#small fluffy thing
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twinclownsoflotuspiers · 2 years ago
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XianCheng: By the book | fluff, modern au, meet cute of sorts
For @thegothicfantasydomain
“Have you decided on what you’d like to borrow?”
Wei Ying couldn’t help startling violently at the voice regardless of the fact that it was one he’d been dreaming of for a while now. His chuckle was a little sheepish under the weight of that (unfairly attractive) eyebrow quirk and the judgement said man in question held for him. “Hi! Um...yeah-- th-the one that I’m currently reading?”
“Right,” as beautiful as the librarian, Jiang Cheng he was called, was, his stare was still a taaad bit intimidating. Only a bit. Wei Ying dearly wanted to make a good impression on this man but it was proving rather difficult seeing how much he seemed to flounder around him for some reason. “I do however wonder how much help an anthology on fictional fantasy will be when you did say you’re looking for books on Chinese mythology. They are frankly not the same if you ask me.”
Gods, he had a beautiful voice and Wei Ying wanted to taste it. Against his mouth. While making him chant and breathe his name. While-- *coughs* right yes, mythological books. A subject Wei Ying could frankly care little about but he’d needed an excuse. But he wanted to hear Jiang Cheng talk to him some more and mythology was perhaps a good excuse since the librarian seemed rather learned about the subject matter. “Erm.....I’ve always thought mythology is basically fantasy so what’s so different? Would you rather I begin from non fiction?”
“Technically modern or even period fantasy popular amongst the masses now stem from mythology so you’re not completely wrong there. But thinking of them as one and the same is disservice according to me. So, the thing is,” Jiang Cheng began unexpectedly rambling and, much to Wei Ying’s delight, pulled out a chair to sit next to him. On a normal day, not to be rude or anything, but Wei Ying would most definitely tune everything out if someone suddenly began giving him a lecture on a......scholarly topic like mythology. He swore it wasn’t because he didn’t care! He just had a terrible attention span! But the usually quiet and grouchy librarian never bothered to look his way much less talk to him so Wei Ying was grateful for the stroke of luck on deciding mythology to be his random excuse and his librarian crush turned out to be a mythology geek.
“Ah, apologies. I have talked too much,” Jiang Cheng suddenly coughed, a light embarrassed red dusting his cheeks and Wei Ying realized to his dismay that he’d ended up even tuning out this cute human being in his bid to drool over his voice. “I’m uh...I’ve been told I get a little insufferable when mythology is concerned. Anyway, if you need some recommendations which are interesting and not too text heavy or draggy I have a few--”
“Or you could tell me about whatever you know as well,” Wei Ying hurriedly prompted and made the other man’s eyes widen in surprise. “You told me a lot of things so I couldn’t get everything but I’d like to learn more! Talking is more interesting when it comes to idea exchange anyway!”
“Oh,” Jiang Cheng murmured and nodded in a slightly awkward manner. The judgement and intimidation was gone from his eyes. “Huh....well. I don’t....mind, I guess.”
“Great!” Wei Ying grinned, internally crowing at the victory of landing a date. “So, uh, are you free tomorrow? We can go to a cafe or something to not disturb others here. My treat!”
“Y-yeah, tomorrow sounds good,” Jiang Cheng pushed up his glasses and cracked the smallest softest smile. It hit Wei Ying like a bulldozer, just that little uptick of lips. He wanted to feel that against his mouth too. “I can bring a few books if you want.”
“Cool! I look forward to it!”
Perhaps, Wei Ying would begin caring about mythology after all.
END
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makenna-made-this · 7 months ago
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BAWKmission for @inkedbantam of the lovely bearded lady, Zelda~
I'm still offering these fun little bird doodles for anyone who wants to see their bird BAWK-o-fied~ Proceeds go to helping me pay my bills and further spoiling of my already spoiled chickens<3 Links and commission info in pinned post
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puppyeared · 11 months ago
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doodles of my fav sillies
anton belongs to @poicyss
#my brain is a barbie dreamhouse and theyre all just living in it#im especially fond of the second one because my mom used to hold me like that all the time <3#im drawing them a lot lately because im being crushed by the horrors and have to compensate for it somehow#homemade comfort blorbos......#watch me draw anton inconsistently bc i can never decide if i wanna draw him close to how he actually looks#or yassify him and give him soft fluffy hair and kind eyes and defined features. head in my hands#i dont really have a lot of drawing ideas for them bc they dont have like. a canon storyline or anything methinks#its just stuff me and bow toss around and giggle abt thru messages lol. maybe ill draw infant vincent one of these days#i just come up with stuff and draw them doing it. it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside#cuz like anton works for lobocorp as an abnormality BUT hes super duper chill and cute and does his funny little tasks so its fine#AND hes unkillable. auggie is an oc ive had since like 6th grade and i smushed them together. and vincent was for fun but i got attached#i dont have much of a read on anton either bc i think hes meant to be more of an insert character??? if im using that right#on one hand i dont think too hard abt anything being ooc since im not taking it seriously. on the other hand i just hold them in my hands#and stare into space until i can come up with something to draw since i dont have much to go off of. but its fun to build on small tidbits!#i think bow called it an au so i guess??? its an au????? im not really sure. bow if youre reading this im just willy nilly#the only thing i know for sure is that they boink like rabbits. im talking gomez and morticia levels of boinking#maybe ill go back and look at my old doodles for them and redraw em lol#myart#my art#my oc#oc#friend oc#augusta#anton#vincent#sillies family#doodles
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lunarharp · 7 months ago
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shirahama-sensei reminded me she has a thing for the teacher from pokemon s/v so i randomly went off on an au where qifrey is the professor. etc
#witch hat tag#orufrey#the first image is qifrey dressed as that guy. i'm glad she has an inexplicable attachment to some dorky pokemon man like i do#someone was like 'wouldn't it make more sense for deanreldea to be the champion' .... well no. not in my world .#it maps onto magic skill. champions aren't like the Rulers of the land they're just the most skilled at this thing#oru as a burnt out champion who's gently encouraging a kid like coco to reach him one day means a lot to me. i like pokemon narratives#agott went shiny hunting for the same thing coco had but cooler - just to impress her. she really is a pokemon rival type girl#pushing myself to the limit to prove my worth to you - to get to the summit first so i'm waiting for you..#and then realising it wasn't just to be strong - i realised i started wanting to see your smile. i wanted you to have fun.#i think coco would defeat agott at the end of victory road and then defeat oru & i'll probably draw one last thing abt that at least..#the image is very cinematic..the dialogue and music in my mind..I WANT TO FACE ORU!!!!!!!!!!#the super cool insanely powerful awesome champion is the spouse of my professor and he gave me advice at the beginning...no way....#btw the elite four would be the sages which is perfect (and maybe easthies as the first guy?) evil Team Brimhats#coustas as their renegade gladion-type figure. the gym leaders would be like sun/moon and s/v combined#travelling around facing the best students from different classes - so jujy and eunie etc.#i've barely thought about 'teams' or anything bc i care amore about the narrative side of things always lol#but idk. tetia with a swirlix - eunie would be ghost type boy - riche with small things but also a ceruledge or a steelix something massiv#and brushbug would have a final form which is really long like an eastern dragon- fluffy and with wings like a fairy. It's beautiful to me#well anyway *tries to move on to the rest of life now the brief obsession has passed*#obviously oru would be fire-type tho and qifrey would be water-type and they set off together and traded their starters etc.....it goes on
