#she knew it started with thana and that it could only end with him

[iguessitsjustme]

Genuinely almost cried when Mae walked away after shooting Thana at the end and that is damn impressive

[mareenavee]

WIP Whatever? Yeah.

Hi Everyone! I have been buried in some work for Skywind lately, and I am tired.

But I have been writing for prompt fills for the most part so, stay tuned for a few words. :>

I was tagged to share some writing by the amazing: @thequeenofthewinter, @dirty-bosmer, @kookaburra1701, @rainpebble3, @ladytanithia and @skyrim-forever!

Tagging: @paraparadigm, @thana-topsy (🫂), @orfeoarte, @changelingsandothernonsense, @saltymaplesyrup, @snippetsrus, @archangelsunited, @gilgamish, @throughtrialbyfire, @miraakulous-cloud-district, @nuwanders, @viss-and-pinegar, @late-nite-scholar, @greyborn2 AND YOU -- yes, you, if I've forgotten your tag, you're more than welcome to be tagged honorarily and tag me back so I can read some words >:}

For now, here's a bit from my prompt fill for Harvest -- it's from Galathil's POV and is World Canon. It happened a few years before Nyenna's story begins. Untitled so far. Below the cut! Just shy of 800 words.

Galathil felt the shift in the Ratway before the stranger’s arrival, if she was being honest with herself. There was a certain nervousness in that liminal place between solving the Mercer issue and everyone’s attempt at starting over again. And if anyone knew anything about starting over, it was her. One was never content to simply reap what they’d sown. She would not be part of the Guild, nor be seated here on a bench crafted of sodden wood in a seedy tavern under the worst possible of cities if things had gone to plan, after all.

She watched as Delvin plunked crates of fresh vegetables on the table across the room from her, his brow creased with worry. The harvest in this case would go solely to feeding the stranger who had settled into the Warrens, himself averse to the consequences of his actions— or existence. Galathil hadn’t managed to parse exactly what his trouble was, but it was enough to stir up unease. Mention of Thalmor had floated around, and, while it had made her nervous…she’d used her own power on herself long ago. It didn’t stop them from trying to find her. Her magic was rather…unique. The fear of that recognition gnawed at her in an abstract way. She would be defended against Thalmor inquiry without needing to ask for the Guild’s help, true. But then the debt would once again stack in their favor, even if they never came to collect. She still felt outside of things, despite her years settled in the damp amongst them, and despite their hospitality and their attempts at including her.

She fussed with the edge of her sleeve, though even this was going threadbare in places. She’d learned to do without, to stop accumulating social debt and asking for favors, nervous to be seen and, therefore, known. She could never outrun her crimes—the ones from before she fled. The jobs she was forced to do on pain of death for treachery. That she had made it out of Valenwood by the end at all was by the grace of one god or the next. And she had to live with what she’d done to escape, as well as just what she’d run from, and all the consequences of the path she’d chosen to walk.

That was likely why she felt so distant from most—there was a certain trepidation about what they all would think if they really knew her. It was better not to let them in, not to answer their questions with any semblance of truth. But one, of course, managed to worm his way in. And it was because he, too, carried a secret like one might carry a festering wound.

Teldryn Sero, bravado set aside for once, grit his teeth as he sat down next to her. The bench groaned in protest. He was silent for a moment, the only sound the steady clunk of chitin as he bounced his knee, agitation and nervousness palpable. His eyes were distant and dark in the poor lighting. She gently brushed her fingers over his gauntlet, and he grasped her hand. He was shaking. She knit her eyebrows and looked up at him in concern.

“They’re housing a Blade here, Galathil.” He picked his helmet up off of her table, where he’d left it before he’d gone off to assist Vex and Brynjolf with the stranger. “He knew me. He looked right at me, and I… How? How could that be possible?” He paused and closed his eyes. Galathil squeezed his hand.

She knew why he was here, then. Since the Mercer issue, he’d been distant enough, which was to be expected. He’d said once he’d never meant to get roped into cults and guilds. He wasn’t necessarily the best thief she’d ever seen, either, to be perfectly fair. He would be running again. She knew that peace was fleeting, if it even existed at all. And they had had peace, even if it was just for a moment. Consequences seemed to demand it as payment whenever they caught up.

“You can’t know for sure if he recognized you, Teldryn.”

“I can’t be sure he didn’t.” He still gripped her hand. She could see, even through the armor, the tension in his shoulders. Could hear it in his voice, too. “Galathil…please. I just. I know what I said about your skills. I know. But I’ve changed my mind. Can you help me?”

“And rid the world of a face like yours?” she asked. Her smile was wistful.

[jazminrhode1]

Chapter 8: The Gauntlet

Your father often said Basgiath’s cruelty had a purpose. It forces you to find what you’re made of. But don’t let that cruelty harden you. I’d hate to lose you to this place.

Excerpt of recovered correspondence of Lieutenant Xaden Riorson to Thana Valaren.

~

The weight of the Gauntlet was beginning to settle into Thana’s bones. It had been weeks since they started their training, and each time she climbed, balanced, or swung through the course, she felt more sure of herself. The muscles in her arms had hardened, her grip tightened, and her sense of balance had sharpened. There was still fear—a steady hum at the back of her mind—but it no longer controlled her. Instead, it pushed her, a reminder of what was at stake. Every climb, every jump, every slip was a lesson, and she was learning faster than she expected.

Garrick had been pushing her harder each day. His patience was unwavering, but there were times when his frustration showed—when she slipped, when she missed a rope or lost her footing, he’d flinch and his jaw would clench, and she'd see the flicker of concern in his eyes.

"Again, Thana," he would say, his voice clipped. "Don't think, just do it. Focus."

Thana would nod though aggravated at his tone, nevertheless she'd try again. She was stronger now, but the Gauntlet was unforgiving, and there were days when the course felt like it was mocking her. Today, however, she was determined. Today, she wouldn’t slip.

They worked on climbing, scaling walls with nothing but their hands and feet, then testing their agility and balance on beams set higher and higher. They moved from rope to rope, from wall to ledge, until the only sound was the pounding of their hearts and the crunch of gravel beneath their boots.

Despite her progress, there were moments when Garrick’s frustration was too palpable. When she missed a jump and had to scramble back, or when she faltered, gripping the wrong rope too tightly, he would sigh deeply.

"Focus, Thana," he would mutter, his tone softer but still tinged with impatience. "I know you can do better than this."

He had always been like a big brother to her, but lately, it seemed that the pressure was weighing on him too. It wasn’t just about the training anymore; it was about making sure they all survived. And Thana could sense that if they fell, if she fell, he would carry the blame.

By the time the sun dipped below the horizon and the evening training session ended, she was exhausted—her arms burned, her legs ached—but she couldn’t stop. They had to be ready for the final climb tomorrow. Presentation Day was almost here.

The next morning, the courtyard was quiet, more subdued than usual. As Thana lined up with the rest of the cadets, her stomach churned with anticipation. She could see the other squads, most of them tense and jittery, the realization of what today meant settling over them. It was different today—there were fewer of them than there had been when they started, the attrition of training already claiming so many. The air hung heavy with expectation.

Captain Fitzgibbons stood on the dais, his voice steady and strong as he read from the death roll. The names seemed to echo in the crisp morning air, each one a grim reminder of the stakes they faced. The crowd of cadets was smaller than before, but Thana knew it would only shrink further. The toll of the Gauntlet was unforgiving, and Presentation would be the final test for all of them.

"Evander Vossir," Captain Fitzgibbons called, his voice like a bell tolling. There was a brief silence, and Thana felt a knot form in her stomach. She’d seen it—the fall, the sickening plummet as Evander lost his grip. Thana had wanted to scream at Jack for not helping, for not doing more, but nothing had come of it. Jack was who he was.

“Second and third years,” Captain Fitzgibbons continued, his tone unyielding, “unless you’re on Gauntlet duty, head to class. First years, it’s time to show us what you’ve got.”

Thana’s stomach twisted as the words settled into her chest. It was their turn now.

Imogen leaned over to Violet, a sly smile crossing her face. "Good luck today," she said, her voice dripping with faux sweetness. "Hopefully, you don’t fall short."

Thana bit back the snide comment she wanted to make in response. She didn’t have the energy for it—not today, not when everything was on the line.

Liam, standing next to her, squeezed her shoulder. "Ready?" he asked, his voice calm, though there was a flicker of nerves in his eyes.

"Let’s just get this over with," Thana muttered, trying to shake the anxiety that was tightening around her chest.

They walked toward the Gauntlet, the towering cliffside looming ahead. Thana could feel the tension in the air, like a charge in the atmosphere, building with every step they took.

Garrick fell into step beside them, his face set in an expression that was half-steely determination, half-worried concern. He glanced at both of them, his eyes lingering a little longer on Thana. "Focus, all right?" he said, his voice gruff but kind. "You’ve trained for this. I know you can do it."

Then he handed her a small piece of folded paper. Thana took it without thinking, her mind still caught in the haze of nerves. She unfolded it quickly and read the short note from Xaden.

"Don’t die," it read, in his familiar, scribbled handwriting. The words were blunt, but they made her smile.

"Don’t die," Thana murmured under her breath, folding the note back up and tucking it into her pocket.

An hour later, she was at the base of the Gauntlet, the wind whipping at her hair as she stared up at the cliff face. It felt different now, like she was staring at something that could break her. The pressure was heavy, the weight of everyone’s expectations threatened to consume her.

As she started the first climb, she focused on Liam, just ahead of her. He was always so sure-footed, moving with the kind of confidence Thana still struggled to find in herself. But today, she couldn’t let her mind wander. She had to do this—she had to prove she could make it, for herself, for Garrick, for Liam.

The climb was a blur. She focused on one handhold, one foothold at a time, her body moving in a practiced rhythm. The panic crept in when she neared the steep incline, her hands slick with sweat, but the voice in her head wasn’t hers this time - it sounded like her father’s, steady and firm, a reminder to breathe.

"You’ve got this," she whispered to herself.

As she reached the top and sprinted for the final stretch, she saw Liam standing at the end of the flight field, his smile wide and encouraging. Beyond him, Garrick watched with an unreadable expression, his arms crossed, his gaze never leaving her.

Thana pushed harder, her legs burning, the ramp steep under her feet. She didn’t slow down, not until she reached the top and heard the roar of the crowd around her. She glanced over and saw Ruari, with a smile from ear to ear, clapping his hands rapidly. Then, her eyes darted to Violet, who had made it as well. Thana didn’t even try to hide her feelings.

Then, Liam was there, wrapping her in a tight hug, his arms strong around her, and she exhaled the breath she didn’t even realize she’d been holding.

"That’s all me," Garrick mouthed over Liam’s shoulder, his smile wide as he watched them.

By the end of the morning, only 169 cadets remained, and their squad had come fourth out of thirty-six. Liam had been the fastest, winning the coveted patch, though Thana was convinced he didn’t know how to accept second place. Prick.

The box canyon was breathtaking in the afternoon light, the sun casting a warm golden hue over the meadows and the peaks rising around them. The leaves had begun to turn, gold and amber, painting the landscape in vibrant color.

As they walked toward the narrow entrance to the valley, Liam reached his had back to get. She gripped it tightly, her heart still pounding from the Gauntlet.

Liam leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

"You did it," he whispered.

Thana just nodded, her gaze lingering on the dragons that circled above them. As they descended into the valley, Thana’s throat began to close up. This was just the beginning.

[siderealxmelody]

//origins of Spring & Winter, a why Gwyneth was named and chosen by Spring//

@musings-of-an-antari - hope this makes sense!!

Danatalion leaned back in his chair, the tavern was crowded.

"I still don't see what I gain from this partnership general."

But this far from the war the mood was lighter. Unir looked to the other. He leaned toward him, it payed to keep tabs on people.

Especially the Valg.

Especially a King. Those were rare.

"Explain what a King is among your people Danatalion. I always find that confusing, aren't you matriarchal?"

Danatalion rose an eyebrow, his soul jewel was on full display. This far away from the wars no one dare to try to take it and control him.

It was a stormy gray, pulsating and swirling like a stormcloud as a collar pin. He was arrogant, showing it off so blatantly.

But Unir guessed he wasn't alone, he better his rations this tavern and village was crawling with his kin.

Danatalion licked the foam from his lips and set his drink down. He adjusted himself, tapping long fingers on the wooden table.

"Not surprising you all know nothing. No idea how your people survived this long learning nothing of your neighbors."

Unir resisted the urge to point out his people had power, immense reservoirs with it. They didn't need to get to know their enemies - they could just annihilate them.

Expect in cases like this, Danatalion was one of Nyx's favorite generals. But he was known for his calculated strikes, a male that actually taught before he killed.

If Unir could convince him the others may just finally fall in line.

"A King is born to support the Dynasty, to take the reigns if a Queen is not ready or not born. Not all our Princesses can become a Queen, most won't descendend to that deep level of power."

He leaned toward him, dark blue eyes flashing.

"If you think I'll kneel before your ridiculous throne Unir you can leave now. Never. This meeting was on principal but if you want to become another dictator -"

"The Savarn Monestary was hit by Thana's forces last night."

Danatalion's fingers briefly stopped before starting again. He sipped at his drink, he feigned disinterest but Unir knew he'd guessed right.

Alethea had been one of the few priestess to survive. And the only one with a ring on her finger the same color and pattern as Danatalion's soul gem.

Danatalion stared at him, and sighed.

"So you're holding her captive? Is that the game? I lay my forces in line and I get my mate?"

Unir stilled, he hadn't guessed mate, maybe a passing fling.

But Valg didn't do that that did they? He'd never heard of them committing the atrocities he knew his fell Asteri did on the other worlds. He knew that a female would choose a Valg male simply because 99% would be disinterested in having them.

"No. The game is others are wondering how she has a ring like your collar jewel. I hadn't realized Valg could split souls -"

"Mates are two halves of one soul. As mates we are Kindred, she can share and have access my magic Unir. Do they truly teach you nothing in those secretive academies?"

