#tabletop tubby

[agooberscanons]

Chika, what's your opinion on nomming others?

“Ehhh? What, like playful nibbles?”

“What’s that? You’ll whisper it in my ear?”

“...........”

“Ehhhhhh??? I don’t-??” Flusterations.

[skulgan]

Bogged and Leeched: Pokemon Redesigns PT 1

@bogleech is a horror artist and blogger who is, demonstrably, a fan of strange and bizarre creatures and intriguing animals. He is also a fan of Digimon and Pokemon, and has two different series' critiquing the designs of both.

I enjoy these critiques, and have binge-read his Pokemon reviews and cannot wait for when he finally finishes reviewing Gen 9 (coming soon, surely), but when he doesn't like something about a Pokemon's design, or, alternatively, dislikes the 'mon altogether... OH BOY, does that man let you know!

As someone who has appreciates nearly every Pokemon and hasn't a negative opinion on any of them, really, I find his critiques in this department to hurt my soul a little... because, to an extent, I completely agree with his gripes. The man spits.

Something he has also done, on occasions where a design offends him just enough to have a gripe with it but not enough to reject the concept altogether, is draw up his own takes on designs for that Pokemon, and those combined with his region concept makes it very clear that he is, in fact, the same guy who drew the webcomic Awful Hospital and the indev tabletop game Mortasheen. They're not bad! But they basically always completely redo the Pokemon from the ground up using Bogleech's personal design philosophy when it comes to monster making, and it always feels like something winds up lost in the end.

Unsatisfied with this and always hounded by a desire to pander to internet micro-celebrities that I respect and like, I came up with an idea: take Pokemon Bogleech had a particularly negative reaction to and tweak their designs in an attempt to remedy the gripes he had with them, all while trying to keep the things that made people originally fans of those Pokemon to avoid turning too many people away.

Starting this... series? No idea if I'll make a second part, but! We begin with a line that Bogleech actually adored... right up until the ultimate betrayal.

The goomster!!!

The Goomy evolution line of Pokemon was introduced in Generation Six in the Pokemon X and Y line of games and is considered to be the game's "psuedo-legendary" dragon type Pokemon. Yes, it may not look it, but this slug eventually becomes a dragon, more on that later!

In his review, Bogleech's opinion of Goomy is... tepid, but optimistic, and upon evolving into Sliggoo, the 'mon quickly became his personal favorite for its strange, slightly disconcerting Pokedex entries and unique eyes.

Looking at it, its appeal is pretty clear: its a dopey sluggy slug that perfectly tows the line between cute and goofy. Goote? Coofy?

However, Bogleech's hopes are eventually dashed as the unique design is abandoned for a body plan and face reminiscent of Generation One's Dragonite.

On one hand, I disagree with how he feels about Goodra's body plan. Like it or not, but this is a dragon type Pokemon, and the Generation's psuedo-legendary dragon. There was no hiding from its inevitable fate, the slug had to become a dragon. In my opinion, the tubby, bottom heavy goof dragon style that was initially used by Dragonite was realistically the only real angle a dragon slug Pokemon could've taken that wouldn't just feel incorrect. Granted, there are some sea slugs that get real wacky with it, but Goomy's line is, demonstrably, not that. I have no qualms with how this thing is built, very strange fan-art on Google notwithstanding.

But that face...

Yeah, this does not inspire joy.

Bogleech gripes about its toddler-like head and facial proportions when critiquing its Hisuian design, and I actually think that issue is largely the fact that they just. stuck the face of a person on it. Were it more stylized like Sliggoo and I don't even think it'd be a problem.

One thing about this design that I also don't quite like that Bogleech never mentions is just how little the newly introduced green slime is used on the design. It's on the arms, it hangs off the bottom of the jaw like a really gross goatee, and that's it. I definitely don't think it should be used everywhere, but just a bit more surely wouldn't hurt, right?

However, I also understand that people adore Goodra and I, personally, love Goodra to pieces. With that in mind, here was the design I concocted to try and strike a middle ground between Leech's bogged down hopes and the current design:

Obviously, the change is very minor if you start from the bottom and work up, I added some more loose green slime coming off of the back of the calves/thighs (drumsticks? It's all one mass who knows), but left the rest of the body unchanged. Making it slightly less bottom heavy was largely accidental, as I couldn't quite get the proportions correct. Some may find that an improvement, to those who don't, just fish eye lens the bottom half of this design in your mind by like, 5%? And that should fix your issue.

The real big change here was the face and some of the head, as I went with a design that better follows the design philosophy of Sliggoo's face by borrowing the eyes from it verbatim. To not make it feel as derivative, I added an extra line to the eyes to make them almost eyelash like. They are also the only real indicator that the false eyes all along the side of Goodra are actually false. Or are they? Let your imagination go wild in that department.

I also changed the mouth to make better use of that split between the underbelly and back, ending in jowl-like flaps that protrude slightly out of the head to create the effect of a big mouth. However, that's simply a ruse! The actual mouth of this Goodra is still a cute little anime-like :D hiding underneath that loose slugskin. I also made an attempt to better connect the slime coming off of the bottom of the head to the actual mouth, so the drool-like effect should hopefully come off a bit more clearly.

I, personally, really like this design, and I think you lot will enjoy it too. But will The Insidious Bogleech? Eh, probably not. But I tried!

[jimlingss]

Ducklings & Dimples

Original / Sequel

➜ Words: 26.8k

➜ Genres: 50% Adventure, 30% Fluff, 20% Action, Historical!AU - kind of

➜ Summary: Min Yoongi is sent off to the town of Millpass to complete a quest for his mentor. But there, he’s humiliated when he gets scammed and stolen from by the same person - you. // Alternatively: They like to call you a cheat, but you like to call it business. You’ve learnt that nothing in life comes for free. Rather, there are opportunities. And when you run into a certain human fighter with blonde hair, you’ll take advantage of his protection and embark on a quest together for profits, dragons, and a blossoming romance.

➜ Notes: Inspired and set in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. However, you do not need to have prior knowledge of the game or have played in order to read the story. ((Extra Info: Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy role-playing tabletop game set in an imaginary world based loosely on medieval myth.))

The town of Millpass is lively and welcoming to its many tourists and travelers. It’s open to creatures with all kinds of backgrounds; the wealthy are able to purchase rare spices from the marketplaces while the poor arrive here to make a new living for themselves. It’s a place of opportunity.