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carnivalcarriondiscarded · 1 year ago
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hold on. i just wanted to see their height difference and. and hold on-
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ill probably clean this up & do the other neighbors but ohhhhh my god. hes SMALL!!!!!! TWELVE! APPLES! (bg Home included to see if Barnaby would be able to fit through the front door. nope<3)
#im imagining barnaby leaning against home's roof while home repeatedly hits him with the side window#(it does nothing)#ANYWAY SO YEAH WALLY TINY. SMALL MAN#since the only info we have on heights is that wally is 3ft (twelve apples) and julie/sally are just a smidge taller than him#then frank/eddie are 4 ft#and then howdy/barnaby/poppy are all 7-8 ft#since theyre a bit vaguer im currently hc-ing that barnaby is the shortest at 7'9 while poppy is a solid 8 ft and howdy is between them#that still leaves barnaby as an absolute BEHEMOTH#scribble salad#welcome home#welcome home puppet show#welcome home fanart#okay. okay okay okay im so anormal about this#because i fucking Love height differences ok#whether its platonic or romantic or WHATEVER I AM WEAK TO IT. ITS MY FAVORITE THING#just a big person and their little guy. a little person and their big guy. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA#barnaby can hold wally like a ferret. wally can probably hide under barnaby's fluffy ears. im losing it#also the character heights are probably different than the physical puppet heights#since in the official art they all seem to have consistent size/height differences that slightly contradict their heights#which makes sense!! the big guys have walkarounds And live hands to keep em in frame with the smaller guys after all#(unless that info is a lie and there Are no different puppets bc theyre all alive and autonomous maybe but also hmmm Thinking)#still. wally is. so small#also its gonna amuse me when humans come into play#bc its like oh no!!! the puppets are all 3-4 ft tall! so tiny and vulnerable!#and then barnaby & howdy & poppy show up-#they could absolutely wreck humans. like fuck dude. theyre Huge.#id shit. just saying. if a near-8-ft-tall four armed four legged caterpillar man showed up id Pass Away On the Spot#i would say No Thanks and then Die Instantly#great now im picturing julie screeching THEY CANT STOP US ALL and then the smaller puppets swarm a person#so true queen <3 they Cant stop you all <3 especially when you have a huge fuckoff dog backing yall up
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spookygibberish · 4 months ago
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I've sort of developed a strange relationship with the concept of "realism" in the things I make.
Something I was very into as like, an eleven year old (im not implying this was immature to be into, just that it was formative for me), was speculative biology specifically for dragons, and now, specifically in the case of dragons I find a lot of attempts to make them biologically plausible fully missing the appeal of dragons at all.
Thinking specifically about the supernatural elements of JoM and where the line is drawn. The dagnyds are made from the remains of godlike entities, and are not entirely earthly animals. They have a supernatural origin. It would be fully justified in giving them magic abilities or making magic an aspect of the setting, but have absolutely zero interest in doing so. It doesn't interest me. I think about shit like healing powers or glowy energy attacks and my reaction is just "what does this even add? Why do I need this? Does this make things more interesting?" And it simply doesn't. Healing is more interesting as a prolonged process, combat is more interesting with teeth and claws and metal and blood. These are options which are more realistic, closer to real life, but the realism isn't what makes them interesting: it's physicality.
When I design a creature for this world, I am not thinking about making it biologically plausible, and yet, I try to design things which look like they could 'move under their own power'. There is a sense of heft and mechanical "soundness" which I value more than realism, but often also aligns with looking 'realistic'.
I would say that it's better to serve a narrative than strive for absolute realism, but I don't actually write stories, although I do have ideas for them occasionally. I guess a version of this which is more relevant and applicable is that i prefer to strive for a particular vibe.
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lylaseb · 7 months ago
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU DESERVE ONLY GOOD THINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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gilded-gheists · 1 year ago
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My feelings towards ao3 this morning.
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scholar-of-yemdresh · 2 months ago
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Bare with me now but I think certain portions of fandoms reactions to a piece of explicitly aromantic media is telling in a way.
So I think TSV's lack of romance from the get go probably weeded out most of the types of people who aren't capable of interacting with media beyond shipping or romance. But even still I see the occasional er take or reaction to the SV's handling of & lack of romance.
I love how the most impactful plot and story relevant relationships are non romantic. I love how almost romantic relationships/attractions are exes,in the past, made the F up (Hayward the F we're you yapping about man?)or not on screen... All but one which brings me to the reason for my post.
But the strong reactions to episode 36 are tickling me.
A lot of people are upset about the ending specifically how they think the tragedy is excessive and depressing for no reason. Personally I belive Sebastian and Devereux did make it out at the end and that last bit was a ptsd flashback to the incident and I do agree that it'll be a bit much for the NPCs we've been following for a whole 1 hour+ episode will meet a grisly end for horror reasons I guess.
BUT the reactions by people who's interpretation of the ending as being more tragic I feel is interesting. I do not believe people would be as upset if it wasn't a romantic relationship that was centered. If Seb & Dev had been unambiguously "just" friends getting sucked into some nightmare Scooby Doo plot, if it was centered primarily on Dev & his sister, if it was only about those non romantic relationships and an unambiguous Bad End, I Don't believe certain portions of the fandom would've cared as much.
I feel people were waiting for a romantic narrative, wanted their cute assumed white yaoi boys to ship as a reward for "sitting through" all the aromantic relationship stuff. Were hoping for a cute soft fluffy romance that they could ship, the right kind of queer representation.
The aro/ace older woman, the Achillean trans man, the sapphic trans woman, all the myriad NB/agender main/major characters is fine...but where's the cis (white) yaoi boys?(nevermind that both of Seb & Dev's VAs are POC)
Idk I guess this is a fundamentally uncharitable assumption to make about people but I notice things and maybe I'm projecting too much
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loveisinthebat · 2 years ago
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The Fluffest
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makenna-made-this · 2 months ago
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Recent BAWKmission of an absolutely charming little frizzle for someone over on kofi I'm still offering these fun little bird doodles for anyone who wants to see their (or any) bird BAWK-o-fied~ Proceeds go to helping me pay my bills and further spoiling of my already spoiled chickens<3
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pistachi0art · 1 year ago
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Strangely therapeutic to draw. Messy little guy. I like to think Josh calls him Dusty. Bc he looks like a dustball
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undertale-fic-librarby · 3 days ago
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Featured Fic Friday!
