.

“Come on. Don’t be so formal.”

“Formal? Don’t take yourself so seriously, dear. Look at yourself! You’re practically the Countess of Vesuvia! Even if it’s for a week. I heard about you helping the palace out once again.”

I feel my neck and ears begin to burn at the thought of being considered anything like a countess. It almost felt unfair to think it. “Tell me about your trip.” I wave off what he said. Julian starts out with a conflicted expression, but eventually he melts into a polite smile.

“I had an amazing time in Romania! Deveere and I are much alike, I’ll have you know. In fact, we became quite friendly. The things that man has seen... I may never tire of his stories.”

“I’m glad to hear it- and I’m so excited you’ll be here for the masquerade! I never realized how taxing it was to plan it.” I beam, but Julian settles into a forced smile by now.

“I forgot that it was happening this year.”

Not again. He must have seen my face fall.

“I mean, that’s sort of why I’m here,” I admit. 

Was it wrong of me, after everything that happened, to be excited about the masquerade? I never really got to attend one. I don’t think last year counts. If I had been to one before, I wouldn’t remember it. 

“I’m sorry, Oliviette,” Julian winces. “I just can’t help but feel... odd, at the thought of the masquerade being held again.”

I nod glumly, knowing I’m taking his concerns more personally than I should be. 

“I understand... I just... this time, it’ll be done right. It'll all go well. No arcana, no creepy spells... just music, food and the people of Vesuvia. I’m personally overseeing a lot of the main attractions. This is kind of... my project.”

Mine and Lucio’s that is, but I don’t think that’ll make it any better for him.

Julian nods with a smile, but I still feel hurt.

“You’re too much of a thespian to fake a smile like that.”

He apologies again.

“It’s okay. Just... tell me what you’d like to see at the masquerade, I’ll make it happen! Fire dancing? Exotic animals? Oh- we could have the barkeeps from the Rowdy Raven come and-“

“No.” Julian blushes feverishly. “Excuse me. I don’t mean to be brash, but... I would prefer not to.”

I feel my heart sink.

“Does that mean you’re not coming either?”

“Either?”

“I spoke to Asra earlier today. Based on our conversation, I doubt he’ll be stepping foot in the palace anytime soon.”

Julian thinks on what I’ve said for a moment, but the way he looks at me brings back that lead in my stomach. He’s choosing his words carefully- that usually means he’s going to hurt me.

“Oliviette... I don’t think you realize how painful this is for Asra.” He admits. I feel another blush on my cheeks, thinking about my old friend.  I’ve only been in the palace about a week, but my relationship with Asra... took a bit of a turn, a long time ago. 

Last year, in fact. 

“What? That’s not fair,” I huff.

“I...I’m just telling you what I think.”

“If anyone should be hurt, it’s me!” I can’t stop the words from coming out. “Asra was supposed to be my best friend-”

I cut myself off. Julian’s heard this a thousand times. Even so, he bows his head in shame. He doesn’t speak- he’s trying to remain diplomatic.

“You don’t agree with me?”

“Oliviette...” he sighs painfully, turning his mask over in his gloved hands. I didn’t see it before. It was new- sleek and black, with the sharp beak similar to a raven’s. It sends me back to my first time meeting Julian- his long, sharp mask nearly scaring the life out of me that night in the shop. Those memories feel like an entire different lifetime.

I sigh bitterly. My own friends watch their words so carefully around me these days. Don’t they trust me more than that?

“Why did you choose him?” Julian finally sighed.

Hearing that made me feel cold. I guess he wasn’t watching his words as carefully as I thought. 

“Julian...”

“You could have had anyone in Vesuvia. Asra, Portia... hell, even Nadia would have whisked you away to Prakra with her.” Julian’s cheeks began to grow red. “Me.” He says that quietly, and then takes a breath. By now I feel nauseated. We both know what he wants to really say.

You shouldn’t be with Lucio. How could you be? What do you see in him?

“I will be at the masquerade,” he finally confirms. “With all the excitement and drinking, the palace could use a physician on duty.”

I want to be mad, so badly. Instead, I feel my throat constrict with the painful threat of tears. My eyes burn, and I look directly in Julian’s eyes, focusing on his eyepatch for a split second. I understood that he was still upset with Lucio, and that he and Asra may never forgive him... but... they were my friends too. Shouldn’t they be happy that I’m happy? 

“I see.” My voice wavers, and he looks away in guilt. “Well... I guess you just returned. You must be tired. I have to speak with the landscapers, so I... will see you soon. Good night, Dr. Devorak.”

Julian flinches when I call him that, but I pass him quickly, suddenly wishing I was back at the shop.

[freudensteins-monster]

His Heart’s Desire (the beginnings of a Good Omens/Stardust crossover)

WARNING: This is unfinished and will probably remain unfinished. It was only meant to be a short crossover synopsis like always but it got away from me, then it made me fight for every last word for about a week until I could get it to the point where I felt I could leave it.

The idea popped into my head while scrolling through Ao3 and seeing the tag “angels used to be stars”.

Also posted on Ao3.

There was once a young man who wished to gain his Heart’s Desire.

And while that is, as beginnings go, not entirely novel (for every tale about every young man there ever was or will be could start in a similar manner) there was much about this young man and what happened to him that was unusual, although even he never knew the whole of it. - Stardust, Neil Gaiman

Ezra Fell, for all the gentlemanly qualities he possessed, had always been treated as something of an outcast by the townsfolk of Tadfield. For all he was kind, and well-read, and taught the children of the village their letters with such patience and enthusiasm, they could never forget what he was: a foundling from beyond the ancient stone wall that marked the eastern border of the village, the ancient stone wall that protected them from all manner of strange and terrible creatures that surely dwelled in the forests beyond. Not that they ever mentioned it. No well-bred person spoke of such unbecoming things, but they always managed to say a lot without speaking when it came to Ezra Fell.

Their poor treatment of him had only gotten worse after the death of the local vicar, the only father figure Ezra had ever known, culminating in R.P. Tyler, his snobbish landlord, drastically increasing the rent on Ezra’s beloved childhood home-turned-library in an effort to force him out. Ezra had worried over the notice for the better part of the day before getting up the nerve to confront his landlord as he and his yappy little terror of a terrier made their way home from the only pub in the village. It was a personal attack Ezra had tried to argue as delicately as possible, tugging nervously at the hem of his brown hand-me-down waistcoat - after all he’d never raised the rent as much as a penny for as long as the old vicar had been alive. When that failed Ezra practically begged his landlord to consider some sort of arrangement which would allow Ezra to purchase his home from him. Tyler was never going to sell, and told Ezra as much, but then a flash of fiery golden light shot across the night sky catching their attention and a cruel thought began to take shape.

“The only way I’d sell to a man of your background, Mr Fell, is if you brought me back that fallen star,” he most assuredly did not slur.

“The star?”

“Aye. You present that star to me by weeks end and I’ll gladly hand over the keys to you. But if you don’t, and if you’re so much as a day late with your rent, I’ll toss you and that absurd collection of tinder you call a library into the gutter.”

An idea once planted is a hard thing to kill, and as R.P. Tyler stumbled home Ezra’s gaze turned eastwards, trying to recall the path of the fallen star and wondering just how deep into the forest beyond the wall it had landed.

Several minutes earlier in the kingdom of Etherium, many leagues beyond the wall, in the largest bedchamber in the highest tower of the Palace of Light a queen lay dying. She is surrounded by her remaining children. There had been eight of them once but one by one they had perished – accidents, she was told – until only four remained; Michael, Uriel, Sandalphon, and…

“Aziraphale?” she called, her eyes struggling with the dwindling light.

“No, mother. It’s Gabriel,” the youngest of her remaining children huffed impatiently. “Aziraphale died as a babe. Raphael lost him in the forest when his camp was attacked by bandits. Remember?”

“And poor Raphael took an arrow through his righteous heart,” Michael feigned a sigh.

“Such a shame,” Uriel added, herself an excellent shot with a bow.

“Little Aziraphale was claimed by wolves, one can only assume,” Sandalphon grinned.

The queen feels the loss of her other children keenly and laments that she must leave her throne to such ill-suited heirs. Unable to choose one over the other, for they are no good choices, she gathers the last of her strength and walks to the window, looking out over her kingdom for the final time. She pours the last of her light into the pendant that had hung about her neck; a translucent crystal on a gold chain. It glows brightly for but a moment then turns cold and opaque as the queen hurls it into the night sky. It seems to hit something at its apex before careening back to earth. Her children watch on curiously, wondering if the old girl had finally lost all her marbles. She turns to face them, her skin now ashen making her look every one of her considerable years, and addresses her children.

“Whoever of royal blood can return the Light to the palace shall claim the throne of Etherium.”

Her children step over her cold body, shoving each other out of the way to get a better look at the pendants final resting place. Sandalphon accidentally falls out the window in his eagerness, or so the official report will say, and his three remaining siblings do not so much as even glance at his mangled corpse at the foot of the tower as they take their leave of their ancestral home to hunt down the pendant.

Hidden in the darkest depths of the darkest forest, someone else sees the star fall, and to them a fallen star means far more than a home or a throne. To them, a being who was old when the foundation stones of the Palace of Light were still hot and gooey, a fallen star is a means to restore her and her siblings to health and vitality and power beyond imagining. She hobbles back inside to share the joyous news with her siblings.

“A star has fallen!”

Her voice echoes through their cavernous and cluttered home but she gets no reply. She rushes about the place with a sense of urgency and a hunger she hasn’t felt in centuries. She retrieves a prized metal box from its hiding place, clicking her tongue in irritation at the three sets of bindings - one red, one black, one white - and seeks out her siblings. She finds them slumped together on a fetid sofa in what could be assumed to be the sitting room.

“A star has fallen!” she almost weeps with happiness. “One of us must seek it out.”

Her siblings rouse then, slowly. Her brother is dark and frail, and every bit of exposed skin puts his bones on display. He smiles the sharp smile of a predator, his mouth already watering. Their sibling is pale and weak, every movement disturbing the thick layers of dust that have accumulated on their hair and clothes, and when they speak the air becomes more putrid.

“A star? It has been so long,” they sigh.

“So hungry,” their brother echoes.

She shoves the metal box onto their laps and presses their hands to the knots of their respective bindings. A small spark of magic from each of and the bindings undo themselves.

“I will bring it back for us,” she declares as she pulls the box back towards herself.

Her siblings are too tired to fight her for the right, and though relieved she despises them for their weakness; they once fought all out wars to decide petty arguments, but that was so long ago now. She reaches into the box, her fingers tingling as they wrap around a glimmering scrap of the last star they found. She drops it into her mouth and almost faints in sheer ecstasy. As the power courses through her she stumbles drunkenly about the room and until she spies the silhouette of a large gilded mirror. She rips away the cloth that covers it and promptly does the same with her brittle once-red wig and the rags that covered her thin frame. She watches her reflection in awe, never tiring of the transformation, finding it just as magical as it had been the last time over four hundred years before. Her skin becomes radiant and smooth, her hair regrows cascading down past her shoulders like rivers of blood, her body fills out and she feels strong again for the first time in an age.

