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saigawrites · 2 years ago

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Hey siri, how to take care of an aura jelly blob?

Continuation of my series | part 1 | part 2

Seelie! Genshin characters x Platonic! Gn! Reader

Sumeru men edition

Tags : fluff, crack, scenarios

Warnings : cursing, mentions of animal attack

Summary : you took home a strange creature, that looked nothing like anything from your world. So, you try to take care and somehow live with this sentient balloon.

You didn't know what had happened at all. You didn't know how and why you took home an intellectual blob with pretty colors. But, right now there is no time asking questions, as this flying circle thing has been squeaking for about 30 minutes, trying to explain you something. You came up with an idea in your mind, but for a moment thought it would be impossible. But, who knows? Maybe this creature actually has an intelligence and can write what they wanna say on a notebook?

Grabbing a empty notebook and a pencil from your workspace table, you open it and give the pencil to the creature. Shockingly, it holds it with tiny arms, and levitating themselves closer to the paper, they start to scribble something.

Wanderer ♥︎

"Filthy humanoid creature! I am the unnamed wanderer from teyvat! I know nothing about the surrounding environment around me. Tell me, where am I, so I can figure out a way to return to my homeland. And don't you dare to take advantage of my current state! I am powerful beyond your understanding, even if I'm not in my original form."

Okay, that's kinda freaky. Why is an aura balloon acting all supreme now?

When you read what he wrote, an "really?" expression set on your face. That's probably why he zapped you when you took him out of your bag.

As much as you know, there isn't a place called "teyvat" in any part of the globe. So, this thing is from another one. Great. You somehow bringed an alien into your house.

But at least, some of your questions were answered.

You found a bit funny that a floating circle with cat ears and tail was deliberately trying to boss around, though you didn't wanna get electrocuted again, so you simply followed whatever demands this alien thing could have.

Oh, his demands were BIG. No sleeping past 6 AM, doing intense research on the topic of multidimensional lapping, and long explanations about literally everything your world can offer you.

Well, you are glad that you don't have to feed him or watch after him.

That last part was a lie, as this seemingly harmless boss companion of yours was dangerously curious, and happened to cause trouble even if he was as soft as jelly.

Yeah, that time he wanted to see what type of clothes do your humans wear, he shaked that closet a little too much, as it almost fell on you.

You learned that he is surprisingly very strong after that, he even helped you put the heavy wood rectangle back in place.

Or that time you both were taking a walk in the forest, and he came too close to an aggressive tank with antlers, a 6 feet tall moose, making him react violently to you.

Gladly, the moose couldn't come any closer as your blue-purple friend somehow casted a heavy gust of wind, strong enough to push the animal away.

Your angry little jelly blob rushed to your side after that, afraid of you damaging yourself in any way. After scanning your face for any injuries and finding none, the cat blob made sure to not to stray away from you far.

Kaveh ♡

"Thank you, kind-hearted humanoid! I was so scared when I woke up in that place. Your rescue will be forever remembered by me. I am Kaveh, the architect of the sumeru city! It is an honour to be acquainted with such a peculiar creature like you! Please, help me find a way for me to get back to my planet."

First off, did he mention sumeru? The ancient city that existed centuries ago? Second off, did he call you peculiar? These balls be wildin

The warm-yellow bunny eared balloon floated around you excitedly, waiting for your response. You wanted to pet him and slap him into the void at the same time.

You got his vibe just right in your first interaction. The jelly ball acted all cute and adorable, but the clinginess of his made you progress on the aggression part in the cuteness-aggression feeling way more.

Seriously, this piss blob's ignoring of your personal space is on another level. The amount of times you had to shove him away from nuzzling all over your face and hair is overwhelming.

In his eyes, you are a majestic architectural masterpiece. He takes notes how your eyes and ears are on the same level, how your brows are exactly perfect centimeters away from your eyes. He loves your nose structure, he often stares at it to much, gaining a questioning look from you.

He is just like that with literally everything else in your apartment. He takes notes of the proportions of some objects, and in his seelie mind he finds ways to project your modern structures into his own.

Other than disturbing your piece he likes to look out the window, stare down at all of the other buildings and examine them with extreme focus.

Sometimes he even tries to make a sketch with his itty bitty hands, but fails miserably and comes crying to you, burying himself in your arms and making you pet his smooth body.

Al-haitam ♥︎

"I am Al-haitam, and I come from another world, as you probably already have guessed from our appearance differences. I thank you for taking me into a safe environment, may the archons bless your kind-soul. I ask you to fulfill my another wish, help me return back."

Who are archons? Are they some kind of deitys? Gods perhaps? You truly don't know.

His calm and reserved behavior matched his talking style. He kinda reminded you of the mystical tree, his colors and a leaf like antenna confirmed your statement further.

That's probably why you would burst out laughing whenever the green aura circle would act all smart, reading books and watching educational videos on youtube with you.

Though, after laughing your ass off, you would always think of his behavior as cute in a way. So much that you would have to hold your hands in place and resist the urge to just squeeze the life out of him.

Sometimes you couldn't hold it tough, and give in to your desires, smiling and giggling as you nuzzle this jello orb body of his.

Fighting back and eventually winning, he would aggressively bring your communication notebook and write down that your relationship is purely professional and you are disturbing his necessary research.

Making a ridicilously serious face and nodding repeatedly you would leave him alone for some time, only to come back again to lay on him and fight in the process.

Eventually he would just give up and go with the flow of your playfulness, seeing as he got exhausted of reading multiple books already.

And when you would get tired, you both would just lay there, napping peacefully as he nuzzles in your chest, listening to your heartbeat and think of how strange you are in his world perspective.

After waking up from a quick nap, he would poke you with his tiny arms and tug you to stand up to go to the library with him.

He really loved your libraries, the sight of your extremely detailed and textured bookshelfs and scriptures would make him scream like a fangirl on the inside.

He also liked your concentrated state, with your reading glasses on and gaze fixed on the letters. He would enjoy it even more when you would take notes of the subject, he's genuinely amazed of your handwriting.

Cyno ♥︎

"I am the general Mahamatra, Cyno. I thank you for saving me from the streets. I would be more than happy if you could get me back in my world, teyvat. Thanks in advance, or should I say, in later on."

What the hell was that. Was it... a joke? Okay, now is not the time to question what type of humor does this purple circle has.

Oh, but he's questioning you, looking at you with such a attentive gaze. Is he waiting for you to laugh?

Fulfilling his wishes, you chuckled from the amusement of not getting the joke at all. The blob didn't care though, as he simply jiggled in his place, proud of himself.

From that moment you discovered that this alien orb is a terrible jokester, as he would literally pull you from whatever you were doing to just check his new made ones.

And everytime you couldn't help but laugh histerically at his antics, because you wouldn't get the premise at all. All of his jokes never made sense, but were the most hilarious thing you laughed at in a while.

And he would always jiggle with pride after you laughed, bro really thought he gained a fan of his jokes💀.

One day you thought about showing him your world's perspective of humor, as you sat him up on the couch and turned on the tv with popular comedy shows.

Safe to say he would repeatedly jump from his seat, and roll on the couch from side to side, as his purple anubis ears would jiggle uncontrollably.

You took it as a sign of him liking it, and soon enough you both had a routine of watching comedy shows and gasp from laughing.

At first you thought he was just a happy go lucky guy, not realizing he can be sort of a guard dog.

Really, you only saw him being serious when he sensed something and flew to it's direction, only for it to be a racoon that he scared away with mini thunder.

Now you got why he was such a bright color of purple. Not gonna lie, you were a little scared to hold him after that, afraid he'll electrocute the shit out of you😰.

But it never happened, so you guess he's only friendly to you? Honestly, you felt kinda honored to have this status.

Tighnari ♡

"Greetings, suspectable another species of humankind. I am Tighnari, the forest ranger of the sumeru region. It is a pleasure to be in your natural environment, being able to study your world. Though, I would appreciate it if you could help me return back to sumeru. I still have a ton of things to do back there, so please, make sure to fulfill my request."

Is he some type of a scientist? "A pleasure to be in your natural environment, being able to study your world" yeah, my ass.

And he was an ass. Pain in the ass, to be exact.

He wouldn't leave you alone, wherever you would go or whenever time it was. He was always around you, floating and examining your features.

He just can't help himself, you look so strange! And everything around you looks so strange. He just has to know atleast something about the place he is in right now, what type of setting it is, how does it work, and yada yada yada...

That's what lead you to the situation you are in now, as he peeked out of your hoodie pocket, staring at all the contests of the supermarket you were in.

Even if you had told him already a thousand times that he can't go with you because he doesn't look like everybody else, he didn't listen and sneaked inside your clothes, successfully getting out of the house with you.

You desperately tried to cover his enormous ears with your hands, stuffing him further inside the pocket only for him to pop out from the other side. What a nosy aura blob.

It would get even worse when he would fly out to scan some object like salty pickles, thinking of it as peculiar, when in reality the only thing that's peculiar was him.

He would closely watch whenever you would put something in the cart, taking notes on how you hold the product and how you place it inside the metal structure.

He especially got very freaky about your world's greenery, demanding you to go out with him into a park, a nearby forest or literally anywhere where there is some type of plants.

You instead decided to take him into a local botanical garden, and when I say he went crazy, he went crazy.

Stopping every 3 minutes to find a new plant and examine it for about 20 minutes you and him spent the whole day in that garden.

He would poke your shoulder to it being numb, asking you to explain or tell what kind of plant it is, where does it grow, how does it grow, can we take it home, all that nerdy shit.

You did end up taking some small house plants afterwards, due to his unstoppable crying and squeaking, like a child wanting their parent to buy candy in the store.

He then made sure to always bug you to take care of the plant, saying that he is "incapable" of doing so himself. What a troublesome circle.

Oof, this ones LONG. And I'm proud of it😜. Genuinely hope you enjoy this, cuz I spent an eternity writing this😭.

Tag : @vault-of-reblogs

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peachy-panic · 10 months ago

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Companion, pt. 2

A (slightly delayed) follow up to this chapter. Jaime & Sebastian add another member to their little makeshift household.

WARNINGS: The usual BBU stuff, animal shelter setting, collars, mentions of past foster care, anxiety, but mostly good things happening here.

The animal shelter they chose is in the heart of the city. Their website mentioned that they often deal with overpopulation, since it’s the biggest one in the area, so Sebastian thought they might have the most positive impact by adopting from them. They have a list of available animals with photos that they update daily, but Jaime turned down Sebastian’s offer to look through them.

He doesn’t tell him that swiping through a catalog of strays, deciding their fate behind the comfort of a computer screen, feels too much like how a prospective Keeper might shop for their Companion. How someone once shopped for him.

They make a plan to go on Saturday morning, and Jaime spends the rest of the week quietly stewing in an unnamed anxiety. He doesn’t bring it up—not when Sebastian talks excitedly about pet toys he found online over dinner, not when his nerves cut into his ability to fall asleep at night, and certainly not when he is buckled into the passenger seat, watching the big, yellow bridge that leads into downtown come into view.

The building itself is large but sparse, all cement-gray walls and scuffed floors and signs of age that reflect a probable lack of funding. As they walk through the main hallway, flanked by rows of doors and cages, Jaime thinks that it reminds him a little of the training facility. He keeps that to himself, too.

There is a volunteer—a young woman with her hair in a bun and a stain on her shirt—showing Jaime and Sebastian around.

“The dogs are back this way,” she says. “Green tags on the doors are puppies under six months. Yellow tags mean they can be a little jumpy around people, red equals not good matches for homes with young children. Blue tags mean they’re seniors. Those are usually the ones that have been with us the longest.”

Jaime tries hard not to think about what happens to the senior dogs that overstay their welcome.

“Cats are on this side,” she continues, pointing to her left. “We just ask that you wash your hands if you enter one of the playrooms, and avoid direct contact with any red tags. Any questions?”

Sebastian looks at Jaime, who tenses slightly at the attention but shakes his head.

“I think we’re all good.” Sebastian says.

She smiles. “Just let us know if you have any questions.”

With a nod, they set off down the hall on their own, Jaime sticking close to Sebastian’s heels.

“So,” Sebastian says, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets. “Anywhere in particular you want to start? Young? Old? Big? Small?”

Jaime looks around at all the cages, suddenly overwhelmed—by the decision, by the sharp whines and barks for attention, by the closeness of the other prospective adopters, by the sad, watchful eyes of the animals as people pass them by. By the collars fastened around their necks, reminding Jaime of the weight of his own, the visibility of it peeking up through the dip in the sweatshirt neckline. Absently, he touches the warm metal with his fingertips.

Sebastian seems to sense his discomfort, because he eases back. “You know what? Maybe we just take a lap or two and see what happens,” he says. “Maybe there will be an instant connection.”

They start with a black lab with a green tag on his cage door, who instantly jumps up and tries to paw at them when Sebastian sinks into a crouch.

“Well, aren’t you full of energy?” Sebastian’s voice lifts into a high sing-song tone when he speaks to the dogs, and the surprise of it is so endearing that it momentarily pulls Jaime from his inward spiral. “Only five months old,” he says to Jaime.

Against his wishes, memories of a long lost life in foster care rise to the surface. Jaime had been old enough when he entered to know that his chances of finding a family to adopt him were low, and only getting lower with each passing birthday.

“I’m sure she’ll be very popular,” Jaime says.

“Yeah,” Sebastian agrees, sticking his finger through one of the holes in the grate so that the puppy can sniff him. “You’ll find a home in no time, sweet girl.”

They move past a few more cages, Sebastian seemingly thrilled with the prospect of bringing any one of them home, but Jaime’s anxiety only grows. It’s when they come upon a cage with a golden labrador puppy—one that looks a little too similar to the fading image he has of a puppy from his childhood—that he reaches a breaking point.

He takes a few steps away—not so far as to wander away from Sebastian’s watch, but a couple of doors down the row. Jaime takes slow, deep breaths as he looks down at the sleeping dog in the kennel in front of him, trying to imagine her laying on Sebastian’s living room rug. Trying not to imagine what it might look like to feed her every day, to brush her, to walk her, to love her, and then to leave her behind in six months when Jaime is called back to the facility.

Sebastian doesn’t seem to mind Jaime’s straying, so he allows himself the space, moving slowly along the row of animals. He makes it all the way to the end of the hall when a flash of movement catches his eye. At the corner, secluded away from the glass-walled play rooms, is a singular cage with a black cat inside. The flash of movement he saw, it seems, was the cat’s abrupt recoil from a pair of reaching hands.

“Don’t put your fingers in the cage!” A young mother scolds, grabbing her child’s wrist and pulling him back from the cage. “You’re going to get bit.”

The kid gies a grumble of complaint but moves onto the next door quickly, not sparing a look back at the cage. Jaime watches as the black cat shrinks even further behind a wadded up blanket, pressing herself to the back corner of the cage, where no one can reach. Her bright, green eyes scan the area, back and forth, watching for invaders. She doesn’t look aggressive, Jaime thinks. She looks scared.

Without realizing it, Jaime has taken a step toward the cage. He sees both a blue and a yellow tag on the door and tries to remember what the codes mean. On a small slip of paper at the top of the cage, the name “Bella” is written out in sharpie.

“Hi Bella,” he whispers, barely audible. “You’re okay.”

Slowly, broadcasting the movement as much as he can, he lifts a hand and places the tip of his finger just at the edge of the cage; not enough to intrude the walls of her space, but hopefully enough to be a show of invitation. Bella looks at his finger for a long few seconds, then up at his eyes. Stupidly, Jaime smiles, like it might soften her to him.

“Pretty eyes, right?”

The sudden voice startles him, even more for the fact that it isn’t Sebastian’s. He pulls his hand away like it was burned and turns to find another young woman with a volunteer shirt on.

“Sorry,” he says automatically.

“No need,” she says, then nods her head toward the cage. “I think you’ve got her attention.”

Jaime looks back at the cage and finds that the cat has taken a few steps out from her hiding spot, a curious nose pointed where Jaime’s finger had been. Carefully, darting a quick look at the woman for approval, Jaime lifts his hand again. This time, the cat only stares at it for a few seconds before she bumps her nose against his skin. A breath of a laugh startles out of him.

“That’s the most contact she’s had with anyone on her own terms,” the girl says. “She must like you.”