Welcome to Featured Fic Friday! A day where I, or someone who suggests one, tell you about a fanfic that I really enjoy! Spoiler's under the cut! Today's featured fic is...
printer paper copy-paste by vicen_non (Teen And Up, Complete)
You wake up in a vast, lonely space. You are… what are you? === Per request of Candy_Cryptid. Reader-is-Ink, with a side of Errorink.
A short fic, I really like how the author writes Ink's experiences, especially as he starts to learn more things & words to describe those things!
Spoilers ahead!
I love how Ink describes colors with the different emotions that he feels! It's hard to put into words, but I think that it's a great way to show us readers how he views things!
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safyresky · 2 months ago
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Grand Tour
Part I
"Pygmys."
"Pygmys?"
"Pygmys. They're fascinating little creatures!" The Prince tapped the glass of the jar he held in his hand. A fluffy little spike ball jumped a bit, spindly legs going wide as it ran all over the jar. "They travel in a big cloud and wreak havoc. They don't mean to, of course. They're just surviving. As we all are. But they do have a tendency to clump and stick to things and they do not come off that easy. We don't have these at the castle! The name is most definitely localized. It'll be exciting to study these closely and—"
"WAIT. THEY WHAT?"
The Prince frowned, turning around and shouting back at the farmer's fields. "THEY STICK."
"OH. WELL THAT EXPLAINS A LOT." The other Prince came around the corner of the farmer's shed, hopping on one foot, covered in pygmys. "Great news, Pyros, Jeremiah. I think I got them all."
"And they're going to eat right through your armour, Blaise. Marvin's going to kill you, you know."
"Not if my twin brother helps me out before then!"
Pyros tried very hard to look stern. He really, really, did. But they'd been travelling cross country for almost a month now and he was feeling quite good being away from home and Blaise looked really very funny with that monstrous big grin of his and he was going to be able to study a creature he could never get his hands on all cooped up inside the castle, so the smile did not slip out so much as it did explode across his face. He laughed to himself, waiting for Blaise to hop right beside him before summoning his staff. Mumbling to himself, he drew a few shapes around his brother, tapped the jar-ed pygmy with the top of his staff, and, once the jewel glowed, tapped the tip of Blaise's armoured foot. The Pygmys flew right off him.
"There we go! Better?"
"Much," Blaise grinned, summoning his own staff. Quickly drawing a circle in the ground he struck his staff in the middle of it. The Pygmys suddenly stopped bouncing around and were pulled into the circle, light stretching up around the perimeter and successfully trapping the sticky little fuzzy creatures within.
"Hmm. Nice. Think that'll hold for the night? I should be able to figure out how to dispose of them by the morning."
"Yeah, it'll hold. And we could always just. Y'know. Relocate them. We don't need to destroy them."
"Blaise, they're pests."
"Maybe they're useful somewhere else! Away from the crops and groves and what have you—"
"AHH! Your HIGHNESSESS!!"
Pyros looked appalled. "Is he calling the both of us? Really?"
Blaise snickered. "Hey, Marvin!" he said, eye contact with Pyros unbroken.
"No no no no NO don't you HEY MARVIN me, Prince Blaise. LOOK at the STATE of the two of you!" The angry drow thrust his hands out at them, face a deeper than usual shade of purple as he caught his breath. "Your armour is COVERED in some sticky substance and WHERE are your surcoats? Tippet? Robes?" He whirled, glaring at Pyros now, arms on his hips. "And YOU, Prince Pyros. WHERE is your ARMOUR?"
Both boys protested, both insisting they did not need the bits they were missing.
"Look, Marv, I've got the armour and Pyros has the robes and surcoats and royal colours so I think we're fine. I mean, between the two of us you have a whole dressed prince!" He grinned, throwing his arm over the drow's shoulders and bringing him in close.
The drow gulped, ducking a bit to avoid the fiery mess that was Prince Blaise's hair. "Your parents will have my head if I don't keep you shipshape and safe and that INCLUDES properly armed AND clean!"
"Marvin, please," Pyros said, raising a hand to placate. "Between the two of us, we'll be fine. We're both nearly masters at the warlock craft—some of us more so than others—and we do have our innate summer sprite lineage at our disposal as well."
"Which some of us excel in, more so than others."
"More so than others—"
Blaise stuck out his tongue with a very immature mlem.
Pyros returned the favour in kind, with a MLEM of his own.
"BOYS! This is really very unbecoming of the both of you—"
Pyros rolled his eyes as Blaise waved carelessly in the air with a very passionate, "Pish, posh."
"What? Pish posh?" Pyros looked perplexed. "Really? Where on Earth—"
"Winter."
"Of course."
"What? It's a fun turn of phrase!"
"You know, you are smitten with that season—"
"BOYS."
"Marv."
"Marvin."
Marvin closed his eyes for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose. He inhaled deeply. Exhaled. Pressed his fingers together one by one before opening his eyes. "Prince Blaise. Prince Pyros. I really must insist—"
"We're fine, Marvin! Really. Look, I'll clean the sticky off in a snap!" And he did just that. Blaise snapped his fingers, the sticky residue left from the Pygmies peeling off of his armour and disappearing into thin air, the armour itself looking freshly polished. "Boom."
"You still aren't wearing—"
"And I'm not going to! Just like Pyros isn't going to wear the armour!"
"It'll only impede my evening's work."
Marvin wrinkled his nose. He looked like he wanted to protest. "Fine. If you insist."
"And oh but we do!"
"Really and truly. I assure you, we will be just fine. You're dismissed, Marvin."
"Yeah, go enjoy the sights! We don't get to go out often, y'know."
Marvin's nose somehow wrinkled even more. "Very well."
Hands still clasped, he turned on his heel and headed back towards the royal entourage, immediately barking orders and dispersing them throughout the town.
"He's going to kill us."
"Oh yeah. One of these days, for sure. But that's a problem for later! For now, you've got fuzzballs to study, and I've got several other tenants to check in with. Unless you want to join—"
"Absolutely not, thanks. Jeremiah, if you wouldn't mind directing me to your local castor? Prisma, I believe is the name?"
"Sure, your highness. Big tower up the street. Very purple. Can't miss it."
"Much obliged. Blaise, I believe we'll have to stay overnight."
"I'll get Marv on it."
"Shout if he tries to kill you," Pyros said, heading down the path.
"He'll shout louder!"
Pyros laughed, turning at the gate and heading up the street.
Blaise watched him go, chuckling to himself. "Ah. I'd say poor Marv, but he makes it too easy. Anything else you need our assistance with, Jeremiah?"
"Well, there is one thing. It's not so much an assist more so as it is a concern. I'd take it to an audience day but uh, I don't often make it up your way."
Blaise smiled warmly. "Sure. What's up?"
"Well, ah. Your Majes-ah, Highness. Sorry, sorry. I mean no offence, I just—the titles—I—"
Blaise held up a hand. "Don't worry. Just Blaise is fine."
Jeremiah paled. "Are you certain?"
"The only people who care about titles are the King and Queen and Pyros and Marv and they are all not here so yes, I'm positive."
The magibean gulped. "Well, ah, Blaise." The corners of his mouth twitched; Blaise grinned. "I hope you don't take offence to this—"
"Why would I?"