She runs – runs! – to their shared bedroom and digs out her favourite outfit and armour, preserved with care at the bottom of a solid oak chest. She dresses with haste but savours the feel of the blood-tanned leather on her skin, the weight of the armour, the familiarity of the sword at her hip. Her siblings have found the energy to leave the sitting room and are waiting for her by the front door. Their eyes rove over her restored form with unabashed hunger and envy, and it’s almost as heady as the star’s light coursing through her veins.

“The star lies 1000 miles to the north,” her brother tells her, handing her a leather pouch of runes stones carved from the bones of his first kill. “You must make haste for others seek it out.”

“Bring it back so we may all be young again, sister,” their sibling begs her, handing over a blade of darkest obsidian.

She takes their gifts reverently and secures them to her person. “I will find the star and cut out its heart,” she swears. “And when we are all of us restored to our full power the world will know fear once more.”

When we return to the other side of the wall, where magic and murder are not so commonplace, we will find Ezra Fells rather impulsively packing for a journey that will surely be more perilous than taking a carriage to Ipswich, or even all the way to London. Both of which he’s done precisely once.

He was second guessing himself for the hundredth time in less than an hour when there was a sharp rapping at his front door. As he went to answer it he tried not to think about how it may not be his front door for much longer.

“Anathema, my dear. What are you doing here so late?” he asked of his one and only friend, ushering her inside.

Anathema Device was considered something of an outcast herself and would tell anyone who asked (not that they dared) that she was a witch. She lived on the outskirts of town in a small cottage that had been in her family for generations and her oddness was tolerated by the townsfolk more so than Ezra’s for this very fact: there had always been a witch in Jasmine Cottage. It was downright traditional, and as long as Anathema kept curing their ailments without gossiping about them to their neighbours, and brewing her grandmother’s particularly potent spiced cider at Christmas, the townsfolk let her be.

“It’s Agnes,” Anathema groused, as though that explained anything. The woman had been dead and buried fifteen years now. “She left me something in her will with strict instructions on when to deliver it to you.”

“That time is now, I take it?”

“Right…” Anathema paused until the grandfather clock in the sitting room struck 10. “Now.”

She pulled a small parcel wrapped in waxed paper from her pocket and passed it over to Ezra. He took it gingerly wondering what on earth could be so important that Agnes would put such a plan in place. She had always claimed to have been able to see the future and doled out predictions to any who would listen. Ezra had been respectful of her claims, even helping her get a book of her prophecies published, but had never truly believed her because for all the years Ezra had known her she had never once offered him advice on his own future. At least not until this night.

At Anathema’s urging he took a seat and began to unwrap the small parcel only to find a smaller parcel inside of it with letter in between the layers.

“It’s from Agnes,” Ezra remarked before reading her missive aloud.

Dear Mr Fell,

I must get right to the pointe, for time is of the essensse: it was I who first found thee as a babe, crying in the night by the broken section of the Wall. I Saw thou were in need and sought thee out. I Saw who would love thou best in this smallminded village and left thee on the doorstep of the church for deare Reverend Andrews to find.

In the basket with thee was the enclosed parcel. I Saw that thou would be in need of it this night after thou talk with that bunch-backed toad, Tyeler, and Anathema and I have kept it safe for thee alle these yeares.

And though I’m sure thou would rather I just tell thee what to do to keep thy home, truste me when I tell thee that it will alle work out in the end, and that halfe the joye is in the journey. Now, be a dear and put on the kettle before thou opens the next parcel. Thou won’t get to drink it but the routine should steady thy nerves.

Sincerelee,

Agnes Nutter, Witch.

P.S. You tell R P Tielerr from me that if he keeps harassing thou or that poor Young boy his precious apple trees will never fruit again! Theyr going to be struck downe with a fungus come Spring regardless, but it would be a great lark if he thought I was haunting him from beyond the grave.

 “What did you talk to Tyler about?” Anathema asked after allowing Ezra a moment to digest the truths Agnes had laid out in her letter.

“Hmm?”

“R.P. Tyler. Agnes said you talked to him.”

“Oh, yes. He increased my rent – almost doubled it, in point of fact. I had been trying to reason with him, or perhaps strike a deal that would allow me to purchase my home from him.”

“Let me guess: he wasn’t interested.”

“No, he seems quite eager to see me destitute,” Ezra lamented. “But while we were talking we saw a shooting star land beyond the wall and he said that the only way he was going to sell to me was if I could bring him that star.”

“What rot,” Anathema spat. “Ezra, please don’t tell me you’re even entertaining such nonsense; he wasn’t being sincere.”

“Of that I had no doubt,” Ezra huffed. “But surely some man of science somewhere would have interest in a rock fallen from the heavens? I could sell it, and if I can’t buy my childhood home from Tyler perhaps I could buy another. Somewhere as far away as London, or even Paris. Some place where no one whispers about what I am.”

“What you are,” Anathema recited patiently, “is my friend. And I want to see you happy, I do, but not by putting your life at risk. No one travels beyond the wall outside Market Day. Not even Agnes.” She waited another moment for her words to sink in before gently prodding him. “Do you want me to stay, for when you open that one?”

Ezra broke himself out of his muddled thoughts to offer her a small smile. “I think I’d like a moment to myself, dear.”

“Of course. But I’ll be back first thing tomorrow with a warm loaf of bread to break our fast, and we can talk about that,” she said, gesturing at the unopened parcel. “And find you somewhere else to live that isn’t under R. P. Tyler’s thumb,” she added as though he didn’t play landlord to half the village.

Alone in his home-for-the-moment, Ezra read Agnes’ letter once more for good measure before following her instructions and putting on the kettle.

A few minutes later, with warm but still trembling hands, he unwrapped the second parcel. Inside was a solitary white candle peppered with gold flecks and another letter. From the moment his eyes caught the first sentence they began to tear up…

 My dearest brother,

Leaving you here is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, and though you and mother may never forgive me for my actions, please believe me when I say it is for the best. It is not safe for you here. Every day our siblings jealously of your light and the attention mother gives you grows. They will do anything to gain her favour, even eliminate the competition, and I cannot hope to both protect myself and be there to stop every attempt made on your own cherished life.

I realise this cannot be easy to read but it is my greatest wish that my decision has allowed you to live a life free of pain and fear and the greed that has poisoned our siblings souls. I hope you have found a home and a family who loves you like you deserve, but selfishly it is my deepest wish that we may meet again once you are a man capable of defending yourself. To that end I have enclosed a gift.

The fastest way to travel is by candlelight. To use it, think of me and only me.

All my love,

Raphael

It took Ezra several moments to get past the realisation that he had a brother, and a mother, and an unknown number of fratricidal siblings, to acknowledge the gift mentioned. The candle must be magical in origin, he reasoned, and thus it would make sense to wait for Anathema’s return to study it further… but if it meant finding a way to return to his brother’s side – his brother! - who was no doubt beyond the wall that she would still be hesitant to let him take such a risk. He fidgeted with the candle while his tea grew cold, all the while turning words like “brother” and “mother” and “home” over in his mind.

How does it work, he wondered. The fastest way to travel is by candlelight, his brother’s letter had said, so Ezra had to assume that one had to light it, thus creating candle light, and… just think of his desired destination. Simple enough really, he mused, gathering up his half-packed leather satchel (a gift from the late vicar), adding some rations (half a block of cheese, the last of his bread, a few apples, and a canteen of water) just in case, and seeking out a match before he realised what he was doing.

He should probably leave a note for Anathema for she was sure to be cross with him in the morning when she found him gone. But perhaps, if the magic candle worked as he imagined it would, she need never know. Perhaps the candle would take him straight to his brother and perhaps there was enough magic within it to allow a return trip?

“Perhaps, perhaps…” Ezra muttered anxiously. He quickly found a pencil and wrote “Anathema – Back soon – Regards, Ezra” in his patently elegant script on the brown paper wrapping, then pulled the long strap of his satchel over his head, fussing with it until he was comfortable. With a deep breath he lit the match and took up the candle in his other hand. He counted to three and with a trembling hand brought the flame to the wick.

“Home,” he implored the universe.

A roar like a wildest thunderstorm assaulted his ears as the world rushed by in a dizzying blur and just when Ezra thought he might be sick it all stopped rather suddenly and Ezra found himself tumbling to the ground atop of some poor bystander.

“Oh! Oh, Raphael!” Ezra exclaimed, jumping to his shaky feet and reaching out to the man he assumed must be his brother. “I’m so… I’m so sorry. Are you all right?”

“No, I’m not! And I’m not bloody Raphael, so get off me!” hissed the body on the ground.

“You’re… You’re not my brother?”

“Do I Iook Iike I’m your brother?”

Ezra properly took stock of the man he had crashed into. He was tall and lean and wore strange robes of midnight. He was fair of face, his naturally sharp features were verging on knifelike in his irritation, with long red hair that seemed to shine without a light source, like each strand possessed within itself a flickering flame, and his eyes were an unnatural shade of yellow that burned with the ruthlessness of a midsummer sun. Ezra with his stocky frame, mousy, untidy hair, and too snug second-hand suit could not imagine a man more his opposite.

“No. Sorry. I was mistaken.” Ezra glanced nervously around the strange clearing he found himself in and seeing no one else, let alone a possible long lost brother around, turned his attentions back to the man who had still not made an attempt to get up off the ground. “Well, are you all right? Do you want some help?”

“You can help by Ieaving me alone!” the man snapped, slapping away Ezra’s outstretched hands.

“Very well then,” Ezra bristled, leaving the strange man to his misery to focus on his own problems.  "Light the candle and think of me,” he muttered staring down at the candle still in his hands that was now half its original length. “I was. I was thinking of Raphael… But then the star just popped into…” Ezra spun in a circle, his eyes growing wide with the realisation that he was not in a man-made clearing but an impact site. He turned back to the strange man. “Oh, excuse me, sir. Sorry to bother you again. This may seem strange, but have you seen a fallen star anywhere?”

“You’re funny,” the man huffed, though his glare said Ezra was anything but.

“No, really, we’re in a crater,” Ezra pressed on. “This must be where it fell.”

“Yeah, this is where it fell. Or if you want to be really specific,” the man drawled, jabbing a finger towards the night sky. “Up there is where this weird bloody necklace came out of nowhere and knocked it out of the heavens when it was minding its own business. And over there is where it Ianded,” he said, pointing towards the deepest part of the impact site. “And right here,” he growled, pointing to the ground on which he sat. “This is where it got hit by a magical flying moron!”

Ezra faltered as his brain was forced to make several adjustments rather quickly about its understanding of the universe.

“You’re the star! You’re the star? Really?” Ezra babbled, the colour draining from his face as this new reality came crashing down around him.

The star was human, or at least human shaped, and he could not sell off said star to secure his childhood home (though he was not naïve enough to think there weren’t men who would desire to buy such a creature).

The candle had not taken him to his brother, though he had initially wished it. Perhaps stray thoughts of the star had derailed the candles route, or perhaps his brother was no longer living and it was not possible for the candle to take Ezra to his side. What proof did he have either way?