“Can I ask…?” Jaime starts then hesitates. The woman's gaze dips, almost unwittingly, to Jaime’s throat. He watches something flash across her expression before she schools it with a neutral look.

“You can ask me,” she tells him.

“Why is she in a cage by herself? Away from the other cats?”

“She’s FIV+.”

Jaime glances back at the cat. “She’s sick?”

The woman nods. “It’s an immunodeficiency virus. There’s no cure for it, but it’s entirely possible for cats to live full, happy lives with it. But it’s best that she goes to a home with no other cats.”

“I think he… My…” Jaime clears his throat. “I think he is looking for a dog.”

She presses her lips into a thin line. “I see.”

As if summoned, Sebastian appears at his shoulder. “Oh, look at this cutie!”

Jaime tries to conceal his startled jump. “Her name is Bella,” he says quietly.

“Look at her,” Sebastian croons, crouching beside the cage but not attempting to make contact. “She’s a love bug.”

“She’s actually quite shy,” the woman says, taking the smallest nudge of a step in front of Jaime to stand between them. “I was just telling him how he must be special to win her over so quickly.”

Sebastian’s first instinct is to shoot Jaime a smile. He stands slowly, knees cracking, and says, “I can’t say I’m surprised.” Then, to Jaime, he adds, “I didn’t know you were a cat person.”

“I’ve never had one,” he says honestly.

“Hmm.” Sebastian turns back toward the cat, studying her for a few long seconds before he says, “Do you like her?”

Jaime blinks, letting his hand slowly drop to his side. In his periphery, he sees Bella raise a paw to tap impatiently against the cage wall.

“I…” He looks to the cat, to the volunteer, and back at Sebastian. “Yes.”

Sebastian nods, once, decisively, then turns to the volunteer. “We’ll take her.”

There’s a moment’s pause. They both turn to him, surprised. “I… I thought you wanted a dog,” Jaime says.

He shrugs. “I think Bella has made the decision for us, really.” He nods toward where she is still perched at the edge of the cage, nuzzling against the bars to reach Jaime. “I mean, look at her. It’s out of our hands.”

He is fawning over the cat—who has decided to regard him with a look of skeptical displeasure—but Jaime only has eyes for Sebastian. He blinks up at him, trying to tame the spread of warmth in his chest. “Really?” he asks.

Sebastian gives an uncertain smile, one that Jaime is becoming more and more familiar with. “Is that okay with you?”

Jaime swallows tightly, lowering his voice. “You’ll keep her?” he asks, trying to ignore the inquisitive glance from the volunteer. “Even when I’m gone?”

It looks like there’s a lot more that Sebastian wants to say, but in their present company, he only meets Jaime’s eyes and says, “Yes. Of course”

Jaime breathes out and gives a single, decisive nod.

“Alright then,” the woman breaks the silence after a few tense moments. “Let’s get the paperwork started.”

***

On the way home, Sebastian drives carefully enough that his knuckles go white around the steering wheel, trying to avoid every bump and crack in the road. Jaime is in the backseat, which is an arrangement Sebastian normally wouldn’t prefer, but it’s only because he wants to be able to sit next to Bella’s carrier.

He casts a glance in the rearview mirror to see Jaime gently running the back of his finger against the mesh wall, ducking his head so he can peek inside.

“What should we name her?” Sebastian asks, almost regretting breaking the moment of reverence.

Jaime sits up, meeting his eyes in the mirror. A dip of confusion forms between his brows. “You don’t like the name Bella?”

“Oh.” Sebastian blinks. “I—no, it’s cute. I like it. Just… I think most of the time the names they’re given in the shelter are temporary things? People usually change them to whatever they want when they bring them home.”

Jaime is quiet long enough to make Seabstian think maybe he’s stepped in something he didn’t mean to. Then, he asks, “Do you think she had a name before the shelter?”

Sebastian shrugs. “They didn’t know much about her history. If she was a stray her whole life, I guess she probably didn’t.”

He looks back down at the carrier, continuing the slow, soothing motion of his finger. “I’m okay with whatever name you decide for her,” he says, and Seabstian can’t help but hear a bit of dejection slip through.

The pieces connect, and Sebastian considers the kind of weight a name might carry for someone who has had his stolen.

Sebastian tightens his grip on the steering wheel, keeping his voice as even as he can. “No, I think you’re right,” he says. “Bella suits her just fine.”

****

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#Do No Harm: Jaime & Sebastian #BBU #like bbu adjacent?#whump writing #whumplr

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unknownstarrl · 4 months ago

Text

Bio:

Name: Rosalind Eiric(ロザリンド•エイリック)

Romaji: Rozarindo Eirikku

V/A: Sakamoto Maaya

Age: 16(???)

Race: Homunculus

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Birthday: 29/9 (the day she was adopted)

Star sign: Libra

Family: Unnamed adoptive father

Unnamed adoptive mother

Grim [old companion]

Unnamed lover †

Height: 162 cm

Dominant hand: Right

Favorite food: Soused Herring

Least favorite food: Chili

Hobbies: Learning magic, reading books, singing, cooking

Talents: Control magic, good knowledge acquisition, singing

Other names: Rose, Rosa (Short name)

The Abyssal Sorcceress (Shin'en no Majo) [Former]

Henchwoman (Grim)

Dreamy girl (Ace, Ruggie)

Rosie (Cater)

Dumb bunny (Leona)

Siren (Azul)

Hagi-chan <Royal blue tang> (Floyd)

Fleur de Silence (Flower of silence), Mademoiselle Flamme Azur (Miss Azure Flame) (Rook)

Rosalind-shi (Idia)

Human (Sebek)

Beautiful girl (Najma)

Kind sister/Yasashii ane-chan (Cheka)

Alice (Chenya)

Princess (Royal sword academy's students)

_________________________________

Student profile:

School: Night Raven College

Class: 1-A - No.31

Year: Freshman

Dorm: Ramshackle

Club: Science

Occupation: Guardian [Former]

Rosalind & Grim - One Student

Beast tamer

Prefect of Ramshackle

Singer of Monstro Lounge

Best subject: Alchemy

Favorite subject: None

Least favorite subject: Flying

_______________________________

Appearance:

Rosalind is described as a 16-year-old girl with sleek black hair that has bright blue tips resembling flickering blue flames, making it hard for others to look away. Rosalind has fair skin and a slender body, as if a light touch could make her fall. Her blue eyes are reminiscent of the ocean, always appear to be in a daze, as if she is sleep-deprived and the dark circles hidden beneath her blue eyes told tales of sleepless nights and unspoken burdens, casting a faint shadow over her otherwise vivid gaze

She often wears a dreamy expression on her face, as if she is in a dream, even though she claims to be extremely alert

Rosalind has a modest height and is often the subject of jokes by the students of Night Raven College, but she rarely pays attention to or feels bothered by this

Rosalind wears a bracelet (like this) made of dark silver metal, with delicate interlocking links that fit snugly around her wrist. Embedded in the bracelet are 8 stones, each glowing faintly in different colors: crimson, orange, violet, red velvet, purple, bright blue, emerald green, and the final one, colorless. No one knows where the bracelet came from, only that it has been with Rosalind since her earliest memory.

_________________________________

Personality:

Although Rosalind may appear to be a silly and easy-to-bully girl on the outside, she is actually an intelligent and strong person. Whenever her friends are in danger, she doesn’t hesitate to rush out to protect them. Rosalind is also cautious and usually does not take kindly to people with suspicious appearances

Additionally, Rosalind is an animal lover and often brings many animals home, from stray dogs, cats to even rats and cockroaches, which drives her parents crazy. While this tendency has lessened as she has grown up, she still cannot control her desire to pet soft-furred animals

Rosalind also has a cold and ruthless side. If given the chance, she wouldn’t hesitate to use her magic to deal with those who pose a threat to her and her friends

_________________________________

Backstory:

In an unnamed kingdom within Twisted Wonderland, Rosalind or formerly known as Seraphis - a Homunculus created by alchemists and sorcerers to protect the nation from external threats. Emotionless and programmed to follow orders, she was not seen as a hero, but merely a cold-blooded killing machine. Despite this, she had Grim, her only companion, and later met a knight who gave her a human heart and helped her experience true emotions

Together with Grim and her beloved knight, they planned to escape the kingdom and live freely. However, the ruling powers discovered their plan and captured them. To maintain control, they forced Seraphis to kill the person she loved most. Because she was created to follow orders, she couldn't resist. This event shattered her emotionally, and her suppressed magic spiraled out of control. Overcome with grief and fury, Seraphis lost control of both her powers and her emotions, unleashing a devastating magical force that burned the entire kingdom to the ground. Until the flames were fully extinguished, all that remained was a heap of ashes and scattered ruins. The kingdom Seraphis had spent decades protecting was buried beneath the ashes, lost forever, never to rise again

After the kingdom's destruction, both Seraphis and Grim vanished without a trace, and no one heard of them again.

After this event, Seraphis was somehow brought to Earth, transformed into an infant, losing all memories and having her powers sealed. She was adopted by a couple on Earth and named Rosalind Eiric. She grew up living a normal life, unaware of her true past. However, during an unexpected incident, Rosalind accidentally returned to Twisted Wonderland, the place where the unnamed kingdom once stood, beginning her journey to rediscover her past and confront her true identity

_________________________________

Unique magic:

"Once the final magic seal is unlocked, Rosalind will gain her Unique Magic"

From the ashes of despair, I rise. In the flames of my fury, I summon forth the guardians of the lost. Let the eternal fire burn bright!

"Ember of the fallen"

Summon entities from the ashes of those who have fallen, transforming them into fiery warriors to aid her in battle

_________________________________

Trivia:

Rosalind is inspired by Chernabog (The Fantasia), Morgan le Fay (Arthurian legend) and Alice (Alice in Wonderland - 2010)

Rosalind, or rather her past self, has been immortalized in the history of Twisted Wonderland and is referred to as "The Abyssal Sorceress" , her status is considered on par with The Great Seven

No one knows that Rosalind is "The Abyssal Sorceress'', not even herself, except for The Dark Mirror

After both of them disappeared, Grim also lost his original memories and form, and somehow appeared at Night Raven College

Almost all the students at Night Raven College initially believed that Rosalind was just a student without magic, getting into the school through "relationships" , only few people knew that Rosalind actually possessed magic

Since childhood, Rosalind had a habit of eating strange things she came across. While this tendency diminished as she grew older, it still occasionally happened. A prime example is when she asked Grim for a stone after each Overblot to eat, but Grim, annoyed, would refuse

Back in middle school, Rosalind was often bullied by her classmates because of her quirky personality and unusual hair. Her adoptive parents knew about it and talked to the principal and teachers several times, but nothing really changed. Rosalind rarely fought back, so the bullies kept pushing their limits. Eventually, when things got too much, Rosalind defended herself, and one of the bullies ended up getting hurt. After that incident, the bully's parents demanded action, and soon after, Rosalind's family decided to move away. They've been living in a different place ever since

Unable to rely on Crowley any longer, Rosalind planned to work as a waitress at Monstro Lounge. However, after discovering her singing talent, Rosalind was invited by Azul to become a performer at Mostro Lounge (of course, her salary was increased as well)

Although she may seem foolish and dreamy, Rosalind is actually very intelligent, she consistently ranks among the top 100 students with outstanding achievements without resorting to cheating or signing contracts with Azul

Crowley and Grim once tried to convince Rosalind to participate in the VDC, but she refused

After conducting research, Crowley and Crewel stated that Rosalind is currently carrying eight seals and the bracelet she carried represents that. Each time one of these seals is unlocked, the corresponding stone cracks, marking the release of her sealed power, both her magic and memories will return

However, the return of her magic is not a good sign but rather an ill omen. In Chapter 3, after unlocking her magic, the overuse of it caused Rosalind to cough up blood and fall unconscious for several days. This could potentially lead to Rosalind experiencing an Overblot, so she has been strictly prohibited from overusing magic, and is only allowed to use basic spells

It seems that after unlocking the higher-level sealing floors, hypnosis magic has almost no effect on Rosalind. For example, in Chapter 4, Jamil and Jade's unique magic only influences her for a short time before it ends. Additionally, during the 'Stage in Playful Land' event, she was not affected by Fellow Honest's unique magic and even told him to stop his antics

Rosalind once had a boyfriend, as revealed in the card "Ace Trappola SSR - Ghost Marriage." She dated a good-looking guy back in middle school, and after a month of dating, she found out that the whole relationship was just a bet between him and his friends. He even insulted Rosalind, saying that no one would like someone as weird as her. However, after learning the truth, Rosalind didn’t feel sad—or rather, she didn’t feel anything at all, because she never really liked him, she had only agreed to date him out of curiosity about love and relationships

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst yuu #disney twisted wonderland #twst mc #twst oc #disney twst #twst oc: rosalind eiric #the abyssal sorceress #the great seven #twst prefect #ramshackle dorm #oc #my oc #yuusona

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irondad-defensesquad · 1 year ago

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(i just had this idea for fun lmao idk if i'll include it in the final story)

"no."

"mr. stark-"

"not AGAIN, peter."

"it's different this time! he's just a baby!" peter shows the little orange kitten who meows very loudly. "i rescued him from an illegal cattery, and he wouldn't let go of me no matter how hard i tried."

"peter, you can't keep bringing stray cats here!"

"but he's so young, mr. stark! and like i said, i can't bring him home! he wouldn't be alone here!"

"and what, you really think junior would be okay with that?"

"i dunno, we could see! maybe he would like a kitty companion!"

tony groans. still, "junior? where are you, boy?"

he already knows where to look - the darkness, where two yellow eyes watch them from afar.

"i think he's hiding..." peter notes.

tony crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow. "don't tell me you're scared of a toddler."

"hey, it's okay, buddy," peter reassures the void. "do you wanna meet your new friend?"

of course, tony jr. only listens to the kid. he slowly leaves his safe place and approaches, not taking his eyes off of the orange kitten. peter gently places the latter on the floor. the kitten trembles but he's stopped meowing for now.

eventually, tony jr. sits but maintaining a distance. he doesn't look threatened or hostile. he might be a little unsure of what to do, but he observes the unnamed kitten with curiosity.

the two cats only do that. they look at each other.

then the small one meows and heads towards tony jr., who just indifferently lets him come closer. the kitten rubs against his black fur like junior is his new mom.

"aww..." peter says.

"i'd say junior just... tolerates him."

"i think he likes him, to be honest."

tony shrugs. "well, with that settled, i'll take the small guy to the vet."

the older man is about to take the kitten with him...

only for tony jr. to hiss at his owner.

"hey!" human tony protests.

but he realizes it's not out of nowhere. tony jr. is... protecting this kitten. the black cat eventually grabs the baby with his mouth, and the two are gone to the couch. they start cuddling there like it's the most natural thing, even though they've literally just met each other.

while peter takes pictures of the scene, tony only rubs the back of his head in confusion.

"... did tony jr. just adopt him?"

"i'd say so, mr. stark," peter says, amused.

"huh. i never thought he'd be a parent..."

"i think he'll be a great dad."

tony hums, then cracks a little smile. "well, i suppose he already is."

(tony doesn't realize it, believing the kid is just busy taking pictures... but peter is staring at him with a big grin.)

#irondad #tony jr. the cat #idk what to name the orange kitten #but it wouldn't be peter jr. lmao #fics #my fics #drabble

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dinoace2 · 11 months ago

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Fangs Bared

Lord Ancunin's most faithful spawn, his Dark Consort, has had enough.

Approx. 800 words, Feat. Ascended!Astarion and his unnamed spawn, who is referred to with she/her pronouns. Aaaaangst >:3

Cw for toxic/abusive relationship, knife, blood

Act 3 astarion spoilers!

~~~~~~~~~~

"How does someone become a vampire, exactly?"

It's simple, just find a vampire that will drink your blood and turn you into a vampire spawn; their obedient puppet. In theory, the next step is to drink their blood. Once you've done that, youre free and a true vampire.

"In theory?"

People think the biggest threat to a vampire is a cleric with a stake. It's not. The biggest threat to a vampire is another vampire. They're scheming, paranoid, power-hungry beasts. So why would any vampire give up control over a spawn to create a competitor? Trust me, it doesn't happen.

That conversation...from so long ago. When she first learned of Astarion's....secret, that's what she asked. That's what she learned.

Those words have echoed in her mind every day since.