Unir dismissed the insult, he didn't have time for them.

"They are growing suspicious of her Danatalion. The game is I protect her, the game is I offer her safe passage to you. Surely your own would protect your mate yes?"

Danatalion shrugged.

"They may if she bends to the Queen we end up having. But fine, I want her away from your lot anyway."

He held up his drink.

"To killing the Gods."

Unir clinked his glass draining his own glass.

"To killing the Gods."

------

Danatalion looked to Fion, Ophion and Thurr. The three had bonded quickly, playing with each other in the floating cities here in Muspelheim. Danatalion's dynasty had migrated from the Valg lands, giving them a freedom to grow beyond it.

It had become a place of learning, of alliances.

"Who is their parent?"

Danatalion shrugged and looked to Unir.

"Does it matter? She isn't interested in raising them and you wanted some to bond to Thurr yes?"

Unir supposed it didn't matter, but children were a blessing, he couldn't understand it. Perhaps Valg had so many that it didn't matter.

------

Myrdin gripped Fion by the elbow dragging him to his feet away from the burning islands. From the screams - the Valg had finally exacted their revenge.

"Myrdin we have to do something, we have -"

"We are, we're surviving. Let's go."

His twin stood a few feet away, the black Jewel pin twisted in hair gleamed with no light. Gwendyd turned to Thurr, non pulsed by all of it seemingly. But this close Thurr could see her trembling, her people had gotten them out - but the cost had been so damn high.

"We can't stay here, there's a refinery. A place that is said to flow with the waters touched by the Wyrd. We may be able to find weapons there. We'll need them."

Thurr looked to Fion, his hollow and horrified eyes. He'd lost so much in these last few months, two different homes, Ophion had abandoned him for the thrills of war.

Thurr silently vowed to kill Ophion whenever he found him again. If he could bond to Fion he'd may survive such a death.

Ophion didn't get to live when this was the reality.

He looked to Gwendyd and nodded.

"Take us there Your Majesty."

------

Vivian eyes narrowed but her sister looked to Myrdin and batted her lashes. Thurr rolled his eyes, he didn't have time for this.

Myrdin could fuck her later.

He looked to Vivian.

"We need a sword forged here."

"We can make one, there isn't one just lying around Princeling."

Gwendyd cut in, her voice pulling the other females to her, them naturally bowing to her. Valg truly did survive everywhere didn't they?

"I need a sword that can cut through Asteri flesh, that is fit for a Queen. If you recognize me as yours, make me such a sword sisters."

They bowed their heads, slipping into the waters, Gwydion was a thing of beauty, a white blade forged from bone with an alabaster hilt. Gwendyd took it, her breath hitching at the runes that flared at her touch.

They finally had an advantage, one that may help them survive what was to come.

------

Thurr rolled his eyes and looked to Twyla and Sebastian dancing.

"I fear my son's heart is taken by another dear friend."

Myrdin huffed sipping at his mead, the lands of Winter had welcomed him and Nimue, the icy cold choosing them to rule the wild lands. Lands that had let no other lay such claims.

"Ah, is it the way your taken with Mala or how your brother was taken by his lovers?"

Thurr shrugged.

"I have no idea, Sebastian refuses to speak about it. He's been sullen ever since Vale and Natalia began to court."

------

Vivian looked to her middle daughter, guiding her to the water's edge of the starry lake.

"Vale will live darling."

"But, but what of Sebastian and Aphaeleon? Surely they deserve to be punished!"

Vivian sat on the lake's edge, the last remnants of the Wyrdpools that had existed so many centuries ago. She guided her middle daughter to sit next to her.

"They will pay in time, a slight like they did today will come back to bite them. T

It may not be soon, or within my lifetime but it will happen."

She looked to the swirling lake.

"Have faith in the Wyrd, in Urd she sees all and punishes those who disturb the flow of fate."

[ofviolentdeath]

"Silas? I've only kind of briefly met him but I hear he's been spending a lot of time with one of Thana's kids."

From what little she had gathered, her little brother seemed like a decent kid that hadn't been given a lot of chances to form real attachments, so she wasn't entirely surprised he had ended up with one already. She could have asked Cam about it but she knew well enough that he didn't always give answers. Especially on things that could end up being on the more delicate end in the start.

"You'd be surprised just how many people around here would be completely fine with it."

Her smile brightened at that and she had to mentally count to five to keep from bouncing around in her excitement.

"You'll love it here, promise! And, the best part is, you don't have to worry about being judged by anyone either!"

“Yeah? Which brother?”

Lysander thought it was best to ask rather than take a guess since he’d been away long enough that there was a high likelihood that there were a whole bunch of new family members he wasn’t aware of, and the thought of even trying to play catch up was a little anxiety-inducing.

“I wouldn’t even know where to start lookin’,” he shrugged, fidgeting slightly with discomfort at the notion. “Not sure I wanna put that kind of burden on someone in the first place.”

Still, he wouldn’t have come here if he had any intention of leaving just as quickly.

“Ain’t got nowhere better to be, so that’s a pretty easy promise to make.”

[blu-joons]

How Can I ~ Jung Yunho

“She doesn’t love you anyway Yunho, it’s obvious!”

The text was still something that played on Yunho’s mind every day, the collective voice of those around him that had tried so many times to warn him, even if he didn’t want to listen, even if he just wanted his friends to care.

He didn’t know how to react as he read over the text, glancing across at you as you ordered the coffees at the bar. Your smile was wide, and yet his was nothing less than a broken-hearted frown, unable to figure out what he wanted.

With that, came the last time that you saw Yunho, spinning around on your heels only to see that the table was empty with the exception of a napkin placed in the middle underneath the cutlery holder with the word ‘sorry’ written on it.

You never let that deter you from the store, you still visited most days, still sat at the same table by the window, watching passers by with intrigue wondering if one day maybe you might just end up passing Yunho’s eye.

“Y/N?”

It was almost coincidence as you glanced up to the figure that was stood beside your table, feeling your heart drop as you met Yunho’s eyes. Almost two months had passed, and yet still he had that sparkle in his eye, the sparkle that he swore was yours.

“Yeah?”

The harshness in your voice took Yunho slightly by surprise as his head nodded, understanding that he was far from the person that you wanted to see. You’d moved on, forgotten about him, just like he had seemed to do with you in a matter of moments in the store that day.

“Can I help you?” You asked as Yunho remained silent beside you, “is there something you want?”

“No. Kind of,” he stuttered, “it’s good to see you.”

“Of course,” you sighed, shaking your head as you leaned forwards to pick up your coffee mug, taking a large sip.

Still, Yunho remained by your side at the store, watching over you closely as he made sure that you were alright. He didn’t expect the fanciest of greetings, but he still cared about you, he still wanted to make sure that you were healthy and well.

He couldn’t deny that your coldness hurt, however justified it was. He was used to seeing you with a warm smile, it was the last image of you that he remembered before walking out of that coffee store, with guilt in his heart.

“I always hoped that I’d bump into, I always wanted the chance to explain,” he sighed, inviting himself to take a seat opposite you.

Your eyes refused to look at him as he did so, unable to ignore the part of you that was interested to hear what Yunho had to say. “How can you explain running away and leaving me in the dark, clueless as to what had gone wrong?”

He sighed softly as you finished speaking, “I shouldn’t have listened, I was an absolute fool Y/N.”

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but as Yunho began to explain about the text that he had received from his friends, suddenly it began to make a bit more sense. They had always been sceptical of you, afraid that you’d end up hurting Yunho, especially when he always wore his heart on his sleeve.

As his story came to an end, you noticed how quick his voice was to falter, “I-I wanted to forget, I tried to, but I just couldn’t. Most of all I felt terrible for just walking out on you, I couldn’t say anything, I wanted my last words to you to be more than just sorry.”

“I told you that I loved you, you told me it felt like your heart was about to explode, but you still trusted in them more?”

As he thought about it now, it was stupid of Yunho to ever trust in his friends, their words didn’t care about his feelings. They had never cared about his feelings for you, there was always a doubt in them, always surrounding you.

Sitting with you now reignited feelings inside Yunho that he had tried so hard to forget about. He could still remember the way his heart stopped when he told you that he loved you, in the exact same way it stopped when he saw you sat at the table today.

“I don’t expect you to just forgive and forget Y/N, but I always hoped that I’d see you and have the chance to ask that you make sure you don’t forget about me,” he smiled.

Your eyes slowly turned up to look at him, carefully working out how serious Yunho was. His words had hurt you; they were painful whether he meant them or not, he wanted to end it all with you, that was the mark of his apology.

“Do you think you could do that?” He quietly asked.

Your head shook as you leant back in your chair, “how can I just forget about Yunho? Life isn’t as easy as that, because I can assure you, I’ve tried many times to try and forget about you and tall of the pain that you’ve caused me.”

It broke his heart knowing that he was the reason for your suffering, more thana anything Yunho wished that he could erase all of that. He wished that he could go back to when the two of you first met and prove to his friends how incredible you were.

“Do you still want me?”

“Honestly, Yunho, I don’t know.”

Whilst you could never just switch off your feelings for him, going back to the way you were seemed like the impossible. You knew it was tough love for him to hear, but the last thing you wanted to do was play him just like he had done with you.

“I wish that I could have stopped myself from looking at my phone that day, for believing in everything that my friends said, for thinking that they might know me better than I know myself. But I know now that what I want is you.”

It all felt a little too late as Yunho spoke, the seed of doubt had been planted in his mind, and no matter how hard he tried to convince you, you’d always be aware of that seed in the back of his mind for the rest of your lives.

“I don’t want to just forget about you Yunho, but how can I forget what’s happened? Would it be a crime if we just took things slow, we could be friends for a while, but I’m not going to put myself out there to be hurt again.”

“I still love you,” he suddenly whispered, surprising himself too, “if it means that there is a chance with you, then friends are where we can start, but I’m not going to give up on something more.”

“Don’t do that, don’t get your hopes up like I know you always do,” you requested.

Yunho’s head nodded back at you, trying to stop his mind from running away with him. In his dreams the two of you were back together, your words were sincere, but in reality, it was still a long way off for the two of you.

“Can I at least buy you another drink?” He offered with a soft smile.

Your head nodded back at him, “to be honest, I think a coffee is the least that you owe me after what you’ve done to me.”

“Promise that you won’t run away whilst I’m gone,” he joked.

“Trust me, I’m not like you.”

---

Masterlist

[peterxwade24]

Safety Found in Red Sleeves

Chapter 7

So, who’s ready for Gotham ft. Thana and friends? Also, Uncles Ed and John show up at the end so, look out for that.

Anyways...

Jason woke up early that next day, and he decided he was just going to have a little bit of a lie in. He smiled and pulled Damian closer, shushing him when he made a noise in protest. “I’m pretty sure the girls are going to join us in a little bit, and then Tim a little while after that.”

Just like he expected, Steph and Cass joined them in the bed not too long after he said it, and then Tim joined in a few minutes after the girls. The five of them laid in bed, everyone finding comfort in each other. No words were passed between the family, they didn’t feel the need to speak.

That’s where Dick and Wally, and their kids, found them about an hour later.

“Why weren’t we called to join the cuddle pile?” Dick pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, while Mar’i, Jay, and Iris ducked around their fathers and climbed into the bed. They, like Damian, chose a Wayne and clung to them. Mar’i clung to Tim, Iris clung to Steph and Jai clung to Cass.

“There’s a nine-year-old practically asleep on my chest. My phone is on my nightstand. None of them brought their phones to my bed.” Jason whispered and carded his fingers through Damian’s hair.

Dick shot a look at Wally, Wally simply shrugged as though to say “when in Rome” before he too got into the bed.

“C’mon Dickiebird. We don’t have anything to do today. We don’t start guiding or protecting them till tomorrow.” Jason’s words were slightly slurred in his comfortable state.

Dick huffed good-naturedly before climbing into the bed with his family and the Wests.

---

Tim’s phone blared from the room he’d claimed, stirring the almost completely asleep cuddle pile into wakefulness.

Jason frowned and shifted Damian from his chest to Steph’s other side. “I’ll be right back. Imma go answer Timber’s phone.” Jason slowly got out of the bed, being careful to not displace the other kids, and quietly left the room. He made his way into Tim’s room, grabbed his phone off of the night stand, and, without looking at the caller ID, answered the phone. “Timothy Jackson Drake’s phone, Jason speaking.”

“Why do you have his phone?” Bruce’s irritated voice came over the line.

“Because Tim’s in my bed asleep with most of my family and he left his phone on the nightstand next to the bed he sleeps in.” Jason’s voice didn’t change despite a grin forming on his face. “If something’s gone wrong at Wayne Enterprises, then shouldn’t you as the CEO be stepping up to solve it? And not your seventeen year old son.”

“You have no-” Bruce growled.

“I have no what? Room to care about my little brother? Right to care that my brothers and sisters would perish in your care?” Jason’s tone took on a deadly edge. “I have killed for less. I have killed to keep my son safe. I am not above maiming in the defense of those I love.” Jason hung up the phone and put it back down on the nightstand with a weighted sigh. He turned and the only indication he was surprised by Cass’s appearance was a slight widening to his eyes. “Hey Cass.”

Cass simply walked towards her brother and let herself slump against his chest. She wrapped her arms around him in her own display of thanks.

Jason simply rubbed circles into the older girl’s back. “I will not let him hurt any of you ever again. Harvey and I will fight tooth and nail if we have to, he has already given up his parental rights to Damian. You and Steph and Tim are just as much my siblings as you are my kids, well, you not so much a kid but you know what I mean.”

Cass shook with silent laughter and nodded. She patted Jason’s back and pulled back. She flashed him a smile before pulling him back to the rest of the family. 