"It's about her snowiness. I don't want to impose or, or suggest anything bad or untoward or—"
Blaise tensed. "Is she okay?"
"Ah, I imagine so, yes. I've not heard anything otherwise. It's just...the crops have been freezing."
"Pardon?"
"Every morning I've woken up and the crops have been lightly frosted. I would've attributed it to the East's natural tendency to frost over, on occasion, but that seemed illogical given the time of year...and then I saw her."
"Who?"
"The Season."
"Winter."
Jeremiah nodded. He wrung his hat in his hands, swallowed with an audible gulp. "Um. Every night. Around the same time. She appears just on the edge o'er there," he gestured vaguely to the farthest reaches of his fields. "She lingers for a bit. And then leaves. And every time I go out afterwards, everything is frosty. And it lasts through to the morning. It melts with the sun, but the frost isn't good for the crops and I can't afford any loss—"
Blaise held up a hand. The farmer stopped abruptly, his heart racing, breathing heavily.
"Have you talked to her?"
"Talked? To a SEASON?" Jeremiah blanched. "I'm just a mere farmer, I could never—"
"She's very friendly. Frosty exterior aside."
"Well, Prince Blaise, if it's not out of turn for me to say...you can interact with her. I cannot."
"Why not? I'm sure she'd stay and chat. She's one of Mother Nature's seasons, she won't ignore you if you have a concern—"
The farmer cleared his throat. "Castes, Your Majesty. Ah, Highness. Sorry."
"Blaise. Just Blaise."
"Right. Well. Being what you are—"
"A sprite?"
"A prince."
"Oh! Oh. Right."
"You travel the same circles as her, as it were. It's normal for you to just. Walk up to a season and talk to her. But not for farmers like me."
Blaise's shoulders dropped. His hair died down. "Oh."
"I'm sorry, Blaise, I didn't mean to—"
"Ah, don't worry about it!" He perked back up, the brief moment of sadness gone as fast as it came on. It was enough to give Jeremiah whiplash. "Every night, you said?"
Jeremiah nodded.
"Perfect. Tell you what. If you wouldn't mind running over to Marv and letting him know as fancily as possible that Pyros and I have decided to stay the night here, and to make preparations. Y'know. Station guards wherever, find us some nice lodgings—"
"Oh! Okay, sure! So something like," he cleared his throat, straightening his posture and holding his hat behind his back. "The Princes have decided to stay overnight. Prince Blaise has asked me to ask you to make whatever preparations you see fit to, and to procure lodgings for them for the night. Like that?"
"PERFECT! Thanks, Jerry." Blaise clapped his arm, grinning. "And while you do that, I'll gather up the rest of the Pygmys for Pyros, and tonight I'll stake out your fields! If Winter comes by, I'll talk to her and see if I can figure out the frost for you."
Jeremiah brightened. "Really? You'd do that?"
"Of course! Why wouldn't I?"
"It's just...you're so hands on! The King isn't. We usually have to wait a few days before the appropriate measures are taken for various issues. You and your brother tackle them right away! It's not—it's unexpected. And, um, to besmirch the character of a Season in front of a royal?"
"Besmirch?" Blaise laughed. "Nah, you're just concerned, is all. And I appreciate you telling me. I'll get it sorted, don't you worry. I'm sure it's nothing."
Jeremiah nodded. "I'm sure you're right."
---
Lodgings set for the night and Pyros hard at work with the local castor, Blaise set himself up at the farthest reaches of Jeremiah's fields, watching the sun fade and the night creep in. The sky was clear as can be, a crisp chill in the air if his visible breath was anything to go off of.
Stars shone brilliantly. Blaise lay between the wheat stalks, hands behind his head, watching the stars as the night grew later still. Hair out, he was surrounded by darkness, enjoying the rare moment of silence and beauty.
Sure, they had stars at the castle. But it was never completely dark. There were always lanterns lit and soldiers marching about, armoured heavily compared to Blaise. There was so much world beyond the castle, and he loved the quarterly outings the King and Queen had the pair of them undertaking, despite knowing full well the reasoning behind it.
After all, he and Pyros were approaching eighteen-hundred. They were well past the age of majority and neither ruler had deemed who would be next in line yet, and it was coming up fast. It was obvious to him that they were trying to keep the two of them out of the way of their decision making. Especially with how Pyros kept asking. And how he himself kept not asking. In fact, Blaise was avoiding the topic entirely. It was clear as the night sky to him that they'd been sent out to give the King and Queen a break, or to test the pair of them, or maybe even both.
He tried not to think about it too much; tried not to bring it up. Pyros got all weird about it, and he'd missed his brother lately. See, going into the advanced studies with the Queen had been...
Intense.
Yeah.
It was intense.
Pyros had doubled down his already double-downed practise and study routine and they didn't get to hang out as often anymore. Not until they'd been assigned to do these outings. And Pyros had been all weird at first, but as their time out grew, his weirdness seemed to disappear, and things felt almost normal which was a very nice change as things were feeling very not normal back at the castle as of late and Blaise Did Not Care For It.
Deep breaths, he told himself. We're not home right now. We're out and about. Just enjoy the night. And also maybe keep an ear out, like you told Jeremiah you would.
His breathing evened out (he hadn't even realized it'd started speeding up) and he cast his gaze back up at the sky, watching the stars twinkle as the planet turned, the cosmic dust coming into view high above him. He sighed, smiling up at the sky, when suddenly a pale, round face obstructed his view, white tendrils of hair framing her flushed cheeks, blue eyes lit up.
"Beautiful night, isn't it?"
"It just got even prettier, if you'll believe it."
She snorted, her head snapping back up—but not before Blaise caught the silly little grin. With one of his own, he sat up, staring up at the season before him.
"Ever the flatterer."
"You love it."
"I don't recall saying that."
Blaise smirked, bringing up a knee. He rested his elbow on it, holding his head in his hand. "You don't need to."
A delicate hand came up, blocking her mouth as she let out a little laugh.
Armour clanking, Blaise stood up, blinking briefly when he realized she was a lot farther down than he remembered.
"Why are you so small?"
She snorted. "I believe it's because you have gotten tall. Er. Still. I'm going to throw out my neck at the rate you're going, Blaise—er, your highness."
"No need for that! It's just us, Winter."
"Oh! Good! In that case!" She shifted, adopting her regal stance, folding her hands in front of her dress. "Blaise. What on Earth are you doing laying in the fields this far east and this late at night?!"
"Waiting for you, actually."
The Season flushed, her posture relaxing. "Oh! That's sweet. Unless I'm in trouble, of course." She paused for a moment, curiosity overtaking the flush. "You'd sneak out for me?"
"I mean, if you asked, probably! But I'm not sneaking around. It's, uh, the quarterly check in."
"Already?"
"Well, it has been three months since the last one."
"Good heavens. Time certainly flies, doesn't it?"
"It would seem so, but you know, I've never asked. Does he?"
"You know, I'm not quite sure! I've never thought to ask either. Perhaps Mother knows?"
