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mimiexe15 · 3 months ago

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Chapter: 6 cycle quintet

Narrative pov:

The girls were speechless as they look down at the creature they were confused of what it could be. It wasn't a witch since the one they have defeated. It's right next to it.and it wasn't one of Kyubey Species Kiki with more concerned and worried about its injured eye and picked it up

"oh you poor thing what happened to your eye?" Kiki picked it up out of her pure concern and worry for the thing that just kind of appeared out of nowhere. Mira tried to pick up the grief seed from earlier.

"hey you can't just pick up random people out of nowhere. We don't even know what that thing is." Jiko shouted at her with caution. Kiki looked at Jiko with a narrowed eye stare but still was calm.

"Even though we have no idea what it is we can't just leave it here hurt. it's eye bleeding." Kiki said, gently, brushing the sides of the creature trying to comfort it Kiki, then turned over to Mira, Yuri and Raya "look at the little thing isn't she adorable"

Jiko just granted As Raya Went next to her and put her elbow on her shoulder "come on hothead it's not bad to have another member of the team" Raya said once again being her cocky self Jiko just sign the orange girl just blushed and rolled her eyes. She's starting the question what she got herself into

Yuri looked over at Mira "so Why do you want me to meet your friends?" Mira did an awkward smile and put one hand on her cheek, scratching it. "Well you seem ...i think ...."nearest start sweating. She didn't have any excuse to why she would want yuri there.

Mira then slowly sign "listen I don't see you as a mentor but more as a friend and I think it would just be nice to have another friend. I know you said earlier you would think about it, but you seem like a nice girl at heart despite giving me cold shoulders earlier" she then looked at her with her eyes doing a begging stare

Yuri then looked at her once again with a guilty expression, and then taking a deep long sigh "listen, I have other stuff to do. I can't hang out w-" before Yuri can continue Kyubey jumped down and interrupted the girls "you girls actually do have a reason to work together"

Jiko And Raya stopped fighting and teasing each other for a minute looking at Kyubey Yuri was stunned for a minute Mira was questioning what he meant, and Kiki was just confused

"Well The magical girl population soon to go extinct" everybody was frozen there was fear in their eyes what he had just said startled them all they didn't even think that was possible everyone was in confusion. Fear and multiple thoughts washed through their heads like an ocean.

Jiko immediately stepped up with anger and rage in her voice "what do you mean to go extinct? You constantly make wishes with girls how could they go extinct?" There was clearly rage in her eyes. She wanted an explanation.Kyubey just blinked at her again

"I think it's simple really more magical girls are getting killed off I would say almost about 20 each day,and I can only grant wishes to those with magical potential"Kyubey said that with his emotionless face

Jiko was mad and frustrated of what he just shared Mira felt frozen once again Kiki was cuddling the creature she found close to her covering its ears Raya frozen with her eyes shaken yuri can't even comprehend what she just heard. She may have been a magical girl for a year, but she didn't even know about this.

Mira could feel shivers go up her spine what she had just heard 20 magical girls getting killed in at least one day and adding that up into a whole month would mean.... Yuri then spoke up."so you're telling me 600 magical girls get at least killed in one month."

Kyubey nodded "that's why I've always constantly disappeared and reappeared trying to constantly find new ones" the look of hopelessness and desperation formed on the girls faces on the other hand, Yuri only sweating as she nearly avoided death a couple times

But the fact that she was supposed to die way earlier was the thing that surprised her she knows she signed up for a job that could possibly lead to her death, but she didn't realize how many young girls die in one month

Mira slowly took a deep breath and then immediately got in front of Kyubey "well what if we all together! You said we would have a less of a chance of dying if we work together and maybe if we are successful we can get rid of all the witches in the city"Mira turned around as she continued talking with an uplifting smile

"Things die and go, but if we keep working, we can keep the city safe. We might even be able to get rid of all the witches did you not see how easily we defeat that witch we have power we have chance" Mira said with a positive smile Kiki and Raya were surprised to see her say something positive once

"Well someone's been going in a change of paste" raya say with a cocky grin Mira didn't even notice she was being positive ...to be honest she was surprised to first time she tried to be uplifting "well I'm in" Kiki said, raising her hand

Raya immediately responded "well hell yeah you know I've been wanting us to work together from the beginning and having a whole team of five members we could be like superheroes"once again she was fantasizing!

Yuri looked over and then walked back towards them "I mean it is possible so I guess you can count me in" her once cold expression now making a somewhat warm smile everyone then looked at Jiko "I'm guessing I don't really have a choice here" Jiko said, looking at them with a worried expression

"Nope you accepted the deal and now you can't turn back" raya say again with a cocky expression Jiko just groaned, but walked over "fine, but you owe me so many grief seeds after this" Jiko said looking at Raya with her cheeks all puffed up Raya just brushed it off, but also was kind of sweating as she put her hand behind her back, itching her neck.

So it was settled the girls would work together to try to get rid of all witches and once that was done, they will take their separate ways

Timeskip/ Kiki pov:

I was walking home. My butler asked if I wanted to take the limo, but I didn't besides, how would I explain this little cutie I still had that little creature in my arms. I wonder how that poor thing even got there. It just snuggling in my arms for now it adorable little thing must've went through so much

"Maybe I should name You something how about Charles remind me of that old chocolate place use have they had adorable chocolate shaped creatures, other than bunny, rabbits, and such what do you think of that?" I looked at her. And she just slowly knot her head in my arms seeming to like the name as she said random words, I can't understand what she's saying though

but other than that, she's adorable..

I slowly arrived at the mansion. My parents were probably at work. I mean it was just about morning time. I open the door to see everything in condition. I put Charles down on the couch. The thing look confused poor thing. I wonder if it feels any pain in its eye

I had some buttons somewhere. I think there's one big enough I can sew a new eye on her .This should make her stop bleeding I went over to closet of supplies my parents would always put random stuff in there. I grab the medic and look for the little button once I got it, I decided to head back to Charles

I noticed Charles was still sitting on the couch, where I put her They found a blanket and they were wrapped around it.I trying to hold her still she seem scared. "no no no no I'm not going to hurt deep breath"

I can't help but feel sad for the poor thing being scared The creature then began to puff up its cheeks, trying not to be scared as I gently sewed the button in her eye, look like didn't feel painful at all, since her head felt almost like plush fabric "and there ok you shouldn't be bleeding anymore. I am so sorry I had to do that would you like a treat of sorts"

Charles blinked at me with her new button and she's just drooled and then pointed at bowl of strawberries trying to grab it with her hands it's almost adorable "do you want strawberries?"Charles nods her head at me."I think I have some thing better than strawberry"

I went over to the fridge. We had some strawberry cake leftovers.I grabbed a piece and cut it and then put it on a plate for Charles. I put it right in front of her. She was practically drooling. She immediately tried to eat however she went face first into it, which made me laugh "look what you did you got yourself messy" I giggle at her what a silly little creature.

I got a napkin as I cleaned up the strawberry frosting off her face she was still nibbling and snacking on her little cake, enjoying it she looked just like a little child and made my heart all warm

I sat down on the couch as for now, I just wanted to take a nap and slowly closed my eyes before I found Charles sitting on my lap, leaning against me what an adorable little creature.. "goodnight, Charles"

Timeskip:

I was holding my bags waiting for Mira And Raya to arrive Charles was asleep in my bag. I know it was probably not a good idea to bring her to school, but it doesn't look like anyone can see her she's also in my bag. I put a couple strawberries in there and made sure she was wrapped in a blanket to make sure she was cozy.

I then I noticed something in the distance look like someone biking. Oh God no... .."INCOMING!"I immediately jumped out of the way, knowing very well who that was as I watch the green bike sled across the place with Raya on it she then smiled at me ...

I signed should've expected still she keeps doing it every time makes me wonder how reckless this girl is "took the new shortcut" I asked out of curiosity "Hell, yeah Also brought Mira too" I watch Raya giving me a thumbs up with excitement as she replied to me I was confused for a moment until I watch Mira collapse off the bike from behind her.

I went over to help her up and make sure she was OK I watched as Raya immediately ran over to her as well panicked."holy crap did I make her bike sick" I looked over to Raya, who is panicking as she said that "I don't think Bike sick is a thing she might just be a bit dizzy from that."I replied, trying to give her a reassuring look.

Charles just woke up and peaked her head out of the bag questioning what was going on I only patted her reassuring. Everything is going to be OK Charles.

"Never mind, I don't want to try biking again. God I feel like I'm gonna throw" I padded mira on the back as she said that Raya immediately took a deep breath beside me at least she's calm now. sometimes I feel like I'm the Mom in this group I do dream of being a mom when I grow up, but that for when I get older

"Is everything OK here girls" I looked over to my side noticing Yuri holding a bag felt weird seeing her again since "oh we're fine Mira just got a little dizzy" Yuri looked at me and then nodded as she walked away. Sometimes I question if she takes a complete different persona when she goes to school.

After Mira head stopped spinning ..poor girl.. we headed into school "so Raya, what deal did you make with Jiko exactly"I looked at her asking that raya say chuckling a bit "you know I wasn't expecting you to hear those little conversations" Raya said to me with surprise look

I backed up, letting Mira go between us as she held a worried face "Raya Please tell me you didn't make an idiotic deal again" I looked at Mira, who said that being anxious questioning if she did something stupid again, and I going to be honest, I'm questioning the same

I watched Charles head pop out my bag and gave him a little rub on his noggin since he enjoys that "OK Charles, you can listen to, but try not to make too much noise"I said that to him as I continue rubbing him,he's kind of like a cute little dog who wants attention

Raya looked at both of us and chuckled with a mixture of cockiness and embarrassment "Well it's a long story..."

Earlier/Raya pov:

I jumped on top of the building maybe Jiko actually thought about it and we can be friends!That would be so cool hehe I can already picture it! Immediately felt a hook wrapped around my legs second thought maybe she did this to ambush me

the hook that wrapped around me immediately pulled me towards Jiko she still has the same old temper as I remembered what a hothead "why did you help me? I literally tried to kill you" Jiko said to me I guess she's kind of mad about me saving her from almost being decapitated

I mean, everyone tries to kill each other once in a while I don't see a difference " because why not. plus I'm sure you're kind person at heart" said that to Jiko still staring at me, had her hook and chain still wrapped around me I mean she has to be good at heart. She could've killed me right now, but she didn't.

"Plus I am a courageous protector and the hero of freedom." I said that with confident expression "you're a definitely a reckless one" jiko said that straight towards my face with a somewhat disappointed and confused expression also, I can't blame her. I heard more than one people call me reckless.

But that's besides the point! Jiko unchained me as she extracted her hook back to her hands"so I'm guessing you want to join the team" said she has to whatever reason she would put a note in my locker Jiko just slapped her face and moaned "No idiot I just cam- here caus-wanted you t-... I'm trying to say is why did you even bother saving me?"

I looked at Jiko who had a confused expression "heck how did you even get a contract? You're completely irresponsible and reckless what did you even wish for?"

I looked at Jiko who asked that "I'll be honest just for my parents not to be overprotective" Jiko just looked at me with a cocky smile, expression"that's a stupid wish. Why would you not want your parents affection"

I looked at her confused "that's notwhat I mean I mean, I want them to stop being overprotective. They can finally pursue their stuff and not focus on me for once" Jiko just gave me a stiff stare

I looked at her as I said that as my face was close to hers before she grabbed my face and pushed it away and scolded at me

"You think you're giving them freedom, but you didn't give them freedom. You just asked for them to leave you alone. You should be thankful.You even got to please them!" I felt quiet as Jiko said that before I started looking at her did she not have parents that cared about her??

"do your parents not care for you?" .. Jiko flinched a bit when I said that. "What just asking?" I said again with a smile Jiko sigh and rolled her eyes looks like the girl finally calm down "I hope you don't regret your wish because I regretted mine long time ago"

I watch her, sat down on the roof and open a bag of chips before stuffing one in her mouth,she then spoke as she was crunching on it "hey why don't we make a deal?" I looked at her with a with my regular grin, I have just the way to make her work with us. Maybe we can even be good friends.! Heheh!

"You work with a week at least if you enjoy working with us then you'll have to tell me what happened. Tell me all your secrets a little therapy session.!"Jiko then look at me as her mouth was full of chips as she immediately ate them

"what's in it for me huh? You dumb reckless behavior" Jiko said looking curious. Her interest were peak I can clearly tell. I knew she wasn't just hothead bad mood person after all.!

"Well you like grief seeds and I can't blame you. They're a source for your magic and how you use them so if you don't like working together, then I'll give you all the grief seats I have"I knew that would be her interest pretty well. I even saw her eyes wide as she heard those words.

She then looked at me, smiling devilishly "a simple challenge for a bunch of grief seeds. Oh, you're on I bet I could easily beat you" I smiled at her

Narrative pov/present time

"And yeah, that's pretty much what happens when I went to meet her" raya said finishing the story She just explained. she still had her usual smiling cocky expression like every other day like this was nothing to her

Charles blinked inside the bag clearly not understanding what just happened. Kiki was frozen, but still keeping her cool.She had her mouth against her hand. She knew the decision she made wasn't exactly the best one mira on the other hand...frozen panicking, scared, confused, and straight up having anxiety once again

Raya eyes looked around for a second "what" Mira just grabbed Raya and started shaking her "so you're trading all your grief seeds to a magical girl who tried to kill you" Raya looked at her with a smile "well it's not really that big of a deal"

Yuri walked up towards them "we need to get going" everyone was confused for a second Yuri just grabbed one of their hands, pulling them with her as the others follow

Timeskip

The girls looked at the witch door it was completely different and had a texture of a garage on it with a symbol of an eye there was multiple bike parts around the door jiko just started walking into the room "out of everyplace witch could be? I wasn't expecting it to be your school."

Once all the five girls were there the door opened surprisingly, the labyrinth was a Regular Road before something revered up almost like a motorcycle Black smoke immediately formed in front of them the black smoke had multiplec bike parts with the head seeming to be a motorcycles light

(If you were aware who Gisela aka the silver witch is then this will be the enemy for the chapter.)

The five girls got out there soul gems before transforming into magical girls

(Crap I don't know how to animate so I can't make a transformation scene. Oh well insert transformation sequence)

"We are the cycles quintet" all the girls immediately looked at Raya, who said that "what since we're working as a group now I thought it would be nice to have a group name" Raya said with a smile jiko just looked around for a second"I'm gonna be honest I think it's cool. We just need a better name"

Raya looked at Jiko Surprised, she actually agreed with her for once "well someone's getting soft" Jiko puffed up critiques again, wanting to yell at her "OK girls will argue about team names later. Let's just finish off this witch." Yuri said was a calm demeanor the other girls node

The girls went after fighting Gisela Though she would have massive speed, but they were on a winning advantage Kyubey who wasn't there with the girls appeared watching them fight a witch he wanted to study them study their abilities relationships, and power

He might as well tell them what's going on soon. They have potential ahead of them they could even defeat the council. Especially with how much time is remaining he had to ask now.

"Mira do you wanna call dibs on the last shot?"Raya said just about as they finish the witch mirror looked a bit anxious, but not her head her one then materialized into bow pulled shooting an arrow from it as it shot right into the face Gisela

As the silver witch then turned into a grease seat just about to fall a yellow ribbon, wrapped it up and started pulling it up before tossing it into a cyan bluish glove. It was another witch however, their body was completely made of yellow ribbon wearing a dress with a mouth on it.

She then waved her hand "HEY get back here!" Jiko shouted out of the distance, want to get back clearly not happy “now why should I give you back a poor little soul?” The thing said with a cheery little voice.

“if I’m correct, you must be the girls that the little white thing summoned one I have to admit you’re quite adorable but I have to go sadly I hope to see you in heaven has been made”with that she just burst into a pile of ribbons immediately went towards the ribbons was no grief seeds just yellow strand

To be continued

(Chapter took way longer than expected, but I hope you guys like it I'm going to say this right now. This has to be the longest chapter in the books so far but then again I should've expected it since then the first couple went 1000 and then 2000 either way that's all I have to say see you in the next chapter)

#au #madoka magica #pmmm au #madoka magica au #puella magi madoka magica #pmmm #oc #madoka magica witch #hi #Bit of grammar issues

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fanatichistory · 2 years ago

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Mushroom Story Part 8

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

"So...this Shadow...where do we start?" Aaron prompted again when the silence stretched on.

"Simple. Devana and I are creatures of light. Aaron, you're a witch with light magic and Zaviar a King. We wait for the Shadow to come to us, since it already is... It won't pass up the four of us in one place for long, hungry as it is and with everyone evacuating to the Council Hall." Tristan answered finally with a plan formed in his mind.

A risky one, but one that seemed the only option with the least casualties to the greater population to their community in the Southern Kingdom. And the other Kingdoms it seemed as well, at this rate as far as things were going.

"What is the status on that, currently?" Zaviar crossed his arms in thought as he began to pace slow and deliberate, the wheels began turning in his mind. Unease was evident and no longer hidden behind his usual poker face.

"Ongoing. All hands are on deck to help the Guardians but there are still too many refugees enroute. Not all are accounted for and we can assume many are being picked off in this way." Tristan straightened as he knew where this was going.

"That includes my building. No one within my building has been notified of the evacuation notice, there is still 3rd shift arriving and clocking in as we speak for janitorial." Zaviar passed another glance at his computer and tapped his chin in thought as his mind whirled a mile a minute.

"Our first priority is always the citizens. We should follow protocol and get them to the Council Hall, but there is a high chance that the communication error that affected this building affected others as well. It could be that no one in any kingdom knows to evacuate."

"Or it could be that it's only the Southern Kingdom and the Council sees their opportunity." Tristan hated saying it out loud but knew by the look on Zaviar's otherwise smoothed poker face that his train of thought was right on the money and was why his friend was filled with such unease currently.

"Since one of the Council members is a host, in theory for now though most assuredly in my mind, it's likely they can create a shield to keep out the Shadow and that's why everyone's being told to go to the Council Hall. That means I might be able to as well. We can make our own safe haven." Devana offered, wanting to help and be of use. Especially with so many lives of innocent people being at risk.

"You're picking a hell of a time to try and find out." Tristan mused, Aaron nodded his agreement.

"Either way, we need to get everyone to a safe place. The Council Hall being on the other side of the city and now questionable for multiple reasons... This office is a modernized fortress to prevent attacks. We can easily have the employees that are already here to have the desks pushed and moved out of the way to make room for the refugees. The only thing I see being a problem is the food and water. We only keep the café stocked and staffed for lunches and coffee breaks." Tristan continued on with the planning as Zaviar typed the memos and sent the emails, apparently having already decided to go ahead with it and not wanting to put trust in the Council Hall either for whatever Devana couldn't fathom.

Aaron began sending the messages via social media and texts to the supernatural he knew and began that chain of communication through the witch community.

Devana...didn't know what to do. So she sat back down in the office chair, closed her eyes and bothered Mooshy again.

You do not bother me child, I enjoy our conversations. Though we will have to improve our topic matter.

Devana couldn't help but chuckle out loud at that, not noticing the glances from her friends before they returned to their respective tasks. They were beginning to get used to her tuning out and speaking telepathically with Mooshy now and only Tristan was really able to follow along now that he was connected too as a child of light.

'Is there any way to shield out the Shadow and keep the people safe? Can I do such a thing?'

Of course, with time and training. However, in this time of need I'm afraid this is something I must do to ensure it's success.

'What do you need me to do?'

Allow me temporary control. You will be back in the void, safe with me, and I will place the shield around this Tower. The Shadow will not be able to enter within it's walls, however...

'However?'

There runs the risk of the Shadow's host coming themselves, should the Shadow have one or create one. And it might. The Shadow has children after all, but not all beings have hosts.

'So if the Shadow has a host, it could still get in...and the children? The rogue priests and priestesses from Temple can get in too?'

Yes. The shield will only work on spirits, shadows and other sentient beings like myself. You will still need to be wary of others like you and your friends.

'Okay. Let's do this then. We gotta save as many people as we can Mooshy, and they're all coming here. So you can take me over for as long as you need to keep them safe.'

Thank you...sweet child.

Tristan altered plans with Zaviar accordingly to accommodate for the Host and any rogue priests or priestesses who might try to crash through the Tower by physical force. He also couldn't help the trepidation the creeped down his spine at the mention of Devana allowing Mooshy control over her body.

However temporarily.

You doubt me, my son?

'I hardly know you. Neither does she. We know nothing of your Truth that you speak of.'

You will in time. It is natural that you fear me, given what you have been exposed to.

'As I imagine Devana would say, stranger danger.'

Unlike the Shadow who uses it's children to fetch it's dinner and unlike the being of unknown origin within the Council Member who uses Guardians such as yourself, I am no such being. That is my Truth. Those who remain lost in my wood and refuse to see the light within night will remain lost. The creatures of the forest understand this. They live in balance with me.

'Then what is this void you mentioned with Devana? Why does she have to go there?'

It took awhile before Mooshy answered him. Zaviar still typing away on his computer and Aaron on his phone which gave him time to telepathically converse with the being.

Devana and I cannot exist without the other. She was in the process of dying when I made her my Host. The void keeps her spirit safe from those that would do harm to it. I keep her spirit safe, from passing on and completing the process of death or from being found and devoured by spirits or shadows in the otherworld.

'So...she was dead then.' He sat stone still in his seat as he tried wrapping his head around this. Their enemy was a Shadow and could easily be one of the things Mooshy mentioned that would devour her without the protection of this being within her.

No. But she was going to be when I interfered. If anything were to happen to me, she will complete the process. The spirit I keep safely in the void will reconnect with her and she will pass on to the otherworld. Her injuries that were sustained were fatal after all and cannot be reversed.

Tristan did not like the sound of this. Mooshy just admitted to him that her soul was tucked away in a pocket dimension and that Devana was walking around without her freaking soul. There was no way she would even be able to enter the Council Hall for that damn meeting after all this is over, should they survive first, with the protections that were set up around the hall that keep the soulless dead and ghouls out.

Which Devana now counted as, being soulless and all with it tucked away elsewhere in deity storage.

It was a precarious position to be in for sure...not only did it put a target on her back with the Council with her newfound and otherworldly glowing powers of light that made them want to figure her out, Mooshy was also the only thing keeping her alive and her spirit safe from other 'things' on the Otherside from eating her very soul which apparently she didn't even have on her.

'We can't even heal her with magic? Are you sure?'

Tristan didn't know why he was getting so emotional over a woman he just met and barely knew. What he did know was that she was one of the good ones. In the short time he knew her he found she put her all in everything. In her farm work, the love of her animals, heck she even got the King to do farm work much to his surprise.

