#sort of a continuation of that one time i drew the moss as a statue

[love-3-crimes]

Day 7: Moss

...but everything you see isn't everything that is

-

The Storyteller, [unknown] Forest, year unknown, 9 ft height, granite

"The statue found in the [unintelligible] forest had been overtaken by Moss when it was found" said the lead archaeologist Dr.[unintelligible]. "Despite this, we can still read some of the engravings on its platform. All we know so far is that the person depicted on the statue could have been some type of writer. A storyteller."...

[writingpaperghost]

The Power of Our Bonds Will Persevere! (Chapter 3)

Chapter 3: In Order to Protect the Promise We Made That Day and Our Future

There’s monsters to fight and investigating to be done.

This one's a bit long. And we're about halfway, now.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28124817/chapters/69331905

It seemed as though the pair of monsters, the statue and the dragon, were waiting for something. They hadn’t been there long, sure, but they hadn’t done anything. The statue monster stood still, almost like it wasn’t alive at all. The dragon monster was less, still, eyes closed, simply wrapped around the legs of the statue monster. For a moment, Asahi wondered if they were even still alive.

Her brothers arrived first, she was following just behind, but the moment they appeared, the dragon’s eyes opening. It watched them for a moment, examining them, then uncurled itself and stretched, with what might have been a small yawn. It had a sort of staring contest with Rosso and Blu, as though it might be sizing them up, determining whether they were threats or not.

Then, after a moment, the statue monster stirs, dark eyes lighting up. It doesn’t move, but even the change in its eyes are enough to show that it was paying some attention to what was occurring now. It’s not entirely clear what it is, exactly, or what it might do, but if anything, that only put the three Ultras more on guard.

Finally, after another few moments of tense silence, a voice rang out, the statues eyes flashing with every sound, “A surprise…” It said, the dragon monster’s tail began to swing back and forth, “Three unexpected guests… You are no monsters, as well.”

“Hey!” Blu calls out, “Are you two the ones causing the monsters to go crazy or whatever?”

The statue tilts its head, “Perhaps we are…” Its hand at its side shifted, raising to rest on what might be the handle of a weapon. It’s hard to tell what it is, though. The statue continues to speak, “Though our actions should be of no concern to you.”

Rosso is the one to talk next, “And why not?” He asked, placing a hand on his hip, “I mean, if you guys are trying to harm the people on this planet, then why shouldn’t we try to stop you.”

“Harm the people of this planet?” The statue echoed, its voice holding a hint of either confusion or amusement, still unmoving. The dragon beside it seemed to be preparing itself, though for what was unclear, though it was most likely a fight. The statue began to speak more, “And what of us? We could very well be of this planet as well… You’d have no way of knowing.”

While the statue certainly had a point, to some extent, there was no denying that it and the dragon that was with it seemed to pose a threat to everyone else. “It doesn’t matter if you’re from this planet or not,” Grigio called out, moving closer to her brothers, who were acting as a barrier between her and the monsters, “If you’re going to harm others on this planet then we’ll stop you.”

With what might have been a chuckle, the statue countered, “And what makes that your duty? You most certainly are not of this planet.” It seemed about ready to pull its weapon, going so far to begin to do so, before stopping, returning the weapon to where it belonged, and turning its attention to the dragon. The dragon looked up, meeting eyes with the statue, and smiled what was certainly a toothy smile. The statue added, “Yes… I believe you have little say in what occurs here. The actions of those of this planet are none of your concern and it would do you best to leave now. Drabestia?”

At what must have been its name, the dragon, Drabestia, turned its attention to Rosso, Blu, and Grigio and shifted its position. The statue slowly moved a few steps away, giving the dragon room to unfurl its wings, which had vines and foliage wrapped around them.

“I think,” Grigio began, “We’re going to have to fight them.”

Blu nodded, “Probably,” The two moved into a fighting stance in front of her, while she moved back a bit, summoning her bow.

Drabestia roared, then with strong flaps of its wings, took off into the sky. Rosso and Blue wasted no time in following, though Grigio hesitated a bit. She wasn’t quite so good at fighting while flying – it was mostly the lack of any sort of solid ground for her to use to keep herself… orientated – and it made it hard to keep track of what was going on, because it could be occurring anywhere around you. She was half tempted just to let her brothers deal with it – they were, after all, better at fighting in the sky than she was – but at the same time, with this statue guy still on the ground and this overall just bad feeling she had, she really didn’t want to do that.

Choice made, Grigio jumps into the sky, gripping her bow ever so slightly tighter. In the small amount of time that she’d stayed on her ground, her brothers had already begun to fight Drabestia. She found them just in time to see Blu counter the dragon’s flame breath with a jet of water. Taking a deep breath, she aimed her bow, preparing an arrow in her hand. Just aim at the dragon and fire, it should be easy.

Unfortunately for her, by the time she’d created the arrow, the dragon had spun itself around, using its tail to knock Rosso and Blu away from it. Then, wrapping its wings in slightly, it changed from simply staying in one place to flying away, closer to her. That… wasn’t good. Bows get a bit less effective the closer your target gets, but she was so close to firing.

The arrow still flew out of her hands, the bow launching it towards Drabestia. It landed on the front shoulder of one of the legs, but seemed to do little. As a matter of fact, Drabestia didn’t even seem to notice that it had just been shot by an arrow. It just continued flying toward her.

Shit. See, this is the sort of situation that tended to slip her up while flying. In theory, she knows all she has to do is move out of the way, but for some reason, it seems all the harder when she doesn’t have some sort of grounding. Still, she does her best to move, barely dodging Drabestia’s open jaw – filled with sharp teeth – and claws – equally as sharp as the teeth.

Though Drabestia flew past her, it was quick to make adjustments to its flight path, coming right back up towards Grigio. At this point, though, Rosso and Blu had wasted no time in joining her, pushing her behind them. There’s a twinge of annoyance at how her brothers did that, but she chose to ignore it, for now. There were more important things to worry about.

Blu flies forward, punching the dragon in its side. In retaliation, the monster turns itself and claws at him, managing to get a few slashes in before Rosso kicks him away. The two continued to fight the monster while Grigio took a moment to collect herself. Flight or not, now was not the time to get flustered, she had to stay focused. She attempts to shoot another arrow, but Drabestia and her brothers are moving around too much and she didn’t want to risk shooting Rosso or Blu.

With a groan, she abandoned her bow, instead choosing to summon her sword. It really wasn’t her preferred method, but it would have to do. She thought for a moment, while she had the time, about summoning one of her Kaijus. Most couldn’t fly, but she had Bemstar and Litra, which both could. They could prove to be helpful… But her brothers weren’t used to fighting with them, she was worried that might cause some confusion. She shook her head, deciding that for now, at least, it was best she didn’t, as much as she might have wanted to.

She dodges out of the way of some errant flames from Drabestia and returned her attention to the fight. Rosso and Blu both kicked Drabestia, causing the dragon to get pushed into some clouds. There was a pause, everyone waiting for the beast to emerge. Nothing. No roar, no wing flaps.

Nothing.

Blu scratched the top of his head, “Did we beat it?”

Somehow, Grigio didn’t really buy that. She looked around, realizing that the bank of clouds Drabestia had been knocked into was a lot bigger than she initially thought. Really, it could be anywhere in there.

“I don’t think so…” Rosso responded, also looking around for the monster, “It must be hiding in the clouds.”

“Wouldn’t we notice it?”

Grigio sees something, movement, in the clouds. It’s off to the side, just out of her brothers’ view. But she was farther away, she had a bigger view, she could see what they couldn’t. Springing into motion, she called to her brothers and thrusted her sword out, hoping she correctly figured out where the monster would be. She can feel that she made contact with something, and that something was moving, not really stopped by her attack.

Drabestia roars, veering off course and ends up flying right past her brothers. It heads towards the ground, for one reason or another. The three of them follow, Rosso and Blu arrive first since they were closer, though their Color Timers began to flash when they neared the ground. They took attacks from the monster, so they unsurprisingly had less time left than Grigio. Drabestia is now at the feet of the statue, an annoyed look on its face. One wing is folded in, but the other is held out, like the way one might hold out a particularly offending item.

It’s clear, now, why it had to land. There’s a rather large gash in the wing, which clearly made flight hard, if not impossible. Grigio must have made it with her sword when she stabbed at Drabestia.

The statue took a moment to examine the damage done to Drabestia, “They damaged your wing?” It inquired, “Hmm… I see.”

Blu glanced at Rosso and the two nod. Quickly, they send out a beam attack at Drabestia, most likely hoping to finish it now that it had been forced to the ground. In a movement far too fast for what the statue appeared to be, it drew its weapon and destroyed the attacks in one movement. Now, in the statue’s hand, it was clear that it wielded a staff of sorts, though it too was covered in moss.

“It is clear to me what must occur now,” The statue mused, though its tone still seemed to hold no emotion, “It is time to do what we did when we first awoke on this planet.”

With what might have been a grand sweep of its hands, were the movement not so stiff, the statue declared, “The inhabitants of this Earth shall fight to decide who shall live. And this time,” There seemed to be a pointed sort of look, though it was unclear who it was aimed at, “We shall not let a ‘compromise’ come to pass.”

There’s some sort of flash, it’s not clear what exactly happened, and the two are gone. “What?” Blu startled, “Where’d they go?”

But Grigio couldn’t help but echo the statue’s words, “A compromise?” Whatever could that mean? And what did it mean when it said that the inhabitants would have to fight to decide who would live? And what was that about that happening when they first woke up?

