#stu and ez

[bean-cookies]

The comfiest spot for a short rest ❤️

Now that I've finished this drawing of Stu and Ez, it's time to finish designing their wedding outfits.

......They are SO doomed. 🙃

This is another drawing for which I referenced a pose from a pose pack that I purchased from @Spectr00m on Gumroad: https://spectr00m.gumroad.com/

[evolutioned]

me when math has numbers: 😍😍😍💞💞💗💗💕💕💗💕✨✨✨🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😘😘😘😘😘😻😻😻😻😻😻💋💋💋‼️‼️‼️‼️💗💗💗💓💓💓🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

[loseractivities]

this is what dreams are made of 😇

Or however it is this is supposed to work

[loseractivities]

do you think stu macher is alive

ez. he obvious is. gay people dont really die. just like billy. and tatum. they all alive

[thapatkanyz]

Tha Patkányz - Gyereknap

verse:

3,14

Rap auráktól teli aula Nicaraguai birkaragut gurítanak Birkenauba Tervet szőttem, miután kiszívtam a tőgyet Hogy a számat mozgatva kúrjam ketté a földet Kurvára very happy, úgylátom, a hapi Mai napig veri neki a Hip-Hopot a hipós hippi Nincs fék, a temetőfless háromszázzal tép Ha a bulidra indulnék, vinnék hálózsák meg pléd A slukkra slukk állandóan sivatagba rak Nálunk lefordul a kereszt, titeket simogat a pap Bízom abban idióták, hogy lassan tudjátok Változott a helyzet, már a postás ugat kutyákot Sok sertés betép, szárnyasok, mint a betét Ki utamról letért, nem vágja a kör kerületét Fontos a külső, egyre több a raj alak Annyi gáz jön ki pofádon, sziesztára kell rakjalak Köszönöm ha behívnál, de söntéssel gyere Széjjel fejeltem a műfajt, vagyok öltéssel tele De jó, mikor ki sem látok a picsából Nem azért van halszagom, mert most jöttem a pecából A zene kiakaszt, na mondjad ki ravasz ma Ha van eladó beat-ed, haver, dobjad ki a faszba Megértem, ha nem hallgatod ezt, már csak mókából A helyedben én sem mernék kilépni a szobából Mit remegsz? Ja, hogy csak most durrant a Beck's? Egy jó mc-t mondjál nekem, kit földhöz ver a steksz Viszont bölcsekből van bőven, más szenved hiányt Nem árt érdeklődni, baszdmeg, a lábjegyzet iránt Ujjal intek neked, bezzeg akkor kimentetek Mikor megakarták adóztatni az internetet Változtatni akarás nincsen, de minden legyen Politikusokat hagynak ott az illemhelyen

Zsigabá (refrén) Ahol Pi, Zsiga, Chi mindig arra van a gitt Rap auráktól teli aula Készül az alagút Hogy a számat mozgatva kurjam ketté a földet

Chicheck Nem változik semmi, a sok alak alakít Itt meg a csatornából ömlik fel a salakanyag beat Ahol Pí, Zsiga, Chi mindig arra van a gitt A csillogásra csikó, csak a szamarakat vidd Nyer a sitt, jó a stu, ez az odú az adu Vegyed csak magadra, amit lepakolunk kakadu Ver a team, nem a bú, behatolunk magyarul Készül az alagút, letarolunk hanyagul Matatunk a minták miatt, más meg kirakatot etet De ha így megy a menet, leszek kitagadott gyerek Sose nyelek, nincsen kiragadott szerep Itt a líra attól meleg, ahogy kicsavarom neked Ez a sivatagba itat, mé’ a homokot eszed? Ugye veszed, hogy elveszted a porokon eszed A léc rezeg, tuti, hogy nem rokonok ezek Még szerencse a négy láb, így nem koszolok kezet Csak hozom eszementen, tudom fura lehetek Hogy vinyl-eket akarok, nem bula hegyeket Mivel sose volt pénzem, így nem ural eleve Szia uram, lemezeket adok, kúrja befele Ugyan, ne gyere, hogy a zene legyen light Kajak kifogyott a gáz, hogyan melegedek át? Robbanhat a dárda, mit betekerek má' Ez elevenen nyúz meg, úgy teregetek rá Ha nem egereket látsz, száz, beremeg a láb Mi sem vagyunk piti, de még betegebb a stáb A patkányok eregetik a reteket alád De ne lepődj meg nagyon, hiszen betemet a láp Nagy a sár és leégett a stég Csak a hanyatlás, innen lelépett a nép Megy a terelés, mindent beléd ver a gép Tényleg elég lesz a fake news, beszédes a kép

[queenlua]

when i read The Boys In The Boat i was like "wow. this is the Platonic Ideal of the Heartwarming Sports Book. you've got a Gary Stu protag who emerges from a horrible upbringing, still upbeat and hardworking and honest and earnest. you've got an underdog underfunded sports program one-upping a bunch of Ivy League schools. then they beat a bunch of literal Nazis"

like, it's not my preferred genre, but if you're gonna read the genre, it's the one, right

i also thought: "wow this would be so ez gg to make into a movie, just film this shit straight-up, no edits, it's oscarbait in novel form"

well. they did make the movie

and lemme tell ya... they made some edits

[justamain]

About @justamain !

Preferred Name / Age / Pronouns

Name//: Quinnie!

Age//: I’m 22. My birthday is 03/25/02!

Pronouns//: She|They

Fandoms

5+ Years Experience//:

NBC’s TV show Hannibal

Marvel / DC

AMC’s fear/The Walking Dead/stories

FX’s American Horror Story/stories

FX’s Sons Of Anarchy

Scream 1996

Halloween (original, the remake, kills & ends)

Friday The 13th (the second one)

Riverdale

Twilight

The Vampire Diaries/The Originals/Legacies

Supernatural

Vikings

Lucifer

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

American Psycho

Teen Wolf

-5 years experience//:

Stranger Things

The Last Kingdom

The 100

The Umbrella Academy

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina

Mayans MC

Characters I Write For//: (no particular order)

TWD//:

Rick Grimes (platonic family, romance)

Shane Walsh (romance)

Negan Smith (romance, platonic friendship)

Daryl Dixon (romance, platonic friendship)

TVDverse//: (all romance, or platonic family)

Damon Salvatore

Stefan Salvatore

Klaus Mikaelson

Elijah Mikaelson

Horror//: (all romance)

Billy Loomis (singular/poly)

Stu Macher (singular/poly)

Hannibal Lecter (singular/poly, NBC)

Will Graham (singular/poly, NBC)

Michael Myers (OG, Peepaw, RZ)

Patrick Bateman

SOA/Mayans//:

Johnny ‘Coco’ Cruz (romance)

EZ Reyes (romance, platonic family)

Angel Reyes (romance, platonic family)

Jax Teller (platonically family, romantic)

Chins Telford (romance)

Twilight//:

Caius Volturi (romance)

Edward Cullen (romance)

Alec Volturi (platonic friendship/family)

Jacob Black (romance, platonic friendship)

AHS//: (Murder House, Apocalypse, 1984)

Michael Langdon (romance)

Tate Langdon (romance)

Xavier Plympton (platonic friendship/family)

ST//: (all romance)

Billy Hargrove

Steve Harrington

Eddie Munson

Teen Wolf//:

Derek Hale (romance, platonic)

Peter Hale (romance, platonic)

Scott McCall (platonic friends/family)

Stiles Stilinski (romance, platonic*)

What I will write;

Genres, Types//:

Platonic friends and family relations

Family dynamics (parenthood, marriage)

Any romantic dynamic

SMUT (18+ readers ONLY. MINORS DNI.)