"Maybe. You should ask her."
"I'll forward that to management. Right! Now then! You haven't answered my question. What are you doing laid out in the fields this late at night?"
"Waiting for you."
She blinked, dumbstruck. "You were serious?"
"Well, yeah!" Blaise chuckled. He ran a hand through his hair, sparks trailing behind him as it lit up. He took a moment to admire the way the firelight played on her face. There were angles at play, breaking through the childhood roundness. He wasn't the only one who'd grown, it seemed.
"Blaise? Earth to his highness? You there?"
"Yes! Right." He cleared his throat. "Jeremiah—the tenant who lives here? He had a bit of a concern he brought up earlier today when we rolled into town. Apparently his crops are frosting over every night, and though it melts during the day, he's concerned about the long term exposure effects. He thought it was you doing it. Says you've been stopping by every night?"
"Indeed I have! But not for the reason he thinks. Actually, this is great timing because I have a concern to raise with you."
"Oh?"
"It's about Jeremiah's crops. They're frosting over!"
Blaise snorted. "You don't say?"
She nodded, giggling quietly to herself. "Come along, your highness. I'll show you. Right this way!" And without waiting for him to reply, Winter grabbed his hand and led (dragged) him to the corner of the field Jeremiah had pointed out earlier that day. She pulled him down, the pair squatting in the stalks, staring at the wheat. She let go, keeping her hands above her shoulders and maintaining eye contact. "See how my hands are way up here?"
Blaise nodded.
"Right. Well. Look at the wheat."
Blaise did, and immediately found himself frowning as frost crept over the sheaths, tickling the very tops of the plants and settling in for the night. It stretched on, right through the entirety of the field. He glanced back over at Winter: hands still up; no obvious magical signature showing. He felt the magic in the air around them. Her magical signature was not pulling at the threads.
It wasn't her.
"So that shouldn't be doing that."
"What's worse is it won't listen to me."
"What?"
"Watch."
Winter stood up, the heads of the wheat tickling her elbows. Her hands took on a white glow as she pulled them back, and the frost stayed perfectly comfortable on the spikes of the wheat. She gestured towards it violently, the white glow gone, the most frustrated pout on her face. "See?"
"That's really weird. I thought all frost and snow and wintry stuff listened to you?"
"Ah, but even we seasons have our limits. Sometimes nature takes its course and we let it do so. Mother Nature says that perhaps this is one of those times; perhaps nature is trying to tell us something."
"So why doesn't she just tell you straight up?"
"I think she's using it as a lesson. Anyway, I've started my nightly rounds here every day for the past few weeks, trying to see if I can make the frost go away, but nothing I do seems to work! So I looked closely at the pattern, and though the frost is mirroring the shapes of the wheat, there's a slight little group of curls that look quite similar to the pattern that usually resides within the frost in the Snowy Lands to the North of here."
"But it would only be doing that if the crops were on Northern holdings."
"Precisely. I think the current land holder is committing a spot of encroachment. I haven't had a chance to look further into it, but given the facts..."
"It seems likely the land Jerry's using for this year's harvest is actually in the North and not the East."
"Exactly. And I don't think Jerry knows this! I think the Lord here is trying to keep it on the down low." She squinted for a moment. "Leo? Zeo? Neo! That's the one. Bit of a prick, if I recall correctly."
Blaise snorted. "Checks out. He's always complaining about his holdings when we host court." Blaise rubbed his chin. "If he's trying to gain more land, he'll want to do it quietly and carefully. The royal surveyors are the best at their jobs. It would take quite a bit to trick them."
"Precisely. And! We are fairly close to the border right now! The town beyond here is a hub where denizens from both the North and East meet up, do business, and so on. If you played your pieces right, it could be a fairly easy point to start growing your holdings illicitly. Especially since the North is so sparsely populated."
Blaise continued to rub his chin. "That's a hefty accusation."
"Indeed. But it has merit. If you look at the other half of the field, the one that's closer to his farmstead, the crops there are all fine. Not a single bit of frost on there."
"Hmm. Interesting." Blaise stopped rubbing his chin. "I suppose I should go take a look." He smiled softly at her and held out an arm. "Walk with me?"
Winter blinked up at him in surprise. "Oh! Ah, certainly."
She carefully grabbed his arm, her cool touch frosting the burnished metal of his armour. Careful to weave between the rows (least they accidentally crush the wheat), they made their way over to the other side of the fields, where sure enough, not a smidgen of frost graced the stalks.
"See?"
"Huh. That's...okay. I mean. It's not okay, obviously, but I didn't think "land stealing conspiracy" would be on the list this fast."
"But you expected it?"
"It wouldn't of surprised me. At any rate, I'll have to work on this after the check in." He rubbed his chin again. "And I'll have to figure something out for the short term."
"Perhaps, in the interim, there's something I can do to help? I'm sure one of my sisters can move the wheat consequence free while you get this sorted. This way Jeremiah doesn't have any loss? Lady knows what Neo would do if he knew we were on to him."
Blaise's hand stilled. "Oh? You think your sisters would be able to do that?"
"Oh, please. They have this very strange soft spot for me. They would quite literally do anything for me."
"Even Spring?"
"...sometimes. And if not, I can be, ah, very persuasive."
Blaise laughed. "I believe it. Are you feeling okay?"
"Quite all right. Why do you ask?"
"Your hair is melting."
She flushed, her free hand reaching up and touching her very thawed roots. "Oh! Well. That happens sometimes."
"Oh?"
"Yours is literally on fire. And I've been near you for a good moment now."
"I see," Blaise replied. (He did not, in fact, see).
"I'm sure you do. Now, you don't think it's too late to talk to Jeremiah, do you? I'd like to apologize to him and let him know one of us seasons will be on it post haste. He and his family are probably asleep, though, aren't they?"
"We'll go take a gander. He said he'd been seeing you these past few nights, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was still up."
"Very well." Winter tightened her hold on his arm. "Lead the way."
Seconds after they came into view of the small house, Jeremiah popped out the back door, clicking it shut quietly behind him, candle in his hand. "Your Highness! And Your Snowiness!" Frazzled, he bowed twice, his hair nearly catching fire.
"Oh, no need for formality, really. It's much too late in the night for that. And pardon my intrusion. I hope I didn't wake you?"
"No, of course not your, uh. Season-y-ness."
"Just Winter is fine, please. Don't fret. Sorry for the crop fright. I've touched base with Prince Blaise," she gestured towards him, as though her hand wasn't still looped around his arm. "And we think we've figured out the issue. It's all a little hush hush right now, and we'd both appreciate your discretion."
"Of course. Whatever you need."
"Now! In the interim! About your crops! Unfortunately I cannot control the frost that seems to have made itself cozy in your fields. But! My sisters can control the wheat! I'll talk to them and we'll be by in the next week or so to move the crops over to a portion of land that is not being assailed by frost."
"Oh, well, that sounds nice and all, but the unplanted fields are to remain fallow this year, y'know, to replenish the soil and the. And the like." He scratched the top of his head nervously.