~~~~~

Vellioth's first lesson is to dominate. Allow none to be your equal.

Astarion took that lesson to his still heart, that's for sure. From the moment he ascended, he made damn sure everyone around him knew who was the strongest. Who was the best. He turned her into his spawn the first night, and gathered an army in the years that followed.

She stood at his side, above the rest of the spawn...but still beneath him.

Always beneath him.

As time went on, there came to be thousands of them. Countless spawn, all seen as mere dust under the heel of the Ascendant...

Except for her.

She stood by his side from the start, and supported him through every trial. She never wavered, never strayed, and never stepped out of line. His dark consort. His perfect spawn.

Vellioth's second lesson is that power comes from solitude. To share with others is to be weak, and to be weak is to fail....and die.

Of course he said that she was his most trusted companion, his dark consort, his lover, who would join him as he took on not just Faerûn, but the world.

But words do not equate to actions.

In all the time they spent together, despite countless promises that one day he would allow her to join him, to one day truly stand at his side as an equal, a fellow Ascendant, nothing ever came of it. Weeks, months, years, decades? She was always right beneath him. Beneath his status, around his finger, and under his boot.

If he wasn't to share with her....then...did any of his promises have any weight behind them?

Vellioth's third lesson is to act not in haste. A near immortal has time to plan, time to act only when others will pay the price of action.

This lesson, she listened to. This lesson, she studied. And this lesson had taken long enough. She was ready.

~~~~~

After a long night attending to his undead empire, Lord Ancunin retired to his room, where his beloved consort waited with a smile. "Good morning, beloved. Ready to...unwind~?"

Astarion smirked. "Of course, my pet~"

Wait.

The moment is soon.

Just...

Wait.

the world around them remained still, silent as the lovers lay cradled in one another's embrace. She held him in her arms, the one time he'd ever allow himself to feel...smaller than another. It was...peaceful.

Astarion's body went rigid as he felt cold steel against his throat.

He let out a strained chuckle. "My dear...is this your idea of a joke?" He moved his arm to push the knife away, but she pulled it tighter, and he winced.

"Do not think me a fool, Ancunin," she whispered, her tone cold and calculated. "You might be stronger than most...but you are not yet a god. Move, and your blood shall decorate our bedsheets."

Astarion's smile began to slip. "What...are you doing?" He hissed through clenched teeth.

"Giving you a choice." She frowned. "Youre not the man I knew. The Astarion I fell in love with would spit in the face of the man you are now."

He scoffed. "And just what do you mean by tha-!" He coughed, gasping as the blade bit into his skin, drawing forth a necklace of divine scarlet beads.

"Look at yourself," she whispered. "A man of authority, empty promises, and sadistic power. Don't you see it? You've become Cazador. You've turned into the very monster you once despised....the same man you feared."

Astarion scowled. "You dare utter that name before me-!" She tightened the blade once more.

"Do not interrupt me, Ascendant!" She hissed. "You forget who holds the blade here. You don't have the authority right now." When he finally remained silent, she continued. "He called you nothing more than a frightened little boy. I didn't quite believe him then, but now I understand. You are the same cornered beast he was. Nestled at the top, so insecure, so...afraid of the idea that someone could be stronger than you, that you do not allow yourself the luxury of life. Of love. Do you not see it? Do you not understand that you are just like him?"

Astarion's cold, frozen form began to shake, but from fear, anger, or sorrow, she wasn't sure.

"I do not know whether the person you were was a facade or if this is...but regardless I'll be humoring it no longer. Clearly the man I loved is long gone."

He chuckled. "You really intend to leave me? What will you do without me? I am everything to you. You will be nothing if you leave my side."

She frowned. "I know. You...youre my whole life...whether I like it or not. I've been with you for so long...I dont even know if our old friends are still alive...or if they'd still remember me. I've begun to forget the person I was before becoming your spawn...i...I don't remember what color my eyes were. I've almost forgotten the face I once saw in the mirror. I don't know who I am anymore." She sighed. "But I intend to find out again."

Astarion raised an eyebrow. "And how is that?"

She tilted the knife, as if to emphasize her next words. "I told you. You have a choice. Option one: you hold still, do not move, and I drink your blood. I become a true vampire, and I leave, never to cross paths again. Option two: you refuse, and i cut your throat, because you're too scared of the idea of having an equal that you'd sooner die then let one of your spawn ascend to your level. Either way, I am free of your control, and I will never engage in such cruelty and violence again, as inflictor nor recipient. The choice is yours, pet." She spat the nickname with such venom...she had heard it far too many times by now.

Astarion scowled. "As if you could ever amount to anything without me-!" She pulled the knife against his neck, tight enough that his breath was cut off, and viscous blood slid from his wound.

"Make your choice, Ancunin!"

~~~~~

Thanks for reading! :]

Part twos: (I'll link em when I write em lol)

OPTION TWO

OPTION ONE

#bg3 fic #astarion bg3 #bg3 tav #bg3 astarion #bg3 spoilers #bg3 #baldurs gate tav #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate astarion #baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #astarion x tav #astarion

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triskhellion · 2 years ago

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Second Chance Strays

Rated: Explicit (8.4K)

Relationship: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Characters: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski, Larem the red deer, unnamed Julia Baccari

Tags: Magical Stiles Stilinski, Alpha Derek Hale, Alternate Universe, Dead Sheriff Stilinski, Graphic Violence, Getting Together, First Kiss, Virgin Stiles Stilinski, Fuck or Die, Claiming, Various Explicit Sex Acts, Knotting, Mating Bites, Mating Bonds, Wilderness Survival, Happy Ending, POV Stiles Stilinski

Mead Moons prompts: 21, Becomes, Buck, Claiming, Hay, Herbs, & Mead. @sterek-and-stuff-events

Sterek Weekly prompt: Explore (also Healthy & Family.)

When Stiles found the wolf injured and unconscious in the snow he sighed heavily, but dragged the unusually large animal onto his sled over the snorted objections of his hoof-stamping hart.

“Don’t worry, Larem, I won’t let it eat you,” he said, scratching around a soon to be shed antler and trying to soothe his sole companion of the past 3 years.

Cutting his foraging short, he secured the unfortunate creature and returned to his solitary hut hidden deep in the forest to take a closer look. Male, with thick, black fur and seeming a healthy weight for his size. That was a good sign. The fact that the wolf had been doing okay before whatever befell him recently gave him a better chance of survival. Stiles had magic yes, but his healing abilities were fairly modest and generally more helping things along than performing outright miracles.

After some minor debate he moved the wolf inside. There wasn’t much for the animal to destroy should he wake and it’d get him out of the elements for now. That way his body could focus on healing and not expending as much energy for warmth, especially with the increase in breath rate he now noticed.

Lighting a fire was an easy task for Stiles’ magic and he went out to boil some water in his smallest pot to cleanse the wounds — the wolf’s right front leg had obviously been caught in a trap, but he’d somehow managed to get out of it — and gathered comfrey, yarrow, chamomile, and calendula from his supply of healing herbs in the meantime.

As he was taught by his mother years before, Stiles used a mortar and pestle to grind them roughly, adding garlic and honey to form a paste. He brought in the hot water and soaked clean cloths to wipe away any debris before applying the poultice and covering it with a strip of fabric. The wolf twitched and whimpered, but remained unconscious.

Stiles put his hands on the now heaving sides of his patient and concentrated, finding something that felt dark and gave the impression of bitterness — a poison? — and began to draw it out. It was hard, but several minutes later he seemed to have gotten it all and the labored breathing eased. He used his power to press the noxious matter into a tiny ball and sealed it pine resin before tossing into the fire.

That done, he filled most of his mid-sized pot with water, salting it, and set it over the flame to make a warming broth with bones from some of his meals over the last few days, which he’d wrapped and buried under the snow. (One didn’t waste anything out here.) He could spare a couple handfuls of grouse as well from his larder out back and still had an ample supply of dock seed flour to make a heartier soup. Stiles took out a large bowl’s worth for the canine and then added onion, garlic, sage, and thyme to the rest.

When he returned he was quite surprised, but not utterly shocked to find a naked man on the floor where the wolf had been. He hadn’t seen such beings in person before, but had heard of them. Stiles put the bowl down on the table and peered at him curiously, noting how his wounds seemed to be gone now and how he looked just like any other man. Well, perhaps not any other man, he was very attractive indeed.

Said man awoke soon after, easing back into consciousness at first and then sitting up quickly, no doubt alarmed by the strange surroundings and possible danger. He whipped around toward Stiles, eyes turning from some pale color to a brilliant red, and growled warily.

Stiles huffed and crossed his arms. He knew he should probably be more understanding of whatever his guest had been through, but he’d been alone a long time (aside from dear Larem, pun absolutely intended) and now here he was being threatened in his own home after rescuing the sorry shifter. His own eyes flashed silver and the warning noise cut off immediately. The man awkwardly tried to both curl in on himself and bare his neck at the same time, releasing a short whine before trying to speak.

He croaked and cleared his throat a few times as if from long disuse and then hoarsely said, “I’m sorry, Magus, please forgive me. Please don’t kill me.”

Stiles sighed. So the wolf had heard of his kind too. Magical beings who too often strayed to the dark side and could cause untold harm in their greed and entitlement or simple desire for cruelty.

It wasn’t the majority of them, but any occurrence was too often when as powerful as they could be. In the past couple decades it seemed to be as high as 1 in 8, at least to some degree of malfeasance, and many a decent mage had been hurt or killed in the process of defending against them. A pang of grief ran through Stiles as he thought of his parents; his mother died when he was 9 protecting him and other children from a mad wizard and his father when he was 17, just 3 and a half years ago, ambushed while doing his lawman’s rounds in the city of Beacon. Both had taken their assailants down with them, but it was little consolation.

“I didn’t go through the trouble of saving your wolfy ass to kill you now,” he quipped, walking back toward the table. “It’s nothing exciting, but there’s food if you’d like and water to drink and wash up.”

“Thank you, Magus.”

“Stiles.”

“Pardon, but what’s a “stiles?”

“Me,” he responded, looking through the pile of clean clothes in the corner.

“Sorry, Master Stil—“

“Just call me Stiles and stop apologizing. Now, what’s your name?”

“Derek.”

“Here you go, Derek.”

Stiles threw his loosest shirt and pair of trousers at him and went back out to the fire with the bowl. A minute later the shifter peeked around the corner and then cautiously approached him as he added the soup back to the pot and added more herbs and aromatics.

“I didn’t realize you were a shifter so I took your portion out before the onions and garlic and such,” he explained. Once he figured the flavors had melded nicely he filled the large bowl again and handed it to the stranger, serving his own meal from the cookpot and then gesturing to sit down beside him on the bench. Once he began eating Derek did as well, drinking from the bowl.

“I’d give you a spoon, but I’ve somehow managed to misplace or ruin the others and I haven’t bothered to make more yet since it’s just me that uses them.”

“It’s no trouble. I’m used to eating with my hands or in wolf shape anyway. Thank you for the food. And for saving my life.”

“You’re welcome.”

They continued to eat in silence until the sound of snorting and hooves drew their attention. Stiles looked at the wolf-man and pointed at the 5.5 year old red deer.

“That’s Larem. He’s my friend and helper so don’t eat him.”

Derek started rolling his eyes and then froze after remembering who he was sitting next to. Stiles looked up to the heavens and sighed. The shifter swallowed.

“I-I won’t. I wouldn’t have either. He clearly belongs to someone.”

“Good. ”

And so began their companionship. Derek didn’t seem in a rush to go anywhere and Stiles told him that he could stick around if he wanted. He soon built his own little hut a couple hundred feet away on the opposite side of the greenhouse. It was nice having someone to talk to who could answer back and while the wolf certainly had an appetite the amount of game in Stiles' stores increased significantly and he more than came out ahead.

Grouse and wild turkey, rabbit and boar. He told Derek that he wouldn’t begrudge him hunting deer too as long as he did it, and the initial butchering, well away. Stiles taught Derek about dock seed, mallow, the roots and greens of daisies, lambsquarters, and tree sap for sweetening and the wolf brought back crabapples, elderberries, and teaberries that he’d found during his ranging, fashioning a bag to wear in wolf form.

As winter turned to spring they shared more and more of their stories in bits and pieces, Stiles speaking of his parents and his old life in Beacon and Derek telling of his lost pack. Apparently, he had a sister somewhere, but both had assumed the other was dead after they were attacked years ago by Hunters. He eventually learned that she survived and left the area, but could no longer feel her. His uncle came out of a long lasting unresponsive state, but was mad and killed his other sister, leading to Derek having to put him down and becoming an alpha.

This only happened a handful of months ago and he’d spent his time as a wolf ever since until Stiles found him. He’d been hiding from regular hunters when he stumbled into the trap, which had been set by the other kind and soaked in a wolfsbane solution that prevented his usual healing abilities. Derek shifted back to human form just long enough to remove it and then ran far away despite the pain until he passed out from exhaustion and the effects of the poison.

He borrowed from Stiles' haphazard stack of books one at a time — he’d limited himself to 3 dozen when he left Beacon, a mix of fiction and survival/wilderness guides — and built him an actual book shelf. Stiles played minor pranks on him from time to time and played the mandola for him regularly after dinner. One evening when it rained and he’d done his music inside he could’ve sworn that Derek was going to kiss him when he walked the departing werewolf to the door. There was a charged pause, eyes roaming over faces to lips and then back to meet again, but the moment passed with only an awkward smile and a quiet farewell.

Stiles hadn’t much considered the prospect of romance and/or sex with the shifter until then both being completely out of the habit of such things and worried about the possible fallout. He had been texting with Heather about their upcoming first date — his first date, period — flirting and making plans for weekend when he got the news that his father had been killed. Needless to say, it was cancelled along with every other plan he had as he first withdrew into himself and then from society altogether. That had been the entirety of his romantic endeavors and while he masturbated like a typical young man he tried not to dwell on things he didn't, couldn't have.

Then Derek showed up and it also became a matter of not wanting to risk scaring off his only human (-ish) friend or, in the beginning, concerns about taking advantage when the werewolf was still a bit afraid of him. So he just hadn't really let himself go there. But that night Stiles desperately stroked himself while imagining green eyes staring into his as large hands explored him all over. A swarthy, muscular body on top of him and the short beard — which he loaned his scissors to keep trimmed — rubbing against his skin.

He hadn’t actually gotten a proper look at Derek’s cock, but he did his best to imagine it thrusting into him as well, adding two and then three fingers (as much as he could at that angle) to bring himself to completion. After that night Stiles noticed occasional glances and there were little touches here and there, but nothing more came of it, both likely afraid to make the first move. And then one day everything changed.

It was a beautiful afternoon in May and Stiles had decided to leave Larem to rest and enjoy some hay with apples and acorns, setting off to take a nice long walk and go foraging alone instead while Derek was out hunting. He was exploring in a direction where he’d seldom gone, happily picking wild garlic in a small clearing he’d come across, when all of a sudden something made all the hairs on his arm stand up. Danger. Eyes wide he threw himself on the ground and rolled just as a burst of magic hit the spot where he’d been standing.

Fucking darachs. He’d thought he left all of this behind, but apparently even the middle of fucking nowhere wasn’t far enough. Stiles returned fire with his own power, feinting and then hitting the long-haired brunette square in the chest with a what he called a "pain loop," causing her to scream in agony and fury.

He lashed out again with a stunning spell, but she managed to dodge it and all too soon interrupted the paroxysms from his previous strike, eyes glowing milky white as she threw something in sickly shades of green and brown at him. A perversion of earth magic.

Stiles was able to twist away in time and then he was running, weaving between the trees as soon as he reached the edge of the clearing. Not for the first time he bemoaned the fact that he was too young to learn killing spells from his mother, who was loath to know such things, but understood their necessity. He tried to put some distance between them so he could face the dark druid on his own terms, perhaps ambush her on ground of his choosing if he was lucky.

Unfortunately, he was still a ways off from his usual stomping grounds and unbeknownst to him a large tree had fallen and blocked the other end of the fairly short, but narrow path he vaguely remembered from a previous time that he’d come this way. Cursing, he went back and hoped to emerge in time to try another route, but the darach met him on the way out.