And the candle only had one journey left in it – how best to use it? Should he return to Tadfield and his uncertain future, or try to go to his brother again, which was filled nothing but uncertainties, or did Ezra do what the voice in his head that sounded a great deal like the vicar said and offer the candle to the star so he could return to his home in the sky?

Ezra patted his coat pockets in an increasingly erratic pattern before sinking to the ground opposite the star. In the end it wouldn’t really matter which he chose because he had forgotten to pack a second bloody match to light the damn thing with.

“Oh, fuck.”

[demethinkstoomuch]

The Lucky One, Pt 2

Imagine what a strange position this must be: You’re Sylvain Jose Gautier, you’re fifteen years old, and all you want is to get laid. But it was just the worst day in everybody you care about’s lives, the world is falling apart around you, and you’re completely unharmed by all of it. 

Content Warning: Blue Lions-typical Unresolved Grief

Read on AO3!

Part 1 | Part 3

None of your friends come to greet you. But for the most part, you kinda knew that already. Felix and Ingrid are with their respective families, after all; they didn’t come to the capital this time of year normally (neither did you, honestly; you were down here even less). Felix isn’t coming until the next day; House Fraldarius had its own worries, but he’d be there. But you’d ended up going just a bit out of your way to visit House Galatea. You’ve been too worried not to. Glenn had been Ingrid’s fiance, and while she probably couldn’t say if she loved him or not, they’d really cared about each other. That much was clear; that and the way she idolized him. She’d had a pretty little dream of the future as his bride and fellow warrior. It was all so sweet you had a hard time imagining it, but if anyone deserved something like that, it was Ingrid.

 And it was all gone now. Ingrid hadn’t come to greet you at her house, either. You hadn’t even seen her. Just the solid oak door to her room, barred from the inside. House Galatea’s house was the nicest thing they had; the land wasn’t great, but that fortress of a home could defend itself, and had the wealth of better days poured into it. Ingrid’s room most of all, and so there was no way to get around that old door that greeted you in place of your old friend. Her father had been hoping that she’d come out for you — he hadn’t said so, but he’d been so relieved to see you, which was an entirely new experience for you, and now that made sense. How long had she been in there? Since she got the news? You looked about for a clue on that, and saw that, hey: at least there was an empty tray of plates there. That meant she was still eating, right?

“I’m so sorry,” you told Ingrid through the door. “It’s really awful, Ingrid.” 

You wish you’d known what to say. You’d wish you’d known what to do. She didn’t answer.

“C’mon, Ingrid, talk to me. Would Glenn really want you to just —” Your words were cut off by thud of something hitting the door with all the force Ingrid could muster. 

And then, the first sound of her voice. But whatever words she meant, whatever breaths she took, broke into the gasps and hiccups of haggard weeping. 

“...I’m sorry, that was probably a little much, huh? Maybe it’d help to take your mind off of things?” That’s what a plan looked like. A good one, even. “Yeah, why don’t you and I take a nice walk? Get some sun.”

“No, Sylvain,” she eventually answered. She sounded so tired. “I don’t want to go anywhere.” 

So, that was a dud. What were you supposed to do, then? Say ‘well, if you want to stay in your room forever, sure thing?’ You paused, took a deep breath, and just stared at the door like the woodgrain could tell you what was in her heart. It did have a little face, but it was sort of a wailing one that you covered with your hand when you touched the door. Hadn’t you once, back when you were like seven, egged on Felix to draw on this door, so Ingrid’s room would have a pretty door? And then Ingrid went to get Glenn, and Glenn told you to stop being idiots and ruining it? And then even Felix had turned on you. Because Glenn had been the real boss here.

And then it hit you that he was gone. Not the way it hit Ingrid, probably not the way it hit Dimitri, almost certainly not the way it hit Felix. But it did anyway, in a way you couldn’t feel before. Your forehead tapped the door itself, just once, as you dropped your head.

“Man. What are we going to do?” You’d meant to just think it. You really had.

“That’s what I want to know!” Ingrid shouted at you. She gasped, gulping down air. She was crying without dignity, with the full abandon of a child. “What am I supposed to do now? Glenn was everything.”

And then, so weakly it took the air out of your lungs, too: “How am I supposed to go on? Glenn…”

You’d wish you’d never come. You stayed there for a long time, not sure you could say anything. You just let her cry through that door. Pathetic, right?

Eventually, you had to go. And all you could tell her is “I’ll be back after the funeral.”

At first, she didn’t answer. You told her some extra goodbye you don’t recall, not when you heard that lurching little croak sneak its way out of the cracks in the doorframe.

“Glenn’s body won’t get to have a funeral.”

So, you’re pretty sure Ingrid isn’t coming. Which left only His Highness as a possible greeter. And that one did surprise you, and it didn’t. On the one hand, name a kid more conscientious than Faerghus’ thirteen-year old prince. Sure, don’t trust him to handle an instrument or a pair of scissors or anything delicate you expected him to grip and manipulate at the same time and not snap to bits, and whatever you do don’t trust him to deal with girls that aren’t everyone’s favorite tomboy (you remember, once again, his little girlfriend. What had her name been? El? Probably Ellen or something, but it didn’t matter; what mattered is, downcast mood or no, you remembered the dagger thing and snickered to yourself), but there’s no one more earnestly dedicated to being a stick in the mud. On the other hand, you couldn’t guess what happened to him. Rumors are everywhere. Duscur is on fire, just the whole peninsula. The soldiers’ hasty revenge and ‘peacekeeping’ had gradually become a deliberate subjugation that didn’t end, and it sent shivers of horror down your spine. And most people were glad for it. All from what happened that day; centuries of peace thrown out the window. You could definitely give Dimitri about five million passes for not feeling up to coming down to see you, was your point.

But once you’re settled in, you ask where he is, if you can see him, all that. You’re told he’s in his room. He hasn’t left it. He’d gotten severely injured, the maid explains — healing staves a little too late to do him real good, and he seemed like he might have gotten sick from wounds and stress. And so, until the funeral, he’s confined to his bed.

When you’re taken up to the hallway in front of his chambers, what greets you is a strange scene: there’s a guard there, which is new. Guards aren’t uncommon, but there’s usually not one just right outside his doors like that. And there’s a very tall, kind of beat-up man standing there, rigid as the guard but with a totally different expression. His mouth presses into a tense line; his eyes, one bearing a fresh bruise, give him away. Those eyes are sleepless with a nightmare you can’t name and don’t want to. You’ve seen eyes like those before; when your father’s soldiers marched back from their first battle, their first real, hard battle, some of them had eyes like this guy. Just scared and hungry and lost . If you didn’t see that, you’d have gone on thinking this guy was way older than you. But he’s not; he’s younger.

That height that caught your eye? Sure, yeah, he’s gonna be a big guy, absolutely. Well, more than that,he is a big guy. But most of that’s just lanky, without having grown out into it or the breadth of his shoulders. His hands and joints are knobbly and outsized as a puppy’s paws, so he’s all elbows and knees and knuckles. And there’s not much mistaking where he’s from, either. His hair’s a moonlit silver-white, which had not helped your vibe that he was an adult, and the combination between that and his darker skin is so Duscur it might as well be waving a flag. So, you know what? He probably had lived a nightmare. You can’t even imagine.

But you’ve probably been staring too long, because he turns from your gaze, head down. His head turned away really shows off that shiner, more vibrant and angry than your own bruises. He’s got more scuffs than that, mixing ages and levels of treatment. But that’s the one that really draws your eye.

“I’ll see if His Highness can see a visitor,” says the guard with a bow. His eyes follow yours to the kid there. “Please keep an eye on him.”

“Sure thing,” you answer. Once he’s gone, it’s basically the two of you in that hallway, and friendly guy that you are, you try and strike up something. “That looks rough. So what brings you to this corner of the castle?”

His head jerks up from its own contemplation, and his jaw locks into place. Fixing for a fight, huh? No, not exactly. His hands are still open at his sides. Fixing to be fought, huh? You raise up a hand placatingly.

“Woah, I’m just making conversation! You speak Fodlani?”

“... I know some. They are ...close, sometimes..” His delivery’s sort of stiff and slow, but he must be right — he’s got a good, workmanlike Fodlani. While he stares at you seriously, his words faintly rumble with cold, slow hate, “I am ‘not to be trusted.’”

“That’s OK; I’d rather not worry about stuff like that,” you reply with a casual shrug. Judging by appearances just tells you who’d be nice to look at while they lie to you; most of those nice faces people show are hiding something rotten inside. You know that so reflexively that you kind of regret not just trusting him. “I’m Sylvain, a friend of Prince Dimitri.”

“I am Dedue. I wish...” His face is calm, but you notice the deep intake of breath as he tries to reach for what he wants to say. “To help Dimitri.”

“Help him? With what?”

“Everything I can,” the boy from Duscur answers, without a trace of doubt.

“Huh,” you say, because really, that sounds hard when there’s a guard posted just to stop him getting in the room. You are not even sure what he’s doing here, given the situation; someone must be vouching for him. Dimitri, maybe? But there’s bound to be a limit to what that can do when the prince is bedbound. Dedue’s shoulders sag, and you follow his gaze back towards the door.. It’s kind of depressing, really. So when the guard returns to say that His Highness will see you, you find yourself asking, “Hey, mind if he comes in with me?”

 Everyone stares at you, until the guard considers the boy from Duscur for a long while, frowning.

“If Lord Sylvain is willing to keep an eye on him...I suppose that will be acceptable,” he relents. As you cross the border into The Princes’ quarters, Dedue bows.

“You have my thanks.” 

“It seems kind of unfair to leave you there. But His Highness better actually want to see you.”

His Highness is waiting in his bed, a few more doorways in, and you are not prepared for it. If someone told you he was dying, you’d believe them. He’s got bandages around his head, slathered across a hand and his arms, and one of those is in a splint. And this is after a healer’s worked with him, taken the edge off day by day. You would have thought his injuries would be the hardest thing to take seeing. But no. His eyes look hollow, his whole face looks hollowed out, a thin mask over nothing at all. If he’s slept in the week since this all started, you don’t see it; really, if you hadn’t personally seen him sleep plenty of times when you were kids, you would imagine he’s never fallen asleep in his life. His big blue eyes are red-touched from rim to iris. Feverish, haunted, his gaze shakes a little while he traces over the two of you. Then he lets out a relieved breath like he’d been holding it for a while. Dedue, more ready for the sight of him than you were, nearly bowls you over to reach his bed.

“Dedue,” Dimitri says, voice a little hoarse and incredibly relieved. “You’re actually still here. But your face...I’m. I’m so sorry.”

“You did no wrong, and it will heal.” Dedue’s shoulders soften with relief. “And you, Dimitri?”

“...I…” His face scrunches in something like a smile. It’s made of mist, dissolving in the moment that it’s formed. He shakes his head. “I...I’m sure I’ll…” His voice quavers on its way out.. 

Eventually, he lifts up his head and looks back at you, with an expression that’s another game attempt at looking like something. You are not sure what that something is, an apologetic frown or a gentle smile or both at once, but he sure is trying.