"Oh, I'm familiar with the idea, yes. Of course, my sisters are more well versed in it and my mother is, of course, the expert. We can take care of replenishing the soil just this once while we work on the frosty problem back there."
"Really?"
"Of course! Our duty is to maintain balance and help the people, sir. You are one of those people."
"But I'm just a farmer—"
"Ah, pish posh! You are a denizen of Crystal Springs same as any of us, castes be damned."
Blaise guffawed. Jeremiah blanched.
"Does that work for you, Jeremiah? And would your highness be alright with this arrangement?"
"I believe Jeremiah's fields actually supply the castle, too, so yes, absolutely. This'll give me some time to confer with the King and Queen and see if we can get to the bottom of the land issue."
"Then that's settled! Jeremiah, I will be in touch. You best be off now. It's late and you have kids, do you not?"
"Yes ma'am. Two. Very little, quite rambunctious. Give the wife and I a run for our money some days."
Winter laughed. "Then you best be getting some rest. Worry not." She placed a gentle hand on his forearm. "The Seasons and I will take care of your crop issue, okay?"
He nodded, stifling a yawn. "Yes ma'am."
"And really, just Winter is fine. Now then! Off you go!"
Nodding once more, Jeremiah turned around, letting out a proper yawn as he made his way back inside the house. The pair waited for a moment until the final light glowing in the back of the house went out.
Winter hummed. "That takes care of that, then."
"You are a very impressive woman. Have I ever told you that?"
"Haven't the foggiest," she lied, smiling up at him coyly. "I do apologize for taking charge their, ah, your highness."
"Pfft. Don't! Please. I…it’s nice to not have to be all formal and what have you. Can I escort you anywhere?"
"No, I best be off. I've only just started my rounds, you know! There's a whole half of the globe waiting for me tonight beyond these healing waters."
"Globe?"
"Yes. My job takes me all over it, Blaise."
"Huh. I guess it would, wouldn't it? I just...I never really thought about it, you know?"
Winter watched as Blaise looked thoughtful. Smiling to herself, she let out another little hum, tugging on the arm she still held captive. "Perhaps I can escort you to your lodgings for the night?"
"Oh, no need! But I'd ah, appreciate the fine company on the walk."
"Lead the way, then. And do elaborate, if you please."
"Elaborate? How?"
"You've never thought of the world beyond Crystal Springs? Ever? At all?"
They took the path that Pyros had trodden hours earlier, heading straight into the heart of the town instead of hanging the left to the tall purple tower in the distance, where the windows glowed with light, magic sparking right out the chimney. The Royal Guard patrolled the street, local guards in tow the closer they got to the centre.
"No. Never."
"Not ever?"
"Well...okay, maybe I'm a bit of a liar. I have thought about it. But I've been taught all my life that it's unsafe, y'know? As most of the people are taught. That ordibeings would hunt us for our magic again the moment we left the safety of the Springs. So I try not to think about it, and I try to enjoy the cross-continent trip here every time we're sent out. It's nice to remember that there are places, beautiful places that exist outside the castle walls. To remember why Pyros and I are doing what we're doing."
"And even more beautiful places exist outside the continent! Beyond the oceans and the icebergs. There are a whole different set of stars on the other side of the globe at night! It's amazing. It's beautiful."
"And dangerous."
"Sometimes, yes. But not as bad as it was during the Wild Magic era. Most ordibeings have their own set of beliefs and their own versions of magic; they don't really need ours. Oh, they have stories, of course. But to them, they are simply stories and I'd wager that were we to venture out of Crystal Springs...we'd be okay. I mean, my sisters and I are! So is my Mother, and we're out of the continent nightly practically! And the Legendary Figures, they're all quite all right, the ones who roam about."
"Yeah, but they're Legendary Figures!"
"So?"
"I mean...they have more power at their disposal; they don't need to worry when they go out. But we do. That's why we were brought here, right?"
"So the history books say. But that's the thing, Blaise. It's history. We're very stuck in some ancient ways here, when you think about it, and I know you do."
He was silent as they approached a cozy main street, taverns and inns still lit up for the night, though the music had ebbed and silence had descended.
"Look, Blaise. I go beyond the Springs and I'm not a Legendary Figure."
"But you're a season."
"And technically, so are you, you know. We're the same type of sprite! Seasonal as opposed to elemental."
"I know, but I wouldn't want to step on Summer's toes. I wouldn't be allowed to."
"Says who?"
"Who do you think?"
Winter scoffed. "Ah, they're old. Very stuck in the old ways. Sometimes I think that's a bad thing."
"...Sometimes I think so, too. I mean. Mom and Dad are all about power and they interlink it with safety all the time! And when we're out here, I don't have to think about all that! And Pyros stops thinking about it too and it's kinda nice, you know? I mean, they've been here and in power for thousands of years. To think the world is still the same is...insane!"
Winter laughed. "Tell me something, Blaise. Would you still sneak out for me?"
Blaise blinked. "Oh. Most definitely. Between you and me, your snowiness," he leaned in, close to her ear. "I hate being in the fucking castle all the time."
Winter laughed. "I can't believe the magic let you get away with that!"
"I'm that passionate about it! That's why I love these outings so much! I'm not in the castle and," they came to a stop, Blaise spinning her about as the guards in front of the nicest inn in the sector stood to attention and dutifully looked away. "I get to see lovely people like you."
"Well, maybe you should accompany me out one of these days."
"Out like out out? Like out there?"
Understanding the sudden need for less words, Winter nodded. "Oh yes."
Blaise paused, fighting back a grin. "I think I'd like that. A lot."
"Oh, brilliant!" Clearing her throat as the guards shifted, Winter stepped back. "Thank you for the escort, your highness," she said, dutifully casting her eyes down and curtsying most graciously.
"Of course, your snowiness. It was my pleasure," he replied, placing his arm across his chest and bowing back. "Be safe tonight."
"Of course. And good luck on your travels."
Nodding at one another (and biting back grins something fierce), Blaise watched as Winter turned on her heel expertly, fully thawed tresses bouncing about. She nodded most graciously to the royal guards (the few that had been giving the Prince a moment of privacy as best as they could clanking as they stood to attention, scrambling to salute) and disappeared on the spot, the smattering of snowflakes left in her wake drifting down his way.
He gazed goofily up the street, maybe for a bit too long, only coming to his senses when one of the guards beside him cleared his throat. Straightening up, he waved (the guards happily standing down) and walked up the path and into the inn as regal and posh as possible, only dropping the act and grinning to himself when he closed the door to the inn shut behind him.
"And at what time do you think this is? And looking like THAT?!?!? And WHAT is IN your ARMOUR?!!"
Blaise frowned in quite the over-dramatically grotesque manner, one eye squinting in distaste as he plucked a tiny bit of wheat out of his couter. He held it up in front of him, Marv an angry purple blur behind it.
"It would appear to be wheat, Marv."
"And why is there wheat in your armour?"