He was at the ready so he got off another pain loop even as he was finally hit with whatever foul magic she was dealing out. Stiles gasped as a chill took hold of him and he felt noticeably weaker than he had just moments before. He hit her with the stunning spell as well this time, but he could tell it wasn’t nearly as strong as it should be as he staggered too slowly towards her.

Stiles was planning to kill her the old-fashioned way, with his sufficient enough all-purpose knife, but another wave of weakness went through him and he fell to his knees perhaps 5 or so yards away. Wearing a smirk on her objectively pretty, but...twisted, oblong face the darach rose to her feet, stretching languidly like she just woke refreshed from a nice nap. With horror he realized that that was more or less the case and that it was his power and life-force being siphoned to her benefit.

She didn’t speak, but stood there watching him like a cat not quite ready to pounce again on the mouse she’d been toying with, drawing out her amusement. A flash of darkness fast approaching caught his eye beyond her and he pretended to have a fit in order to keep her attention. I really hope I’m not just seeing things, he thought. Hurry.

“Why are you doing this?” he shouted. The woman rolled her now normal looking light colored eyes and huffed.

“Power, what else?” she replied in a tone that said he was very stupid indeed.

No, what was stupid was wasting time gloating and not paying attention to your surroundings or checking for reinforcements when dealing with an enemy. Stiles ranted about less than mediocre practitioners trying to make themselves feel special with stolen power, but always being the same pathetic losers at heart, punctuating his words by slapping his hands on the ground and rustling the leaves and twigs there. The darach’s face grew dark and she clenched her fists, clearly over his continued existence. Just as she was about to step forward he bared his teeth in a bloodthirsty grin.

“Go to hell,” he said, and then the massive, red eyed, black wolf was there, leaping to clamp his jaws around the back and right side of her neck. Stiles took great pleasure in the utter shock on her face, lastly only a second or two before Derek brought her to the ground and tore her throat out the moment he regained leverage. As her blood sprayed and splattered a rather impressive distance he felt the effects of her spell slow and breathed a sigh of relief.

Unsteadily, he got up and stumbled toward where Derek was still savaging what was now a tattered corpse.

“I think you got her, dude,” he snickered, feeling not a shred of remorse for the death that just occurred. Who knows how many people she’d hurt or killed before attacking him?

The wolf shook the body one final time and then dropped it, fangs gleaming red like his eyes, before shifting into a naked, blood smeared Derek. Stiles swallowed. That should not be as hot as it was. Apparently that post-battle feral lust thing in stories was real. Derek’s nostrils flared and he made a pleased growling noise, his cock twitching and starting to harden in interest. Oh my god. Stiles was torn between remaining there, frozen, and closing the last few paces between them when his legs suddenly buckled.

“Stiles,” Derek cried, rushing forward to keep him from slumping all the way over.

It took a minute to clear his head and he then realized that while the darach’s draining spell had indeed slowed considerably, it hadn’t stopped even with her death. Like she’d also tied it off somewhere and didn’t only anchor it to herself. What the fuck?!

“Draining spell, need to go home now,” he rushed out. Moments later he was lifted into strong arms and cradled against Derek’s chest as the beta-shifted wolf ran much faster than Stiles’ own feet could ever take him. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his diminished well of magic, using it to counteract the spell. It bought him time, but as he was expending more power than he could replenish in his current state doing so only amounted to dying more slowly than he was before. Maybe distance from the casting and using his herbs to restore and amplify his power could make the difference.

He was too weary to stand when they got back so Derek put him down on his bed and tried to find the right jars of plant matter using his descriptions. Stiles had lived alone for so long and had never thought to label what he clearly knew on sight. After trying to figure out which of three nearly identical containers of dried leaves was a particular ingredient a frustrated Derek simply picked him up again and had him point at the right items. The wolf prepared them according to his instructions and he swallowed the resulting tea in between words of focus and intention.

Stiles felt some vitality return, but even after seven mugs of the frankly disgusting stuff over the next hour or so he could tell that it wouldn’t be enough to give him the strength necessary to break the spell. Fuck. He was now at least able to brew the tea himself and continued drinking two to three mugs of it an hour for several hours, pissing like a racehorse in between trying to think of something, anything, else, but he was quickly running out of a couple of the rarer herbs.

There was only so much of the infusion he could consume before it stopped being effective and before both the amount of liquid and the ingredients themselves became toxic anyway. Fuck. As the smallest containers emptied the tension evident in Derek’s body increased, the clenching of his jaw more pronounced and the muscles of his back tighter still. The pants-only shifter alternated between pacing inside the small dwelling, trying to sit quietly, and going outside to check the immediate perimeter for any additional danger.

When Stiles was down to his last mug and half of tea he finally resigned himself to the inevitable. He was going to die by the hand of an evil caster just like his parents. And just like with them, it didn’t matter that the darach had been thoroughly neutralized, though that did at least bring him some satisfaction.

All that hiding and isolation and it had been for nothing in the end. Stiles laughed bitterly. It wasn’t fair. He was only 21, his birthday just the previous month though he hadn’t bothered to mention it. Stiles hadn’t even gotten the chance to see if the whatever between him and Derek eventually went anywhere. It was dark out now and he had seen his last sunrise.

Around three-quarters of an hour later, maybe 10 minutes after taking that final sip, he turned to the silent, intently watching werewolf with a wry smile.

“Promise that you’ll look after Larem for me.” Derek made a wounded noise and he felt a sweet, sad warmth for his friend. Stiles was very sorry to leave him like this, but he was glad to have met him. To have cared for him and know that he had been cared for too. “And promise that you’ll do what you need to do to both survive and not go feral. Find yourself a pack,” he added sternly.

Derek exhaled forcefully and an expression of grim determination came over his face.

“There’s a way…I might be able to save you.”

Stiles gave him the mother of all exasperated looks, throwing up his hands.

“And you didn’t think to mention this earlier because…?”

“I’d have to claim you,” Derek replied, sounding somewhat uncomfortable, but moving closer to him.

“Claim me?” Stiles asked, puzzled.

Like pledging fealty in a ritual or something? Or did the wolf mean giving him the turning Bite? Perhaps he wasn’t aware that it didn’t work on magic users, either doing nothing or killing them.

“Mate you.”

Ohhh.

Oh.

Oh my god.

“Wha—Seriously?!” he blurted out, incredulously. Seriously?!, he echoed internally.

Derek looked like he’d swallowed something sour and was probably about to explain that he was certainly not just trying to have his way with a dying man and how very dare, but Stiles lifted an arm — already feeling heavier again, fuck, this spell was a bitch — and put two fingers to the shifter’s lips before letting it fall again.

“I believe you, Derek. That’s exactly the kind of thing required for binding magic, which I gather this shifter mating stuff is. Blood or bone or, um, essence, and all that kind of thing or some combination thereof. I swear the Universe is a huge perv. It’s just…wow, not at all what I was expecting to hear right now." The werewolf looked at him with fondness and concern. Stiles took a deep breath. “Yeah, you can…you can do that.”

It wasn’t only the increasing weakness that had him trembling when he made his way from the table over to the bed, Derek hovering behind him. He turned and dropped to sit on the mattress, looking up at the older man.

“Kiss me?” he pleaded, wanting to make sure he got to know what it was like and to do some part of this in order.

Derek smiled and caressed his cheek with a knuckle before sliding it under his chin to tip his head up, bending down to press their lips together. Stiles made a soft sound and opened his mouth to allow Derek’s tongue inside after it swept across his lower lip. A minute or so of exploration and deepening kisses later he felt out of breath and drew back, panting but grinning shakily.

He lifted his arms as well as he could and the shifter quickly helped him undress, pulling off his shirt and then gently pushing him back and drawing his pants and underwear down and then off along with his socks. And then there he was — flushed, hard, and lying bare — as hungry red eyes raked over his body.

“Beautiful,” the wolf murmured before removing his own pants and freeing the erection that had been straining against it. Stiles’ eyes widened at seeing Derek fully hard. That was going to go inside him? He might’ve whimpered or maybe his scent was tinged with nervousness or fear because Derek paused to run those large hands along his sides (it felt even better than he’d imagined) and told him that it would be okay before guiding him over onto his belly.

With no hesitation the wolf parted his cheeks and started licking over his hole, circling or pushing at the muscle every few passes. No one had ever touched him sexually much less there — hell, he hadn’t been touched at all in years by another person until the recent brief brushes from Derek — and Stiles was overwhelmed by both the physical sensation and his emotional reaction. The shifter reached up to rub his back and then took hold of ass with both hands once more, soon working his tongue inside. Stiles moaned in pleasure, but then another sudden chill reminded him of the situation.

“Uh, as amazing as this is, you kinda gotta hurry it up, dude,” he got out between breaths. The wolf gave him another long lick before lifting his head and growling in frustration.

“I wanted to take my time with you if this ever happened. You deserve so much better than…” Derek trailed off and Stiles could feel that he was shaking his head.

“I appreciate that big guy and I promise that if this works you can, um, do that as long as you want another time.” Derek snorted.

“I’ll hold you to that. Do you have any—“

“In that cabinet. The tall, thin bottle,” Stiles cut in, jerking his head in its direction. He’d placed a simple preservation spell on it to keep the things inside lasting several times longer than they normally would. The wolf returned with the container of a clear gel, a curious look on his face. “Aloe vera,” he explained. “I brought some plants with me from…before. It grows in the greenhouse. Good for minor burns and injuries and, er, quite viscous and slippery.”

Heeding the need for urgency, Derek immediately gathered some on his fingers and applied it to his entrance and Stiles tensed at its coolness. He made himself relax again, allowing a thick finger to slip inside.

“More,” he gasped, rubbing himself against the bed. “I’ve…used fingers before.”

“I know,” Derek rumbled, pushing a second digit inside. “I’ve heard you.”

Stiles could feel himself turn bright red, which was really rather silly in his current position, but he couldn’t help being somewhat mortified. How many times over the past several weeks, since the kiss that wasn’t, had he brought himself off whispering the wolf’s name?

Derek chuckled and leaned down to kiss his left shoulder blade before going to nibble at his earlobe.

“I almost came to you a few times, my wolf going wild at how you clearly wanted us,” he whispered into Stiles’ ear, making him shiver. “But I figured you had your reasons and fantasy doesn’t always equal what one would actually do.”

“Didn’t want to scare you off…pressure you,” he said, panting.

“Well, I’m not going anywhere,” Derek replied huskily. “And as for pressure…”

The shifter got a bit more of the lubricant and added a third finger, stretching him wider than his own slender ones ever had. Reaching deeper than he could from those awkward angles.

“Derek!” Stiles cried out when he massaged that special spot within him.

“One more,” the wolf crooned, pumping faster and spreading his fingers. “Go ahead and come. I want you nice and relaxed for my knot.” Stiles clenched involuntarily at the thought. Right, werewolf. An alpha werewolf. He felt Derek’s pinky enter him and it burned some. “You’re doing so well.”

Propped up a bit on his elbows Stiles rocked his hips, fucking himself back onto Derek’s hand and then forward to rub his dick on the mattress beneath him, moaning. On some of the forward thrusts he ground down in a circular motion for maximum friction. He was so close. Stiles heard the shifter spit and then a hand was sneaking under him to grasp his shaft. He whined, moving faster between the two palms and then he was coming, spasming around the appendages continuing to piston into him.

Mere moments into the afterglow yet another wave of cold and weakness wracked through him and he cried out again, this time in fear, as his upper chest, shoulders, and face hit the mattress. Stiles managed to turn his head to the side.

“Please hurry!”

“Okay, okay,” the wolf soothed, withdrawing fingers from his still clenching hole and shoving a pillow beneath him before shaking more globs of gel out to coat himself. The slick sounds made him flush in anticipation. He felt Derek get into position and the press of his cock against his rim. “Deep breath.”

Stiles did as instructed, bearing down and gasping as the groaning wolf pushed into him steadily until he was all the way in, filling him.

“Fuck, you’re tight,” Derek hissed, pausing only a few seconds before grabbing him by the waist and beginning to thrust.

“First..time,” he said breathlessly, eyelids fluttering. It felt so good even lying there like a lump on a log, a doll for the werewolf to fuck. Derek growled again, a pleased sound, and Stiles grinned. “Oh, you like hearing that, big guy?”

“Yes,” the shifter answered before mouthing at the back of his neck and then down to his shoulder, fucking him harder. Faster. Stiles really hoped he survived so that he could actually participate next time, but if he was still going to die, well, what a way to go!

“Going to knot you, bite you,” Derek warned a few minutes later.

His cock made a valiant effort, but it was still too soon to harden again. Then the second part of that statement sunk in it and he tensed with worry.

“Not that kind of Bite,” Derek added hastily. “Mating bite. It won’t hurt you.” Stiles sighed in relief. “Well, you know, it’ll probably hurt ‘cause teeth, but—“

“I know what you meant,” he replied with a soft chuckle before gasping again. Stiles could feel the shifter’s cock swelling, spreading him even wider than his palm had. Derek groaned, thrusting in sharp jerks, and draped over him. The pressure was continuing to grow and he whimpered, sensitive, as pleasure teetered on the edge of pain. Then the knot locked inside him and Derek began to howl. Stiles intentionally squeezed around him.

Sharp fangs clamped down between his neck and shoulder and he wailed, overwhelmed as new senses and amplified or mirrored sensations crashed into him. He was stuffed full and enveloped by a tight, hot passage milking him all at once. Power coursed through him, a renewed vigor flooding his veins and refilling his nearly empty well.

When it got to the point of overflowing he looked within and severed the muddy, leeching connection. Stiles made sure to locate and tear out all of its remnants as well, his now red-tinged silver magic immediately rushing in to heal the resultant damage. When he returned to the outside world he was hard again, Derek grinding his still pulsing knot against his prostate, continuing to come with teeth embedded in his flesh.

“It’s done,” he whispered just before a second mind-blowing, mind-melding, orgasm swept through him and he proceeded to pass the fuck out.

When Stiles came to he being was cradled in Derek’s arms and sitting sideways across his lap, the shifter upright on his bed with his back against the wall. As the last images of some truly strange and spectacular dreams slipped away, he yawned and stretched languidly. He was not only alive, but felt good. Stiles wiggled to look into the green eyes of the very awake werewolf.

“Thank you,” he said earnestly, choking up. Derek nodded and swallowed thickly himself, taking one of Stiles’ hands in both of his and kissing it.

He noted that he was wearing his light robe and had obviously been cleaned up as he wasn’t sticky or anything after their activities. Stiles blushed at the memory and received a light squeeze on the ass, causing him to make a squeaky sound and redden more.

“So I guess I belong to you now, huh?” he said a few minutes later, curious and a bit uncertain, but not displeased with the situation. The part of him that was stubborn and contrary and so very independent grumbled a bit, but the rest of him was okay with the idea. He didn’t think the wolf would abuse whatever power he now held over him.

“No,” Derek replied, eyes crinkling at the corners. ”We belong to each other.”

“Oh, like family?”

“Yes, family. Mates. Pack.”

Stiles more than liked the sound of that just as he more than liked the werewolf. He was content to remain resting where he was for a while longer despite his not only returned, but increased strength — he’d have to give his new capabilities a whirl later — but felt a bit self-conscious as Derek continued to watch him intently with a serious, vulnerable expression. Gratitude. Reverence. Wonder, the new connection in his mind supplied. How cool was that?

“What?” he finally asked, kissing the wolf’s nose as a strong hand caressed his back. “You look like you’re the one who almost died.”

He said it teasingly, but Derek froze momentarily and then remained suspiciously silent. Stiles’ stomach dropped as his mind sharpened, rising from its nice, floaty haze.

“Derek?” The shifter eventually met his searching eyes. “What would’ve happened to you if I’d died?”

“That close to the formation of the bond? I would’ve followed you,” he answered quietly

Several emotions rushed through him, one after the other, before combining to make him a teary mess. Shock and gratitude for his choice. Anger and sorrow and guilt at the thought of Derek dying with him. For him. Elation that he mattered that much. Stiles swatted the wolf’s shoulder and then pulled him in for a kiss. He was bursting with the desire to express the depth of his feelings, but what came out was something else.