If Grigio recalled correctly, Kaijus had always been on Earth, but around a few hundred years ago, they woke up, resulting in the way Earth was now. That was what was known as “The Awakening”. But there was something else, wasn’t there? Something she’d read about in one of Tomomi’s books and meant to ask him about but never did. But just what was it? She couldn’t precisely recall, it had been months ago, after all.

Rosso sighed, seemingly unaware of Grigio’s ponderings, “Let’s just… Go back to that base, yeah?” He stretched slightly, “We’ll figure out what to do from there.” He has the right idea, really, there’s not much to be gained from sticking around, especially with Rosso and Blu’s timers flashing.

Blu and Grigio nod and the three siblings return to their human selves.

---

“So, do we even know what that guy was talking about?” Isami inquired, watching idly as footage of the conversation with the statue and the fight with Drabestia played on screen. “That statue guy, I mean,” He clarified, though it was likely everyone knew what he meant.

Katsumi watched the screen for a moment, before saying, “They said something about doing what they did when they first woke up?” He tilted his head, “That they’d make everyone on Earth fight each other to decide who’d live and that they wouldn’t allow for a ‘compromise’ like before.”

“We heard,” Fuyuko frowned, crossing her arms, “As a matter of fact, it seems like nearly everyone in the country did, if not the entire world.”

“It does kinda pertain to them,” Rin notes with a tug of their scarf and a neutral tone, “Although I’m more curious about the implication this has all happened before.”

It’s then Tomomi speaks up, walking over with a book. Asahi thinks she recognizes it as one of the books in his apartment, but she’d not entirely sure. “It’s not so much an implication as a fact,” He says, opening the book to a page with a scrap of paper between the pages. “It was an event known as ‘The Terrible Fights’. A couple decades after The Awakening, when Kaijus awoke on this planet, there were many reported instances of Kaijus suddenly attacking humans and human settlements, as well as humans suddenly trying to attack the monsters.”

“They didn’t always do that here?” Inquired Isami, a certain light of curiosity in his eyes.

Tomomi shook his head, “No, when they first appeared, they were peaceful, much like they are now. At that time, though, no one had ever really heard of a Kaiju attack. So the suddenness of them all starting to occur caused quite the commotion, on top of the attacks themselves.” He flips the page of the books, “While it’s rather recent history, a lot of the details aren’t entirely clear. No one ever learned why the attacks started happening. But we do know how things came to be like they are today, to some extent, at least. Those involved in the matter didn’t really give a lot of specifics.”

“What happened?” Asahi prompted.

“A group of humans came together and somehow managed to speak with the monsters to calm them down.” He explained, adjusting his glasses with his free hand, “Like I said, we don’t really know the details and those humans should be long gone…”

“I feel like there’s going to be a but in there.” Jun noted in a sour tone, arms crossed.

After seemingly debating with himself for a moment, Tomomi tentatively spoke, “Well, there’s something of a rumor… Or something like that. Anyway, some people think that one of those humans wasn’t actually human, that they were an Alien and that’s how they were able to communicate with the monster.” Quickly, he added, “Although, that’s just a rumor and there really isn’t any evidence to support it.”

There’s silence, “So what you’re getting at,” Asahi began, “Is that these monsters might be the cause of The Terrible Fights before and are trying to start them again?”

“Yeah,” Tomomi nods, closing the book, “Or something like that.”

It would certainly make sense, at least given what the statue had said. Not that knowing that did them a lot of good, all it gave them was an idea of what the statue was planning. Regardless, they needed a bit more to go off of if they were going to try to do anything other than to wait for the statue and Drabestia to show up again.

Fuyuko stands, “Well, now all we have to do is figure out what to do next,” She seems contemplative, drumming her fingers on her desk, “We don’t have a lot to work with, which makes it hard to determine a course of action.”

Though he may have been quiet the entire time Tomomi was relaying information, Matsuoka chose now to speak up, “While there isn’t much we can do,” He said, nodding slightly, “I believe there are a few things we’ll need to do. One, we’ll need to look into the connection between those two monsters and The Terrible Fights. Two, we’ll need to look into the possibility that one of those humans wasn’t actually and may still be alive. Three, we mustn’t forget what brought Asahi and her brothers here, even if they are able to help us with these two Kaijus.”

“In that regard,” Isami begins, “There isn’t much we can do until Kenshin shows himself, we have very little idea what his plan is.”

Asahi pipes in, “Yeah, all we really know is that he wants revenge on at least Rosso and Blu, if not Grigio as well.”

That statement sits there for a moment, before Tomomi sighs, “We’ll need to do something about those two monsters before they can actually cause damage. Directly or indirectly,” He glances out the window, “But if monsters start rampaging, we’re not going to be able to stop them all at once, even with the help of Ultras.”

“So then,” Rin said, their expression a bit more serious, “We can’t waste time in trying to stop them.”

Tomomi nods and Matsuoka begins to speak again, “I think we’ve figured out enough of a course of action, then. Tomomi, you’ll look into the two monsters’ involvement in the past,” He looked at Katsumi, Isami, and Asahi, “I’d like you three to look into this possible Alien, since you’re not known as a member of KPaRS, other Aliens may be more willing to talk to you. Fuyuko, keep an eye on the going ons in the city, we need to be able to know if humans begin to become agitated. Hisoka will be keeping an eye on known Kaiju, Rin and Jun will stay here in case there’s a Kaiju attack. Chikako and Katsuhito, along with the rest of their team, will be on standby for any needed emergency repairs.”

Everyone nods and sets about to do their job. Tomomi left the room to do his research and Fuyuko also left, though for different reasons. Asahi smiles and calls for her brothers to follow as she begins to leave the room. The best place to look for Aliens is among Aliens. There’s a few places in the city that are essentially Alien neighborhoods, those would probably be the best place to start. She relays such to her brothers, glad to be able to do something with them to help.

They were out and about the city, now, a bit outside of the first of the neighborhoods. If they were lucky, they might find some lead or another, though it was pretty unlikely on the first try. “Well, it’s great you have an idea where to start looking, Asahi,” Isami began, tentatively.

“You didn’t get too hurt during that fight, right?” Katsumi finished, “If you did it’s fine to stay behind…”

Asahi stops in her tracks, turning to look at her brothers, her lips arching ever so slightly into just the smallest form of a frown. “I’m fine.” She said, “You two are the ones who were actually getting hit.”

It hadn’t avoided her notice how quickly they’re Color Timers had began to flash when fighting Drabestia, at least compared to hers. Nor had she missed how they seemed to be a bit sore – and she imagined were it not for their sleeves and shirts, she’d be able to see plenty of bruises. She could actually see a few on Isami, as his shirt had a bit lower neck than Katsumi’s button up. She understood their concern, but as far as she could tell, they should be more concerned about each other, or her about them.

“We’re fine, a little sore but we’ve had worse.” Katsumi responded, though she knew he was fudging the truth. Yes, they had been through worse, but they were certainly more than “a little sore”. They were trying to make themselves seem better off than they were.

With just a slightly irritated sigh, Asahi fought to keep her ever so small frown from growing any bigger. “Sure, a little sore. But you don’t need to worry about me too much, I’ve fought monsters on my own before, or with my Kaijus, I can take a few hits, if I have to.” She didn’t miss how both Katsumi’s and Isami’s lips formed into a frown. “I’m an Ultra too, after all. You don’t always have to worry about me.”

“Well, I mean, yeah, but…” Isami had a bit of a habit of stumbling his words a little when he was getting a bit worked up. It usually happened when he and Katsumi got into a disagreement about how to do something. That made it odd to hear directed at Asahi. “You’re our younger sister, of course we’re going to worry.”

Deep breathes, Asahi had to remind herself, they’re allowed to worry. Though their worry wasn’t really what she had a problem with. What often happened was that they wouldn’t let her help much, because they were so worried about her getting hurt. But she was just as capable as them, just in different ways. Not to mention she had her Kaijus. She just had to figure out how to explain that to them, which was always harder than knowing what she the point she wanted to get across was.

“That’s fine,” She said, steeling herself, “But please, let me help. With these two monsters, with Kenshin. I’ve protected this Earth before so let me do it again. I know you worry but that doesn’t mean you can try to keep me from helping.”

Katsumi tilted his head, “Asahi, fights are dangerous and you don’t have a lot of skills that are good for actual fights.” Asahi’s expression most certainly held a not so small frown, now. “I know you’ve protected this planet before, but maybe you should just leave it to us, this time.”

“Yet you let me help so we can become Grube?” She asked, clenching her fists. “You let me help when the two of you are still doing most of the work.”

Katsumi reached a hand out as Isami tried to begin, “That’s not-“

With a groan, Asahi cut him off, “That’s not how it is? Sure it’s not.” She turned around, knowing this wasn’t a conversation she was going to be able to continue. It seemed like her brothers weren’t moving on the matter. “How about we stop wasting time? You two want me to stay safe? You can go and ask around.”

There’s silence for a moment, she thinks she can hear Isami begin to speak again, only for Katsumi to whisper something to him. They whisper back and forth for a bit, before she hears their footsteps going away from her. At least some work would be gotten done.

Asahi plopped down on a bench and leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

“Are you, uh… Are you alright?” A voice asks, sounding like it belongs to a child. Opening her eyes, Asahi is greeted with a young, but concerned face. It belonged to a  girl, probably no older than twelve – Asahi was still bad at guessing children’s ages – with brown hair held in pigtails, glasses over her dark brown eyes. She wore a button up shirt with a little bow around her neck and a red hoodie, with a pattern on the hood – the same pattern seemed to be present on her skirt as well. “You, uh, well, I couldn’t help but notice, that you, uh, had a bit of an argument there.”