  But Yoongi isn’t here to enjoy the town in spite of being a traveler — even if he’s observing his surroundings, taking in the warm weather, the animated atmosphere, the bustling tavern and wooden stalls lining the streets. Even if he’s feeling better after the tiresome journey getting here.   You, on the other hand, are taking full advantage of what this town has to offer.   “Get your potions of resistance! Made from the most experienced artificers and warlocks in the depths of Chult! Won’t get it anywhere else! Get your potions! Can’t go into battle without them!”   You’re holding stoppered bottles in both hands. The one in your left is a bubbling, neon red while the other is a frothy, icy blue. There’s a sign dangling from your neck and your leather satchel is slung across your body, a bag of holding that houses the rest of the bottles.    “Get your bottles!” Every time you jump, your braids bounce and dust flies onto your peasant dress and boots, but the brown shades easily hide just how dirty you are. “Excuse me, sir. Would you like one?”   You stop a brute-looking Dragonborn on the street and by the look of the axes in his possession, you assume he’s a barbarian. Your neck hurts when it knocks back to look at him. His shadow looms over you like a tree providing shade on a Summer’s day. He’s well over six feet tall.   “What does it do?” his voice is low and raspy, his brow lifted at the bottle.   “It’s potions of resistance! This one gives you resistance on heat and this other one gives you resistance on cold damage. They last for twenty four hours.”   “Twenty four? I thought it was only for an hour.”   “Well these are made specially from an ancient artificer from Chult that learned from a warlock that specializes in herbalism,” you say and he seems reluctant to believe you. After years of this, you can tell he’s about to walk away, so you come closer with shining eyes. “You wouldn’t want to waste this opportunity. Better to take a risk and try than to walk away without ever knowing, right? Don’t you want to satisfy your own curiosity and doubts?”   There’s a moment of silence.   Your persuasion works.   “How much?”   “Two gold pieces.”   “One,” he negotiates.   You hum as if considering it. Then, you nod. “Deal.”   The ruffian Dragonborn barbarian hands the gold piece over and you give him the glass container with the scarlet liquid, thanking him for doing business with you. As he walks away, you flip the gold coin up into the air with your thumb and snatch it in one hand with a grin. But there’s still nine more bottles to sell, so you quickly take your place again.   “Get your potions. Get your resistance potions—!” Your attention is suddenly taken by a passing stranger with a rounded face, sleepy features and baby yellow hair shagging in front of his forehead. “Hey, you! Duckling hair!”   Yoongi turns around at the shout and realizes you’re looking right at him.   Duckling hair?   He pinches the strands on his head, eyes flickering up, confused as all hell.    “You don’t want to miss this chance!” You grin and hop over to him, pulling another bottle out of your satchel swirling with a pale, pastel yellow that matches his head. “Want a potion of resistance? It’s made from an ancient artificer in Chult who learnt from a warlock who specializes in herbalism kits!”   “N—”   “I bet it wouldn’t even cost you a dime.” Your eyes skim him from head to toe, eyeing his outer clothing that you know wasn’t cheap. He wears a black, ample cloak with a hood, wool shirt and a sturdy belt that holds two different swords, and brown boots like you. “You’re probably going to spend the same amount on some food or a place to stay at, so why not fork out some now? How often do you take leaps of faith? And it might be helpful for any upcoming adventures or expeditions! Very suitable for fighting beasts and creatures. You never know when you might need it and it might just save your life!”   You’re persistent — your coaxing’s a talent in itself. And against all odds, Yoongi finds himself forking over a gold piece to the grinning peasant girl with glittering irises.   But as he walks away, wondering why he bought one, he brings the stoppered bottle up to eye-level. Yoongi swishes it and he sighs, realizing it’s just water. Dyed water in a bottle.   Feeling like an idiot, he turns around.   But you’re already gone.   //   After a successful morning of business, you decide to satisfy the hunger in your stomach and the stout lady behind the stall seems just as ecstatic as you wolf down her boiled and fried shrimp.   You pass her a silver piece as you grab another skewer of pineapple and lemon shrimp, inhaling them within seconds. Eyes pinpointed on some pepper shrimp, you fish into your bag for another silver or copper piece, but all you come up with is gold.    Gold that you know you need to save.   “Ca’ I ge’ one on th’ house?” you ask with your cheeks full.   The plump woman glares. “No.”   You’re unable to pout when you’re chewing your mouthful, but you suppose it’s fair. There’s nothing free in life. But there are opportunities. And as you swallow down your food, a man approaches the stall. At once, you recognize his tender features and the strands of his blonde hair that remind you of rubber ducklings.    Yet, he doesn’t seem to pay any mind to you or recognize you from earlier.    You suppose this is fair too — after all, you’re dressed in peasant clothing that’s meant to easily be overlooked and disguise you amongst the crowd of commoners.   “What’s your most popular kind?” he asks the stall lady who happily smiles.   “Of course, it’s our shrimp gumbo,” she answers and it’s ironically the most expensive one.   “I’ll take two then.” The man with pale lemon-coloured hair takes two silver pieces out of his pocket, handing it to her and she nods, telling him that it’ll be right out. In the meanwhile, you eye his pocket and naturally shuffle over. Turning your head as if you’re looking in the other direction, your fingers dip into his open cloak pocket. But your luck is rotten this time.   The man turns his head.   He looks right at you.   “Hey!”   Your hand curls around a foreign object and you snatch it before taking off. You run, darting down the road as fast as your legs can take you. But when you turn your head, you nearly scream. He’s hot on your heels, his gentle features twisted in an intimidating scowl. He looks like he’s going to kill you and it only serves as motivation to sprint faster even if your lungs burn.   He chases you, but when you turn the corner of the street, you duck behind an alley.   Looking down, you cuss. It isn’t a sack full of coins. It’s a damn scroll.    Opening it, you find it’s been sent by Mirla Nistar, some random lady who you’ve never heard about, and it details a quest to help this woman in the case of her missing daughter.    It’s useless………..Or is it?   At the same time, Yoongi heaves for air. His hands are on his hip and he cusses, having lost sight of you. In the span of one day, he’s been scammed and stolen from.   The town of Millpass isn’t welcoming at all.