---

Jason smiled as Damian ran around the park with Mar’i, Jai and Iris. Damian hadn’t had many opportunities to open up to children his age, as there hadn’t been any in the league, and despite the fact that he was older than the other three the four of them got along fairly well. Jason watched as Dick fretted over the three younger kids, Wally stood beside him with a small affectionate grin on his face. Tim was riding a skateboard around the park, Bart keeping pace beside him. Cass sat with Kon while Steph, Cassie and Cissie chatted a few paces away from the other two.

Damian, Mar’i, Jai and Iris ran around the park, weaving around other patrons and laughing. Damian looked over his shoulder at the other three when he ran into someone.

“Are you okay? Oh I’m so sorry.” A girl, who was with the person Damian ran into, spoke with a French accent. She was significantly taller than her companion with long black hair, the bangs and tips of which were dyed purple, and copper coloured eyes. She fretted over both Damian and her friend, who Damian was finally taking in. Her friend was short, just a head or two taller than Damian, with blue eyes and short pink hair, part of which was pulled back into a spiky ponytail.

Damian nodded. “I’m fine.”

Mar’i, Jai and Iris, upon seeing Damian standing, turned and ran to get their fathers.

The taller girl nervously flicked her bangs out of her face before frowning. “Are you sure you’re okay? Alix doesn’t always look where she’s skating.”

The other girl, apparently named Alix, looked ready to comment when Dick and Wally approached.

“Are you okay Damian?” Dick’s tone was filled with concern while Wally hung back with the three other kids.

“I’m fine Uncle Dick.” Damian frowned, “where’s Baba?”

“He’s gathering the other three, then they’ll be over here.” Dick reassured his young brother/nephew.

Jason ran to his son and scooped him up. “Oh Kutlat Saghira. Are you okay?” He turned to look at the French teens and smiled. “Thank you for stopping to make sure he was fine.”

Alix’s eyes widened before nodding. “Yeah, uh, no problem.”

Juleka gave a shy smile and nodded. “It was the least we could do.”

-*-*-*

Thana stared at her friends, the three who had always had her back and the two newest additions to their ranks. She took a moment to thank Plagg and Tikki, without whom she may never have met her closest friends and allies. She took in her friends and the way that all of their outfits seemed to go together without being obnoxiously matchy-matchy.

Alix seemed to be vibrating in her shoes, which were custom made turtle shell patterned Heelys. She wore dark gray distressed jeans with a dark forest green racerback tank top. She had a black and red men’s flannel over her tank with a red beanie perched on the top of her head. She had a dark green turtle themed shoulder bag strapped across her back.

Nino, standing next to Alix, had similar shoes done in snake skin instead of turtle shell. He wore loose-fitting blue denim jeans with several snake related patches around the side seems, he had a gray collared shirt under a red sweatshirt. He had a black shoulder bag across his back, on the opposite side Alix’s was. He had his normal headphones around his head while he had a pair of black headphones atop his head.

Adrien wore black and white checkered vans with white socks. His pants were salmon with baby pink criss-crossing stripes covering them. He wore a baby pink sweater with a light gray fanny pack.

Chloé wore a layered yellow skirt with a pair of foxes chasing each other around her hem, her skirt was made up of a solid layer of yellow silk under two or three layers of tulle. She had a white crop top tank under a red knit cardigan. She had an orange coloured baguette purse at her side. She had black converse with black socks to finish off her outfit.

Kim wore a pair of black running shoes, with gray sweatpants and a white shirt. He had a red zippered hoodie on top of that. He had a tiny gray ox with a smaller black cat curled up on its back on the hem of his shirt.

Thana had a pair of black running shoes, with gray leggings and a white tank top. She had a red crop top hoodie made of the hoodie she’d received from Jason all those years ago with a few added panels. Her tank top had little depictions of the Vietnamese zodiac animals on her chest.

Alix smiled brighty. “So, Kiti, you’ll never guess who I ran into, almost literally, yesterday.”

Thana hummed in acknowledgement as she led the group to the elevator. “Who’d you run into Rùa?”

“Oh, just, your brother, his brother, and an assortment of children.” Alix grinned as Thana froze and turned to look at her.

“What?” Thana’s voice was almost too quiet to hear, prompting Kim to drape his arm across her shoulders while Nino settled his normal headphones around Thana’s neck.

Chloé stared at Adrien, her blue eyes seeming to stare into Adrien’s soul.

“Hey, Al, that maybe wasn’t the best thing to say when we’re trying to get to the lobby to go on a tour with the rest of our class.” Adrien attempted to gently tell her off, but it backfired.

“Whatever.” Alix slunk ahead of them into the elevator.

---

Adrien looked at Alix forlornly as Alix chatted with Juleka. He knew he’d have to apologize eventually, he may have one fear as Monsieur Punaise (which was his partner) but he had two fears as Adrien Agreste, and they were disappointing his father and an angry Chloé Bourgeois. He shook his head and looked back at Chloé, who had a frown on her face as her eyes continued to scan the streets.

Nino fiddled with his phone as he kept pace a step behind Chloé but a step ahead of Thana and Kim. He looked to be fully absorbed in his phone but he was quick to pull Chloé away from the street a few moments before a car came whizzing past.

Their tour guide, a pleasant man who’d introduced himself as Richard, despite the fact that the bodyguard had snorted in response before neglecting to introduce himself, led them around Gotham. He pointed out all of the touristy destinations, while Thana mumbled what could be considered sad facts about each place.

Thana kept flicking her eyes to the bodyguard, there was only one Gothamite with the exact same build as their bodyguard with the same scars littering his cheeks and jaw. She was worrying the cuffs of her jacket sleeves when she heard the distinctive tap of her Uncle Ed’s cane. She whipped around to attempt to locate him, before seeing him and his tacky suit and her Uncle John and his equally as tacky suit approaching from behind Kim. She broke away from the group, causing the rest of her class (as well as the tour guide and bodyguard) to turn to stare at her as she threw herself into her Uncle Ed’s arms.

“Little Hood. It’s good to see you.” Her Uncle Ed held her close while Uncle John finally reached the duo.

“Hey Mini Todd.” Her Uncle John ruffled her hair before settling an arm around Ed’s shoulders.

The three reunited for a moment under the watchful eyes of the class’ bodyguard, Thana’s friends, and Marinette’s class. Kim pulled out his phone to take a picture to send to his Mẹ, because she had asked for any updates on Thana’s family situation. Nino took a picture to send to Thana, because he knew she’d want to have photographic evidence of when she reunited with her two of her uncles.

“I missed you two so much.” Thana whispered into Ed’s neck while John settled his hand on the back of Thana’s head.

“We missed you too.” John assured their niece, he knew that she’d had doubts about whether or not they had actually missed her as much as she’d missed them, and he hated her father for giving her that complex every day.

Lila let out a blood-curdling scream before appearing to tremble as she pointed at the trio. “Marinette is hugging The Riddler and Scarecrow!” Lila then proceeded to pretend to faint, luckily for her Alya was right there to catch her, unluckily for her everyone else was focused on their classmate and that fact that she appeared to have tears streaming down her cheeks.

Taglist:

@southamericangothamite @maribat-is-lifeblood @mystery-5-5 @our-preciousss @mochegato @chocolatecatstheron @throneoffirebreathingbitch @2confused-2doanything @wannajointhecrabcult @dreamykitty25 @tomanyfandomsonmymind @moonlightstar64 @justafanwarrior @mialuvscats @pheony1882 @pepelachanel @moongoddesskiana @abrx2002 @ladybug-182 @greatcatblaze @thatonecroc @vixen-uchiha @superbwhispersconnoisseur @lilkymilky @susiej1118  @bluesimani @thatonecroc

[musesofolive]

(Pictures courtesy of picrew)

Name: Aylin (common used alias: Thana)

Age: 36

Pronouns: she/her

Birthday: December 28th

Sexuality: polyromantic/demisexual

Height: 5’11

Personality:

Most closed off, loner person you could really get. Feelings? What are those? She took them from a young age and buried them so deep not even she knows where she put them, really. Usually plays up a cold and harsh exterior to literally everyone, no one in the last like two decades has ever seen her smile. Ever. Not even a tiny one. Apathetic is the best way to describe her and she just...is constantly in survival mode. Life is just one big task for her, so she’s not really living, you know? She eats, drinks and sleeps because she knows she needs it to function. She works purely for the money to continue to function, other than her vengeance against Xadians. Her vengeance is maybe the only thing that actually keeps her alive, without it she would have given up a long time ago, honestly.

Background:

This is back before the modern events take place, far back enough where the war hasn’t started yet and there hasn’t been a border made to separate humans from Xadia. Born to a human mother and a Moonshadow father, the mother died in childbirth. Her father wasn’t going to just leave Aylin there for the humans where he couldn’t take care of her (especially when she was the only thing left of her mother), so, against his better judgement, took her with him to his village. It was...rough, he got brought before the council, he was a hair away from being ghosted if not just outright killed, the only reason he got to stay was because of Aylin. The whole, she’s an innocent byproduct of his egregious mistake and she shouldn’t be deprived of care because of this.

Besides, they thought she would turn out more elf like as she grew up...they were wrong. The only elf like qualities she retained were the pointy ears and her very lightly, lightly purple tinted skin (even though it looked more just extremely pale than anything else.)

and even though the council thought she was an innocent byproduct, the village had differing opinions, especially the kids. Because you know, where adults will still respect the decision made and simply act cold and distant, kids can be cruel since they don’t really respect societal rules, so naturally they taunted and teased her mercilessly as well as her father. But, Aylin got the worst of it. It only really started getting out of hand when the craftsman’s son took one of the prongs off the fire and scarred her with it, branding her with an ‘X’ at the top of her forehead. She had already been quiet and withdrawn from the bullying, but she became effectively broken after that incident. She only left her house to go to school, her father would get anything she needed beyond that for her, also trying his best to keep his daughter safe. But he could only do that for so long.

When she was 16 he got sick, pretty much bedridden and she had to go and care for him, putting on her cold and apathetic face to ignore the looks of disgust sent her way by the other villagers. Almost broke the hand of the craftsman’s son when he tried even going near her again. But no amount of care or healing saved him, and he died by the end of the year. And so the only elf to ever treat her with any kindness and love was ripped from her life. She ran from the village not long after, not being able to take their passive aggression, and went to seek solace with other elves, which didn’t work. All only saw her half human side and gave her the same mistreatment for it. Those experiences only hardened her heart more and made her hatred for Xadia burn brighter until she had enough. If all the elves were ever going to see was her human side, then she’d go and be with the humans. So, she fled to the nearest human grouping, started going by Thana, and dropped the name Aylin almost completely.

That being said, she knew the humans would only ever see her elven side as well, so she usually kept her hair down, using it to cover her pointed ears, and if her hair wasn’t down then she wore a hood to hide them. Over her years of survival, she became a pretty good tracker and hunter, so she started off with that. Going off hunting to bring meat to the butcher in exchange for coin. She fit in quite well, especially with her resentment of the humans, and got involved in her fair share of human rebellions and organizations hoping to undermind Xadians in any way. Of course most were crushed, but that didn’t stop her from joining any she came across, even starting her own which involved the bloodshed and deaths of a couple people from her village. Any opportunity to cause havoc for the arrogant elves was one she’d take, taking out her anger and hurt on all of them. After years of mistreatment and abuse from Xadians she absolutely refuses to just...let it go. In her mind they had their chance to accept her and they didn’t take it, so now they’ll pay the price. She’s unknowingly in danger, though. The Moonshadows, after her attack on her old village, decided enough was enough and banded together a group of assassins to take her out for good.

[ash-axxa]

Immortal’s Flower: Three

poly! BTS, immortals! BTS.

Warnings: None

Word Count: 3.4k

“What the hell were you thinking?” Yoongi asked Taehyung as they walked into his room, shutting the door behind them. Yoongi crossed his arms, staring at Taehyung who sat on the bed and refused to look at the elder.

Taehyung had nothing to apologize for, he did nothing wrong. So he didn’t understand why he was in trouble.

“Why are you getting on me?” Taehyung complained, feeling his anger rising. “This is how I feel. I have every right to feel this way.”

“She’s our mate Taehyung-“

“No! She isn’t! She’s just a waste of space!”

“Speaking of those words.” Yoongi growled, a fire igniting in his eyes at the thought of someone calling his mate just a waste of a space. “You know you can’t just say stuff like that in front of Jimin. You remember how he was.”

“I. Don’t. Want. Her. As. A. Mate.” Taehyung growled, trying to get it to Yoongi. Yoongi growled lowly, his fists clenching as he sassed, “Don’t you feel that little but missing? That’s her.”

“No. I. Don’t. You know why? I only have six mates. Only. Six.”

“Stop saying bullshit like that!” Yoongi snarled and Taehyung smirked, standing up as he challenged the older. “Why? I feel perfectly fine. I’m not incomplete like you. I’m not weak like you.”

“Watch. It.”

“No. It’s the truth. You have six immortal mates here and yet, you chase after some human? Pathetic. Humans will never be an immortal’s mate. Immortals only belong with other immortals. She’ll never belong here.”

From the kitchen, Hoseok could feel the anger rolling off the both of them. He looked at Seokjin in worry, making the older nod. Hoseok teleported into the room, calming the both of them as they were ready to go for each other’s throats.

“Someone tell me what’s going on.” Hoseok demanded as he looked at his two silently seething mates. Yoongi explained in a low voice, “He says she isn’t his mate.”

“Y- you’re not accepting her?” Hoseok asked in shock, feeling a little bit of his heart cracking in sadness. Taehyung scoffed. “It doesn’t matter if I do or don’t. She’s not our mate.”

“Yes... She is... Why can’t you see that?” Taehyung’s fist clenched at Hoseok’s words, making him seem like he was some dumb child. “No. She isn’t. Why can’t you see that?! We’re perfectly fine how we are! We don’t need her! She’s going to ruin EVERYTHING! I won’t accept her. No matter what.”

He stormed out of the bedroom, slamming the door harshly behind him. Hoseok jumped at the sound and the candle besides Yoongi suddenly melted by the large flame that surrounded it. Hoseok held his hand, calming him down and quietly asked, “What are we going to do with him?”