The girl sat next to her on the bench, peering at her. The girl examined her, waiting patiently for her to respond. Asahi took a moment to think. She didn’t know this girl, but she felt as though she needed someone to talk to right now. It wasn’t like she hadn’t spoke to people she didn’t know when things were bugging her before. A stranger showing concern wasn’t necessarily trustworthy, but not knowing them didn’t make them untrustworthy, even if it was hard to tell.

After that moment of thought, Asahi sighed, “My brothers and I had a bit of an argument, that’s all.”

Beside her, the girl frowned, “I see… I don’t know much about siblings, I don’t have any of my own… But I have some friends who are siblings… They argue sometimes too…” The frown deepens, “I’m sorry. I’m trying to be helpful, but I’m afraid emotions like this aren’t exactly my strong suit. I’m more of a science kind of girl, rather than feelings.”

“Oh! Don’t worry about it!” Asahi waved her hands, “You don’t have to worry about me. Arguments are normal and my problems aren’t a big deal for you.”

The girl takes a moment to think about Asahi’s words. She looks around, as if in thought, “I see… Oh, um… You can call me Starry,” She said, looking over again, “And I have to ask, what brings you around here? This isn’t exactly a place that humans tend to be. Unless you’re not human…?”

It takes Asahi a moment to process Starry’s words. Frankly, she hadn’t really thought about anyone questioning why she was here, really, she just figured everyone would either keep to themselves or assume she was an Alien. With a name like Starry, she could assume that this girl was an Alien herself – it would certainly explain her presence here. But Asahi still had to figure out what exactly to tell Starry. Or maybe she could just be honest, or something.

“My brothers and I, we’re looking into some rumors about stuff that happened at the end of The Terrible Fights,” The truth it is, it seemed. “So we thought this would be a good place to, well, ask around.”

Starry is contemplative, for a moment, tilting her head as she hummed in thought. “I see,” She muttered, then her eyes brightened, ever so slightly, as a smile formed on her face, “I’ve also been doing a bit of research into The Terrible Fights. Perhaps I can help you?”

That was… a surprise. “Oh, well, uh, I don’t know…” Words stumbled out of Asahi’s mouth at the unexpected offer. “I, uh, I suppose? We’re trying to figure out how exactly the humans and monsters were able to reach a peace.”

“Well, while I don’t know that, I think I can point you in the direction of someone who might,” With cheer, Starry supplied her information, “You see, I happen to know of the existence of an Alien who lives in a town not too far from here. He lived through The Terrible Fights, from what I’ve heard. Maybe he can help you?”

Asahi contemplated Starry’s words, it was curious that she knew this and Asahi wondered how. Still, she found herself replying, “It might,” Starry beams, seeming inordinately happy at providing such a small amount of information. Asahi continues, “I guess we’d have to look into it.”

“Happy to help!” Starry chirps, then pulls a cellphone out of her pocket. The screen lights up and she frowns, “Ah, sorry, I have to go. My friends will worry if I don’t get back soon.”

Standing up, she runs off with little else said, leaving Asahi to watch her leave. Asahi can’t help but wonder how accurate the information she’d been given was. It came from a child, after all, though that has never really mattered before. She figured she wait and see if her brothers found anything, then she could relay the information to them.

With a sigh, she tilts her head back again. Now she just had to wait, hoping that they’d be able to find a way to deal with everything. Then there was Kenshin – who knows what he’ll try to do. If they’re lucky, it’ll wait until these two monsters were dealt with.

[allhalloweve]

Chapter 4: The Wildland

Chapter 4 of Axe and Sword is up! Read it here on AO3!

If Lily ever saw that fucking wizard again, she was going to kill him. “How’re you doing, Dorcas?” she shouted over the roar of quaking trees and the rumble of the earth.

“I’ve been better!” Dorcas clung tighter to her branch as the trunk groaned beneath her; with each lurching roll, the arrows in her quiver came closer to spilling out.

“James?”

James’ hand slipped on the flat bark and he scrambled to wrap both arms around the tree. “Ask me again when this stops!”

“If we make it out of here, you and I are going to have a discussion about insulting magic lands.” Lily’s heart leaped as the wood beneath her hands gave a threatening creak and she silently cursed her decision to follow a gang of idiots halfway across the world. Maybe if she had just minded her own business and stayed home, she wouldn’t be in this situation.

A strange rustling noise grew steadily louder and she craned her neck to look further into the jungle, where the canopy swayed in the earthquake. “I think something’s coming!” Dorcas warned.

“I’d rather face shaking ground than being eaten alive,” James said as be began to slide down his perch.

“Agreed,” Lily and Dorcas chorused. Alright, Lils, step-by-step. Imagine you’re at home. Trees in Bailey were easy to climb—their gnarled knots and sturdy branches were ideal for long afternoons spent climbing toward the sky with little fear of falling. These trees, on the other hand, had sand-smoothed bark and made her hands itch when she touched them for some unknown reason.

She made it halfway down before her foot missed a spot and her palms, covered in fear sweat, skidded into open air. The cracked ground was hard as stone when she smacked down and her breath disappeared in a single huff, making her vision turn black for a moment. “Lily!” A blurry form appeared moments later, and two warm hands dragged her into a sitting position. “Are you hurt?”

“Dorcas,” she wheezed as soon as the first wisps of air entered her lungs. “Fine. ‘m okay.”

“Good. Come on!” Lily stumbled upright and kept a tight hold on Dorcas’ wrist as the three of them sprinted deeper into the forest, away from the sunbaked wasteland they had first been dropped in. It was, unsurprisingly, quite difficult to run when the earth made a point of trying to turn itself inside out every few seconds; Lily was sure her shoulders would be bruised from bumping into anything within three feet of her.

The rustling turned into screeching and they poured on speed, but they weren’t fast enough to outrun the things coming in behind them. Lily had heard stories of the monsters of the Wildland: massive boars with metal tusks, sand worms the size of rivers, and flesh-eating deer were some of the frequent characters in fairy tales. She had never believed them before.

Dorcas let go of her hand and spun around, nocking an arrow and firing into the trees in record time. There was an earsplitting scream and a huge bird dropped from the tangle of vines, its razor-sharp beak open wide enough that Lily could see the tiny teeth inside. “We can’t outrun them! James, give me a hand!”

James was already in motion and a second bird fell moments later with a red-feathered arrow embedded in its neck. Lily drew her axe—the wave of rippling vines overhead became interspersed with feathers in a rainbow of colors and she was deafened by a cacophony of shrieking bird calls.

The first dive-bomber was met with a shorter, blue-fletched arrow and Dorcas turned her attention from shooting into the group to picking them off one by one as they appeared. “We can’t do this forever,” James yelled. “Sooner or later, we’ll run out of arrows, and I don’t know where we’ll get new ones.”

And, miraculously, the ground stilled. The monsters flew back into the canopy and disappeared with a soft ­shush of leaves. The only trace of their existence were five dead birds sprawled around the glade. “James, what did you do?” Lily asked cautiously, keeping her axe ready just in case.

“I don’t know.”

“It’s really quiet,” Dorcas said. “I don’t like it.”

“Do we…keep walking?”

“Hang on a second.” James lowered his bow and crept toward the corpse of a falcon-like creature, reaching out on hand to grasp his arrow by the hilt. With a sharp tug, it came free, and the bird disintegrated into a patch of… “Is that moss?”

“What the fuck?” Lily murmured. “That’s not normal.”

“These are gryphons,” Dorcas said as she followed James’ lead and collected her arrows. “I’ve seen them flying above the border once or twice, but they never came close enough to be an issue and they never travel in packs.”

“So the Wildland is out to get us?” Lily rolled her eyes. “I wonder whose fault that is.”

James sighed deeply. “Look, it was a simple observation and I wasn’t exactly expecting the whole place to take offense.”

“It’s magic! That’s what magic places do!”

“How would you know?”

“How would you?”

“Will both of you give it a rest?” Dorcas interrupted in exasperation. “At least now we know what to expect. We should get started on looking for the weapon if we want to have any hope of catching up to the others.”

“Dumbledore gave us a map, right?” Lily set the rucksack down and loosened the drawstring. Carefully, she poured the contents out onto the ground and began sifting through. “Looks like we have…an empty waterskin, a doll, a square of fabric, and a broken compass. Oh, here it is.”

Honestly, the other items in the bag should have prepared Lily for disappointment. “What?” James asked as her face fell.

“There’s no names or anything, just lines.” She laid it out for all of them to see and weighed down the corners with the other useless objects.

“I’m going to kill that wizard,” Dorcas muttered as she squinted at the map. “Which way is north?”

“No clue.”

James ran a hand through his hair. “Y’know, I thought forgetting a map was bad, but this…”

“So we have a useless map for a monster-infested place none of us have actually been to, and the fate of the world rests on our ability to find a single cryptic spot. That’s not difficult at all,” Dorcas said sarcastically. “Didn’t Dumbledore mention a compass?”

“He said Riddle’s weakness was in the compass rose,” Lily recalled.

“Is there something hidden in the one he gave us?” Without waiting for an answer, Dorcas grabbed the dented bronze compass from the pile of junk and began feeling along the edges. “There aren’t any latches or seams. Do we have to crack it open?”

James shrugged and grabbed one of his arrows. “Can’t get more broken than it already is.”

“No!” Lily snatched the compass away from them. “We’re not just going to shatter it! It has to have some sort of purpose.”

“Does it though?”

“A wizard gave it to us, right? That means it’s either helpful or cursed and I’m not ready to die from some sort of booby trap you two set off by prying it apart with an arrowhead.” Lily opened the top and watched the needle spin. “I think we should try and follow it.”

“If it’s cursed, we’ll be walking straight into a trap,” James pointed out.

“I think we have worse things to worry about than traps,” Dorcas said. “There are a lot of stories about what lives in here and I’m not keen on getting killed by any of those. Let’s find some water and a safe place to plan before we make any big decisions.”