“Sylvain, though! I’m dreadfully sorry… I’m sorry…” For a moment, there’s no more sound even though his mouth moves, just a tremor to go with the prince’s distant stare, but he eventually shakes off the train of thought and refocuses back on you rather than on something miles and miles away. “I didn’t mean to forget you. Thank you for coming to see me.”

“Your Highness, it’s not a problem,” you shrug. “You’ve got a lot on your plate at the moment.” You should probably say what you came here to say, mostly, but Goddess. You can’t help but think it’s so fake sounding. ‘Sorry your father died in front of you’ ‘Sorry everyone died in front of you.’ ‘Sorry everyone’s dead.’ See? That’s how dumb that sounds.  “I’m sorry for your loss, Dimitri. Anything I can do to help?”

But sometimes, dumb is all you have. Less often than you pretend, but, no, sometimes you really are just pretty dumb.

“There’s nothing anyone can do,” Dimitri says, his bandaged hand, the one on his good arm, gripping at his bedsheets so intently that you hear a subtle rip. His voice cracks, one part puberty and one part pure misery. “I should — I  should have been the one to do something.” 

“Dimitri! You’re alive, isn’t that doing enough? You managed to save your own skin, so at least someone walked out of that alive.” When you say that, just reaching for whatever popped into mind, his throat only makes a strange choking noise. Before you can touch him for whatever comfort that’d provide, he blinks off a fresh wave of tears.

“...That’s right,” he murmurs, looking thoughtful enough to take that comment seriously. Dimitri glances up at Dedue for a moment. Disentangling his fingers from the ripped covers, he looks down at his own hands and breathes shakily. “Dedue survived, too.”

“Yes. That is through you alone,” Dedue answers, warmly and gravely. So it’s something like that, huh? It does sort of sound like the most Dimitri reason to have met someone, you've got to say; he's pretty brave when the chips are down. Maybe it's why this is such a shock.

“There you go! Anyway, I just meant… To help you through this, Dimitri.” Now you pat him on the back, but he winces, so you withdraw your hand quickly. “Sorry about that. Got pretty beaten up, huh?”

“...I don’t mind,” Dimitri says quietly, his eyes flicking across the room. He leans back until his head touches the headboard. “Then...If it’s not too much trouble, Sylvain… Please, just? Stay here? Only for a while. Please. If...If you go, then Dedue will also have to...to go...And I’ll be alone. And then.. I won’t be—” he breaks off then, shaking his head to hide how much he’s trembling.You’re struck then by just how small Dimitri seems. You were shorter last time you saw him, and he’s not hit his growth spurt — the royal family’s a bunch of late bloomers, the king used to say (used to say, of course, but the reminder hits you and it’s weird) — but most of all… He just looks like a spindly glass sculpture of a person, so thin, so pale, so delicate that he might break apart at any moment. 

“Sure thing, Dimitri. Any time.” You pull up a couple of chairs to sit by the bed, so no one’s on ceremony for as long as he’d want you there.

An uneasy silence falls. Dimitri opens his mouth a few times, but can’t seem to manage. A million things crowd around his tongue, and his lips mouth the starts of something he can’t force the voice for. “I can’t think of what to say. I’m sorry. I’m —”

“I’m sorry. I… do not know what to say, either,” Dedue turns his face from the both of you to hide whatever expression could could make that tone, sinking slowly down as if to the bottom of the sea. Dimitri grabs his hand by means of comfort or apology, and you decide to put this whole socially awkward...situation… to its metaphorical bed.

“Don’t sweat it, you guys! Just let me handle the talking, and you can listen, Your Highness.” Subjects, subjects… None that include, um, anyone you actually care about — that is, your friends. That’s probably way too close to this. Or his old man. Or recent events. Or anything that involves talking about that time you kinda got strangled — remember that? You don’t want to, really, and for some reason that kind of stuff always upsets His Highness? So that leaves girls. Which is great, you love talking about a beautiful lady or some chaotic adventure in love as you’ve begun to collect them, except your audience is His Highness, who, need you remind yourself, honestly thinks a dagger is a suitable romantic present for parting with a girl he likes. This would be a good time to remind him of that. 

“You don’t have much skill in romance, Your Highness, so I’ve got some educational stories with hard-won life lessons. Listen close, OK? If I’d given a dagger to these girls, I might have gotten stabbed! It’s no way for a prince on a white horse to treat a would-be princess.” So you think, but it doesn’t draw embarrassment from him. It just sinks there.

 And you clear your throat and start some of the funnier stories of your misadventures.While you’re getting good at the adventure bit, some of them still end up with some mis-, particularly if, say, certain angry noblemen whose daughters you’ve been pursuing are involved. You’re hoping Dedue has something to say about girls at some point. Sure, he’s a little awkward, but he’s tall and he seems alright enough and, anyway, in a couple of years he’ll probably be so big he could fit a girl on each shoulder and that’s got to have an appeal (you have long suggested that, should His Highness want to pick up girls, he should try showing off how easy it is to physically pick up and carry several girls. Girls love strong guys. And it’s probably better than any of His Highness’ flirting game, which is so precious and pure and awkward. Good thing he has you). He does not have anything to add about girls — except, of course, for the far-away look in his eyes. You wonder what are the odds that he lost a girl he liked, or almost liked, or could have liked? Or just... all the girls he knew, for that matter, if he ended up here of all places. What a mess. 

You like to stay away from feeling like this, but waiting for that interjection that never comes, it just gnaws at you over whatever story about how much of a pain Lord Gwendal is that you happen to be telling. You don’t even get to the resolution because, oh, hey, Ingrid’s in that part, and you feel like if you summon the idea of her, the girl crying behind her bedroom door, the present would come slamming back into reality. Lucky you, your load’s light enough to run from it. That’s all you can do sometimes, right? Even if it feels like you should do more. Man, is this doing anything for anyone? How would you even know ? You’re not even sure His Highness is paying attention; his eyes aren’t really meeting anyone’s, and he eventually just sighs and tilts his head back, staring at the ceiling, its carved canopy of pine branches and curling ferns looming overhead. He’s not listening as much as he is just letting the sound wash over him.

[intergalacticsuperstar]

A Journey of Lost Souls | Tom Holland AU | Part 9

AN:  Not really sure how I feel about this chapter. let me know what you think!

Series Summary:

The princess of The Kingdom of Nitro has been kidnapped by her family’s enemies. After escaping their brutal treatment, the princess must find her way home. Having never been outside of the capital city’s walls, the princess must enlist the help of a common boy to help her on her journey, all while keeping her identity a secret. Through secrets, frightening trauma, and a crush on the cute boy helping her on her way, the princess must learn to trust her instincts. However, the real question is: Can she trust the boy?

Ch. Warnings: none I think? A little bit of a panic

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Part 9

Tom woke up before the princess did. In fact, he fell asleep after she did the previous night.

The night before was a whirlwind of chaos. They had run for nearly an hour straight until they found somewhere remotely covered. The princess, finally feeling safe, had quite literally passed out in his arms under a huge rock formation they had taken shelter underneath.

Tom nearly melted when he felt her go limp in his arms. He was exhausted too, but gosh, all he could think about is how much he wanted her to feel safe. He wrapped his arms around her and set her gently on the ground. He wished he still had his backpack so he could give her something to rest her head on, or maybe even some food, but for now, he had nothing.

It gave him time to think.

He leaned up against the rock wall and let his head droop between his knees. Sweat poured down his face from the long run. He began to ask questions within his mind.

How would they have treated her if I wasn’t there? Who were they going to sell her to? How had she managed to get away? Where are we now? Where should we go? Is it safe to go?

His thoughts overwhelmed him, but slowly he began to sort them out. He retraced the erratic movements from the town they made. He was pretty sure he knew the town, and if he was right, they were on their way towards one of the biggest cities in the kingdom, which was a good thing.

One, because it would be easy to lose the evil jerks who took them. And two, he had a really good friend that lived there that he was sure would help them.

With at least a comforting plan in mind, he let his brain rest. He watched the princess sleep for a few moments, smiling at the way he hair flowed over her face. He winced at the cut on her cheek and wished he had something to clean it with. It was easy to tell that he had grown to be very protective of this girl, and no matter what, he wanted to help her.

With those last few thoughts, he drifted asleep.

In the morning, the birds were chirping loudly. The sun had just begun to peak over the ridge of the rocks and Tom rubbed his eyes. To his right, the princess continued to sleep.

He was still tired and hungry, but at the moment he had no resources to help. The only thing they could do now is get into the city.  He waited a while to let the princess continue sleeping. She stirred not long after.

It wasn’t a peaceful stir, but a startled one. She gasped and sat up quickly, shuffling back against the wall of stone.

“Hey, hey, hey, Y/N. It’s okay. We’re safe.” Tom comforted while shifting towards her slowly.

The princess took a few deep breaths while her eyes shifted all around the cavern before finally landing on Tom’s. He smiled gently.

“S-sorry. I didn’t mean…” She breathed out.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

Silence settled over the two for a few moments while the princess caught her breath.

“I think I know where we are and where we can go,” Tom stated after a while.

“Yeah?” The princess asked uncertainly.

“Yeah. I think we are about a half day’s journey from Evolo,” he said with a smile.

The princess perked up, a grin now stretching across her features.

“I’ve always wanted to go there! Like half of the books written in the kingdom take place there!” She expressed excitedly.

Tom laughed. “It’s amazing! You’ll love it. One of my best mates lives there, and he’ll be able to help us.”

With that, the two set off, excited to finally have a destination in mind that involved sleeping indoors and probably eating something. Plus, once they were there, they didn’t have to worry about being ambushed.

They were careful and quiet along the way. They didn’t want to draw any attention to themselves just in case the evil men from before were somewhere near. It went pretty smoothly other than the fact that they were both exhausted, hungry and thirsty. So, it was slow.

They both didn’t have much energy to talk, so it was quiet, but a comfortable quiet. They felt much better now that they were with each other and away from James’ men. They kept hoping to come across a stream of some sort, but they never once did that which lowered the morale, but every once in a while, Tom would remind the princess that they weren’t far from Evolo.

It wasn’t long before the city was in front of them, down in the valley. Tom took a moment to look at the princess and watch as her face gleamed at the sight. He often forgot that she had never been outside of Ornate’s walls and he was happy that though the circumstances sucked, he got to show her the world.

“Come on, this way.” He spoke softly while grabbing her hand and pulling her gently into the meadow that led to the city.

It wasn’t long before they were within the city walls and going up and down the streets. They kept their heads down, not wanting anyone to recognize him or the princess. Tom was sure that James’ men would have traveled here in search for them first.

They stole, feeling guilty, to shawls from a market booth and wrapped them around their heads in hopes to disguise themselves and headed towards his friend’s house.

It wasn’t long before they were standing in front of a door on a busy street in downtown Evolo, waiting for Tom’s friend to answer. The princess stood behind Tom, nervous to meet the new people and also looking up and down the street in case anyone saw them.

The door opened quickly and the princess flinched. On the other side stood a tall boy with blond hair and bright blue eyes, when he saw Tom he smiled. But, the boy was quick to notice Tom’s and the girl’s heads turned to the ground, covered in cloth. He knew they needed help and ushered them in.