As much as Yoongi wants to get out of this place, he knows he can’t until tomorrow at the earliest. He still has a responsibility to fulfill here, or rather, a favour. He’s been called to help his mentor’s old friend and if he didn’t respect her so much, he would’ve already left.   “Oh my goodness, you must be who Mirala sent! Come in, come in.” The tubby woman wearing three strands of pearls widens the door. He nods his head silently and makes sure to wipe off his dirty boots before he follows her inside her abode. He eyes her massive painted portrait hanging in the main room above the mantle that seems to follow him wherever he goes.    The ceiling is high, golden curtains draping the large bay windows into her garden bed and a couch and two armchairs are arranged in a semi-circle. The only luminescence comes from the orange glow of the roaring fireplace and Yoongi notices a buff Dragonborn barbarian seated comfortably in one of the armchairs, staring at the flames as if entranced.   Yoongi takes a seat and the Dragonborn seems to notice him, turning to stare.   “Hello. My name is Yoongi.”   The Dragonborn merely grunts.   “Tea anyone?” the woman tottles over with a tray.   Yoongi shakes his head. “I’m fine, thank you.”   The woman looks over to the Dragonborn and he nods. She pours it for him and drops in two sugar cubes but he never takes a sip. Yoongi clears his throat and looks to the clock, watching the arms tick away. “Is this everyone?” he asks, not expecting he would have to take this journey with only one other person.   Usually an adventure of this capacity would take four to five, but he didn’t mind.   The fewer people, the more efficient and faster the quest can be completed.   “I guess so.” The woman musters a smile and takes a seat. “I’m just grateful that anyone showed up to help me at all. If you don’t know my name is Sorli Stav and my….my daughter, Mina Stav, was taken by a dragon.”   The Dragonborn sputters and then clears his throat. Yoongi cocks a brow but returns his attention to the woman so she can continue telling her story.   “One minute we were in the middle of the forest and the next, I heard this roar and there was wind and then she was being taken! Gone! Just like that! Oh, my poor baby!” She clutches her pearls and wails ear-piercingly. “Please help her! It has to be the Dragon of the North. No one would do such a treacherous thing as to kidnap someone in broad daylight like that!”   “My condolences,” Yoongi offers to console her. His hands are placed on his knees and his posture is straight. “We will try our best to rescue her, rest assured.”   She nods, wiping the area beneath her eyes gingerly with her ring finger. “I have a sister in Rutherglen. Ashal Stav. She can help you. She lives close to the North. Please…”   Yoongi turns to find the Dragonborn staring at the flames that flicker. He’s been strangely silent so far. But then his lips part and he speaks three words...in an odd voice, slightly muffled but reminiscent of a child trying to lower their pitch. “What’s the reward?”   “What?” The woman’s head lifts and she exclaims, “Anything! I’ll do anything! You can have anything you’d like! Even my daughter’s hand in marriage.”   “No. I want gold.” The Dragonborn sharply inhales and leans forward while looking around the room as if estimating how much the house is worth. “How about ten thousand gold pieces….”   Yoongi nearly chokes. But he doesn’t comment — he’s met many different adventurers after all and each of them have their own motivations and quirks that are unnecessary to argue against.   “That’s all I have in my vault,” she murmurs, disheartedly.   “Five thousand for each of us. I think that’s fair. After all, the risk of fighting a dragon is substantially high and we’re putting our lives on the line. Unless….you don’t think your daughter is worth that much,” he mutters, clearly persuading the woman and succeeding in it.   “Deal! I’ll do it!” she agrees wholeheartedly and the Dragonborn barbarian grins.   “Of course, we’ll need half of the prepayment first before we can embark.”   She rises to her feet immediately. “I’ll run upstairs and scrape up what I can!”   Yoongi stares at the brute Dragonborn whose face glows in the fire’s crimson light. And the Dragonborn finally takes the dainty teacup to drink from it, pinky raised in the air.    The moment the lady comes back and the payment of two thousand five hundred gold pieces for each of them are given out, there are a few farewells said. She pleads with them to help her daughter until the last second and both nod, reassuring her that the girl will return shortly. But the moment the door shuts and Yoongi looks to his side, the Dragonborn has vanished.   He finds him down the road and quickly catches up. “Shouldn’t we discuss our plans?”   “Huh? Yeah, maybe in the morning.” The Dragonborn clears his throat. “It’s getting late, isn’t it?”   “Wait. I don’t know your name,” Yoongi says, coming to a realization and quickening his pace when the Dragonborn walks faster.   “It’s Robert.”   The Dragonborn begins to break out into a light jog, getting farther away from him. Yoongi’s brows furrow deeper, exasperated by the evasiveness of his partner. He still has countless questions, needs to set a time and place they can meet tomorrow, so he shouts, “hold on!” and Yoongi extends his hand.   Except, his fingers go straight through where the Dragonborn’s shoulder should be.    Like it’s an illusion.   The two of them look right at each other.    Yoongi’s mouth opens. His eyes are wide. He’s baffled beyond speech. But then the Dragonborn takes off without another moment to waste, sprinting down the road. And it’s déjà vu.    “Hey!”   Unfortunately for the Dragonborn barbarian, he’s unable to make his getaway. Not when he’s too busy paying attention to Yoongi chasing him and not straight ahead. And his body collides roughly with another.    “Watch it, you!” the stranger snarls and it’s a stranger with the exact same face as his. “Wait a minute….!”   Yoongi catches up and looks between the two of them in absolute bewilderment. He wonders if this is some nonsensical dream or if he’s fallen into another plane of existence when there are two duplicates of every entity.   The two of them look up and down one another as if mirror reflections. They wear the exact same clothing, their faces exactly alike down to the detail, the weapons they carry the same.   “Who are you?!”   “W-Who are you?”   But on closer inspection, Yoongi finds tiny details that make all the differences. The Dragonborn he was speaking to is shorter and visibly thinner. The other Dragonborn, on the other hand, is towering in stature and his voice booms menacingly down the night street illuminated by lamp posts.   The Dragonborn Yoongi’s unfamiliar with steps forward and draws his greataxe. “I am Astrid, the Great from the Yarjerit clan! I am a descendant of the Wyrm Regent of the North, an ancient Golden Dragon from Everlund.”   Yet the Dragonborn beside him doesn’t back down. “I am Robert, the Great from the Yarjerit clan! I am a descendant of the Wyrm Regent of the North, an ancient Golden Dragon from Everlund.”   “Liar! You think I would not know everyone in my family?!”   “You’re the liar! You think I would not know everyone in my family?!”    It’s utterly ridiculous and Yoongi’s about to walk away from the sheer senselessness of the situation that’s worsening his headache. But then the Dragonborn who was with him flickers. Like the flame of a candle. Parts of his body become translucent, fading and flashing. He looks down at himself as if coming to a realization and cusses—   “Shit! Fuck.”   The spell ends.   The claws turn to fingers, mess of ropy hair morphing into two braids, golden scales and reptilian frills to smooth skin. The hide armor alter back into a brown dress, white chemise tucked into a full brown skirt and a bodice crisscrossed over to hold the attire together.   You’re fucked.   Yoongi’s eyes become rounded, his expression clearly telling you that he finally recalls who you are — but there’s little to dwell on when there’s a much larger threat at hand that also recognizes you.   “Wait a minute!” The real Dragonborn barbarian huffs from his nose. “I know you! You sold me that fake potion from earlier! You’re that fraud!”   “I prefer the title charlatan,” you say with a tiny smile and then slide behind Yoongi for cover.   Yoongi’s face twists in distaste, his mouth goes lopsided and his brows knit together as he looks at you, the conniving peasant girl who stole from him and scammed him too. But before he can move aside and let you deal with the consequences of your own actions, the Dragonborn clutches his greataxe with both hands and a battle cry tears from his throat.   Yoongi sighs in exhaustion and pulls his rapier from its sheath.   The Dragonborn barbarian swings. The axe hits Yoongi in his left shoulder but the blade is dull and not deep enough to make a real cut. The impact does more harm, but his grip tightens and he slashes the barbarian. It’s a critical hit, causing the Dragonborn to stumble back and Yoongi surges forward once, slicing the other male’s arm.   He shouts in pain and surrenders, backing away.   “I’ll find you again, thief! This isn’t over!” he swears and you peek out from hiding behind Yoongi’s frame.   The Dragonborn’s eyes narrow and he turns, eventually disappearing down the dark street.   Once the coast is clear, you finally breathe a sigh of relief. “Thanks for that, Yoongi. You really saved me there. I thought I was going to be in trouble for a second.”   You grin. It’s good to put a name to a face...or rather, a name to some hair. Calling him duckling right now wouldn’t be appropriate after all. But the man appears entirely unamused with your familiarity with him.    His brow cocks and his glare is only slightly intimidating. “What’s your real name?”   You hum. “Sorry, can’t tell you that.”   Yoongi scoffs and extends his arm, opening up his palm. “I want my scroll back and I want a refund.” The faster he gets his belongings returned to him, the faster he can leave. “You gave me dyed water.”   “I would give you back your gold piece, but I’m afraid I already spent it.” You smile brightly, hoping he doesn’t count the heavy sack of two thousand five hundred gold in your bag of holding. “And I left the scroll at Sorli Stav’s house. It’s not like you need it though, right?”   His impassive expression never changes.   “How about I strike you a deal?” You come closer, arms behind your back. “I was going to run away with the prepayment, but I’ll join you in your quest as a way to show my gratitude.”   Your eyes flicker down, scanning the expanse of the human fighter. You have absolutely zero plans of joining him in crawling into a dragon’s lair, but he doesn’t need to know that. All that matters is that he’s proven himself capable and strong. It might just be beneficial to go along with him for a little while. He could protect you, at least until your journey to Bogsburrough.    But the man never answers your offer, he merely scoffs.   //   It’s bright and early in the morning when you finally see a certain duckling-hair male exit the inn. He’s stretching his limbs, features still sleepy. But the process of getting the kinks out of his neck is interrupted when his eyes stray to you and he realizes you’re looking right at him.   “About time.” You approach, having been leaning against a wheelbarrow across the road with your arms crossed. You need to get out of here before that Dragonborn barbarian finds you again and tries to dig that axe into your leg. “I’ve been waiting for a good hour.”   “I have no plans in letting you join me,” he states in a husky timbre, already walking off.   