SFW content//:

Marriages, proposals, SFW family dynamics

Soft heartwarming stuff (comfort)

Angst (deaths, injuries, illnesses, or just sad)

NSFW content//:

Kinks. (Uhhh… all will be forewarned.)

Soft smut. (Comfort, family growing, etc)

Not-so-soft smut (angst, angry, etc)

What I will not write//:

SFW content//:

Overbearingly abusive stuff

Very graphic scenes (graphic SUI, SH, ED)

NSFW content//:

Overbearingly abusive stuff.

Bodily fluids/functions (other than yk.)

Very graphic scenes (graphic SUI, SH, ED)

Socials, Contacts//:

Twitter//:

@/slxshrfvcker

@/th3gr3ych4pt3r

Discord//:

sinematiccitylights

TikTok//:

@/slxshrfvcker

@/sinematiccitylights

Carrd//:

https://blazey.uwu.ai

[mitsemerdekel]

Kedves Stu,

Már nagyon régen írtam neked, azt hiszem kicsit elvesztem és most igyekszem kapkodva megtalálni a helyemet, szóval ne haragudj, de nem volt erőm körmölni.

Kivettem egy lakást Pesten, most sok idő óta egyedül élek és kong az ürességtől a szoba, meg amúgy is a tartalékaimat ölöm fel, szóval sürgősen kellene valami munkát elvállalni a megkeresések közül, viszont teljesen traumatizáló ez az egész lét, próbáltál már a hónapokig tartó teljes csend után metróra, villamosra, buszra szállni? Na, olyan, mintha beszakadt volna alattad a jég, és a hideg miatt szépen lassan beállna a hipotermia. Ma leültem végre festeni egy kicsit, bevettem a gyógyszereimet is szép sorban, és azt tervezem, hogy kisétálok legalább a közeli parkba, de a legjobb az lenne, ha eljutnék a Margitig, onnan az Árpád hídig, majd haza. Biztos meséltem már, hogy van ott egy kis partszakasz, ahol még Pestet is szépnek látom.

Nagyon egyedül érzem magamat, mert őszintén senkivel sem beszélek, találkozok. Mindig rosszul sült el, a család már nem igazán bírja kezelni - én meg, hát, jobb híján próbálok random appokon embereket találni, akik hajlandóak 1 hónapnál tovább elviselni, és akik hozzám hasonlóan nem bírnak a seggükön ülni bent sokáig. Ez amúgy lehet egy felhívás is gondolom, no nem mintha bárki is olvasná, de ha mégis, akkor amúgy DM-ben sem harapok, jó szar itt a hírem meg minden, de most már bátran tudom állítani, hogy sokkal normálisabb vagyok mint évekkel ezelőtt, vagy csak a gyógyszerek miatt nem tudok úgy viselkedni, ahogy nem akarok.

Amúgy képzeld kipróbáltam ezt az új bagett receptet, azóta ez a reggeli-ebéd-vacsora. Nem tudom eddig hogy tudtam enélkül élni, de most jelenleg az a terv, hogy rendelek hozzá sok sajtot is meg aszalt parit, mert hát igen.

Na ennyi, szép napot Stu, hiányzol, néha tehetnél úgy, mintha léteznék

[metalindex-hu]

Júniusban újra koncertezik a Bane

Júniusban újra koncertezik a Bane - https://nuskull.hu/hirek/juniusban-ujra-koncertezik-egyet-a-bane/ -

Az itthon valamiért különösen kedvelt, 2016-ban feloszlott amerikai Bane zenekar idén nyáron másodszor is visszatér két estére. Bár a hardcore-zenekar a feloszlása óta inaktív, de 2021-ben a basszusgitárosuk, Brendan Stu Maguire tragikus halála okán egy estére már színpadra álltak elhunyt társuk emlékére és a családja megsegítésére.

A frissen bejelentett június 17-i, illetve 18-i bostoni bulikon olyan zenekarok lépnek még fel, mint a The Suicide File , a Stick to Your Guns, a Modern Life is War, a Bracewar és a Colin of Arabia. A banda ennyit fűzött a mai bejelentéshez:

Nagyon hiányzott már ez nekünk. Nagyon hiányoztatok nekünk. Minden korosztálynak, kordon nélkül.

Mi pedig bízunk benne, hogy annyira jól sikerül a visszatérés, hogy Európába is átjönnek majd idővel – addig is alább mutatjuk a két utolsó bulit:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=IThoonTxoO8

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV3M49VI4N8

[freddysglove]

hi i’m ez, here's my request info

(currently closed on account of my brain is fried)

my special interest is horror and i mostly use this account to post about my current hyperfocus of the month.

if you want me to draw you a slasher or write specific headcanons/oneshots just message me or send an ask. i’m a college student so i’m usually a bit busy with homework but i’ll definitely try to get to it when i can.

psst, i follow and reply back on @supermotherbug :>

characters i write and draw for:

amanda young

art the clown

baby firefly

betelgeuse (clarify if you want a specific version)

billy lenz (1974)

billy loomis & stu macher

brahms heelshire

bo & vincent sinclair

bubba sawyer

candyman (1992)

chucky, tiffany & nica

the collector

creepypastas (ej, jeff, slenderman, toby)

freddy krueger (1984)

harry warden (both 1981 and 2009)

herbert west & dan cain

jason voorhees

jennifer check

jonathan (the evil clergyman)

lillian nebbs

mark lewis (peeping tom)

martin (1977)

michael myers (any version)

norman bates (1960)

patrick bateman

pinhead (og + remake)

thomas (P2)

as i watch new movies i'll update this list.

*let me know if you want me to write a slasher in the dbd universe instead of their regular one, i'm down with that too.

don't ask me for nsfw requests if you're >18.

[bean-cookies]

It had to be done. This pose is just... so THEM.

[Here is the inspiration]

[evolutioned]

INTRO

this used to be a study blog, but now its just a productivity blog. doesnt matter is its stidy related or not i put everything here.

main is @loveution. writing is @talkinglove. i'm just going to post abt my progress so that i don't. fucking. get. sidetracked.

my name is ez. please tell to me stfu & do my work. i will take no offence

aim: 200 days of productivity in 2024. will i achieve it? probably not. but i will try.

since my school year technically starts on 8th jan, but since i have some work to do, ill start posting from the 5th.

[bbangsuns]

CHARACTER LIST AND RULES

➞ 18+ for nsfw requests

➞ poly and age gap accepted

➞ if you don’t see a character here that you want to request, feel free to ask me if i would write for them!