Tom gave an encouraging nod to the princess and followed his friend inside. Once the door closed he pulled off the cloth and embrace his friend with a large smile.

“Harrison! How are you mate?”

The two boys were grinning ear to ear and laughing as they held on to each other.

“I’m doing great, man! Gosh, I’ve missed seeing you around here, Tom.” Harrison said with a smile.

Harrison tilted his head as if he had just noticed the girl was still standing behind Tom defensively. Tom gripped her hand lightly and pulled her to the side of him.

“Harrison, we need your help,” Tom said with a serious look at his friend.

Harrison nodded, “Of course, of course. Come on. Let’s get you guys something to eat and drink.”

Tom was relieved his friend was so perceptive. He continued to hold the princess’ hand and followed Harrison into his kitchen where his wife, Amara, was chopping some vegetables. Tom gave her a hug and greeted her and then sat down at the table with Harrison, Amara, and Y/N.

He knew Y/N wasn’t too fond of meeting new people. He knew that from the moment he had met her and she had been terrified, so he wasn’t surprised to see that she was being so silent now and gripping his hand for dear life.

“Harrison, if we are to tell you our story, you must promise that you will not let anyone know that we were here,” Tom said seriously.

Harrison and Amara nodded. “Of course, mate. You know you can trust us.”

Tom nodded and then looked at Y/N. He gave her a look that was like asking permission. He didn’t continue until after she nodded.

“This is Y/N. Princess Y/N,” Tom introduced her.

Harrison and Amara gasped, immediately bowing their heads.

“Princess Y/N, it is an honor to have you in our home,” Harrison said politely.

Y/N smiled. “No, thank you for allowing us to be here.”

Just then, Amara excused herself to go over to a brick oven in the corner of the kitchen where a pot of stew was brewing.

“When we heard the rumors...that you were missing, we weren’t sure if they were true,” Harrison said after bringing Tom and the princess some water.

The princess nodded, and Tom could see a shift in her demeanor. No longer was she the afraid Y/N. She was Princess Y/N of the Kingdom of Nitro. She was much more diplomatic as if she was now representing her kingdom. It was incredible for Tom to see.

“It is true. I was taken by my father’s enemies for three months and now Tom has offered to help me get home. I owe him my life,” She spoke confidently.

Tom looked shocked by the confidence radiating through her tone. To hear her say that she owes him her life was also a little overwhelming. He was just being nice.

“Tom is an incredible person. He has helped many.” Amara said kindly.

“Yes, that is right. We are hiding from those that took me and also Tom. Would you be kind enough to offer us shelter for the night?” The princess asked.

Both Harrison and Amara smiled and said that, of course, they were welcome to stay as long as needed. Harrison was much better off than Tom was. Compared to Tom’s one room tiny apartment, Harrison had a living room, a kitchen, and two bedrooms. For living in the city, he was practically living in luxury.

After Tom and the princess ate and told the couple their story, they were led to the spare bedroom. Tom had slept in this room before during his many visits and he suddenly grew very thankful for his friend and his kindness.

Harrison and Amara gave them some clothes to change into and then let them be, closing the door behind them. As soon as the door was shut, the princess’ shoulders slumped, losing their posture. Tom could see her visibly relax and show her true feelings of exhaustion. Her eyes drooped and she sat on the bed softly.

They both turned away from each other and changed their clothes, trusting one another to not peek. When they were done, Tom turned towards her.

“You okay?” He asked, wanting her to be candid.

She sighed, “Yeah. I’m just tired.”

They had done another entire day of walking and the whole time they were nervous and tense. The mental trauma from the last few days was beginning to take its toll.

“Why don’t you lay down and get some rest? I need to talk to Harrison anyways,” Tom suggested while gently pushing some hair out of her face.

She nodded and tiredly laid down on the small plain mattress. Tom stood up and grabbed the blanket that was on the other side of the room. He unfolded it, and gently placed it on top of her, tucking her in.

The princess’ eyes had already closed as she snuggled into the blanket. Tom’s heart swelled at the sight of her, finally safe. He leaned down and gently placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Just relax, love.”

With that, he stood up and started walking towards the door. Just as he reached the handle, he heard the princess speak up one more time.

“Thank you, Tom.” She said and he turned around, “...for everything.”

He smiled. “Of course, now get some sleep.”

Then he walked out of the room, gently shutting the door behind him.

---

Tom wasn’t going to lie, he had missed Harrison.

He had known Harrison since he was young. Tom’s father used to bring him to Evolo on trips and every time, they stayed with Harrison’s family. The two grew up together, and he was the one person that he always knew he could count on.

“I’m not going to lie, Tom,” Harrison said while wiping off the table in the kitchen, “I’m surprised to see you helping her, you know with everything that happened with your dad and everything you’ve done since then.”

Tom sighed and took a seat on their couch. Harrison followed suit and sat next to him.

“Well, I technically didn’t know she was the princess at first,” Tom explained.

“Really? That’s odd.”

Tom looked at his friend for a moment, “They were hurting her, Haz.” His voice broke at the end.

Harrison’s eyes squinted in sympathy as he saw his friend fall apart. Tom leaned in and accepted his friend’s hug. They weren’t usually so touchy, but with everything Tom’s been through in the last couple of days, it was nice to just let his friend be there for him.

“I’m just happy you are both okay. You are a good guy, Tom. You and the princess do not deserve to be treated that way. And the princess… I can’t believe she’s been a prisoner for three months,” Harrison vented.

“She’s incredible. She’s so kind and brave and just so easy to talk to,” Tom blabbered.

Harrison paused for a moment and took a long look at his friend. “By the gods… you love her. Don’t you?”

Tom froze, thrown off by such the random accusation. His heart started hammering in his chest as he processed the words that just came out of his friend’s mouth.

He couldn’t find it in himself to disagree.

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess I do.”

-

AN: What are your thoughts/theories/opinions on this story? Come chat in my ask box! please. i’ll love you.

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[jbankai89]

Never Let Me Go [36/40]

A/N: See glossary at the end for a bunch of Russian/Japanese/Thai words (mostly Russian). If there's any spelling or grammar mistakes, please let me know so I can fix it—most of the Cyrillic to Roman Alphabet transliteration is done by me, and the Thai translation was done by Google Translate, so mistakes are totally possible. :P Next update will be April 12th.

Chapter Thirty-Five – Alvinia

 Less than forty-five minutes after giving birth, Yuri was roused from his half-asleep doze by Otabek, who was still bearing a warm, New Father glow about him. Alvinia was in his arms, but less sleepy and more fussy, and Yuri was immediately thrown into high alert.

“What is it?” he asked, “is Alvinia okay?”

“She's fine,” Otabek said softly, “the nurse thinks she might be hungry, so she suggested I wake you up and have you try feeding her. She offered formula, but I wanted you to decide whether or not you wanted to breastfeed before I gave her an answer.”

“No, I can do it,” Yuri said, and held out his arms to his mate. Otabek passed the baby over, her eyes squinting up at Yuri as she whimpered, and seemed to be ready to start screaming at any moment.

Feeling slightly awkward, Yuri supported his daughter with one arm while he unbuttoned the front of his hospital gown, and carefully lifted Alvinia to his nipple.

He knew his own biology well enough that he wasn't unnerved that he could produce milk, but it was still odd to see, especially considering his chest had not grown all that much, despite Yuuri's promises that he would be able to produce enough to feed his child without issue. Yuri knew that omegas very rarely grew breasts like beta women did, but he still found it hard to believe that it would be enough for his child.

Alvinia whined a little, her tiny hand unwinding from the blanket that she was swaddled in to rest against Yuri's chest, and his smile broadened as the little girl fumbled, as though she wasn't sure what to do. After a moment however, she seemed to get the hang of it and latched on gently as she began to nurse.

Yuri smiled softly as he stared at her—his tiny little miracle. He reached out to stroke her soft, chubby cheek, and she grabbed hold of Yuri's finger, her little hand curling around the digit in a surprisingly strong grip while she ate.

“God, she is so perfect,” Yuri whispered as he held her. “I can't believe we made this. I think after everything that happened...she makes it worth it.” Yuri paused, and glanced back up at Otabek. “Don't you think?”

“Yeah,” Otabek murmured as he watched them, “I mean, I dreamed about this for ages, I always wanted it, but seeing you hold her...it's more perfect than I thought it would be. She's...she's our little girl.”

“She is,” Yuri agreed as Alvinia seemed to have had enough, and Yuri pulled her back from his chest, while he gazed down into her little eyes, still partially closed like someone had just flicked on the lights for her, but he could still see the bits of blue of her irises as he lifted her up to gently rub her back until she let out a tiny, milky burp, then settled back down again.

“So...” Otabek hedged as he leant forward and offered the pair another smile while Yuri buttoned up his hospital gown. “You think you're rested enough to show her off a little? The others are dying to meet her, and I've been trying to put them off for a bit to let you rest, but I think that will be easier for you to actually get some real rest after they've gotten to meet her.”

“I think so,” Yuri said as he rocked Alvinia. “I mean, I'm still exhausted, but as long as I'm not expected to stand up, I think I'm good.”

 “No one expects you to move for another day or two, and when we go home, and you can rest as much as you like—plus, we've got about five eager nannies at home to help,” Otabek teased as he stood up and offered Yuri a gentle kiss, before he bowed forward and pecked Alvinia lightly on the top of her head. Yuri laughed at the remark, and smiled faintly at Otabek as he moved to the door and slipped outside.

“Okay, Alvinia, you ready to meet our crazy family?” he asked softly as he continued to rock her, and she blinked up at him sleepily. “Let's see...there's your Prádyed, Nikokai—he's the only normal one out of all of us—he's quiet, but he loved you even before you were born, and I know he'll love you forever and ever. Then there is your Dyédya, Viktor, he's annoying as hell, but he has a good heart, and your...um...Ojis, Yuuri and Minami—Yuuri is like the perfect mother, but don't ever tell him I said that. And Minami will probably get you into all sorts of trouble, like dye your hair purple when I'm not looking. Then the last, I suppose, is your Leung, Phichit. He's almost as nice as your Äke. He's sweet and doting, and he's hyperactive and annoying, but he just loves all the kids, and I know he'll love you too, probably because you're the cutest of the four. You'll grow up with Yuriko, Viktoria, and Antonia like sisters, or cousins, but even though none of your are actually related, it's a more perfect family than anyone I've ever known...”

Yuri trailed off his monologue just as there was a soft knock on the door, and he glanced up just in time to see his mate standing there with a line of familiar faces behind him.

“Hey,” Yuri said, his voice cracking a little with fatigue, and he nodded, inviting for them to come in.

“Hey,” Yuuri said first as they all grabbed chairs and circled him, except, he noted, Viktor, who seemed to be absent. Yuuri did not miss Yuri's look of confusion and explained, “he went home with the girls a few hours ago,” Yuuri explained with a soft smile. “Once they're awake, he'll come back over to meet the girls' new little sister. What did you name her?”

“Alvinia,” Yuri replied with a small smile, and turned to his grandfather, who was sitting quietly in one of the chairs while the others stood up and bowed over him to coo at his daughter. “Grandpa, do you want to start the first round of Pass the Baby, and meet your právnōchka?”