"Because I was doing my do diligence and investigating a wheat problem in the fields."
"Hmm." Folding a napkin, he got up gracefully, surveying the prince with an unamused look. "And are you sure you acquired it like that? And not, per chance, tousling around in fields with a certain high ranking season?"
Blaise glowered. His hair burnt taller and hotter. He flicked the wheat away, approaching Marv at his full height. "I would appreciate it, Marvin, if you would refrain from using such crude language when talking about any of the seasons."
"And I would appreciate it if you made it easy to be your steward."
Blaise rolled his eyes, hair dimming. "I'm not the one you should worry about, Marv." He stepped around the drow, heading towards the stairs. "You and I both know that." He paused by Marv's table, grabbing a bun from the small bowl of bread in front of him. "You're not staying up to wait for him, are you?"
"Indeed I am."
Blaise snorted, half chewed bread going flying. "He's not coming back here for the night."
"I beg your pardon?"
"He'll spend the night with the castor."
"No he will not."
"Yes he will." Blaise spun on his heel, clanking up the first two steps. "So you MIGHT AS WELL get some sleep. You're so grouchy when you don't."
Marv's undignified yell gave Blaise great satisfaction as he bounded up the stairs, polishing off his pilfered bread and ducking into his room (one of two heavily guarded doors). He chuckled to himself, throwing off the armour (the burnished metal casually floating itself into a neat pile) and the layers underneath until he was left in nothing but his briefs. He slid into bed, arms behind his head as he thought of the world outside the healing waters and well beyond the floating icebergs.
---
The morning dawned bright and early, as it was wont to do in the early fall. Outside, the grass was crisp; a fresh layer of frost slowly melting as the sunlight hit it.
Up and at 'em and fully armoured once more, Blaise bounded down the stairs, barely able to withhold his snort when he saw Marv snoring at his table, head on his arms. Carefully, he pried a napkin out from under the bread basket, conjuring a pencil and writing something down very fast. Satisfied, the pencil disappeared and Blaise crumpled the napkin in his fist, sliding up to the counter top and clearing his throat.
Marv shot up. "Gah! Your Highness!"
"Morning Marv! I guess he didn't come in last night, huh?"
Marv cleared his throat, stepping up and righting his table. With a wave of his hand, his robes straightened themselves out, his hair looking less bedhead-y and nice and neat. "I am…unsure."
"Mm. That checks out. Ah! Tilly!"
The barkeep let out a meep, rushing to curtsy. "How can I help ya, your highness?"
"I was just wondering if there was a washroom I could use down here." He glanced over at Marv surreptitiously. The Drow was distracted, talking to Kira, the chief of security. With a flick of his wrist, Blaise slid the crumpled napkin towards the barkeep, glancing down at it and back up at her.
Catching his gaze, she reached out and uncrumpled the napkin. Her eyes skimmed the words quickly, brightening as she finished reading the hastily scrawled message. "Ah! Of course! It's just behind the staircase! There's a hallway. Make a right, and it'll be right on the end."
Blaise grinned. "Thank you, Tilly."
She bobbed her head. "Of course!"
Chuckling to himself, Blaise grabbed the crumpled up napkin, crushing it up in his palm and reducing it to ash. He followed her instructions, grinning when he turned the corner and sure enough, there was the back exit, door wide open as staff brought in the groceries for the day.
Excusing himself politely, Blaise scrambled around the staff, ignoring the scrambly bobs as he looked up and down the street for any sign of his counterpart.
There was none.
Avoiding the front of the inn, Blaise put out his hair, blending in with the crowd as best as he could and reaching out with his mind.
He was close. Just coming down the path and turning towards the main street.
Blaise rushed past the taverns, turning up the street (briefly skidding), relieved when he saw Pyros coming down the path. His gaze was intensely focused on an object in his palm as he headed down the way, looking very, very dishevelled.
Hey. Hey. Hey. Look up.
Blinking, Pyros looked up, making eye contact with Blaise, who was grinning maniacally and waving boisterously, in Pyros's very humble opinion.
I didn't realize you could wave as loud as you could speak.
Blaise laughed, bounding up the street and coming to a stop beside Pyros, turning on his heel and falling into step. I am a sprite of many talents! He smirked, his hair lighting up with a soft whoosh. We have a problem.
We do?
Well, you do. Blaise cleared his throat, pointing to the bottom corner of his own mouth. "You got something there. What is that, Jam? Jelly? Ketchup? Dye?!"
"I've yet to wash up. Figured I could do that in whatever rooms Marvin secured for us and have a nice breakfast before getting down to business."
"Not to be confused with the business you have obviously already gotten down to."
Pyros glanced down at his outfit. It was...wrinkled; dishevelled. The, uh...dye (lip paint. It was 100% lip paint) was smudged on his face AND his hands, he realized, and Lady only knew where else! His outfit was covered in magical residue and glitter that seemed very not magical. "Okay, and? What's your point?"
"Marv knows you didn't come in last night. Your royal hinny is screwed and not in the fun way I imagine it to have been last night."
"I would appreciate it if you didn't imagine my royal hinny in any capacity whatsoever."
Blaise snickered. "It's not literal."
"Good."
"Thankfully! My royal hinny is very clever and very suave and snuck out to intercept you which thank the LADY I did because voila!" Blaise snapped his fingers, and Pyros was suddenly looking as pristine as he would've had he gone home and done his morning toilette before emerging for the day. "All fixed up, and now it'll simply look like we are walking back to town together, having gotten up to none shenanigans whatsoever last night."
Pyros flashed him a wry smile. "Really? None shenanigans? From you?"
"None whatsoever."
"That'll be the day. And oh, there he is. Right on time."
"Brace yourself. I already had my lecture. He's had all night to think of yours."
"WHERE have you BEEN!" Marv marched down the street, three guards behind him, Kira at his side. "I turn around for one second and you disappear—"
"Very unwise, Blaise."
"And YOU! I leave you alone for a night and you DON'T come HOME?!"
"I was busy!"
"Yeah you were. Grrrr—oof."
Blaise rubbed his stomach as Pyros retracted his arm, standing at full height and looking down his nose at Marvin. "As you were well aware, Marvin, we had a sticky—" (a pause for Blaise's snort and another whack, on the chest this time) "—situation to find a solution for. And since Blaise requested it to be non-lethal, it required a bit of an…intense magical research session."
"You could've sent a letter! A scry, a fireball literally ANYTHING! You are a prince! The both of you! If something happened to either of you that would be very very bad all around."
"Ah, please. We can handle ourselves."
"And if anyone did anything to Blaise short of killing him, they'd give him right back. Ten minutes, tops."
"They'd give you back in five."
"Is that a challenge?!"
"NO! There will be NO challenges of this particular sort!" Marvin pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am just looking out for the two of you. And if the both of you MUST mess about in the evenings at least elicit some decorum and for Goddess's sake let me know."
"Mess about?" Pyros raised an eyebrow at Blaise. "None shenanigans, eh?"
"None whatsoever."
"Hm. How's Winter doing?"
"Very well, thanks."