Not that he would let on that he was watching from the sky either. He didn't want to come off that way, it was nothing like that. He just couldn't help but notice while he was keeping watch and patrolling the farm.

And now that they shared minds he could see her thought process. How much she put everyone else above herself. That she really was willing to sacrifice her autonomy to save a group of people she didn't know but knew were innocent.

And he knew the Council wouldn't understand even half of what he knew from this conversation with being and would condemn Devana on not having her soul no matter the circumstances, whether she was innocent or not.

He wanted to be her friend and as he already had concluded, she was one of the good ones. Like Zaviar and Aaron were to him.

Mooshy was also taking it's time again in answering him while he pondered his feelings as the protector in him rose and bared his teeth at the future threats that were looming before his family and now the newest addition to it.

The vampire tore out her jugular with his bite. She was bleeding out fast. Magical healing is a possibility if one was prepared. Tell me, child of mine, are you planning to be rid of me so soon? Do you fear me so?

'I haven't decided. I don't know you well enough. I'm just worried about her and what she's about to do to help you shield this Tower and the toll it will take on her.'

I am used to being shunned by both creatures of light and other beings.

Tristan felt Mooshy's light pull away then before he could respond and lay dormant within him. As if shielding itself from his words and thoughts like it was hurt by being doubted by him as he tried to process the information further. For a second he felt for Mooshy.

But only a second.

There was still much to learn about the being and it's motives. Unfortunately there was much going on and they were pressed for time. Tristan just hoped he could get through this war of of sentient beings, or gods, without hurting the feelings of the one he was connected with any further.

"Don't tell me you zone out and talk to this Mooshy too?" Zaviar questioned tiredly, pausing on the keyboard mid-type as if waiting for a reply from him.

"And the other Guardians. I'm telepathically connected to a lot of people Zaviar, it's quite noisy in here." He gave a joking tap to his forehead with the tip of finger as he smirked. Pointedly leaving out the fact that he was telepathically connected to Devana as well.

He could certainly read her thoughts, he was just unsure if she could read his in turn. If it was only one way...or maybe she just hadn't figured out how telepathy worked with him yet.

"I can take to the skies and swoop in on anyone being targeted or picked off on their way to the Tower." He stated suddenly. Wanting to waste no more time in getting people safely within the building's walls and wanting to finally be able to something that lied outside of this office.

Zaviar began to nod his approval. "I agree. The dragons, harpies and those able to shapeshift into birds will be flying as well doing the same. Everyone knows to stay glamored at all costs to avoid exposure. The Were clans are leading the respective foot patrols and keeping three main routes to the Tower clear and guarded for the coming refugees. The employees on the clock are already making ready moving office desks and chairs out of the way on the floors below."

Aaron nodded absentmindedly as he typed away on his phone, updating his social media and standing next to Zaviar's side as he typed sent the routes through the community.

Devana began to glow brightly once more, brilliantly blue beneath her dark skin. Her eyes shining with the light blue and her long curly brown hair lifted as if in a gentle breeze as she stood up from the chair.

It was like a stone lodged in Tristan's chest as he understood that Mooshy had taken control just then. He wanted to trust the forest being, but couldn't bring himself to do so. Not seeing how completely it had full control over her body as she lithely rose up from the chair.

"Dev?" Aaron asked cautiously, reaching out a hand almost instinctively.

"No, I am the one you call Mooshy. Devana has given me control so that I may shield this Tower from the Shadow and other spirits."

Without another word, Devana/Mooshy walked over to the office window and raised their arms in a pattern as a rune of light appeared before dissipating into the window.

They watched uneasily as Devana/Mooshy made their way to the elevator, eyes still glowing bright making it apparent they were otherworldly, they stepped into the elevator once the doors dinged and opened.

"Change of plans. I'm sticking with Devana until she's done doing her thing just in case there's trouble." Tristan announced as he made for the elevator, his large wings kept as neatly tucked to his back as he could but still trailing a bit behind him so he had to turn quick to sweep them out of the way of the doors in time to avoid being caught.

Zaviar and Aaron looked at each other apprehensively but otherwise both men glad that Tristan went with her.

"What do you think it meant by Devana 'giving control'?" Aaron asked him.

"I don't know. The one who might just walked out of here with her." Zaviar grumbled in response as he answered a few more emails that chimed in just then.

"Yeah well...I'm glad he did though. It's pretty obvious now that she's something else entirely. If anyone can protect her while you and I coordinate the evacuations, Tristan can."

Zaviar looked up at his friend and gave him a small smile. He was right after all. If Mooshy hadn't walked it's happy mushroom deity butt out of there before he had the chance to put Tristan on guard detail while they set up the shield...well, it was the very call he would have made.

Tristan knew him well.

He struggled to trust Mooshy. Tristan could tell even when he could not say and that alone reminded him to take a step back and remember to be wary. It was easy to get caught up in the wonder of magic the being had. The wonder of it all really.

Especially with her.

Being on her farm reminded him of times back when. The good days when things were less political and far more simple. Sure, there was responsibilities. Chores to do, creatures to take care of.

But at least the farm animals didn't talk back.

"Zaviar?" Aaron drew his attention back to the present and he cursed himself.

Now was not the time. To many people were being picked off on the road, being plucked from their homes even when they were to scared to leave.

Now was not the time.

"Go ahead Aaron."

"I'm heading down to Bloombury Ave to help evacuate the witches and others present there." He announced with barely concealed anxiety over something he had just read through his phone in one of the updates.

Zaviar was stoic but he couldn't help the hesitation he felt inside. With it being war out there he knew there was a good chance he was looking on his friend for the last time. He also knew that there was no stopping Aaron either, nor would he.

"Watch your back. I wish I could join out there." And boy did he. Zaviar missed his days as a warrior. Not the unnecessary death and bloodshed per se, but the saving of lives.

He wanted to be out there with his friends doing something, physically doing something, to help his kingdom.

"Careful what you wish for." Aaron teased back half-heartedly as he took the elevator and left Zaviar alone in the opulent office as his computer continued to ding email notifications that demanded his urgent attention.

#mushroom story #writing #writer community #whump #whump story #protective caretaker #my oc's #winged oc

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psychotakublabs · 3 years ago

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“Two Witches Torn Apart Now Alone Two Hearts Of Stone A Curse Of Feathers And Mud A Betrayal Of Blood”

This was the secret message in Season 1 and at first you would think it related to Eda and Lilith throughout the season 1. However, Belos’s outburst in “Hunting Palisman” may have proven a different meaning in the message. It may actually refer to Belos and Eda throughout the series.

“Two Witches Torn Apart Alone Two Hearts of Stone”

This does refer to Eda and Lilith being close as children but grew apart when they got alone. The reasons were because Eda is a wild witch outlaw and Lilith was the leader of the Emperor’s Coven. Because of circumstances and ideals, both witches were alone and their emotions were either hidden or cold. However, this could relate to Belos as well. In “Hunting Palisman”, Belos revealed his family was destroyed because of wild magic. But you have to wonder how as magic either has to be casted by another witch or objects (potions, books, plants, Glyphs etc). Meaning someone, either in Belos' family or another witch close to Belos, used wild magic on Belos that put his lineage in ruins. Which could mean Belos and another witch were torn apart because of wild magic and Belos is now alone. The “Two Hearts of Stone” could be related to the stone heart in his throne room but there is only one. It could refer to his own heart connected to the stone heart. There is also the possibility it could relate to Hunter and Belos’s relationship. Both do share a familial bond, but their goals tend to clash as Hunter wants to cure his uncle by studying wild magic while Belos wants to unite the realms to possibly get rid of his curse as well as rid wild magic. Both seem to clash when this conversation comes up, especially in the beginning and end of “Hunting Palisman”. Although they are family, both are alone and have closed off their emotions to reach their end goal.

“A Curse of Feather and Mud”

The curse of feathers is Eda’s curse because she turns into an owl beast when using her magic. After Lilith shared the curse, it seems to activate when Eda and Lilith are under stress. In “Hunting Palisman” we see Belos in agony when his curse suddenly flares up and it seems to be random. He turns into a horrifying monster but then he starts slamming his morphed arm into the wall as it looks like he is trying to control or suppress the curse. It looks to be a green/brown goop of some sort. This leads me to believe it’s actually mud. Especially when the substance starts leaking from his cracked mask and hand. Hence the curse of mud must be Belos’s curse. Both curses are similar to each other such as morphing into monstrous creatures, affecting their magic and body, needing certain substances to keep it at bay, and outbursts/flare ups that are uncontrollable and take over. However, Eda’s curse is starting to be manageable and may even have ways of controlling it. Belos’s curse seems to have affected his body to the point he can utilize it’s morphing capabilities but his outbursts are sporadic and dangerous which is why he is trying to get rid of it. Both deal with their curses differently but from the message and recent episode, we can conclude Eda is the curse of feathers and Belos is the curse of mud.

“A Betrayal of Blood”

When we learned Lilith was the one who cursed Eda, it makes sense “a betrayal of blood” was related to that revelation. It still is. However, that may not be the only betrayal. Belos stated in “Hunting Palisman” that wild magic destroyed his family. But it isn’t clear how it destroyed his family. Magic must be casted from the user for it to take effect. Magic is everywhere, but specific purposes must be casted (magic as electricity, spells as appliances). This makes one wonder how Belos was cursed with wild magic? From “a betrayal of blood” it could be interpreted into many things with Belos’s curse. 1) Like Lilith and Eda, Belos was cursed by someone in his family. One of his family members may have used wild magic on Belos to curse him. It could also be the reason his family was destroyed because of that relative’s betrayal. 2) The curse could be hereditary. The betrayal of blood could be his family were all affected by the curse through bloodline. The curse could be getting worse through each generation and Belos is the sole survivor of his lineage. 3) Hunter could betray Belos in the future. We can see Hunter is starting to question his loyalty with Belos and his perspective on wild magic is changing. The more he interacts with Luz, the more he will start to doubt and could possibly betray Belos. Although they are not related by blood, they do share a history of cursed bloodlines making them family. “A betrayal of blood” has multiple interpretations, but both relate to Eda and Belos.

What Does This Mean?

From what we know so far, there are two reasons as to what Season 1 secret message could entail of Eda and Belos.

1) Clawthorne and Belos Relation

This could either be by blood or close family ties. The Clawthorne family has been around for a while from Gwendolyn saying her great-grandmother knew of Philip, so it’s very likely they knew each other. It is not sure how long the Savage Ages have lasted but Belos should be around 70 so probably around the same time as Gwendolyn. Both could have been children while their families were connected from Gwendolyn and Belos parents or further back. There could be some blood relation as Eda, Lilith, Gwendolyn, Belos, and Hunter have bird motifs/items. If they aren’t related by blood, they could have been close friends. Someone in either the Clawthorne family or Belos’s family could have cursed their entire family. Much like Lilith cursing Eda from a scroll, someone could have used wild magic either casting to curse Belos’s entire family. Whether it be intentional or accident, this could have caused a rift in the Clawthorne and Belos family ties. However, there are holes in this theory. It doesn’t seem either one remembers or even seems to have relations with each other. Belos could have blamed someone but it seems he may not have known who cursed him or he could be blaming wild magic for the curse instead of the one who cursed him. The bird motifs on both sides could just be a coincidence. Still it is worth mentioning now that the Season 1 secret message is not just about Eda.

2) Eda and Belos Share Similar Stories

Since the Season 1 secret message is not only about Eda, there are similarities with Belos and Eda. Both have been cursed by family (undetermined by Belos' side but it’s highly likely it’s someone in the family), closed off from others, and know about the Human Realm. However, both are parallel to each other. Eda was cursed and ostracized by society because of it. She became a criminal because she would not join a Coven because they strip witches of most of their magic. She embraces wild magic and believes in individual freedom. Even knowing Lilith cursed her, she doesn’t hold a grudge or hatred to her sister (sometimes reminds her of the betrayal but not in a hateful manner) and helps Lilith with her curse. After Luz enters her life, Eda starts to trust others again and even becomes a mother figure to Luz. Instead of blaming others or magic for her curse, Eda tries to manage it instead and live her life even with the curse. Belos lost his entire family to the curse and blames wild magic for it. Since that incident, he has restructured the Boiling Isles society to follow his Coven system and admonish wild magic. He believes everyone has to conform to his rules and wants to rid the Demon Realm of wild magic. Belos rejects help from others and must think the “Day of Unity” is the only way to cure his curse as well as to make sure no one else suffers from wild magic. Belos has found a way to manage the curse, but it’s getting harder to control and his outbursts are becoming frequent. He does take in Hunter because both have shared similar experiences with wild magic cursing their families like Eda and Luz with being outcasts in their homes. However, Belos is very harsh on Hunter, even so far to harm him for mentioning wild magic or failing his mission. Belos’s true intentions may even be hidden from Hunter and everyone else. Eda and Belos share similar fates but different experiences, however it means Season 1 secret message tells the same message of two different people.

Whichever reason it may be, Season 1 secret message is related to Eda and Belos. Now if that is the case, there are some questions left unanswered. Who cursed Belos’s entire family and Belos himself and how close were they? The first sentence is about two witches being torn apart so it either means someone Belos trusted betrayed him or a witch in the past betrayed a family member that cursed his lineage. Then we have Eda’s curse. Eda’s curse was casted from a scroll which is similar to Luz’s Glyph magic. Lilith also got the scroll from the night market which deals with shady dealings. Could Eda’s curse originate from wild magic? If so it could explain how Belos was cursed or at least why his hatred from wild magic could be justified (doesn’t mean his actions on the Boiling Isles is justified, just his hatred towards wild magic). There is also the question of how combining both realms could purify magic but that will be in another theory. That secret message is the key to unlocking Belos’s past and the incomplete Season 2 secret message is going to tell us more about Belos’s plan and what is to unfold in the story. Now that we have seen Belos’s curse, the secret message in Season 1 is the story of Eda in season 1 and the story of Belos we have yet to uncover.

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fermented-writers-block · 4 years ago

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Is Belos from another realm entirely?

(Note: This is mainly a bit of wishful speculation that I’m not entirely sure will actually happen in canon, but I think it could be quite an interesting twist and play on the dynamic of things. Also, TLDR at bottom for those wondering)

Given the heavy implications that Eda’s portal is the only - actually stable and reliable compared to the cracks in reality with the trash slugs - portal to the human realm as well as that Belos didn’t get it stolen from him by Eda, I couldn’t help but think back on all the iconography and color scheme surrounding Belos and find it interesting.

Between the options that Belos is a witch or that he is a human, this episode has gotten me speculating if neither of those are the case in the first place and there’s in fact a third option we’ve yet to consider.

On him not being a witch, besides the out of place technology like pipeworking and the seemingly electricity-based petrification machine, there’s how he completely breaks away from the established techniques of casting magic with a circle on the BIs AND Luz’s method of spell glyphs, what with him not moving a single muscle to summon the worm creature from the intro or phasing himself behind Luz, using a clearly artificial staff to regress Eda’s curse enough so he could speak to her, and how this is clearly not a spell circle so much as a spell ball:

And on him not being a human, well, there’s the way he talks about and to Luz as though she’s a foreigner instead of someone from the same species, how his body inhumanly reshaped itself behind Luz like a being made of goo, and the logical implications I touched upon about him not acting as though the portal belonged to him beforehand when combined with the tech he’s shown:

I mean, when you think about it, Belos would have arrived and started gaining followers around the 1950s to 1960s under the thought that the show takes place in 2019, and it sounds so far like he has only been on the BIs since then at the very least if not longer without access to the human realm over the course of time.

I don’t know about you folks, but with that timeframe in mind, I just have to ask; if Belos has come from the human realm, then how could he have downright futuristic looking technology compared to today’s standards when - presuming that he can’t see into other realms - the last pinnacle of technology he logically would have had access to/knowledge of would be these bulky things?

As for what I speculate he might really be/where he comes from, well, let’s take a look at the symbolism surrounding him and his structures:

In the unauthorized account of history, Belos is depicted as having the top pair of wings from his symbol in the first image, and in the second image as well as a tapestry inside of his throne room, he also associates himself with the iconography of a ring with seven-eight eyes on it.

Meanwhile, throughout his castle, examples like the room on the left with a stained glass window, altar-like spaces, and the woven tapestries on the opposite wall bear a similarity to grander scale churches, while with the Conformatorium underground on the right, we can see enormous statues of winged humanoids with weapons that are holding up the rest of the Conformatorium.

Presuming that the underground section of the Conformatorium was built on Belos’ orders due to them being so well integrated into its support structure, these statues stick out by a longshot as we have never seen anything like them on the Boiling Isles let alone heard of any Valkyries or similarly winged humanoids in the background. And with the Demon Realm taking cues from the concept of the underworld like seen with the original story idea being about Luz dying and going there AKA the proto-Demon Realm, these statues stick out even moreso.

In fact, like I brought up with the title of this post, perhaps there’s another realm we’re not considering.

We have the Human Realm, which is basically our world, and we have the Demon Realm, which like said above is fashioned after the underworld with demons and such populating it, so what about a possible overworld in the form of an Angel Realm? I mean, though angels have established themselves in public consciousness and pop culture as mainly beautiful humans with a single pair of wings, multiple pairs of wings and or rings of eyes may sound quite familiar to those who are versed in more extraordinary descriptions from the bible, like with the ophanim and cherubim down below:

After all, according to some sects of Christianity, where did FALLEN angels go after being expelled from heaven? And it is rather striking how Belos’ clothes, coven, and technology sports a white and gold color scheme that sticks out so much compared to the rest of the Demon Realm, let alone his depictions all over the place with a ring of eyes and multiple pairs of wings...

TLDR: Or in other words, what if Belos turns out to be an “angel” who was cast out from the “Angel Realm” - with some cues being taken from Christianity and potentially other mythological afterlives - and “fell” down to the Boiling Isles, and part of his plan for the Human Realm is to use it to make his way back?

#the owl house #owl house #the owl house theory #owl house theory #the owl house analysis #theory #speculation #emperor belos

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noblecrumpet-dorkvision · 4 years ago

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Twists for Humanoid Encounters

How often has your D&D group needed to fight the same group of humanoids in every room? 2d4 hobgoblins in every room of a hobgoblin fortress? 2d4 kuo-toa in every room of the kuo-toa temple? 2d4 bandits in every room of the bandit hideout? Sure, some of these humanoids have “suped-up” versions like hobgoblin captains, kuo-toa whips, and bandit captains, but eventually things will get boring with the same enemies every time and those boss monsters are usually reserved for the boss fight!

Encounter Twists (1d20)

Here are some ways to make an average group-encounter a bit different. Roll 1d20 to choose randomly or pick from the list below. These tend to be keyed towards an assumption that the enemies are humanoid, but that might not be the case.

(1) Varied Weapons. One of the enemies has a different weapon. For example, if all the thugs have maces, maybe one has a glaive or greatsword. Meanwhile, another uses two daggers instead.

(2) Varied Armor. One of the enemies has different armor than the standard. If the hobgoblins wear chain mail, perhaps one is wearing plate. Maybe one didn’t have time to put on armor and only wields a shield.

(3) Minor Spellcasting. Somehow, one of the enemies has come across the ability to use magic, whether divine or arcane. The creature gains the Magic Initiate feat, thereby gaining a cantrip and 1st-level spell.

(4) Healing Potion. One of the enemies is packing a useful healing potion, usually one appropriate for the players to find at their level in case it falls into their hands. If the creature sees an ally go down, they can give out their potion or use it on themselves.

(5) Other Potion. One of the enemies drinks a potion as the battle starts. Choose randomly from the following (d8): (1) Potion of Giant Strength, (2) Potion of Fire Breath, (3) Potion of Flying, (4) Potion of Growth, (5) Potion of Heroism, (6) Potion of Invisibility, (7) Potion of Invulnerability, or (8) Potion of Speed.

(6) Other Consumable Item. One of the enemies carries a consumable magic item, used when the time is right. The players might be able to snag one if it has multiple uses. Choose randomly from the following (d6): (1) 1d4 beans from a Bag of Beans, (2) 1d4 beads from a Necklace of Fireballs, (3) a vial of Oil of Sharpness, (4) a Gem of Brightness with 1d4+5 charges remaining, (5) a Deck of Illusions with only 1d4+1 cards remaining, or (6) a vial of Oil of Slipperiness.

(7) Class Feature. One of the enemies has experience in a player class, gaining one of the following features chosen at random (d12). Each functions pretty much like the class feature of the same name. These are meant to just give the impression of a class through one, usually simplified feature, rather than all of a class’s unique features.

Bard: Bardic Inspiration: Use a d6.

Barbarian: Rage: Bonus damage at +2.

Cleric: Spellcasting: Knows the Guidance and Sacred Flame cantrips. Can cast 3 spell-levels-worth of spells: either Cure Wounds (1st), Guiding Bolt (1st), Spiritual Weapon (2nd), or Spirit Guardians (3rd). Use their Wisdom modifier for their spellcasting statistics (minimum 13).

Druid: Wild Shape: Choose an animal appropriate to the setting and have it be up to CR 2.

Fighter: Maneuvers: Give them 4 d8s and just choose 1 maneuver for simplicity’s sake.

Monk: Ki: Give them 3 Ki Points and let them gain two unarmed strikes (d4) as a bonus action, or else dodge, disengage, or dash as a bonus action by spending a ki point.

Paladin: Divine Smite and Lay on Hands: Give them 2 1st-level spell slots with which to smite. Also give them 10 points of Lay on Hands.

Ranger: Spellcasting and Fighting Style: They can cast Hunter’s Mark twice per day and gain the Archery or Two-Weapon Fighting styles.

Rogue: Sneak Attack and Cunning Action: Use 2d6 for the Sneak Attack damage.

Sorcerer: Spellcasting and Metamagic: Give them 3 1st-level spell slots, a cantrip, and a 1st-level spell eligible for the Twinned Spell Metamagic feature. They can use Twinned Spell on one of their spells up to 3 times.

Warlock: Eldritch Blast and Pact Magic: Give them the Eldritch Blast cantrip, then 1 3rd-level spell slot (assume a second slot was used already). Then give them the spells Hex, Witch Bolt, or Hunger of Hadar. Use their Charisma modifier for their spellcasting statistics (minimum 13).

Wizard: Spellcasting: Knows the Minor Illusion cantrip and one damaging cantrip. Can cast 4 spell-levels-worth of spells: either Fog Cloud (1st), Magic Missile (1st), Flaming Sphere (2nd), Web (2nd), Fireball (3rd), or Lightning Bolt (3rd). Use their Intelligence modifier for their spellcasting statistics (minimum 13).

(8) Mount. One of the enemies has an appropriate mount, offering them greater mobility and the offensive/defensive features of an additional enemy, if it has attacks.