Nikolai beamed with joy at the offer, and Yuri carefully handed her over. A familiar look of quiet awe passed over the older man's face as he rocked her in one arm, and reached out a hand to her, and the newborn wrapped a tiny hand around his weather-worn index finger.

“Hello there, little one,” he said softly, “goodness, Yuri, she looks so much like Otabek, but she will have your eyes, I think. She is a beautiful child. I am so proud of you; you endured so much, and look what came out of it all.”

Yuri smiled weakly as he wiped his teary eyes, and Otabek wrapped an arm around him while he sat on the edge of the bed, and covertly snapped a picture with his phone of Nikolai holding Alvinia.

“Who would like to hold her next?” Nikolai asked, and chortled when both Phichit and Minami rushed at him, while Yuuri held out his arms in an almost commanding sort of way, while he flexed his hands as though to silently say, gimmie.

“I haven't held a baby in nearly ten hours,” Yuuri proclaimed as he continued to hold his arms out. “I'll go through withdrawal soon if I don't get my fix.”

“Baby Addiction,” Minami said with a mournful sigh as Nikolai chuckled and carefully passed Alvinia over to Yuuri. “Too bad they don't make a patch for that...”

“They do,” Yuuri replied distractedly as he smiled down at the infant and rocked her gently, “it's called having more babies.”

“As someone who has to live with a pack of screaming infants, I'd like to veto that treatment,” Phichit interjected, and everyone laughed.

A soft knock sounded on the door, and everyone glanced up at the same time to see a very tired-looking Viktor coming in with a stroller of three happy babies, and two drink trays of seven extra-large coffees, all labelled with their initials, and a box of doughnuts balanced on the top of the stroller's hood. Viktor was grinning at them in a slightly dazed sort of way, and he was dressed more casually than Yuri had ever seen him, in a black T-shirt and jeans, with his hair in disarray and his sunglasses perched on top of his head.

“Morning, everyone!” he called as he let himself in, and grinned as he held out the trays and pushed the stroller with his wrists, while the girls all squealed with delight and reached out for their mother. “I come bearing coffee, doughnuts, and sleep-deprived toddlers.”

“Oh, God,” Yuuri said with a laugh as he carefully passed Alvinia over to Minami, and got up to help his mate. “How long did they sleep?”

“I zonked out at about five A.M., and when I woke up Antonia had somehow gotten into Viktoria's crib. I think this is an omen.”

“Of doom?” Minami asked as he glanced up, and Yuri snorted as he watched Minami with his child.

“Of them beginning to crawl, dipshit.”

“Yuri, language!” Viktor called teasingly, “your little one is like a sponge, and she will soak all those bad words up!”

“She can say fuck, shit, and cunt every other word and she'll still be a perfect little lady,” Yuri replied as he watched Minami pass Alvinia to Phichit, and the alpha all but squealed when he scooped her up, carefully cradling her as he lifted her close to his face, and she reached up to touch his face clumsily with her little hand.

“Ohh, Antonia,” Yuuri cooed while he scooped his middle triplet up and hugged her close. “Were you being a little terror for your poor, sleepy Otets? That's my good girl!”

“Yuuri!” Viktor squawked, “how could you be so cruel? I'm running on like four hours of sleep, here!”

“I'll see your five hours and raise you a forty-five minutes, right after pushing a bowling ball through the eye of a needle,” Yuri grunted from the bed as Phichit handed Alvinia back to him, and her eyes flitted open a little, though they were still narrowed and squinted.

“Get back to us in a few months, kitten,” Viktor teased as he sauntered over and offered Yuri one of the coffees, as well as a chocolate doughnut on a napkin. Yuri shifted his grip on the baby so that she was cradled in one of his arms, and triple checked that her head was supported before he accepted the warm cup, and Viktor set the pastry down on his table, which had been pushed to one side. “Alvin, right?”

“Alvinia, asshole,” Yuri shot  back, his tone weak and halfhearted as he sipped the coffee and grimaced. “What the hell is this? It tastes like piss.”

“Decaf,” Viktor replied, raising his eyebrows a little in surprise. “It's best if you don't overdo right now, especially if you plan to breastfeed her. Hyper baby is not fun—believe me.”

“He's not exaggerating,” Yuuri added with a chuckle as he set Antonia back down and picked up the next fussiest tot. “I mean, it doesn't change their attitude much, but I did notice a difference.”

“I want real coffee,” Yuri whined as he set it down and took his baby in both arms again when she began to fuss. “I hate decaf.”

“Quite the picture of a glowing new mother, isn't he?” Viktor asked sarcastically, and Otabek snorted.

“Watch it,” Otabek warned Viktor while he rested a hand on Yuri's knee. “Yuri has really good aim with his pillows.”

“What?” Viktor blinked, and Yuri smirked a little.

“I threw a pillow at Beka once or twice during the...event.”

“Once or twice,” Otabek mocked with a snort, “I think you're missing a few hundred digits in there, dearheart.”

“Shut up, honey,” Yuri shot back sweetly, and everyone laughed.

“So,” Viktor said as he drew up a chair and made space for the huge stroller, which Yuuri rolled in as though they planned to let the triplets hold thew new baby too. “Do I get a turn with the little poop machine? She is so cute, Yuri, you must be thrilled.”

“Yeah, she is pretty adorable,” Yuri agreed with a grin, and handed his child over to the silver-haired Alpha. “And she's the spitting image of her Äke. With any luck, she'll have my impeccable vocabulary.”

“So planning for her first words to be fuck you?” Phichit teased, and Otabek snorted.

“Oh, give me a fucking break,” Yuri scoffed as he watched Viktor coo over his infant for a moment longer before he passed her back to Yuri, while Yuuri lifted Yuriko onto the end of Yuri's bed with her dummy in her mouth. Immediately, she rolled onto her belly and started to wiggle like a fish. “I don't swear that much.”

He paused, and like an instant replay, he realized what he'd just said, and another chorus of laughs surrounded him.

“No further evidence, your honour,” Phichit teased, and Yuri snorted as Viktor reached out to cage Yuriko in as she got up on all fours, and began to crawl shakily across his bedspread, and four adults swooped in at once to stop her from crawling off the edge.

“Come on, Yuriko,” Viktor cooed, as he turned her around to face Yuri, and sat her up. “Meet your baby sister.”

The eight-month-old blinked bemusedly at Yuri, her light pink dummy obscuring a good portion of the lower half of her face, while she stared up at Yuri and Alvinia with wide blue eyes.

Yuri decided to indulge Viktor, and carefully held out the newborn to Yuriko. The adults all seemed to hold their breath as they watched, and Viktor and Yuuri seemed to be dying inside from the cuteness—

Until Yuriko reached forward, and promptly stuck her finger up Alvinia's nose.

The move immediately woke up the newborn, and she promptly began to wail. Yuriko's eyes went wide with alarm at the sound, and the dummy fell from her mouth as she joined in with Alvinia's cries.

“Oh Alvinia, you poor thing!” Yuri yelped as he drew her close and began to rock her, while he glared over her tiny shoulder at Viktor, who was looking appropriately shamefaced as he rocked his own daughter in his arms. “Is your little nose okay?”

“I think she's okay,” Otabek said consolingly as he checked her over while Yuri held onto her. “She just got a scare.”

“We better keep an eye on them once you take her home,” Yuuri said seriously while he picked up Viktoria, who had begun to fuss from all the noise. “Newborns are so delicate, we don't want the girls to accidentally hurt her.”

“I think you guys are gonna need a new blanket term for your kids, given that now we have four girls,” Otabek pointed out, then glanced at Yuuri's stomach, “and possibly another on the way.”

“Can we please not discuss the whoops baby?” Yuuri asked weakly, his face flushing pink, and Yuri snorted a little at Yuuri's wording. “I am fighting total mental shutdown at the idea of five teenage girls in one house.”

“Better another girl than a boy,” Minami teased, “that kid leaves the toilet seat up once and they'll probably get murdered.”

“What happened to I want a house filled with children?” Yuri asked Yuuri mockingly as Alvinia began to settle down, and his flush seemed to deepen.

“I'm getting Viktor neutered after this one,” Yuuri replied teasingly, a small, amused smile spreading across his lips when Viktor, who had been sipping his coffee, promptly sprayed it out of his nose.

“It's not my fault that you're as fertile as a freaking bunny rabbit,” Viktor retorted as he mopped up himself and his daughter, who he had been holding. “I didn't mean it!”

“Can we please change the subject before we all learn way more details about Viktor and Yuuri's sex life than I'd like to know?” Yuri interrupted, and Minami and Phichit howled with laughter.

 ~*~

 Yuri stayed in the hospital with Alvinia for about a day and a half. Alvinia was checked over, her newborn vaccines were administered, and she was given a clean bill of health. Otabek was also gifted with the honour of giving his daughter her first bath, with the nurse showing him how to do it without getting water on her umbilical cord.

Everyone else went home, keen to finally get some rest, and visited Yuri and Alvinia in shifts while the others babysat the triplets.

Except Nikolai, who refused to leave the hospital without them.

“All right, Mr Plisetsky,” the doctor proclaimed as he brought in a wheelchair for the new mother around noon on the second day, “you're free to go. Everything looks good, and barring complications, you and Alvinia should be just fine. Now, I don't want you having sex for at least six weeks—”

“—six weeks?” Otabek interrupted with a note of alarm in his voice. Yuri did his best not to laugh at Otabek's reaction, while the doctor's expression became even more stern.

“Six. Weeks.” The doctor frowned at Otabek, who grimaced a little and bowed his head. “Congratulations again, both of you. Yuri, you've been discharged, so you four can go home.”

“Thanks, doctor.” Yuri smiled while he rocked Alvinia in his arms. The doctor nodded once, and left them alone. Yuri adjusted his grip on Alvinia as he took Otabek's hand as he began to help him manoeuvre out of the bed and towards the waiting chair.

“If it makes you feel better, I'm not sure I can wait six weeks, either—” Yuri began, but broke off abruptly with a hiss of pain as his bottom began to sear with a dull, throbbing pain ache from the slight movement from the bed to the wheelchair. “Okay, yes I can—I may never have sex again.”

“Don't worry,” Otabek said with a soft chuckle as he moved to stroke Yuri's hair, before he bowed forward and offered his mate a gentle kiss. “In a few weeks, the pain will all be gone, and you'll feel much better.”

“I hope so,” Yuri mumbled as Otabek straightened up and began to wheel Yuri towards the recovery room door. “I'm not enjoying the idea of waddling around forever like I had a cannon up my ass.”

“Well, you can rest when we get home; Phichit and the others promised to move our bed back upstairs.”

“Why am I not comforted by that, I wonder?” Yuri asked, and Otabek snorted.

“Viktor promised to be more careful this time, plus Minami is helping, and Yuuri is supervising,” Otabek said, and Yuri laughed softly.

“I can't wait to hear the story of how Viktor nearly killed himself this time...”

“Have you no faith in us?” Otabek asked as he wheeled him out into the hall, and headed for the waiting room, where Nikolai had been waiting for them to finish with the doctor.