9-1-1 ➞ evan buckley | eddie diaz | bobby nash | howie “chimney” han | maddie buckley | athena grant | henrietta “hen” wilson

stranger things ➞ steve harrington | eddie munson | robin buckley | nancy wheeler | jim hopper | jonathan byers

one chicago ➞ connor rhodes | ethan choi | will halstead | matthew casey | kelly severide | leslie shay | gabby dawson | jay halstead | adam ruzek | kevin atwater | antonio dawson | hailey upton | kim burgess | greg “mouse” gerwitz | blake gallo

criminal minds ➞ spencer reid | emily prentiss | jennifer jareau | luke alvez | aaron hotchner | derek morgan | penelope garcia |

teen wolf ➞ stiles stilinski | scott mccall | malia hale | derek hale | liam dunbar | lydia martin | chris argent | isaac lahey | kira yukimura | theo raeken

marvel ➞ bucky barnes | steve rogers | thor odinson | loki laufeyson | sam wilson | eddie brock | peter parker | wanda maximoff | pietro maximoff | yelena belova | marc spector | steven grant | jake lockley | shuri | t’challa | natasha romanoff | frank castle | matt murdock | daisy johnson | melinda may | jemma simmons | leo fitz | robbie reyes | riri williams | druig | tony stark

the vampire diaries universe ➞ klaus mikaelson | bonnie bennet | elijah mikaelson | marcel gerard | rebekah mikaelson | hayley marshall | stefan salvatore

supernatural ➞ sam winchester | dean winchester | castiel | crowley

hawaii 5-0 ➞ steve mcgarrett | chin ho kelly | kono kalakaua | danny williams | adam noshimuri

outer banks ➞ rafe cameron | jj maybank | john b | kiara carrera | topper thornton | sarah cameron | pope heyward

the walking dead ➞ daryl dixon | rick grimes | glenn rhee | maggie rhee | rosita espinosa | michonne

scream ➞ stu macher | billy loomis | mickey altieri | ethan landry | sam carpenter | chad meeks-martin | tara carpenter | mindy meeks-martin | wes hicks | tatum riley | sidney prescott | gale weathers | dewey riley

shameless ➞ fiona gallagher | lip gallagher | kevin ball | veronica fisher

sons of anarchy ➞ jax teller | juice ortiz | chibs telford | opie winston | happy

mayans m.c. ➞ ez reyes | ángel reyes | miguel galindo

avatar ➞ jake sully | neytiri

grishaverse ➞ kaz brekker | jesper fahey | alina starkov | inej ghafa | nina zenik | matthias helvar | zoya nazyalensky | nikolai lantsov

dc ➞ bruce wayne | richard grayson | harley quinn | clark kent | arthur curry | mera | dinah lance | barry allen | oliver queen | lucifer morningstar | chloe decker | lena luthor | kara danvers

resident evil ➞ leon kennedy | carlos oliveira | luis sera | jill valentine | chris redfield | claire redfield | ada wong

call of duty ➞ Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley | John Price | Johnny ‘Soap’ MacTavish | Kyle ‘Gaz’ Garrick | König | Philip Graves | Valeria Garza | Alejandro Vargas | Kim ‘Horangi’ Hongjin | Rodolfo ‘Rudy’ Parra | Keegan Russ

[meg-megbanom-ezt]

Már megint béna álmaim (undorító kontent alert)

Tegnap késő délután értem haza fáradtan és éhesen, de nem volt kedvem Z.-vel beszélgetni; persze pont jó sokáig pöszmögött a konyhában, úgyhogy várakozás helyett "csak egy percre" lehevertem az ágyra. Nem kellett volna, és nem csak azért, mert a melltartó nyomott, hanem ezért:

álmomban egy Mi Hazánkos csávó üldözött a szerelmével, aki hosszú szőke hajú és szakállas volt. Tkp. egészen jóképű, de kiállhatatlan stílusú, meg hát eleve... na. Nagy nehezen tudtam csak elküldeni a francba. Inkább az az érdekes, hogy mivel vált ismertté, kvázi-celebbé a fazon: csinált egy számítógépes játékot, amiben Gyurcsány Ferencet kellett SZARRAL dobálni egy operaházban(!). Feri persze próbált menekülni a páholyok és a széksorok között, és plusz pontot ért, ha minél nagyobbat esett, mert akkor nagyobbat sebződött. SZÍN-FUCKING-VONAL.

Aztán rendesen is aludtam később és akkor is nagyon mozgalmasat álmodtam, de sajnos(?) csak egy mozzanatra emlékszem belőle. Még mindig - vagy már megint - a régi házunkban laktunk a F. utcán (érdekes, ez visszatérő dolog), este mentem a buszra lefelé*, pedig szóbeszéd járta, hogy pont ilyenkor egy fenevad rója az utcákat! És tényleg rohant felém a fenevad, ami nem volt más, mint egy... LÁMA. Egy láma, amely mindenkinél lefékez (nem áll meg, annyira nem vagyunk fontosak), és háromszor gyorsan leköpi. Velem is ez történt. Oké, ez elég bosszantó, ám mégis megkönnyebbülve állapítottam meg, hogy a "fenevad" félelmetességét kissé kiszínezték.

Bónusz: a láma nyakában függött egy kicsi, színes zománctábla JÉZUS TRISTUS felirattal. Mint kiderült, ez a neve, és azért "Tristus", mert 1. a Krisztus ugyebár blaszfémia lenne, 2. tri-stus, mert ugye háromszor köpi le az embereket mindig. KRISTÁLYTISZTA LOGIKA.

*imádom, hogy ezt a fölsőfalu-alsófalu dolgot milyen véresen komolyan veszik és milyen mélyen gyökeredzik; Anyám is mindig így mondta, hogy lefelé vagy fölfelé menjünk, nem jobbra vagy balra. A lejtésszög természetesen elhanyagolható, szóval még csak nem is domborzatot jelöl (az túl logikus lenne).

[trashyslashers]

Can I get some stuff for Poly Billy and Stu, Myers, and Bubba or any others for them catching feelings and not knowing what to do so it all bubbles up and explodes? Like a massive rant/confession or rash actions?

I wasn’t sure if you wanted the reader to catch feelings or the slashers to catch feelings, so I went with the slashers!! This came out much longer than intended.

I feel like Bubba’s is a small bit OOC and I apologize!! I did something a little different for his.

The endings are open! I left them up to the reader to determine how the confession turns out, so let your imaginations go wild. 

This is as gender neutral as I could keep it!———————————————————————————————————–

Billy & Stu:

Stu was the first of the duo to catch feelings for you - the fresh, new senior from some out of town high school that moved to Woodsboro before the year started. Casey, his ex, seemed to take a liking to you, which of course in turn caught Stu’s attention, and he found himself wanting to know more about you.

Of course, though, anything Stu was interested in, he’d tell Billy about - and that included romantic interests. The more Stu spoke about you, the more Billy paid attention to you. The particular way you spoke, the way you dressed, your type of humor, even small things like what kind of drink you brought with you to class every day all became of interest to the both of them as time went on.

The two of them are much more ridiculous together, now that they have a mutual interest in someone. Who’s spent the most time with you? Who knows more about you? Who do you talk to more? It’s almost, almost, like they’re in a competition with each other over you, but you’d never know it. The degree that they manage to keep their feelings a secret to is utterly astounding. They keep their cool around you whenever you spend time with them.

…Which they make sure happens, a lot. What’re you doing over the weekend? Wanna hang out at Stu’s house? - his parents won’t be home, and there’s a scary movie marathon on Saturday. Billy will be there, too! What about after school on Thursday? You’re almost overwhelmed by how much they want to spend time with you.

The two’ve them have actually never had a genuine, shared interest in someone before, if we’re being honest. Were you more into goofy, fun-loving guys like Stu? Or more laid back, confident guys like Billy? They’ll probably argue about it. A lot. The topic of who’d be a better boyfriend is a hot one between them. 