(9) Pet. The creatures have a pet, captured creature, or summoned magical servant of an appropriate challenge rating. This could be a beast, a monster, an undead (if a necromancer is present), an elemental (if a wizard or druid is present), a fiend (if a warlock or cleric is present), or a fey (if a druid is present).

(10) Brute Creature. One of the enemies has the maximum amount of hit points based on their hit point calculation. The creature rolls twice for damage, taking the better of the two rolls.

(11) Meek Creature. One of the enemies has half the normal amount of hit points based on their hit point calculation. The creature rolls twice for damage, taking the worse of the two rolls.

(12) Unique Species/Race. One of the enemies is of a different species. For instance, a group of Bandits might have a Dwarf or Bugbear in their ranks. You can grant an NPC creature some traits of the new species/race (like Dwarven Resilience), or you can just use statistics of a different monster (like the Bugbear).

(13) Infiltrator. One of the enemies is secretly a monster in disguise. Ones that fit the bill might include: a Doppelganger, an Intellect Devourer, a Succubus/Incubus, a Lycanthrope, a Yuan-Ti Pureblood, a Yochlol (if among drow), a Barghest (if among goblins), an Oni, a Hag, a Slaad, a Rakshasa, or a Couatl. For more powerful characters, you could use an ancient metallic dragon or a Deva.

(14) Sickness. One of the enemies is suffering from a random disease. Creatures that come within 5 feet of them have a chance of contracting the disease. The creature should be displaying symptoms in order for the players to effectively make decisions about this in combat. In theory, though, other enemies might be asymptomatic, so smart players should maintain distance with all the enemies.

(15) Unusual Surprise. If the players took precautions and surprised the enemies, half of them were unusually alert and are not surprised. If the enemies were not initially surprised, half of them were far from prepared and are instead surprised even if the players took no precautions. Perhaps they were daydreaming, sleeping, getting armor on, or tripped.

(16) Feat. One of the enemies has a random feat chosen from the following (d20, reroll on 16+). Some may require them to change their weapons or armor, and are marked with an asterisk: (1) Alert, (2) Athlete, (3) Charger, (4) Crossbow Expert*, (5) Defensive Duelist*, (6) Dual Wielder*, (7) Great Weapon Master*, (8) Heavy Armor Master*, (9) Mobile, (10) Mage Slayer, (11) Polearm Master*, (12) Sentinel, (13) Sharpshooter*, (14) Shield Master*, or (15) Tavern Brawler.

(17) Unusual Talent. One of the enemies has an exceptional statistic, different from others of its kind. Choose one of the creature’s abilities that is on the low end and make it comparable or better than their strongest ability. For instance, if such creatures normally have high Strength, give this one high Dexterity. If they are typically low in Intelligence, give them a high Intelligence and let them use smarter tactics. Give them unique weapons or spells if appropriate.

(18) Damage Rider. One of the enemies deals additional damage of a random type using one of their weapons. This may come from a magic oil or poison applied to their weapon, or perhaps their own arcane or divine magic. Don’t use a magic weapon as players will be able to use it once the battle is over (unless you planned to give such an item as treasure in the first place). Their weapon deals a bonus 1d6 damage of a type chosen at random from the following: (1) acid, (2) cold, (3) fire, (4) lightning, (5) necrotic, (6) poison, (7) psychic, or (8) radiant.

(19) Siege Weapon. One of the enemies is manning a siege weapon of your choice against the players. A ballista is usually a good option, since you usually don’t want a cannon in your players’ hands and a catapult is better for non-moving targets. You could also create a magical siege weapon, like a turret that casts Burning Hands, Scorching Ray, Ice Knife, Acid Arrow, or Lightning Bolt.

(20) Elemental Shield. One of the enemies has immunity to one damage type and resistance to all other damage until they are dealt damage of an opposed damage type, which destroys this magical shield. Pair the damage types like this: cold and fire, radiant and necrotic, acid and lightning (think of it like earth vs. air). Alternatively, one of the creatures is naturally blessed with immunity to one damage type. Give the creature some sort of visual cue for this to clue the players in.

Characteristic Twists

Another way to vary humanoid creatures is by giving them interesting personality traits or interesting physical features. Roll or choose from the Appearance Twists table to make one of the humanoids look more distinct. Roll or choose from the Personality Twists table to make one of the humanoids act differently or more interesting, sometimes in a way the players can exploit in combat.

Appearance Twists (d20)

Creature has...

Outlandish hairdo

Interesting headgear/hat

Worn trophies collected from enemies

Personalized armor or clothes

Prominent visible tattoos or war paint

Prominent visible scar

A cape or other dramatic attire

Prominent facial jewelry (or facial hair if they have it)

Weapon made from unique material or uniquely decorated

A meaningful symbol prominently displayed

Unusual physical features for their species

Eyewear (glasses, goggles, mask, or eyepatch)

Prominent visible birthmark

Unusual attire for class/profession

Missing or prosthetic limb

Trinket (roll on existing table) worn and visible

Worn piece of valuable treasure

Worn a memento from a lover

Worn animal hide

Appearance altered magically or through a curse

Personality Twists (d20)

Creature is...

Suffering from a form of Long-Term Madness (roll on existing table)

Overly confident, willingly enters dangerous combat situations

Overly cautious, always readies their action into a reaction

Intimidating, can frighten a target as a bonus action with a successful Charisma contest

Sadistic, aiming for weak targets

Defiant, challenges the strongest foes first

Overly dramatic, draws a lot of attention

Automysophobic, can't stand getting dirty

Irrationally terrified of something in the players' arsenal (magic, animals, fire, etc)

Biased against one of the players' species and focuses on them

Angered or terrified by mages, attacks them first

Flirtacious with one of the players, is effectively charmed by the player

Witty, taunts foes with banter

Indecisive to the point where they sometimes only take the Dodge action

Loyal to their leader to the death

Edgy and mysterious

Best friends with one of their allies, always tries to Help them in combat

Cowardly, becomes frightened and attempts to Disengage or Hide if damaged

Honorable, refuses to fight with an unfair advantage

Drunk and suffers from the Poisoned condition

#Dungeons and Dragons #D&D #DnD #5e #encounter #homebrew #monsters #combat

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cactusnymph · 4 years ago

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matters of the heart

“Sir Caroline, I must ask your advice in an important matter.”

“You don’t have to call me ‘Sir’ anymore, Angelo. We’ve been over this.”

“Excuse me, Caroline. Now, this important matter—“

“Is this about Ale? Because, and I cannot stress this enough, I do not want to hear anything about your love life, Angelo.”

Angelo has to admit that this is not the way he had hoped the conversation to go. He feels himself deflate a little as he looks at Caroline’s disapproving face.

“But S—Caroline, I wouldn’t know who else to ask! Usually my best friend and former rival would be my first choice, but he’s not available at the moment.”

Caroline looks at him for a moment then sighs, lowering her head into her hands for a heartbeat before looking up at him again.

“Fine. Just this once. Next time you can just write Damien a letter.”

“Yes, Sir—I mean. Yes, Caroline.”

Caroline starts massaging her temple.

“So. Spit it out. What is it?”

“I almost can’t believe that I am saying this—truly, I think it is the first time I understand my friend Damien. I must speak my heart—“

“Oh, for the love of—“

“You are married to Miss Quanyii, are you not, Caroline?”

“Yes, I am. What does that have to do with anything?”

“So you must be well-versed in matters of the heart! How did you court your wife? I admit, I have never attempted this before and I have no idea how to go about courting a man—“

“And why should it be different than courting a woman, Angelo?”

Angelo pauses for a second. It was brought to his attention many times now that the distinctions between men and women he has learned about all his life might not actually be as accurate as many people make them out to be. Truly, Caroline is the best example. And now he has met Ale and Miss Quanyii, who is sometimes not Miss Quanyii but Mr Quanyii.

Angelo considers Caroline’s words.

“So you’re saying I should court Ale in the exact same way I would court a woman”, he says.

Caroline rolls her eyes.

“I do not see how gender has anything to do with this, Angelo. The way you court a person depends on the person. Not all women care for flowers and candles and love letters. I have no idea what Ale would prefer as courting; maybe he doesn’t want to be courted at all.”

“Like Sir Talfryn, yes. I have learned about this. You are correct, Caroline and I am glad to have asked you. I shall speak to Ale about this to make sure that I am not overstepping any boundaries! I thank you for your wisdom! Hophophophophophop.”

Angelo is not afraid of anything.

He’s not afraid of pain or fighting or dying or even things as complicated as numbers even though he is not very good at them. But when he finds Ale sitting next to Olala, showing her how to start a campfire with her little hands, something tightens in Angelo’s chest and all he can do is stare.

Ale is beautiful. Dark skin, long hair, big eyes and long lashes, a soft smile as he tells little Olala that she’s doing well.

Angelo feels his stomach drop; a sensation that is very similar to falling and his heart beats so rapidly in his chest that he has trouble breathing for a moment.

Maybe he should have rehearsed this. Maybe it would be better if little Olala was not there with Ale. Maybe he was hasty when he concluded that speaking directly to Ale would be the best course of action. A warrior’s approach. Head on. The same way he always approaches difficulties.

Ale looks up when he notices Angelo and he flashes him a grin that makes Angelo’s insides squirm around like very lively snakes. Saints, if he starts using more metaphors for how Ale makes him feel he might turn into Damien before he knows it.

“Hey schoolboy, what can we do for you?”

Angelo isn’t sure why it makes him feel warm and tingly when Ale calls him ‘schoolboy’, but it absolutely does.

He clears his throat.

“I was about to—hm. Well.”

Angelo wishes Damien were here so he could tell him how to find the right words for this. Damien has such a knack for language and beautiful words, while Angelo—well. Angelo has never in his life understood one poem that Damien showed to him.

“We’re making fire, Sir Angelo! I made a small flame, all without magic! Look!”, Olala proclaims excitedly and waves at the little wisp of smoke her efforts have conjured.

“Very good, Olala. I—uh. I must take my leave.”

And for the first time in his life, Sir Angelo The Strong turns around and flees.

“Aw, Angelo, what is it?”

Angelo looks up as Quanyii appears out of nowhere right beside him.

“I am afraid that I have become a coward, Miss Quanyii”, he says as he looks down at his big hands.

“I highly doubt that, sweetie. Is this about our beautiful vigilante boy?”, Quanyii wants to know as she scoots closer to Angelo, her colorful hair surrounding her head like a cloud.

“Yes. I have spoken to Si—to Caroline about this and she gave me important insight on the matter of courting rituals.”

“She did?”, Quanyii asks, sounding surprised.

“Yes. She explained that courting is not a matter of gender but of the individual’s personality. She also pointed out that Ale might have no interest in romantic relationships which I had not considered before.”

Quanyii puts her index finger to her lips and taps them thoughtfully.

“Yes, yes, such wisdom. But have you considered asking me about this? Romance is a magical thing after all and sweetheart, I’m a witch! Caroline doesn’t know one itsy-bitsy thing about romance, let me tell you that”, Quanyii says and pouts a little.

Angelo raises his head.

“So you would help me in this quest to court Ale?”, he asks. The grin that spreads on Quanyii’s face makes Angelo pause. This might not be a good idea.

“Oh, sweetie, don’t you worry your silly little head. I will give you one tip for free because we have become such good friends during those past few weeks! I know a little secret and that is that Ale does like romance!”

Angelo feels his face light up with a smile as relief courses through his entire body. He feels like he could do a hundred push-ups right here and now. Maybe even lift Porthos. Or the whole, fallen tree he’s sitting on.

“Why thank you, Miss Quanyii, that is most helpful!”

He grabs both of her hands and shakes them as Quanyii giggles.

“You are so very welcome, Angelo. For every other piece of help I’m going to require a little bit of payment. A witch has to make do, you know.”

Angelo doesn’t really understand but he nods anyway and gets up from the fallen tree trunk.

“I do not believe that I will need further assistance, now that the issue of romantic attraction has been resolved! Sir Angelo The Strong is back on his feet! Ha ha! Hophophophophophop.”

“Good luck, brave knight!”, Quanyii calls after him as Angelo runs back towards the camp.

Now that Angelo knows that Ale is not generally opposed to romance the path seems clear. That is, at least until Angelo arrives back at the place where Ale and Olala made their little fire before.

The two of them are still there, but both of them are asleep. Ale is sitting with his back against a tree, his legs spread, and Olala has curled up between his legs, her tail gently snoring. Caroline sits by the fire and sharpens her blade.

She looks up as Angelo enters the clearing.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Angelo”, she says as Angelo stares at Ale’s sleeping form. His long lashes are feathered out on his cheeks and for a second Angelo imagines to brush his fingers over Ale’s cheek and give him a kiss.

The thought immediately sends his heart into another gallop that would make Porthos proud and Angelo swallows heavily.

“I cannot report any ghost sightings at this point, Sir—I mean. Caroline.”

Angelo notices how Caroline’s eyes narrow as she looks him up and down and since Caroline has stated that she has no interest to know anything about Angelo’s love life he tries very hard to respect her wishes and to not look at Ale as if he’s the most beautiful thing that Angelo has ever seen.

Which he very definitely is.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, sit down, you oaf”, Caroline snaps and Angelo, still as an automatic response to her authoritative voice, walks over to the fire and sits down next to her.

“Did you talk to Quanyii?”, she wants to know.

“Yes. She cleared up a question I had and I thought it would make things easier, but as it turns out, it did not.”

“I wouldn’t make any deals with her, witches are fickle and cunning creatures.”

“Babe, you’re being so mean!”

“Oh, shut it. You know it’s true.”

“Yes, but when you say it like that it’s mean, mean, mean!”

Angelo watches them bicker for a while before his eyes drift back over to Ale and Olala. Ale’s hand is resting on Olala’s back and Angelo looks at it for a while. Ale’s hand is much smaller than his and Angelo wonders what it would feel like to hold it. It must be rough from all the sword-fighting, much like Angelo’s hand.

Maybe Ale doesn’t have any interest in holding Angelo’s hand. Maybe Ale doesn’t like men.

“What is it now, Angelo”, Caroline asks with an expression on her face that says she might regret asking.

“I forgot to consider another important thing regarding this whole courting business”, Angelo says and looks at Caroline. Quanyii seems to have vanished into thin air—something Angelo has seen happening multiple times during those last few weeks.

“Which is?”

“You made me aware of the possibility of Ale being averse to romantic relationships, but I forgot to consider whether or not Ale would be opposed to romantic relationships to men. I only ever knew one man who liked another man. Lizard. Does it count as a man if it is a lizard? I certainly don’t know. My point stands, though.”

Caroline sighs deeply and cards through her short her.

“It seems highly unlike you to ask all these questions instead of simply acting, Angelo”, she says and looks at him with a stern gaze.

Angelo sighs.

“Yes, I know. I am afraid I have found my most lethal opponent yet! Matters of the heart! No monster could ever best me in combat, but my own heart is betraying me.”

Caroline puts her blade to the side and leans forward, her elbows resting on her knees as she looks at Angelo with her piercing eyes.

“Just talk to him. It’s that easy. No one can ever truly know another person’s heart or thoughts unless they speak them out loud.”

“Unless you’re a witch”, comes a disembodied sing-song from somewhere above them.

“Unless you’re a witch in which case you should stay out of people’s heads”, Caroline barks up the tree and looks back at Angelo.

“I cannot believe that I should turn into a coward for something as simple as talking. It seems highly ridiculous.”

Caroline shrugs.

“Emotions are hard. And I... understand your hesitance. But you should not let your feelings rule over your rational thoughts.”

“That is a very Caroline thing to say, Sir Caroline.”

“Stop calling me ‘Sir’ already!”

“Certainly, Sir Caroline.”

“Ugh.”

“Ale, can I ask you a personal question?”

“You can ask anything you want, schoolboy. I can decide whether or not I want to answer.”

“Oh—yes. That is very reasonable. Thank you. Uh—“

“Sir knight, are you alright? Did you get sunburnt? Sir Caroline says it is important to not stay outside in the sun for too long!”

“I am not sunburnt, little Olala.”

“Ask your question, schoolboy. Is this about gender again?”

“Uh—no. Not—huh. I suppose it is! But not in the way you think!”

“Well then, shoot.”

“This is more about the genders of others, I suppose! A potential paramour, one might say! I have a friend who has a fiancée but who is also involved with a man. Lizard. Male lizard? I am not entirely certain about the lizard’s gender and I was told not to assume. Anyway. What I wanted to ask—“

“You want to know if I like lizards?”

“No, that’s not—“

“I was joking, schoolboy. Calm down. You want to know what kind of people I’m attracted to.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t much care about gender, but it doesn’t happen often that I’m attracted to people. Either romantically or sexually.”

“Oh.”

“I just don’t fall in love easily. And I don’t find many people hot.”

“Hm.”

“Any more questions?”

“Yes, but I am afraid they would be borderline offensive and highly invasive.”

“Well then. Let’s keep it at that, schoolboy.”

“Sir knight, are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, little Olala.”

“It’s just that you are usually very loud but you have been very quiet for a while. I recently learned about heatstrokes and it sounds awful and I hope you don’t have a heatstroke, Sir knight.”

“I don’t think I have anything of the kind, Olala.”

Olala sits down next to Angelo. He’s leaning against Porthos who’s lying down and nibbling on some grass. Ale and Caroline are investigating something and since Angelo is not the best at clues he offered to stay behind to guard their belongings and also Olala.

“Most adults do not like to tell children why they’re sad. But if you wanted to, I would certainly listen.”

“That’s very kind of you, Olala. Have you ever liked someone?”

“Of course! I like so many people!”

“Ah, yes. Hm. And were you ever scared to tell any of these people that you like them?”

“No, Sir knight. I grew up in the Garden of Graves and we tended to the dead and my sisters always taught me that it is important to speak your heart while the people you love are alive, for you never know when they might die and then you can’t tell them anymore.”

“That is... very wise, Olala.”

“Thank you, Sir knight! My sisters taught me a great many things and I am honored to pass their wisdom on to others.”

Angelo looks down at Olala’s small form and ruffles her hair.

“I will take it to heart!”, he promises.

“Hey, Angelo. Can I talk to you for a moment?”

They make camp by a river and Caroline takes Olala for a bath. Angelo turns around to look at Ale, who tied his long braids into a top knot. He’s wearing a white tunic that is a little too big for him and allows Angelo a view of Ale’s collarbone.

Angelo tries very hard not to stare because he refuses to be disrespectful any more than he already was when they first met.

“Of course, Ale.”

Ale looks at him. Angelo would never trust himself to read people’s behavior—that has never been his forté. But he could swear that Ale looks almost a bit nervous; something that Angelo hasn’t seen on him so far.

“So, remember that talk we had? About how I might like lizards or not?”, Ale begins and Angelo winces a little.

“It was poorly worded and I apologize—“

“It’s fine, Angelo. That’s not what this is about. But... you remember what I said. About not being attracted to people often?”

“Yes. I remember.”

“Why did you want to know that?”

Angelo takes a deep breath and scratches the back of his head.

“I—uh. Well”, he starts, then doesn’t know how to continue. He remembers the talks he had with Caroline and Olala and straightens his back. Sir Angelo the Strong will not back down from a challenge. Any challenge!

“I would like to court you, Ale.”

Ale blinks. Once, twice, three times.

He opens his mouth, then closes it again.

“You—what?”

“Courting. I would like to court you. Woo you. Win you over. In the romantic sense. But I was not sure if that was something that would make you uncomfortable, so I tried to figure out if you might be opposed against courtship. By men. Or anyone.”

Ale takes two steps towards him and Angelo has the great need to spread his arms and pull Ale close to him, but he doesn’t. He’s asking for permission and he will not ruin this by overstepping boundaries.

A slight chuckle pulls him back to reality and he sees Ale’s eyes twinkle, the corners of his lips turned upwards.

“Are you asking me on a date, schoolboy?”, Ale asks. His playful smile is doing things to Angelo he can’t describe because he is not Damien. But man, he almost feels the need to write a poem about that smile. That is how badly smitten he is with this wonderful, splendid man standing in front of him.

“I suppose so! Ale, will you allow me to take you on a date?”

Ale takes another step and raises his hand to softly flip one finger against Angelo’s forehead.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

#ale of milltown #tpp #the penumbra podcast #penumbra podcast #the second citadel #second citadel #sir angelo #sir angelo the strong #alengelo #mi writes #i'm still in the penumbra zone #and i love these two so much and also the whole weirdo brigade

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mitchywitchythings · 3 years ago

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About Me!

More content like this?

Navigation | Masterlist

Oh, hello there, mortal. So you want to know more about me that you came all the way from the navigation. Alright then, where to begin from, I think a simple introduction should be a great start off.

So the name’s Mitchelle, but you can call me Mitch or witch, or even a bitch. Whatever is your preference, it’s fine with me. Well moving on from that I’m a girl and I’m straight, so my pronouns are she/her. I don’t want to mention my age since it’ll make me feel old, so I won’t.

Want to know my backstory, well to begin… I’ve lived in this Kingdom my whole life, training to become the next Queen to the throne, since I’m the next in line. When suddenly one day, we were attacked by dark creatures such as orcs and goblins. We tried to hold them back as best as we could, but they had a dragon.

A mighty creature that isn’t easily brought down even with the help of magic, in the end. We were defeated and I a lot of my people were slaughtered including my entire family. Driven with anger, I used black magic to slaughter all of the evil creatures as my revenge. After that, I’ve been continuing to do my duties to my people as their Queen.

Don’t I have friends besides from witches and wizards?! What kind of random question is that, of course I have! Well… I wouldn’t say friends per se, but I have been exchanging scented letters with the vampire King, Todoroki Shoto. And no, just because he’s a vampire and I’m a witch doesn’t make us sworn enemies, instead it brings us even closer. You see, vampires and witches are actually allies.

Okay, now moving on from the fantasy me, the real me is a completely sleep deprived student who loves procrastinating. I’m a bit of a rebel and likes to skip classes more times than I like to admit, my parents are catching onto me about that so good luck to my future self. Lmaooo…

Actually my hair isn’t naturally brown, it’s black but we dyed it so that’s why in the pic above you can see it’s brown. I also like to write and read fanfictions, specifically reader insert stories. However I found that I can’t read ship stories for some reason, it’s just a preference, I guess. I mean I have read some but it never really stuck onto me. I’ve been doing this for I think around 5-6 years now. Quite a long time, I began with Wattpad for the most part until I was introduced to tumblr about maybe 2-3 years ago by my sister.

Ever since then, I became a total tumblr user! I read more on tumblr and qoutev now rather than wattpad and archive of our own. I’ll leave links to all of my different accounts on these websites down below if your interested in looking at it.