“As soon as I get up I’m sucking your dick, you idiot!” he exclaimed, scowling.

“Uh…is that supposed to be a threat or…?”

Stiles tried to smack him again, but Derek grabbed his hand, laughing.

“I just hate the idea of you risking your life like that. Knowing you could’ve died for me.”

Derek shrugged.

“You saved me. And more than that, you gave me a reason to live. An existence that's about more than mere survival. Kept me from starting to go feral and having to make a choice about that with only three shitty options.” The older man blushed and looked away. “You mean a lot to me. Make me happy, which I no longer thought possible.”

Stiles felt stunned. He also recalled a conversation from a while back about the basics of being a werewolf.

“Am I your anchor?" he asked tentatively. Derek gave him an unimpressed look.

“Obviously.”

"You know, I liked it better when you were all 'Magus this' and 'Master that,'” he glared, crossing his arms.

"No you don't," the shifter replied matter-of-factly.

Stiles groaned in annoyance and Derek smirked. He flopped out of the werewolf’s lap and onto his stomach on the bed, resting his head on his stacked forearms and hiding his face. Moments later he felt a hand petting him on the back of the head before lightly squeezing his neck. Arousal flashed through him and he wiggled a bit, making an embarrassing little noise.

The hand then ran up and down his back and the wolf rumbled possessively, which made Stiles giggle a bit. It wasn't like there was anyone around to witness much less warrant such displays. Their only other companion was a deer and an apparently very straight one at that based on his antics during the last few rutting seasons.

Fingers went back to his neck again, stroking over his bite mark, and Stiles moaned even louder this time.

"Is that an invitation, mate?” Derek asked with a growl in his voice.

“Yes, mate,” he replied, feeling a thrill at saying the word for the first time. He repeated his intention of sucking Derek off, but the stubborn werewolf said he’d made a prior promise. Before long Stiles was a writhing, begging mess and the werewolf was only satisfied once he came untouched from being eaten out alone.

He finally got his mouth on Derek’s cock once he recovered, having him sit up against the wall again, and did his best to get back at him. Stiles experimented with varying maneuvers of his tongue, lips, and hands and after learning some of what the responsive wolf liked most he gleefully teased him until the alpha’s hand shot out to hold his head in place, claws scraping lightly against his scalp. Stiles moaned at the action, his own cock leaking against his belly. Pausing to scent the air and receiving a jerky, eager nod, Derek began to thrust upward into his willing mouth until hot cum was coating his tongue and sliding down his throat.

Interesting, he thought, licking his lips afterward. It was no honey or tree sap, but definitely better than the godforsaken tea he’d been chugging yesterday. He fully intended to acquire a taste for it.

The mated pair spent their days much as they did before, but with the addition of regularly sparring and practicing finding or sneaking up on each other under a wide range of conditions. Not wanting to be at a disadvantage again, Stiles also worked on creating his own offensive spells and was able to make some actually effective defensive charms with his new abilities.

And then there was the sex, of course. The quick and dirty fucking and marathon lovemaking sessions and everything in between. Yeah, okay, so there were some major changes, but the plants in the greenhouse still needed tending and the seeds and nuts still needed grinding for flour and the clothes still needed washing, you know?

They built a larger home for the both of them, referred to as the Den, while maintaining their individual huts for those times when they needed space or simply wanted to work on something without disturbing the other. They also built a cob oven outside so they could bake crackers and dense, crumbly breads and granola from the dock seed, acorns, etc, instead of mostly using them to bulk up soups and stews, as breading, or to make a kind of gruel.

Larem finally got used to Derek even in his wolf form, the two of them actually cuddling together on occasion.

“I’m a disgrace to wolves,” the shifter muttered after the first time it happened.

“A very adorable disgrace,” Stiles said, attempting to console him before bursting into giggles.

“Just don’t befriend any boars or game birds,” Derek growled, glaring and wagging a finger.

Summer slid into autumn and when Stiles came across a huge beehive nestled inside a tree trunk he was over the moon. Sap was just fine, but the converted nectar was on a whole other level and he knew exactly what he wanted to do with most of his bounty. After returning with the necessary supplies he smoked the bees out and used his power to keep any stragglers from reaching him, taking care to make sure the hive remained habitable and the queen unharmed. Stiles collected nearly 25 pounds of honey, leaving more than enough for the bees to get through the winter.

Over the years he’d tried fermenting various things, sometimes doing so unintentionally as well, with a wide range of results. He kept about a third of the honey for sweetening and the rest he used to make a handful of different one gallon batches of mead. The glass containers were left to gather wild yeast, stoppered with airlocks, and then placed in a warm, dark place to do their thing with periodic tending.

Derek told him that he had no idea what day it was or even what month it was for sure, but that fall always reminded him of his family who’d made a big deal of the harvest celebrations between the equinox and the following full moon. Stiles had stopped paying attention to dates too for the most part, but was in the habit of marking a daily tally and so had the means of figuring it out if he so cared to. He later informed his wolf that it was September 27th.

Derek mentioned some other meaningful days from his past, including his birthday, which was on Christmas Day. Curious, his mate then asked when his birthday was and Stiles told him that it was April 8th, a couple months after they first met and a month or so before they got together. Derek frowned and said that he wish he’d known.

“Well my half birthday is coming up soon,” he replied, grinning.

Derek rolled his eyes, but prepared Stiles’ favorite meal for the event — roasted garlic and rosemary wild boar with honeyed parsnips — and worshipped his body all night, knotting him twice.

By the time Derek Day came around (Christmas was hard for both of them, especially Stiles, but Derek’s birthday they could do) most of the mead had been racked and was either aging or in secondary fermentation based on the alcohol content he was going for or the resiliency of the yeast. The rest they had already drank young.

All of it served its basic purpose of getting him tipsy (or more) and was drinkable at the least, but the blackberry melomel and the meadowsweet and dandelion petal metheglin were truly delicious. He gave a couple bottles of each to Derek as the first part of his 26th birthday gift. The wolf might not be able to get drunk, which Stiles vowed to remedy that one day, but he could enjoy the complex beverages all the same, sweet and semi-sweet respectively.

The second part of his gift was a rich cake-like dessert made with acorn flour, water, honey, boar grease, the last of the duck eggs from his new and improved preservation cooler, vanilla leaf, lavender, and salt, and baked in the cob oven. The third part was simply his mouth and ass, Stiles wearing a bow and everything. (Two bows actually, one around his neck and the other around his waist, made from berry-dyed woven foliage and scraps of fabric.)

On New Years Day he hitched the sled up to Larem once more to go exploring, but this time a massive black wolf trotted along side or ranged ahead to circle back around protectively. Another 5 weeks would mark a year since that fateful afternoon when his tiny world of two began to become a fuller, happier three. Brought him a companion who became a true friend and then even more. A mate.

They stopped to eat lunch near an unfamiliar river — he marked its location on his map and made a note to return and try fishing when it was warmer — and Derek shifted back, pulling on the thick, winter clothing Stiles had packed for him. He unfolded a small metal tripod with a hook and set his small cookpot on it, filling it with the leftovers of last night’s 3 meat and mushroom stew before placing kindling and dry chunks of wood underneath it to start a fire.

They sat on the sled and when their meal was bubbling nicely Stiles took some hay from a side bag, tossing it and a handful of acorns to the buck, and then ladled the stew into bowls. Two cups for him and three for the always hungrier wolf. They now had 10 fine spoons thanks to Derek’s superior wood-carving skills: the ladle, 3 other cooking/serving spoons, and 3 pairs for eating in different sizes. Afterwards he brought out an apple for each of them as well.

Derek watched as Larem happily munched on his and then turned to Stiles with a raised eyebrow.

“You know, you never did tell me exactly how you ended up with him.”

“Huh, I guess not,” Stiles muttered, thinking back as the shifter took a bite of fruit. “I found him a few months after I came out here, around the end of fall four years ago. He would’ve been around 2 1/2 then and one of his back legs had gotten broken somehow. I don’t know whether he was still with his mother’s herd or with a young bachelor’s group until then and got left behind or if he’d been already going solo, but at any rate, he was alone and leaning against a tree. Larem was able to move around, but it was doubtful that he could cover enough ground to feed himself properly, especially with winter coming, and he definitely couldn’t flee from any predators.”

Derek grunted in acknowledgment, tearing a huge chunk out of his apple.

“I considered eating him of course, but he was just so defenseless and looked at me with his big, curious eyes — he’d probably never seen a human before — and I just couldn’t do it. Besides I was lonely and rather bored and figured he might be a good project whether just in the short term or something ongoing.

“I had a ton of apples from some trees I harvested a few weeks before and had brought several with me, so I threw him a couple before approaching. He seemed fairly trusting or at least hungry enough to override his fear and while he focused on a third one in my hand I got close and used my magic to make him unconscious so I could work on his leg. I set the bone as best I could and was able to speed the healing along just enough for it to hold if he bore weight on it. When he woke up he seemed pretty confused, but snapped out of it once I gave him the apple.”

Stiles looked over to see Larem eyeing the red and green fruit he was currently holding and chuckled. He took out his knife and cut half of it into slices, tossing one to the buck.

“I got him to follow me home like this, giving him pieces of another three apples and eating one myself. Thankfully it wasn’t too far away. I had some hay and other dried plant stuff meant for mulch and more apples of course, so he hung around.

“I brought rope with me when I moved out here as well; it took two long, slow and heavy trips before I had everything I wanted and where we live is a good ways further than my original shelter at the time. I can make bark cordage now, but frankly the synthetic stuff is stronger so it’s good that I had it. Anyway, I fashioned a harness and lead from some of it and decided I would keep him unless he truly seemed unhappy. I thought I might be able to train him to carry bags or drag stuff for me and, well, the rest” — he finished with a dramatic flourish — “is history!”

Derek appeared suitably impressed with him and he smiled, throwing the rest of the slices to Larem.

“I’m pretty sure he kept me from going crazy too,” he added, biting into the remaining half apple. Derek gave him a look that said he wasn’t too sure about that and Stiles rolled his eyes.

“And then you found me,” his mate said, eyes still sparkling with amusement.

“Mmhmm,” Stiles hummed, nodding before swallowing his mouthful. “Three second chance strays: human, werewolf, and hart. Well, Larem was too young be a proper hart then, but he’s one now.” He gestured to the 6.5 year old buck. “It’s a much cooler term for you, right?”

Larem looked at him blankly and then snorted, turning and lying down on the patch of snow free ground under a tree now that food time was over. Derek laughed, leaning over to kiss him, and they fell back onto the sled. It was too cold to want to get naked out here, but he let his his knees fall open so that the alpha could lie between them and he could wrap his legs around him. They made out for a while, kissing and rubbing against each other through their layers.

Stiles didn’t know what the future held; whether they would just stay out here until death did them part or if they would venture back to civilization at some point either to stay or just occasionally to procure the stuff they really couldn’t get in the wild. Things made from metal and books and certain spices and medicines. Other company perhaps, strange as it now seemed.

Soft fabrics, at least for undergarments, when their clothes eventually wore down completely and couldn’t be patched or sewn together into more shirts or pants or briefs with other usable scraps. He could make thread from nettles and other plant fibers, but it was very labor intensive to do garments from scratch, not to mention, well, scratchy. All leather all the time would be a bit much as well, especially in the warmer months, but Derek could certainly rock the look and took to making it from his larger kills.

What Stiles did know is that they’d all saved each other and that he’d follow his mate anywhere. Based on the glint in the werewolf’s now red-ringed eyes and the love and arousal coursing down his bond that meant straight back to the Den to roll around naked. They hastily repacked their things and hitched the sled up to the annoyed deer, promising him additional, rarer goodies upon their return for interrupting his nap.

“Let’s go home!” he cried, getting into position and signaling for Larem to move. A loud, sustained howl was let loose just ahead and Stiles grinned into the cold air rushing by with a heart full of warmth.

Larem. About to lose his antlers, sick of your shit.

#sterek #stiles x derek #derek x stiles #sterek fanfic #sterek & stuff events #mead moons #mead moons 21 #mead moons becomes #mead moons buck #mead moons claiming #mead moons hay #mead moons herbs #mead moons mead #sterekweeklyexplore #sterekweekly #mead moons trisk

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theblueskyofthedawn · 11 months ago

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Prompt: "Beauty and the Beast".

Unnamed didn't know how often he returned to that riverbank.

Something about the water itself soothed him, put him at ease, like a forgotten lullaby, a lover’s touch.

Returning day after day, he looked at his reflection until one more piece of his fragmented mind settled into its proper place.

///

Dan Heng, fresh out of Shackling Prison, wide-eyed and confused, stumbled upon him on pure accident.

Well, it would be better to say that he stumbled onto this planet on pure accident, because the course General charted for him in advance led to a far more established planet, a bustling IPC port – or so he read, anyway.

But a chance encounter with a stray asteroid had him crash-landing on this far, forgotten planet instead, so that was that.

Locals were friendly enough to teach him some basic survival skills – you wouldn’t need to cook in prison, would you – but once they saw his prowess with his spear, in exchange they asked for a favor of him.

There was a flower, growing deep in the forest by the riverbank, that was beautiful beyond belief. And before, old people said, some brave souls would’ve gathered them already, as it was believed to be the best gift to the apple of your eye, be it a beloved one or a child of your flesh. But some time ago a wild beast made their den nearby, scaring away all living beings, humans and animals alike.

And he, unmoored in unfamiliar surroundings, agreed.

///

A bloodied flower returned to the village. He did not.

///

“You dared to come,” a savage grin slashed across the wild man’s face, “so you will stay”.

///

Living in the wild suddenly suited Dan Heng, Cloud-Piercer that clashed with the wild man’s sword just as easily turning to complement it instead. His soul longed to travel, to run away further, but something in his companion stayed his hand. He learned so much just staying by his side – his hands could make so many small, but helpful things, and when those hands bled, his dreams brought to the forefront how to soothe the pain, make it better, his dormant power not feeling dangerous for once.

And the more days went by, the less he could imagine his life without him.

///

Many, many moons later, water brought clarity to them once more.

“It’s you,” the one once named Yingxing rasped. Memories old and new swirled, confusing and yet so clear, in his mind’s eye. “You found me again”.

“…I suppose I did,” Dan Heng’s smile was crooked and sad, waiting for the light’s of his immortal, ever-changing life decision. He wasn’t the one who committed the sin – and yet even then he knew that only the secondary consequences were regretted. “What would you do with me?”

…he didn’t want to heed her word.

“Stay by your side until the end of times, my Moon”.

#writing #honkai: star rail #renheng #RHWhiteDay24

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abysskeeper · 1 year ago

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HEY HEY HEY what is the fauna like on the tiefling country???? What kind of weird ass magic and/or non-magic animals are wandering around in the country who's general regards to magic seems to be Fuck Around and Find Out??? (Not that many of the other places we have so far are very different lmao) did the siblings have any kind of like. Magical fantasy equivalent of owning a goddamn tiger for the sake of owning a tiger????

Hmmm...ok, ok @captain-castaway. Unnamed tiefling country is a large island country, with the inland being primarily tropic forests and mountains that merge into the beaches along the coastline. I'll put a readmore since this is a little longer of worldbuilding than I intended.

Inland primarily consists of megafauna. Not a lot of intentional engineering happened out there (aka no one really wanted to fuck around and find out what would happen if you made a tiger but Big), so it's pretty standard to what you'd expect of a tropical forest/jungle climate, but a lot of the fauna was/continues to be influenced by the magic happening on the island--and that primarily leads to everything being big. It is not rare to see some of the creatures infused with castoff elemental magic either (aka, tigers on fire or on ice and deer growing mushrooms out of their back...and all of them, I cannot stress this enough, are huge. Mushroom deer are a delicacy and one can feed like, 3 families for a few days).

The FAFO of the fauna on the island actually comes with the sea life and bird life. A lot of these creatures were enchanted and bred to help with sailing (both the sea and the air) and hunting. In the water, creatures that once shared ancestries with dolphins or sharks are used to haul cargo, pull and move boats (across short distances around the island, this saves and fuel needs), as well as scavenging and fishing. There are a variety of breeds (and sizes) in both depending on the need, and the magic infused with them range from enhanced senses and speed to some form of elementals (ice and wind primarily) to just being really fucking large and strong. Most have bioluminescence as well, primarily to blend into their surroundings as, at this point, most of the sea around the island glows as well.