You sync your steps with his, joining his side as you tilt your head and enjoy the azure shade of the sky. “That’s too bad then, but looks like we’re going in the same direction. What a great coincidence!” As if to mock him, you grin and hold up the scroll you claimed to have lost. Yoongi glares and snatches it back.   “Do whatever you want,” he mutters without looking at you and pockets the scroll.   You click your tongue in annoyance, falling behind him.    “Unlikable prick,” you curse in Elvish.    Suddenly, Yoongi turns around, bringing you to an abrupt halt. “That’s a new one. Usually people call me moody or a cold bastard. But if you have something to say, then at least be honest with yourself and say it to my face.”   You’re shocked.   You can feel your face heat with embarrassment, but more than that, you’re impressed.   With a newfound vigor and enthusiasm, you catch up with him and even overtake his speed. You lean close to the man, inspecting his facial features and ears closely. But he doesn’t look like an elf. “Are you a Half-Elf? How can you speak Elvish so fluently?”   “No, I’m not a Half-Elf,” Yoongi sighs halfheartedly. “I was just taught the language.”   Just like you.   You’re curious. Maybe the two of you had more similarities than you thought.   “Sorry, my bad,” you apologize in the foreign language with a cheeky smile, following along happily.    Eventually, the both of you leave the town of Millpass behind with your little bags and belongings, taking the path up North. Or at least that’s what you’re assuming with the way Yoongi pulls out his map and tilts it around every so often. Part of you worries he doesn’t know where he’s going, but if he got to Millpass in the first place then you know he’ll figure it out.   After all, it’s not like you’re eager to go complete this little quest of his.   Payment of no payment, you don’t fuck with dragons. You’re the last person who should fight one.   “I have a plan. A way I think the both of us can come to an agreement on.”   “Which is?” he mumbles out of the corner of his mouth, still concentrated on his little map.   “What do you think of commissioning other heroes to go fight this battle for us?” you offer with glittering eyes. “We can pay them a hundred gold pieces each, which is quite a lot. And then we can go back to Sorli Stav and collect the rest of our reward. We wouldn’t profit as much, but it’s worth it and there’s no risk of danger!”   Yoongi eyes you in silence. “You’re good at persuading others, aren’t you?”   You scoff, lifting your chin up high. “Of course. I should be! It’s my career, after all. I’m a business woman.”   “A cheat?”   “A business woman,” you insist much to his amusement.   From the corner of your eye, you swear Yoongi smiles.   The forest is humble, lush, and blooming. Its canopy is eclipsed by willow, elm, and sycamore, their leaves and branches allow for just enough light to cascade through to the grass beds beneath. The array of common flowers adds a playful element and makes it brighter, letting you enjoy the view as you take the stone path winding through the trees.    Yoongi is often quiet, you realize. Maybe he’s not one for making small conversation or he’s suspicious of you — which you wouldn’t blame him for considering the things you’ve done and the nature of your occupation. So your ears tune to the buzzing of the insects and the birds chirping overhead. Until the noises are overridden by boots and other voices in the evening.   “Oh I can’t wait to get myself some pork chop and curds. I’ve been craving it for a whole month.”   “No way! Our first meal is totally going to be cheese pie and onion soup! That tastes a lot better than pork chops!”   “Nu-uh!”   Another voice pipes up, “How about minted pea soup?”    They’re a group of adventurers. You can’t see it in their weary faces, worn clothing, and weapons at their sides. And immediately you grin. The timing couldn’t be any better.   “Oh!” They stop when your groups cross paths. Their excited eyes meet yours and Yoongi’s; the man is much more reluctant than you are. But you suppose he isn’t naturally enthused in the first place. “It’s been so long since we’ve seen other people! Are you travelers as well?”   “Something of the sort.” You smile, arms placed behind your back and by the glare Yoongi pins to the back of your head, you know he can tell there’s an idea brewing in your head.   With the sun falling over the horizon after a long day of journeying, it’s rather easy to persuade them if you and Yoongi can join them in setting up camp. They seem eager to allow you in as well as if they’ve missed seeing new faces around and you wholly take advantage of that.   “This is Alvyn,” the leader gestures to the small, fey creature with a warhammer discarded by his side as he’s busy digging into a frog on a skewer. “He’s our cleric Gnome.”   “Nice to meet you,” he says past a cheekful and you swear some of the food flings into Yoongi’s face, making the man glower and wipe his forehead.   “This is Thunder from Bright Cliffs Clan,” the Half-Elf gestures towards the catlike humanoid. He’s slender and covered in spotted fur, a long tail flickering behind him and retractable claws that digs into his roasted chicken thigh. You look between him and Yoongi, perplexed at how much Yoongi looks like a cat as well. But you don’t voice it out when the man glares at you for staring at him for so long. “He’s our Tabaxi ranger.”   “And I’m just an old man,” the old man pipes up with a hearty chuckle and thick accent you recognize from the South. “Chester’s my name, but everyone calls me Chuck.”   “He’s our Druid,” the Half-Elf says with a smile. “And I’m Greg, a Half-Elf bard.” He’s as tall as Yoongi is, but with longer hair, the tips of his ears pointed and he’s much more poised.   “Nice to meet you. I’m just a peasant girl.” Yoongi scoffs and it’s your turn to glare. But when he never introduces himself, you nudge him roughly, jabbing your elbow in his ribs until he relents with an enormous sigh.   “Yoongi. Human. Fighter.”   “Sorry, he’s unsociable.”   “Not to worry!” Greg laughs. “It’s just nice to meet you all. Where were you headed?”   “We’re going to Castrow,” you lie without even blinking. “My husband and I are visiting his mother.”   Yoongi is sorely unimpressed. But the others nod joyfully, looking between the pair of you as if they didn’t expect you to have that kind of relationship. Though, they don’t question it as if it’s completely believable.    “That’s quite a long way away,” Chuck says, “You ought to be careful around these neck of the woods, you never know what might jump out of you.”   “That’s right!” Alvyn exclaims. “There might be wolves.”   “It’s okay. My dearest husband will protect me.” You grin at Yoongi but his expression remains impassive and he makes no comment much to your dismay.   They seem like a capable group, one that can fight a dragon off and might just be willing to do it for a hundred gold coins each. It might take some sweet-talking to convince and hire them, but you don’t think it’ll be particularly difficult. For now though, you try to get yourself acquainted with them and build some rapport.    “Hey, isn’t that going to burn?” Yoongi taps you on your shoulder and you break out of your trance. He points to the mutton you have at the end of your stick that’s being roasted in the fire.   You pull it out and it’s charred all around, a thin layer of black. You shrug. “I like it like that.”   Yoongi watches you eat it and his face twists as if he’s biting into a lemon.   The entire group is seated around the campfire and you’re sitting especially close, not worried at all by the sparks. It’s comforting and you feel a natural pull to stare at the red and orange flames, listen to the crackle and sputter of the fire, watch the smoke until you fall asleep…   But you force yourself out of it when there’s an abrupt scream.   The Gnome is shrieking terrifyingly, black boot upside down in hand. Then, he bursts out laughing in embarrassment. “A spider got into my boot!”   “No worries.” The Tabaxi is sympathetic. “That’s happened to me more times than I can count!”   “Who’s turn is it to tell a story?” Chuck says mid-chew. “It better be a good one and not like that one about the snake that gave that apple to that lady in the garden. That was terribly boring.”   “It’s my turn.” Greg raises his arm and wipes his mouth with his sleeve. You and Yoongi are getting whiplash, turning your heads and trying to keep up with their fast-paced conversation.    Greg clears his throat. “Back when I was in Al’bamo, I heard this wondrous tale. Many whispered his name. A boy, called Jungkook, said he made a heavier-than-air machine, that could fly without magic.”   There are ooh’s and ahh’s around the campfire.   You look around at them, watching the way they lean in as Greg continues, “He rode what was called ‘The Airplane’ out of a cliff, as a crowd watched him fly it into the unknown. Legend says Jungkook will one day return, giving flying machines to everyone.”   Uh-oh. One of your worst fears is manifesting—   They’re idiots.   “Excuse me,” you raise your voice and enunciate each syllable carefully. “What adventure exactly did you just embark on?”   “Why, we were sent to investigate why animals in the forest have suddenly dropped down dead and why people who have wandered inside have gone missing!” Chuck says as he strokes his white beard and the others around him nod. “We went in and got lost for a full week! Had no clue where we were going whatsoever!”   “You...didn’t have a map?” Yoongi asks, interested in the story as well.   “We did,” Greg says, “But then we found out no one could read it.”   The old man laughs. “Anyhow, we really thought we were going to die of starvation or dehydration, whatever comes first. Then luckily, we happened to come across a pond, so we drank from it. But the water was poisonous!”   The Tabaxi shivers as if he can still recall. The Half-Elf nods along.   You’re listening while becoming progressively more horrified.   “Then we ate some leaves and those were poisonous too!” Part of you wants to believe these are all exaggerated lies to build up the comedic effect but by each creature’s expressions, you can’t detect a single shred of deception. “What do you know, the ogre who was wreaking havoc in the forest came by and thought we were dead. So he dragged us to his cave to eat us, but right when we were put in the water, the ogre suddenly clutched his chest and fell over.”   Your brows shoot up. “A heart attack?”    They shrug.   “Anywho, we stumbled out of there, fell down a few ditches, rolled down a few hills. Almost died again. Then this little fellow,” Chuck says as he signals to the Gnome cleric, “found us and cured us from the poison and now we’re alive!”   “We defeated the ogre!” Greg declares with a giant hurrah and they high five one another.   In the meanwhile, you and Yoongi exchange equally skeptical expressions.    They accomplished their goal out of astronomical sheer luck — which is a talent in itself.    But you can’t rely on pure fortune.    Looking at them with clearer perception, you know it’ll be an impossibility for them to fight a dragon and not die trying. They’ll never be able to do your bidding for you.   Night falls and there’s a little more conversation exchanged before they’ve all fallen asleep.   You’re sleepy as well, knees gathered to your chest, arms wrapped around and your head beginning to bob as you stare at the blazing inferno. You’re sitting close but you’re most comfortable there where the fire is right in front of you and the flames nearly lick at your cheeks.   “This is not going to work,” you murmur to Yoongi whom you still know is wide awake. He’s distrustful of others — you can tell with the way he refuses to relax around these strangers, still seated straight and his vision swooping around the darkness of the forest. “It’s not worth investing in this group.”   He laughs, the sound mellifluous in your ears and above the crackle of the bonfire. “I’m glad we’re on the same page.”   “I’ll just go,” you exhale in exhaustion. “The reward is worth it anyways, but I can’t promise I’ll help you fight that dragon.”   Yoongi hums a low note deep within his chest and shifts his gaze towards you. He finds the fire is yet to die out. If anything, it’s brighter and more blazing than before. He observes the way you poke and prod at it, as if you don’t have it in you to let it die out.   “What kind of magical caster are you?” Yoongi asks. He knows full well the only ones who can disguise themselves the way you can are bards, sorcerers, or wizards. But you don’t have musical instruments with you or any magical items he’s seen either.   “What do you mean?” You turn to him, blinking once. “I’m just a normal peasant girl.”   He scoffs, knowing better than to believe you.   And a smile forms on your features.   You return to stare at the fire, listening to the soothing sputter and pop.    “My name is Y/N,” you murmur and Yoongi never says anything in response. But if you turned around, you would see the way your name forms it on his lips, speaking it silently as if it’s something to remember.   //   The pair of you continue your journey and the group of ‘heroes’ are sad to bid you farewell, but you’re happy to get rid of them. If there was anything more than a sham than you, it was them.   You can already envision them going back to town and being celebrated — without anyone actually being aware that they did absolutely nothing. They’ll reap the benefits and rewards, have feasts and be honoured. But you suppose that’s the way life is. The undeserving often are the most praised. It’s not like you mind it though, sometimes it can be good to take advantage of.   You’re also glad to get rid of them considering it’s less chaotic and much quieter. You prefer it when it’s just you and Yoongi. His company is rather pleasant, even when you’re used to just traveling by yourself.   “You know, we can take a shortcut to Rutherglen through Bogsburrough. Have you ever heard of it?”   “I’ve heard of it.” He side-eyes you. “But it’s a detour, not a shortcut.”   “It’ll be a detour that’ll be worth it.” You grin. “I’ll make sure of it.”   Yoongi scoffs, about to ask you how you’ll do that — but the banter is abruptly cut short when a massive mastiff comes bounding by. It’s an impressive hound with taupe fur, big enough that a Hafling could probably ride it. You’ve only seen a mastiff once before when it was trained as a guard dog for some affluent lady.   You’ve certainly never witnessed one walking itself through the forest without a care in the world.   Yoongi is as bewildered as you are.   But a minute later, an exhausted warrior is lurching forward, holding a leash attached to a broken collar as he tries to catch his breath. Then he stops a meter away, pathetically sobbing and wailing at the top of his lungs. He cries something akin to ‘come back!’.   While Yoongi is prepared to continue walking, much to his dismay, you approach the warrior.   “Is there something wrong?” you ask in spite of already having a good idea.   “M-My hunting dog just ran off! He’s been...been running off for an hour! Oh, Sparks!”   You hum a low note, arms crossed as you look in the distance where the mastiff went. It’s an opportunity, one that’s presented itself and you’ve made a living capitalizing on these opportunities.   “Tell you what.” You turn to him, eyes already glittering. “I’ll catch that little pet of yours at a price.”   He’s easily persuaded and even looks at you as if you’re his last hope. “I’ll give you all the riches I have.”   And that’s how you and Yoongi end up straying off the stone path, ankle deep in the forest floor’s tickling grass while screaming, “Sparks! Sparks, where are you?!”   “Come here, doggy!”   Yoongi gets tired faster than you do. He was reluctant to follow your whims in the first place, but now his voice gets quieter and his arms droop to his side. You don’t blame him — he doesn’t seem to be like someone who enjoys the sweltering sun or buzzing insects trying to nip him.   “Don’t give up, duckling!” you shout as encouragement, trying to boost his morale and his head cranes towards you, the most unimpressed expression etched on his features.   “I don’t get why you volunteered to do this.”   “What? You don’t take me as the altruistic type?” You burst out laughing when his blank face remains the same, clearly not buying your act. “He said he would give us twenty gold pieces. That’s a lot even for something like this.”   It goes silent as you both venture deeper into the forest, twisting through the trees and making sure you don’t trip over any branches. But then he breaks the quietness with a question.    “Why are you trying so hard to collect gold?”   “Because I have a dream,” you murmur softly with a smile, stealing a glance at Yoongi to see him already staring at you intently. “I want to build a big house in the middle of nowhere, preferably a meadow. I’d read books all day, paint, garden. Anything. But it’ll be a place I can call my own. I’d get a wizard to put up a wall of force for me too, so no one could find me. My family won’t be able to find me.”   Yoongi stares at you, wondering why you have such a desire, what led you to it, why you would want to hide from your family. But he supposes it’s nothing particularly strange. After all, he’s here because of his family too.   Maybe it’s something the two of you have in common.   “I haven’t told anyone this before,” you mutter out loud as you come to the realization and then you twirl around to face him, smiling widely. “A secret for a secret. It’s only fair.”   The blonde man scoffs. “I never agreed to that.”   “I only know your name. Or are you purposely trying to keep up the mysterious front? I bet you think it’s attractive, don’t you?” Your eyes mischievously sweep him up and down, and Yoongi finds your gaze oddly invasive. A sly smirk even appears on your lips. “I bet it works for you too, doesn’t it? You like it when girls wonder about you and they like wondering about you too.”    “No.”   “Uh-huh, skirt chaser. Listen, I won’t judge you for your strategies. If they work, then they work.”   If Yoongi could expend the rest of the air in his body for the longest sigh, he would. “For your information, I am an honourable knight from the Order of the Black Sun. Mirla Nistar was my mentor and she’s taught and trained me in the Great Weapon Fighting technique for the past decade. She’s old friends with Sorli Stav and this quest is a favour I’m doing for her.”   Yoongi clears his throat. “I actually come from a rather famous family—”   But you’re not paying any attention.   “Shush!” You’ve found the mastiff. It’s a shadow barely from the distance and before Yoongi can strategize a plan to take it, you sprint after the beast. “Sparks, you motherfucker!”   Yoongi groans and then runs after you. He pulls out his rapier, the sword sharply cutting through the wind, but you turn around with a frown. “Don’t.”   His brows furrow, unsure of what you mean and what your plans are. But then he watches as you hold something discreetly in your bag and murmur something beneath your breath, how you open your other palm and a giant bone appears in your hand. Yoongi pays close attention and realizes it’s not conjured. It’s an illusion.   One that the mastiff fails to detect.   Instead, he sees the delectable bone for what it is and you make an effort to throw it in the area you came from. “Go get it, boy!”    The mastiff leaps through the forest for the illusionary bone, the same direction his owner is waiting.   //   Yoongi swears this is the happiest he’s ever seen you — humming with a skip in your step, throwing your heavy sack of gold pieces up and down your right hand while there’s a permanent cheery smile plastered across your cheeks.    Well this might be one of several times he’s seen you in this state. He remembers you were fairly enthused when he relented and allowed you to follow him in the first place. You also seemed pretty delighted when you scammed him too.   The coins clink as you toss it and Yoongi scoffs, finally tearing his eyes away from you. “I want my half.”   “I know,” you sing-song. “We’re a team now and I’m fair in square, for your information.”   He almost snorts. “Sure.”   “What? You don’t believe me?”   “I wouldn’t be surprised if I woke up with all my weapons gone and my own clothing stripped.”   “Hmm, that makes you smart then,” you snicker and the corner of Yoongi’s mouth curls. “We should set up camp before the sun goes down. It’s getting cold.”   He pulls out his rolled map from his pocket and spreads it. “We could, but there's a tavern inn stop about half an hour away,” he says and your ears perk. “I don’t know if you want to—”   Yoongi doesn’t even get to finish his sentence before you’re already running.   He laughs and wonders just how much energy you have. What’s stranger is the fact that energetic people tend to drain him, yet somehow you keep him from being tired like he usually is.    You spin around when you’re half-way down the path. “C’mon, old man! I’ll even treat you!”   Yoongi scoffs, but his lips curl into a smile.   It’s night by the time you arrive — the two of you are exhausted, feet aching with an intense need to rest them. The tavern is placed rather oddly, right on the side of the road by the forest with the candlelights inside glowing on the path. But with the noise from inside, you suppose it’s an unexpectedly good location. After all, there are countless travelers who are always searching for a rest stop like this one.   Unfortunately, your beeline straight to the door is impeded by a drunk.   “Hey, watch it!” you cuss at them when your shoulders collide. “Idiot.”   But as you turn around, you freeze.   The stranger is a Goliath monk who is eight feet tall. You can tell with his gray skin that’s littered with tiny growths akin to pebbles and darker patches. And he towers over you, glowing green eyes peering into your fragile soul. The Goliath reeks of alcohol, unsteady on his feet, but gaze unwavering. You notice the way his hands are wrapped in brass knuckles, his armor clanking.   “You wanna fight?!” his voice bellows out and you immediately hide behind Yoongi.   Yoongi holds in his sigh, mind already cursing you. He’s sure you’re the absolute bane of his existence and one day will get him killed, but for now, he stands tall and his chin lifts.   The Goliath monk isn’t intimidated, yet he turns with narrowed eyes lingering on the pair of you.   Once he’s gone, Yoongi cranes his neck and glares.   “Can you try not getting us killed for once?”   “Hey, it wasn’t my fault! He still bumped into me. Plus, I had it under control.”   “Control, huh?” His brow cocks and he eyes you.   You grin and correct yourself, “You had it under control, oh great knight from the Order of the Red Dragon and my sole protector, Yoongi.”   “It’s Order of the Black Sun,” he exhales and opens the door before you can land yourself in more trouble out here. “And I never agreed to protect you.”   “Yeah, but you still do anyway…”   The tavern is bustling, a good amount of creatures already crowded around tables with their own drinks in hand. They’re all travelers from different kinds of places, having gathered for a night of proper rest with a roof over their heads. You and Yoongi head over to the bar, taking the menu from a busty waitress.   “She your type?” you lean in close, wiggling your brows. Yoongi is unamused and you laugh. “What? Hey, I won’t judge. I understand a man’s needs. Might even help you out if you want me too — I got a way with words.”   He doesn’t think you realize the implication of what you’re saying. But he shoves you away before you can feel the way his face heats unusually.    You’re interrupted by the barkeep, a rough-looking dwarf standing on a wooden stool to reach the counter. “What can I do ya folks for?”   The pair of you finally look over the selection, but are completely overwhelmed. There’s a hundred things and by the third page Yoongi flips, you give up on reading it all. “Surprise us.”   “Sure thin’.” The barkeep goes to grab a glass and selection of bottles, fluidly flipping them back and forth and pouring different substances into it. He juggles them, but without the intent to impress — he’s simply doing his job and it’s even more remarkable.    There’s a bright flash of fire at some point and you gasp, eyes glittering.   Then, the barkeep slaps down a crimson shot in front of Yoongi. “Go ahead.”   Yoongi, on the other hand, is much less excited than you are and skeptically stares at it. “What is it?”   “Tell ya afterwards,” the barkeep answers.   Yet, the man is still carefully assessing the liquid and sloshes it as if he’s worried it’ll be poisonous. You nudge him hard enough that he almost falls off the stool. “C’mon, duckling! Don’t be a wuss.”   Yoongi glares at you, eyes half-lidded and he never breaks eye contact when he brings the glass to his lips, taking the entire shot in one smooth motion. The liquid burns.    As you’re wondering if he makes those bedroom eyes to every female he comes into contact with and if that’s part of his mysterious moves to seduce, he tears away from you and wheezes.   You burst out laughing.   Yoongi feels the hot embrace of hell in his lungs. “W-What is that?!” It’s as if he drank fire itself and he feels warm from the top of his head to the tip of his toes, already breaking a sweat at his hairline.   “Drink’s called a Fireball,” the barkeep grins, happy that the effect worked. “Just like the spell, eh? And you even get that cold resistance for the next thirt’ minutes.”   “Did it taste good?” You lean in, eyes glittering with curiosity.   “I thought I was going to die.”   It’s your turn next and you watch in amazement as the barkeep makes your drink. A whole glass gets slapped in front of you afterwards instead of a shot. It’s clear with opalesque swirls with specks of glowing pink lights. It already reeks of alcohol, more than Yoongi’s did.   “Made with Tiefling fire vodka, dash of pixie sugar dust, teaspoon of honey, an’ two spells. One is faerie fire and the other ain’t named, but ’s an ancient spell of warlock origin.” The spiel sounds like something you’d make up on a whim, but it’s intriguing. “Go ahead, girl.”   Yoongi opens his mouth. “Wai—”   But it’s too late. You’re already drinking. Then the taste explodes into your mouth. Your eyes grow wide at how amazing it is. It tastes like tropical juice, pineapple and raspberries with a kind of smokiness to it that reminds you of the charcoal of a fire or burnt crisp around meat.    It’s amazing and you down the entire thing within seconds.   You slap the glass to the counter in a ‘thump’, a burp leaving your stomach. You’re dazed, mind clouded, unable to think properly even when Yoongi worriedly calls your name thrice.   “Drink’s called Nyssa’s Nectar,” the barkeep slurs with a ginormous grin. You feel strange, the tips of your fingers tingling and your limbs itching. It isn’t just your eyes or your imagination either. “Turns you into the opposite gender. Right down to your clothes!”   Suddenly, your legs expand, your arms grow more muscular, your hair morphs into a shorter form and your dress distorts into pants and a tunic.    “What?!”   “Really?!”   Yoongi is appalled, his jaw dropped. In the meanwhile, you’re giggling in amazement while you check your pants, gasping at what you see inside. “Don’t worry, it wears off in the mornin’,” the barkeep informs and then tottles away to serve the next customers.    “Yes!” you drunkenly laugh and noisily cheer. “This is the best disguise yet!”   “I can’t believe—...hey! Where are you going?!”   You’ve stumbled off your stool to a table of two female elves, leaning over with a sly smirk.    “Heyo, females. Wanna try a potion?” You pull two stoppered bottles out from your bag, clutching it tightly. “They’re philter of love! Get any creature you wanna charm for an hour! Don’t waste an opportunity like this—” Mid-hiccup, you turn around to see tender features and a mop of pale yellow hair reminiscent to a duckling’s fur. “Hey, Yoongi! Wanna buy one? It’ll be five hundred gold!”   “I’m so sorry for her— his behaviour.” He grabs your collar and starts to pull you away while the elves giggle. But Yoongi doesn’t get a hold of you for long. Your passion for selling is big and you scramble out of his grasps to another table of adventurers with bottles overflowing your arms.   It’s the last thing you remember.   //   There’s a deafening bang.   You groan, whining Yoongi’s name and mumbling to sleep in another five minutes. But—   “Get up!” The barkeep yells, loud enough to burst your eardrums. You open your eyes, wincing from the bright sunlight coming through the windows and you lift your head off the wooden table, coming face to face with the dwarf. “Ya got a duel at noon and you got fifteen minutes left. Better get goin’, eh?”   “What?”   You look to your side where Yoongi’s also fallen asleep, unaffected by the noise like he’s a brick and not a human. It takes a good minute for what the barkeep told you to sink in, and then you’re shaking Yoongi frantically.   “What.” he grunts angrily.   “Yoongi, Yoongi. Get up. I challenged someone to a duel at noon and there’s only fifteen minutes left. Oh lord, if you don’t help me, they’re going to come find me and I’m going to die!”   There’s a sigh. Then he raises his head, eyes narrowed. “What?”   Creatures are gathered outside the tavern on the road, most likely patrons from last night. They form a long oval, encircling both you and Yoongi in and not allowing either of you to escape. At the other end stands an eight feet tall Goliath monk — the same one you bumped into last night.    But he doesn’t seem to remember you from that incident.   “That scrawny boy ran like a coward!” The Goliath’s voice booms, rousing on the crowd of bored travelers who haven’t watched a proper match in ages. He’s referring to your male form and then points at Yoongi. “No matter! He was your friend, no? He was with you all night! You will fight in his place!”   The Goliath’s glowing eyes pierce into Yoongi’s and you peek out from right behind him.   You have no idea what you said to make the Goliath so pissed. Usually monks are fairly peaceful and they don’t drink either, but there seems to be plenty of exceptions to the rules at the moment.   “I am very, very sorry, Yoongi,” you murmur in his ear. “I swear, I’ll make it up to you ten folds.”   He turns his head slightly. “I am going to kill you.”   You pat him on the back, ignoring his blatant threat. “Don’t worry, I’ll support you from behind.”   At once, the Goliath monk runs forward and attacks Yoongi with his closed fist. The punch slams straight into his abdomen and you move out of the way, wincing. Yoongi’s air is knocked out of his lungs. He wheezes and the Goliath swings again, missing once and barely grazing Yoongi’s arm on the other.   The crowd cheers like a bunch of maniacs and Yoongi draws his shortsword from his side. He swings twice, slashing against the Goliath’s chest. He surges forward, managing another slice.    But the Goliath looks barely affected, merely pushed back and angered.    Your jaw clenches and you reach out, hand wrapping around Yoongi’s wrist. You yank him back so he’s behind you and his eyes widen at what’s in your other hand. It’s an orb with swirling orange and blazing red — as if fire has been encapsulated into a crystal ball.    It’s an arcane object. A spellcasting focus.   It’s the way arcane spells can channel their power.   And you let go of him in favour of pointing your finger at the Goliath. Suddenly, a bright streak flashes out of your skin towards the eight foot male, blossoming into an explosion of flames with a low roar. There are terrifying screams and shouts, the crowd dispersing and running for their lives before they’re burnt to a crisp.   Yoongi looks away when the light becomes overwhelming and the Goliath shouts in pain.   When the fire disperses, the Goliath is still standing and storms towards you. He lands an attack on your right shoulder, punching you enough to bruise. He frantically throws two more hits but misses both times when his movements are no longer calculated.   Yoongi takes the opportunity to slice his sword twice more on the Goliath. Then you throw another fireball from your fingertips, allowing the flames to bloom and roar towards him.   When the smoke dissipates, the Goliath is on the ground, unconscious.   You grin, clapping your hands at the outcome of the duel in place of the audience that’s disappeared. But Yoongi looks at you, both unamused and impressed.    His brow lifts. “Just a peasant girl?”    You give him a cheesy smile. “With maybe a little magic.”   //   Bogsburrough is a town hidden in a thick swamp to avoid governments and large cities. It’s a dismal place with rotting trees and a certain stench in the air, each of your steps sinking in its mud. But many valued illegal goods are made in this area and traded, such as fatal poisons, meat of endangered species, addictive substances, and many other items treasured by outlaws.   The underground market is also rich with life, a bustle in itself. Bandits dressed in black have set up stalls along with other crooks and fugitives, servicing wanderers and travelers alike.   You and Yoongi are two of these people taking a look around.   “Yoooongi, I’m sorry,” you whisper in his ear for the thousandth time, glued right by his side. He’s been silent so far and you know with that look on his face, he’s had enough of you. “On the bright side, you did a good job during the fight. You looked really cool. I bet you have a line up of mistresses who want to be wedded to you.”   Unfortunately, your persuasion doesn’t seem to have an effect on him anymore. Your buttered words don’t change his stoic state.    After a moment, Yoongi breaks his silent treatment. “Stop trying to get us killed all the time, brat.”   You sulk at him, holding onto his arm. But the cute act doesn’t seem to appeal to him either — or at least he doesn’t show that it does. “It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose, duckling.”   Still, Yoongi doesn’t shove you off from holding his arm, so you take it as a win.   “What do you want to do here?”   “I have some stuff to sell.”    The magical satchel slung across your body weighs fifteen pounds, but it can hold up to five hundred pounds and is two feet in diameter and four feet deep. There’s been plenty of things you’ve been collecting that you need to get rid of and more ‘potions’ that you would like to sell.   Yoongi’s brow lifts. “You can sell your things anywhere.”   He isn’t wrong. A detour to Bogsburrough is completely unnecessary if the only reason is to sell.   There’s a moment of contemplation and then you concede, deciding to tell him about another secret, or rather… “There’s a rumour.”   The two of you slow down and your eyes meet. “They say the tapestries in the palace are forgeries. Apparently, the previous king pawned them off and the current one couldn’t find them, so they had to be replaced with some replicas. The royal family would be really grateful if they were retrieved and would probably give a very handsome reward. You know what that means, right, Yoongi? I could make my dream come true.”   