They set off deeper into the forest, keeping the edge of the woods in sight in case the gryphons came back. Lily’s knees ached from running through an earthquake and she hoped a shelter showed itself soon. The sun was astonishingly bright even through the trees and it was difficult to tell how much time had passed with the glare; Lily’s best guess was that it had been two hours since they left Dumbledore’s house, but her knowledge of magic was limited to the events of the past twenty-four hours.

More than once, she caught herself looking over her shoulder for the other four members of their party. It was especially strange seeing James without Sirius, and she realized a few minutes into their journey that she had never actually seen James without his living shadow.

During one such time, he caught her eye. “What?”

“Sorry.” She shook her head. “It’s just weird seeing you without Sirius.”

James’ face fell. “Oh, Yeah.”

“What’s the story with that, anyway?”

“What story?”

“He told me he came to live with you when he was sixteen, but most people don’t get adopted by royalty on a whim. He got all weird when I asked where he lived before.”

“Then he probably doesn’t want you to know,” James said, sounding strangely annoyed.

“He doesn’t like talking about it.” Dorcas shared an uneasy glance with James and indignation sparked in Lily’s chest.

“Oh, so you know what happened, too?” When they both stayed quiet, her frustration grew. “I get that I’m not some high-born royal but that doesn’t mean you can just ignore me.”

“This has nothing to do with your status.” James stopped in his tracks. “For your information, I’m not royalty.”

“You’re a prince!”

“No, I’m not! My dad is an elected official for the mainland because the last one’s kid didn’t want to continue,” he snapped. “And I don’t plan on following in his footsteps.”

Next to Lily, Dorcas’ eyes widened, and James looked like he regretted his words. “What?”

“I thought you knew.”

“No,” she said, clearly upset. “James, I thought you wanted that.”

“I’m missing something,” Lily said, holding up her hands for a time-out. “What’s happening? You can’t just give up a monarchy, can you?”

“Like I said, the Eastern Coast doesn’t have a monarchy,” James sighed. “Each of the islands, including the mainland, elects a representative when the previous one steps down and their heir decides not to take their place. My dad was elected the year before I was born and I…I don’t want to do that.”

Dorcas frowned. “Did one of the others say something to you? Hang on, have you even told your parents yet?”

James shook his head. “You guys are my best friends; this has nothing to do with you. And no, not yet.”

“How long have you been thinking about this?” He was quiet. “James.”

“A couple years.”

From the look on Dorcas’ face, he may as well have smacked her between the eyes. “But you—at the councils—does Sirius know?”

Lily didn’t think it was possible, but James’ shoulders shrank in further. “I was planning on telling him after we got home. My parents would be so disappointed in me if they knew.”

Dorcas’ anger softened. “No, they wouldn’t.”

“They’ve been preparing me my whole life and I’m throwing it away.”

“What’s your plan?” Lily asked at last.

James’ eyes flickered over to her and his face flushed. “My granddad builds and sails ships for all the islands. I want to work with him.”

“That doesn’t sound like throwing your life away to me. You’d be really, really good at that,” Dorcas said. “James, your parents are good people. They’ll love you no matter what and I’m sure once you explain, they’ll understand.”

“Maybe,” he muttered. “After what happened to Sirius—”

“Your parents are not Sirius’ parents.” Dorcas’ voice was firm. “You know that.”

“What’s the deal with Sirius’ parents?” Right back where we started, Lily thought.

James hesitated for a moment, then started walking again. “Sirius used to be part of a super wealthy and ambitious family that wanted him to continue their bid for power. They were involved in some really nasty stuff, a lot of corruption and such, and he told them he wanted to no part in it. They disowned him within a week and shipped him off to the Eastern Coast.”

“It was a huge deal among the upper-class families,” Dorcas added, her face stormy. “People called it the scandal of the century.”

“It happened at a big party, too.” James frowned. “He still won’t tell me the whole story.”

“Shit.” Lily didn’t know how to respond to that. “I don’t think he believed me when I told him he was a good person. That explains why.”

“I swear he’s vainer than a cockatiel sometimes, but his mother took it upon herself to make sure his self-esteem scrapes the floor. Horrible woman.”

“If I ever meet her, I’ll kick her in the kneecaps for him,” Lily said, earning herself a bark of laughter from James.

“I’d pay to see that,” Dorcas snorted. “I met her once when I was a kid, and once was enough.”

“What’s her name?” Lily asked.

James bit his lip. “Walburga Black.”

Lily’s stomach dropped to her feet.

--

Lily was still thinking about their conversation as they set up camp in an abandoned cave lit by dim crystals that dripped condensation onto the ground. Walburga and Orion Black were notorious for exploiting workers and getting away with it due to their wealth; Lily had heard traders and woodcutters cursing their names in taverns more times than she could count.

But Sirius? Protective, reckless Sirius who made a point of cheering up the group whenever they needed it? It was hard to believe he was raised in a family like that. I suppose that’s the point, she thought as she spread her cloak over the damp moss and laid down. He’s not like then and they hate him for it.

Sixteen years old. When Lily was sixteen, her father taught her to use the largest saw he owned; at the same age, possibly the same time, Sirius had been thrown out of his family and sent across the continent. I still had a fucking bedtime, she realized just as she was about to doze off. The urge to hit Walburga Black with a chair increased.

Needless to say, Lily didn’t sleep well that night. She kept watch until sunrise, when James and Dorcas woke up and they agreed to follow the compass’ needle on the off-chance Dumbledore was actually trying to help them in his secretive way.

“I miss them,” James said out of the blue around a mouthful of ham, cheese, and bread when they stopped by an unnaturally large tree for lunch. “I miss them a lot.”

“Me, too,” Lily admitted. It was silly, but the sandwiches made her heart ache with homesickness. “The sooner we find the mysterious weakness, the sooner we can get back.”

“You know we’re friends when you don’t even have to clarify who you’re talking about,” Dorcas smiled weakly. The conversation dulled after that until they began walking again. “So, Lily, tell us about Bailey.”

“What about it?”

Dorcas shrugged. “Anything. The rest of us have known each other for years, but I don’t know much about you yet, beyond the fact that you can crush us all at board games.”

Lily laughed. “Well, it’s a pretty small place. I think you can see most of the town out the window of my mum and dad’s house.”

“You said your dad’s a merchant, right?” James asked, walking backwards to face them.

“A woodsman,” she corrected. “He travels to discuss lumber prices, though, which was why I was in Silvalith. He was supposed to go, but the mill called him in for extra shifts.” A sudden thought struck her and she slowed down. “If he had gone, he’d probably be dead right now. Huh.”

“Are you alright?” Concern laced James’ voice. “Lily?”

“What? Oh, yeah, I’m—I’m okay. It’s just weird to think about.”

“What do you do for fun?” Dorcas quickly changed the subject. “When you’re not on life-or-death quests with a bunch of strangers, of course.”

“I don’t think any of you count as strangers anymore,” she said with a smile. “I climbed trees a lot when I was little and went on long walks. The woods are so different for each season and in winter, the snow is perfect for playing in. All the neighborhood kids used to get together and build forts for snowball fights.”

“I wish we got snow,” James mused.

“Frystmark is hoarding it,” Dorcas joked. “We should get Remus to ship some to us in the winter.”

“You don’t get snow?” Lily supposed she should have known that, but it seemed impossible. Winter was for hot cider, snowmen, and fuzzy socks, not sunshine.

“No,” Dorcas said. “There’s a running joke that Hisanon is where the sun goes when it’s nighttime in other places. We take it from you all since you don’t appreciate it, but that means we don’t have real seasons.”

“We have seasons back home.” James tilted his head slightly as he thought. “No snow, but there’s a lot of wind and rain off the water. Springtime is the best.”

“I love autumn,” Lily said. “It’s strange not being home to see the leaves change this year.”

“Hopefully we’ll be home before winter sets in,” Dorcas said. She paused for a moment. “I forget what day it is, actually.”

“Oh, fuck, Sirius and I were just talking about this.” James scrunched his nose up and counted softly under his breath, frowned, and counted again. “It’s been seven days since the attack.”

“What?”

“I call bullshit,” Lily said immediately. “No way.”

“We spent one night in Hemgard, one in the next town, two with your mum, one with Dumbledore, and one in that cave.” James held up his fingers. “Six nights, seven days.”

“It feels like a month,” Dorcas said. Lily nodded in agreement. “Too much has happened in too little time. We need to keep it to one disaster per day, alright?”

In the distance—but not nearly far enough away in Lily’s opinion—something boomed. “You had to jinx it,” James sighed. “Trees again?”

“Gryphons, probably.”

“Let’s run first and discuss later,” Lily suggested, keeping her eyes steadily in the direction the noise had come from. It sounded like heavy footsteps and she really didn’t want to know what kind of creature was big enough to do that. “Go!”

They took off at a sprint, keeping in a close group with their weapons at the ready. She could hear the galloping footsteps growing closer; it was almost as if a herd of deer were all running at the exact same time. It’s the flesh-eating deer, her terrified brain supplied. All the stories are true.

“Holy fuck!” James yelped as he looked over his shoulder. Lily glanced backward and saw a bristly hilltop charging through the underbrush at full speed—no, not a hill. A boar.

“Don’t climb the trees!” she shouted. “We can’t outrun it, but it’ll knock down anything we can climb!”

“Those aren’t normal tusks!” Dorcas’ voice cracked with fear. “Is that metal?”

“Let’s not find out!”