“None whatsoever.”

“Oh, thanks,” Otabek retorted, and Yuri smirked to himself. “I'll have you know us alphas are completely capable of doing things without paying someone else to do it—hey, stop laughing!”

“Is Viktor getting concussed by an AWOL mattress your idea of completely capable?” he asked between bouts of laughter, wiping tears from his eyes as Otabek slowed his wheelchair to a stop in front of Nikolai.

“You certainly seem to be in good spirits,” his grandfather remarked as he smiled down at Yuri and Alvinia. “And how is my právnōchka doing today?”

“She's fine,” Yuri replied with a small smile as he rocked the sleeping baby in his arms. “She's been sleeping mostly, but woke up long enough to eat.”

“Oh, you're a lucky young man,” Nikolai said with a chortle as he turned, and they began to make their way out of the hospital. “You were a little terror as a baby. Your poor Mat` could never get you to settle down, I think you screamed nonstop for the first six months of your life.”

“Sounds like you haven't changed much,” Otabek teased, and Yuri reached up to swat him, making both his grandfather and his mate laugh.

They stopped outside the Mercedes, and to Yuri's amazement, a back-facing baby seat had been set up in the back of the car perfectly. It was perched behind the passenger seat, and Otabek proudly showed Yuri how securely the thing had been strapped in before Yuri allowed Otabek to relieve the omega of the baby and carefully strap her in, adjusting the size of the cushions carefully to keep her from being jostled while they drove.

“I'm impressed,” Yuri teased as Otabek circled the car with the wheelchair and helped Yuri into the back seat next to Alvinia. “You managed to get the car seat in without any disasters.” He glanced up and looked at Otabek, then flicked his gaze to his grandfather. He arched a brow, and looked back to his mate, who had suddenly found the stitching on the wheelchair fascinating. Yuri coughed pointedly, and Otabek's face began to flush red. When he finally glanced up, Yuri raised an eyebrow at him inquiringly, and Nikolai chuckled warmly.

“Nikolai may have helped a little...” Otabek muttered as he glanced away, “...erm, he may have fixed the disaster that I created...”

“You are hopeless,” Yuri said with a snort, and Otabek offered him a weak, apologetic smile.

 ~*~

 After Otabek helped Yuri shift from the wheelchair to the back seat next to Alvinia, he packed the wheelchair into the trunk of the car while Nikolai took the passenger seat. Otabek drove, driving comically slowly while simultaneously checking his mirrors almost obsessively. Alvinia whined and fussed, and Yuri cooed at his daughter as the car moved.

“Oh, precious, you don't like speed either, do you?” Yuri asked as he rocked her seat as best he could, and moved his other hand to lightly stroke her little chubby cheek. “You must be mine.”

“I'm barely going thirty kilometres!” Otabek complained from the front of the car, “I'm trying to go slow, all right?”

“Any slower, and we'd be going backwards,” Nikolai pointed out, and Yuri snorted when Otabek scowled, and he sped up incrementally.

Chuckling, Yuri turned his attention back to Alvinia. Her face was screwed up and tense, and she was whining and fussing, but not quite crying yet.

“Beka,” Yuri called, “I don't mean to rush you, but I have a feeling that she's a little time bomb that's going to go off any minute—so either speed up, or pull over so that I can calm her down.”

Otabek glanced into the rear view mirror, and Yuri could see a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth with a conflicted look in his eyes.

“My dear alpha,” Yuri said with mock sweetness in his voice. “If you keep going under the speed limit, we'll get pulled over. Just relax, and speed up. Alvinia's fussing, but she's not hurt; this is just new for her, and it might take a couple trips to get her used to cars. All right?”

Otabek nodded, and moved up to sixty. Yuri offered him a warm smile, and did his best to swallow his amusement. If Otabek's attitude over the last two days was any indication, Yuri could assume that as they watched their little girl grow up, Otabek would likely be a complete and total pushover.

And you, my little one, will have your Äke wrapped around your little finger, Yuri thought as he rocked the car seat, and stroked Alvinia's cheek while they turned around the corner and their house came into view.

“Welcome home, Alvinia,” Yuri murmured to his daughter, and she let out a tiny sigh as she finally began to settle.

A/N: Russian: Prádyed – Great-Grandfather,  Dyédya – Uncle,  Právnōchka – Great-Granddaughter Japanese: Oji – Uncle (Ojisan is the more formal version) Thai:  Leung - Uncle

A/N: If you like my work, please consider throwing a few bucks into my Digital Tip Jar. I am a starving artist, and I like not actually starving to death :P

NLMG Masterpost

[spectrumscribe]

Halcyon Days

For @tmntflashfic’s wonderful Spring prompt, a fic that is sort of a sequel to my ‘April-joins-the-Foot-clan-post-season-4′ fic, but can be read as a standalone.

Have some soft family fluff and mutual grieving between the murder lady trifecta and the four chaos brothers + Casey. Main focus is on Karai and Leo, enjoy them being adults and (mostly) stable individuals together.

---------------------------------

Karai leans her head back against her seat, idly watching the country side rush past her window. She blinks slowly, eyes feeling tired from the abrupt time change she’s experienced coming back to America. The sounds of April and Shinigami in the front seats chatting quietly further soothes her nerves, because their familiar voices have long since become staples in her life, and she can always depend on them to anchor her.

Karai feels their car turn, and shifts her weight as they begin the journey up the farm house driveway. April’s voice picks up a note of excitement, and Karai smiles to herself at the red head’s eagerness to see the other half of their family.

As they keep driving, Karai sees the car following them suddenly stop and then park in the middle of the road. It’s one of four in the area, with three or two Foot soldiers in each. Extra protection, just to ensure they aren’t interrupted during the celebration.

Karai’s men and women are good soldiers, now that they’ve served a solid ten years under her reign as clan leader. She made sure that none of them were anything less than perfect, and knows she can trust her chosen subordinates to guard the perimeter. She can let go of her constant vigilance, at least for tonight.

Karai eases the last of her leaderly stress from her mind, and finds herself grinning as the farm house comes into view at last. Just a fourteen hour flight from Japan, and then four hour drive from New York, and they’re finally here.

The hulking, nightmarishly sized bipedal crocodile and similarly giant, but still much smaller, bipedal gecko in the front yard are welcome sights. Even more so as they raise the alarm that Karai, Shini, and April have arrived, and a flood of impossible beings pours out of the house.

Before Shini has even parked the car fully, April is unbuckling herself and flying out the passenger door. Karai chuckles as her third in command runs across the lawn like she’s fifteen and not nearly thirty, and flings herself at the collection of turtle brothers and the lone human in their odd group. It’s always a sight to see, the six of them reuniting. And the obvious affection the boys have for April is always clear in the way they hug her, and in how they, very often, sweep her off her feet to be passed around for even more hugs.

Karai knows she’ll be getting a similar treatment, the moment she gets out of the car, and she smiles as her brothers catch sight of her setting foot on the grass.

She shuts the car door behind her, and catches Mikey as he barrels towards her. He’s always the first, because despite having grown taller than her, he kept the lightning speed he’d had as a teen. Followed quickly is Leo, then Raph, and finally Donnie, who is so tall these days, he has to stoop to hug her properly.

The Mutanimals, an even odder collection than Karai’s siblings are, begin to encroach on the reunion. Now that Karai is here, with April returned to her boys, and Shini’s arm winding around Karai’s waist, everyone is accounted for.

“Welcome back,” Leo says over the clamor of everyone talking, smiling wide enough his left eye’s scar crinkles.

“Good to be back,” Karai replies truthfully, returning a smile just as wide.

Mikey then exclaims loudly over the group’s noise “THE PIZZA-BURGERS!” and makes a mad dash back towards the house. Karai guesses that whatever ‘pizza-burgers’ are, it’s what she’s having for dinner. After spending months without tasting Mikey’s… curious cooking style, Karai figures she can handle whatever abomination her brother has created this time. If only for him to be happy.

Leatherhead lumbers after Mikey first, Mondo trailing along with him, and then their group disbands completely. Karai follows Leo back into the house, keeping her fingers laced with Shini as Shini chats with- or more accurately- teases Casey.

The house is loud, and too full of moving bodies, and smells like grit and dampness; courtesy of all the less than human inhabitants. Karai winds her way through the crowd, minding Slash’s spiky shell, and stepping over the ever growing, pit-bull sized Chompy who gallops between the legs of everyone. Shini’s hand doesn’t leave her’s, and when they finally make it to the couch for a breather, the farm house has returned to being packed to the gills with guests, and there is barely a chance of being able to hear one’s self think.

Karai drinks in the dissonant chaos of it all, relaxes with Shini as Leo goes to get them tea, and enjoys being with her strange family once more.

Later, when things have become a bit more organized, and Karai drifts from the party. She opens the backdoor of the house, leaving behind the lights and warmth of friends and family, and goes out into the late spring evening.

She approaches the gravestone, set in front of a shady tree, and kneels quietly in the grass. No moss or discoloration has grown on its surface, mostly likely due to upkeep and care from Karai’s younger brothers.

It’s been a full decade now, and Karai sighs as an old hurt rises once again. She bows her head for a moment, and closes her eyes as she kneels at her father’s grave.

After a soft, unspoken prayer, Karai lifts her head to look at the words carved into the stone before her. They still read the same as they had when she’d first seen it, but she reads them again regardless. There is always a chance she won’t be able to see it again for herself, living the life she does. It’s best to make the most of this moment while it’s here.

Quiet wind blows through the grass, rustling it as the world cools towards night. Fresh spring life fills Karai’s senses, and because she has spent the last months smelling only city grit, she darts out her forked tongue to properly taste the sweet air. A moment of inhumanity, accepted and welcome in the current company she’s keeping.

She hears purposefully made footsteps come up behind her, and Karai turns her head.

Leo stands in the low evening light, holding plates of food for himself and Karai, and he smiles down at her.

“Feeling hungry?” He asks, offering a plate to her.

Karai smiles, brushing away her years old sadness, and takes the plate of dubious food. “I think the better term would be ‘feeling adventurous?’”

Leo winces and then laughs, because Karai is right. There is always a fifty-fifty chance whatever Mikey has made will be near poisonous, and why they keep letting him cook is a mystery to Karai.

Of course, as she bites into the meaty, cheesy, saucy patty on bun, she remembers why they do, and enjoys her supper.

There are already offerings placed around their father’s grave, flowers and wreaths, and a lone picture frame with the single family photo they ever managed to take. Among all the chaos of wars and fighting, there had been an evening, once, where Karai had deigned to stay in the lair for more than a few minutes. Someone had found a camera, that someone being April, and had taken a photo of Karai, her brothers, and their father all together.

It’s a messy photo. Raph’s arms are half blurred as he wrestles with Mikey, and Leo’s face is a priceless look of panic as he dodges the sudden quarrel. Karai and Donnie, standing together to the side of the fight, have matching looks of unimpressed condescension, and she figures it’s an obvious sign of their relation.