*********

“Jungkook, stop hovering over them.” Seokjin scolded him softly and Jungkook gave him a look before lowering to the ground while looking at Jimin’s peaceful face. His fingers gently brushed his ashen hair from his face and spoke softly, “He looks so happy right now...”

“They’re seeing our mate.” Seokjin told the youngest who whined in response, “I wanna see her too.”

“You have to wait Kookie.” Seokjin cooed, kissing the top of his head and Jungkook pouted with looking at the oldest. He didn’t want to wait to see her. He wanted to see her now. He wanted to hold her and coddle her!

Seokjin chuckled at the want in the youngest’s eyes and Jungkook grabbed Seokjin’s waist as he pulled him closer. Their lips connected, Jungkook wanted to make Seokjin stop laughing at him.

There was a smile pulling on Seokjin’s lips as he wrapped his arms around Jungkook’s waist, kissing the maknae. Namjoon’s voice made Seokjin jump, breaking the kiss, “That’s a sight I wouldn’t mind waking up to more often.”

Jungkook pouted at the loss of his mate’s kisses, giving Namjoon a look. Jimin yawn, lazily rubbing his eyes as he woke up and Jungkook immediately was by his side. The smile was still on his face and he gushed, “She fit in my arms so perfectly... Her skin was so soft and she was so small. Just like a doll!”

Namjoon and Seokjin smiled at hearing Jimin’s words, glad to hear their mate accepting their last. Jungkook listened intently to every word that Jimin spoke about her, trying to imagine her in his head.

While the youngest talk, Namjoon pulled Seokjin into his lap to press their lips together. Seokjin hugged him, melting into his embrace as Namjoon kept his arms securely around him.

“Her hair was brown, lighter than yours. She has soft chocolate eyes that sparkle. Her lips are rosy pink and sooo kissable! It seemed surreal when she hugged me and asked me to hold her. Her head was just resting on my chest or in the crook of my neck; just like...” Jimin paused, realizing something.

“Just like you.” Jungkook finished softly and Jimin only numbly nodded, thinking of how that would make his mate. He looked at Jungkook who could sense his worry. Jungkook pecked his lips and comforted him, “She’s going to fit in perfectly.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

**********

The wind was blowing Kana’s bangs out of her face as she sat in the grass, watching the little kids of the orphanage run around. The sun’s warmth was warming up her back, making her body relax.

She sat up straighter when a kid tripped, falling on their face. But she relaxed when they got back up, running after the other children to keep playing their naive game.

“Thana! Come play with us!” A little girl with a small lisp yelled out and Kana stood up, walking toward the little girl. “What should we play Lisa?”

“Mmm... Hide and seek?” Kana felt as if she cheated at this game because of her senses, but she wanted the kids to be happy so she agreed. She knew that she would have to seek, so she sat down with covering her eyes as she closed.

Kana is past 18, which means that if she was human, then she could have left this place. But since she’s not human and no human wants what they don’t understand, she’s still stuck in the orphanage.

Not like she can leave anyways.

There was a deal made years ago. A deal of greed and selfishness.

“Appa?” The child’s voice called out as the young girl was standing there, dirt covering her face from the light fight she was just in from the woods outside. The man walked toward the young girl whose wolf silently warned her, both of them noticing a look in her father’s eye that made Kana’s stomach twist the wrong way.

She took a couple of steps back, trying to get space between the two of them. Her actions pissed off the man and he snatched his hand out, grabbing her by the throat. Tears ran down her face and the man turned his head to look at the figure. He brought the child forward, her eyes looking up at the orange eyes with shaking in fear. “About that deal?”

Kana uncovered her eyes, standing up. The wind felt good on her skin as she closed her eyes, focusing on her other senses. The warmth of the sun hitting on any open skin, the buzzing of the insects moving through the grass, the cloth of her clothes under her fingertips, wisps of her brown hair ghosting her face.

Then she heard it.

Lisa’s heartbeat.

She smiled as she opened her eyes, walking near the area and pretending like she had no idea where the little child was. Even though Kana tries her hardest to get out of the deal, she’s stuck.

That deal is for when Kana is ready; the demons that holds onto her will collect her. Plus, she couldn’t leave these kids with these... Monsters.

But she knows what it means to be ready. The one thing they keep trying to make her do. To be one with the wolf, to stop fighting the transformations. Which is why she stays away from that as much as possible.

If she can fight, if she can give herself time to fight through this. She will.

“Gotcha!” She picked up Lisa who squealed in response. There was a real smile on her lips as she held the laughing girl in her arms, able to hold her through her squirming.

This orphanage is the only that would take her in; the only one knowing what she is. They made her into some watchdog, which is something that is training her ready for the demon. She tries to rebel, but she can never stick to it.

Werewolves used to be divided into ranks and titles, but that custom died out as the race was dying. Taeyong had a conversation with Kana, explaining the customs when they first met her. They try get some customs back and they ignore some customs as well, but that doesn’t mean that the it’s not history.

Hunters were killing the wolves. They were killing each other in silly wars. The worst part is that the offspring of a werewolf and human will be human; no genetic traits of the wolf at all.

Kana have noticed that she has a mixture of the titles within her during the history lessons. Sometimes she acts like some omegas used to and sometimes she acts like an alpha. Taeyong is unsure of what to do with her honestly, so he trains her to see what the ending result is.

NCT is the last werewolf pack. They know no other ones. But they know of a vampire coven nearby, EXO, though they try to stay away from them just in case the vampires were old fashion and tried to start a war with them.

Kana put down Lisa and watched her run over to the kids her age. There was a pain hiding in her eyes, making tears pool at the bottom of her vision. She walked over to her spot and sat down, thinking of her pack.

Yuta and the rest of the trackers have picked up some traces of magic, by the ringing in their ear during patrols. That something Kana learned that it was a genetic trait that wolves have to hunt down warlocks. Just like the warlocks that are there, but they just don’t know where they are.

Kana laid her head back, looking up at the blueness of the sky. She was losing hope of what to do. It’s been a week since that awful medication worked and all her control had slid down the drain.

There’s only been one thing about this week; the dreams.

Every time she falls asleep, she’s met with a new dream. One continuing the pattern that she’s starting to notice. The husky voice that smells like firewood. Though she doesn’t understand how or why she’s having these dreams. She knows it’s not any warlock magic because she doesn’t hear the ringing in her ear when she’s in the dream.

But she has no one to talk to about these weird dreams. She’s alone; stuck.

But when she noticed that she was in the clear, she didn’t waste a second to jump over the fence and take off running like her life depended on it. Kana leaves as much as she can during the day, because at night, the mark that signs her deal is what makes her stay at the orphanage.

That’s how she knows they’re working with the demon.

***********

“How much longer do we wait??” Jimin asked excitedly as they were all eating at the dinner table. Namjoon smiled at hearing his excitement and Seokjin chuckled softly. Before he could open his mouth to explain, Taehyung scoffed and stood up abruptly.

He didn’t care if the table looked at him or not. He wanted them to understand the truth. Something they weren’t.

He stormed out of the house, slamming the door. Jimin jumped at the loud noise, looking down while knowing that it was his fault that his mate was mad. If he had just kept his mouth shut, then Taehyung would be still sitting in here with them.

“Don’t worry about him baby. It’s not your fault, he’s just throwing a tantrum. Trust us, we’re working on finding her still.” Hoseok said with a smile after sensing Jimin’s emotions. He continued, “We’re hoping that it’s soon.”

There was a nod from Jimin as he listened to Hoseok’s words. Namjoon changed the subject, looking at his older mate and said, “It tastes good love.”

“Thank you.” Seokjin smiled at the compliment and the six went back to eating. There was a feeling within the six men at the table, a feeling that made their chest tighten with dread, though no one said anything about it. No one knew how to say anything about it. 

******

"Magic.” Johnny suddenly growled as he heard the ringing in his ear. His head turned to the left, seeing nothing, before turning to the right and seeing the person who suddenly ducked. His inner wolf snarled at the sight of the unknown person and Johnny stormed forward, worried about this warlock being a threat to his pack, his family.

Johnny grabbed the warlock by the throat, pushing him into a spot where humans wouldn’t worry about the warlock getting hurt if needed to come to that point. “It’s about time we found you. Where’s your coven?”

“Wolf. You’re apart of that part. We’ve been looking for you.” A growl rumbled from the back of Johnny’s throat, warning the warlock to be cautious with his words. “We’ve been looking for the White Wolf and we know she’s with you.”

Johnny’s eyes suddenly flashed green as his wolf recognized that his pack sister is targeted. Claws poked the skin of the warlock’s throat as Johnny started to cut off his airway, wanting to get rid of this warlock, but also knowing that he needed answers on why Kana is being targeted by warlocks. “What the hell do you want about her? How do you know she’s with us?”

“W- we know of her legend! S- seen h- her!” The warlock was struggling to breathe, his wrist holding Johnny’s; but not able to compare with a werewolf’s strength. He can’t cast any spells if he can’t breathe, losing focus. Johnny raised his eyebrow, narrowing his eyes when the color in the warlock’s face started to turn blue.

He let go of the warlock harshly, letting his head hit the wall behind them. The warlock leaned down, rubbing his throat and coughing for the air. Johnny’s arms crossed over his chest and he demanded, “What do you mean?”

“You don’t know anything?!” The warlock lifted up his head in surprise and Johnny narrowed his eyes in response, using his wolf dominance. “Guess not... Look, the White Wolf is a legend of a guardian. Humans have mixed up her legend so many times that it’s hard for humans to know what’s real and what’s not, but we know the real story. It’s the same every time; the only way for her to be alive. Her genes are of the wolf and her blood holds the magic.”

“You’re saying she’s some type of hybrid? Impossible. Hybrids don’t make it past birth.” Johnny growled, remembering a hybrid couple that couldn’t have kids because the genes kept killing the child in her stomach. The warlock smiled and said, “That’s what makes the White Wolf so special; she’s the only one who can survive as a hybrid. Which causes her great risks. But this legend... She’s different this time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you’ve noticed that she won’t run with her wolf until she absolutely needs to?” Johnny was quiet, not wanting to seem like he was cooperating with the warlock, but wanting to know the answers. “It’s because there’s a demon. We don’t know how it happened, but she has a demon that clutches onto her. The White Wolf can be powerful to other people, but not to herself. She’s an ally wolf, not solo. She needs a purpose, something the demon will not understand. If she is alone, she will die.”

Johnny stared at the warlock, lowering his guard a bit. The warlock asked, “Is it possible for me to see her? I would like to see what she looks like. Before the immortals...”

“Immortals? What immortals?” Johnny got back on edge, ready to shift and rip any throat out. The warlock looked at Johnny and said, “The legend speaks of immortals, but we can only fear they are her downfall.”

“Where are the immortals? Do you know?!” The warlock opened his mouth before stopping as Johnny picked up the sound of a yelp. They both looked towards the sound of the yelp and the warlock commented, “That immortal.”

Johnny let out a low growl and shifted, the brown taking off from the hiding spot. He easily found Kana’s vanilla scent and sped up, nervous of losing a pack member. He knew Kana’s in trouble and he would not stand by, he would protect his family with his life.

****

Kana had been running down the side, trying to hurry to get to the farm house where her pack was. She missed her pack, but with her excitement, she hadn’t been watching where she was running.

Her body had crashed into another and she was the only one to hit the ground, silently growling at herself for her being clumsy. She was more on edge when she found out that she was the only that hit the ground because at the speed she was running, the person should have hit the ground.

Which explained that whoever it was wasn’t human.

But she didn’t want to be in a fight, never been trained to defend herself. So she just brushed off her pants and stood up with bowing as the man growled, “Watch where you’re going.”

Kana nodded, started to jog off when a hand suddenly snatched her arm in a tightening grip. Her head looked back quickly to see why he was holding onto her wrist, but was never able to say anything because she was thrown back into an alley way.

A yelp came from her as she hit the back wall, landing on her face. Her head yanked up, eyes turning ice blue as she growled with her fangs started to change her teeth as she growled with baring her canines. The man started to walk into the alley way, moving his eyes to the left and she hit the other wall with groaning.

It didn’t work she tried to curl up her body, trying to force herself to be ready for the attack, It hurt anyways and the brick wall made small cuts and scrapes over her skin. Every time she had tried to get up, she was thrown another way and her wolf was getting pissed off at becoming a rag doll. “It’s time to say goodnight. For good.”

*********

A sharp pain passed through Namjoon’s body, making him wince in pain while covering his chest where his heart is. The other five yelled out in worry, all surrounding their mate who’s eyebrows were scrunched up in pain. Seokjin asked worriedly, “What was that Namjoon?”

“That was our mate...” At hearing his words, the rest of their blood froze with fear. Namjoon had been able to create a bond with Kana through her dreams when he had been visiting, now able to care for her when he’s not there. He knows when she’s healthy and when she’s in pain.

Like now.

“She’s in danger.” Namjoon growled, the rest of the boys understanding it completely. Though they didn’t feel the pull, they did not care. She was danger and they were going to get rid of the danger. No matter what. 

“Let’s go protect our girl.” Jungkook said with a nod, ready to fight. Seokjin gently patted his shoulder and the rest of them stood up, all grabbing onto Namjoon who could be the only one that would get them to the right spot.

Namjoon disappeared to where they felt the pull, but they were not prepared for the sight they were welcomed to.

Kana was pinned against the wall, no one around and no one holding her; but she was still fighting against it. There was a bruise that they could start to see around her throat from the pressure cutting off her oxygen. Her eyes were starting to shut as she was losing her fight against the invisible force.

The younger two felt the most betrayed when they looked at the sight and Jungkook asked in shock, “T- Taehyung?”