“If we can’t outrun it and we definitely can’t beat it in a fight, what the hell are we supposed to do?” James nearly tripped over a large root and Lily’s heart stuttered in her throat. She couldn’t bear to lose any of them, and not just because of the promise she made Sirius. All six of those wild, chaotic, wonderful people were her friends now, and she would keep them safe if it was the last thing she did.

Come on, come on, there has to be something we can use, she thought desperately as she scanned the jungle. Her chest and legs burned from running and she could hear the others panting heavily. Finally, she saw it. “Over there!”

“What?” Dorcas shrieked.

“Would you rather get gored?”

“We’ll die either way!”

“It’s less of a guarantee here, now jump!” Rather than waiting for an answer, Lily shoved her axe into its place, grabbed her hand, and vaulted over the edge of the ravine.

Things got a little hazy after that. The initial drop was short, maybe four feet, before they hit a claylike outcropping that cracked beneath their combined weight and sent them skidding down a steep slope of pebbles, dust, and prickly plants. She lost her hold on Dorcas, but she could hear two different voices alternating between panicked yelling and grunts of pain when they hit a rough patch. The slope came to a sudden end and Lily braced herself for the fall—she hit the rushing water below with a splash, and then everything went dark.

Being underwater was a strange experience. It was quiet, save for the low rumble of the source waterfall that sent her tumbling through the current like a smooth stone. Her senses were completely overwhelmed—her ears popped, her vision was murky, and the only thing she felt was cold. The tightness in her chest snapped her out of her shock and she struggled to the surface, breaking through with a gasp.

“James! Dorcas!” she called frantically. Lily had waded in ponds and the lazy stream by her house, but she wasn’t the strongest swimmer. To be honest, she had not thought there would be water at the base of the hill.

James surfaced with a spluttering cough, saw her, looked around, then immediately ducked under the water again. She bobbed further down the river and hoped with everything in her heart that her half-baked plan hadn’t accidentally killed two of her friends.

There was a splash behind her and she turned as quickly as she could, only to see James and Dorcas struggling against the current. “Head for the bank!” James yelled, leaning back and kicking his feet. He was holding Dorcas tight to his chest; she looked terrified. “Lily, hurry!”

Lily paddled as hard as she could until she reached a tangle of grass and used it to haul herself out of the river, where she collapsed on her stomach. James splayed on his back on the dry earth and tried to catch his breath while Dorcas coughed up water. “I can’t swim,” she managed, glaring at Lily.

“Sorry. Didn’t think there would be water.”

James’ head lolled to the side and he squinted at her. “You jumped over a cliff not knowing what was below it?”

“In my defense, there was a fucking huge boar with metal tusks chasing us down.”

Dorcas’ coughing turned into giggles, then full-blown laughter; Lily and James followed suit until they were all slightly hysterical with joy and relief. “We just did that,” she gasped. “Let’s never do it again, alright?”

“Deal,” Lily and James said in unison.

“Our stuff must be soaked,” Lily groaned, peeling the bag off her back. She knelt and emptied the contents of the rucksack onto the grass, only to see they were completely dry. “Or…not.”

“Woah.” James scooted closer. “You were underwater, right?”

In lieu of an answer, Lily gestured at her soaked clothing and dripping hair. “Well, he is a wizard,” Dorcas said. “Making a waterproof bag would not be the craziest thing he did.”

“That’s true. Where do we go from here?”

Lily spread the map out again, using river rocks to hold the edges down. “This doesn’t make any more sense than it did yesterday.”

“Hang on.” Dorcas bent over the map and traced the thick lines, then looked around them. “Yes, it does. Does this look familiar to you?”

Lily looked at where she was pointing, then glanced around the clearing. The wobbly shape on the map was the exact same as the waterfall in the distance. “Oh.”

“Which means this…” Dorcas traced down the squiggle and tapped the page. “Is about where we are.”

“So where are we supposed to go?”

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait.” James poked Dorcas on the shoulder. “It’s ‘in the compass rose’, right? Four corners. Four countries.”

Dorcas’ eyes widened. “You don’t think…”

Lily scanned the map until she saw an intersection. “That’s where the borders meet, isn’t it?”

“The Middle Kingdom.” James touched one section, then moved clockwise. “Marajis. The Wildland. Silvalith. Four countries that meet at one point.”

“That’s where we need to go,” Lily breathed. “I’m so glad you two are on my team.”

“It’s not far, come on!” James and Dorcas helped her stuff Dumbledore’s items back in the rucksack and they hurried away from the river; Lily could already feel the sun’s heat drying her clothes as they hiked through the tangled plants.

The landscape grew more and more desolate as they drew closer to their destination. The earth, which had been mossy in their cave and drier than a desert outside of the forest, was the same color and texture as slate. The twisting plants were blacker than charcoal and just as brittle—it even smelled dusty. Dead. Leeched of all life. If a shadow had a scent, this was it.

The ground dipped as they neared the center; everything around it had been blasted smooth and shiny by some enormous force, and in the middle of the shallow pit laid a rusty dagger. It didn’t look special, and if Lily didn’t know better she would have dismissed it as a useless relic. “There it is,” she said, pointing to the blade.

James picked his way around broken stones and thorny plants. “Will it fit in the bag?”

“I don’t think you should touch it with your bare hands,” Dorcas said. “Your track record with magic things so far has not been great.”

“It was one comment,” James grumbled, though he did refrain from grabbing the dagger. “That doesn’t count as a track record.”

“Still.” Dorcas stepped behind Lily and reached into the bag, then emerged with the piece of fabric. “This should work.”

Carefully, James reached down with the cloth and wrapped King Riddle’s weakness up.

As soon as the dagger left its place, the ground began to shake and a mighty roar grew around them. “Really?” James yelled as he clambered back up to them and shoved the package in Lily’s bag. “Not this again.”

“We should aim for Hisanon!” Dorcas shouted over the howling. “We’ll find help there and it's safer than the Middle Kingdom!”

Neither Lily nor James was particularly inclined to argue, so they followed Dorcas’ lead, stumbling over debris and the gale force winds. The forest teemed with life, but they didn’t stay to find out what it was and instead crashed through the underbrush until they emerged in a stretch of land similar to the desert they had arrived in.

“That way!” It was too loud to hear Dorcas’ words, but her mouthed message was clear as she pointed toward a long line of grass a few hundred feet away. The tumult grew as they ran; Lily was sure something was following them out of the trees and she focused her attention on the pounding of her feet against the ground instead. Do not look back.

As soon as they tumbled into the grass, the air turned fresh and the trembling ground stilled. Lily took a deep breath of the sweet breeze; she had not realized how stale the air of the Wildland was until it was gone. James whistled lowly next to her when he looked back from where they had come. Above the treetops, gryphons flapped and screamed, and the whole place looked like it was rioting against an unseen enemy.

“I’m glad we got out of there,” he muttered.

Just as Lily was about to agree, the bag grew unbearably hot against her back. She untangled its straps and practically threw it to the ground; it rattled and glowed for a moment, then went quiet. She poked it carefully with her toe. When nothing happened, she untied the drawstring and let the contents spill out.

The dagger steamed as she peeled the covering away and all three of them gasped. The rusted, corroded metal was shiny and pure silver now, revealing an intricate snake with perfect emerald eyes curled up along the hilt and a scale pattern decorating the base of the blade. “It’s pretty, but I still don’t want to touch it,” she said, folding the cloth over it once more.

“Turn around and put your hands up!” a stern voice commanded behind them. Lily whirled around and snatched the bag up for protection as three sturdy horses came trotting toward them. Their riders wore leather armor and had their bows trained on their group. “Dorcas?”

The lead rider removed her helmet and dismounted, slinging her bow over her back. “Hestia!” Dorcas ran forward to nearly tackle her in a hug.

“I thought you were dead,” Hestia said, pulling away to search her for injuries. “The news of the attack on Varghal came in two days ago and we’ve been patrolling the borders ever since. What happened?”

“Silval soldiers and mercenaries raided the city in the middle of the night. They kidnapped the royals and the rest of us barely got away with our lives.” The horses nickered and danced nervously.

“Is Marlene alright?” Hestia asked.

Dorcas paused. “I hope so. We had to split up two days ago.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“She’ll be alright. Is there a place we can talk about this is private?”

Hestia nodded and looked back to Lily and James. “Can either of you ride a horse?” At their nervous expressions, she nodded toward two of her companions. “You can ride with Alice and Emmeline, and Dorcas will ride with me. You should get comfortable; it’s a bit of a trek.”

--

Technically, Lily had been less comfortable before, but horseback riding was getting high up on her list. Emmeline was a talented rider and knew everything about the history of the western lands of Marajis while Alice was chatty the whole way about nothing in particular. It was hilarious seeing James wrap his arms around the waist of a girl who was at least six inches shorter than him while he tried not to slip off the saddle.

“Where are you from?” Emmeline asked as the sun began to set. The high grasses turned a million shades of copper and rose; not for the first time, Lily wished she was an artist so she could remember it forever.

“The Middle Kingdom, up north in a town called Bailey. You?”

Emmeline pointed to a distant shadow of buildings. “That’s my hometown, Fansen.”

“Vance?”

“Fan-sen,” Emmeline repeated. “The ‘n’ is soft.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay, a lot of people get it wrong the first time. What are you doing so far away?”

“It’s…kind of a long story. Are you one of Dorcas’ friends?” Up ahead, Dorcas and Hestia were talking in low voices.

“The four of us learned to ride together,” Emmeline explained with a fond look on her face. “Hestia became captain of the border guard a year ago and specifically requested that Alice and I be on her team. Dorcas was a little busy, as you can imagine.”

“I bet,” Lily laughed. “It must be nice to work with your friends all the time.”

She nodded. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. We miss Dorcas, though.” There was a moment of hesitation before her muscular shoulders sank. “We were so worried about her.”