Their father, in a rare moment outside his stoic nature, is smiling at them all in a warm, amused manner. It’s the only photo they have of him smiling so freely in, with Karai in the shot as well. It goes on the grave every year, when they all gather to celebrate Splinter’s life, and is taken home again when they part ways once more.

Karai has a copy of it, in her main sleeping quarters, in her main base, and she smiles every time she sees it. That doesn’t change now; looking at the original print, set against the grave of the father she never got to know.

Karai finishes eating with Leo on the grass in front of the grave, and they talk about their lives recently. How many dimensions Leo and his brothers have traveled to lately, how many misadventures they’ve had in those dimensions, how many clans have attempted to challenge Karai’s power hold of Japan, and how many of those she’s destroyed or taken into the Foot’s territory. Normal things, for them at least.

“So how has Pimiko been doing lately?” Leo asks, leaning back comfortably on his hands. “Last I heard, she’d caused a full scale revolt in one of your training camps.”

Karai rolls her eyes at the mention of her potential successor. “She didn’t succeed with that one, as hard as she tried. We managed to get her and her preteen army when they tried to capture the kitchens. And she’s actually been behaving really well lately. Though, I’m also suspicious of whether or not she’s planning another coup.” Karai grimaces to herself. “Who knew twelve year olds were such a handful?”

Leo laughs at that, voice filled with humor and just a hint of roughness. The scars on his neck and chest still stand out, even after time has dulled them. Similar scars had once crossed Karai’s chest as well, from the same blades, the same enemy, but she’s long since shed that skin. Literally. The perks, she supposes, of being a mutant snake woman.

“One of these days, she might actually succeed in overthrowing you,” Leo says, teasing quirk to his smile.

“She can try,” Karai says with a hint of dry humor. When she’d picked Pimiko up off the streets, brought her into the folds of an ancient ninja clan in hopes she’d become more than a street fighter, Karai hadn’t been expecting just how difficult or strong-willed she’d turn out to be.

One of these days, Pimiko likely would overthrow Karai’s reign of the Foot clan. And when that day came, Karai would lower the kabuto onto her head willingly, and feel utterly proud of the spit-fire she’d raised.

But, that is not a day coming soon, because Pimiko is small and reckless still, and Karai can beat her six different ways in as many seconds.

“How’s your side of things been, then?” Karai asks, shifting the subject.

“Oh you know, same old same old,” Leo says with a shrug. “Three brothers to keep track of, plus Casey, dimension hopping every second day, negotiation of non-terran supplies with our space duplicates. The usual. Space Casey and Donnie blew up a small moon the other day. It nearly caused the destruction of a whole ecosystem.”

“Sounds hectic,” Karai comments in an amused tone. She leans onto her knees as she draws them up, and tilts her head. “You five planning on going up again any time soon? I have some material requests for space Donnie.”

“I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to provide,” Leo says, closing his eyes and sighing. “Sometimes, I wonder about those six up there. I can’t imagine what led them to being space pirates of all things, as interesting as that sounds.” Leo pauses for a moment, and then says, “Maybe I can get space me to switch places again. I want a vacation.”

Karai scoffs a laugh. “You’re nearly thirty, and yet, still such a space nerd.”

Leo tilts his chin upwards in a haughty motion, and replies, “I’ll have you know I’m a very serious leader fifty percent of the time. I’m allowed to use the other fifty percent for space enthusiasm.”

Karai elbows Leo, and he elbows her back. It’s a nice exchange, since skype calls will only communicate so much of the back and forth affection they want to express. You can’t elbow your brother through a screen, after all.

Leo notices then, the ring on Karai’s finger, and his eye ridges move upwards behind his ever present blue mask. “That’s new. When did that happen, exactly?”

Karai puts her hand over the smooth metal on her ring finger, and smiles fondly. “Two days ago. Shini wanted to wait for our anniversary, but Pimiko… might’ve gotten into things she wasn’t supposed to, and spoiled the surprise.”

“Congratulations!” Leo says happily, moving over enough to put an arm around Karai’s shoulders. He gives her a tight squeeze as he holds up her hand to see the ring better. “You promised you tell us right away when it happened, though. I’m disappointed in you. Mikey will be disappointed in you.”

Karai rolls her eyes, and gives Leo’s side another elbow. “It was two days, you nosy busybody. I was going to tell you all tonight.”

“I’m surprised April didn’t spill to Donnie and Casey,” Leo remarks, releasing Karai’s hand again. “It’s hard for them to keep anything from each other.”

“April is a full kunoichi, she can keep a secret for at least a few days.”

“And yet, everyone always knows what they’re getting for Christmas anyways.”

“Touché.”

There’s a comfortable pause after that, during which the muted sounds from their family inside is all that’s heard. It’s a nice sort of pause, though. Familiar because of how long it’s been since they were children, and how long they’ve now known one another.

A gentle grief wells in Karai suddenly, and she sighs as she looks at the photo of their family. “I wish I’d gotten to spend more time with him. I only knew him for a year and a half maybe, and I only got a handful of days with him, really.”

Leo’s arm tightens again, and Karai puts her own across his shell.

“I know,” He says, quiet and tinged with grief. “I wish that too. I think you two would have had a lot in common.”

“Oh yeah?” Karai asks dubiously, looking at the rat man in the photos. “How so?”

“Well. You’re both terrible about confiding your fears in others, and about asking for help, and about being stubborn, and-”

“Oh shut up,” Karai groans, shoving Leo off of her. He falls sideways, laughing, and she responds to his mockery by getting larger than him.

Her second form, sleek and powerful as always, glides over her human body to elongate it. In a mere second, Karai is twice Leo’s size, and can comfortably flop over him so he can’t escape.

“You always do this,” Leo grumbles from under Karai’s coils, sounding like his younger self had whenever Karai would beat him at something.

Karai hisses a laugh, and shifts her long body enough for Leo to sit up again. She stays coiled around him though, comfortable to have the security of the position. There are so many mixed and crossed wires in her brain, courtesy of her mutation, and somehow, even in this reptilian form, she feels even more protective of those close to her.

Karai tastes the sweet air of the evening again, and lowers her head- heads- to lie on her top most coils. Leo settles, apparently resigned to being captured, and pats the closest snake head/hand to him. Karai shuts her eyes, and enjoys his company while she has it.

With sea and continents between them, it’s rare for her to see her brothers more than a few times each year. Running an empire requires so much attention; Karai can’t afford to take many vacations. When she does though, they’re always either to France, because her fiancée is a huge fashion fanatic, or back here. To her first real home, with her first real family.

“So when’s the date?” Leo asks after a while, still absently stroking Karai’s scales. “I’d like to know when I have to corral everyone and drug them long enough to ship overseas.”

Karai hums, thinking happily of the event coming soon. “In a few months. It’ll be quiet thing, on the Hamato estate. No fuss, probably no assassination attempts. I’ll send tranq darts and the times for a private jet flight when I get back.”

“I’m happy for you two,” Leo says, a warm smile in his voice. “It’s good to see you getting to be happy, Karai.”

Karai hums again, and thinks the same. “You’re happy too, Leo. Gallivanting across space and time with your brothers and friends still. Obviously a very satisfying career of heroics.”

“I’d like to think so,” Leo replies. “I’m not sure what else I’d do with my life if we weren’t.”

“You’d find something.”

“Probably, yeah.”

They sit in silence for a while after that, enjoying the spring air and nighttime sky. Enjoying being able to let down their guards completely for a night, and be close to someone who won’t potentially stab them in the back. And, the chance to share mutual grief and love for someone they’ve lost.

Karai opens her eyes for a second, to look at Leo, who is slouched in a relaxed manner against her coils. His eyes closed and breathing even. She looks at the scars he’s gained over the years, and though some carry hardships, most carry assurance that they’re all still alive.

After Splinter had passed, and especially after April had chosen to join the Foot clan, Leo had become withdrawn. It’d been a hard fight to bring him back to himself, but now, years after that fight, Leo’s complexion no longer has sallow grief, and he carries himself strong and proud.

They’d had their fights during his darkest period, during which Karai wasn’t sure how to help him, and it had been a few years before they found easy ground again. But, they had, and now they are here. Content with how their lives have gone, and content with being close to one another once more.

Karai closes her eyes, and smiles at how well they’ve both grown up. The first months of running over rooftops together seem far off now, and yet like they’d only happened yesterday. Karai thinks she might be getting a bit old and sentimental, but here, with her brother, she thinks that’s just fine by her.

The cooling evening air isn’t cold enough to drive them inside yet, so Karai settles back into a pleasant drowse. At peace beside her father’s grave, and more than comfortable with her younger brother.

Then, in a complete disruption of the quiet atmosphere, something goes crashing out the backdoor of the house, and causes both Karai and Leo to startle out of their comfy pile.

Raph and April shriek at one another as they spar across the lawn, and Casey plus Donnie are hot on their tail as they encourage the brawl. More spectators follow them out; Slash and Leatherhead carefully extricating themselves out the door, with Mondo, Pigeon Pete, Dr Rockwell, and Chompy tagging along behind. Shini and Mikey rush out after them, both of them looking all too pleased with themselves, and likely being the original culprits of the erupting chaos. Mr. O’Neil wanders out last, after the group of insanity clears the way, and watches the procession from the porch step with a resigned and mildly anxious expression.

There are throwing stars and flying cutlery being tossed through the air, bets being placed on which red colored fighter will win, and an air of excitement and good-natured fun. Also hollering for blood and gore, from Casey, Mikey, and Shini, but that’s beside the point.

Karai huffs softly, watching her fiancée and commanding officer make fools of themselves, and thinks that this is why they should come home more often.

“We should probably break that up,” Leo says calmly, watching his brother and April attempt to beat each other into paste.

“Probably,” Karai says equally as calm, as April starts to get the advantage, and flips Raph off his feet in a sweep of psychic power. Bets are yelled over the ruckus of Raph’s cussing, and it seems the favor of the crowd has turned to April.

“I’m putting ten on April,” Karai says.

“I have five on Raph.”

“What, no equal bet?”

“He’s Raph, and she’s April. I’m not losing money I don’t have, because he’s definitely going to lose.”

April flips up into the air, eliciting a wave of cheers from the crowd, and narrowly misses driving her heel into Raph’s chest as he rolls away.

“That’s fair,” Karai says, smiling with her thin silver lips. “I’ll call her off when he knows he’s been beaten.”

“Raph never knows when he’s beaten, though,” Leo points out.

“Exactly,” Karai chuckles.

Leo laughs, and stands up slowly from their pile. Karai unwinds herself, and follows him towards the jostling crowd of mutants and humans. She shifts from slithering to walking as she does, and wraps her arms around Shini’s midriff when she reaches her. There’s barely a pause to quickly kiss Karai’s cheek, and Shini goes right back to encouraging April to demolish Raph. Karai rolls her eyes, and grins as April and Raph keep fighting.

The fury of two trained ninjas, and the cheering of too many over-enthused observers, fills the air of what most would consider a somber event. But ever since the first time Karai visited her father’s grave, none have been that. With her family, there is always life, always insanity. Never a dull moment, and hardly a pause for real sadness.

It’s a warm and familiar feeling, being with them, and with her fiancée held close, Karai wouldn’t have it any other way.