Their birds are almost a carbon copy of the sea life for the exact same reason, with a variety of shapes, sizes, and magical capabilities, just in the air instead of the sea and all the birds were bred down from some type of raptor, thus all of them can be used for hunting.

The final major thing the tieflings introduced were the (planar)* hellhounds and hellcats. There's a variety of breeds of both: hellhounds were bred from both canine (common dog, coyote, wolf) and vulpine (foxes) descendants and infused with the infernal magics the tieflings carried. Their purpose ranges anywhere from guarding and protecting, to hauling, to hunting, to assistance with magical needs, to simply being companions, and they are easily the most magical creature on the island after the tieflings. They were supposed to all be domesticated, but like any civilization, feral colonies started popping up from strays all the time.

Hellcats are the hellhounds' feline counterpart, though they were bred primarily from the common house cat (and some other small cats. No one thought to infuse a tiger with infernal magic until the tigers were very large and they very smartly decided against giving them more of an advantage). Because of their typically smaller stature, hellcats are more commonly companions and/or assistants of magical needs (kind of like familiars, if you will).

*It should be noted Em's hellhound is an infernal, or true, hellhound. Most people outside of tiefling culture would not know to mark the difference, but planar hellhounds are usually smaller and less powerful than their infernal counterparts, given their interbreeding and the fact they were not born in the hells. Em's hellhound appears as a planar hellhound in most cases, being the size of a large dog, but he is significantly bigger, smarter, and more powerful than how he glamors himself to appear.

**Edit to add: Em's hellhound is what happens when you ask your dad for a puppy but your dad is an old infernal god who also can't say no to you.

#don't mind me #asks #yayyyy worldbuilding #I have way too much thought on tiefling culture #ember of the sea and sky

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silentspacenstuff · 1 year ago

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Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command: Lightyears Ahead

Here is my attempt at summarizing my BLOSC next-gen meets Lightyear AU (well, some of it, at least) as if it were a TV show. Feel free to share your thoughts; this is still a work in progress, so more will be added later.

Sixteen years post-BLoSC, Buzz and his team have entered new chapters in their lives, but still manage to find time to go on galaxy-saving adventures together. Though old and familiar enemies continue to wreak as much havoc as ever, a new foe lurks in the darkness, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Episode 1: Into The Unknown (part 1) Buzz and Mira's two oldest children, fraternal twins Astrid and Alexander, have signed up for a week-long space kiddie cruise with Captain Orion Starbelt aboard his ship, the GASS Intrepid. The first four days of the cruise pass uneventfully, with the twins making friends with some of the other kids in between various cruise activities. On the fifth day, Blaze Darkmatter and Zenith Horizon invade the Intrepid with the intention of infecting one of the ship's computers with a virus as a prank; however, the ship's navigation and communications network are damaged as a result of the prank, causing the Intrepid to stray off course and into an unnamed space anomaly, which catapults it far into uncharted space. Anxious to re-gain his bearings, Captain Starbelt orders his first officer, Azura Arcturus, to make an emergency landing on the nearest habitable world: the uncharted planet of T'Kani Prime.

Episode 2: Into The Unknown (part 2) Shortly after arrival on T'Kani Prime, the Intrepid is attacked by man-eating vines and giant bugs. The ship is damaged beyond repair as a result of the attack; luckily, the crew and children are rescued and taken in by a colony of stranded space explorers. As they settle in to life in the T'Kani colony, Astrid and Alex become acquainted with some of the colony's residents, including Izzy, the governor's granddaughter; Mo, a self-described 'curious observer' who loves to collect pens; Darby, a former criminal who can make a bomb with any three items; and Sox, the robot companion cat. After fleeing the Intrepid upon its crash, Blaze and Zenith take refuge within the ruins of a once grand city built by the Ezzari, an ancient alien race thought to have gone extinct around ten thousand years ago.

Episode 3: An Uneasy Alliance Back at Star Command, a search for the Intrepid and its crew and passengers begins. While performing a sensory sweep of the Intrepid's last known location before its disappearance, Teams Lightyear (Buzz, Mira, Booster, and XR) and Parsec (Ty, XL, Savy, and Cass) encounter Warp Darkmatter, who they capture for questioning after a brief chase through an asteroid field. Warp explains he has been searching for Blaze and Zenith, who, according to Buzz's calculations, went missing around the same time as the Intrepid. Sensing a common goal with Warp, Buzz proposes a temporary alliance with the ex-Space Ranger, which the others reluctantly agree to. Zurg, fed up with his minions' fruitless search for Zenith, begins to suspect Star Command of holding his daughter hostage and prepares to search for a defenseless planet whose freedom he plans to exchange for Zenith's safe return.

Episode 4: Scars From The Past As the search for the Intrepid continues, Commander Nebula recalls one of his first missions as a newly-promoted Space Ranger captain - and the day he lost not only the space exploration crew he was charged with escorting, but a very close friend as well. Back on T'Kani Prime, Governor Hawthorne reminisces about her past as a Space Ranger commander during lunch with Izzy and her parents. Meanwhile, Blaze notices his and Zenith's supplies are running low, so the two of them plan to invade the colony and steal more supplies from its reserves with the aid of techno-ticks swiped from Zurg's reserves.

Episode 5: Answer In The Ruins Izzy's scientist parents announce that their team has finally figured out a formula for a fusion crystal to power the beacon; however, the final ingredient is unavailable in the colony's reserves, and none of the colonists know where it can be found. Blaze and Zenith, having been apprehended by members of the colony's Zap Patrol during their attempted break-in, offer to lead a team consisting of Captain Starbelt, First Officer Arcturus, and Lieutenant Governor Burnside into the Ezzari ruins to search for a possible source of the last ingredient.

Episode 6: Homecoming (part 1) With the new fusion crystal installed into the beacon, the T'Kani colonists are at long last able to contact Star Command and provide them with the coordinates of their location. Zurg, having also received the signal from T'Kani Prime, heads for the coordinates provided and proceeds to take the colony hostage once he arrives. Unaware that Zenith is down on the planet surface, he sends a message to Star Command, stating that if they do not return his daughter to him within 24 hours, he will destroy the planet. An outraged Buzz immediately sets course for T'Kani Prime to rescue his kids, accompanied by his team plus Warp, Ty, and Cass. Meanwhile, Zenith convinces Governor Hawthorne and Lieutenant Governor Burnside to allow her to confront her father and get him to call off his attack on the colony. Burnside reluctantly agrees, and Hawthorne sends Zenith to meet with Zurg. Upon reunion with her father, Zenith tells him of the new fusion crystal created by the colony's scientists using an elusive mineral from the Ezzari ruins. Zurg, wanting such a crystal to power his evil machines, sends an army of Hornets to invade the colony and steal the crystal.

Episode 7: Homecoming (part 2) Hawthorne entrusts the crystallic formula to Sox before sending him with Izzy, Mo, Darby, Blaze, Starbelt, and Arcturus to hide with the children in a nearby bunker; she then places the crystal in a containment unit set to self-destruct to trick the Hornets. Shortly after arriving on the planet surface, Buzz and his team encounter Izzy and company at the bunker and are reunited with their children. Just when all seems well, Blaze grabs Sox and teleports with his father aboard the Dreadnought. Buzz heads into space to rescue the robotic feline, but Zurg sends Warp to hold him off while he prepares to extract the crystallic formula from Sox's memory. Back on the planet surface, Astrid accidently triggers a malfunctioning teleportation device on a downed Hornet, and despite Alex's attempt to snatch her away from it, both are teleported aboard the Dreadnought. Horrified, Mira heads into space aboard Cruiser 42 to rescue them. Izzy, Mo, and Darby accompany her, while the remaining Rangers remain on the planet to assist the colonists. Aboard the Dreadnought, Astrid and Alex find Sox and disconnect him from the ship's mainframe before the final ingredient can be downloaded, but before they can escape they are caught by Zenith and Blaze.

Episode 8: Homecoming (part 3) Zenith and Blaze have captured Astrid and Alex, but before the former two can decide what to do with the latter two, they are confronted by Mira and Izzy. While escaping from the Hornets patrolling the Dreadnought, Mo and Darby accidentally open the air lock. Astrid and Sox are almost sucked out into space when, much to everyone's surprise, Blaze manages to grab Astrid by the hand and pull her and Sox back in. Buzz, having dealt with Warp, turns his attention to Zurg, but during the fight between the two, the Dreadnought's self-destruct sequence is triggered. Luckily, Buzz is able to escape with Mira and the others before it explodes; however, Zurg also manages to escape with Warp, Zenith, and Blaze. In the aftermath, other ships arrive from Star Command to bring the children back to their families. After discussing the matter with her family, Izzy, along with Mo, Darby, and Sox, accompanies Buzz and the other Rangers back to Star Command to join the Space Ranger Academy.

Episode 9: Welcome To Capital Planet A huge celebration, which includes a concert performed by intergalactic pop sensation Verona Rupes, is thrown to welcome the Intrepid's crew and passengers back home from T'Kani Prime. Buzz assists Izzy in finding an apartment to rent while Mo and Darby go on a tour of Capital City. Torque, having ditched the community service assigned to him as punishment for his past crimes, disguises himself as a tourist so he can sneak into the Museum of Interplanetary Civilizations and steal some valuable artifacts.

Episode 10: Entrance Exam Having settled into their new apartment, Izzy, Mo, and Darby prepare to take the Space Ranger Academy Entrance Exam. Izzy becomes frustrated with the other two when she notices they aren't spending as much time studying as she is, yet they seem to have memorized more of the study manual than she has. During a coffee shop outing, Buzz reveals to Izzy he had to take the exam five times before finally passing it and assures her she can always try again if she doesn't pass the first time. A few days later, Izzy, Mo, and Darby all manage to pass their exams and enter the academy.

Episode 11: Newbies Their first day at the Space Ranger Academy goes anything but smoothly for Izzy, Mo, and Darby. Due to their inexperience with life in the Galactic Alliance, they almost immediately become a target for bullying; however, they do find new friends in fellow newbies Adam Featheringhamstan and Electra Pleiades. During lunch in the cafeteria, academy bully Spike Flannagan trips Adam, prompting Izzy to come to the latter's defense by throwing an overcooked meatball at the former; the meatball misses Spike and hits another cadet instead, causing a food fight to break out. The cadets are all given detention as punishment, during which a few of them thank Izzy for sticking up for Adam.

Episode 12: Don't Knock My Sox Off Izzy, Mo, and Darby are thrilled to receive their first assignment in space after their first few weeks at the academy, even though it's just traffic duty in Tanker Alley; however, Izzy's joy soon turns to dismay when she learns she won't be allowed to bring Sox along because of a rule not allowing Rangers or cadets to bring pets with them on missions or aboard Star Command HQ. After a discussion with Governor Hawthorne - and an anxiety attack from Izzy almost resulting in an accident - Commander Nebula agrees to make an exception and allow Izzy to bring Sox with her on future missions. Meanwhile on Planet Z, Blaze and Zenith are searching through Zurg's archives, where they discover a chip containing the still-intact consciousness of NOS-4-A2.

Episode 13: Prisoner Of Love Izzy, Mo, Darby, Adam, and Electra receive a tour of prison planetoid PC-7 in preparation for future assignments there. Gravitina catches sight of Mo and lures him to her cell in an attempt to trick him into releasing her; once he does, she flees back to her homeworld with the unfortunate Mo as her prisoner.

Episode 14: The Poachers When Maisie, a rare endangered white-eared rhinoceraffe who is expecting her first calf, goes missing on Karn, Ozma asks Team Lightyear to help her and Ty track her down before a team of poachers finds her. An old friend of Ozma's, Dr. Branson Betelgeuse, also arrives to help, but Ty does not trust him. Maisie is eventually located at the base of an erupting volcano in heavy labor. While Buzz and Ty attempt to re-direct the lava flow, Ozma and the others assist in delivering Maisie's baby. Shortly after the birth, the poachers arrive and Branson is revealed to have been working with them the whole time; however, he later has a change of heart and releases Maisie and her calf before the poachers can escape with them.

Episode 15: NOS-4-A2.0 Blaze and Zenith replace a chip intended for a new Star Command supercomputer with the chip containing NOS-4-A2's consciousness. As a result, the energy vampire is reborn as the vampire mainframe NOS-4-A2.0, which imediately proceeds to take control of several computers, household appliances, and unfortunate robots - including Sox, who bites Astrid and Alex's friend Megan when she tries to disconnect him from the mainframe.

Episode 16: Friends In Low Places While visiting Grandfather Nova on Tangea, Astrid, Alex, and Ben befriend a Grounder boy named Zodi, who happens to be the son of Mira's former love interest, Romac.

Episode 17: Escort Duty Izzy, Mo, and Darby accompany Buzz and his team on a mission to escort pop sensation Verona Rupes as she travels through Valkyran space.

Episode 18: Interrogation When Electra mysteriously falls ill, the academy headmaster orders an investigation into the cause of her illness, which Buzz and Commander Nebula arrive to assist with.

Episode 19: Astrid Goes Supernova To get money for her school's fundraiser, Astrid volunteers for a top-secret experiment in which she has to power-ghost through a generator. When she keeps coming home from school later than usual, Alex and Megan suspect foul play and secretly follow her to the underground laboratory where the experiment is taking place. Astrid promises to stop when they confront her, but the next night after bedtime she sneaks out to the lab for one last power-ghost. When Megan, who is spending the night, wakes up to find Astrid gone, she and Alex notify Buzz and Mira, who immediately suit up and head to the secret lab to rescue Astrid and put a stop to the ghosting experiment.

Episode 20: Wirewolf 2.0 During a slumber party at Astrid and Alex's school, the power cuts out suddenly. Though the school has a generator, there are no fusion crystals available to power it. Darby has an alternative - a Canis Lunis moon rock she acquired during a recent raid on a smuggling guild's hideout. When Megan turns on the light in the girls' bathroom, the radiation from the moon rock reacts with the bite mark she got from Sox while he was under NOS-4-A2.0′s possession, turning her into a smaller but equally dangerous version of the Wirewolf.

Episode 21: Of Boys, Fingernails, And Hop-Scotch During a get-together between the Crockett, Parsec, and Lightyear-Nova families, Rocket laughs at Buzz and Ty for allowing their daughters to paint their fingernails; but his laughter soon turns to outrage when he sees his son Kaden getting his nails painted by Astrid and Lucy. A few days later, when Zurg takes Mr. Cassini's fifth-grade class prisoner during a field trip, Kaden's talent at hop-scotch might be just the thing to outsmart the Evil Emperor and save everyone.

Episode 22: The Trials Of Seven Sisters Lagoon When a deadly hurricane on her homeworld of Lyuuba threatens the safety of her colony and family, Electra pleads with her parents to put aside their people's bitter rivalry with Bathyos and accept Senator Panchex's offer of help; meanwhile, Megan's brother Sam tries to get a photograph of a rare Lyuuban speckled porpoise for Ozma so she'll raise his allowance.

Episode 23: Revenge Of The Dopplegangers Zenith and Blaze find themselves caught in the middle of a brawl between two rival gangs on Tradeworld, but are saved by four mysterious rescuers who turn out to be Evil Buzz and the now adult Clone Rangers. They reveal they are planning to rob the largest bank on Capital Planet and frame Buzz for the crime as revenge against the legendary Space Ranger.

Episode 24: Take Your Kids To Work Day It's Take-Your-Kids-To-Work Day at Star Command, which means a chance for Space Rangers’ children to witness their parents in action. However, a certain evil emperor is also having his daughter tag along with him on his latest quest to bring down Buzz Lightyear - and Astrid, Alex, and Ben along with him!

Episode 25: Kurangaituku While being held prisoner by Vulturian pirates, Mo recalls a legend from his childhood that aids him and his fellow prisoners in their escape from the pirates' fortress.

Episode 26: Space Cowboy Buzz responds to a distress call sent from a familiar location; but when he arrives, the local sheriff doesn't believe the community requires the Space Ranger's assistance. Meanwhile, Astrid and the sheriff's son, Todd, bond over their attempts to tame a wild horse.