Though they argue about it, they honestly have no issue when it comes to sharing with each other. All they had to do was get your attention, right? EZ PZ.

…Or so they thought. Their minds went absolutely blank every time they tried to think of what to do, how to approach you, or how to even talk to you about this sort of thing. Being with two guys at once? What if you were only into one of them, or neither at all? How the hell do you even approach someone about this sort of thing? Neither’ve had any real issues with approaching people for relationships before, but a poly relationship was… very, very different.

Day in and day out they kept trying to figure out when the right time to make a move would be - should they wait until the holidays? Should they approach you individually, or together? Billy felt that one on one would be better, though Stu thought that they’d do better together - if they each approached you on their own, the other would miss out!

Any sort of plan or idea they had completely goes out the window one dreary, Friday afternoon. School had just let out - most students were piling into cars or onto the bus to hurry home. You, though, unfortunately, had been left without a ride. Planning to just walk home in the icy rain, a classmate of your approached you - a guy from your Economics class you knew as Chris. He was kind and pretty dorky, but he was charming in his own way; you’d heard rumors that he had a thing for you.

He approached you as you were leaning up against the wall of the school’s exterior, shivering as you fiddled with your walkman as you prepped it for your trudge home. In his typical, faux-confident manner, he came up to you - a sideways smile on his face as he asked if you’d like for him to give you a ride - he didn’t want you to get too cold out there, and surely he could help keep you warm.

“Nah,” - another voice suddenly chimed in before you could answer. “They’re good with us!” Stu, in his usual fashion, interjected as he hopped to your side, slinging his arm over your shoulder lazily. Before you or Chris could speak, Stu pulled you away from the conversation, over to where he was previously standing by Billy. 

Both took delight as you laughed out a “thank you”. As nice as Chris was, you weren’t particularly interested in spending much one on one time with him, you explained. You’d heard that he liked you, but he wasn’t “on the list” of the guys you were interested in and you hated rejected people.

This absolutely delighted them to no end; both the mention that you had no interest in that other guy, and that there were apparently multiple guys that had your attention.

Now - now was their chance. Most classmates had left, there were no prying eyes to watch if they got rejected - they couldn’t wait, they needed to ask and they needed to ask now.

Stu, with his arm still draped over your shoulders, tugged you closer as Billy’s arm joined his.

“Any chance the two of us are on that list?”

Michael Myers:

You’d really have to find some way to draw Michael’s attention and keep it, especially his non-hostile attention.

Michael’s no stranger to having an obsession, or a strong idée fixe on one single person, and you’re absolutely no exception to this. Once he’s caught feelings for you, they aren’t going away.

It’s different; it’s kind of scary for Michael, and considering the fact that he isn’t used to feeling anything even remotely nice towards another person, he… really has no idea what to do.

What he does know, though, is how to stalk. He knows how to watch, he knows how to observe and keep his presence hidden, revealing it as he pleases. He figures that since that’s what he knows best, that makes it the best way to get your attention.

Quite unintentionally on his end, he scares you for awhile. Giving you brief glimpses of himself as he lingers in the treeline across the street, or as he saunters through your neighbors yard, his eyes looking up to your window as you peered out, your heart pounding away in your chest as you were unsure of what to do.

You would never feel alone, now that Michael had his eyes on you. Walking to work, to school, or to the store? You can feel another presence out there, distant but close, somewhere in the sleepy streets of Haddonfield. Even if no other person was visible, you could feel the hair on the back of your neck stand on end, the eerie feeling of knowing that you weren’t quite alone out there even though it appeared as such unnerving you to no end.

But Michael didn’t want to hurt you, no - he wanted to keep an eye on you. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about you; was this love? Just curiosity? Budding antagonistic feelings, yet to come? Michael couldn’t name it. He didn’t care to, either - he just knew he wanted you in some way.

What did people like? Michael’s vague memories of Judith and her various boyfriends came to mind. She seemed to like the notes they left her - but Michael couldn’t write, nor was he interested in doing anything physical - another thing he knew she liked.

Gifts. Gifts are the way to a person’s heart, Michael recalled, something he remembered hearing in an old television commercial. Michael had no money, but that was no issue; he had his ways of getting what he wanted. The way his chest felt tight with agitation and restlessness whenever he thought about you became too much for him to deal with, and Michael began to make a move.

You begin coming home to the strangest items left on your doorstep. One day it was an overripe baby pumpkin, a few days later, an old hairbrush. The most alarming of the “gifts” was the wristband that had gone missing from your room a week prior. “Should I call the police?” was the first question that came to mind.

As the days drew on, Michael grew impatient. You seemed more scared of his gifts than you seemed happy or pleased - was it really that bad? Usually, he felt entertained when he knew that he was scaring someone; playing tricks on their minds and letting them know they’re being watched and followed against their will was a forte of his, but he didn’t feel this way when it came to you. He didn’t want you to run from him, he wanted you to run to him.

Michael’s desire to have you grows too strong to resist one day in the middle of October. Halloween was approaching, the itch to maim was growing too strong too, and Michael knew that sooner or later he wouldn’t be able to have you like he wanted if he didn’t act soon. His idea? Chill in the coat closet of your hallway until you came home, of course. 

The way his hands gripped your shoulders as you opened the door to hang your jacket up was enough to shock you into silence. 

What the fuck? Should I call the police? What the fuck! Your head felt as if it were about to burst from fear - until the gentle shake of his head caught your attention - no. 

You flinched awfully hard as his hand reached into the front pocket of his coveralls. You recognized him from somewhere - the mask, the height - the news? It didn’t matter now, though - he was probably going to kill you. 

Slowly, he pulled out a small object him his pocket, his fist opening to reveal that it was a small hair bow - blue tartan. It wasn’t yours, of course, but it was in surprisingly good condition, for something that he’d been keeping in the pocket of his filthy suit. He shook his head no once again, signaling that he - apparently - wasn’t going to harm you. He slowly, timidly, if you dared call it that, held the bow out to you - the tilt of his head asking something he wouldn’t speak.

Bubba Sawyer:

Bubba caught feelings for you the second he first laid eyes on you - and when Bubba falls for someone, he falls hard.

You were the adult child of a family that lived some bit away from the Sawyer’s house, and while you weren’t particularly close with them or anything or the sort, your lot got on fine with theirs and there were never any issues during your brief interactions with them.

Drayton gets on him much more frequently now about being so careless and absentminded, but Bubba couldn’t help it. His mind was constantly preoccupied with thoughts of you - the nice-looking, kind neighbor that had his heart caught in a trap.

Unfortunately for him, Bubba’s never felt this sort of thing before. Sure, in the past he’s… had to deal with a few victims that he couldn’t help but fine particularly attractive, but he’s never felt such warm feelings towards someone before. That, combined with the fact that he never really learned about this sort of thing, left Bubba absolutely clueless about what to do.

When would he see you again? How would he act? Should he even find a way to tell you how he feels? How does he even feel? He doesn’t know how he should even begin to approach you about his feelings, in the instance that he actually gets the chance to.

Any time in the past that he’s interacted with you, he was always either completely silent, or a stuttering, blubbering mess as his shyness left him unable to calm down. This led to him almost dreading interacting with you - he always made such a fool of himself!