**************

@peachesandviolets

[headquarters90]

Grateful (Warrior of the Source 12)

Pairing: Darkiplier x French Goddess!Reader, Reader x Original Characters (Platonic/Family), Reader x Greek Gods/Goddesses!Characters

Words: 1,747 words

Warnings: Mental disorders

A/N: Hello, yes, another author’s note. However, this is a rather important one. There is a piece of a book within this part. I did not take it from a popular book nor did I take it from a book written by anyone but myself. The book mentioned is actually my book. You can read the book here. Please do not steal it. JadeDarrow

Series Masterlist

“Oh, you have so many guests, Y/N!” Thana, the French Goddess of Rebirth and your mother, exclaimed as she stepped into your dining room with your father, Thomas, in tow. “Hello, sister dear.”

“Thana,” Bellatrix greeted warmly as she kissed her cheeks. “You know well why she has so many guests.”

“Yes, yes. I know, sis. André, I hope you’ve been treating my Ange good,” Thana grinned as she hugged the Sin.

“Always, Thana.”

“And you must be Darkiplier.” Thana turned towards the entity and your eyes shot to Bellatrix before shifting to Angel who shifted on her feet.

Anti snorted beside you and you turned to stare at him as he grinned down at you.

“And you must be Anti,” she added and you stuck your tongue out at him as he looked at your mother. “I must say, calling my oldest doll can bring on a warning.”

“Mama,” you spoke, shaking your head. “He means nothing by it. Don’t make papa or the uncles suddenly feel the need to protect me.”

“Protect you from who?” Jean-Paul, the French God of the Sun and King, questioned as he appeared with Christina by his side.

“What is this about protecting?” Philippe, the French God of Sexual Longing and twin brother of Thomas, questioned and you sighed, taking your seat at the head of the table.

“Ares better not show,” Jean-Paul spoke, taking his seat beside Christina as he eyed the other end of the table.

“Ares and I separated, Uncle. I thought you knew?” You questioned, watching as others took their seats before your eyes lifted to Dark who scowled at the last reminding seat – the end of the table.

You got to be kidding me.

Your eyes moved to Hades who shrugged in response, settling in his seat beside Bellatrix.

“Ares wasn’t good for you anyways, dear.” Eva, the French Goddess of Life, patted your hand gently and you smiled at your aunt.

“He was just needed for the Great War, Auntie,” Angel snorted.

Soon, the dishes were served and your family and guests chattered among themselves.

Every Wednesday was a family dinner. It was your mother and aunt’s way of reentering the family after Bellatrix had brought them back during the Great War. You were often reminded just how big your family way.

You had your parents – Thana and Thomas, your aunts – Bellatrix and Eva, and your uncles – Jean-Paul, Philippe, and Pierre. Then there was your cousins – Juliette and Jean-Louis, your sister – Angel, and your cousins’ father – Christopher. And that doesn’t include the lovers a majority of them have. Eva and Christopher were the only twos – beside you – without lovers.

“Y/N, darling?”

Your eyes shot to your mother whose face held worry and you winced softly at the sight. One thing you found yourself constantly doing was worrying her. Ever since she was brought back, her focus had been on you and you wondered sometimes if Angel resented that but your mother always made sure to let your sister know she was included in everything the two of you did.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“Your father asked if you were looking for anyone,” she spoke and your eyes turned to your father who raised an eyebrow at the question, a secret smirk on his lips and you pursed yours.

“Not actively, no,” you answered.

“I have someone you might want to meet then.”

“Papa, I rather not. They’ll...expect too much from me since I am your daughter.”

“No, no. Not one of my friends, princesse. Zeus introduced me to him. I think you’ll have a lot of common with him. What was his name, Zeus? He’s your son.”

“Are you talking about Apollo?” Zeus questioned, looking over at Thomas.

“Apollo! Yes! He’s similar to you but different as well. You might like him,” Thomas spoke. “Wouldn’t you say, Juliette?”

“Apollo? Yeah, he seems like someone Y/N would get along with. May take them a while to be more than just fri-”

“If you’ll excuse me, I have better things to do than listen to some Goddess’ love life I don’t care for,” Dark deadpanned as he stood from his spot and your eyes lifted to his.

“Being a bit defensive there, buddy,” Anti commented and Dark glared at him, his hands raising in the air. “Just saying.”

“It would be wise to watch what you say,” Jean-Paul warned.

“I don’t care, foolish God.”

“Listen here-”

“Go, Dark, before you cause any trouble,” you spoke quick and fast, your uncle’s eyes snapping to you in annoyance as Dark rolled his eyes at your statement, turning to leaving. “Anyone else is free to go.”

“You just excused all your guests there, doll,” Anti snorted.

“All but you, apparently, Anti.”

Anti sent you a smirk as he leaned against his chair, waiting until only him and your family remained in the room.

“That’s because I know, doll.”

“Knows what?” Jean-Paul questioned.

“He knows?” Angel questioned, turning towards you. “He knows and you looked at me for telling mama.”

“He read the book before I could hide it.”

“Knows what?” Your uncle repeated in annoyance and Bellatrix sighed, rubbing her forehead.

“That Dark is one of three,” Anti butted in, the smirk still on his lips. “I can always speak to him for ya, doll.”

“I am not having this discussion in front of my family or with you,” you spoke, standing from your chair before wincing softly at the look of Thana’s face. “Mama-”

“You’re different than the Goddess from the Great War, my Fleur,” she stated, looking at you. “Different than the Goddess from a month ago even. More firm, more outspoken, more...daring. It’s impressive.”

“Im...pressive?” You questioned slowly, furrowing your eyebrows. “Impressive?”

You watched as a grin found your mother’s lips and you shook your head, your eyes drifting towards the doorway before taking your seat again.

“Let’s finish the meal,” you murmured, picking up the wine glass and bringing it to your lips.

~

A sigh left your lips as you opened your eyes, glancing towards the clock on your nightstand – 1:26AM. You’ve been trying to sleep since the family gathering ended at 11PM. You were falling back into old habits and you wanted to prevent it from happening but was failing.

Heaving another sigh, you sat up. Your feet touched the cold tile of your bedroom as you stood, your hand flying over an unlit candle that soon lit as you picked it up. You knew where you were going. You disappeared there every day on almost every hour. The one place you could find comfort.

Your eyes fell to the light that dimly shined underneath the doors of your library and tilted your head before you pushed it up, your eyes meeting Dark’s as his lifted to see who was entering.

“Not even in the dead of night can I escape you,” Dark scoffed and a frown found your lips but you made no comment, heading towards the corner nook.

Sitting down, you placed the candle on the windowsill and your eyes fell towards the book you had been reading – rereading actually. The one ability that you had yet to learn to control was the ability to know everything written in a book with one touch. A blessing and a curse.

Your sister had gifted you with a tablet, all your favorite books and more within it, but it wasn’t the same as reading with a physical copy of the book in your hand. You missed being able to turn the page because you wanted to know what was going on. You wanted to be able to exclaim “just one more chapter.” You could still get lost in a book – that was something that was never going to change. You just wished you had the same surprised as everyone else did when they read books with plot twists.

With a sigh, you turned your eyes towards the night sky above.

“I suffer from insomnia most nights,” you answered to the silent question as you felt his eyes glance towards you once more. “Some nights I’m up because of nightmares. They’re the main reason I suffer from insomnia, actually.”

“I don’t care.”

“I know.”

You needed to find another get away, another hobby that would let you leave reality. Maybe you should take up creative writing. Angel suggested that a time or two. You read enough to be able too but where would you start?

“It all started with the homeless. All governments declared that there were too many people in the world and to "cut back" on that, they were going to eliminate the homeless. Creating fewer people and completely wiping the homeless population. Their way of eliminating the homeless was brutal. They set up arenas throughout the countries and it was one on one fighting. Each country has a winner that was able to finally live off the streets. The winner was given unlimited access to anything they wanted and their new house was part of the rich communities.”

Your eyes shot to the entity, his own eyes on the pages of a book you had never seen before. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion and your mouth opened to speak but he didn’t stop.

“Everyone knew what was coming. The rich were finally eliminating those they deemed unworthy, which was everyone that was below them. Middle-class to the homeless. Soon after the homeless were eliminated, the world was split into two categories. Locuples and Parvulus, Latin words that many have lost the meaning of. Ironically, fantasy books had been writing about these sorts of things,” he continued and you found yourself closing your mouth, choosing to listen instead of comment.

“One person decided to split the world to "protect" it and then years after doing so, someone, usually, a girl, makes the big impact to change it. I've read books like it before. I still do. I'm a Parvulus and Parvulus' themselves have certain aspects they most do. Men do the hard labor while women do the other stuff. My mother runs the local bookstore while my father runs a construction company, both are funded by a sponsor who is a Locuples. My twin sister and I help my mother ran the bookstore.”

Your eyes returned to the sky above as a small smile found its way to your lips as he continued to read aloud. You don’t know where it suddenly came from but you were grateful. You needed it.

[oliveofthenight]

Ahahahhh, back on my tdp oc bullshit, buckle up (used picrews for both pictures btw)

Name: Aylin (common used alias: Thana)

Age: 36

Pronouns: she/her

Birthday: December 28th

Sexuality: polysexual/demisexual

Height: 5’11

Personality:

Most closed off, loner person you could really get. Feelings? What are those? She took them from a young age and buried them so deep not even she knows where she put them, really. Usually plays up a cold and harsh exterior to literally everyone, no one in the last like two decades has ever seen her smile. Ever. Not even a tiny one. Apathetic is the best way to describe her and she just...is constantly in survival mode. Life is just one big task for her, so she’s not really living, you know? She eats, drinks and sleeps because she knows she needs it to function. She works purely for the money to continue to function, other than her vengeance against Xadians. Her vengeance is maybe the only thing that actually keeps her alive, without it she would have given up a long time ago, honestly.

Background:

Oh boi everyone buckle up, this is a tragic ride! This is back before the modern events take place, far back enough where the war hasn’t started yet and there hasn’t been a border made to separate humans from Xadia. Born to a human mother and a Moonshadow father, the mother died in childbirth. Her father wasn’t going to just leave Aylin there for the humans where he couldn’t take care of her (especially when she was the only thing left of her mother), so, against his better judgement, took her with him to his village. It was...rough, he got brought before the council, he was a hair away from being ghosted if not just outright killed, the only reason he got to stay was because of Aylin. The whole, she’s an innocent byproduct of his egregious mistake and she shouldn’t be deprived of care because of this.

Besides, they thought she would turn out more elf like as she grew up...they were wrong. The only elf like qualities she retained were the pointy ears and her very lightly, lightly purple tinted skin (even though it looked more just extremely pale than anything else.)

and even though the council thought she was an innocent byproduct, the village had differing opinions, especially the kids. Because you know, where adults will still respect the decision made and simply act cold and distant, kids can be cruel since they don’t really respect societal rules, so naturally they taunted and teased her mercilessly as well as her father. But, Aylin got the worst of it. It only really started getting out of hand when the craftsman’s son took one of the prongs off the fire and scarred her with it, branding her with an ‘X’ at the back of her neck. She had already been quiet and withdrawn from the bullying, but she became effectively broken after that incident. She only left her house to go to school, her father would get anything she needed beyond that for her, also trying his best to keep his daughter safe. But he could only do that for so long.

When she was 16 he got sick, pretty much bedridden and she had to go and care for him, putting on her cold and apathetic face to ignore the looks of disgust sent her way by the other villagers. Almost broke the hand of the craftsman’s son when he tried even going near her again. But no amount of care or healing saved him, and he died by the end of the year. And so the only elf to ever treat her with any kindness and love was ripped from her life. She ran from the village not long after, not being able to take their passive aggression, and went to seek solace with other elves, which didn’t work. All only saw her half human side and gave her the same mistreatment for it. Those experiences only hardened her heart more and made her hatred for Xadia burn brighter until she had enough. If all the elves were ever going to see her human side, then she’d go and be with the humans. So, she fled to the nearest human town, started going by Thana, and dropped the name Aylin almost completely.

That being said, she knew the humans would only ever see her elven side as well, so she usually kept her hair down, using it to cover her pointed ears, and if her hair wasn’t down then she wore a hood to hide them. Over her years of survival, she became a pretty good tracker and hunter, so she started off with that. Going off hunting to bring meat to the butcher in exchange for coin. She fit in quite well, especially with her resentment of the humans, and got involved in her fair share of human rebellions and organizations hoping to undermind Xadians in any way. Of course most were crushed, but that didn’t stop her from joining any she came across. Any opportunity to cause havoc for the arrogant elves was one she’d take, taking out her anger and hurt on all of them. After years of mistreatment and abuse from Xadians she absolutely refuses to just...let it go. In her mind they had their chance to accept her and they didn’t take it, so now they’ll pay the price.

[tsarifr]

Stolen Shadows

I couldn’t resist this theme week with my new fandragons, so I wrote... what is essentially a 5.5k word story.

They’d only stopped to rest on the way home, perching on the edge of the Focal Point. It had been less of a rescue mission and more of a bonding session, in all honesty, with Scott going with John and their Thunderbirds to deal with a small earth tremor in the Ashfall Waste. By the time they’d got there, the worst was already over and no-one was left in danger. Clearly, the denizens of the area were used to trouble of that nature. It was luck that they’d stopped just outside the cave that needed them - sudden cries for help interrupted Scott and John’s conversation and neither brother, nor their ‘birds, needed any more incentive to hurry inside. Two hatchlings, days old at best, clung to the tattered remains of their nest as it tipped precariously from the ledge it was constructed on. Not old enough to fly, if the nest pitched over with the hatchlings still inside, neither would survive. Scott reached them just in time, One hovering alongside him as he plucked the pair from the nest just before it collapsed. Whimpering, they clambered onto his shoulders where they clung tightly enough to hurt - even with hatchling claws. “It’s okay,” he told them as he glided back down to the cave floor, John and Five joining him. “Now, where are your parents, hmm?” They grizzled at him, clearly not yet old enough to speak, and he shared a fond look with John before heading for the cave entrance. Five noticed the tremors first, nudging Scott and John forwards as the rear of the cave began to shake - no doubt another section of land was on the cusp of being torn upwards, as was common in the Starfall Isles. Conscious of the two hatchlings on his shoulder, Scott charged for the exit, trusting John and the ‘birds to follow. They were greeted by a nocturne dragon as they emerged, a large dark female who landed in front of them. The mother, Scott presumed, a theory supported by the hatchlings on his shoulder detaching themselves instantly and scurrying forwards to stop in front of her, looking for all the world like adoring children. It was a sight he’d never get tired of, families reuniting safely, and he made to turn away and look for his brother when a terrified scream blasted through the air. “NO!” A young blue nocturne hurtled towards the reunited family, followed immediately by a black one. “SHADOWSONG!” Both seemed determined, and Scott turned back around just in time to see the hatchlings that had been perched on his shoulders morph, twist and change into shadow monsters, smothering the female as she attempted to retreat. Before he could start to react to the bizarre sight, the nocturne and the shadow creatures were gone, and the diving youngsters were crashing into the ground.