Another thing, I’m a huge SIMP for Todoroki Shoto from My Hero Academia(MHA), like seriously. I’ve got 2 body pillows of him, multiple figures, and plushies. I’m planning to also add more to my shrine when more money comes in because you already know this girl is a complete broke ass student. TwT

But I’m completely obsessed with Todoroki that I’ve legit rejected confessions cuz of him, the reason I’m probably too obsessed is because when I was going through a really rough time in my life I latched onto him as a comfort character and stuff, maybe it’s just a way of me coping. And it’s been running for a very long time now, maybe around 4-5 years, yeah it’s super long.

My side hoes that Shoto doesn’t know about are Monoma Neito(MHA), Karma Akabane(AC), and Regulus Black(Harry Potter), just to mention a few. So if you see Shoto in action, like say in an interview. Don’t mention that his wifey got some side goes, besides he’ll always be my number 1, hands down!

Links to the other sites I work on:

Personal Blog on Tumblr

Wattpad

Quotev

Archive of Our Own

#mitchywitchythings #about me page

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harrysweasleys · 4 years ago

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let me show you my world // h.p

summary: A Harry x muggle!reader where he takes her to the wizarding world for the first time please?

warnings: mentions of food, very very slight ptsd if you’re really looking

word count: 2.5k

a/n: short and sweet! i hope you all enjoy, it’s been a while since i’ve written for harry!

[i do not give permission for my work to be reposted on any other platform]

Today was the big day.

After what felt like weeks of waiting, today would fall the day where Harry promised you he’d take you to see his side of the world — the side that he had hid from you for the first few months of your relationship.

Until, of course, you stumbled in on him using the “lumos” charm one night in the dark kitchen while he thought you were asleep. It was a nearly unbearably long night of explanations and questions, but once you came to grasp with the idea that your boyfriend could perform spells and magic, you were awestruck.

For months you pestered him about showing you more, showing you the magic of his world and the thrill that came with it. You’d never be able to perform a spell, that was for sure, but you wanted to dip your toes in the life that was being a wizard. Maybe you could relate to Harry a little more.

He loved to talk about his time at Hogwarts and all the fascinating creatures and wild spells that he had learned about, but it wasn’t something you understood. Sure, you’d nod along and stare at him with wide eyes as he encountered his memories with a faint smile, but you only wished you could experience a smidge of it.

So, finally, he agreed to introduce you to his life by inviting you as his plus one to Ron’s birthday, which was conveniently being held at the Burrow — where Harry had really fallen in love with magic the first time — and you were over the moon.

“Remember, if something comes flying at your head, duck,” he said, your hand in his as he pressed a light kiss to your skin, clearly a little nervous.

You stepped closer to him and put your hands on either side of his face, “Harry, this isn’t going to scare me off. Don’t worry. If anything, I’m going to be even more interested in you. Which will only go badly for you, really. I won’t be able to leave you alone.”

He gave you a little smile and nodded his head, eyes piercing yours. He had dressed up with a nice shirt, a tie, and had even wrapped up a little gift for Ron, which was sitting in a bag by the front door. You weren’t sure what it was, but by his laughter as he had wrapped it, you figured it was an inside joke.

You had met Ron before, of course you had. The two were practically inseparable, both in and out of school. But you had never met Ron’s family, nor had you seen what his lifestyle was like. You could only imagine that with a family full of witches and wizards, you were in for a wild ride.

Now, Harry had told you countless times about what apparation entailed, but nothing could prepare you for the feeling that it put your body through. As he gripped your hand, you felt your weight vanish. It felt like you were being sucked into a vacuum, your body being warped through the material of reality.

Only when your feet hit solid ground did you feel your balance get restored.

You gripped Harry’s arm as he let out a chuckle, “Warn me next time.” Your breathing was heavy and your voice came out weak, but you were alive and in one piece. Your first taste of magic hadn’t gone too wonderfully.

“Sorry,” he shot you a quick smile, sliding his hand into your clammy one before walking up to the house. Harry had a certain sparkle in his eye tonight, and it wasn’t due to the sunset. He was excited, you could tell. His hand swung with yours as the two of you approached your destination.

What Harry called the Burrow was unlike anything you had ever seen. It looked like multiple homes stacked on top of one another, being held together by wooden boards and nails. Smoke came out of the chimney, and the smell of fire reached your nostrils. Light glowed from the many, many windows on all the floors of the house — were there seven floors? Eight? Ten?

“This is… wow,” you let out an impressed sigh, eyes scanning the entire building. It looked like it was held together by magic, and knowing Harry’s world, it definitely was.

“That was my reaction too,” his eyes followed yours before he gave your hand a squeeze and began leading you up to the front door, “Ron has quite a few siblings, so it might get confusing, but you’ll get the hang of it.”

You nodded, still a little speechless. If this was what the outside looked like, you couldn’t imagine what was awaiting you on the inside.

Harry brought his hand up and knocked on the door, cutting you short of your thoughts. As excited as you were to see what it was like inside a true magical household, you couldn’t bring yourself past the nerves.

Though, you didn’t have much time to dwell on that before the door was swung open and a tall ginger man with scars across his face stood on the other side.

“Bill,” Harry grinned, letting go of your hand before the two of them shared a hug.

The man had the same hair colour as Ron — no surprise there — but he was much leaner and taller. You had also heard about the werewolf incident, so it didn’t come as much of a shock to see the deep, aged wounds across the pale skin of his face.

“This is Y/N,” Harry turned to face you as the two of them pulled apart from their greeting.

The man named Bill nodded and gave you a comforting smile, “We’ve heard a lot about you. Come on in.”

Harry stepped in first and you followed closely behind, Bill closing the door behind you. The smell of cake filled your senses and you felt a smile begin to form on your lips.

By the front door, you could see into the kitchen. Spatulas and spoons moved about in the air, untouched by human hands. In the sink, dishes were being cleaned by themselves and soap bubbles floated up and popped near the ceiling. A little broom moved across the floor, collecting dust and crumbs in a pile by the kitchen garbage, sweeping in an elegant and quick manner that no human would be able to do themselves.

Your cheeks began to hurt due to your smile, and you brought yourself to turn away and look into the living room. By the crackling fireplace, a pair of knitting needles worked by themselves to knit a thick, woolen pair of socks. Books and magazines moved around and placed themselves on shelves, and you spotted a dark grey owl perched by the window.

“It’s something, isn��t it?” Harry placed one of his hands on your lower back and grounded you to reality. Or, whatever dream world this really was.

You nodded, still speechless. You couldn’t believe the kind of stuff magic could do, that all of this was real. Sure, spells and stuff were a given, but you never considered that people could run their houses like this. That with a flick of a wrist, things would go back to their rightful place and chores would do themselves. It only made you a little jealous that you couldn’t do these things yourself.

“Yeah,” you said, slightly in awe, before removing your jacket and placing it next to Harry’s by the door.

He linked his hand with yours once again and followed Bill into the house, into what you figured was the dining room. Windows were open and a fresh spring breeze rolled through the room, almost making the room feel even more surreal.

Your eyes landed on the people sitting around the table, two faces which you recognized already. Ron and Hermione sat at the end, both smiling and waving at you. The rest, however, you didn’t know.

“Guys, this is Y/N,” Harry said after going around and greeting everyone, “Y/N, let’s make rounds. You’ve got Bill and his wife Fleur, then we’ve got Charlie, Percy and his fiancée Penelope, Fred and his girlfriend Angelina, and his twin brother George, Ginny, and then Ron’s parents, Mr and Mrs Weasley.”

You nodded, but you hadn’t really been listening. You’d forget all the names anyways. You were more focused on the small floating candles, and the fact that there was another owl perched on the back of one of the chairs. It gave a little hoot and began to doze off.

“Hi,” you finally spoke up, turning to face Mrs Weasley, “Thank you for inviting us.”

“Of course, dear!” she grinned, waving her hand in dismissal, “Everyone is always invited here.”

“It’s true,” Mr Weasley spoke up from next to her, his eyes bright and a cheerful smile on his face, “You’re a muggle, yes?”

You felt your eyes widen a bit as you answered, “Oh, uh, yeah. No magic here.” An awkward chuckle escaped your lips and you began to fiddle with your fingers.

Harry placed a hand on your arm before Mr Weasley could ask you any more questions, and guided you to the two open chairs next to Ron, both of you taking your seats. You could feel eyes following you but you decided to brush it off. Harry had warned you about Mr Weasley’s fascination with muggles, so you couldn’t really be surprised.

From next to you, Ron and Harry began to chat as if they had spent no time apart, and from the other side of you, a thin blonde woman placed her hand over yours.

“I’m Fleur,” she smiled a dazzling smile, her sleek hair shining under the candlelight, “Is this your first time seeing this kind of environment?”

You nodded, “It is, actually,” you turned away and glanced at the owl once more before turning your attention back to the woman, “I haven’t actually seen much apart from the basic spells Harry uses around the house.”

“It is fun, isn’t it?” she pulled her wand out of the purse that was hanging on her chair, twirled it in between her fingers, and then placed it on the table top, “Not something you get used to, even if you’ve been surrounded by magic your whole life!”

A twinge of jealousy surged through you at the thought that you never got to experience this as a kid, and that you’d never really get to experience this as an adult either. That the only taste of magic you’d get would be through Harry, that you’d never feel the feeling of it running through your veins.

“I bet,” you responded with a smile, eyeing the room, “I’m sure it’s incredible.”

You lost yourself in your own thoughts, looking around the room at the way Ron’s family interacted with the things around them. The twins, who you couldn’t tell apart just yet, were making a little firework buzz around the table. The other brother which you were sure was named Percy was scowling at them, clearly hiding a smile as the firework sparkled next to his ear.

Harry’s hand found its way to your thigh and he gave a slight squeeze, “It’s a lot, I know.”

It was pretty overwhelming, and you had trouble wrapping your head around it all, but your heart felt full. You could feel the tingle of thrill in your veins as you thought of all the things one could do with magic. Harry had done some basic things around the house — made flowers grow, put the dishes away, helped organize a few things. But you knew he had often used his magic in self defence, and now that he had defeated that evil, he didn’t always want to use it. It served as a reminder of what he had done in the past.

“It’s something,” you grinned, turning to face him, “Thanks for letting me see this.”

He shot you a wink, sending your heart into a flurry, and brought you into his conversation with Ron and Hermione.

——

The evening had been a blast. Ron’s brothers had put on a show of fire and spark for his birthday, and Mrs Weasley had made a massive multi-layered cake that was large enough to feed dozens of people. Harry had brought you on a small tour of the house, with the Weasleys’ permission of course, and pointed out all the fun little enchanted trinkets that hid in plain sight.

As the night drew darker and people began to leave, Harry had suggested you two do the same.

You agreed, following him to the front door to grab your coats before bidding a good night to the family. Ron and Harry shared a hug as Hermione embraced you, and shortly after, you two were back in your apartment.

Apparating had been a little less dizzying the second time around now that you knew what to expect. You let out a small chuckle at Harry’s tousled hair before he raised his hand to pat it down, giving you a small glare in the process.

“Thank you for that,” you muttered after you had both tossed your jackets by the front door, pulling him into a hug. He was warm, and he smelled the same, but after everything you had witnessed tonight, you now saw him in a somewhat different light. You understood his world a little more now, and in an odd way, you felt so much more connected to his past.

He wrapped his arm around you and rested his head against your shoulder, placing a light kiss on the spot where your neck and shoulder met, “It feels good, showing you all of that. There’s a lot more to see, of course there is, but I feel better. I was pretty nervous about tonight, honestly.”

You grinned, placing a kiss against his cheek as you pulled away from the hug, “A lot more to see, yeah? Does this mean we’re going on a magical adventure where you give me a detailed tour of the wizarding landmarks?”

He rolled his eyes and let out a chuckle, his hands not leaving your waist. His shoulders were slouched and his body felt relaxed under your hands, causing a bubble of joy to burst in your chest. Harry had always been casual and chilled, but you knew he was always afraid of showing you this side of his life. And now that he had, clear relief was written all over him.

“If that’s what you want,” he grinned, stepping a little bit closer to you, pressing a kiss to the tip of your nose, “Diagon Alley is next, then.”

taglist

@grierpilots @hxfflxpxffs @mikumana @msmimimerton @pit-and-the-pen @diary-of-an-onliner @theweirdsideofstuff @thoseofgreatambition @theweasleysredhair @haphazardhufflepuff @awritingtree @thisismysketchbook @valwritesx @vogueweasley @hufflrpuffforfred @phuvioqhile @marvelettesassemble @shadowsinger11 @breadqueen95 @hahee154hq @inglourious-imagines @amourtentiaa @pxroxide-prinxcesss @spacexcowgirl @lumos-barnes @gcdricreads @bolaurel

#harry potter imagine #harry potter imagines #harry potter x reader #harry potter reader insert

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slimy-vore-bog · 3 years ago

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(Un)Necessary Evil

Disclaimer: all my work is meant to be non-sexual N/SF/W interaction is not appreciated

Okay, so a few warnings for this story... I try to go into the topic of the fear of death as deeply as I can. It could be way worse, but just as a warning, if you’re not ready to be reminded of death at the moment, give this story a skip.

For the more casual stuff that’s usually uncomfortable for safe vore people: this story contains mentions of hard and fatal vore, but none happen.

Oh, and as always; this is an Owl House fic.

Actually this is a rewrite of this old story that I didn’t post to tags called A Betrayal of Trust (But a Necessary Evil)

The two are very different and this is definitely a better story.

Anyway, I should probably just get onto the story... Oh wait, this story is set before s2 ep2 Escaping Expulsion. And obviously post that a lot of stuff will change, but I don’t feel like creating an entire canon divergent AU

Ao3

Word Count: 14k

***

I wonder why Amity wants to see me now… Luz stood in the market place, looking around for her friend. We’re going to meet up later anyway. She spotted the green haired witch in the distance, feeling a burst of excitement. I guess I don’t mind seeing her one more time before later today! She grinned, before she waved for her. “Hey Amity, there you were!”

Luz stopped herself, just as she was about to run towards her. Something seemed… off about her. She looked sad, as she stared back at Luz. “You are Amity, right?” Luz suddenly felt embarrassed. Please tell me I didn’t mistake some random person for Amity.

Luz didn’t know whether she should feel relieved or more worried, when her friend nodded.

Luz hesitated, before she decided to run up to her. “I almost thought you were somebody else!” She smiled brightly at her, but Amity didn’t look at her. “Um,” Luz felt a little awkward, “so, why’d you want to see me now, instead of later?”

Amity glanced up at her, before quickly looking down into her bag. “I wanted to give you something.” She fiddled around in it, seeming to get more miserable by the second. “It’s really important that you wear this later, okay?” Amity looked up into Luz’s eyes.

Luz felt a bit shocked by Amity’s seriousness about this. “Why? What do I have to wear?” Why would Amity force her to wear something? This is weird. She didn’t like feeling forced to do something.

Amity looked unsure, as she dropped the thing she was holding back in her bag. Her eyes flicked around, as she grabbed her own hand, nervously fidgeting with her fingers. “Well…” her eyes widened, as she grabbed the thing out of the bag. “Sorry, I focused on your first question!”

Luz watched, as she brought out a necklace with multiple yellow gemstones on it. “Woah!” Luz exclaimed, suddenly feeling like she had to study it closer. “Is it glowing?” The gemstones on it seemed to be giving off a dim yellow light from them. “What makes it glow? Is it a spell? Or are they magic rocks?” Luz brought her hand out to take it, before she remembered that wearing a mysterious glowing necklace sounded like a horrible idea. “But, wait, why do I have to wear it?”

Amity curled the chain around her fingers, glancing around again. “Well… uh…” she let it fall through her fingers down in her other hand, as her brow furrowed. “It’s…” she hesitated again, looking a bit more frustrated. “It’s just really important to me that you wear it, can’t you do it for me?” She held the necklace out to her.

Luz hesitated, “I don’t want to sound suspicious of you, but…” she trailed off unsurely. “It’s just…” She wrapped one of her hoodie strings around her finger. “Are you sure it’s safe? Where did you get it from?”

Amity looked even more frustrated. “I promise it’s safe, just take it already!”

She held it out to her, and Luz reluctantly took it out of her hands. “Sorry…” Luz opened the clasp, putting the necklace on, feeling a tiny jolt run through her body. Luz didn’t understand how she could feel it, or what she felt, but she was pretty sure it had to have a strong spell in it. Or Amity had a really weird and unsettling way of pranking. “I just don’t get why it’s so important.”

Amity looked away from her again. “I’m sorry too… I don’t want-” She quickly glanced over at Luz, before she turned around. “I’m just sorry…” She began walking away, before she turned to look back at Luz one more time. “See you later…”

Luz didn’t know what to do, “Uh, yeah! See you!” She lifted her hand to wave, but Amity had already turned around.

The glow of her necklace caught her attention, as she looked down to the ground. She picked up the biggest gemstone between her fingers. She had to admit; it was a pretty necklace. I wonder what makes it glow like that? She held it up to her face, watching it in awe. It’s really cool. She did a little jump out of excitement. And it wasn’t actually bad!

She suddenly felt even worse about her distrust of Amity. I’ll apologize to her again later today…

She let go of the necklace, as she turned to head back to the Owl House.

¨¨

Luz hated waiting; being patient wasn’t exactly her strong suit… But that didn’t change the fact that there were still a few hours until she could see Amity again, and she couldn’t come up with anything to do. Maybe I can talk to King for a bit? She was pretty sure she had seen him napping on the couch, but he might have woken up.

She went downstairs to check, but he hadn’t.

Luz thought about waking him up, just to make up for the times he had accidentally done it to her, whenever he unconsciously poked her with his sharp horn. But she decided that was a little too mean of her. She carefully sat down on the other side of the couch, resting her chin on her hand, tapping her foot against the floor.

I wonder where the others are? She looked around the living room, but there wasn’t anybody else in there. Strange, Lilith is normally in here… She was starting to feel a little too restless. I’ll go look around.

¨¨

She looked around the house, both inside and out, but she couldn’t find anybody anywhere. Well, except for Hooty, but she didn’t really feel like talking to him. Ever. She shook her head, not wanting to think about all the weird stuff she had seen him do, before she sat down on the couch again. Maybe King knows where they went?

She watched the tiny demon for a few moments, trying to decide if she should wake him up or not, before his fur bristled along his tail. “Stop staring at me, creep…” He mumbled, barely opening his eyes. “That’s the sixth time I’ve caught you doing that.” The look in his eyes told her that he definitely knew there were the times he hadn’t caught her.

Luz flushed in embarrassment. “It’s not my fault you’re so cute!” She shook her head. “But that’s not why I’m staring.” She pulled her legs up on the couch, as King stretched. “Did Eda and Lilith say where they were going? I haven’t seen them since I left to meet Amity.”

King yawned, before his eyes widened in surprise and he got up. “What’s that?” He pointed to Luz’s necklace. “When did you get that?”

Luz fidgeted with the necklace, as soon as he pointed it out. “Amity gave it to me.”

King reached for the necklace, but Luz pulled away. “I wanna see it!”

Luz didn’t want him to touch it. It’s mine; Amity gave it to me. “You don’t use your hands-” she cut herself off, before King even made a face, “-paws, to see.” Luz wasn’t sure it was as wide of a statement in the demon realm as it was back in her own, already King having paws was different, but that didn’t change that he specifically didn’t.

King scowled, before he sat back down and crossed his arms. “Some demons do, you know…”

Luz let go of her necklace. “Well you don’t…” She thought a little about seeing with paws and hands. I guess blind people do that in a way? “And some humans do too, but that’s a blind thing.” She shifted around, before remembering that this wasn’t what she wanted to talk about. “But, I still want to know if you know where Eda went?”

King moved a paw up to his snout, as he thought. “I’m not sure… I think she might have gone to the market to get something?” He shrugged, “she left some time after you did, anyway.” Before Luz could even ask, he answered her next question. “Lilith went with her, if you were going to ask.”

Luz nodded. “So we’re home alone?” she crossed her legs, looking over at the door. “Well, except for Hooty, but he is the house…” Luz stared over at the door, expecting him to butt in, but Hooty had been a lot better behaved, since Lilith and him had become friends. “So, is there anything you want to do?”

King’s tail wagged. “Let’s watch something together!” he jumped up on his legs. “Something violent! With lots of blood! I think I know just where we can watch something like that!” He was already running to get the crystal ball, before Luz could make another suggestion.

¨¨

Luz didn’t care all that much about what she and King were watching, but she liked that he was having fun. It looked like it was a monster movie of some kind, not as bloody or bad as she was scared it would be, but still a tiny bit more violent than she liked. It was at least not as weird as some of the other movies she had watched.

One time, she had seen a movie about some weird creatures that ate people, but they were really a struggling family that could only live by doing that. She had no clue if it had been some sort of parody, comedy horror or meant to be a serious heartwarming family story, but whatever it was; it made her both curious enough to watch it all the way through and incredibly uncomfortable.

Luz realized she was zoning out slightly, as she registered King screaming to her side. “Yes! Devour them! KILL THEM ALL!” He leaned in on the table, wagging his tail, his eyes shining with excitement. “One day, I’ll be like that again…” he whispered in awe.

Luz shifted around in her seat, messing with her necklace. I wonder how long there is until I have to head to Amity’s house? She checked the time, but there was still over half an hour before she could leave and get there at a reasonable time. “When’s this going to be over? I have to visit Amity later.”

King glanced up at Luz. “I think it’s over soon.” He sat back down, with a little squeak. “Sorry I was blocking your view.”

Luz smiled down at him. “It’s fine, you’re even cuter when you’re excited about something!”

Luz grinned, as he glared up at her. “I’m NOT cute! I’m the King of demons, and I…” He trailed of as his gaze fell back on the crystal ball. “I’ll lecture you later.” He tried to look tougher, like the movie bored him, but Luz could see how his tail twitched and shifted as he tried not to wag it.

Luz shifted to lay on her stomach, watching the last of the movie with him.

¨¨

Just a few minutes after the movie ended, Eda and Lilith finally came home, but Luz didn’t have a lot of time to stick around and talk, because she suddenly realized she needed to check if she had anything she needed to bring with her.

Shoot, why did I not remember to check earlier? She sprinted upstairs, after a quick hi to Eda, to look for her bag.

She took some time to draw a couple emergency glyphs, just in case she got into trouble, making sure to bring her notepad and pen with her, if she happened to use them all up without being able to draw them on the ground either.

She took a few seconds to look at her necklace, before she headed back downstairs to say goodbye.

King didn’t like that she was leaving at all. “Why do you have to go?” He grabbed her leg, as she was about head out the door. “Can’t you just visit Amity tomorrow?”