Seeing you was inevitable though, as Bubba soon learned. Despite his family’s usual desire to keep to themselves, Drayton had apparently, for whatever reason, invited your family over to the Sawyer residence. While your little lot wasn’t allowed inside - Grandpa’s a bit under the weather, as Drayon put it - the weather outside was pleasant enough for conversation on the porch.

Bubba couldn’t keep his eyes off of you. He hadn’t actually had the chance to be this close to you, before - were you wearing perfume/cologne? You smelled so good, so sweet - and you looked sweet, too. Bubba could tell you were intimidated by him, but who wouldn’t be? But despite your obvious unease, you were still kind to him, to his brothers - that was the straw that broke him. You two barely knew each other yet you had his heart in the palm of your hand - he wanted to be with you.

When no one was paying attention, Bubba approached you. His hand reached out to tug on your sleeve gingerly, and he gestured for you to come. He wanted to show you something.

After the initial awkwardness of him trying to convey that he wanted you to follow him, the both of you made your way to the back of the house for more privacy. Rounding the corner, your eyes fell upon a small, almost-dead patch of wildflowers that was spread out amongst the tall grass and weeds. 

Bubba, noticing your interest, quickly reached down and plucked one of the flowers, a wilted, pale buttercup, and before you could question him, he quickly stuck his arm out, offering the flower to you as his empty hand scratched at the back of his head awkwardly.

If Bubba could, he’d ask if you liked flowers. What if you were allergic? What if you didn’t like flowers? What if you thought he was weird, or ugly, or strange or something? What if you laughed at him, or even worse - screamed? His head was full of emotions - excitement, love, uncertainty, fear - but they were all shut down when he felt the gentle brush of your hand against his larger, rough one as you took the flower, a gentle smile on your face as you softly thanked him.

Bubba felt his heart skip with glee, and before he could stop himself, he found himself reaching his arms out and pulling you into the tightest hug he could muster without harming you. He’d made sure he wore his nicest outfit - no bloody apron, no stained undershirt - a nice button up, and his favorite tie instead. He wanted to impress you! 

Bubba became deathly aware that you were stiff in his embrace though, and with a blubbering mess of nervous whimpers he pulled back from you, his hand finding its way to your face so he could brush his fingers against your cheek, making sure you were okay - that he didn’t hurt you. He was trying his hardest to be gentle with you.

He didn’t know how else to convey his crush. He knows of kissing - he’d seen it on the old TV they used to have, but Drayton said that kissing was something you only did when you were in a relationship with someone - but you two weren’t. Surely it would be inappropriate for him to kiss you now!

The look on your face was unreadable to Bubba. A slight curve on your lips, warm eyes - but no smile. How did you feel?

He was about to let go of you completely and flee into the house out of shame, but you stopped him by opening your mouth and speaking your true feelings.

[kuno-chan]

Sides of the Moon - Ch. 25, The Loyalties of Old Friends

Summary: Runaan and his team of assassins discovers that Rayla has defied him. Again. But when they find her, she’s bleeding out in the woods with precious cargo under her arm and face to face with the princes of Katolis running away from their own castle. They find that, upon this meeting, the die has already been cast.

Rating: T

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The caldera was strange, but the illusions were stranger still. Claudia wasn't deterred.

Once they'd realized the illusions were just that, nothing stopped her march to the summit. The trek took a day, maybe more, but getting to the top was more than worth it. An elven settlement. Here, in the human kingdoms, no less.

No elves, apparently. She gestured for Soren to follow. If the princes were here, they had to locate and dispose of the elves, quietly.

-:-:-:-

Hugging Callum was the highlight of her night; even if things weren't entirely fixed between them it put Rayla a little at ease. That trust would need to be rebuilt. Or maybe she was overthinking.

Callum held her hand and squeezed it. "You should go to bed."

Rayla rolled her eyes. "Oh? Since when were you in charge of my sleep schedule?"

"Since you were out here all day. Don't you think you should sleep?"

"No, actually," she said. "I'm going to patrol the perimeter for a while. Then, maybe I can go to sleep. You, on the other hand, should get some rest. You humans seem to love it so much, you sleep in every morning."

Callum laughed. She smiled. He said, "Not everybody can get out of bed at five in the morning. Are you saying all elves are up that early?

She thought about it. "... not all of us, I suppose."

"See?" he said, pleased with himself.

Too pleased with himself. She pushed him along. "Yeah, yeah, off to bed with you." Her voice softened. "I'll see you in the morning."

He paused. She almost asked him what was wrong, but he gave her a hug before leaving. Callum didn't say another goodnight to her, but he held her for a second longer than usual.

She didn't even hug him back before he left her standing there.

Strange, this human. Even if she considered him her favorite human. Tied with Ez, maybe.

The half-moon was high in the sky and she ventured that not all of the team were asleep. She hoped Runaan, at least, was resting because he needed to. Meditation was... fine, but he needed actual sleep. If she found him awake, she might have to enlist Andromeda's help to persuade him. Even Callisto.

Maybe Callum had a point about needing some rest if she got any of her habits from Runaan.

She was willing to bet on it. Hoped, anyway.

Walking the stone path, Rayla kept her ears and eyes open for any disturbances. She walked along, letting the moonlight ease her nervous heart. She was no fool to think Callum was entirely over the assassin issue. Not that she blamed him.

Sometimes, she questioned it as well.

Focus, she ordered herself.

She righted her mind onto the task at hand. A patrol was hardly useful if she wasn't listening for intruders who could slip by her.

The Nexus, she had to admit, made her miss home. It had all the hallmarks of Moonshadow architecture and the nuances the human towns and kingdoms simply didn't. They were different and they weren't home.

Sounds of home hummed in her mind.

Sweet music of The Silvergrove.

Rayla grew sleepy.

And sleepier still.

Her body drooped and her mind lit up just long enough to grab a rose and prick the thorn on her thumb before she collapsed to the ground.

Then, the voices. Two of them. The voices and the thorn embedded in her thumb stirred her. She roused from her sleep, but kept her eyes closed.

"... if we kill her and somebody finds her, they'll know we're here."

"Then, we hide the body. Soren, c'mon. Kill her. She's a Moonshadow elf. Are you honestly having second thoughts, now?"

"Claudia, I've never fought someone who's asleep like this. It feels like-- like I'm cheating, okay?"

Claudia hissed. "Cheating? We have to rescue the princes. This was even your idea--"

"To rescue the princes. Not kill the elves as soon as we got here."

"I saw an opportunity. How else are we supposed to search the grounds if--"

Rayla heard enough. She swept Soren off of his feet, then pointed her swords at Claudia.

Right. The Dark Mage's daughter.

She approached Claudia, ignoring the fear in her eyes and paying more attention to whether she would fight or fly. Rayla didn't forget the soldier. Soren picked himself up off the ground and unsheathed his sword. Cornered by two enemies, Rayla pointed a sword at each of them.

She thought of the bigger threat. On another day, in another time, she would leap for Soren and go toe to toe with him. She would let Claudia be. Claudia's fear would be enough to stay her.

Rayla leapt for Claudia.

Warrior or no, the girl used dark magic and more dark magic was the last thing any of them needed. A sword only did so many things, but Xadia only knew what the girl had in her bag of tricks.

Immediately, the boy tackled Rayla. She threw him off. He rolled.

The girl was rifling through her bag. Rayla charged her, throwing her sword in her direction. Soren interceded and jumped between her and Claudia. He smacked Rayla's sword away. Rayla caught it.