She’s mine now, my little ones.

The voice, coming from nowhere, startled Scott long enough to miss catching either dragon as they collided painfully with the ground. What was that? Where had it come from? A scan around the area showed no other dragons, and Five also appeared to be coming up blank with her own searches. John had hurried to the side of the blue dragon, who didn’t appear to be moving after her collision. He looked around for the other and leapt forwards, catching hold of the black one as he tried to stand up with a groan. “My sister..?” the dragon rasped, wincing in pain as he tried to look around. “Your sister’s the blue one? Yes, she’s alive,” Scott reassured him, giving him a brief once over and determining that he was good to move. “What happened? The hatchlings- that dragon just vanished, and that voice wasn’t normal, either.” “We have to find her.” The blue dragon was already looking better as John patched her up. “We’re still apprentices. We were supposed to learn the last of our craft this night. With Shadowsong gone, we don’t have the spells… we can’t protect you…” “As soon as we’re healed, we have to go,” the black one added. “If we don’t rescue Shadowsong before this long night ends, she’ll be Thana’s forever.”

Scott didn’t fully understand what was going on. Hatchlings transforming into monsters was a new one on him (literally, at least - he’d dealt with it figuratively four times, once per younger brother), and the terrified youngsters were babbling about spells while voices boomed out of nowhere. If he was honest with himself - a rarity nowadays, being honest meant admitting fear and he had four younger brothers to be strong for - he felt completely out of his depth. Until the youngsters said “rescue”. He didn’t need to look around to know that his brother had pricked his ears up at that word, too, or to sense One gliding over to his side in something almost bordering on anticipation. Fake hatchlings and unseen voices aside, it was a Rescue. That, they could - would, had to - do. “Tell us where,” he said, John now done with patching up the first youngster and coming over to treat the other. Five followed silently, her eyes glowing keenly as she looked from dragon to dragon. Beside him, One vibrated in that way he’d come to learn was her communicating with her sister. “We’ll find her.” “W-we told you,” the female squeaked. “We don’t have the spells, we can’t protect-” “I heard you the first time,” Scott interrupted, his voice low enough to almost be a growl. He ignored John’s sharp “Scott!” as the younger dragons flinched at his tone. “It doesn’t matter.” “What Scott means,” John cut in, and Scott frowned at him but let his younger brother continue, taking over the healing at an unspoken suggestion from the other. There was a reason John was their organisation’s voice, after all. “Is that we’re used to facing danger. Tell us everything you know; even if you can’t physically protect us, you can warn us.” The two youngsters - Scott should really get their names - looked at each other before beginning to babble. Something about “Shadowsong” - the kidnapped dragon, he presumed - “Singers”, and “Thana”. Most of it went straight over his head, tales of Mimics and an alliance with a rogue Singer sounding fantastical in a way that ordinarily he wouldn’t believe if he hadn’t already seen it happening. Realising that he wouldn’t learn anything like this, he busied himself with continuing basic first aid on the male and trusted John and Five to absorb the information, process it, and hopefully give him the simple, non-hysterical rundown in a much more sensible fashion later. The moment he withdrew from healing the young male, the dragon was on his feet and flapping his wings. The female followed suit, and it took both Scott and One to catch them before they flew off who-knew-where. “Oh no you don’t,” he said firmly, setting them on the ground and holding them there. John and Five helped to box them in. “You’re injured; I’m not letting the pair of you go chasing off after a mad dragon.” “We have to save Shadowsong!” they insisted in tandem. Scott merely rolled his eyes before looking over at John. If he could wrangle Gordon and Alan while they were trying to tag-team him, he could handle a pair of apprentices. “Those things will eat you alive,” he retorted. John nodded and Five spread her wings. “Stay. Here.” He dragged the pair over to Five, who immediately gripped onto them tightly. Their attempts to break away were all to no avail, as he knew they’d be. “You want to help? Everything we need to know, tell Five. She’ll relay it all to us.” Any further protests they made, he tuned out as he instead turned to face John once again. “John-” “I’m coming with you,” his younger brother cut in, drawn up to his full height and matching his gaze evenly. “You and One aren’t handling this alone.” Beside him, One made a concerned noise, and Scott agreed with her. Leading any of his brothers into a danger zone never sat well with him, and this seemed particularly dangerous - and John, of all of them, was least experienced at actual rescues. His immediate younger brother was far more suited to support roles in the background, away from danger. He’d almost rather take the injured youngsters along with him than John, but his brother would never agree to that. He couldn’t out-debate John, either. Not in the narrow time frame they had to get deep into the Tangled Woods and find this Thana’s lair. John knew this, of course. His genius brother had become annoyingly good at manipulation - helpful when it was the Terrible Two needing to be brought under control, frustrating when it was him at the receiving end of it. “Keep up,” was all he said, before they were in the air. John was not built for speed, but that didn’t matter with One around, scooping both pilots up and pushing her limits fast, fast, faster, until the ground far below them was a blur. Pink chalcedony gave way to pustile-encrusted wasteland, which in turn faded into the deep dark purple of the Tangled Woods. Somewhere, anywhere, in there, Thana laid in wait with her prisoner. Whoever this Thana was, anyway. “Thana is the kidnapped dragon’s sister,” John broke into his thoughts, as though he’d heard them. “Think of it as though the Hood kidnapped Kyrano. It seems to hold several parallels to that scenario.” Scott hid a shudder - that was not a scenario he was keen on. “So those youngsters are what, baby weak Kayos?” he asked, only half joking. John nodded, his face set into the familiar expression he wore when figuring out a particularly tough rescue. “Mimics are masters of disguises,” he continued. “They can look like anything - or anyone - they want, and apparently only Singers can tell the difference.” “Singers being..?” “Singers being a certain sect of nocturnes who have a strong sense of self-identity. They train hard to identify and defend against Mimics.” John paused for a moment, just long enough for Scott to realise what he was about to say and groan. “Those youngsters we left behind are Singers.” Typical. Youngsters. Why was it always youngsters? Scott’s thoughts strayed to his youngest brothers, not much older than the two dragons they’d rescued, and thanked whoever was listening that they’d been elsewhere and therefore not involved in this. “I’ve set up a link to them through Five,” John continued. “They’ll keep an eye on things from a distance and let us know if they notice anything out of the ordinary. The method isn’t foolproof though, Scott, so don’t rush in.” “You sound like Virgil,” he groused, somewhat wishing the steady middle brother was with him, but at the same time glad he wasn’t. He still didn’t really want John there either, but beggars couldn’t be choosers and his brother was clearly going nowhere. “Maybe you should listen to him more often.” John’s response was as scathing and pointed as expected. Scott chose to ignore it. “Where do we start?” he asked instead as One circled around a brightly-lit clearing, a cyan blue that looked nothing but eerie against the deep purple backdrop of the woods. “By finding the Mimics,” John answered, cool and unflappable as always. Scott had always admired that about him, even as it occasionally frustrated him. Now was somewhere between the two. “Five has collected all the data our young Singers can give her and is collating it into an algorithm to help us. There should be a distinct edge to the aura of the magic used in their disguises, so if we can identify that and do a sweep of the area, we should be able to find the greatest concentration without getting in too close.” “And if we can’t?” Scott asked, already gearing up to launch himself down into the forest below - that bright patch of cyan had suspicious written all over it. “If we can’t, then we’ll have to find another- Scott!” John’s frustrated voice followed the eldest brother as he tucked his wings in tightly and dove down into the tree tops. For his part, Scott just pulled his wings in tighter and willed himself to go faster, faster, knowing exactly what his little brother was about to try. They didn’t have time, why couldn’t John accept that? Sure, John was the fastest he knew at creating and implementing algorithms, but Scott couldn’t sit back and wait while they tried it out. “Oomph!” Too slow. The tree tops brushed at his feet but sharp claws had snagged his shoulders and pulled him up. Scott was fast, but One was faster. Usually, that didn’t matter; they did everything together. Usually, One didn’t have John whispering in her ear and convincing her that he was being a danger to himself and needed to be stopped. “We’re on a time limit here, John!” he yelled up at his younger brother, but John was clearly ignoring him as he played with his own lights. Sparks flitted around his foreclaws as he drew patterns in the sky. Watching him work was never anything short of magical, but Scott’s mind was full of images of injured dragons and the fear on the kidnapped dragons’ face before she’d vanished, occasionally superimposing them with images of his own brothers. He couldn’t wait any longer, he couldn’t. But One had him tightly and no matter how much he struggled, there would be no breaking free unless she let him. “There we go.” John sounded triumphant, his foreclaws now flicking at what Scott vaguely recognised as a complete algorithm and sending it out. That had been fast, even for him and Five working together. No doubt Eos had added her own assistance, a fact Scott was glad for, even if he still didn’t fully trust her. One rose higher into the air, Scott still hanging limply and somewhat irately from her claws, and he watched the lights dance across the entirety of the forest. Streaks shot back towards John at irregular intervals, all caught with ease and constructed into some sort of grid pattern. Scott craned his neck to look up at it, trying to decipher the information as fast as possible so he could start the rescue part of the mission. John, frustrating little brother that he was, kept the grid at an oblique angle to his line of sight, making it impossible to infer any information from it. He made his displeasure known with another groan. “Almost got it,” John told him, not taking his eyes off of the data that he was keeping away deliberately. “Just wait another few seconds and I’ll be able to tell you where the highest concentration… is. Got you.” Scott craned his neck further, trying desperately to see his brother’s results. With a sigh, John tilted the grid towards him. “Where’s that?” he asked after a moment of fruitlessly trying to decipher the information. John rolled his eyes at him, whispered something to One, and then they were off again, Scott still clutched in her claws like a naughty child. He was going to kill John. Except he wasn’t, because John was his little brother and no matter how annoying they were he’d never hurt any of them. “The Foxfire Grove,” said annoying younger brother told him, clearly well aware that that, too, meant nothing to Scott. He growled and finally John relented. “That brightly lit patch of brambles over your ten o’clock.” Scott looked over and, sure enough, there was the brightly lit area in question. He knew brightly lit meant trouble. “I’m going in,” he said, twisting in One’s hold. “John, you stay here.” His brother was not used to being on the front lines, and with aggressors opposing them he was not about to risk him. “F.A.B.” John agreed - finally - and One’s claws released him. Enough time had been wasted already, so Scott folded his wings in tightly and dived. He could hear John’s resigned sigh but ignored it. They had a Singer - whatever that was, he still didn’t really understand that part - to save. And he was all alone to do it. Well, not entirely alone, as One joined him in his dive, pilot and Thunderbird together as one. As it should be. He left her hovering just above the brambles, waiting for his signal as he continued down, landing as quietly as he could amongst the thorns. They rustled, a sign he would usually have dismissed as critters in the undergrowth or even just the breeze. Knowing that he’d just dived into a lair of Mimics - that part he had understood - he instead paid close attention. Nothing here would be real, he reminded himself as he padded forwards, senses on high alert for an attack. He couldn’t trust his eyes, had to find the dragon he’d seen taken right in front of him (yes, maybe that was rankling him just a bit), and then get out of there. No heroics, no fighting the bad guys. He was a rescuer, not military. Even this - more a hostage situation than anything else - was technically outside of his jurisdiction, but Scott was never one to leave someone to suffer. And maybe the frightened youngsters losing their mentor hit a little too close to home for comfort. He shoved those thoughts away, aware that his paranoia was creeping up the longer the undergrowth rustled and hissed but nothing showed itself. There was an evil dragon in here he had to avoid, and a victim to save. Usually he wouldn’t mind a bit of confrontation, but he had no idea what this Thana was capable of, and no real desire to find out, either. The undergrowth’s hissing turned into footsteps, unsteady and lurching as a figure came out of the shadows in front of him. “Help… me…” the young dragon rasped, covered in blood as they stumbled to the ground in front of him. Scott flinched. Nothing is real he reminded himself, even as they lurched forwards, stained claws reaching for him frantically. Not real. Not real. Not real. Dammit. He knew better, really he did, but helping those in need was something he’d sworn to always do. He had to save everyone, no matter who they were. He crouched down, slowly, reluctantly, but unable to turn away and leave this almost certainly fake dragon to their fate. “No!” Three voices in tandem reverberated through him, John and Five’s nifty communications setup linking him as promised to the youngsters left far, far away, as well as his brother still circling far overhead. “That’s a Mimic!” the youngsters continued to babble. “Don’t stop; they’ll get you, too!” But- Scott knew they were right, of course they were, but ignoring his eyes and heart was far more of a challenge than he’d anticipated, and it was one he wasn’t sure he could beat. “You can do this, Scott,” John told him, cutting straight through his doubts in the way only his immediate younger brother could do with his cool logic and calm voice. “It’s a fake. No-one is actually hurt, I promise.” John was as anti-suffering as he was. In fact, if there was any brother more determined to save lives than Scott, it was John. If there was even a chance this distress was genuine, John wouldn’t stop him. Scott clung to that truth, his faith in his brother, as he backed off. The injured dragon warped, fading into smoke just like those two hatchlings he’d thought he’d been saving had, and with a hiss, the shadowy creature launched itself at him. “Woah!” The cry was instinct, Scott dodging to the side with all the speed he could summon as the shadow streaked by, vanishing into the undergrowth. He braced himself for another attack, turning slowly in a circle and trusting One and John to be keeping a keen eye on him from above, but nothing happened. The Mimic had seemingly dissolved into thin air, leaving Scott even more on edge than he had been previously. They hadn’t pursued their attack further - why? Was he of no interest to them, or did this Thana know he was here and have other plans? One of those options did not bode at all well, and he was willing to bet that was the one. Nothing was going to be gained by standing around, so Scott cautiously ventured in further, hearing the hissing and rustling from the brambles increasing in intensity and volume as he did so, but no further attacks came. “I don’t like this, Scott,” John told him. Scott made a noise of agreement - he didn’t like it either, but somewhere in here was a dragon in need of saving, and he wasn’t going to leave without her. He continued his advance, taking comfort in the quiet sound of One flying overhead - out of reach of Mimics, hopefully, but close enough to be at his side in an instant if he needed her. The darkness was growing more and more oppressive the further he got, eerie cyan glow interspersing it without actually supplying much light by which to see. He chanced a glance upwards, to look for One, but her glowing eyes blended in with the rest of the cyan, rendering her and her shiny silver scales invisible to him. He knew he wasn’t alone, but right then it felt like it.