The struggle of scraping up with a few gold pieces at a time would end.   You could finally have your house built in the middle of nowhere, hidden from civilization, isolated from all people and creatures.    “So you’ve been searching for these tapestries to return them to the royal family?” he asks.   “Yep, and I think it might be in Bogsburrough.”   Without warning, the two of you are interrupted by a human talismonger dressed in white robes. “What a beautiful couple! I see much compatibility and fortune! I bet you’re looking to have children soon, aren’t you—”   You’re flustered, your entire brain delayed as your mouth slowly opens.    But Yoongi is much calmer. “No—”   The talismonger doesn’t give him a chance to speak. “We have charms to increase fertility and charms for impotence. Tell you what? I’ll give it to you for five silver pieces!” He spreads his entire hand in front of your face and Yoongi’s, overwhelming you with the sheer volume of his voice.   “That’s quite alright—”   “Okay, okay!” Creatures passing turn their heads at the ruckus. “An impotence charm for four silver pieces!”   At this point, you’re getting irritated. “We don’t need it!” you shout. “My husband does not have issues with impotence!”   The two of you push past the obnoxious man, but then he loudly haggles for the entire market to hear— “FINE! Okay, sir! I’ll sell you the charm to fix your impotence for half price!”   Both you and Yoongi freeze in your steps. Your necks crane around. Your intimidating glares bore into his face, Yoongi’s hands gripping his sword, and your swirling orb of fire is clutched in your hand. He squeals in fear.    No one gets to cheat a cheat.   “Terrible technique,” you mutter when you’ve made your way down the market. “He’s supposed to convince and persuade them, not try to embarrass the customers. Horrible business man.”   The corner of Yoongi’s mouth curls and he chuckles. “Yeah? Well, you’re not any better.”   “Hey, I’m so much better! I do business properly.”   “You lie about the product.”   “It’s called a business technique.”   You look around the stalls and what’s for purchase. But once you’ve made it to the end of the market, there are no tapestries in sight. Even when you ask around, no one has any clue what you’re talking about and you know you’ve reached another dead end.   “What’s your plan now?” Yoongi asks.   “I don’t want the entire trip here to be a waste, so I’ll set up and sell some stuff.” You sigh. “Well, this place was a shot in the dark anyways. It was worth a try. At least I can cross it off my list. Anyway, give me an hour and I’ll be done. You can walk around or do whatever it is that you do.”   Yoongi nods. In the meanwhile, you pull out a rug from your bag and dump out golden chalices and wondrous items you’ve probably stolen, and begin advertising them at outrageous prices to creatures passing by. He lets you be as you’re happily scamming and walks off with a tiny smile.    “Excuse me,” he approaches a human Ranger standing by and the stranger lifts his head with suspicious eyes narrowed in on him. Yoongi had a few ideas on how to make his time worthwhile here too.   “Yes?”   “Do you know anything about the North Dragon?”   “The North Dragon?” The Ranger shakes his head. “Sorry. Don’t. But you can probably ask Raithe. He knows a thing or two about creatures around.”   The Ranger indicates a man in a black cloak sitting on a stool and staring at bystanders. Yoongi thanks him and approaches the so-called Raithe. “Excuse me.” The man looks up, revealing beady eyes and a long, red beard. “Do you know anything about the North Dragon?”   The corner of the man’s mouth curls. “Who may you be?”   “I’m a traveler on a quest,” Yoongi says vaguely, knowing better than to pass information about himself around or go into too much detail needlessly. Anyone could use anything against him.   Raithe hums. “I know that there’s a dragon in Stoughsby Peaks. That it’s fiercely loyal. But I’m afraid any more information will have to come at a price.”   He pulls out a gold coin from his pocket. “Will this be enough of a price?”   “That’s more like it, young man. Do you have a map?” The greedy man smiles, snatching the payment before Yoongi pulls out his crinkled map you always make fun of. Once spread, Raithe points to a patch of grass on it in the middle of the forest that’s between this place and Rutherglen. “Here. A wise wizard can tell you all that you seek to know about the North Dragon, but he is not easy to find and he doesn’t allow just any guests inside his home.”   “How do I find him then?”   “You keep walking.”   That’s all the man is willing to say and Yoongi keeps it in mind as he marks the map.   At the same time, you’re having much success with your business.   “Thanks for coming!” After getting rid of your chalices and your eyes of eagle, your sack of gold has become heavier and heavier in your pocket. You’ve managed to sell two of your stoppered bottles too, passing them on as potions of heroism when really it’s just been dyed blue and the bubbles are from the expired milk you had in them. “Get your potions of heroism! Get your potions!”   You can’t wait to see the look on Yoongi’s face when you brag about how much you’ve made.   “It’s a blessed spell! Gain more health before you go charging into battle! Great for adventurers and travelers who love exploring the region!”    Your eyes light when a creature comes up to your rug. He’s five feet eight with reddish skin and a purple head of hair. A sulfurous odor radiates from him, but you recognize the horns, prehensile tails, and pointed teeth for him being a Tiefling and his daggers for being a rogue.    “Hello sir, would you like one? It’s a rare potion you won’t find anywhere else! Take the chance while you still can!”   “How much?”   “Five gold pieces.”   You hold in your cackle when he passes the gold to you without even bargaining. But blood drains from your face when he flicks off the cork and prepares to chug it. “Wait! Are you going to take it right now?”   “If it’s good, I’ll buy the rest,” the Tiefling rogue states, solid orbs of silver for eyes looking back at you. And with that, he chugs it.   You hitch your breath. Your teeth grit.   After a moment, the Tiefling rogue spits the potion out. His expression twists into horror, another strange odor leaving his mouth that smells like rotten eggs left in the Summer sun.   “What is that?!”   “Uh….it’s…..it’s…...a potion….of heroism?”   He points at you, shouting, “Fraud!”   “I prefer Charlatan!” you scream and jump back before his dagger can hit you.   Across the market, Yoongi hears the commotion. There are creatures moving away and murmuring, not wanting to get involved, and his blood runs cold when he realizes you’re on the other side where the clamour is.    Immediately, he rushes through the crowd, but then his shoulder collides with another.   “Min Yoongi?”   A cold voice stops him.   “Yorril.” The slender Elf is the same height as Yoongi is, long blonde hair that’s half-tied up and reaches to his ribs. His piercing green eyes are set within their sockets, having seen his enemies coiling their bodies to his shoes. He has a dignified aura that’s unfriendly as always.   But Yoongi supposes that it’s only natural. The Belxiron faction has always had an air of superiority, especially over the Min faction and it has permanently been a source of strife.   “What a pleasant surprise,” Yorril utters in Elvish. “I thought you ran away like a coward.”   “Cowards are the ones who stand behind their family’s back to protect themselves,” Yoongi answers in a hiss. “If being a coward is making something out of yourself rather than taking the status given to you at birth, then you are worthless.”   The elf’s jaw clenches as he pulls his trident to his side. “Always so righteous, Min. Always have to have the last word. But it is time I give your mother a real reason to mourn—”   On the other side of the market, the Tiefling strikes you with his dagger against your left forearm. It’s enough to skim against your skin and leave a mark, but not enough to bleed.   You hold your orb within your hand and hurl three rays of fire towards him. The first one barely hits him when he dodges, but the second and third make him cry out in agony as he’s burnt.   “You bitch!”   “That’s rude!” You’re about to persuade him to give it up, but it’s useless when he runs towards you again with newfound wrath.   In the meanwhile, the Elf uses his trident and attacks, piercing Yoongi in his abdomen. The weapon digs into his leather clothing, never into his skin, but then light twirls through the trident and he feels as if lightning has shocked through his system.    Yorril smirks. Yoongi pulls out his rapier but misses when he swings. “Going down so easy, Min? I expected better from someone who ran off to become a knight for the Order of the Black Sun.”   Yoongi grits his teeth and swings again. This time, Yorril is pushed back, sliced in his shoulder and Yoongi surges forward once more. Then, he’s dashing to the other side of the market.   There’s a shout of his name behind him, but it doesn’t matter.   He breathes a sigh of relief when you come into view. Visibly intact and unharmed. “What happened?” Yoongi hyperventilates from running, eyes wide and searching your face.   You muster a smile, afraid of his scolding. “Just...you know….the usual workplace risks.”   The Tiefling shouts and runs forth with his dagger. He manages to nick your dress and collarbone with his blade this time, making you hiss out as blood soaks through. Yoongi retaliates in an instant, swinging at him with his rapier and he stumbles back.   “Min!” There’s a shout of his name and the angered Elf comes out of the crowd silently observing and gasping. “I’m not done with you!”   Your back presses against Yoongi’s as you both hold onto your weapons. “You know this guy?!”   “He’s an enemy of my family,” he murmurs as he faces the Tiefling rogue and you face the Elf.   “What kind of family do you have?!” You throw an evocation spell forward and a line of roaring flames thirty feet long and five feet wide emanates from you towards the stranger. The crowd disperses quickly, shuffling back before they’re hit by the fire.   Unfortunately, the Elf is dexterous and manages to move back, only getting hit by half of the fire.   “It’s complicated,” Yoongi says.   “Get out of the way,” Yorril grunts in Elvish and attacks you with his trident, charging forth to spear you. He hits against the arm you bring out to shield your face away and as it digs into your flesh before you force it away.   Yoongi hears your cry and turns around to strike him.   At the same time, the Tiefling rogue fails to drive his dagger into Yoongi’s stomach.   Your grasps tighten on your orb and you lob three more scorching rays of fire in your hands towards your enemies. One of them hits the Tiefling and he yells in pain before falling over, unconscious. Two of them are fired towards the Elf, one that misses and the other that gets him straight in his face.   He’s burnt, not too badly that he’s become disfigured but enough that it hurts.   “Damn you, whore! Stay where you belong!” Yorril swings at you, piercing you in your stomach and leaving a bleeding gash in its place that you press with your other hand to keep blood from pouring.   “It’s going to have to take more than that,” you wheeze in Elvish to him and it serves to aggravate him further.   