Alright, then. The boy first. Rayla and Soren circled each other, both of them with an eye on Claudia.

If Rayla couldn't stop her from performing dark magic, she could at least dodge. The thought of whatever macabre thing being cooked up made Rayla's stomach churn.

Soren jumped first. He leapt, Rayla dodged and came back with her own attack. He parried her and she moved out of the way. Leaping around him, she went straight for Claudia.

Rayla tackled Claudia to the ground. Whatever it was -- a paw, Rayla realized -- Claudia dropped it on the ground as the girls tousled, Rayla raised her sword--

Claudia screamed--

--and cut the bag from Claudia's body.

Soren roared and charged Rayla. He lifted Rayla off of Claudia. Rayla elbowed him and he let her go. She put distance between them, panting.

Rayla braced herself for another round. Her only saving grace was that Claudia was not apparently a warrior. She wouldn't fight like one. That was an advantage and a disadvantage.

Soren, closed in on her with his sword. Claudia picked up something from her bag and--

"Wait!"

Rayla's eyes widened. She twirled around. Callum ran at breakneck speed to come between them. His back to Rayla, he said to them all. " Stop fighting. Soren, Claudia, what are you doing here? Not that I'm not glad you're here, but--"

"It's okay, Callum," Claudia said, raising her -- it was a severed paw. Rayla was going to be sick. "We're here to rescue you."

"Wait, you guys don't understand. I don't even understand--"

Soren flexed his grip on his sword. "It'll all make sense once we're done here. Just get out of the way, okay, step-prince? And then we can take you home."

Something in Rayla spiked, but Callum extended his arms out and backed up into Rayla. "What? No."

"Don't worry. I know a good spell that will have her off our backs for good."

Rayla leaped at them, but Callum caught her around the waist with everything he had, whirling her in a circle and holding her against him with both his arms. "Everybody, wait a minute."

As if on cue, the trees rustled.

Andromeda dropped first. Then, Callisto. Then, Ram and Skor.

Finally, Runaan stalked from the shadows, into the moonlight.

They all had their weapons out. Ram and Skor were behind Claudia and Soren.

"You again?" Andromeda sneered.

"They're my friends," Callum answered. "I grew up with them-- please, can we all just wait a minute and figure out what's going on."

"Make it quick," Callisto said, his knives ready.

Callum looked at Soren and Claudia with a meaningful face.

"We're here for you," Claudia said finally. Gently. "You and Ezran."

"Claudia, I ran away. Remember? Why would I go back?" He demanded. "Your dad wanted to kill me."

"My dad's only doing what's best for us. All of us. I'm sure we can convince him that you and Ezran are okay. He's just... confused. It's a misunderstanding."

Callum held Rayla tighter. She said what he wanted to. "He killed Callum's stepdad. How is that a misunderstanding?"

"That's not true," Claudia retorted, glaring. "He would never do that. Callum, we need to talk about this."

Andromeda said to Runaan, "We should kill them. Silence them. If they leave, they run back to the human kingdoms with our whereabouts. No doubt there's a force waiting to ambush us."

Skor agreed. Callum immediately shook his head. "No, no! Wait, listen-- Everyone, this is crazy. You guys can't just kill each other at the drop of a hat. Claudia, Soren, you attacked Rayla without even seeing if I wanted to go. You knew I'd gone on my own and still did it, anyway." He looked to Runaan. "That doesn't mean I want them to get hurt. Runaan, please, give me a chance to sort this out and figure out what's going on."

Runaan bristled. "You expect me to trust them?"

"No, I'm asking you to trust me on this. You don't have to trust them... you don't really have a reason to, but please."

Runaan paused, blue eyes piercing the three of them. He glanced at Rayla.

Rayla sighed. "Runaan... they're his friends. We should..." She hated to say it. "We should honor it."

His face did that thing. The slightest twitch which meant he would relent. "Very well. But they will be watched. If they act on their ill intentions or I think they have become a danger to us all, they will be killed. I will not hesitate. None of us will hesitate. Is that clear?"

Callum nodded. "Thank you."

He glared at Soren and Claudia. After a moment, Soren sheathed his sword. Smart.

Claudia picked up her ruined bag as Callum let Rayla go.

Rayla looked at Callum. He put his hands up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to--"

"Don't worry about it," she smiled at him.

He smiled back, albeit apologetically. He went to walk with Claudia and Soren as the elves escorted them away.

To Claudia, Rayla said. "Don't do anything stupid."

Claudia's glare was frigid. The feeling was mutual.

Rayla only regretted the worry in Callum's eyes when he glanced at them.

-:-:-:-

The next morning, Callum brought Claudia and Soren breakfast to their room. Runnan kept them under lock and key until he decided when they could walk the grounds. Callum needed to talk with him about it, but otherwise things were fine...

He guessed.

As Callum looked in the mirror and rubbed his face he sighed. No, things were not fine on that front.

Claudia and Soren had sided with their father, who killed his father-- he would not back down from the fact -- and were now trying to convince him to take Ezran home. To the same father who wanted to kill them.

Whether or not Claudia and Soren could convince their father to let them live wasn't a risk Callum wanted to take. Not with his life. Not with Ezran's life.

Frankly, he was safer here.

That didn't mean he didn't want to hear them out. It didn't mean he didn't miss them and some semblance of his old life.

"Listen." Rayla shut the door behind her. "We can't trust them."

Callum was already tired. He nodded. "Right..."

"Why are they here? They want to rescue you? They knew you left with us. That doesn't sound right."

"Rayla, I get it. I agree, but I also can't just ignore what they have to say. What if they really are here to help?"

Rayla blinked at him. "Callum, they told you what they wanted: to bring you home. Do you really think they just came here, on their own, defying their father's wishes to bring you home so they can help you? And their father didn’t send them to capture you? You don't believe that, do you?"

Callum turned away.He rubbed his eyes and went back to the mirror. Worry lined his face.

"I don't trust anybody right now." He didn't look at Rayla through the mirror. "Trust isn't the easiest thing for me right now, okay?"

When he finally looked at Rayla’s reflection, her face told him enough about how his words made her feel.

Her ears drooped and she opened her mouth to speak, but ultimately closed it. When she turned to leave, he wanted to turn around and stop her. He didn't.

Callum plopped back on the bed. Why was his life getting so complicated?

-:-:-:-

"I don't understand," Claudia was biting her thumb and pacing. She'd had her hot brown morning potion and was ready to work. But hanging out with all these elves made her nervous. What's more, they were assassins. "Callum and Ezran would never act like this."

"I mean, we don't need to worry about Ezran. We're talking about Callum here," Soren said. "If Callum comes, Ezran will follow."

"But it’s Ezran too... he's so attached to that other elf. What if he's just as comfortable? What are we supposed to do?"

"Clauds, you're thinking way too hard about this."

Claudia stopped pacing and crossed her arms. "And how do you figure that? We have a tall order to convince Callum we're the ones actually on his side. He's been... brainwashed by these elves. He's spent time with them. You noticed how he was with that one elf from last night."

"We really ought to learn their names," Soren mused. "This is getting confusing."

"Soren, focus!"

"I am focusing. Look, Clauds." He stood up and put his hands on Claudia's shoulders. "We've known the Step-Prince and the Crown Runt--"

"Soren."

"-- for years. I'm sure we can figure something out. Normally, I'd say let's just pick them up and carry them home, but even I might have a hard time beating off a team of Moonshadow elf assassins. Though I'm good. Pretty good."