Just one dragon, all alone, thinks to enter my lair?

The Voice boomed again - Thana, he presumed. Well, at least that meant he was in the right place. He heard the youngsters start to babble again, a distracting duet of voices in his head when he really needed to concentrate. John’s soothing tones cut in, quietening them, but the damage was done - Scott’s concentration had wavered.

Shall I show you what happened to the last one?

He braced himself, anticipating an attack. It was so much worse. “Scott!” John cried, but he didn’t hear him. Nor did he hear One’s gentle noises increase in volume until she was roaring in frustration, trying to get through to him. “He’s not real!” the youngsters joined the chorus in vain as Scott stumbled forwards, eyes wide and disbelieving, yet too full of hope to acknowledge the trap. “Hello, Scotty,” his father said. He was in a bad way, collapsed on the ground and bleeding out. Scott had seen enough death to know his father was knocking on the door. “Dad!” he cried, lunging forwards, deaf to the myriad of protests from the others. “Dad, you… you-” You’re alive! He’d almost given up, in the back of his mind, considering his absent father dead because after so long, what other fate could there be? But here, now, in front of him, his father was alive - barely. He couldn’t lose him again. He was at his side in an instant, pressing against the worst of the wounds as best he could whilst channelling as much healing energy as he could summon. It flowed through him and into his father’s dying form, life seeping away no matter what he tried. “No, not like this!” he ground out, pushing more, more, the back of his mind wondering why John wasn’t here to help him but realistically knowing that there was nothing to be done. Reality could go stuff itself, as far as Scott was concerned. Slowly, his father’s body began to shift, smoke curling up from it in enticing tendrils that wrapped around Scott soothingly. Gentle caresses coaxed him in further, deeper, as he poured everything he had into saving the disintegrating figure of his long-lost father. He failed, foreclaws making contact with the earth below as the last of the form dissolved into smoke - smoke which no longer felt soft, soothing or enticing. It bound him tightly, constricting his movements and suffocating his breathing as it wrapped around him again, again, and again. He fought, writhing against the tangible smoke in a desperate attempt to free himself, but to no avail. Vision blurred, and a sharp pain spiked in his shoulders. “-tt? -cott! SCOTT!” Clarity came back to him in an instant, eyes he didn’t remember closing snapping open as he began to fight again. Above him he could see the face of his brother, teeth set in a grim determination as he tore at the shadows. A humming beneath him - furious, vicious humming - told him he was on One’s back. “And stay away!” John spat, as vitrolic as Scott had ever heard his usually calm brother, as he hurtled the last strands of tangible smoke away from them, down to the forest below. For a moment, Scott did nothing, gasping as he lay on One’s back, with John hovering over him anxiously. “Scott?” he asked gently, tentatively brushing against his shoulder. “I’m okay,” he lied, still panting but after a moment pushing himself back up. “I’m okay. We still need to save Shadowsong.” “It’s too dangerous,” John protested, tentative brushes of his shoulder turning into a firm hold. “We have to save her,” Scott overrode him, wriggling out of his brother’s grip with an ease born of years of practice - John was far from the strongest of his brothers. “If you go back down there, I’m going too,” John snapped. Scott saw the manipulation, saw him preying on his own desire to never, ever let his brothers get hurt. Not this time. He’d led brothers into danger before - never happy about it, but he’d done it. “Fine,” he retorted. “But you follow my orders, got it?” “F.A.B.” John replied. Scott wished he didn’t know it wasn’t an agreement and that John would do exactly what he wanted to do, regardless of his orders. They didn’t have time to argue. Thana’s deception - cruel and evil, which still clouded his mind if he let himself dwell on the image of his father dying so he didn’t, because if there was one thing Scott had got very good at since his father had gone missing it was lying to himself - had cost them far too much. They dived down, side by side this time, with One once again following behind only to break off at the treeline and wait as backup. John pushed forwards as they got closer to the ground, and against his better judgement Scott let him, because he knew John had been analysing everything and knew the best place to land. Sure enough, his younger brother led them unerringly to a hidden alcove, completely invisible from above, inside which a fully grown nocturne lay limp and unmoving on the ground. This, Scott was sure, was Shadowsong, even before the youngsters piped up through their link from Five in an excited clamour to confirm they were seeing the real dragon, and not another Mimic in disguise. Scott had had quite enough of those to last him a lifetime. He hurried forwards, John hanging back and keeping a careful watch out for Mimics, or worse, Thana, as he tried to rouse the dragon. His efforts were to no avail; whatever Mimic magic had her in its thrall, it was something far beyond what Scott could break. Given time, John probably could, but time they did not have - had not had all night - so Scott hauled her onto his back with a grunt. “We’re leaving,” he told his brother, who made no protest as he leapt into the sky. Scott followed, the deadweight on his back little more than an inconvenience as he kept a careful eye on her to ensure she wouldn’t fall. The treetops loomed ahead of them, and for a moment he thought they’d made it.

I don’t think so.

“It’s Thana!” the youngsters screamed, somewhat unnecessarily as a nocturne loomed in front of them in the darkness, forcing them both to a halt. Her ill intent rolled off her in waves, and Scott instinctively moved closer to John, shielding his younger brother with his body. There was no protest, unusually, but Scott didn’t let himself dwell on that right now. Thana was powerful, terrifyingly so, and he had no intention of letting her take his brother, or the dragon he’d just rescued.

My sister belongs to me. Give her back without a fuss, and I’ll allow you and your brother to leave unharmed.

Even directly in front of them, her voice boomed from nowhere and everywhere while her mouth stayed still. Ventriloquism, or something more sinister? Scott was a skeptic, despite everything - father there, father dying, father never there - and pulled himself up to his full height. “Why should we believe you?” he demanded, looking for a way out and hoping that John’s silence meant he was thinking, not that he was frozen in fear - or worse. He couldn’t look back at him, not right now. Taking his eyes off of Thana would be a fatal mistake - that, he was certain.

I do not think you are in a position to debate the matter.

There was definite humour in her tone - that of a cat who had cornered a mouse. Scott wasn’t very fond of it as his mind raced through options. He could try and make a break for it - even with Shadowsong on his back, he was confident that he was faster than the nocturne or her Mimics - but John would never keep up. One could dive in to get them out of there, fastest of them all as she was, but that would give Thana warning, and who knew what she’d do. Or he could give Shadowsong up, but that, too, was unthinkable. “I think we are.” John’s voice was as calm and collected as ever. Thana’s gaze shot to him, and this time when Scott moved to place himself in the way, John stopped him.

You are surrounded by Mimics, in the heart of my lair, and you think you have a hand to play against me? What a fool you are.

“There’s always a hand to play.” John was smirking, a glint in his eye Scott knew all too well. It was the one that meant John had outsmarted everyone around him and knew it. Even Thana seemed to recognise something was wrong, not quite backing up but no longer the looming presence she had been before.

And what, pray tell, would your hand be?

“Me.” The weight on Scott’s back shifted, no longer an inelegant lump but a conscious and powerful Singer. John’s silence and uncharacteristic willingness to hide behind him suddenly made sense. “The three of us are leaving here, Thana, and your friends the Mimics will trouble us no more.” Scott had difficulty following what happened next; a clash of magic beyond his comprehension from the two nocturnes with him in the middle fanned out around them. He pulled John close, wanting to be certain he was safe as spells and curses whipped around them all. Mimics rose at Thana’s call, only to splutter and fall as Shadowsong retaliated with magic that could only be described as a Song. Faintly, he was aware of the youngsters - Singer apprentices - singing quietly, bolstering their mentor even from a distance. It lasted both a second and eternity, but Thana crashed from the sky, landing inamongst the remains of her lair and Mimics, and Scott could breathe again. “It’s over,” Shadowsong whispered in his ear, her voice hoarse. “I apologise, but I will require help to leave this place. Battling my sister took everything I had.” There was pain in her voice, one Scott almost thought he could understand. The idea of ever having to battle one of his own brothers like that brought immeasurable agony - so he didn’t think about it. “That’s no problem,” he reassured her. “Just hold on. One and I will do the rest.” “There are two very happy youngsters who’ll be delighted to see you,” John added in. “Voidsong and Nightsong have been frantic.” So that was their names. Of course John knew. “I’m sure they have,” Shadowsong said, fond amusement in her voice as she relaxed on Scott’s back. One swooped down from where she’d been circling impatiently and scooped all three dragons up, ready to make the supersonic journey back to Five and the youngsters.

This isn’t over, sister.

Thana’s voice was as hoarse as Shadowsong’s, taking out any intimidation it once held. They ignored her as One accelerated away from her lair. “She will recover,” Shadowsong admitted. “But we have bought time to finish training more Singers. With luck, her next move will be her last.” Scott could only agree.

[whyamistillwatchingtheseshows]

Salty there wasn’t at least one more kiss between the three of them. Also salty about how they did Mae. Killing Ter too? Excuse me. If there’s any “hero” to this story it’s Mae. She lost something twice over for these 3 dodo heads to actually be together. Let’s not forget that. Also, her having the brain cells to know where the problem truly lies is the best thing. So yes it’s still Shin’s father...but I was surprised by his tears. Overwhelmed? Accumulation from all that’s happening? It’d have made more sense for him to break down if he had pulled the trigger on a loaded gun. A part of Shin has got to be thinking my father is dead, but oh wait the douche is the dead? Ugh, I digress. At the end of it all, I wanted to rewind. Make Ter alive to see Mae come through transition, and if that were the case then the other 3, well, they have to find a different way to make it out alive. Here’s a coda scene to the end because like I said I wanted some kisses: 

The feeling of freedom felt like fresh oxygen flowing through his lungs. Neo prayed it stayed that way. They were free. Yeah sure they still used a dirty connection to remain as such but now no one was out to kill them or arrest them. As much as Neo hated it, Shin used the aftermath of his father’s death to smooth things over the police. They were truly free because now the public saw a version of the story that wasn’t Thana’s. Shin still worked to eradicate any dirty business connected to his name. He freed everyone who wanted out. Though, oftentimes, Neo wishes he could truly thank Mae. After all, she was probably the one who had more brain cells than everyone combined. When she turned the gun on them Neo wanted to thank her. Seems like a strange feeling in that moment, because Neo did not fully understand her motives for hunting down Thana. He only knew that they were at fault for Phon’s death. Whatever the reasoning he wanted to thank her for choosing compassion. Every other day Neo hoped that she would eventually find her happy ending in life. 

Neo finished hanging their new sign. Three Hearts. He feared it was way too cheesy but the memory of him, Miw and Shin painting it a week ago filled him with sheer joy. Or rather it got paint dumped on him: twice. An epic shower afterwards soon quelled the irritation from being covered in paint.

Miw’s voice broke his thoughts. Crooked my ass. He looked at the sign. They playfully argued like always. Then Shin appeared. These long v-neck shirts were going to kill him. Shin always blushed when Miw and Neo showered him with compliments. They took the punches when Top appeared at Shin’s side. Neither of them cared. Somehow, they knew it’d always be the three of them, but sometimes Miw and Neo just wished they could get a bowl of popcorn and watch Shin work his magic on the boy. After all, Shin had good teachers.

 Top disappeared so the three of them meandered to the shallow waters by the pier. It was a favorite thing the throuple would do, probably because it reminded them of their “brownie high” kiss. Today, Shin had a different plan. A different memory to create. Neo wasn’t going to complain when suddenly Shin jumped him. Miw laughed with fascination.

“Damn,” Shin muttered. He wasn’t 100% positive that Neo could catch him.

“What?” Neo asked with surprise. “I could drop you.” He mimicked as if he were just going to plop Shin right into the water.

“Kiss him!” Miw exclaimed. “Kiss him like he deserves all the kisses in the world.”

“That’s easy because it’s true,” Neo smiles. He leans for Shin’s lips. Lips he always wanted to kiss. Miw snatches Shin’s glasses.

“Aoi,” he grumbles, but Neo doesn’t completely let him take his lips away from their kiss. Minutes later, Shin slowly falls out of Neo’s arms, standing in the water. He chases Miw for his glasses. She expertly tosses them to Neo. They were now playing monkey in the middle with him but Shin held tight to Miw.

“Trade me. The girl for the glasses.” Shin chuckled at Neo’s surrender.

“Fine, fine. One condition after the deal is made. You kiss her like your life depends on it.” Neo smirked. His life has and always will depend on these two.