Episode 27: Sea Of Rocks And Hard Places Level 10 prisoner Scyllika Tanifa, a Lyuuban flooder with the ability to immobilize her foes with eye contact, escapes from her maximum security cell on PC-7 and flees to her homeworld; Team Lightyear investigates reports of a rare sea monster terrorizing the Messina Isles, one of Lyuuba's most popular vacation spots.

Episode 28: Monster Mayhem Andi's father, Professor Cepheus Sagittarian, is overseeing the excavation of an ancient Ezzari settlement on Talera-5 with the assistance of former Space Ranger Meryllia Azimuth when the dreaded Shape-Stealer arrives by way of a supply crate; Megan acquires a bracelet found in the ruins which, when equipped with a moon rock shard, enables her to transform into a Wirewolf at will while remaining in control of her Wirewolf form.

Episode 29: The Runaways Sensing Zurg may be on to his plans of betrayal, Warp gives Blaze a mysterious package and urges his son to flee. Ty, having discovered Megan's mutation by accident, gets into a heated argument with his daughter, which ends with him confiscating Megan's bracelet while forbidding her from ever transforming into a Wirewolf again. The following night, Megan steals her bracelet back and stows away aboard a ship leaving Karn.

Episode 30: The Search As Teams Lightyear and Parsec assist a distraught Ty in searching for Megan, Blaze is saved from space gangsters by a mysterious robot wolf, whom he has no idea is actually Megan in her Wirewolf form. But after a day of travelling together, the two are attacked by Raenoks searching for wild beasts to battle their gladiators. When Megan is captured by the Raenoks, Blaze has no choice but to turn to Buzz Lightyear for help in rescuing his new friend.

Episode 31: A Deal With The Devil After being captured by the Raenoks, Megan is brought to their largest gladitorial arena to fight against their fiercest warriors. Team Lightyear heads to the Raenok homeworld to rescue her, accompanied by Ty and Blaze, the former of whom is forced to make a difficult decision in order to save Megan from being crushed by a Raenok gladiator.

Episode 32: Return To T'Kani Prime Back on T'Kani Prime, the colonists discover a lost traveller and offer to let him stay for the night. The mysterious guest turns out to be Flint, who proceeds to take the colony hostage and use its factories to build more shriekers. However, one brave colonist manages to send out a secret distress signal, bringing Izzy and Team Lightyear to the rescue.

More TBA

Some creative liberties were taken here and there, which include the following:

*Buzz is married to Mira, and they are the parents of Astrid, Alexander, Benjamin, and Sophie. Both continue to work for Star Command, but often one will stay home to look after the children while the other takes on a mission; sometimes the kids will be taken along if the mission is deemed safe enough.

*King Nova agreed to Buzz and Mira's marriage under the condition that whichever of their children is most Tangean-like would succeed him as ruler of Tangea; so far, Astrid seems the most likely candidate to him.

*Though Tangean society has for the most part become more open and tolerant toward other races, some bigoted attitudes still remain.

*Ty Parsec is now a Space Ranger captain with his own team (Team Parsec) and is married to Ozma Furbanna; they reside on Karn with their three children: Samuel, Megan, and Lucy. Though happy with the changes in his life, Ty is still haunted by the memory of the Wirewolf and worries about the possibility that his kids might have inherited the mutation from him.

*Bonnie Lepton is a Star Command medical doctor and married to Fop Doppler; they are the parents of Beaumont (Beau) and Annabelle (Belle).

*Petra Hammerhold and Plasma Boy are married and have a son named Peter, who is nicknamed "Plasma Pete".

*Rocket Crockett is married to Melanie Kuiper, a Star Command engineer; they have three sons: Carter, Quentin, and Kaden. Though some tensions still exist between Buzz and Rocket, they are learning to put their rivalry aside for their children's sake.

*After ten years of duty as a fax machine and printer, XL is back on Ranger duty as a member of Team Parsec.

*Madam President is retired and has been succeeded by her niece, Miss President.

*Sox is Izzy's robot companion rather than Buzz's; he was issued to Izzy by her grandmother to help her cope with her anxiety.

*Warp still works for Zurg, but secretly plans to rebel against him in the hopes of ensuring a better future for his son Blaze.

*Though NOS-4-A2's physical form was destroyed by Ty as the Wirewolf, a chip containing his consciousness survived; at some point Zenith and Blaze steal the chip from Zurg's archives for future use against Star Command.

*Evil Buzz has teamed up with the now-adult Clone Rangers to plot revenge against Buzz.

*Having lost the possibilities of Buzz and Evil Buzz, Gravitina has turned her attentions to Mo.

*Alisha was Commander Nebula's predecessor as leader of Star Command; the two were also close friends.

*Alisha is still alive, but widowed; Kiko died two years before the Intrepid's arrival on T'Kani Prime.

*The T'Kani colony consists of both humans and aliens, though humans are the majority. At the time of the Intrepid's arrival on T'Kani Prime, they have been stranded on the planet for fifty-two years and have yet to successfully send a distress signal to Star Command, informing them of their whereabouts. Despite having an operational beacon at their disposal, they still need a fusion crystal to power it: one strong enough to carry the signal all the way to Capital Planet and Star Command, but stable enough for the beacon to handle. The colony's scientists have tried many times over the years but so far failed to create such a crystal with the limited resources available to them.

#Buzz Lightyear of Star Command #Lightyear #next generation #alternate universe #lightyears ahead #buzz lightyear #blosc

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elshells · 2 years ago

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Happy WBW! What kind of pets do people keep in your world, if any?

~tabswrites

Happy WBW! <3

This question made me realize that most of my characters don't have pets, and it's kind of a shocking revelation given that I've spent my whole life living with animals (as pets, of course, I promise I wasn't raised by wolves XD).

One exception to this is Max from Agent Ace. His family has a sweet, friendly tabby cat named Hudson, who will eventually make an appearance in a chapter to come! But so far, I think that's the only pet I've written about. There's a pack of stray dogs in EMBR of the Earth that coexists peacefully with humans, but they wouldn't qualify as pets.

However, I do have an unnamed fantasy WIP that, while I haven't written a word for it, I've begun outlining and worldbuilding for. The setting is heavily inspired by Greek mythology, and I've been toying with the idea of introducing an animal companion for the main cast that's basically a Cerberus puppy. A genetic mutation could result in a dog being born with three heads, and I think such a doggo would be an excellent addition to the story I'm trying to build!

#thank you for the ask!#worldbuilding wednesday #wip: agent ace #wip: embr of the earth #featuring undisclosed fantasy wip #ella's writing

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rainsnz · 2 years ago

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kazuha — there’s a storm on its way from the east of inazuma. kazuha’s always been sensitive to the weather, but something about this one settles an irritating feeling in his nose that he just can’t seem to get rid of. is this a foreshadowing? (could be pre or post vision hunt decree, whichever you’re comfortable with!)

Hi everyone, Kazuha's my favourite character so obviously he's the one I was going to write for next anyway. Thank you very much for requesting him, I enjoyed this a lot :) Please leave a comment if you enjoyed as it helps me with knowing if I did well or not!

Rainstorm

(Kazuha & friend (unnamed)) (4.4 k words)

As usual, Kazuha knows a storm is coming long before anyone else does.

The acrid sting of lightning mixed with the fresh scent of rain upon saltwater. An unmistakable sensation stirring in his perceptive nose that immediately tells him every last detail of the incoming inclement weather. A sharp sniff of the easterly winds heralds the foreboding forecast.

He thinks nothing of the itch ghosting against the edges of his nasal passages, simply dismissing it with a soft sniffle, a dignified finger against his nostrils. The strong ozone flavor always contrasts so strongly with the gentle hum of precipitation, and tends to awaken a particular tickle in the back of Kazuha’s sensitive nose. That’s not to mention the varying temperatures messing with the delicate balance of his sinuses, nor the cold rain and humidity itself that always invites a sneezing fit or two whenever the storm first makes itself known. It’s still bothersome, though - which is why, with a quiet sigh, he bends his index finger underneath his septum with a gentle rubbing motion.

Rustling sounds beneath him distract Kazuha temporarily from his slight nasal discomfort, and he inclines his head towards his blond companion, a soft smile alighting upon his face. Kazuha’s perched upon a sturdy branch in a tree, above the pile of leaves that they’d slept on, looking out into the breathtaking scenery. The morning truly is a beautiful one, with the rosy dawn’s fingers stretching across peach-coloured clouds, and with birdsong gently caressing the ears, resounding around the forest in which they’d laid to sleep.

“Morning, Kazuha.” A yawn, and the blonde stretches, revelling in the gentle rays of sunshine. Kazuha himself revels in the gentle beauty of his friend, whose boyish features shine in this early light. He fits so well against the forest’s natural glory, with a few stray leaves delicately perched in his pale-golden hair.

His friend turns to him, the pleasant dreams slipping from him slowly, and a questioning expression replaces his sleepy stupor.

“What’s up?” asks the boy who he’d shared a camp with, eyes trained on Kazuha’s twitching nostrils. He, like many others, has clearly learned that the samurai’s nose has never led anyone astray.

Kazuha hates to break his silence, preferring to listen to the song of the forest and the lovely rustle of leaves in the wind, but he finds it pertinent to inform his friend of his discovery. “Storm’s coming,” Kazuha intones, eyes flicking to the east. “We should get moving if we want to stay dry.”

The blonde-haired boy frowns, looking at the clear skies broken only by the leafy canopy that they currently sit beneath. “I believe you, Kazuha, but we probably still got a day before it hits, right? I want to investigate what the townspeople were talking about with the herbs in the forest.”

There had been talk of a very rare medicinal herb, native to this region. If they were to collect it and bring it back to the village, they’d be alright for a while, money-wise. Eating random things in the forest had been, well, fine, but both had begun to crave the foods of their upbringing after long days on the road. “Come on, with your nose, we’re practically set.”

“I know that, but…” Kazuha trails off, finger still pressed to his nostrils, scrunching up his irritated nose with another soft sniff. “I-it’s a strong one, I can feel it.”

He does have to admit that visually, the skies are forecasting a beautifully sunny day, but the sheer itchiness prickling at a particularly sensitive crevice in his nose is screaming that the storm is practically upon them. And - oh, his nose gives a twinge of itchiness, and although the finger digging into his septum has thus far been somewhat effective at staving off the insistent tickle, his nose is no longer so willing to listen - his mouth opens, and his eyes flutter shut, a small gasp the only warning before -

“h-a-aah-Ishh-! h-aAhhisshh! haH-eKSHH-!! h-hah-! …”

Kazuha wavers, eyes still tightly squeezed shut, as the itch rages on in the back of his nose, the sneezes having dispelled exactly none of the irritation; in fact, they may have just fanned the flames. Previously his nose has been experiencing a slight tickle, which has now erupted into a burning sensation not unlike the feeling of firecrackers’ sparks against skin. Only, his nose is so much more sensitive than normal skin, and the slightest itch is starting to make his nostrils flare erratically, mouth snapping open for more -

“hhyiihh-ESHH-! h-iihhISHH’n! h’AKKshh-!!”

The sneezes are stifled against his finger, harsh against his throat, and yet his poor irritated nose begs for more-! Kazuha has no choice, his helpless sniffle leading almost immediately into an itchy sneeze -

“h-iyAHKSHHn-h’kssh-h’iiHKSHh—!” A brief pause, and the samurai lets out a small sigh, rubbing at his reddened nostrils with the back of his hand. Not very dignified, but at least it’s better than wiping it against his sleeve - something he’s resorted to when his nostrils are streaming and he can’t stop sneezing, but now is, thankfully, not that time.

Worryingly, his nose still itches, the tickle only slightly lessened, still bothering his sensitive nostrils. Kazuha sniffles wetly out of instinct against his hand, keeping it there as he can feel the shadow of a sneeze starting to approach once more.

“Bless you.” His friend’s voice reaches him, but Kazuha shakes his head, his eyes fluttering shut once more as his breaths catch in his throat -

“iih-hiHshh-!! h-ahiSH-! h-ihhhkshh-!!”

A rapid-fire trio of sneezes stifled into the finger jutting into his nostrils, followed by a wet snort-sniffle. Unfortunately that only irritates his nose further and he gasps, nostrils flaring to the size of acorns -

“hih-hiih-hIIHKSHH-! hi-SKHiuu-! hih-h’KSHn-!”

His head is thrown back, hair tossed in the air as he gasps helplessly, lungs spasming - one hand hugs the tree’s trunk while the other catches as many sneezes as possible, “iiiHhiiiTCHH-iiKSSHHIYUH!’kksHIIII-!!” He wavers, breath catching as he’s bent forward, his nose squirming against his palm - “-ihhIHH-hh’-!! h’Kshhyii-! n’kshii-!! h’AKKSHyiii-!!…snff. hi’kshsh-!! ..snffsnff……” A shaky inhale, and despite the itch rattling around in his sinuses he can breathe without falling into a fit. He sniffles again, habitually, and apologetically rubs his nose as he casts his gaze downwards at the other man. The rubbing does not seem to be relieving the tickle, and he can’t stop sniffling in a fruitless attempt to quiet his complaining nostrils.

His companion peers up at him, an affectionate grin reflecting the sunlight. “Better get out of that tree before you sneeze yourself off the branch.”

On another day, Kazuha might have retorted - there’s never any danger of losing his balance, as he’d trained for many years to be as agile as he is now, but the slight teasing tickle keeps his mouth shut for fear of yet another sneeze escaping. Instead he leaps down, landing lightly on his -

The samurai stumbles, taking another step to balance himself from the rough descent, and the other man catches him up by the arm.

Unsteadily, heart beating a bit faster from the unexpected surprise of losing his footing, Kazuha smiles sheepishly at his friend. “Th-thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” His comrade hums, already walking deeper into the forest. “Now c’mon, we gotta get going if we want to beat the storm you were talking about.”

…

A rosy sunrise blossoms into a quiet morning. The birds are not singing their usual fare, and if Kazuha hadn’t already smelt the lightning on the air he would have found their absence alarming. In fact, it is rather unnerving to walk in this strange atmosphere, when all the creatures have scattered or hidden in preparation for the storm; he feels rather vulnerable, out here in the forest, not knowing any good escape routes.

“You’ve been sniffling a lot,” Kazuha’s friend notes, as they cross a stream. “Guess it makes sense, since we’re relying on your nose right now.”

Kazuha himself had not really noticed, so he only hums noncommittally in response. He has to focus in order not to reflexively sniffle after his friend has pointed it out, instead settling with a cautious finger against the sensitive appendage.

His nose has been itching almost non-stop. It’s making the task a thousand times harder than it should be, making tracing a faint leafy scent analogous to pinpointing a specific fragrance in a perfume shop. Every slight sniff and change of scenery fills his nose with sensations that would normally only be slightly tickly, now filling his nose with a magnified itch that he wants badly to clear with a strong sneeze.

“Which way now?” The voice breaks him from his musings and Kazuha blinks, before tilting his head to the side, sniffing softly.

Following the fragile scent is difficult enough when his nose is terribly distracted by an itch teasing, flickering at the back of his nose. Inhaling purposefully sends another tickle against the agonizingly-sensitive reddened rims; a hand flies up against his nostrils, cupping the suddenly-flaring entrances with a weak barrier of protection. A breathless gasp - “-ehh-scuse me-“ a slight wiggle to his ticklish nostrils - “ehehh..!” and he’s past the point of no return as his eyes squeeze shut into his hand - “eeHEHH-KShYiii-!! e-hKSHII!! e-e-hhKSHHIyuu-!! heh-ISHH—!”

A soft moan; Kazuha sniffles against his hand, grimacing slightly at the mess, and the beginnings of congestion that the sneezing hasn’t solved - he can already tell from his own fluttering gasps that his nose isn’t quite finished, and his eyes are shut even before he can open them to see his friend’s questioning gaze -

“-hh.. hi’ihh-!!”

Another wavering gasp, an agonizing pause -

“..ihihh-..”

For a moment Kazuha contemplates picking up a flower and taking a sharp sniff to clear his tickly sinuses by force. Every hitching gasp, torturously teasing at his senses, is making this idea less of an idea and more of a reality.

“-hh-iiiihh-h.!”

He needs the sneeze out now, his nostrils impossibly wide as they suffer from the whims of the tickle.