“We were lucky,” Lily said. If she closed her eyes and concentrated, she could still smell the acrid smoke of the wall in flames, still hear the screams and the howling of wolves. “Really, really lucky.”

“Is it true? Varghal was burned? The rumors are vague at best and—”

“Yeah.” A lump rose unbidden to her throat as she remembered the beautiful frozen lake and the mountain fortress with its people who welcomed them with open arms. “It was the middle of the night, there was no warning. They lit the gate on fire and killed anyone they came across. Remus—he’s the prince who helped us escape—he went back and said there was nothing left.”

Emmeline swore under her breath. “I’m going to assume you three were in the Wildland for a reason, but I’m not going to ask why. I’ll help you find whatever you need.”

“Thank you.”

A sharp whistle pattern drew both their attention and Lily’s jaw dropped. Ahead, a magnificent city rose against darkening sky, lit by a thousand torches that made it glow like a miniature star. “Welcome to Hisanon,” Emmeline said, sounding rather smug. “Capital of Marajis.”

Lily and James were a little wobbly once they dismounted the horses, but Dorcas was steady on her feet and nearly bouncing with joy to be home. Lily could relate—entering Bailey after the chaos of the previous days had been the best feeling in the world. “Hestia and I are going to talk for a while, but I think you two should get some sleep,” she said as they stopped outside a large building.

“You need to rest, too,” Lily protested. “We can do it as a group in the morning.”

Dorcas gave her a gentle punch on the arm. “Princess, remember? I have a lot to get done, but I promise I’ll sleep. We’re safe here, don’t worry.”

“Sleep well, Dorcas, and good luck.” James exhaled slowly as she walked away arm-in-arm with Hestia. “And then there were two.”

“And then there were two,” Lily echoed.

“I really hate splitting up.”

“Same.”

Alice appeared from the stables with Emmeline behind her. “We have some rooms for you to stay in,” she said with a bright smile. “And food.”

Lily had never followed someone faster and probably never would again. The guest rooms were cozy and cool against the rippling heat of the prairie outside and she reveled in the change; now that her clothes were dry, it was easier for her to overheat. Emmeline and Alice kindly refrained from asking them any more questions until they were done shoving bread and meat into their mouths—Lily would never be a picky eater again, holy fuck—and pointed them toward the washroom when they were done.

Rivers were nice and did an amazing job of getting into every nook and cranny, but there was no feeling like scrubbing down in clean, fresh water that wasn’t full of silt. Lily stayed in the tub until the water was cold enough to make her shiver before rebraiding her hair and slipping into loose pajamas with an intricate pattern.

“Where’s James?” she asked when she entered the room again and found Emmeline snacking on some of the dates.

“His room is next door,” she said casually, then did a double take. “It’s okay, you’re safe here. The doors aren’t locked, so you can go wherever.” Lily managed a half-smile and settled back into the cushions. Emmeline’s face softened. “You really aren’t comfortable apart, are you?”

“I haven’t slept alone in over a week,” she confessed, a little embarrassed. “In almost every place we’ve stayed, we’ve been attacked or forced to split up. I’m already worried about the others.”

“Who else was with you?”

“Marlene, her friend Peter, James’ best friend Sirius, and Remus, the prince of Frystmark. They’re somewhere in the Middle Kingdom right now, I think.”

“Dorcas has mentioned Remus before. They’ve been friends for ages.”

Something in Emmeline’s tone prickled at the back of Lily’s neck. “You don’t like him?”

“Never met him.”

A realization dawned on Lily. “You like Dorcas.”

“No,” Emmeline said far too quickly. “She’s engaged.”

“To Marlene, not Remus.”

“I know,” she snapped. “She’s one of my best friends, after all.” Some of the defensiveness melted away. “I’m one of her bridesmaids.”

“I’m sorry.”

Emmeline shrugged. “I’d rather be there as a friend than not at all, you know? The worst part is, Marlene is awesome and they love each other so much. I’m happy for her, but…”

Lily let her trail off before reaching over and gently squeezing her arm. “Hey. You’re an amazing woman and anyone would be lucky to have you.”

“You’ve known me for five hours.”

“And in that time you’ve carried me on your horse back to your city, told me about your hometown, and let me take my first real bath in about three days. Don’t sell yourself short.”

“Thanks, Lily.” Emmeline looked up from her hands to meet Lily’s eyes. “I meant what I said earlier. If there’s anything you need for your quest, I’ll help you get it. Sorry, I should probably let you sleep now.”

“See you tomorrow?”

“You bet.”

Lily smiled and Emmeline headed back into the hallway, leaving one torch burning happily in the holder by the door. The sheets were soft as Lily slipped into the bed, but she stared at the ceiling for an indeterminate amount of time as the sound of the city outside slowly died down. She tried closing her eyes, counting sheep, and about a million different sleeping positions before giving up and padding into the hall.

She knocked on the door to the right of her own as quietly as she could, just in case. It swung open a few moments later; James looked exhausted and wide awake at the same time. “Hey.”

“Hey. Can I come in?” He held the door open further in answer and they sat next to each other at the foot of his bed. “You stopped flirting with me.”

“What?”

“Before we got to Dumbledore’s you were insufferable,” she teased. “But since then, you’ve been awfully normal about it.”

James snorted and flopped onto his back. “You seemed uncomfortable. You’re awesome and strong and funny, and I’d rather be your friend than chase you away by being some gross guy.”

“You’re not gross.” The bed bounced as she stretched out as well. “Awkward, yes. A little over the top, definitely. Mildly annoying at times, but never gross.”

“Thanks?”

“You’re welcome.” A few beats of silence hung between them. “I’m sorry about Sirius.”

James exhaled and his nose whistled a bit—Lily was glad the shadows hid her smile. “I’m more worried about him than anything. It’s my job to protect him.”

“I’m a hundred percent sure he thinks it’s the other way around.”

“That’s just who he is. Sirius finds someone he cares about and goes all in, and it’s gotten him bruised more than once. It’s just…he’s never left me before and I’ve never left him, either. Six years and the only time we’re apart is the councils.”

“Why did he come this year?”

There was a light laugh next to her. “My parents thought he’d keep me in line.” Lily chuckled at the idea and soon they were both muffling their laughter into their hands. “Even though that was doomed to fail, I’m glad he was there.”

“Same here.” Lily bit her lip. “Can I stay here tonight? It feels weird being alone now.”

“Absolutely. I can sleep on the floor if you want?”

“Please don’t, I’d feel bad.”

“Alright.” They both curled up under the covers and for about ten seconds, the only sound was their breathing. “Night, Lils.”

“Night, James.”

--

When Lily awoke, a cool breeze from the window ruffled her hair and the sounds of a bustling city filled the air. James was on the other side of the bed, his arms and legs spread at strange angles in contrast to her own tight ball. She stretched her legs out, relishing in the pop of her back and the heavenly mattress.

“James.” She poked him on the shoulder. “James, wake up.” When he didn’t budge, she shook him lightly. “James.”

He snorted and batted her hand away. “Five more minutes.”

Lily rolled her eyes as she climbed out of the bed and wandered back to her own room. There was no harm in letting him sleep, but they would have to leave at some point today if they wanted to have half a chance of catching up to the rest of the group. Emmeline knocked on her door a few minutes after she had finished washing her face with a neat pile of clothes in her arms.

“They’re clean,” she said as she handed them over. The rough green and brown fabric of Lily’s vest and pants had never been so vibrant, and she saw that someone had stitched the torn edges of her sleeves with a careful hand.

“Thank you.” As silly as it might be, Lily was grateful to have a small piece of home with her in such a new place. She had never been so far from Bailey before. “James is still asleep, sorry.”

Emmeline shrugged. “I can dump some cold water on him if he’s not up in twenty. Dorcas is in the dining hall if you wanted to meet up.”

By the time Lily was done getting dressed, James was awake and rustling around in the room next door. “I’m heading to the dining hall to see Dorcas, d’you want to come with me?”

“One second!” There a thump and a muffled curse and James appeared in the doorway a moment later with his hair sticking up at all angles. “Alright, let’s go.”

The dining hall was not hard to find—a long line of people stood outside the door and Lily and James only made it through because Alice recognized them. At the end of an intricately-carved table, Dorcas was up to her elbows in paperwork. “Morning,” Lily said as she took a seat next to her. “Did you sleep?”

“I did.”

“How long?”

Dorcas glanced up at her and cracked a smile. She looked worried, but rested. “Well enough. Hestia made me go to bed just after ten and I slept until eight, which was nice.”

“Excellent.”

“I was thinking we’d leave around eleven?” Dorcas suggested as she turned back to her work. “That way I can get a bit done here while you two pack our stuff. Emmeline and Alice can help you find good horses.”

James, who had taken the seat on her other side, went ashen. “We’re riding horses again?”

“Unless you’d like to spend eight or nine days walking, yes. Don’t worry, you’ll pick it up easily enough.” Dorcas shuffled through a sheaf of requests and sighed. “I’ll meet you in the stable at ten-fifty, okay?”

“See you then.”

It was surprisingly easy to find horses for Lily and James to ride, even though as they had no prior experience whatsoever. The horses of Hisanon were well-trained and absolutely beautiful—Emmeline shone with pride as she talked about their incredible stamina and speed. “If I had to wager a guess, I’d say you’ll be near Bailey in three days with these horses,” she said, absently stroking a mare’s black-and-white nose as it nuzzled her for treats.

Riding was the real challenge; she nearly fell off several times despite the sturdy saddles and Alice’s close instructions. In the two hours they had to prepare, she learned more than she would ever have dreamed of about proper techniques and how to hold her seat. Her thighs and lower back ached when she finally dismounted to help James load their supplies.