“Well, like I said before. That’s easy because it’s true.” Shin grabbed glasses from him and with his free hand, Neo spun Miw around in the water. They did a small dance and then she crashed into his chest. She looked up at him. His gentle smile was to die for as he leaned down to kiss her. Shin lingered behind her, replacing glasses to his face. If they stayed in the water and kissed all day, Shin wasn’t going to complain. They broke the kiss and Miw rested her head on his chest. Neo reached out for Shin and as the custom started between the three of them, Neo wrapped both of them into a tight hug. Shin never wanted it to end. He could stay wrapped up all day. 

  This was a new life for the three of them; a free life.

[siderealxmelody]

Okay, feel free to disagree and not be this canon for your Nestas! But Nesta reborn as Thana? They're both Goddess of Death anyway 👀

@luxmaeastra

@starlsssankt

@sankta-alina-s

Thana held domain over Death, of necormamcy and healing. She was cruel and ruthless Goddess. Her realm was one of cruelty for the souls who passed through.

When Unir bound her and the others, her magic was halved but it was still strong. Her servants fled, Koschei taking texts and knowledge with him, helping his younger siblings to hide in underdeveloped worlds.

Thana had only ever wanted to be more than the Death and silence her realm had come.

When Nismera launched her coup she freed herself from Unir taking up arms again. Though she, Phos, Deia and Nyx had been bound for eons before - their war did not end. Only one would rule the cosmos.

As the war went on though she saw the patterns again. Witches loyal to her for the power she held - not for her.

Nebe for her as a being.

Beron came to her, telling her of the dark rituals his mother had started, sacrificing her mate and other son for. The witches had grown wary of her, of her contorl - they would betray her, kill her and take the magic in her.

Beron, Natalia, Clarion and Milori had come to to warn her.

Not for a boon, not for some help in their own frustrating war.

No, they'd done it because it was the right thing to do.

Clarion even sacrificed herself to save Thana, though Thana knew she'd not die that day. She was extant, eternal like the Wyrd.

She could not die.

Foolish mortals.

But she could be vengeful.

She called on her silver fire, exploding it outward. The horrible cursed magic in Beron by his mother's rituals was cleansed, Clarion was brought back, and Natalia and Milori was spared from the wave of Death.

As the dust settled Thana lost her mortals form, being reborn as a babe - one Clarion felt drawn to take in with her two eldest.

Clarion stared into the child's soul and named her Nesta.

Thana wanted a fresh start, to understand why it was that she grew no loyalty from others.

Why was it that her followers were so self centered and self serving.

Perhaps as Nesta, perhaps with a family she'd finally understand what was wrong with her.

[ferallymine]

Under Lock and Key

((Hey! Thought I was done writing? NOPE! This is a little thing I wrote for Celaena, Aed, and Aria, my Skyrim babes. Wanted to give my Dragonborn and her wife some more development, and tweak Aria’s persona/talents. Song referenced is  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZdGE8_fOMM  Enjoy!))

(oh, and if you want more, just send an ask <3 )

----------------------------------------------------- “I…never knew of this place.”

Aed let her callous hands run over the rough stone and metal, soaking in what remained of the ancient times.

“That makes all of us,” Celaena gazed, “Even if that sneaky courier was lying, he at least led us to this structure. I’m just amazed he found us out in the middle of the Reach at such a late hour.”

“People tend to find me in random places while I’m sleeping quite often,” Aria quipped. No response from behind her.

Celaena raised an eyebrow, “A story for another time, I presume? I’d love to hear it, Wish.” The elf paused for a second, facing her wife, “…Could this have been Lordok’s…project?”

“Lordok was a gifted Builder but he wasn’t this good. And he was too dumb to keep this so well hidden.” Aed snickered at the thought.

“Who’s Lordok?” Aria’s voice unintentionally echoed across the room.  

The dwarf stopped, as if she wanted to repress the memory. Her hands barely shook as she answered, back still facing the Breton, “…Lordok was my brother.”

Celaena took Aed’s hand, “He helped us escape before the High Builders discovered our relationship, and how she’d been protecting me.”

Aria gave a small nod of understanding, “He sounds like a noble Dwarf, not abandoning you in those times.”

A mumble behind her made her smirk- at least Aria knew her Spectre was listening, now.

Aed pulled out the letter the courier gave her from her chestpiece, “But… there’s hope that he or one of his sons is alive- and if this was just a false lead, I swear even the dragons will feel my anger.”

The quartet continued down the hall, where a collapsed room now blended into the entrance of a cave.

“Well, the map with the letter says to continue through here.” Aed pointed ahead.

“Wait- I hear something…” Celaena held out her arm, “Running water? And I think some animals.”

Aria walked past them, taking the lead, “We’ve faced worse. May I see the map?”

The dwarf nodded, gently placing the paper in the breton’s hand. They continued, letting light from a spell in Celaena’s hand illuminate their path.

The rocks beneath their feet crunched with each step. The girls stuck close to each other, with the Spectre keeping back, making sure nothing came after them. They clung to the damp and mossy wall, as the path narrow and high. Its edge dropped into a ravine, water running white at its bottom. Jagged rocks jutted up from the flow.

A loose rock slipped from its position under Aria’s foot. Aed reacted on instinct, wrapping her arms around the Listener’s torso and pulling her back.

Celaena shuddered. Aria sighed and tapped the Builder’s firmly gripped fist.

Aed hadn’t realized how tightly she held Aria, or that her hands managed to grip her chest.

“I-I-I…I’m s-sorry,” She stuttered, clearly embarrassed.

“There’s no pain in the Void.” The assassin got back up and continued onward, unphased.

A low chuckle came from the Spectre. Aed and Celaena looked at each other, slightly confused, but cautiously followed after her.

----------

The stench reached them before they reached the chamber.

Bodies of ill-prepared adventurers lay strewn about the floor and walls. Two of them seemed fresh compared to the others.

“Ugh, this REEKS.” Celaena pinched her nose.

The Chamber was mainly an unkempt cave, save for large metal rods, stone plates, and two doors at the end.

Aed, seemingly unbothered by the scent or Celaena’s antics, made a beeline towards the other end of the chamber.

“THANA!” Aria yelled.

The Rods hummed, and shone blue for a small second. The brightest closer to the quartet, then dimming the farther away they were.

Aed stopped beside a body next to the plates. Her heart pounded through her chest as she questioned herself.

*I’ve never seen this I don’t know what this is I don’t know who built this how am I to get past this I was 3rd in line to a High Builder and I was supposed to know everyth-*

The others caught up to her, each filled with a bit of wonder and fear.

“Aed!” Celaena gripped her wife’s shoulder, “Aed talk to me.”

Silence.

“Aed!”

Tears filled the dwarf’s eyes. Her voice was barely audible. “I don’t know what this is.”

The Spectre scoffed, “What?”

“Silence from you,” Aria pointed at him.

Aed shook her head, “I don’t know what this is. I’m supposed to know what all Dwarves built but I have never seen this before in my-“

“Who cares?” Aria stated.

Aed and Celaena stared blankly at her.

“Who cares what you’re supposed to know? I don’t. I care about finding what’s left of your family. You’ve never seen this before? Us neither. So sit down and let’s figure this out. TOGETHER.”

The Rods hummed and shone briefly. The brightest being closest to them, then the light fading along the rows.

Aed noticed, “Aria, scream at me.”

A puzzled look answered her.

“Yell at me!” She insisted.

“FINE!” Aria yelled.

The Rods gave their same response.

Aed’s eyes lit up, “Those rods react to loud noises.”

The Dragonborn scratched her head, “That helps us…how?”

“I think this is a voice lock.” She rose from Celaena’s side, “Those rods reacted to Aria’s loud voice.” The dwarf picked up a stray brown stone and threw it on one of the grey carved stone plates between the rods. Spikes emerged from nowhere, through the space above the stone’s landing.

“Yeah!” Aed cheered, bringing a fainter light from the Rods, “This is a voice and a path lock.”

When nothing but silence and strange faces responded, Aed continued her explanation, “Voice locks were extremely experimental and unstable back in my days as a Builder, and only the High Builders were allowed to tamper with it. That’s why I didn’t recognize this architecture. Path locks, however, were very stable and everyone used them. There’s a certain order that the stones can be walked on in order to cross to the doors, otherwise a trap like one I triggered will happen. At the same time, however, we have to solve the voice lock. Then those doors at the end will open.”

“What if you’re wrong?” The Spectre cut in, eyes glaring through Aed.

“Then whoever is crossing will die.” Aed stared back with more intensity.

Aria rolled her eyes, “Is there a specific voice command we need to say?”

Celaena sparkled with an idea, “The letter! It had a jumble of words on its back that I didn’t give them much thought. But if this is a voice lock…”

“…Then they’re the words we need!” Aed excitedly high fived her wife. The Spectre sighed and decided to inspect the bodies nearby. The girls huddled together as Aed pulled out the paper and read the back-

King

Throne

Pillared

Rune, Power

Sun, Star, Moon

Crystal

Cloud

World

Mountain

Forge, Cold

Harp, Hammer

Darkness, Halls

 “Sounds like rubbish to me,” Aed sat back down on the ground, “But that’s our best bet on this lock.”

“Not only that,” The Spectre came back to the group, “I found these pages on the others. They all say something about a song being the key.”

Celaena scrunched her nose, “What song?”

He held up a page, “ ‘The Rods talked to Mira, I just know it. She started singing a song I’ve never heard before. But when she got to the middle she suddenly stopped, and then the spiders came after her.’ … Gets rather bloody after that.”

Aed grabbed her hair, “OOOOOOOHHHHHH They used magic with this lock! That’s... really against the Builder Code. Must’ve been a rogue who built this place.”

“Magic?” Aria asked.

“The rod things tell you the song, BUT you have to know certain words in order to continue. Lucky for us, we have the words! …Probably.” Aed looked down at the letter in Celaena’s hands.

“May I see that?” Aria pointed to the letter.

Celaena handed it to her. Aria walked right up to the plates, and knelt down.

“What are you doing?” The Spectre followed behind her.

Aria said nothing. She simply looked more closely at the plates.

“Wish?” Celaena rose.

“The words match the plates. See the carvings?” Aria pointed, “And some have multiple runes. So where the commas are in this letter symbolize a multi-runed plate. That’s how you navigate the path.” She smiled, “I’ll go.”

“What?!” Aed and Celaena gasped at the same time.

She smirked, “I’m the one who stands to lose the least should I fail.”

Her Spectre grabbed her arm, “Aria…please think about-“

“I did.” Her face turned cold, “Either I’m right and we go along, or I’m wrong and I finally join my family in the Void……join you in the Void…” Her voice trailed off.

“I-“

“Lucien.” Aria held up her hand, “Please. Shut up.”

“Good luck, Wish.” Aed gave a warm smile.

Aria faced the lock, took a breath, and began.

[piercingpirate]

basic intro and wanted connections (full bio to come)

tw: death, miscarriage

+ Honest + Brave + Loyal

- Sarcastic - Lonely - Defensive

grew up in NYC, parents had her young and basically abandoned her to her grandmother who raised her.

worked several jobs as a teen to help support her grandma, dealing with all the crappy people so she had little time for people’s crap now days.

when she was 15 she fell in love and it was this whole big ‘romeo and juliet’ love. They got engaged young and having come from nothing they were both convinced they were all they needed to survive. Fast forward a little, they’re engaged and the guy is having some real family problems (this is a wanted connection so leaving it open as possible) But instead of them both dying, she lived while he disappeared into thin air when they were 22. Thana basically thinks he is dead, the night he disappeared they had a big argument and he left an ominous voice note for her.

She found out she was pregnant a few days before he left which she inevitably miscarried from grief. Basically drowning herself in alcohol and goes off the rails.

Thana started to get involved in the darker side of town, becoming part of the nights underworld as a way to survive and distract her mind from the pain she felt. But in doing that, she ended up getting in with the wrong crowd. They were be reprimanded by American royal family, with people sent to ‘silence those involved’. It was a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, with her grandmother killed by officials in a fluke. Thana was left with basically nothing, except a hatred for the family and a need to escape New York.

Because of her position she ended up leaning into crime. Quickly finding herself a partner in crime, the pair took off on the road like bonnie and clyde. stealing when they had to and slipping through radars undetected. (another wanted connection alert, f or m, 28+). they set up with another two (also open for wanted connection), but like all things it must come to an end. the pair, one died and the other jailed. Thana and her partner slipped through the cracks but barely. Long story short, she ends up betraying them and turns them in for a chance of freedom and to get away from the thieving

Heading to Europe for a clean break in an attempt to forget her past life, that was when she caught ear of Neptunes Rage. It sounded like the fresh start she needed and besides she was going to hell anyway might as well enjoy the freedom that came with sailing for however long it lasted. She knew how to handle weaponry from her get away car faces so slipping into the role as a gunner seemed to suit Thana well.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

if anyone wants any, drop me a messageee <3

Romeo to her Juliet: they haven’t seen each other since 22, they were engaged and he just disappeared on her. pirate/ or royal could make it interesting but they would have had to been in NYC for a while utp, must be male and over 28 - 32 This was while she was in NYC.

the clyde to her bonnie: basically think taylor swift song get away car. they were in love but because of what happened to her romeo, Thana didn’t want to get betrayed again. She got scared and turned them in before they could do it to her. male or female, pirate. Must be 26 - 34

Mother: 44 - 48. Thana had only met her a few times when she ‘showed up’ once every odd year for a birthday or Christmas.

father: 44 - 48:  Thana had only met him a few times when he ‘showed up’ once every odd year for a birthday or Christmas.

Step sister: 18 - 24: she doesn’t know about her, can be from either her mother or father’s side of the family.

basics:

friend - probably as sarcastic and bitter as she is,  pirate

drinking pals - she drinks alot, come drink with her. pirate

the nice one - Thana is v angry grumpy girl, this person’s the opposite. she dislikes how happy they are but is v protective of them, and will hurt a bitch for them.  royal or pirate

one night stand - simple, easy, probably drunk. f or m. royal or pirate

ex hook up - more than once, again a distraction. f or m. royal or pirate

frenemies - were once friends but turned bad, details can be sorted.  royal or pirate

enemies - she hates said person.  royal or pirate