Claudia snapped her fingers and walked away from Soren. Sometimes... sometimes, Soren was brilliant.

"Clauds? Yoo-hoo, I'm over here. Mind telling me what's going on in Claudialand?"

"You are absolutely right."

"I am?" He blinked, then straightened up. "I mean, of course I am."

The'd been friends their whole lives. And Callum had, well, a special connection with her. Surely, that hadn't just evaporated, had it? Elf or no elf.

"Listen, let's just talk to Callum. No crazy stunts. No tricks. Like you said, he knows us way better than them, right?"

"Okay, I said that, but... you also made a good point. What about her?"

Right. Her.

What was her name again?

What did Callum call her when he brought them their breakfast?

Rayla.

Rayla was her name. "We talk to Callum without Rayla. You see the way she is with him."

"The way he is with her, you mean."

"The point is that we need him to remember we're his friends. Not them."

They could manage that. She was sure of it.

-:-:-:-

When Runaan gave the leave, Callum was admittedly relieved to be able to spend time with Soren and Claudia. Even if they did misunderstand the situation he and Ezran were in. Still, talking to them was nice. Surely, they'd come around and understand. Wouldn't they?

Nobody escorted them. Considering there were six assassins plus Lujanne around to monitor them, Callum was marginally able to convince Runaan to let them be.

Rayla hadn't bothered objecting. She hadn't even looked at him.

He squirmed when she didn't.

"... and this is the temple of the Moon Nexus. I've only been in here once, but it's pretty nice, huh?"

"It's amazing, Callum."

Claudia marveled at the inscriptions on the temple walls and what they might mean. Callum let her explore. He had forgotten so much about what home was like. Or around something that felt like home. Watching Claudia in all her beauty and curiosity… he missed this.

"It's alright."

He even missed Soren's interjections, maybe.

Part of him wished Ezran came along with them, but Ezran was more comfortable with Andromeda and Ram right now, looking after the egg. Lujanne was still trying to save the egg after all.

Watching Claudia, his face fell slightly.

He wondered when they might ask about the egg.

They hadn't thus far.

Since when was he so distrusting? Perhaps Rayla called it cautious. He never questioned Soren or Claudia once upon a time. Today, he did. The one blow that always came to mind was their refusal to listen to him about how Lord Viren had killed his father.

He'd seen the killing blow.

Nobody would tell him otherwise.

Whatever his face did, Claudia frowned at it.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said. "I'm alright."

"... how have you been, lately?"

Callum wasn't even sure how to answer that. He sighed and looked at the ceiling for a second before turning back to Claudia, his lips tight. "Okay? Not okay? Not as okay as I could be? I'm not sure if I'm happy. Some things make me happy--"

He thought of Rayla.

"--some things... make me sick. And angry. A lot's going on right now."

"I'm sorry... about everything. You... I understand you don't trust us because of what happened with your dad, but don't you think it's at least a little possible that the elves might have tricked you?”

"No."

There was that feeling again. Tight and miserable.

He knew what turned his and Ezran’s life upside down.

"Callum--"

"You weren't there. Neither of you were." Callum turned away from Claudia. His eyes stung. "I- I saw the flash of light. It was purple like all of your spells, and I saw King Harrow -- my stepdad -- fall. I heard it."

The twin sickening thud of Lady Eveline’s body echoed in his mind.

His stepdad's dying collapse also came back, fresh and ready to haunt him for a time, too.

"... can we talk about it?"

Callum clenched his fists. "What's there to talk about? You don't believe me."

A hand laid on one of his fists and he blinked his tears away. Claudia said, "No... I do."

Even Soren seemed... sorry. Apologetic, even. "I do, too. Callum, we're sorry."

"We're sorry about what happened. And... we're sorry about what our dad did. This... this doesn't make it right.But maybe there was a reason. They had a long friendship. Why would they just... why would our dad just do that to yours without a reason? I'm not saying you ever have to forgive him, but you can imagine, can't you?"

Claudia squeezed his hand.

Callum wasn't sure if he should be angry or sad. Relenting or resisting.

"I don't really have to imagine."

"What if he was sorry? What if it was an accident?"

Callum froze.

He'd never considered the idea that any of it had been an accident. From what Claudia had told him, dark magic went wrong sometimes. Still, he swore they were shouting. He swore they'd been arguing about the egg. His stepdad blamed Lord Viren.

"I don't know."

"Callum, you don't have to forgive my dad. And we can even deal with that later, but it's not safe for you here. What will happen when you get to Xadia? They’ll fix everything? You're still safer with us. Humans. Humans who care about you. Even if they lock my dad away forever for what he did to yours--"

Callum looked at her sharply.

"-- you still have Opeli. And all the other counselors. You have your Aunt Amaya."

If she forgave him, anyway. He ventured that she would want an explanation about what happened at the Banther Lodge. But Aunt Amaya was always reasonable.

Moreover... Claudia had a point.

"You'll have us, too," she added.

Callum squeezed Claudia's hand. He appreciated her.

That didn't completely set aside the unease in his belly.

"I missed you guys," he admitted. "But I... I can't just go back now. Things aren't that simple. So much has happened since then. They've protected me."

Claudia's face was crestfallen, maybe even a bit upset when he kept walking.

"Even if they're assassins?"

Claudia and Callum twisted to look at Soren. He said little during their walk, but he'd been listening.

"Yes, even if they're assassins."

Soren frowned. "Callum... we heard about Meraxia."

Callum froze. He must have been like an animal on the road.

The sick thud played in his head again and again and again--

"We were on the road when we found out," Soren said. "But what... What happened with you? How did you even get mixed up in that?"

How did he even answer?

With the truth, he supposed.

What else was there but the truth?

So, he told them. He told them everything and explained what happened, leaving out little detail. For the first time, he had someone to tell. Rayla had lived it with him. And nobody would ever sit above her in that regard.

But to finally have it off his chest with someone who wasn't there.

It gave him some relief. Some.

Even if Soren looked uncomfortable and Claudia a little horrified. It was their turn to be speechless and their turn to feel a bit of what he felt on a daily basis.

When Soren gathered himself, he said, "None of that needed to happen."

"It was my idea--"

"But you wouldn't have been in that situation if it weren't for them. They're assassins, Callum. All of them."

Callum sighed. "Yes. I've already had to deal with that."

"... she's an assassin, Callum."

Callum paused. A common fact, at this point. He wanted to tell Soren as much. Make him back off.

There was also a part of him who wanted someone to listen to what it was like adapting to a bunch of assassins and, well, caring about them. Not that Callum didn't care about a lot of people, but this situation was different.

On top of it all, it wasn't like he was entirely past the thing about Rayla and the guard from Meraxia.

"I know, okay," Callum said. "It hasn't been easy."

This time, Claudia put her hand on his shoulder. "You can tell us what happened."

Callum pursed his lips.

He told them.

He told them all about his fight with Rayla, how she killed the guard and why she did it. It was like he kept trying to convince himself or debate with himself about how he was coping with that bit of knowledge. There was a part of him still horrified by what she did. There was another part of him that remembered what Lujanne said and why Rayla had done it in the first place.

All of it made him hear Lady Eveline's death again.

Was that going to haunt him for the rest of his life?

He reckoned so.

"Callum... that's horrible."