“iiiihh-h-..!”

Streaming eyes open against the world, and he grasps the stem of a hanging blossom, dangling from vines above, pressing his flaring nostrils into its sweet pollen -

“-HhIIIIHHHEKSSHHIYYUUUUUU- h’IIKKSSHHIIU-hh-ehhIIYYEESHHH-iiESSHIIIUU-!!!”

Petals scatter to the sudden wind as his head jerks backward, an angry tickle burning through his suffering nose like the fuse on fireworks -!

“iiiHhiiH-ISSHH-!! h-ahh-!! h-AAKKSHH!! h’AKKSHIIYYUU-! h’kkSHHIIIIehh-!!”

Kazuha does not regret much about his life, but as he hitches desperately, his nostrils trying to violently empty themselves of the fragrance and the storm of pollen currently plaguing them, he counts this amongst the things he wishes he hadn’t -

“iiYYEESHHIIIU-iiEEKKSHHIYUUUU!! hii’hKSSHHYIUU-h’ii-ihhKKSSHHIIIEEHH-!!”

Burning throughout his nostrils summons a heaving gasp, his lungs bending like jelly to the whims of his sinuses’ attempt to expel the itch and, now, the pollen. Normally the fragrance of flowers already sends Kazuha into a helpless fit; the combination of his debilitating itch, borne from the ominous promise of storm clouds that he can’t quite shake, and this new sharp intake of pure hay-fever torture, is his downfall. His eyes are burning and itching, but that’s nothing compared to the absolute disaster that is currently fluttering at the walls of his extremely sensitive nasal passages like a thousand leaves in a hurricane; he can barely draw air into his lungs fast enough to compensate, the sneezes bursting out in spiraling fits swiftly -

“-hihi-IIEESCH-!h’YIIIIESSHH-hh-iiiIYYEESHH-h’yyiIIIIEESHHHIIUUU!!!”

Desperate sneezes against his steepled hands attempt to expel the irritants, his nose’s sensitivities protesting the strength of the invading allergens.

“-’YIIIEESHHH-iiuuuu-!! h’iIIEYYYIIEESHHH!!......snfffff-!!”

He recovers with a wet sniffle. It seems that the fight against the omnipresent itch has been won, at least for now, as it once again settles into a background drone. On the other hand, the fight against being an absolute mess of snot is one he is not eager to face. It’s time to resort to - Kazuha’s cheeks flush with embarrassment, awkwardly guiding his hands away from the absolute disaster as he peeks over the edge of his sleeve.

“uhhhnn…” another timid sniffle and he hides his dripping nose behind the cloth on his arm. “..Sorry.”

His friend’s smile is one of sympathy; he digs around in his pocket and produces a square of fabric. With one hand he shakes it out and extends it to the samurai. “Here.”

Kazuha’s free hand accepts the cloth scrap gratefully. “My thanks.” Quickly he pulls it over the bridge of his nose, pressing his hands over it to conceal the mess. He blows his nose, as softly as he can manage, as his friend watches on patiently. When that doesn’t rid his nostrils of the itch he tries again, the sound embarrassingly wet and obnoxious, reminiscent of an ailing horn - yet still woefully weak against the towering foe of nasal irritation. The snot gurgles, wet and sticky, out of his quivering nostrils and into the now-soggy folds of the cloth, and it’s mortifying.

Kazuha could have stood there blowing his nose for hours, trying to dull the blade of itchy torture sharpening its distracting sensation against his nasal passages - yet something tells him that this itching feeling won’t leave him very easily. Self-conscious of the expectant gaze upon him, he inhales deeply, steeling himself to try to search the forest once more.

The samurai’s eyes are watering, yet he still sniffles, nostrils flaring as he tries to catch the scent of the herb, and that’s definitely a mistake right after an attempt of clearing his nose - in rushes a cacophony of starkly contrasting scents, which had formerly been dulled by the congestion plugging his passageways. Layers of horribly strong, torturously tickly fragrances of flowers and leaves and dirt and the looming threat of a storm - dizzying, leaving his mouth snapping open, his face once again ducking into the safety of the cloth -

“-hh’ah-! h-aHH-iSHH!! haHHkSHH!! h’aKKSHHII-!!”

The blonde-haired companion has been trying not to call too much attention to Kazuha’s sniffly dilemma, but at this point the samurai’s suffering is too obvious to ignore. “Do you want to take a break or something?”

“ih-hIHKSH-n! ‘ksshnt-! -snf- N-no, I - hh’AKSh-! snf- I’m a-aaaHHKSHH!h’akSHH-!! I’m, alright-‘kkshh!…-snf..” He blasts his nose into the soggy cloth, turning away from his friend’s worried gaze. After a slight pause to catch his breath, he straightens up, trying to conceal his sniffling in the folds of the pseudo-handkerchief.

Unfortunately, he’s not quite sure where the herbs might be - his nose is certainly very distracted and it’s rather embarrassing to admit. So, holding his breath this time, he walks blindly into the woods where he thinks the scent had been wafting from. As he calls back to his friend, Kazuha has to fight to keep his voice level. “..L-et’s go, th-the skies won’t stay- ihkshh!! snf.. won’t stay-- iiiHHHKSHH-!! ..s-stay clear for long.” (And neither will his sinuses, as he blows his nose again in an effort to trace the herb’s scent once again.)

His hand is tightly pressed against his nose, and he squeezes his eyes shut with a quiet stifled fit. “iihKSH! ih-k’shT-! i-i’kSHihh-!!”

He’s far ahead enough of his friend that they’re silent, masked by the sound of rustling leaves. Not so easily hidden is the crimson hue that the rims of his nostrils have taken on, and the steady stream of involuntary sniffles that keep uselessly attempting to rid his sinuses of the annoying itchy feeling.

“You sure this is the right way?” His friend calls, starting to close the distance, because Kazuha’s starting to slow, unable to see through a hazy fog of itchiness and of tears arising from the forceful fits. “I think we might’ve just walked in a circle. Isn’t this where we camped last night?”

Alarmed, Kazuha stops, blinking the bleariness out of his eyes. His heart sinks as his gaze lands upona very familiar tree. “..Yes, this is indeed where we…” A sharp sniffle interrupts him, and wearily he brings his hand up, rubbing at his nose. “..snf-snff.. I’m sorry, friend, I think.. ihhKSHH-! I think I got confused.”

His blond companion tsks, studying the scenery as he strolls over their former campsite. “You’ve sneezed like, what, a hundred times in the last few minutes alone. Is the smell of the storm that distracting?”

The guilt in the samurai’s stomach twists like a sword. Why can’t he stop sneezing? “I r-really am sorry, I didn’t - snff-! - Didn’t expect - snff-! to be so..snf-..” A scrunched up nose points to the source of his problems, yet he soldiers on, voice wavering more and more dangerously; “Th-the i-itch, it - snff-!!.. snf!..sorry, it- snff-!! ihiiihhh-it’s…”

He pauses, a hand raised to hover under his nostrils. He waits, hoping for the irritation to fade - and, to his dismay, the itch proves too overwhelming. His nose scrunches up, a sniffle to dissuade the tickle from spreading fails miserably, and a moment later his hitching gasp completely derails his train of thought. “I-I haftasne-eze…” Kazuha whispers in a rush, an eye already sliding shut even as he fights to keep them open -

“iihhIIIHHESSHIUU-!! h’ahhISHH! h’AHHkSHH-!! h’kSHIIYUU-ha’akshIYUU-!!”

His hands are soiled, but he continues to try to sneeze quietly into them - key word being try -

“ii’iIYYEshh!! N’kshh!! h-kSHH-!!h’iKSHh-!!”

“Maybe we should turn back after all…” Kazuha’s friend finally says. His hand settles against Kazuha’s shoulders, which shudder with every badly-stifled sneeze. “We can make it back to the village by nightfall, and I remember the way.”

“N-ot until we- hhAHHSHn-! h’AAHKsh-! until we f-iiHHKSSHHIYUU-!! find the - IHHKSHHyyIU!! th-the her’kshhhiiu-! h’ehYIISHH-!!”

“Kazu, I can’t even understand what you’re saying.” His friend murmurs gently, smoothing loose strands of hair out of the samurai’s face as he jolts forward with a fittish sneeze. As he rears back with another gasp, the man deftly catches the scrunched up nose with his fingers. A frown forms on his fair face as the back of his hand brushes Kazuha’s forehead. “That’s it, we’re going.”

There’s no way he can argue now, incapacitated with an itchy fit burning its way through his nostrils. The boy’s nose quivers, held hostage by his friend’s well-intentioned fingers, yet the sneezes aren’t quite willing to simply wilt away on command; nay, they surge forward, the stifled nature sending sharp pains through Kazuha’s abdomen.

“-iik-shTT-! hi’ikSHH! h’kSHH-t!! h’nkSHh-!!”

A small involuntary whine alerts his friend, who quickly releases the poor, crimson-red abused nostrils - which instantly flare as Kazuha’s face crumples into a desperate expression -

“-hhieEESHHIyyUUUU-!! h’iiYEESHHIIIi-!!h’kkSSHHII-!’kSHHyiiiUUU-!!! h-hh-hHHIIYEEIISHHHIIIIuu-!!h-hh--hhii---hh’ii-iiih-EEKSHHHYIIUUUUUU-!!!”

A particularly hard sneeze makes him stumble forward, and Kazuha most definitely would have ended up face-planting, had his friend not been standing there.

“Ok, ok. You’d better sit down.” A steadying hand on his back guides him onto the forest floor. He’s grateful, as he’s terribly dizzy for some reason. But as much as Kazuha wants to thank his friend he can’t, not when his breaths are seized by the urge to expel as much air as possible in the form of helpless sneezes.

“-YIIIIEEESHHH-!! h’yiIEESHH!!..h’kSHHHIIIIIiyuuu!!”

He’s too busy gasping to speak in detail, but his message is urgent. Even despite the miasma of hazy scents, the samurai’s senses are filled with the static of lightning. The storm is upon them, and his nostrils are very displeased with the turn in weather. Kazuha pinches his horribly itching nostrils, voice squeaking amidst a flurry of sneezes - “hii’kSh! h’KSHI-! G-guhh-nda -hhAA’ksHH!! h’kSH-! r-rain-nh’akkSHH!!”

The storm chooses that exact moment (right on schedule according to the intensifying tickle in Kazuha’s nose) to materialize above the two, a booming clap of thunder heralding its appearance. Fat raindrops patter onto the leaves above them, wind rushes against heavy branches, and Kazuha’s friend stares upward, muttering a string of curses as the fury of the skies pounds against their backs.

“Shoulda listened to you, huh?” The blonde, now very soggy-haired boy remarks, as he leans closer to his friend, a hand protectively shielding the pre-occupied, red-nosed samurai from the pouring rain. The other hand tugs at his arm, helping him to stand. “C’mon, let’s hurry…”

Kazuha isn’t quite sure what happens next, on account of the fact that his eyes are squeezed shut, and his breaths are stolen by sneeze after sneeze. All he knows is that the world is all dark but his nose and throat are on fire. Through cold and soaking freezing wet he stumbles, depending solely on his friend’s guidance, he shudders from the cold and sprays sneezes indiscriminately into the brush they are crashing through. He’s glad his eyes are shut because he’s pretty certain that he would not be able to walk in a straight line - actually, it’s a miracle he’s still on his feet, thanks mostly to the fact that most of his weight is being supported by his companion.

“Just a little further,” a voice urges, and he can’t quite place who it is. He feels rather strange, and very tired, and very dizzy, and his nose itches badly, so he stifles yet another sneeze into his elbow - “hi’kshh!!”

Their footsteps eventually sound different, as if they are against rock rather than spongy brush, and Kazuha dazedly wonders if they’ve entered a cave, from the way that the noises echo - but that can’t be right. He can’t smell the damp scent of mushrooms and stagnant water, nor the dusty scent of stones. An experimental sniff yields nothing - his nose is entirely too stuffed up for that, and he’s left coughing, his throat burning from the failed attempt at sensing his surroundings. A moment of panic, as if he’d been blinded, fills his crippled senses, but he’s quickly soothed by a comforting hand upon his shoulder. “We’ll stop here.”

Something dry, and soft, is eventually pressed against his nostrils, and Kazuha uses the last of his breath to blow his congested-yet-runny nose into its folds. It helps, somewhat, and with a shuddering breath he can once again open his eyes.

His friend is there, and when he catches sight of Kazuha looking back at him, he exhales with relief. “You alright?”

Kazuha nods, although that hurts his head, and he tries for a weak smile. “Yeah, I-” He realizes that his nose is scrunched up. With a shaky sigh, he pinches at his nose. “...Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I shoulda listened to you when you said it was going to storm in the first place.” The blonde blows steadily into a small stack of sticks, and a fire flickers to life.

The smoke is strong-scented enough that it burns through Kazuha’s congestion, and he pulls away, a sneeze erupting swiftly from his liberated sinuses - “hhyAA-ISHH!! hy-AiISSHIUU-!!” Hurriedly he presses the cloth against his nose, a flush settling on his features.

“Bless you. Times, like, a thousand.”

“Thag you.” Kazuha blows his nose into the fabric. It’s rather ineffective, with the congestion barely budging from his stuffy nostrils, but his head hurts so badly that he doesn’t have the strength to try again. “Where are we..?” It feels strange to ask, to be so disoriented, but he truly has no idea. It is as if someone has stolen his vision, or tied his hands behind his back.

His friend shrugs, his hand in a small patch of peculiar-looking sprouts. “No idea. But these are really annoying.” He pokes at them. “They keep sticking to my clothes. And my hands.” A pause, in which he shakes his fingers free of the clinging vines - he freezes, staring at the plants.

Then he yelps with surprise, holding up a sprig of green leaves. “Wh-hey, this is it! The herb they were talking about!” He holds it up so that the samurai can inspect it, beaming from ear to ear.

The boy sniffles, his abdomen sore from all the stifling, but he forces himself to sniff the sprig - the subtle fragrance fills his nostrils, but his entire nose is so full of itchiness and all sorts of overwhelming smells mixing together and it’s giving him an awful headache at this point - he winces, pinching his aching nostrils as a sneeze sneaks up on him - “h’ksshh-‘ksht-!!” Thankfully the other man has pulled the plant away, eyes widening with recognition, apologizing profusely - “Shit, sorry Kaz-“

The boy shakes his head, mouth already open - “hh’aKKSHHyii! h’kSHH!!...do’t abologize.” A harsh sniffle against the thick congestion - which makes him cough, slightly - and a swipe at his dripping nostrils leaves him in a slightly better position than before (or so he thinks). “..snff….Th-then, we cad-h’aKKSHH-!!h’kSHH!!......snff..” Kazuha rubs at his nose, groaning slightly as it fails to rid his nose of the irritation. “We ca-d..snff..g-go back. We have what we were lookig for..”

Despite his words, he doesn’t really want to move from his position, his entire body feeling as though it had been weighed down. He feels a bit like he’s being crushed at the bottom of the ocean, and the thick congestion and snot running from his nose, forcing him to breathe shallowly through his mouth, makes that a very apt metaphor to his situation. Not helping is the feeling of sand in his throat, which only contributes to the simile. He coughs again, and that sets the world spinning - he has to close his eyes for a brief second.

When he opens his eyes again, it’s to his friend staring at him as if he’s grown another pair of ears. “Don’t be ridiculous, Kazuha, you can barely stand. Or breathe without sneezing. You’re obviously sick.”

Kazuha stares back. It takes a few seconds for the words to click. “...Sorry?”

His companion nods regretfully, reaching forward tenderly. He can’t suppress a small shudder as the cool hand alights against his forehead. “Yup, I was right - you’re running a fever.” He whistles, pity written all over his face. “Earlier, I thought you were a little warm, and now there’s no doubt. Can’t be fun in a rainstorm.”

Kazuha feels so awful that he doesn’t even have the strength to protest. Instead, he gives a little fluttering sigh, sinking down against his friend’s chest. “Ah. That bight explain… why by dose is so i-hiiihh-!..i-tchy..”

The warmth he’s lying against shakes with a slight chuckle. “Never change, Kazuha.”

#my fic #asks #snzfic #sneeze fic #snzblr #genshin snzpact #g/enshin i/mpact #k/azuha #snz

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