Luz smiled down at him, lightly pushing him away, but he stood his ground. “Sorry, King, I promised Amity I’d come over today.” She patted his head, as he looked up at her with big begging eyes. “We can spend time together tomorrow, okay?”

King suddenly got a way more worried look in his eyes. “But what if there isn’t going to be a tomorrow?”

Luz froze, shocked at what he was suggesting. “I don’t think you need to worry about that.” She picked him up in her arms, despite his slight protest. “Everything’s going to be fine! I’m prepared!” He squirmed, as she hugged him, before she put him back on the floor and brought her emergency glyphs out of her bag. “Look! I’m ready for anything!”

King stared up at Luz, not looking any more at ease. “But… What if something catches you off guard?” he looked back to the crystal ball, before he pointed to it. “I don’t want anything like that to happen to you, Luz!”

Luz felt uncomfortable looking back at the crystal ball, because she knew she probably couldn’t say that it was just a movie. “Like I said; everything is going to be fine!” She felt a bit antsy, realizing that she was wasting time discussing this with King. “And, again, I promised Amity I was coming over today.” She fidgeted with her bag, before continuing. “And I’ve made it this long without being eaten! I promise I’m going to come home safe.”

She crouched down to give King another hug, before she headed out the door. “Bye, guys!”

¨¨

Luz didn’t know what to do, as she stood in front of the door to the Blight Manor after having knocked. She had no clue what to expect, as she waited for someone to let her in.

She shifted from foot to foot in small bounces, as the door opened.

She took a step backwards, nearly falling off the steps, when she saw how infuriated Amity looked. “Woah! What’s wrong?” Did I come over too late? Or too early? Luz wasn’t sure she should come closer, as Amity stared her down, before looking at her necklace.

Luz yelped in surprise, when Amity grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled inside the house. “Ack! Amity! Stop! That hurts!” She didn’t listen, as she kept pulling on her, making Luz follow along just to lessen the pain. Despite that, her grip was still uncomfortably tight around her arm. “What’s going on?”

Luz tried to figure out what she could have done wrong to make Amity so angry at her, but she couldn’t think of anything. Is she taking her anger out on me, or is she angry at me? She couldn’t tell what was going on, but she knew that she didn’t want to see Amity like that. “Have I done something wrong?”

Amity huffed, but she didn’t answer her question.

Luz still tried to figure out what Amity could possibly be mad at her for, as she followed her into the living room. Luz remembered that she needed to give a more thorough apology for her distrust of the necklace. “I’m really sorry about earlier.” Amity didn’t look at her as she spoke, “you know, with the necklace; I didn’t mean to make it sound like I didn’t trust you.”

Amity tightened her grip on Luz’s arm, before she suddenly let go of it, and shoved her down on the couch.

Luz hit the couch, before quickly rolling back off it, staring up at Amity. “What was that fo-” Her eyes widened, as she cut herself off when she saw Amity forming a spell circle. “Wait, don’t!” But she barely got the words out, before Amity cast the spell.

Luz braced herself for something to hurt her, but nothing happened at all. She let out a sigh of relief. Amity is just messing with me. “Wow, you really scared me-” Luz’s eyes widened once again, as she realized that something had happened; she was shrinking, getting smaller by the second. What did Amity just do to me?!

Amity watched her with cold eyes, before she walked over and crouched down.

Luz hesitantly backed away, trying to figure out why Amity was acting the way she was. “Uhm…” her voice shook slightly, stopping her from speaking, as she glanced away. Her fear felt like it grew larger by each second that the giant, compared to her, girl watched her. “What did you do that for?” she asked, trying to stop her voice from showing how scared she felt. Her heart thudded quickly in her chest, as Amity kept the cold look in her eyes.

Amity leaned down closer, before poking her hard enough to knock her over. “You’re boring… Aren’t you going to run away or something? I thought you would be more exciting to catch…”

Luz watched her for a few seconds, before she got up on her feet again. “Catch?” She kept looking up at her, but she couldn’t figure out why Amity would want her to run. Whatever Amity was doing; she wasn’t sure she wanted to play along with it.

Amity sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Alright, let me put it simply…” Her hand suddenly slammed down in front of her, making Luz jump back with a shriek. “You run right now, and I might let you go if I can’t catch you within...” she paused to think, as Luz heart pounded even faster in her chest, “ten minutes.”

Amity stared at her with the same uncaring eyes, waiting for Luz to do something, but she couldn’t get her feet to move. She took a couple unsure steps back after a few seconds. Is this a game? It had to be; why else would Amity be acting like that? Maybe it’s just a weird way to welcome guests here? But that didn’t make much sense.

Amity tapped her fingers against the floor in impatience, snapping Luz out of her thoughts. “I’m only giving you a few more seconds to try and get away, human.” She shifted her fingers to reach out after her, but she stopped before wrapping them around her. “This is getting really boring… Aren’t you at least going to yell at me?”

Luz stared at the fingers that had almost closed around her, not knowing what Amity was getting at. “I don’t get it!” she shouted, squeezing her eyes shut. “I don’t get what’s happening!”

Amity pushed her down on the floor, pinning her down roughly with only a couple fingers. “I’m giving you a chance to escape!” Luz still didn’t understand, as she looked up at Amity. She felt her press down harder on her shoulders, making her gasp in pain. “Or, I guess, was.”

Luz let out a pained wheeze, as Amity’s fingers wrapped around her, almost feeling like Amity was trying to crush her to death. “Stop! That hurts!”

Amity scowled down at her, but she loosened her grip slightly. “Oh, poor you.” She scoffed, before she opened her fist up to grab Luz’s bag, before she even had a chance to try and take it back from her. “As if it wasn’t on purpose…” she mumbled under her breath. “Didn’t realize you were that stupid.”

Luz stared up at Amity in disbelief. “I’m not stupid!” What is going on with her? “I want to know why you’re hurting me!”

Amity glared at Luz intensely. “Can you be quiet? I need to focus on something.” She lifted her up to her mouth and grabbed the back of her shirt between her teeth.

Luz felt a strong chill go up her spine, as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She tried to keep her shirt from pressing in on her throat, but it barely helped. What the hell is Amity doing? She gasped for breath, as she squirmed to try and loosen the pressure on her neck.

She looked at her bag, as Amity emptied it into her hand. Another rush of fear went through her, as she realized that she had barely had any ways of defending herself against Amity. She tried to kick Amity’s chin, but she couldn’t hit anything from where she was. “Don’t-” She coughed, shifting her grip on her shirt slightly, “-don’t take my stuff!”

An exhausted breath blew down onto her from Amity’s nose, before she put the pen and notepad down in the bag and shook the glyphs off her hand.

Luz watched, as her hand moved up to grab her again, kicking it as soon as it was in reach. “Let me go!” She only realized her poor wording, as Amity let out a small laugh through her nose, and opened her mouth slightly. “Wait, no! Not like that!” Luz let out a terrified cry, bracing herself for the fall, but Amity grabbed her again without dropping her.

Luz felt Amity’s tongue slurp up against her neck, before she was lowered down.

Luz couldn’t believe what Amity just did, as she shifted her head to try to process the feeling of drool that lathered her neck. Did she just lick me? She definitely did. Why did she do that? Luz felt another strong chill run through her body. “Why did you lick me?”

Amity’s eyes were just as unkind as before, when she turned Luz around to stare at her. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Luz cowered, as the bad feeling she had grew worse. “Please don’t hurt me…” she whispered quietly. She had a growing worry that this was going the exact way she expected getting licked by a person big enough to eat her in a single bite would go. I shouldn’t have promised anything to King… she realized, trying to stop the burning feeling in her eyes, not wanting to cry. I have to be wrong; Amity would never do that. But signs weren’t very promising.

Amity scowled down at Luz, before she shifted her gaze away from her. She didn’t say anything else, as she began looking around from something in the house.

Amity found her way to what looked like a dining room, where what had to be her mom was standing. Luz felt Amity shift her grip on her to dangle her from her fingers. “She was way too easy to catch… I even offered her a chance to get away, but, apparently, humans aren’t smart enough to take a chance to survive.”

Luz tried to look back at Amity, but she couldn’t quite see her, as the feeling of dread grew. “Survive?” She knew Amity was obviously hinting at eating her, but that didn’t mean she was being serious about doing it. She wouldn’t really do that, would she? “What do you mean?” She couldn’t actually want to kill her. Her thoughts spun in her head, as she tried make sense of it. She wouldn’t!

Amity turned her around, raising an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re not stupid?” She shook Luz, making her cry out in distress, as she felt like she was going to slip out between her fingers. “I thought you had already caught on.” She shifted her grip to let Luz sit in her hand. “I think it’s pretty obvious what I’m going to do, but I guess a human like you would be too dumb to understand?”

Luz tried to get up on her feet, but Amity didn’t give her a chance, as she was pinned down by her thumb. She stared up at Amity, still trying to figure out if she was serious. “I’m not dumb!” She squirmed underneath her thumb, but she held on too tightly for Luz to do anything. “I just don’t know why you would do this!”

Amity rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Yeah, sure, but isn’t it still pretty obvious?” She glared down at her, as she continued. “I don’t care about you.”

Luz suddenly burst out laughing. Something about the way she said it didn’t sound like she meant it. It sounded way too exaggerated. “What are you talking about?” She couldn’t stop laughing at the idea of Amity not caring about her. “We’re friends!” Just the thought that Amity would hurt her seemed completely absurd the more she considered it. “We’ve been friends for a long time, when did you suddenly start hating me again?”

Amity got even angrier, glancing over at her mom, as Luz spoke. “That doesn’t matter!” She pressed her thumb harder into Luz’s chest, making her let out a pained wheeze again. “What matters is that I don’t like you, and I’m going to make sure that I never have to see you ever again.”

Luz wriggled underneath her thumb, trying to process everything that was happening. She can’t mean that! “W-wait, no!” She already knew how Amity was going to solve this. “We can figure this out another way!” Luz looked around as she gasped for breath, while she tried to think. Is Amity seriously going to kill me? “I’m trying to find way back to my mom! Maybe-” Luz hesitated, before she made her decision. “What if I stay there? In the human realm?”

Amity kept scowling down at her, but Luz could swear she saw a glimpse of surprise in her eyes, before she looked over at her mom with a slightly hopeful expression.

Luz immediately put the pieces together, but that didn’t make her situation any less terrifying. Is Amity’s mom making her kill me? She decided to keep her mouth shut, until her mom made a decision. Please let me go home… She suddenly felt even more powerless in Amity’s grasp, knowing that her life could be ended by a single decision that neither she or Amity had a say in.

Amity looked back down at Luz, clearly realizing that she had noticed her odd behavior, as she her expression changed back to a glare hurriedly, before her necklace lit up.

Luz looked at it unsurely, waiting for either Amity or her mom to say anything. Don’t kill me… She couldn’t help squeezing her eyes shut, as she waited to know if she was going to make it out alive or not. Please decide to let me go… she begged inside her head once again.

Amity huffed, and Luz’s hair stood on end, as she realized what that meant. “No, you said you’re still trying to find a way back and that would take way too long.” Luz pulled her legs closer to her body, as she gave Amity a pleading look. “Besides, I don’t have the patience to see your face around anymore.” She shifted her around in her hands with malicious smile. “And I think killing you would be much more satisfying.”

Luz realized she had to come up with something to convince her mom to change her mind. “Amity, please, don’t!” She looked around, trying to collect her thoughts. What did I want to say? “I- You-” It was about Amity. “You don’t actually want to kill me; I know it!” She pointed her thumb where Amity had looked earlier. “It’s her, your mom! She wants to kill me! I saw the way you looked over at her!”

Amity squeezed her eyes shut in a scared wince, before she tried to play it off. “Why do you have to be so annoying about this?” She shifted her grip to dangle Luz from her fingers again. “You know you can’t do anything about this, right? Even- I mean-” Amity stammered slightly. “Ugh! I’m just going to get this over with!”

Amity opened her mouth as wide as she could, finally letting the fact that Amity was serious about killing her sink in.

“Wait!” She tried to grab onto her fingers, while kicking against Amity’s hand. “No, please! There has to be something I can do to change your mind!” But Amity didn’t hesitate, as she lowered Luz into her mouth. “Or your mom’s mind!” She writhed around, trying to get a look at her, but she couldn’t even catch a glimpse. “Mrs. Blight, please, stop this!”

But her mother didn’t say or do anything to call it off.

The bare part of her legs rested against Amity’s tongue, as she closed her mouth around Luz’s waist. I have to do something now! “We can figure something out, or-” Luz felt that she was sliding deeper into Amity’s mouth, despite her desperate attempts to push herself back out. “Please, I-” Luz sucked in a breath, as she felt tears burning in her eyes once again, “-I don’t want to die!”

Amity opened her mouth a little wider around her again, using her tongue to drag her in. “Amity! Stop! Please!” This isn’t happening! This couldn’t be happening. She tried to grab onto Amity’s lip, but she couldn’t even reach anymore, let alone hold on. This isn’t happening!

“Amity! Spit me out right now!” She tried to kick herself back out of Amity’s mouth, but she shut it around her, before she even had a chance.

“This isn’t funny at all!” It had to be a cruel joke, or a nightmare. It had to be. She couldn’t die here; she couldn’t die yet. This isn’t happening! She choked on her own sob, as she begged Amity to stop. “Ple-please!”

But Amity still didn’t listen to her.

Luz tried to back away from Amity’s throat, but she couldn’t get a proper grip on anything inside her mouth. Maybe if I kick her throat, she’ll spit me out? Anything was worth a shot at this point. She gave her a full force kick in the back of her throat.

Just as Luz had hoped, Amity immediately retched and spat her back out into her hands. But Luz instantly realized that there wasn’t anywhere to go from there. Okay, so I have another shot at changing her mom’s mind, that could work! Luz spun around to face her, but something about the look she was giving Amity told her there was nothing she could do. I have to try again.

She tried to gather her thoughts, but all except the desperate pleas for her life escaped her. Shoot, what do I say? Luz stared at Amity’s mom, as Amity stopped gagging behind her.

Luz turned back around. “Amity, please, you don’t have to do this!” There had to be another way to convince her… What hadn’t she tried? “I promised King I would come back home today!”

She looked up into Amity’s eyes, hoping to convince her to let her go. Luz immediately began talking, trying to stall her fate, despite the lack of any sort of pity in her eyes.

“I said that we could spend tomorrow together, but he said there might not be a tomorrow, and I tried to comfort him-” her eyes flicked around, trying to look as scared as she felt, “but if I really don’t have a tomorrow, then King and I will never spend it together!”

Luz hoped that her listening to her stream of panicked words meant that she was considering trying to change her mom’s mind. She continued trying to stall. “What’s your mom’s name?” She turned back around to face her. “What’s your name?” she shouted at her, but she didn’t respond, only getting out of her line of vision. “Please! Stop this!” she cried out again, as her eyes searched for her in vain. “I need to get back! I have to come home!”

She felt Amity lift her up and turn her around and Luz stared up at her with tear-filled eyes. The look in Amity’s eyes was bored more than anything, as she spoke, “do you really think you’re going to be changing my mind on this?” She sighed deeply. “Because I’ve planned this for a while and I’m not going to back down over some begging and crying.”

Luz racked her brain for anything that could save her, but she didn’t know what else she could do. She tried to stall again, hoping Amity would hear her out. “What about the time…” It didn’t matter what she talked about, as long as she talked. “Or I mean, what about the Azura books? If you kill me, you won’t have anybody to talk with you about them!”

Amity scowled at Luz. “Don’t remind me of that!” She squeezed Luz tightly, before she continued. “You just kept talking and talking and talking!” The look her eyes soften for a second, before she caught herself. “I never got a word in! Do you have any idea of how annoying it was?” She sighed once more. “I’m tired of this...” She opened her mouth back up again.

Luz immediately tried to squirm out of her grasp. “Stop!” She put her hands out in front of her, once again trying to grab onto something before she was shoved into Amity’s mouth. There has to be something I can do! But it was useless and, deeper down, she did know that.

Her eyes flicked around, as she tried to come up with something. Could I make her gag again? Maybe Amity will get tired of it eventually and… Luz didn’t even have to finish the thought, before she realized that wouldn’t work. Amity could easily bite her in half or just crush her arms or legs between her teeth. A sharp prickling feeling went up her spine, as she felt like the hair on her neck stood up. I can’t get out.

She suddenly became much more aware of everything around her, as she realized that now really was the moment she was going to die.

Everything felt fake, as a surreal feeling spread through her body, making every muscle in it tense. Her heart was beating, but it didn’t feel like her heart. She was breathing, but her lungs didn’t feel like they were hers. She had thoughts, but they didn’t feel like they came from her own head.

She shook her head, as she felt like vomiting. No, no, this is just a weird dream, a really scary, terrifying, nightmare, I’m going to wake up soon… But then why could she feel the saliva from Amity’s mouth making her clothes stick to her skin? I’m not going to die! I can’t! She clenched her fists tighter, digging her nails into her palms to feel something, as she shivered all over from the horrid realization she was having. She let out a small cry, wanting the feeling out of her body.

It couldn’t be possible that she would actually die; she couldn’t die. I can’t die! It doesn’t make sense! I can’t! Those were the only thoughts that echoed in her mind, as she tried to process what was happening. She wasn’t supposed to die; if she died, then what would happen to her? To the person she was? She heaved for breath, before whimpering, as she felt like an intruder in her own body. I can’t die!

Luz let out the loudest scream she could muster, trying to feel like she was in control of the body she was in, before she dug her nails into Amity’s tongue. She knew her voice would come out hoarse, even before she screamed again, “SPIT ME OUT!” The words raked her throat, as she screamed them as loud as she could.

She pressed against the back of her tongue with as much force as she could, before she was pinned to the roof of Amity’s mouth.

She wriggled against it, trying to maneuver her arms to make Amity gag another way. I’m not going to die in here! She hesitated for a few seconds, before she pressed her arms into Amity’s throat. She couldn’t put as much force into it, as her kick, or even just when she pressed down, but it was enough for her soon-to-be murderer to let her back out.

At least for a second, before she was quickly shoved back inside. This was exactly the scenario she had dreaded. She couldn’t keep stalling her death; Amity wasn’t using anywhere near the amount of energy Luz was. This couldn’t keep going forever.

Amity pinned Luz against her palate once again, letting her struggle uselessly for even longer.

Luz could feel herself starting to feel a slight bit weaker, as she tried to do the same thing she had done just before. But this time she didn’t get a chance to press against Amity’s throat, as she let her fall back to the front of her mouth, before she could reach.

She felt her feet hit Amity’s teeth, before Amity opened her mouth slightly and forced her leg in between them.

Luz squeezed her eyes shut tightly, realizing that Amity was going to be done playing with her soon. She’s going to bite my leg off! Luz tried to pull it out from between her teeth, but it didn’t do anything. Please don’t do this… It couldn’t be that much longer, before she decided to kill her.

But biting her leg off wasn’t what Amity had in mind, as she shifted Luz’s head in between her molars instead. Luz tried recoil, despite knowing she couldn’t do anything but wait for Amity to crush her skull. She didn’t think to send out any sort of last thoughts, as she focused on trying to shut out the unbearable pain she would feel in just a few seconds.

But Amity changed her mind once again, shifting her back on her tongue.

Luz was starting to wish that Amity would just get it over with already, instead of playing with her like she kept doing. I can’t get out… She had tried everything now, but none of it had worked. She went limp, before she tried one last time to get Amity to spare her life. “Am-” she coughed, as she realized just how sore her throat was from screaming. “-Amity, please, I can’t die yet!” She felt tears build up in her eyes once again, but she didn’t try to hold them back anymore.

Luz tensed up immediately, as she felt herself slide towards Amity’s throat. Amity is going to swallow me whole! She squirmed, before she was pinned in place again. “Amity!” This was one of the worst ways she could decide to kill her. “Sto-” she choked on her voice again in the middle of her word, “-stop! Please, at least make it a quick death!”

But it did nothing to convince her, as she was squeezed down into her throat.

Luz tried to make her gag again, but Amity swallowed her down way too quickly for her to do anything. She kicked the back of her palate, but even though Amity’s body clearly wanted her to cough her back up; she still quickly swallowed again to let Luz slide farther down into her throat.

Luz cried out in distress, as she was squeezed and shoved farther down by the second. She tried to clear her head of thoughts, not wanting to think about how soon she was going to die. She wasn’t ready to die in anyway at all. I can’t die… But she knew that wasn’t true; everybody had to die. I don’t want to die… She didn’t want to die yet, and especially not the gruesome way she was about to.

She whimpered, as trying to wriggle back up, but she knew there was no way she was making it out again. I never got to see my mom again… Every ounce of guilt she had felt since she had pretended to be at camp hit her at once. She cried even harder, letting out a wail, as she wished she had told her something, anything, about where she was. She’s never going to know what happened to me...

Luz could feel when the stomach opened up beneath her, and she squeezed her eyes even more shut, as she slid into the pool of acid at the bottom.

She quickly got out of it, but she knew it wouldn’t make much of a difference. I’m… She could barely finish the thought, but she knew she had to face sooner or later. I’m not getting out of here… She let her shoulders untense, knowing there was nothing she could do but wait for death. Maybe it won’t be as scary as it sounds…

But she knew she didn’t really believe that.

Amity felt Luz stop moving inside her stomach, but she didn’t worry, knowing she was going to be alright. She looked up into the smug face of her mother, glaring at her. Wipe that annoying smile off your face! Her mother hadn’t won; she had. Or at least as much as she could win, when she had, hopefully, broken Luz’s trust in her completely. She looked down at her stomach, holding a hand over it. Please don’t still trust me after this…

Her mom’s eyes nearly looked like they sparkled, as Amity hurried to lower her hand down. Shoot, I’m making this worse for Luz… Her mother touched the gem around her own neck, as her voice rung in her head like it had done so many times. “Mittens, you still seem pretty affectionate with the human, are you sure you can stay away from her?”

Amity nodded, as she felt anger bubble up inside her. I would do anything to keep Luz safe. Even if it meant never seeing her again. Though, the fact that her mom still wore that smug smile worried her. Am I missing something? Her skin prickled, as she knew there had to be something she wasn’t thinking off. Was there a loophole she hadn’t consider? How did the deal go again?

She thought back to what had been said. ‘If you can convince Luz that you’re trying to kill her, we won’t do anything to her ourselves.’

Amity’s eyes widened, as she realized exactly why her mom wore that smile, but she kept her face away from her. Stay calm, I can’t let her know that I’ve figured out her trick. If she knew she figured it out; she wasn’t going to get a chance to make a plan to save Luz from her.