"Lady help me. At LEAST you are presentable, Prince Pyros."
Blaise flashed him a smug look. Pyros sighed. Thank you.
His twin grinned. Anytime.
"Feel better, Marv?"
"There is nothing short of an overnight stay at the springs that could make me feel better."
"We'll add it to the itinerary for you. So! Pyros! How'd it go?"
"Very well! We managed to isolate the sticky bit of the pygmys and extract it from them, reducing them to harmless little fluffy. Things. As for the sticky secretion, Prisma had the delightful idea to isolate it and use it to make a new kind of adhesive. She wants to test it first, so we only have the one at present.” He lifted the object in his hand—an unmarked tube. Also slightly covered in glitter. “She'll be joining us shortly to do just that."
"Where is she now?"
"Placing little sticky absorbing devices across town. This way, should the pygmys start secreting once more, the devices will use the magic we imbued within them to take it right off and store it."
"And the pygmys?"
"Can now bounce around no more harmful than, say, a tumbleweed or Blaise when you wake him up too late in the day."
"Hey!"
"He's right, your highness."
Blaise made an undignified sort of moaning and or groaning sound in his throat. "Whose side are you on here, Marv?"
"Mine. And it is a lonely, fruitless side, let me tell you. Now then. We've much to discuss and itinerary changes to make so, let's go eat and then go about our day. I shall have a setting put out for this castor of yours, Prince Pyros."
"Very good."
"Shall I set one for her snowiness, Prince Blaise?"
Now Pyros grumbled while Blaise held back a snort. "No, no. That, uh, won't be necessary. She'll be coming by at a later date to touch base with the tenant whose fields are frosting over. She's, uh, not joining us for breakfast." He scratched the back of his neck, sheepish.
Pyros smirked. “You’d like that though, wouldn’t you.”
“Immensely.”
“Shame we can’t switch.”
“Alas! She is a season, not a talented castor.”
Deciding against chiding the pair of them for their silly little banter, Marvin pressed his fingertips together. "Hmm. Very well. Come along, you two."
Clapping, Marvin set back towards the inn, hands behind his back, head held high. The detachment of guards that had surrounded him now surrounded the Twin Princes, ushering them forward while preventing them from backtracking or making any other attempts to escape and or engage in tomfoolery, as it were. After all, they had a schedule to keep. Rounds to continue on and issues to address. Being behind simply would not do. Not for Blaise, not for Pyros, not for Marv or any other members of the royal detail that'd been sent out to keep the peace, as it were.
---
Days later the Twin Princes found themselves once more shut into their carriage, both boys looking out the window with similar, thoughtful frowns. The carriage rumbled on, rain splattering the rooftop as the sun shone brightly.
Thoughts in faraway places well beyond the sun showery path before them, Blaise let out a melancholy sigh.
"Hmm. That's not good. You're usually rearing to get to the South."
"I do love me a good beach."
Pyros smiled to himself, glancing back out the window. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
He could ask mentally. Didn't even need to ask; could just pop on into his head and figure it out for himself. It's not like he blocked his end of their connection; neither of them did.
But it was a lot more fun to outright ask.
"Hey, Blaise."
"Mm."
"What're you thinking about?"
Success! His twin smiled through the hand pressed onto his face, the severity dropping and revealing the more carefree brother he was used to. "Land disputes. You?"
"Pygmys."
"Pygmys?"
"Pygmys. See, here's the thing." He leaned forward in his seat, hands folded between his knees. "The word pygmy is just that! A word! It usually denotes something smaller than the regular. And they used it to describe those small fluffy things."
"What would you call them instead?"
"Hmm. Don't know. Fluffs? Fuzzes? Fuzzies? Fuzzballs? Furries? Furbies?"
"I don't like that last one."
"Nor do I. Furby sounds like it could be a curse word. Like, a good and proper curse you'd cast, not a cuss word." He paused briefly, taping his nose. "Now, here's the thing. If the word pygmy denotes a smaller version of something, it begs a question."
Blaise dropped his hand from his face, giving Pyros his full, undivided attention. "Go on."
"If these pygmys are called that by the locals simply because they are small, is there a bigger pygmy? A giant pygmy to rule them all? A fuzzball the size of both of us?"
Blaise laughed, a right and proper loud laugh. "Maybe that's why they're so sticky? Maybe it's because they stick together and make a big ol' clump of fuzzball and THAT'S the one fuzzball to rule them all!"
Pyros lit up. "Ou! I didn't even think of that possibility! Now, IF that's the case, where is it? Where does it reside? What does it want? And should we find it?"
"Or will it find us..."
Now Pyros found himself snorting, the pair of them laughing up a storm to out storm the sun shower outside.
The carriage rumbled on, bringing the princes closer and closer to their next stop, their laughter echoing about the entourage. Guards perked up; Blaise's horse whinnied happily, trotting up to the window and trying his best to shove his little head into the carriage with them.
On the covered seat of the carriage, Kira chuckled, elbowing Marvin gently.
"You gotta admit. It's nice to see the two of them getting along and in such high spirits."
"Kira, if I admit that, I am sure it will be my downfall. I have a reputation to keep, you know. Lady only knows what'll happen if I destroy it. All my credit!"
She laughed. "Of course, of course. Goddess forbid."
She looked away, smiling to herself, because even Marvin could not hide the slight smile their jovial (and, quite frankly, very unbecoming of their station, if you asked him) hooting and hollering brought to his face.
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sugarcandydoll · 2 months ago
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there was such a handsome guy in train today ♡🙊💕
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pollyna · 2 years ago
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They have been together for maybe five years, and Bradley has lived on and off with them for the last two, when Mav presents both of them with presents on a random day of a random week. The paper is full of mini jets, and Bradley giggles all the way to the living room because uncle uncle, uncle Mav have a present for us! Mav explains to both of them, while Bradley destroys the package and Ice is metodically opening it, that they deserve to have a leather jacket too, like his, and maybe they (Ice) could put on all the patches from the squadron they work with or just go around all wearing it? Bradley smiles with all his teeth, except for two in the front row, before hugging Mav, yes yes we're going to wear it together! It's going to be fun, Uncle Mav! Then Ice's arms are hugging both of them, kissing his head, and yeah, can't promise I'm going to wear it every day like someone I know, but it's beautiful, thank you, babe.
(A year later, and this time on Mav's birthday, Bradley gives him two presents. The second one is a patch with a pretty colourful design and the code BKM-03 embroidered under it. Because Bradshaw-Kazansky-Mitchell! So you can take us with you when you're not around. We made it! Uncle Ice said the most important part of it was all the love we put into making it. We used all the love we have for you so you won't feel alone ever, ever, again! And Mav had found himself hugging Baby Goose and Ice as strongly as he could to hide the tears because that's the most beautiful present someone could give me.)
((After the mission, when Bradley sits in front of the two people who raised him, he can't help but notice that the patch he and Ice made a lifetime ago is still there. This time he's the one who hugs his dads and stays there, between them, trying not to cry and not letting them go.))
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