“Good choices,” Dorcas said as she entered the stable and made a beeline for a golden horse at the end of the stable. She murmured to it softly for a moment and it whinnied softly back, nosing at her face and hands for more pats. It followed her out of the stall without any lead and Lily marveled at the ease that settled into Dorcas’ whole posture. “Ready to go?”

“Are you?”

“I’ll be back,” she said, casting a glance over the city outside. “At the end of this, we’ll all go back home and things will be better.”

As they set out northwards at a steady walk, Lily found herself believing that more and more.

[starswornoaths]

Prompt #5: Vault

Sometimes the victors who write history completely obliterate all traces of the opposition, thoroughly and utterly. Sometimes, the fallen still manage to find sanctuary in the shadows.

Or:

Uthengentle Arcbane: Tomb Raider is my new favorite thing

Only the Mad King Theodoric would have a vault, within a vault, within a vault, and then shove all of his transformed and anguished relatives in them to guard the treasure he was hoarding from them in the first place, Uthengentle thought.

While all of the spelunking and fighting was plenty to keep his focus, he found himself scanning the floors and walls of every room, scrutinizing every nook and cranny he could, in the vain hope there was some sign of those who came before the Empire, those who had served— and died— under the broken minded tyrant.

At least a glimmer of the family he lost. Of the loved ones he couldn’t remember. Something to reclaim in their name.

His sister noticed him lagging behind and slowed her pace for him.

“I know you want to look.” She said softly so as not to be overheard by their two compatriots. “Let’s clear it out first so you can do so in safety. There’s some...thing...deeper in that’s making my skin crawl.”

When she shuddered, he took the hint; if the aether she was sensing was even half a stifling as the air surrounding them, he could only imagine what lie at the end of the myriad vaults for them.

Evidently, he couldn’t imagine it; he hadn’t been prepared to fight Theodoric himself.

And really, Uthengentle guessed he should have been expecting Theodoric’s own magic to betray him and make him a beast; the man inspired so little loyalty it wasn’t exactly surprising that even his own aether turned its coat.

Still, there was a strange sort of satisfaction that he was able to finish what his father had started decades prior. He only wished there was some semblance of Rhalgr’s Fist left to tell.

As Serella had promised, they worked their way back through the winding, convoluted tunnels and pathways of the temple while Alphinaud and Arenvald began to tally up what treasure they could of the main vault. 

Now that his focus was more honed on the hunt, Uthengentle’s senses were alight with awareness. Salt clung heavily and scratched in his throat. He wrinkled his nose in displeasure. With every step, he could practically feel trench foot setting in deep from the water that readily seeped in through his greaves. 

Undeterred, he continued hunting within the Temple of Skalla itself. An old, weathered engraving upon the wall obscured by an out of place statue of a griffin caught the corner of his eye as they neared their original entry point. Encouraged, he drew near the statue, hands smoothing along the surface in search of a false stone or some hidden passage of some description.

“Find anythin’, Ellie?” He called over his shoulder.

“Nothing.” Serella shouted back. Though he didn’t look behind him she sounded far away. “Is there something specific you’re looking for?”

“Just...something.” He huffed.

“Helpful.”

“I mean something from...I dunno, Rhalgr’s Fist, or something…” Uthengentle trailed off when his fingers skimmed a stone that gave, ever so slightly, when pressure was applied. 

Encouraged, he pressed harder on the small, oblong stone that made the griffin’s eye. Despite the faint wheeze of stone grinding against stone, it pushed into the statue with an unnatural smoothness— the stone must have just been a facet in a larger mechanism, then. 

As the wall behind the statue began to tremble, Uthengentle exclaimed over his shoulder, “Ellie? Might have something!”

By the time she had traipsed back over to him his hand was alight with mageflame and he was one step into the newly revealed space.

Even with the orb of light dancing over his palm, the dark within this hidden passage was thick. The air was heavy and stale, though the saltiness of the air in the Temple proper softened into a scent akin to moss, damn and clinging to his nose all the same.

“Is that...running water? Do I hear that right?” Serella said, and her ear swiveled and perked up when she leaned deeper into the passage.

Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t hear anything but the distant static of white noise. His attention was pulled, almost as if enchanted, by the markings on the wall— significantly different from those of the Temple of Skalla.

The symbol of Rhalgr, with paintings depicting warriors with fists charged with lightning. 

“Is this...what you were hoping for?” Serella asked softly. 

Uthengentle did not look away from the markings, even as his manic grin threatened to split his face in half. 

“Either Ramuh’s been worshiped here longer than Rhalgr...or we just found one of the havens for the Fist of Rhalgr.” When he glanced down the yawning darkness of the hallway, his grin only widened, and his nerves sparked with the energy of those that had come before. “And I mean to figure that out. Now.”

@sea-wolf-coast-to-coast

[spookyspaghettisundae]

Garden of the Old One

They fled through the forest. A man and a woman, panting and gasping and feeling a fire in their lungs where more air should be flowing. Running as fast as they could, away from the creature that pursued them.

Laelia’s tunic tore and frayed on the branches and brambles as the forest flew by in a blur. Cuts and bruises and scratches now littered her skin. The burning stings of dirt and grit and sweat getting into these tiny injuries paled in comparison to the fear of death that had gripped her very heart.

Severus stumbled forward, several steps ahead of her. He looked over his shoulder. As his gaze swept past Laelia, glimpsing how closely their pursuer followed on their heels, his eyes grew wide and terrified. He screamed. A flock of birds burst into motion, flying away nearby.

His scream abruptly stopped, just like he stopped in his tracks. The sounds from his throat transformed into pained gurgling, accompanied by dark red bubbles emerging from his lips. A small crimson waterfall spilled out of his mouth. Two arrows, the size of javelins, stuck out of his chest. The projectiles had nailed him against one of the trees. One of them pierced his heart. His stare turned hollow in an instant.

Frozen in terror, trembling all over, Laelia had stopped near Severus’ dead body and looked back. A ray of sunlight cut through the canopy of the woods, shedding only enough light to see its shine reflected off of huge, pitch-black eyes staring back at her from a dark spot between the trees. Those beastly eyes were framed by a handsome man’s features and two winding horns that emerged from the curly brown hair upon the monster’s head. Its face was jarring in how statuesque and indifferent it looked in light of the murder it had committed.

Laelia screamed. She tripped over a root but caught herself and continued to run for her life. Her scream went on as she ran farther, daring to look over her shoulder only every now and then. This added to her dread as she saw the humanoid-looking goat with a man’s face towering over Severus’ dead body. Three heads taller than a grown man like Severus, the creature plucked the arrows from the corpse, with chunks of flesh and bone still stuck to their barbed arrowheads and hideous squelching sounds that she believed to hear even through her labored breathing and uncontrollable screaming.

The next time she looked back, the giant heaved the body of her dead husband onto its shoulder like Severus had been rendered into nothing but a bag of meat, and those black eyes stared at her. Hundreds, thousands of paces deeper into the forest, when she looked back once more, they were gone.

Laelia dared not stop running, carrying herself deeper and deeper into the forest. Again and again she looked back but could not see the giant and finally, she slowed down. The sense of loss refused to set in just yet, but she felt lost. The chase and panic had destroyed any shred of a sense of direction she might have once had.

Rather than regaining her bearings in any way, it dawned on her that she had entered a garden of sorts. The canopy of trees opened up, not into a clearing, but an area surrounded by crumbling stone walls, overgrown with clusters of green and red ivy, patches of wild flowers that reminded her of the colors of a rainbow, and a gentle stream that passed through the middle of this artificial clearing. The vegetation here appeared lush and to be not of this world.

This place was the most beautiful thing that Laelia had ever seen in her entire life.

No birds sung, no insects chirped. Aside from the trickling sound of the stream, silence ruled this garden.

She had almost come to a full stop here, with the fear of the monster beginning to clash with the sense of wonder she felt while she beheld this mysterious place. Swiveling till she had turned full circle, the serenity of this garden lulled her into a false sense of security. This dawned on her as her gaze wandered, revealing the outlines of decaying statues of horned humans with the hindquarters and legs of goats, concealed by the thick layers of plants that had overgrown everything here.

Laelia froze completely when she finally realized that one of the figures was more than a mere statue. It breathed. The creature was here. Its black eyes shone with the reflection of daylight on them, staring at her. The goat-man’s face remained as cold and unnerving as the statues it had stood among. The monster disappeared behind one of the garden’s walls. Only the rustling of leaves and soft crack of a breaking branch heralded its next movements, as it crept around, just out of sight.

She held her breath when she felt a gust of warm, damp air hit the skin of her neck and shoulders from behind her. Her heart raced. With a painful slowness, she turned to look at the body of the giant that had come to stand still behind her, close enough for it to reach out and grab her with its gigantic claws. Her eyes wandered upwards, from hooves cushioned in moss on the garden’s grounds, over legs as thick as tree trunks, spotting the bloodstains on its clawed fingers and fur on the back of its hands, all the way up to the very human face—save for the ram-like horns and jet-black eyes.

It exhaled deeply, another gust of warm breath caressing her skin with a tenderness that confused her deeply.

“You may stay,” the creature said without moving its lips. Its voice was as calm as a still pond of water, but voluminous and imposing like thunder in a storm. It came from nowhere but filled every corner of her mind, drowning out all other thoughts.

“You will be safe here, so long as I will it.”

The sheer sound of its voice sent shivers down Laelia’s spine, curdling her blood and chilling her to the bone. Remedying this instantly, the creature placed one of its giant hands on her shoulder. The weight of it felt oppressive, but it exuded a warmth and strength that overwhelmed her senses, tempting her to lower her guard. In her mind and soul, the all too recent memories of seeing Severus die to this monster became clouded. Her lip quivered as she stared into the eyes of the beast. But the creature stared at her chest instead.