"You see, it sounds horrible, and then I remember, hey, she did it to protect us--"

Soren shook his head. "That's not really an excuse."

"Yeah, but--"

"But nothing. You keep making excuses for her, but she murdered him. In cold blood. She's a murderer, Callum. That's her job."

Claudia stood with Soren on this one. "That's... all she'll ever be, Callum. Do you really want to be around people like that? Just like-- like everybody has always said. Listen, we're only trying to protect you, okay?"

Callum stopped walking. "Wait a minute, she's not a murderer. And it's not like that. Not even close. You weren't there. We were being hunted. We're still being hunted. Rayla did what she felt like she had to do to keep us safe. I don't like it, but I won’t judge her like that. You shouldn't either."

"Why are you protecting her?" Soren demanded. "You said it yourself. She killed a guard, then lied to you about it. Sounds like murder to me."

"Because it isn't like that. She had a good reason. I mean, she shouldn't have lied about it, but..."

"But what? Why are you defending them so much? Why are you defendingher so much?" Soren crossed his arms. "They're Moonshadow elves. She's a Moonshadow elf."

"Callum, I know everything seems confusing, but I promise if you just come home with us then everything will work itself out. It's like Soren said, she's a Moonshadow elf." Claudia said. "She's not worth your time."

"What? No, Rayla means the world to me." Callum shook his head. "I won't leave her."

Claudia and Soren looked at him, then they looked at each other.

He didn't know what they were thinking and, frankly, he didn't want to know.

-:-:-:-

When Callum found her, Rayla was sharpening her knives. Naturally, she was somewhere doing something sword related.

She was in her room and she didn't say anything when he came in. Okay, maybe he deserved that. He was supposed to be getting better at dealing with this thing that was still between them. Despite her lack of acknowledgement, he sat next to her and sidled up as far as he dared.

"Hey."

"... Hey."

Rayla kept sharpening her blades very pointedly, but he continued. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier."

She hunched her shoulders. "It's fine."

He reached out to her, then stopped. Maybe not while she was handling those things. "It's not. I didn't mean to make it sound like I didn't trust you. I'm still not... okay with everything. But what I said wasn't meant to be toward you. Never toward you."

She paused and looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. Pouted slightly.

But she let her shoulders down and grumbled at him. "You're so... ridiculous."

He grinned. "You're right, but at least I'm ridiculous with you, right?"

Rayla smiled, she looked down at her swords, then back at him. "I suppose. So, how did it go?"

That immediately made Callum tired. "Okay, I guess. Claudia's always easier than Soren. But I also have a better connection with her. Magic and all. Speaking of which--"

Knock, knock

They looked up. Claudia stood at the doorway, smiling, her knuckles raised to rap at the door. "Hey, want to go for another walk? I could use another tour of the place," she said. Her voice was a bit easier this time. "Just the two of us?"

This was the Claudia he knew and could be around. Callum nudged Rayla, who was already frowning. "I'll be back, okay?"

Rayla grumbled, but otherwise nudged him back. "I'll be around."

For you .

She didn't need to say it.

One day, he'd tell her he appreciated her waiting for him.

-:-:-:-

"I'm sorry about earlier, Callum. Can we put it behind us?"

Callum couldn't be more tired of fighting with the people around him. "Yeah... I guess. Of course. I... I kind of want to give it a rest, too."

Maybe, things were okay.

Maybe, it wasn't all bad.

Claudia smiled. That bright, beautiful smile that made his stomach lurch and his heart leap. His face was warmer, too.

"So... the Moon Nexus temple was beautiful, but you never took us to the Nexus itself."

Callum stammered. "O-oh, yeah. Guess I got a little sidetracked about it, honestly. You seemed to love the ruins though."

"They were beautiful. So magical and full of history. I'd love to go there again, sometime."

Callum swallowed hard. Maybe...

Maybe this was his chance. Maybe things were kind of back to normal.

Back in Katolis, he never mustered up the courage to ask Claudia out on a real date. It was always a coincidence of Soren being around or just finding her when she was out. But asking her out on a date. An actual, hopefully romantic date.

He could do this.

Callum rubbed the back of his neck.

He could do this.

"How... how about tonight? I can take you there. And the Moon Nexus. Only if you want to, of course. If not, I totally understand and I can show you sometime in the day when it's not just the two of us. You know, I understand how that might--"

"Callum."

"--not be entirely comfortable and I totally respect that and--"

"Callum."

Callum froze. He dared to look at her directly.

"I'd love to go on a date with you. Let's say, tonight? Moonrise?"

He blinked. "U-uh, yes! That'd be great. If it's great--good, sounds good-- with you?"

Nervous should just be his middle name right about now.

Claudia laughed. He could have melted right there. "Of course it's good with me. Besides, I'd like to make it up to you. Everything, I mean. I just want to have a good time with you again."

Callum cracked a smile. "I'd really like that, too, Claudia."

She began to walk away, but not before brushing her hair behind her ear and smiling back at him. "It's a date then."

He was practically breathless. "A-a date."

When she was out of view, he almost collapsed right there.

A date. With Claudia.

He had to talk to somebody. Had to tell somebody. If Ezran was here, he'd tell him, but he was probably busy.

Callum was going to burst. With nerves or joy, he wasn't entirely certain.

-:-:-:-

When he came back to see Rayla, she had migrated to the tree outside and was just about done with her swords, putting them away as he approached her. Her face was already in question when he strolled toward her, his heart and face on fire.

He took Rayla by the elbows and sat her down again.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked.

"Date."

"... what?"

"Date. With Claudia."

Rayla froze. "With Claudia."

"I have a date with Claudia," he grinned. Her reaction was the exact opposite of his. He could do anything. Wanted to do everything right now. Rayla sat next to him, eyes wide and her mouth frozen.

"T-that's... yeah."

"We talked about things and, you know, we've been friends for so long. I guess good things can happen in crazy times, right?"

"... right. I'm, uh... good for you. "

Her face was still unreadable. He held her arms when they stood back up, but Callum was grinning from ear to ear. "Thanks for being so easy about this. I know you don't trust them, but everything will be fine. You trust me, right?"

Out of instinct, he held her hand to his chest.

Her expression was still weird, but he couldn't read it with so many things going on in his head.

"...of course, I trust you," she said finally. Her smile was small.

"Okay, I still have to tell you something, but I have to get ready first. We’ll talk tonight? When I get back?"

She only nodded.

Callum squeezed her hand as he let her go. Then, he left.

-:-:-:-

Skor watched from his place, a safe distance away. He saw Rayla.

Beside him, Ram did, too.

"You see that?" Skor asked.

"I tried not to, but yes."

"You realize that'll be a problem, right?"

"Yes, I do," Ram sounded tired.

Skor grumbled. Damned teenagers.

--

We're back! After a couple months, I know it was a while, but I did win Nanowrimo with 50k words of TDP fic. About 25k for both Sides of the Moon and Gales of Yesterday. I really appreciate the wait you guys and things are going to start picking up in terms of the thick of the plot for the first part of Sides of the Moon.

Other than that, I think I'll let you guys sit on what that means for future chapters (the next 4 will be coming on regular intervals).

I also just want to give a heads up that I am planning an original novel right now (in earnest) and would love your support on that. Follow me on twitter for any future updates! I'm kuno_12 on Twitter.

As always, I love it when you guys leave those reviews. They keep me motivated and keep me writing. Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!

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