She stretched casually, trying to look more tired than she was. “I think I’m going relax in my room for a while…” she hoped she could be more convincing than she was before. “I’ll come back… later?” She shot her mom an unsure look, trying to ask when she needed to let Luz out. That’s what I would have done before I guessed it, right? “When would be a good time?”

Her mom did look a bit suspicious of her, but not a worrying amount. “Come back in half an hour.”

Amity wasn’t sure she should chance a glare at her mom, despite knowing that she would have done it otherwise. I don’t want to risk anything… She would let her think she still thought she had won by ignoring her, as she walked past her.

Luz stared in confusion at the yellow tinted walls that were pulsing around her, realizing that something was off. Even if there was still enough air for her inside Amity’s stomach; she definitely should be feeling at least some itching, if not unbearably painful burning, by now.

She looked down at the bare part of her legs, but the skin didn’t seem irritated at all, despite her lower half having been in the acid the entire time she had been inside Amity’s stomach, because she hadn’t been able to get completely out of it.

Luz didn’t understand what was going on, but she had a feeling Amity had a reason for not telling her that.

She looked up where she had first entered her stomach, wishing she could get back out. She put her necklace in under her hoodie, letting the space around her darken. It was a lot more pleasant, when she didn’t have to look at the pulsing moving walls that she thought was going to kill her just a moment ago.

She closed her eyes, letting herself calm down. The thought that she was going to die eventually, even if not now, still lingered in her body, making her feel like she wasn’t really herself. But at least I don’t have to die right now. She tried to comfort herself with the thought, but thinking about the fact that she had to die at some point still left her with the hollow feeling of her body not being hers.

She pulled the necklace back out, realizing she needed a distraction from her thoughts. Or at least something to do with her hands, so she could squash down the feeling of needing to do something.

She watched the flickering effect the light gained, as she fiddled with the gems. It started to feel a little less scary, when she focused on the light and necklace in her hands, instead of her surroundings, thoughts or feelings. She could deal with her existential dread later… when she figured out how to stop feeling like herself when she thought about the fact that her life would eventually be over.

She took a shaky breath, trying once again to calm down.

Amity paced around her room, trying to figure out how to handle everything. How am I going to get Luz back to the Owl House? She couldn’t picture a way that would work. Mom has to be keeping an eye on me, in case I decide to run away… Amity paused in her pace. Is it obvious that I’m going to run away? She thought about it, but she quickly realized if her mom saw or heard her head out, she would immediately get caught.

She sat down, trying to form a better plan. My only back up plan can’t just be to restrain her, while I run… She had to come up with something better, but she knew she had limited time. How am I going to do this? She placed her head into her hands, gritting her teeth in frustration.

She rubbed her face, trying to come up with something else. What if I wait until I’m supposed to let Luz back out, but then I run away? It almost sounded easier, but she might as well use some of the surprise from running way now instead. It might have worked, if Ed and Em were home to help. But, obviously, her mother didn’t want anybody interrupting her traumatizing of Luz. Or, rather, her murder. Why did I ever agree to this? It should have been so obvious that this plan wasn’t going to work. What made me think mom would even keep her word? She knew how her mom was.

Amity wished she had just been smart enough to avoid this. Luz could have saved herself, if I just warned her… She squeezed her eyes shut, letting herself cry. I could have helped her! Amity knew that she shouldn’t dwell on the past, that was something she couldn’t change, but she couldn’t see how she was going to get out of the situation her stupid, absolutely terribly, mistake had brought her in.

Amity had to wipe the tears from her face not long after. I have to at least apologize to Luz… Her shoulders tensed, as she thought about having to tell her that she had pretty much gotten her killed. I’ll try to make it more optimistic... She didn’t know how to make it sound like that, but she could give it a shot. “Luz?”

The necklace thumped against her chest, as she let go of it, when she heard her name. She felt a sudden burst of anger, kicking Amity’s stomach with as much force as she could. She quickly calmed down after that, realizing that it wasn’t Amity fault that this happened. Maybe partly, she didn’t try to stop her mom, but I shouldn’t take my anger out on her…

But before she could apologize; Amity spoke again. “I deserved that.” Luz waited for a few seconds, before Amity continued. “But I wanted to say sorry, and that you were right about everything… Somewhat?” Luz wasn’t sure if she should say anything yet, but Amity seemed to be done, as she didn’t say anything after making a few noises while thinking.

Luz wasn’t exactly sure what to say. “Uh… Okay?” She didn’t really want to be talking with Amity, her voice still felt uncomfortable to hear. “But, uhm… If I’m not going to die in here; you’re going to let me out soon, right?” Luz didn’t want to spend a second longer than she needed to inside Amity’s stomach.

She heard the rush of air in Amity’s lungs, as she took a deep breath. “About that…” Luz felt like her skin was crawling, as she waited for Amity to say something horrible. “I might have messed up a little more than I thought, and my mom does want you dead.”

Luz immediately sprang up in a panic, or attempted to, but she just splashed down into acids again as she slipped. “You’re still going to kill me?!” She tried to climb backwards, as one of the ways that Amity could still kill her popped into her mind. She’s going to drown me! “No, please, I-” But Amity quickly interrupted.

“No, no, Luz, I’m not going to let her get her way!” Amity’s heart had sped up too, as she hurried to get her words out. “I would never let anyone or anything hurt you; no matter what.” Luz noticed she took a breath, after she had stopped her writhing.

Luz tried to process her words, but they… didn’t make any sense. Something in the way she said it made her think there much more to them than what she let on. She tried to think back to before Amity had lied to her about how much she hated her, but she still couldn’t figure out what made Amity care about her that much. No matter what... her mind repeated the tone that Amity had used. Maybe I’m putting too much meaning in it?

Amity continued, snapping her out of her thoughts. “But I was trying to say that she still wants you dead, so I need to find a way to get you back to the Owl House.” She let out a sigh. “The problem is that I’m stuck in my room…”

Luz let herself relax again. “First of all; don’t phrase stuff like that ever.” She pointed a finger at Amity, despite knowing she couldn’t see her. “But secondly… I don’t really know what to do either.” Luz gave herself some time to think. “Uh… Maybe you could…” Nothing popped into her mind immediately that wasn’t obvious. But maybe the simplest option could work? “Do you think you could beat your parents in a fight? If you had to?”

Amity went quiet, and Luz listened curiously for her response. “What do you mean? Do you want me to fight my parents?”

“No, I mean, if you had to, if you were caught?” Luz knew that Amity had to have thought about this, but she was pretty sure it could work. “And if you can’t, what are they going to do?” Luz’s confident feeling grew, as she thought about it more. “They can’t get to me, as long as I’m in here!”

It was silent above her, as Amity thought.

Luz stared up hopefully, excited that Amity seemed to be considering the idea. It could really work! She tried to squash down her feeling of being clever, waiting to hear what Amity thought of it.

“You’re right…” Luz waited, hoping she would go through with the idea. “But what if they have a way to make me throw up?”

Luz deflated, not having thought about that. “Well… Do you think they do?” She gave it a few more seconds of thought. “Why would they have a way to make you throw up? Doesn’t that sound weird?” Luz tried to come up with anything that could help them out of this awful situation they had ended up in. “And how else are we going to get out of this? I can’t think of anything else…”

Amity went quiet, clearly trying to think of something. “I don’t know…” She breathed out, as her heart sped up again. “I guess it’s the only thing that sounds doable…”

¨¨

Luz had to wait with growing worry, as Amity moved around the house.

She kept her hands around her necklace and it helped her calm down slightly. The chain felt comforting, as she ran her fingers along it. Stay calm… She didn’t want to freak out too much, despite knowing that both her and Amity were incredibly worried. She can do this.

She could hear Amity’s heart beat faster than her own, but not by much.

She wished she could help out, but there wasn’t a lot she could do, even if she was back outside and her regular size. I would probably just be easier to kill… Not to mention the fact that she was still completely defenseless. Luz gripped her necklace anxiously, as she thought back to Amity taking her bag. What did Amity do to my bag?

It wasn’t that she was too worried about the bag; she didn’t have anything really important and irreplaceable with her, but she still didn’t want to have lost it. She did have a few of her favorite patches and pins on it and it would suck to lose them. So technically something irreplaceable, if she never got back to her mom, but nothing really important important.

She let go of the necklace, deciding to watch the walls around her for a bit. It made her own stomach churn, as she thought about what happened. It was gross to think that Amity could do that. She hadn’t had that hard of a time swallowing her down, despite how much she had tried to get her to gag.

She tried to stop the uncomfortable feeling she got from thinking about it. Amity is keeping me safe. She reminded herself once again. I’m safer in here than out there. If she was out there; Amity’s mom could get to her way more easily.

Luz wasn’t sure how long she spent thinking about all her different worries, but apparently long enough for Amity to make it out of her house, as the bigger girl told her exactly that in a voice a little louder than a whisper.

It was quiet again after that, except for her much louder and more strained breathing.

¨¨ ~

By the time Amity reached the Owl House; she could barely get her legs to move anymore. Maybe I should have taken it just a tiny bit slower… Her parents hadn’t even seen her run away, as far as she knew. But the thought that they had been after her had made it impossible for her to slow down.

She stared over at the house, feeling unsure about what to do. Should she explain any of what had happened, or keep it a secret? I think I’m going to start by letting Luz out… She wished she had thought about an easier way to make herself throw up suddenly. It can’t be that hard… she thought, remembering how easily Luz had made her gag. But maybe it’s harder to do it myself…

Amity shook her head, realizing she was overthinking it way too much.

She looked down at her stomach, feeling an uncomfortable shiver go up her body as she thought about what she had done. I’m so stupid… “I’m going to let you out now.”

¨¨ ~

Luz yelped in surprise, as she fell out of Amity’s mouth, but her fall was slightly broken by the soft-ish leaves on the ground. And despite falling the relatively tall height that she had; it barely hurt.

She still groaned, immediately having to squeeze her eyes shut at the still bright light outside. I didn’t realize it was so dark in there... She had thought that the light from her necklace was a lot stronger. She felt dizzy, as she hesitantly opened her eyes back up again.

She heard Amity shuffle backwards retching again, but it didn’t sound like anything else was coming out.

Luz got up on her feet, grimacing as she saw Amity’s face. That does not look fun... She didn’t want to say anything, before Amity was done dry heaving.

Amity swallowed loudly, letting out an exhausted noise. “I’m so sorry,” she started, swallowing sickly again, “I really hope you’re okay after all this...” Amity sat up clenching her hands tight. “I didn’t think any of this through... ” She squeezed her eyes shut, and a couple tears rolled down her face.

Luz didn’t want to say that everything was fine; it wasn’t. But she also didn’t think Amity needed to feel that horrible about it. “Well... The worst part was really realizing that I was going to die, so it’s not really your fault?” Luz dug her foot in under one of leaves next to her, trying to lift it with her foot. “I mean, unless you’re a god of death?” she tried to joke with a hesitant smile.

Amity grimaced, as she clearly tried not to smile back. “It’s not funny...” Her grimace quickly turned sad, as she looked down at Luz. “I know how much I scared you.”

Luz stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do to make Amity stop worrying about it. “I don’t really want to talk about this right now.” It was true, but she was mostly hoping to distract Amity. “Also... Could you maybe turn me back to normal?”

Amity snapped up. “Right! Sorry,” she apologized, but she didn’t turn her back immediately, fishing around in the bag she had with her, before she brought out Luz’s bag. “Here.” She stood back up, before casting the spell.

Luz closed her eyes, as she grew back to normal, finding a little too weird to watch how everything changed back to how it was before.

When she opened them again; everything seemed much more familiar.

A lot more real.

Without even registering her emotions properly; everything blurred with tears.

Luz couldn’t even get a word out, despite wanting to tell Amity that it wasn’t her fault that she broke down. Don't think it’s your fault! Luz’s thoughts screamed between the terrifying jolts of constant reminding that she was going to die and having no way of knowing what would or wouldn’t happen afterwards. Don’t get upset too!

She looked over at Amity, seeing how distressed she looked too, and managed to speak up. “It’s not your fault.” She blinked, letting more tears fall freely. “I’m not scared of you!” She wiped her tears away, even though they were still coming. “We should get inside... I just need to talk with Eda.”

Luz watched Amity, but she didn’t move any closer towards the Owl House.

Amity spoke hesitantly. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

Luz would have shrugged, but she was too upset. “It’s fine; Eda has probably done more questionable things than this.” Amity still looked a little unsure. “Amity, it’s alright; I’ll make sure they won’t get mad at you.”

Amity slowly nodded, before they both headed inside.

She still didn’t believe that Luz wasn’t upset with her. I shouldn’t be here... She felt like her back prickled uncomfortably, as she stood stiffly a few steps inside the house.

Luz had immediately gone to embrace Eda, crying into her shoulder. The older witch seemed to be very uncomfortable, but she also looked ready for letting Luz cry for as long as she needed.

Amity took a step back, hoping nobody would notice her. I could see if I could stay at the library for the night... She was pretty sure she could convince Malphas to let her stay if she told him about her situation with her parents. Or I could work a little harder if I need to. That could make up for it. I need to go now if I want to make it.

She carefully turned around to head back out the door, still trying to make herself as unnoticeable as possible.

But, of course, she was noticed this time. “Amity?”

The voice immediately caught her attention, as she noticed Lilith on the couch with Hooty by her side. “Lilith?” She decided that leaving wasn’t an option anymore, now where she had been noticed. “What are you doing here?”

She threw out her hands, “I could ask you the same thing; I thought Luz was just supposed to visit you,” she looked over at Luz and Eda, gesturing to Luz, “so how did things go so wrong that this happened to her?”

Amity shuffled her feet slightly. “I think I’m going to let Luz explain some of it first... But it’s my fault it happened.”

Luz immediately butted in. “No, it’s not-” she sniffled, before she continued, “-there was no way-” she breathed in deeply, as she whimpered and hugged Eda tighter, “-it wouldn’t have happened sooner or later...”

Amity took a second to think about it. “You are really only upset about the-” She wasn’t quick to catch herself before she said a little more than she needed. “-about death?” If she had to be completely honest; she thought that Luz was lying to her about that to make her feel better. Unless she thought I would pretend to want to kill her? But that was ridiculous.

Luz nodded, before she let go of Eda, “it’s really really scary to think about dying...” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m so so scared and I don’t know how to stop feeling like this!” She immediately wrapped her arms around Eda again, almost looking like she was trying to crush her, but Eda still let her hold on.

Eda waited until Luz let go of her again. “Luz, I don’t really know what to tell you.” She took a deep breath, before she continued. “The only thing you can really do is try to forget about it and then when the moment comes... all you can hope is that you’ll be ready for it.” She gently patted Luz on her shoulder. “But we can talk about this after you take a shower, alright? I need to get changed now too.”

Luz nodded, not looking the least bit comforted, before she left for the bathroom and Eda went to get a change of clothes.

King had been eerily silent as all this went down, staring after Luz as she left, before he leaped off the couch to stare down Amity. “What did you do to our Luz? You said that this was your fault!”

Amity felt uncomfortable, as the tiny demon tried to interrogate her. “It’s hard to explain... I really don’t want to do it without Luz.” She grasped the sleeve of her dress between her fingers. “And Eda needs to know what happened too.”

King scowled at her. “She smells like vomit; how much is there to explain about that? When did she get eaten and why didn’t you help her?”

Amity suddenly focused a lot harder on the grim taste of puke in her mouth. I need to rinse my mouth with some water. She realized that she was also incredibly thirsty after her run. “I told you Eda needs to know too and Luz needs to be here.” She turned to Lilith hesitantly. “I know it’s a little weird for me to ask for something right now, but where can I get something to drink?”

¨¨ ~

When Luz came back from her shower Amity looked twice as uncomfortable as she had before with everybody staring at her. Oh gosh, how am I going to explain what happened? She didn’t want them to think Amity was a bad person. “Hey,” she called shyly, trying to take the attention off Amity. “I’m feeling a bit better now.”

She went into the living room, standing next to Amity to hopefully make her feel less awful about what she did. She didn’t have bad intentions with what she did. “Sooo...” Luz began hesitantly, “I guess you guys want to know what happened?”

King scowled at Amity, but Luz was quick to step in. “It’s not her fault.” But she hesitated again. “Not entirely anyway... It’s...” Luz realized she had no clue why Amity’s mom did any of what she did. “Actually, what happened back at your place? Why would your mom ever make you do something like that?”

Amity took a deep breath, “I don’t know...” She rubbed her arm, looking down to the floor. “I just know that it doesn’t really surprise me that much...” She sighed, before she talked about the other part of what had happened. “But what happened was that... My mom told me that if I didn’t...” She stopped, taking a step in behind Luz. “I know I shouldn’t have done it! But she told me that if I wanted Luz to live, I needed to convince her that I wanted her dead.”

Luz looked back at Amity, recalling her wince when she had told her that she figured out her mom was the one behind it. That was why she got scared... Luz carefully brushed her hand against Amity’s arm, making her flinch. “Sorry!” she quickly apologized. I guess she wouldn’t like a hug. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Amity nodded, refusing to look at Luz, before she continued. “But it turns out that it was a trick... She was going to kill Luz either way, and I was stupid and fell for it and now...” She looked at Luz briefly with confusion in her eyes, before she trailed of completely.

Luz desperately wanted to give Amity a hug, but she didn’t seem like something like that would help her. “So... Did your mom tell you to pretend like you were going to kill me a specific way or did you decide that?” Luz really hoped that it wasn’t Amity’s own choice, despite it technically having helped save her life.

Amity looked disgusted. “My mom... She pretty much planned the entire thing... Except for the... The uh...” She suddenly looked even more ashamed of herself, “... fake escape... I mean, I was pretty sure ten minutes was enough to catch you, but I wouldn’t have let you go.”

King interrupted their explanation. “I feel like you two are leaving out A LOT of stuff, because I’m just getting more and more confused.”

Both Amity and Luz looked over at each other, before Amity spoke, “my mom told me I had to pretend to kill Luz by swallowing her alive. That’s why she came home drenched and smelling like vomit.”

Luz jolted up, realizing she forgot to apologize to her mentor for running her clothes. “I’m sorry about your dress, Eda! I didn’t think about how gross I was.” It had completely slipped her mind, despite how sour she had smelled, even without thinking of how slimy she had been.

Eda quickly dismissed it, “don’t apologize about that; it’s been through worse.” She shrugged, “besides, I was thinking of getting rid of it soon.”

Luz looked around the room, but there still seemed to be some confusion. “Uh... Maybe it’s better if we tell them everything that happened.”

¨¨

By the end of it all, Luz felt completely exhausted and scared, having had to relive the moment again. “I think I’m going to go to bed early...” She tried to shake her head to wake up a little, but it didn’t work.

Eda immediately shook her head, “nope, not before you’ve gotten something to eat.”

Luz felt sick at the thought of food. “No thanks, I don’t think I can eat anything.” Her appetite was completely gone and it wasn’t just from the thought of what had happened to her. The idea of eating felt pointless after realizing she was going to die. “I just want to go to bed...” she said, despite her stomach hurting from a lack of food.

Eda didn’t back down. “I get that it’s uncomfortable, but you have to eat something.” She got up from her seat. “Get something to drink and I’m going to make you something.”

Luz decided it was no use protesting.

¨¨

She sat awkwardly and sipped her glass of water. Drinking without any appetite wasn’t easy either, but it did help slightly. She was getting a bit more open to getting something to eat, but mostly to stop the nausea she was getting from her stomach trying to break down nothing.

Amity looked over at her, before she spoke, “so, I’m going to be staying here, right? Or should I be going back home?”

Luz stared at Amity in disbelief. “What do you think?! Obviously, you’re staying here for the night!” She was not letting Amity go home to her parents. At least not for the night.

Amity looked away again. “But what if they only get more upset with me?”

“Then you’re staying here another day,” she replied, carefully putting a hand on top of Amity’s, hoping to comfort her. “Amity, I’m not letting you get anywhere near them, if you’re still scared of them.”

Amity pushed Luz’s hand away, before going silent.

¨¨ ~

Amity watched as Luz headed upstairs to go to bed after she had gotten something to eat, leaving her alone in a room full of people she barely knew anything about.

She decided not to speak to them, looking down into her hands.

Her nail polish looked like it was flaking off in some areas, and she picked at it to distract herself from the awkwardness that hung in the air. What do I do? She had no clue where she was supposed to sleep or if they had enough food for an extra person to stay there. I really want something to eat... She thought, but she would never ask for it, if the others weren’t going to offer. They would probably hate me for it... How was she ever supposed to eat again after she had done what she did?

She scratched a relatively big chunk of paint off, before she stopped to look around at the others. The only one staring at her was King, who was giving her a death glare.

She looked back down to her nails, continuing to scratch at them. “I’m mad at me too, you know...” she said quietly to King. “I really wish I had never done any of what I did.” She rubbed the back of her hand gently, wishing she could go back to before any of it had happened.

King huffed. “Yeah right! You’re just saying that so we don’t get mad at you.” He jumped off the place he was sitting to stare challengingly up at Amity. “Well, I’m still going to be mad at you, so it’s not going to work.”

She shrugged half-heartedly. “That’s okay... I wish you were angrier with me.” She lowered her hand back down. “I mean... I deserve it, don’t I? But Luz isn’t mad at me, even though she really should be...” Amity decided to let a few of her trapped thoughts out. “I don’t understand why she doesn’t hate me for what I did. Or why you guys are letting me stay.” She grabbed her own hand, crushing it as hard as she could. “I don’t deserve it.”

King seemed startled by her, taking a few steps back. “Oh, you really do feel bad...” He ducked his head slightly, before he jumped back to where he sat before, now watching her with a bit harder to read expression. “Well, then I don’t really care, as long as you don’t try to hurt Luz.” He continued to watch her, but he didn’t seem as angry anymore.

Amity looked back at him for another second, only getting more confused. Why don’t they hate me? Maybe she didn’t have to worry about them not wanting her to stay over? But she still felt horrible about what she had done.

She got off the couch, but didn’t know where she wanted to go. “Is there an empty room I could stay in? I need some time alone...”

Luz lay in her sleeping bag, tears running down her face. Her mind kept spinning in circles whenever she tried to calm her thoughts about death. As soon as she got to ‘you might feel ready for it when it happens’ it spun back around to the beginning of ‘I’m going to die’. She couldn’t sleep with her thoughts going like that on repeat.

She shuffled around, lying on her side instead. Maybe it’ll be easier to deal with tomorrow. That was her hope anyway, but she knew it wasn’t going to help this time. It normally helps, but this is much worse, she thought, but still tried to relax her body. Take a deep breath...

She did as she told herself, letting it out with a bit of trouble, before she wiped off her tears. Her tiredness seemed to be coming back again after she did that, and she did her best to keep her eyes closed, until she eventually fell asleep.