The giant reached out with its other hand. The long black claws of its fingertips crept closer to her chest, until they clamped down around the small wooden cross that hung from her neck on simple twine. Like tiny blades of infinite sharpness, those claws snipped the twine apart and drew the cross closer to the face of this Old One.

As it stared at the quaint symbol with an almost forlorn and incredulous air about it, Laelia broke free from the spell and ran again. Never turning or looking behind, she could feel the gaze of the Old One’s black eyes, burning into her back like searing-hot coals.

It remained in its garden, ceasing all pursuit, just looking beyond the crumbling walls as the woman escaped through the forest.

She ran and ran for what seemed like an eternity. Sometimes she stopped and looked back through tear-filled eyes, other times she slowed as she fought against cramps in her legs or pains in her side as she struggled to catch her breath.

Laelia made it out of the forest. Alone.

Long before sunset, an entire mob of the villagers followed her out into the woods. They were armed with scythes, sickles, pitchforks, and torches. Varius had even brought his trusted bow and arrows. Laelia dreaded the thought of how much it was dwarfed by the bow and arrows that the Old One used to kill Severus.

Varius found the trails they had left, then the blood. Then a tuft of human hair with flesh and blood still clinging to it. The garden was nearby. Yet the group never found it.

Where Laelia guided them, the garden had vanished. She swore it must have been so, but doubt began to fill their hearts. Marius accused her of lying and having fabricated this elaborate tale, of having murdered Severus. Other accusations followed.

Laelia had told the truth. They stood where she had stood in the mysterious garden. As daylight waned and twilight slowly blanketed the woods around them, they still argued. Just when Marius pushed Laelia, and she fell into the dirt on the ground, she spotted pitch-black eyes staring back at her. The Old One stood between the trees, at a distance, eerily silent despite its size and stature, lurking in the shadows just out of sight for anybody else. Its facial expression had still never changed, a mask of indifference. She pointed at it with a trembling finger and the mob’s eyes followed her direction.

But the Old One was gone.

—Submitted by Wratts

[petite-neko]

Guardian - 11

Fanfiction: Guardian Story Summary: Somebody had to protect their protector after all. Characters: Zoro, Luffy, Law Pairing: Eventual LawLu Rating: T Warnings: swearing, alcohol use, canon-typical violence A/N: Holy-- Again I’M SORRY. Holiday season plus working like crazy. I’m working on chapter 12 right now too but it might be until next week because I work in three hours before life gets crazy.

.xxx. - Scene jumps

Chapter 1 || Read on Ao3

Chapter 10 || Chapter 11 || Chapter 12

If anybody asked him what his expectations or suspicions of what Zou would be like, Zoro would definitely not have guessed this.

An elephant? Really?

He was relieved to see the Sunny though. They all probably were. (Perhaps not Law, at least in the same respects at them.) Even the Barto Club were in awe of it.

(He almost pitied them, as they have yet to meet the remainder of the crew. Almost.)

He wasn’t surprised to see it empty (they simply didn’t have enough people to split up a third time) but it did miff him a little – their home was unguarded. Ah, he could let it slide. Besides, it was hard enough to board it as it were.

Nothing was damaged or stolen or missing. Zou was difficult to even get to. (And even he would be more than a little unnerved at how close he was to a moving… appendage.)

(That was a leg, right?)

It made him wonder though – Law hadn’t been here before? How long had be been parted from his crew for his revenge? At least Zou would have to be a safe place if he left his crew wait for him here.

And just what was that thing the samurai drew? He pitied those drawings, he really did. At least give it thicker arms if it was going to climb…

.xxx.

It was different, well perhaps more unexpected than anything else. They were on the back of an elephant and yet there were trees. Oh, well, after Skypeia it was hard to surprise him anymore.

However, one look at the state of the city had him worried. Why had it looked as if a great war had ravaged this place?

(Wasn’t this place supposed to be safe? That no log pose could lead one here? They only managed themselves due to the vivre-card honed to Law’s navigator.)

Law looked as perturbed as he. His crew was here too, weren’t they?

(Stupid question, the vivre-card led here)

At the very least, two of them had level heads here.

(While everybody else mourned the drawing. It was a fucking drawing.)

Zoro was not comfortable at all with this ominous atmosphere. And gradually, the others (aside from him and Law) began to notice it as well.

The gates. The smell of gun powder in the air. The status of the terrain. (The rubble, the way the moss was unusually disturbed, the broken trees…)

Just what had happened and where were their crew members?

--What was that?

.xxx.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. If anything, this only made things worse and more confusing.

Minks. Electricity. Corpse?

What the hell was going on?

At the very least, the others had the cook with them…

Meanwhile Usopp and Robin were jumping to hypothetical conclusion. And he had to calm that idiot down. They needed to stop and think and come up with a plan.

And finally Robin had something useful to say.

(Instead of hypothesising that the Minks were cannibals.)

Ah, yes. The vivre-card! It meant that at least Law’s navigator was alive and they knew the location of one ally here who could better explain the situation at hand.

(And by extension, too, if the Heart Pirates were alive they may have allied themselves up with Sanji’s group. Well, if they kept up with the news that is.)

--But what the hell did Law mean by that?

I never expected I’d actually see them again.

Whatever, he’d mull on it later. They had nakama to find.

.xxx.

It became more and more evident that some sort of war tore this country apart – although whether it was due to an outside force or an internal conflict remained to be seen.

Either option was disconcerting.

Thankfully, they at least managed to locate Luffy.

(Although he could do without Usopp’s hysterics.)

.xxx.

While the situation wasn’t what they initially thought it was, it wasn’t much better.

Jack. Kaido. Sanji. Big Mom…

Things were getting more and more complex as they journeyed through this sea, weren’t they? As always it was just one thing after another. Danger here, danger there. But it was one thing back when they left Fishman Island knowing that they eventually come in contact with Big Mom. It seemed like a conflict that would wait. But now? After they declared war on Kaido (as Law put it back on Dressrosa) that eventuality only became reality.

(Taking on two of the Yonko at once? That was sheer suicide.)

Hopefully the issue between Big Mom and Sanji could be solved without bringing up the issue with the candy shop and Fishman Island. They were completely separate things after all.

And Zoro, knowing that things may escalate, would have attempted to convince Luffy otherwise (he had tried while they journeyed to Nekomamushi) but once Luffy decided on something…

Good luck convincing him otherwise.

At least it was Luffy and not say Usopp going. (Not to mention Nami would keep him in line)

.xxx.

Law wasn’t pleased with this news either, and Zoro didn’t blame him. Logically speaking, it was a stupid move, and despite his changes, Law was still very much a logical man.

(Even if he used that logic to realise they were putting others in danger – something he hadn’t done before…)

But, Law, too, knew just how unmovable Luffy was.

(He still found Law’s words to his crew ironically amusing: nothing more than allies? No need to get along with them? Who did this fucker think he was? Mr. I-use-Luffy-as-my-personal-pillow.)

.xxx.

Finally during the party with the night minks were they allowed to really relax. (The greeting with the day timers wasn’t quite relaxing) The stories were told, information given, and some plans put into place. Of course, there still was the issue with the samurai but—

Shit, the samurai!

It didn’t take him long to figure out that he was the only one who realised and that Franky, Brook, and Robin had gone off somewhere. They most certainly were dealing with that problem.

So Zoro relaxed, had some booze, and watched the party. For once, Luffy wasn’t attached to Law’s side. (But that probably was because Law’s crew had dragged him away.)

So Luffy allowed himself to go and investigate all these other new and shiny ‘toys.’

(…Never mind Luffy, they were awfully clingy.)

And Zoro continued to watch the Heart Pirates and honestly it was… unnerving. Well, more uncomfortable. Was Law normally like this with his crew? (It was night and day, really) It only made him wonder.

Didn’t Law push people away so he would exact his revenge? And only after did he…

(Distraction. Distraction. Law couldn’t be distracted… and if one of his crew…)

But what did that even mean? And the way Bepo was sobbing and rubbing his cheek against Law’s…

I never expected I’d actually see them again.

And something clicked – something that Zoro wished that didn’t.

Yes, Law had changed. Yes, Law wasn’t the same person he was a few weeks ago. Yes, Law was somebody he trusted and even liked now. But right now, Zoro was furious with Law.

Oh, it was but an assumption at this moment; however that could be quickly rectified.

Law had separated himself from his crew now, and what perfect timing…

He tried to hide his anger (he knew not how well he hid it) and slid in next to Law.

He needed to know.

Law nodded at him and greeting and Zoro returned it neutrally.

(Did Law truly suspect nothing?)

After a few moments of peaceful silence, Zoro finally broke it.

“Were you planning on leaving Dressrosa alive?”

He saw the flinch.

It all made sense now… Law pushing people away, his shit excuse for a disguise which was more like a beacon. His actions when Luffy rescued him. His crew being here and their ‘safe-point’ from Kaido…

Law had been prepared to sacrifice everything for his revenge. And Zoro never realised it – for the same reason he never realised Doflamingo was Law’s intended target.

(And an allied crew wouldn’t do everything in their power to prevent his death. No they would just keep on going and moving forward to ensure their own survival.)

But Law had allied himself with the most unpredictable crew out there and –

Luffy.

(That. That was why Zoro was so angry. Because Law planning to die… Luffy so torn and hurt…)

“No, I wasn’t.”

Zoro didn’t hesitate. He punched Law. In the face.

Sure, he didn’t punch Law for almost dying, but he most certainly did for Law planning to die.

He told Law not to hurt Luffy after all.