¨¨ ~

Amity first got back out of the room when she got called for dinner. And she had completely lots her appetite by that time.

She still felt absolutely miserable, but at least she hadn’t been stared at the entire time.

She only took a few small bites, despite her probably needing much more than she felt like eating.

The room was filled with the same awkward silence, as she sat with the others, herself mostly drinking water while the others ate.

Just eat a bit more... She told herself. She knew it wasn’t good that she wasn’t eating, since she hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast to make sure that she wasn’t going to suffocate Luz in food on accident. Or even just let her sit in it. But she couldn’t make herself eat more than another small bite.

She looked up at Eda before quickly turning her head away again. “Thanks for letting me stay over.”

Eda shook her head, “it’s not that big a deal. Though I should probably have gotten a little more when I was out...” She looked like she was thinking about something, before she shook her head lightly again. “I’m just thinking out loud, no need to worry.”

Amity had already begun to worry, but she tried to shove the feeling down.

She forced herself to take another bite, but she was pretty sure she couldn’t eat another bite after that. “So... Where am I supposed to sleep?” she finally asked.

King mumbled something under his breath that Amity just barely caught, “nowhere near Luz that’s for sure...” Amity sure wasn’t going to object to that.

Eda shrugged again. “As long as it’s not taking already, I don’t care.”

¨¨

Amity ended up getting some pillows for herself and sleeping on the floor, because she was too ashamed to do anything else.

¨¨ ~

When Luz woke up; she didn’t feel nearly as bad as she thought she would. Her worrying about death had left her mind after her full night of sleep. At least for that moment.

She quickly got ready and headed downstairs to check if anybody else were up yet.

Checking the living room, she noticed that Amity had fallen asleep in the middle of the floor and was still sleeping. Luz raised an eyebrow, immediately becoming concerned. That doesn’t look comfortable... Not that it’s much more comfortable sleeping in a sleeping bag for so long. She almost decided to wake Amity up to get her somewhere more comfortable, before she realized it was a little late for that.

She walked around the house for a bit, finding all the others were still sleeping. I guess I did go to bed a little early... What had it been? 6 PM maybe? But there was also some time where she kept tossing and turning trying to fall asleep despite her scary thoughts.

She shook her head quickly. Don’t think about that, she reminded herself. Especially not when you don’t have anybody to talk to. But they were slowly creeping back in and she could feel her pulse rising. I’m not having this happen right after I wake up, she thought stubbornly at herself.

She looked back over at Amity, quickly deciding that she needed someone to talk to and woke her up, even if it was a little selfish.

Amity had woken up to someone trudging around the house, but she tried to ignore it and go back to sleep. At least until she felt someone touch her shoulder. “Hey Amity...”

She tiredly raised her head up to look at Luz. She immediately perked up a little more, realizing she probably had terrible bedhead. Every emotion she had about Luz in the past weeks mixed together at once, and she could only respond by lying back down again and apologizing. “Sorry.”

Luz let out a small uncomfortable laugh. “Seriously, stop apologizing, I’m trying to forget what happened right now.” She put a hand on her back, making Amity feel even more conflicted. “Besides, I think you missed a ‘good morning’.”

Amity couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “So did you,” she replied, making Luz look a little sheepish, “but good morning.” She sat up, trying to rub some of the sleep crust out of her eyes. “Why did you wake me up?” She was pretty sure it couldn’t be that late. “What’s the time?”

Her friend shrugged. “Dunno.” She also rubbed her eyes slightly, before she continued. “But I know why I woke you up.” Luz sat down next to her. “I just want to talk a little bit... I’m feeling a little off.” She rubbed her arm nervously. “So... How’d you sleep?”

Amity was pretty sure she knew what she meant by feeling off, but it was clear Luz didn’t like talking about it. “Poorly.” She could feel how stiff her body was. “But I didn’t know where else to sleep... And I was maybe being a little dramatic yesterday...” She would definitely have chosen to sleep on the couch now.

Luz tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

Amity looked away, not wanting to touch on the subject, if Luz didn’t want to talk about it. “It doesn’t really matter.” She paused, thinking her decision over. Maybe I should tell Luz about how I felt yesterday. “Or, well... If you’re uncomfortable talking about yesterday it doesn’t matter.”

Luz gave a slight nod. “Oh...” Her brow furrowed. “So why did you sleep on the floor?”

Amity scratched the back of her head awkwardly. “I didn’t feel like I deserved a better place to sleep.”

Immediately Luz’s eyes turned sad, and Amity moved away. “Amity, I’m alright, you don’t need to keep being so harsh on yourself.”

Amity kept herself from saying anything, despite her thoughts screaming that Luz was supposed to hate her now. It doesn’t make any sense... she thought, looking over at Luz, before she finally said something. “It feels like you should hate me now.”

Luz got a much more sympathetic look in her eyes, before she gave a small smile. “I know how that feels.” She let out a tiny laugh, looking like she was about to say something before she bit it back. She thought over her words, before she continued. “I feel like that about the smallest things sometimes.”

Amity had to take a second to think about it. “But what I did was so much worse.”

Luz moved a bit closer to her. “Yeah, obviously? But I already told you that I’m alright.” She sighed. “You don’t need to worry about me.” Luz scratched her hand slightly, as she looked at her. “I know it sounds a bit out of nowhere, but would you like a hug?”

Amity had to give it a few seconds of thought, before she nodded.

She unsurely let herself hug Luz back, leaning into her. It felt nice to be held like that, and hold onto someone after all that had happened. Just knowing that she still had someone she could consider a real friend helped a lot. Though the thought that Luz was just a friend did make her feel a little sad, she felt like it was enough for her in that moment.

Amity was the first to try to pull away, but Luz held on a little longer, making Amity hug her back again. It felt like Luz also needed the hug a lot.

Eventually both of them let go, and Amity could see that Luz was about to cry again. Amity hesitated unsurely, before gently took Luz’s hand in hers, like Luz had tried to do for her the other day.

Immediately Luz tightened her grip around her fingers, making Amity wince, but she let Luz clutch onto her hand. If it makes her feel better I can stand it for a bit. It didn’t hurt that much; it just surprised her a little.

Luz loosened her grip slightly, as she looked at Amity. “It’s so- scary...” she sobbed, immediately tightening her grip again. “I just can’t imagine the fact that it’s all going to be over... That one day I won’t be here anymore.” Luz squeezed her eyes shut, gasping for breath. “One day my mom is going to die, and what if I never make it home to see her again?”

Amity didn’t know what to say. “I think you will.” Luz gripped her hand even tighter. “I don’t think I get your feelings about death, but if you really want to make it home; you can do it.”

Luz looked down at her own hand. “I wish things could be like this forever... But with my mom here.” She let go of Amity’s hand, looking into her eyes. “Then everyone could be here with me and none of us would have to die...” She sniffled quietly. “But I know that’s stupid to think.”

Amity looked at Luz, hating that she couldn’t do anything to make her feel better. She wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay, but she couldn’t say that. Luz was worried about death, something that was inevitable. She took a deep breath. “I’m going to be here for you as long as you need.”

Luz managed a weak smile, but didn’t say anything else.

They sat like that for a while, before Luz spoke up again. “You mean a lot to me, you know?”

“I do?” questioned Amity, not sure what to think about it. “Even after what I did?”

Luz nodded, “it does make me feel a little strange... But I’m happy that you’re here with me.” She shifted the way she was sitting slightly. “I don’t want to be weird, but... It makes me feel really... warm and fuzzy when I think about you.”

Amity stared at Luz, before she pushed the thought she was having away. “It’s not weird, except for your childish wording” she teased slightly, while trying not to get too hopeful. “And I’m happy to be here with you too.” She decided she would shift the topic a tiny bit away. “And I get what you mean with this feeling strange... It’s confusing to sit here with you, after what I did.”

Luz fiddled with her hands, looking like she wanted to ask something. “Uhm...” she started, before her voice fell away again and she had to start over. “Do you feel the same way about me? Even with the childish wording?” Amity could tell that Luz meant exactly what she had thought.

Amity nearly choked on her own breath in surprise. Her voice caught in her throat, forcing her to nod instead. I have to be dreaming. There was no way that Luz had just asked her that.

Both of them went completely silent, not knowing what to say to each other.

Hesitantly Amity deciding to reach out for her hand again and Luz took it. For some reason it felt a lot different from how they had held hands just before. And it wasn’t just the lack of her fingers being crushed.

As Amity looked up into Luz’s eyes; she noticed her smile had a bit of sadness to it. Immediately her own smile faded. “I wish I could do something to make you feel better...”

Luz bowed her head slightly. “I’m just happy you’re here with me.”

That would have to be good enough for both of them.

***

That’s the end! Thanks for reading! If you liked it, please leave a like! I love seeing that people like my stories! :3

Have a fantastic day/night! <3

#safe vore #sfw vore #non-fatal vore #gt vore #T0H vore

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skystarchild123 · 4 years ago

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Beeduo Doomed Friendship Fantasy AU — Prince Ranboo, Fae Tubbo

Cw: major character death, descriptions of fantasy violence

(I kinda wanna write this up as a fic at some point but I’m currently working on another project and don’t wanna have multiple going on at the same time so I’ve dumped the general plan of the story here. This plan isn’t final and I’ll probably after a few things if/when I do get around to writing it)

The story opens with a boy and his brother — Tommy and Wilbur — trekking along a trail on their way to a village on the other side of a forest-covered hill. They stop at a brook overlooking the woods and farmland below where a weathered statue of a boy holding a bouquet of tulips and alliums stands over the water, mossy and aged. Tommy asks who the figure is and Wilbur, being a travelling musician, gets out his guitar to tell the tale of how the statue supposedly came to be:

Ranboo was a prince of these parts long ago, living in the castle still visible in the distance (although now it only stands in ruin). He was descended from an ancient magical people known as the ‘Ender’ on his mother’s side, bearing a split appearance — half human, half Ender. Being half-Ender, he had been blessed with unbeatable strength but only when he entered the ‘Ender-Walk’ state (think of this as what ‘furor’ is to classical mythology), which was feared by the people because it was an ancient magic related to the fae. One day, the prince went hunting in the forest and got separated from his party, riding deeper and deeper into the thicket. As the mists rose, he caught sight of a golden goat climbing the hillside and decided to pursue it.

He tracked the goat even further away from the beaten path but ended up losing it at the banks of this brook. He did however see a beautiful flower bed of alliums and pink tulips nearby, deciding to pick some before he left. Little did he know that these were the sacred flowers of the fae. As he departed, a swarm of crows settled in the trees, watching him all the way back to the castle.

For some reason, the flowers never wilted. The prince kept them by his bedside. He also told his council of the golden goat to much interest. Some wanted to go and find the goat to capture it but the prince turned down the idea since he’d lost it. As he went about his days, crows settled in the rafters of the castle, much to the annoyance of the servants.

One day though he rose early and looked towards the misty forest. To his surprise, he saw a flash of gold at the edge. Immediately he dressed, grabbed his bow and ran to the forest. However, he once again could not find the goat. There were however tracks leading back to the brook. He rode out until he reached it again.

Here he found the goat by the water’s edge. Before his eyes, it transformed into a boy with brown hair, gilded horns and a beautiful golden tunic. The prince was star struck by this magic and immediately dropped his weapons, for now he realised this brook was a sacred place.

The boy asked him why he picked the sacred flowers and Ranboo apologised. It turned out this entire space was sacred and the boy wanted to make sure it was safe. He was also interested in the prince, having never met a half-Ender before (the Ender were a dying people. These days they are said to be no more than the stuff of legend).

The prince ended up spending the whole day at the brook until the sun was dipping over the horizon. He learned the name of the boy, Tubbo, as well as of every small creature of the pond — the sacred space which the boy guarded. He also learned that Tubbo was very lonely. By the end of the day, he promised to come and visit often, having started the beginnings of a friendship with the spirit.

Ranboo lived in a kingdom which was afraid of the fae and spirits. Therefore he could not tell his council, his guard or even his closest attendants about his secret meetings with the spirit in the forest since he wasn’t trying to kill or capture it. He oftentimes slipped out at the brink of dusk, travelling under the cover of night to talk to Tubbo by the water, in the woods or among the flowerbeds. Over time he came to know the fae of the forest. The boar-headed warrior. The flower sprites. These spirits usually roamed the deepest reaches of the forest, though they could also be summoned through the waters of the brook with the recitation of a summoning spell. There was also the crow king who lived high up in the mountains but sent his crows to watch over the activities of mortals and spirits alike. He came and went as he pleased, bound to no spells like the other fae were. The spirits became Ranboo’s friends, though Tubbo soon turned into his best friend. You see, Ranboo was also rather lonely in the castle, with no one to really call his friend, especially no one of his age. Although Tubbo was a spirit, immortal, he felt as though they understood one another.

One night, however, the guard Dream caught Ranboo sneaking away and followed him into the woods. The guard ended up being stopped by the boar-headed warrior, who warned him to turn away if he wanted to live. Dream did, however he planned to return to the forest with silver chains to trap the fae, as he believed the fairies were spiriting the prince away.

The next morning, Dream returned and found the golden goat, Tubbo, sleeping in the shade of the trees. He captured the goat and dragged it back to the castle as proof that there were spirits in the forest.

When the prince tried to rescue Tubbo, it only solidified that his mind had been ‘corrupted’ by the spirits. He was immediately locked in his room under heavy guard, a witch (George) being called in to cure him of his corruption. Meanwhile the council and Dream decided to free the goat, following it as it ran away in hopes that it would lead them to the other spirits so they could kill them. Setting the goat free, it fled and they followed close behind.

The prince ended up winning the pity and favour of the witch by promising him the unwilting flowers on his bedside table (they were magic, after all) and more flowers from the sacred field if he helped him escape. The witch then used his powers to put the guards to sleep and the prince was soon tailing the others on horseback. At the same time, crows were already delivering news of the conflict to the crow king.

The goat came back to the brook, transforming into Tubbo. He peered into the waters to summon the other spirits to his aid, as the silver chains had burned him badly, the skin on his wrists and ankles where the chains had been was already crumbling to a stony texture and he himself could not fight. As the crow king and boar-headed warrior arrived though, the humans arrived with their silver weapons. Soon a battle at the brook broke out, trembling through the forest as the night drew on. Closer and closer the prince came but soon he could see nothing, for a heavy fog engulfed the hillside.

By the time he found the brook, the crow king and the boar-headed warrior had dealt with all the humans and were about to kill the prince too, however Tubbo saved him. He also convinced the other spirits to go to the otherworld, arguing that enough blood had been shed at such a sacred place (plus Tubbo hated seeing death and violence so close to his home) and the otherworld needed overseeing now due to the impurities. The other spirits therefore returned to their domains.

As the sun rose, Tubbo went to gather the flowers for the witch at Ranboo’s request. The prince remained by the brook to bury the fallen humans off the path. The two planned to reunite at the break of dawn. Just as the sky was lightening though, the boy came back to the brook on the far side of the river. Little did he know that Dream was still lurking, half dead but with one last weapon: a silver-tipped arrow.

The boy was shot in the back with Dream’s silver arrow while crossing the bank towards Ranboo. The silver pierced his heart. The two shared a horrified glance, then the boy smiled. He murmured one final goodbye through tears, then turned to stone at the edge of the brook, petrified, smiling and holding the beautiful flowers.

In a fit of despair, the prince fell to his knees and hugged the statue, begging it to come back to life. Dream tried to get him to come home to the castle but he refused to move. Something snapped inside Ranboo — his Ender heritage let loose in a flurry of rage, entering the Ender-Walk. He attacked Dream, drawing his sword and lunging at the guard with all his might. They fought, and eventually Dream was seconds from death. However, just before Ranboo dealt the killing blow he saw the peace in Tubbo’s petrified face. This brought him to his senses; he didn’t want to disturb the sacred brook anymore. He let Dream live, though the wounds the guard received would forever stay with him. Ranboo returned to the statue, laying down his weapons and kneeling before it. Even after a whole day he would not move. Eventually, Dream left the glade but let a single horse stay for when Ranboo came to his senses.

After three days of not moving, letting himself grow hungry, thirsty and exhausted, sitting in front of the statue, thinking of how if the two of them had never met this would never have happened, the goddess of death herself ascended from the otherworld, having been called upon by her husband the crow king. She promised that the spirit of Tubbo would forever remain in these lands in the wind, in the water and in the trees. She also promised that those who brought about his death would suffer eternal punishment in her domain. For now though, Ranboo had to return to his kingdom. He had to live.

After a long talk, the prince finally agreed to go home, plucking a bunch of alliums and tulips from the sacred field and placing them in memory beside the statue, with a few more for the witch and one of each flower for himself. This is why the allium and the pink tulip are said to be the patron flowers of the land to this day. However, because the spirit of the brook had turned to stone, the magic of the glade seeped away and it became just a regular part of the forest.

Wilbur’s story finishes and Tommy is saddened by the ending. Wilbur reassures his brother that it’s just a story, an old local myth, and no one really knows how the statue came to be. Perhaps it is completely true? Perhaps it’s all made up. It turns out the two have spent the whole day by this brook. They continue onwards and make it to the next town by sundown. While looking for the inn, they run into two boys who help run the local flower shop. These boys match the descriptions of the boys in the story, though they are both human. They seem happy and offer Tommy a bunch of alliums and pink tulips because he still looks sad. This lifts Tommy’s spirits.

(This idea came from Tubbo talking about the ‘pond’ at the outpost coupled with all those Ender prince Ranboo hcs I’ve seen floating around. I liked the idea that Tubbo was the spirit of this pond who looked after it and all the little creatures within. However I also then had the lovely idea to make it a tragedy coz I’ve never really come up with one before but I love the idea of a doomed friendship. I decided to make it play out like a fairy tale, hence the prologue and epilogue is Wilbur telling Tommy a story. Also, because I’m a sap for a twinge of hope at the very end, you can imply that perhaps Tubbo and Ranboo reincarnated as humans in the village and can now be friends together, though I’d never specify if that really happened or if it’s just a coincidence that the flower boys look similar to how Wilbur described Tubbo and Ranboo.)

#cw: death #cw: violence #mcyt #tubbo #ranboo #beeduo #bee duo #fantasy au #dream smp #philza #technoblade #niki nihachu #dreamwastaken #georgenotfound #trixtin #prince ranboo #spirit Tubbo #doomed friendship

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vidalinav · 4 years ago

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All My Girls Like to Fight

Inspired by the song “All my girls like to fight” by Hope Tala

Summary: Devlon trains Nesta. Devlon’s POV

Disclaimer: I personally am on the fence about Nesta training because she’s more magically powerful (probably) than anyone else. However, I will not lie and say it does not intrigue me, because I tend to like anything involving Nesta Archeron. And, I think it would be cool to have her fight (and inevitable) and the sexual tension with Cassian would be through the roof if they ever trained together, which is just chef’s kiss* I just don’t like that Nesta learning to fight feels like she’s giving up more of her values, which doesn’t sit well with me, since she’s had to change so much already and not by choice. But the thought of Devlon being the one to train her satisfied all of the check boxes in my head because I could then work out subtly his own views about female’s fighting. That was very interesting and the fic practically wrote itself.

Anyways.... here it is!

General Masterlist, AO3, Fanfic

Devlon awoke to the sound of cutting air. It whirred and disappeared. Whooshed and was no more. He clamped his pillow to his ears, half-awake and in the middle of dreaming—some nonsensical dream that he knew he would not remember in the morning.

But the sound erupted again, this time a heavy clash, and his eyes burst open once more stinging.

He was going to murder the person who was at the training quarters this hour—never mind that it was his fault he lived so near. Every warrior, novice or no, knew that hours were reserved for early mornings until the sun completely set. Most males would be at home or a tavern somewhere. Those unlucky enough to be on watch, would be roaming above the forests scouting all that scuttled in the darkness.

But no one should be in the training fields.

Devlon slipped on his boots, not bothering to change, as he ripped the door open and met the ink and wind. He didn’t bother grabbing a weapon, sure as daylight that he’d scare the living wits out of the Illyrian with his presence alone. Probably a new trainee. Young, not knowing the rules. He was going to learn the rules today and he was going to learn them well…

But he did not find a young male, a boy. Not a trainee or a full-blown warrior.

On the dirt, where the mud still lingered from yesterday’s rain, was a girl…. A female. Her brassy hair shining in moonlight. Devlon stepped away at the sight of her.

This… female.

This witch.

Only a true witch could conjure that bright of a moon or so Devlon thought as she held up the steel. It was much too big for her, probably too heavy by the way her arms shook lifting the sword. But she swung at the leather target in front of her, wobbling on her feet.

The witch barely made a dent in the arm, and as she swung again, Devlon had to clamp his mouth shut from yelling that she was holding the sword wrong in her palms. If she kept that up, she’d surely break her wrist, if not multiple body parts from where it would either slip from her grasps and land on her toes, or from where it would fly from her hands and hit someone else.

He was the only other being on this training field, so Devlon took several steps back.

The mistake he noticed was something he didn’t bother correcting the few girls he’d trained that morning. Their first lesson in swords and shields. And, if he did not do it then, Devlon would not deign to do so now.

That girl was the problem of the general. Though, Devlon wanted to scoff at the audacity of the commander criticizing his training of the females, when his own could not hold a sword.

In fact, Devlon wanted to go get the commander himself, present her before him as another way he was inadequate—stick it to him and that high lord of theirs. This is who you entrust to win wars.

Instead, Devlon watched as she tried again, switching the blade to her other hand and waving her wrist as if it ached. He swallowed his tongue.

Oh no, he would not get involved in high court affairs.

The vexatious female had not stopped her pestering sword fight until early morning, and Devlon had punished the trainees for it. By the time the day had ended, the males were grumbling, wound tight and weary, and he could have sworn a few boys had thrown up behind the saunas.

Devlon had enjoyed their displeasure for he too was displeased. Annoyed. Irritated. Ready to pummel the commander in his next fight for bringing that blasted female to his camp.

Long past the evening was over, he was ready to forget it all, to sleep in his warm hut of a house, simple in its function. Ready for the night to overtake him and for the headache he’d had all day to stop pounding in his skull.

Devlon closed his eyes willing sleep to take him…

The sound of clashing metal started again.

His body moved without a second thought.

He stormed out of his house, his eyes adjusting to the array of purples and blues alight from trembling stars. Devlon could see her head peak out from the ring, where the practice dummies had been scattered in each corner. Like the night before, he wanted to yell, scream, rage, drag her back to that commander who thought too much of himself.

But like the night before, the image of her, her vile grandeur, made his temper cease.

As he neared, Devlon noted that she wasn’t even on the mats at all. She was sitting on the ground, tapping the sword against a rock. Clack, Clack, Clack. Over and over. Screeching metal that had him gritting his teeth.

Her legs were spread wide in what he thought was far from ladylike, her white nightgown peeking through the fur.

What odd training leathers she had.

He watched as the young witch tipped her head back, her nose held high but not in that pompous way he’d seen before. Devlon followed her gaze all the way to the stars. The midnight beast blinking back its thousand eyes.

There was a story in a Illyria about the night. When he was younger he was half-afraid it would swallow him whole. All of his friends, his family, tumbling to the back of its throat. It was the only thing he’d ever truly been afraid of. Not the wars, the creatures of the forest, the cruelty of the fae, but of this inconsequential thing that stared down as if it were waiting for them. Waiting for them both here in these training fields.

Devlon shook away the ominous thought, turning back to the female who sighed audibly. She hiked up her skirt as she kicked up her boots, and he shifted his head quickly, shying away from the indecent exposure.

She picked up her sword, swinging it round and round, turning to one of the practice dummies. It was large and heavy, three times her size, with various pegs sticking out its trunk. She merely gave it a glare and hiked up the weapon.

What the witch did not know was that it was designed to move. If it was hit, one the arms would swing forward. Hit again, and another on the opposite side would move. It was to teach one to defend rather than to swing blindly.

Swing blindly, she did.

Her wrist was still angled at odd ends, but she managed to cut the leather on the figure’s side. Not a killing blow but perhaps enough to wound an enemy if they had not already maimed her from her lack of skill.

Except the sword got lodged in the wood at the same time one of the pegs moved towards her. The little witch couldn’t maintain her footing, and so the peg smacked her side.

She yelped and Devlon clasped his hand to his nose, shaking his head. Thinking of all the ways, she would hurt herself tonight.

He’d never get sleep...

So, Devlon cut his losses and went back to his hut, willing himself to forget all he’d seen.

There were bags under her eyes. The heavy grey, dark and shadowed. It reminded him that she was still just a human girl underneath it all. Devlon half-wondered what she might have been doing if she’d not been thrown into this strange new world where war was what they ate, what they breathed, what they awoke at dawn to pursue.

It was true that he liked to call the witch spoiled behind the commander’s back—in his head; when he grumbled under his breath. That spoiled princess kept in the general’s cabin, unseen, unheard of, but trapezing through the camp as if she belonged here—as if she was one of them. That beautiful, solemn witch who lived in the woods, who ate the dreams of the elders and the smiles of the young.

But she was not a witch. Not Illyrian, certainly. Perhaps, not fae. No longer human. Could not be called lesser fae though, because there was nothing lesser about the female who had ripped Hybern’s head from his body.

She did not show the same strength she had in those few days of the war. Devlon had seen her walking with those buckets and bandages, watching his comrades fall one by one as if she commanded their deaths, plucked their souls from their bodies. How terrifying it must have been for her? This young girl, who had not lived even half of their youngest citizen.

He trained warriors for a near millennium who came back with lost limbs, lost friends, lost sanities, but what did she lose? What did she even have to lose? This little witch who had experienced nothing.

“Your wrist—” He spoke at last, his words rough to his own ears. She stared up at him, eyes widening then down at the sword in her hand. “You’ll break it if you keep bending it like that.”

He watched as she stubbornly gripped the handle tighter, turning her back to him and swinging at the practice dummy again. It swung from the momentum and the girl—female—witch—stepped back unable to keep her footing.

Dead, he thought. If she were in a battle she’d be dead.

“And your stance needs work,” He added sardonically. She huffed in reply. But Devlon was not finished. She had kept him up with her pestering noise for six days. He was tired.

“Why do you want to train?” he demanded because he truly needed to know. Why the late nights and the early mornings? Why punch when she didn’t know how? Why use a sword she could barely hold upright? He was tired of not knowing why she walked through the training fields as if it were a war zone and she was wading through the bodies.

Why fight at all?

She could be sheltered, taken care of, happily ensconced in an estate somewhere, with the general himself even if that last day in the war was any indication.

But the witch did not answer his question. Instead, she adjusted her grip, widening her stance, and holding the sword as if she was holding some sporting bat he’d seen the children play with.

“Incorrect,” he voiced allowed, circling her form.

She huffed but moved her left foot forward and her right slightly back, though he gave her no directions to do so.

“Incorrect!”

“Then why don’t you tell me what is correct?” She answered, harshly.

“Why don’t you ask?” He provoked.

But she lunged at him with the sword.

He quickly stepped out of her way and gave her a look, “Too easy.”

She tried again, and he stepped to the side. She hit the rope and it cut in half.

“You are not doing anything but tiring yourself.”

“Shut up!” She yelled, fury spitting out of her words.

Fine.

He remained silent as she ambled towards him, huffing along the way. Devlon crossed his arms, raising a brow and when she swung again, he grabbed the sword from her hands.

It was easy… because she was holding it wrong.

Devlon waited. The little witch glared, raising her head to meet him in the eyes.

Her face was red. Her hair, wild. Her eyes, gleaming. And, for a moment she reminded him of the night sky. The imminent danger of someone inconsequential…

Devlon held out the sword to her, the handle ready for her palm. She glanced at it, then back at him.

The female pursed her lips, looking as though she did not want to accept his gift, but Nesta grabbed the weapon firmly.

Why do you want to fight? He’d asked her.

“No one else can fight for me.”

~ “Join the ranks tomorrow,” Devlon commanded, crossing his arms, “At a decent hour, this time.”

“You can’t be serious,” Nesta exclaimed, dropping the sword on the ground. Devlon sniffed at that. That would be their next lesson it seemed, how to treat weapons with the respect they were due.

For now, he settled on tapping a foot. His patience dimming with the lack of sleep. A headache was already beginning to form as the little witch crossed her arms, lifting her shoulders in a way that had him thinking she must have had wings in another lifetime—in another form.

In any case, she could not be more irritated than him and Devlon rose to the challenge, “In a real battle, you will not be fighting training dummies.”

Nesta scoffed, her eyes widening as she began to make big, dramatic gestures with her hands, “They’ve trained all their lives. They’ll pummel me.”

“Perhaps, but that is the risk you take in any fight,” He breathed; the words coated in sincerity. “The males won’t take it easy on you, surely. Might even try harder to win. After all, no one wants to be beaten by a mere wisp of a female, but no enemy in war will spare you or wait for you to be ready. Either they best you and you end up with a few bruises or you learn to hit first.”

She took a deep breath, her nostril flaring in that way he knew meant she wanted to yell and so Devlon went on.

“You have kept me up for three weeks. I have taught you basic forms, stances, how to punch, how to kick, how to use your body against someone larger. I cannot teach you anymore. You must fight.”

“Is that all it takes? A few punches and a kick and someone’s ready to rage war.”

“No,” He called, scenting the fear. “But if you don’t fight, you don’t learn. There are some things only experience can teach you.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but Devlon raised a hand.

“I won’t force you to go.” She clamped her mouth shut, her shoulders relaxing. “But know that if you don’t go, I’m not training you any longer. Our lessons stop here.”

Devlon watched as she gulped down her arguments, the silence tangible in the height of the witching hour.

Nesta looked past him, up to the stars.

If she saw her answers hidden in the cosmos, he wanted her to say it aloud, get this night over with and settled. But she closed her eyes, clenching her fists.

When she opened them again, he saw the grey flash in the darkness.

A newborn star, he thought.

Bright and burning.

“Fine,” She huffed, picking up the sword.

When Nesta walked into the training quarters the morning after next, Devlon was almost surprised.

This time instead of nightgowns and fur coats or sweats she’d hastily thrown on, she wore training leathers. But even if she walked with arrogance of a queen, he could still see the apprehension in her gait. Perhaps, it had something to do with the commander and the shadowsinger who looked on, eyebrows crinkling.

He supposed he picked a wrong day for her to join legion training, because well… both of them were here. Usually, Devlon had advanced warning of these visits but it seemed that the commander hadn’t bothered telling him that the shadowsinger would be making his rounds, spying on their progress.

At their gazes, at all of their gazes including the males who started to whisper under their breaths, the witch lifted her chin. Tall and impressively indifferent.

Learn to examine them, he’d told her. The foot they favor. The side they use the most. The weapons they’re most skilled at. That is what you learn by being in the ring, by facing them head on.

Learn to use what you know—what you are.

Nesta had no problem at finding weaknesses, he found, as she surveyed them all, but they had no problem leering, sneering, and jeering at her. The males closest to the general began to step aside, and the ones far enough away moved closer to see his reaction.

But Nesta didn’t bother looking at Cassian, instead she stepped towards him. Her arms crossing in that petulant way of hers.

“I’m here,” She huffed.

“I can see that,” he said, giving her a dry look.

His lack of directions seemed to annoy her, because she looked away, not succeeding to hide the roll of her eyes. Devlon could feel the headache already forming.

“We’ll start with drills,” He began, “Laps around the field, running through stances, and then hand-to-hand combat.”

The witch nodded her head, moving to join the males who straightened as she walked towards them.

She looked… small in comparison.

But small in the way that he imagined a venomous snake hid on the forest floor or a bushel of nightshade might disguise itself in grand bouquets. She was dangerous, he knew. They all knew, though they didn’t know exactly what chaos hid beneath her skin or how it might destroy them all had she been displeased with them.

The general sidled up to him, the shadowsinger ever close and present, and Devlon inwardly sighed. Both of them watching Nesta begin to run laps.

“When did she start this?” He asked, his tone outrageous and cynical.

“I don’t know what else to tell you, besides the fact that she lives in your house. If you don’t know when she started this, I’ll have to point out your lack of perception.”

“When did she start this?” The commander snarled. Devlon did not care for the tone.

“You. Tell. Me.” He offered slowly, tilting his head, waiting for the male to answer. “If you don’t know where she’s been, then how would I know? She was left to you wasn’t she?”

“Nesta can go wherever wants.”

“Then it seems we’re at a standstill, because you allowed her to roam freely but apparently were not clever enough to spy. Or is that why the shadowsinger is here?”

The hotheaded commander sneered as Azriel, the surprising voice of reason, laid a hand on his shoulder. “Just ask her, Cass?”

Cassian shrugged him off. “Why is she here, then?”

He thought that was obvious. “Because she made the choice to train.”

“She doesn’t know how to fight.”

Devlon grinned.

“Then maybe you should have trained her.”

The general’s face turned a special shade of red as his wings spread wide, but Devlon merely turned away. Watching as the little witch ran circles around the ring.

“I have to fight him?” She asked, pointing her index lightly to the male who grunted as he lifted a set of heavy weights.

“You don’t have to fight him,” Cassian interjected. “There’s no logical reason for this.”

Devlon tapped his foot. Even the shadowsinger looked as if he’d rather be somewhere else. “Experience is the best teacher.”

Nesta made a face, unconvinced.

“It will teach you your weaknesses.”

Her voice rose incredulously. “What weaknesses?” She asked.

Devlon raised a hand to his nose, the endless questions wearing down his patience. But he began with the truth anyways. “You favor your right side, but you’re left-handed, so you get off balance easily. You get tired too fast and end up winded before you hit anything vital. You clearly favor a sword, but all of the ones we have are too heavy for you to lift…”

The witch crossed her arms, a frown appearing on her face.

“But those things can be trained out of you… What cannot is the way you think too much before you swing. You second guess yourself before you punch. You’re too trapped in that head of yours and either you understand that you have to hit, or you understand that someone will beat you before you get the chance because you’re too busy thinking about the success of each outcome.”

Devlon watched as Nesta straightened her stance.

“I cannot teach you how to fight for yourself.”

He looked her dead in the eyes, knew and understood what she’d said that day, knew she remembered by the clench of her jaw. But, Nesta lifted a casual shoulder, noting Cassian and Azriel who watched the discourse with rapt attention.

“You’ve been watching me.”

“We should all know our enemies.” He pointed to the male, Aedon, a novice set to complete the Rite this year, who was used to being bullheaded and arrogant. “That male, right now, is your enemy.”

The little witch nodded in concession, and the commander scoffed, looking all too defeated for someone who’d barely argued for his cause. Perhaps, he knew he didn’t have one or at least one that Nesta would listen to.

She sidled up to the platform as the male, noticing her stare made his way. A swaggering prick who Devlon knew wanted to intimidate her. They would all do that at one point or another, he warranted, he grasped as the rest of the males seemed to forget they were supposed to be training themselves. They crowded around the mats; the boundaries separated by ropes.

Cassian and Azriel too, made their way to watch the fight unfold.

It seemed that many of the trainees were making bets, though they hushed quietly as he neared.

Nesta ignored the rest, only looking to the male who wrapped his hands in white gauze.

“You’re a small thing,” he noted, unhelpfully.

The little witch lifted a brow. “I’d say you’re a large thing, but I think it’s only your head.”

Aedon huffed a laugh, and though his eyes lit up with amusement, something else settled in. Something darker and foreboding.

It was a look Devlon had seen before. A look he’d seen on many of his warriors.

“I’ll make sure not to hit your face,” the male mocked.

Nesta looked at him confused, but Aedon took that as an opportunity to lung, kicking his foot out until Nesta was lying on the ground. He heard the crack as her shoulders slammed into the platform and he hoped, in some deep part of him, past the part that said he didn’t care at all, that it was the wood that splintered and not her spine.

She gasped loudly as she placed a hand on her chest, but no one came to help her move. It would’ve been shameful to do so. This female who wanted to fight with the warriors.

She did this to herself he imagined them thinking. Because it was that thought that immediately entered his mind. She chose this.

Get up, Devlon wanted to shout. Get. Up!

The shadowsinger held the commander back, though what he could have done Devlon didn’t know. Pummel the male who hit her when she willingly entered the match?

After learning everything he knew about this witch, he doubted she’d appreciate the gesture.

“You want to play with the big boys?” Aedon spit, “You get hit.”

He tutted lowly. “Do you need a minute, princess, or are you used to being on your back?”

Devlon didn’t dare show his own rage, but he grasped the rope, his fists clenching around the thick string until he felt he might rip it off himself. The feeling surprised even him.

But Nesta twisted herself upright, turning to the male with bright, furious eyes.

Nesta lunged and when he punched, she ducked, grabbing his arm. She used her weight until he was sprawled on the floor, but he reached out to grab her leg and she fell to her knees. She tried to kick him off, but he was larger, heavier, and it didn’t take much to pull her backwards until she was on the floor with him on top of her. He punched once, his fists landing on her cheekbone.

Aedon walked off, grabbing a towel he’d hung on the rope. Nesta cradled her cheek, kissing the mat with her body. While he waited, Aedon began tapping his foot. Tap. Tap. Tap. Over and over until Devlon, himself, could hear the noise ringing in his ears.

Nesta turned to face him and no one else.

She sauntered up to him slowly, serpentine and vile. Her eyes getting darker, her mouth set in a thin line. And Aedon laughed. Lowly at first, but the sound began to rise in pitch until it sounded maniacal and deranged.

This time, Aedon sprung forward, but Nesta was quick on her feet, and she moved just enough to grab his arm and twist it behind him. In this position, the male bowed before them and Nesta kicked out her foot.

He fell to the ground, twisting quickly to face her, but Nesta didn’t let him move. She ambled on top of him, her legs on either side of his torso and she hit. And hit. And hit. Until his face was bleeding, and her fists were drenched in the male’s blood.

Still she hit and the awaiting Illyrians did nothing but watch the young warrior play with the big boys.

Cassian shrugged off the shadowsinger, bending through the ropes around the ring. Devlon watched as he hoisted Nesta off the male by the waist. Her face was red and ferocious, and she began to fight the commander as well. But he didn’t let her go. Not until she had stopped fighting, stopped kicking, stopped punching, and she took deep, gasping breaths.

She stared at the male on the ground, wiping her forehead with her arm, the blood smearing on her face like war paint and she must have finally noticed all of the males looking at her. Some in doubt of what they just witnessed, others in outrage that she had the guts. Devlon didn’t know what his expression looked like, though he tried to school it into plain indifference.

The little warrior looked to the commander once more, who braced himself, his wings expanding wide. Ready to take her punches or fly her off, Devlon wasn’t sure, but he wanted to see. A mere curiosity at what the general would do.

But Nesta slipped past him, past them all with her shoulders pushed back and her head raised high. She looked to him then, her gaze harsh.

“Are we done?”

Devlon turned his gaze back to the warrior who’d bragged about his skill and was defeated so easily. “For now.”

She left without a second glance and Devlon could only nod to the male dripping blood on his mats, “wipe your face.”

Devlon found the young female in the infirmary. A tent the size of a small room that many warriors chose not to even step in, in fear that they would look weak to their comrades. The general and the shadowsinger were already there.

Azriel turned to the corner, blending with the shadows as Devlon so often noticed. Distantly, he could see him crushing some herbs, though the action did not make him look inconspicuous. Rather, it seemed he was trying to give the other two privacy at the same time he was eavesdropping. Cassian ran amuck, grabbing bandages and band aids and tea, though Nesta looked perfectly fine to him, besides a wound on her face.

Devlon wanted to sigh at the two of them. Pups still, even if they were over five hundred and had ended more lives than the years they’d lived.

Cassian laid an icepack under Nesta’s eye, where her cheek was red and blistering. She’d have a bruise in the morning probably...

Even some wounds couldn’t heal fast enough for the fae.

But, Nesta angled away from him as she hissed, grabbing the pack from his hands. The commander frowned but let her take control, though he remained hunched, his wings drooping to the floor.

His gaze laid solely on hers and Devlon felt... uncomfortable—conscious that the moment was between the two of them and perhaps not for two Illyrian busybodies who’d stumbled on this place for the same reason. To see exactly what would befall the two when disaster seemed to always follow.

“I wanted to teach you how to fight,” He admitted, unsure of his words.

Nesta didn’t bother looking at him.

“It wasn’t your decision.”

“And Devlon is...”

“He’s an asshole,” she said. Devlon gave her a bland look, though she made no move to take notice of him standing in the middle of the tent like an outright buffoon. “But he’s honest... and he doesn’t treat me any different from anyone else.”

Cassian shook his head, his expression pained. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that you couldn’t... tell me that you were...wanted to train. I--” His eyebrows cinched in that way Devlon remembered he’d do when he was young. All too afraid of being exactly what they called him.

“It wasn’t about you,” the little warrior answered harshly. The commander straightened at her stare, poignant but not malicious.

Honest.

Brutally so.

And perhaps that was what the general needed to hear, after all. What they all needed to hear for they all knew what the little witch meant. That the ability to choose was perhaps more powerful than the opportunity itself. That she had chosen, invariably, to wander in the middle of the night, to pick up a sword, to keep swinging and hitting and punching, to fight whether she knew how or not.

Nesta had chosen this. No one else could have convinced her.

Nesta turned to him then and lifted the icepack from her cheek.

“He said he wouldn’t hit my face,” She grumbled.

Devlon blinked, surprised at her words. “Did that appease you somehow?”

The female angled her head, thinking it over.

“No...” She declared somberly, “Bruises that you can’t see are still bruises.”

At the tone, Devlon began to shuffle uncomfortably once more, though he stayed as the witch grimaced. Cassian moved to switch her icepack to one wrapped in cloth, the liquid dripping on to the leather.

But Devlon couldn’t help stepping forward. Didn’t know why he did.

“You fought like an Illyrian today.”

Cassian and Azriel raised their heads. Devlon tried not to care too much, though he wanted to yell at them to run more drills as if they were still in his warband five hundred years before, fresh and almost too squeaky clean.

“Like a male,” he continued.

Nesta made a disgruntled face, displeased with his choice of words. “You just haven’t seen enough females fight.”

Devlon shrugged a shoulder. “I haven’t seen enough females want to fight. You are a rare exception.”

She lifted a brow and then grimaced at the gesture. She’d done that twice already, as if she kept forgetting that she was in pain. Devlon smiled in spite of himself.

But she pursed her lips anyway, looking to the tent that surrounded them, the purple fabric mimicking purple skies. He wondered if she could see straight through, feel the weight of the atmosphere like a bandage on a wound. Like that icepack on her face.

“Your world is too small if you believe that,” She spoke.

Devlon opened his mouth to refute, but Nesta held up her hand, silencing his argument.

“Are we training tomorrow?” She asked, though she must have known the answer.

“At the crack of dawn.”

Nesta began gesturing dramatically.

“That’s so early,” She whined. Devlon scoffed in outrage.

But at the look, Nesta merely smiled. Small and perhaps just a tilt of her lips, but unafraid. A wild look in her eyes as if she enjoyed the teasing... the prospect of training... of being someone they didn’t expect.

Inconsequential to the naïve. Imminently powerful to the rest.

Perhaps this time, Devlon wouldn’t mind training the girls... Might even look forward to it.

Tags: @ekaterinakostrova, @soitsgorgeous, @duskandstarlight, @pizzaneverdisappoints, @imwritingthesewords, @arin1030, @adelainejdevyn, @thebluemartini, @nahthanks, @laylaameer01

I wanted Nesta to make the choice to fight, and I definitely didn’t want it to be a decision on behalf of anyone else, because Nesta has had enough people take away her autonomy. But I also wanted the choice to fight to directly relate to her making a choice to fight for herself. And so at the end there, she may not be as skilled as everyone else realistically, she may not even know what fighting will cost her, but she’s angry and she’s tired and she’s going to fight and she’s going to fight to win.

Also, Devlon is a really cool character to me, but in this fic I wanted to make his lack of allowing women to fight be more complicated than just traditional sexism. So, I thought to make half of his treatment towards women because of his traditionalistic views that haven’t been challenged, and the other half, the contention, be because of having been told by Rhys, Azriel, and Cassian that he must train the females and the females must train or else. Rhys and Azriel and Cassian chose to do the blood right, these girls are being told they have to learn to fight. So I thought, here lies the great hypocrisy of being like we need to make this camp more equal, but the way we’re going to do that is by taking another decision away from the women. I just thought maybe Devlon would willingly help Nesta because she made the choice to want to train—might even admire and respect that about her and in turn this would be the spark to change. Nesta indirectly influencing the others.

One day I will stop writing essay length analyses of my own writing lol but today is not the day. I’m going to work on my Eris fic now and get that posted soon!

Comment, Reblog, Like or all three if you liked and want to see more fics posted! If you don’t like... don’t tell me lol

But also, Happy Reading and almost release day!!! It’s getting closer at least. Keep holding out! I know we’re all going a bit stir crazy...

#nessian #nesta archeron #devlon #cassian #acosf #nessian fanfiction #acotar #vidalinav #nesta x cassian #cassian x nesta #acowar #acomaf #acofas #acomaf fanfiction #feyre archeron #fanfiction #nesta #my writing

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