Yoongi is horrified, paler than he was before and he shouts deep from his lungs. He swings at Yorril, slicing him in his back and your arm lifts. A blinding streak flares from your pointing finger and blossoms with a low roar into an explosion of flame. The Elf’s eyes are rounded in terror and he howls from deep in his stomach as he’s burnt. The fire spreads through the room, igniting the wooden stalls and rugs.   Brought to his knees, Yoongi slices Yorril once more with his rapier.   The Elf uses the remainder of his strength to hit Yoongi once more and manages to scrape at his knees before Yoongi strikes twice and the latter male falls over, also unconscious.   It goes silent except for the sound of the two of you catching your breaths.   Then you and Yoongi turn to each other.   Compared to Yoongi who’s still firmly on his feet, you’re worse for wear. You’re bleeding in numerous places, nicked at your jaw and neck. But the corners of your mouth curls and you slowly reach into your pocket. You hold out a heavy sack of gold, one that isn’t your own. “L-Look what I got.” Your eyes flicker to the unconscious Tiefling who’ll eventually wake up wounded and broke.   Yoongi scoffs with a tiny smile. “This is why so many people want to kill you.”   “You have your fair share of enemies too, evidently,” you breathe out. “And it’s not so easy for me to die, y’know.”   He comes over to shoulder you, all traces of mischief gone. “Are you okay?”   “Of course I’m okay.” You muster a tender yet tired smile, leaning your weight on him. “It’s no big deal. Don’t you know….who I….am?”   But then your eyes begin to droop and Yoongi opens his arms, catching your slumping body. You’re snoring, exhausted from the fight and he puts you on his back, a tiny smile etched on his features.   There’s chaos around you both, people returning to their stalls to see that it’s been burnt down to a crisp and wailing at the loss, other sly creatures trying to steal what they can in the chaotic situation and others that return to their stations like nothing happened at all.   A fight in Bogsburrough might not be uncommon, but Yoongi doesn’t dwell.   He carries you and the two of you fade away as quick as you came, continuing on your journey.   //   After being bandaged, taking a long rest and downing a bunch of healing potions, you’re back in tip-top shape again. Your initial plan was to just have Yoongi protect you until you made it to Bogsburrough — a plan you never told him about — but with no other idea of what to do or where to go next, you find yourself continuing with him on his quest.    Why not, right?   If he defeats that dragon, you can reap the benefits and get that amazing reward. It’s certainly better than wandering on your own and having nothing to do. There’s no other reason than that.    No other reason………………………...   “So we’re supposed to just...keep walking?” you ask skeptically after wandering aimlessly for what seems to be an hour around this meadow.   “That’s what he said.”   “What if this is a trap.”   “Then we’ll grab our weapons. But I don’t think it is.”   It’s only fair that after Yoongi took your detour, you take his. But you’re unsure what this nonsense about a wizard is. There’s nothing here, but grass and flowers—   Your forehead smacks into a wall.   You stumble back, rubbing at the area while cursing. But there’s nothing there. Your brows furrow along with Yoongi’s and you put your hand out, feeling the invisible barrier placed there.   “It’s a wall of force!” You grin, excited that your efforts weren’t wasted after all.   “How do we get rid of it?”   “We blast it!” Before he can protest and get some time to think things through, you grab your orb that allows you to channel your power and you hurl a fireball at it. The flames howl, blossoming an explosion and slamming into the barrier.   The barrier ripples, revealing its spherical shape — but it doesn’t shatter or open a hole.   You huff out in frustration.   Yoongi steps forward. “Wait.”   But you throw another fireball at it, fiercer and with more vigor. This time, it works and the barrier splits with a tiny opening, enough for you and Yoongi to push yourselves through.   You grin at his bewildered expression. Of course he should be impressed with your abilities. You might not be as capable or strong as he is, but your magic often comes in handy like now. “It’s sorcerer magic.”   “Yeah, well, I think we’ve already long established you aren’t a normal peasant girl.”   “Nope. I’m not.”   There’s a house in the middle of the meadow, placed on a tiny hill — one that was not visible outside of the invisible wall of force. Built with white stones and an oak roof with a chimney on the side, it stands tall in a fairly symmetrical pattern. The windows are large and it looks like the manor has several floors. More importantly, you swear you see the curtains shift on the left.   The two of you step up on the wooden porch, facing the mahogany double doors.   “Do we just….knock?”   “I guess.” Yoongi’s fist raps against the surface while you brace yourself for an attack.    No one who wants to hide warmly welcomes unexpected guests.    Inside, in a dusty library, the male who’s levitating abruptly shuts his book at the sound. The cover is bright green, labeled ‘Halfling Histories’ and it slides back onto the empty slot of a nearby bookshelf as his small feet touch the ground once more. The sound of scattering toes on floorboards echo as he sprints to the front door.   The door swings open.   You hitch your breath, but an onslaught of offensive spells never happens.   Instead, you see nothing. Not until you and Yoongi collectively drop your heads to discover a three feet tall Halfling in a silk, blue robe with rounded glasses perched on his nose. He is reminiscent of a child with his full, rosy cheeks, brightened eyes and stubby stature.    The Halfling gives a dimpled smile and widens the door.   “Welcome! Oh my goodness, I haven’t had guests in so long! Come in, come in!”   The pair of you exchange expressions before stepping inside. The interior instantly takes your breath — cozy mahogany and high ceilings, mementos on a shelf near the winding staircase with a magical pull to them. The owner of this house has made it their own. You can tell each object carries its own meaning and memory, not merely for decoration or the purpose of luxury.   You gander around wordlessly.    Whoever this wizard is, he’s literally living your dream.    Out in the middle of nowhere. A place of his own. Hidden from the rest of humanity. It’s your aspiration in the flesh.   “My name is Namjoon,” the Halfling says as his dimples crease deeper, “and I am a servant to the lord of the house. May I ask who has entered the home?”   “I am Min Yoongi, in search of a Great wizard said to have lived here.”   “Ah, it is very nice to meet you. I’m afraid the lord is asleep upstairs. He doesn’t like to be awoken, so I fear it may be several hours until he can entertain you,” he informs and you look at Yoongi with uncertainty. The Halfling follows your movement and smiles. “And may I ask who you are, milady?”   “I am merely a servant girl accompanying this man as a way to repay a favour.” You lower your head, never once stating your own name.   “I see.” Namjoon smiles. “Can I ask for what reason you’re searching for my lord?”   “There’s just something we want to ask,” you say quickly, stepping forward before Yoongi can spill the whole truth. “It’s about a magical item. One we’re willing to sell to him.”   Namjoon hums. “Alright. I’ll let my lord know as soon as he wakes up. Would any of you care for tea? I have the best honey and sugar available!”   But suddenly, Yoongi feels a heavy weight on his mind. It’s a presence pressing on his brain, probing deep and whispering around the caverns of his skull for permission to be let inside. He grips his temples with a groan and you turn to him.   “Is everything okay?”   Yoongi looks at you and the way your brows scrunch together. But doesn’t answer. He tries to fight it off.    And he fails.   Yoongi feels his thoughts being pulled, untangled, exploited and read.   “Y/N—”   The corner of the Namjoon’s mouth curls in genuine amusement. He looks between you and Yoongi curiously as if he knows something you don’t. Then your neck whips to the side, catching him staring at you with that smile like he knows who you are.   Before you can ask him what he just did, Namjoon opens his palm. In one split second, the wooden staff you didn’t notice leaning against the grandfather clock flies into his hands. The surrounding flames are snuffed out, drawing the three of you into darkness except for the dim evening light piercing through the glass windows. Your shadows lay across the walls.   Namjoon looks at Yoongi and an overwhelming gust of wind pulls him back.   Yoongi shouts his name, but it’s choked inside his throat. Namjoon’s casted hold person, causing him to be frozen, paralyzed against the wall.   “Yoongi!” Your eyes are wide, connected with his. You rush over, but the path is interrupted by a growing low noise and three glowing darts that strike you at once. They pummel into your body before dispersing as quick as they appeared. A kind of agony immediately shoots up your spine and causes a cry to tear from your throat.   You turn yourself to Namjoon — the wizard you’ve been searching for.   “What do you want from us?!”   “The truth,” the halfling utters while you grip your glass orb in your hand that swirls colours of red and orange. From nothing but the magic that runs through your blood, you conjure three rays of fire and hurl them at him. One misses, but the other two burns him enough to hear his sharp inhale.   Namjoon raises his arms, his curled staff lifted with the motion and you feel a necromantic energy washes over you. The spell he casts drains moisture from you, making your skin dry, your lips chapped, your lungs shrivel. You double over, wheezing as your throat becomes parched. But it’s far from over.   You shout from deep within your stomach, hearing the strained call of your name behind you from your companion and a bright flash streaks from your finger, blossoming in a rumble of fire.   But Namjoon counterspells it without even blinking. He snuffs out the flames before it can reach him.   His feet shift and a blast of cold air erupts from his hands. It coils towards you, itching towards your body before enveloping you in frost. It nips against your skin, cracking your lips further.   This is it. This is how you die. You’ve always envisioned succumbing to fire, brought down by the power inside of yourself — the greatest devastation and irony of all. You never imagined yourself to fall in the home of an unknown wizard for unknown reasons….   But as you turn your head to gaze at Yoongi once more, your eyes meeting his tender ones full of unadulterated fear and anguish, there’s a surge from within. It screams, causing you to stand straighter, for your feet to root into the floorboards. It’s instincts —   And it tells you that you can’t leave him behind.   Instantaneously, a fire from within you blazes. A blinding light slices through the room as you’re magically wreathed in swirling flames. It’s overwhelming, pouring from the tips of your fingers and toes, seeping out of your pores without control. A grating orange and flaring crimson. It’s ugly, the way your eyes glow like hot coals, how you feel like your skin is melting off your bones.   The fire from within your blood is restless. Vengeful.   You can’t see the way Yoongi forces himself to look at you past the bright flare — you don’t know he’s in awe, that he finds it absolutely magnificent.    Before you can barrel forward, the Hafling drops his staff.   His hands lift, surrendering, as a dimpled grin spreads into his cheeks.   “I knew it! I knew it! You’re a phoenix sorcerer!”   Somewhere in Yoongi’s mind, those words are familiar. He’s read them somewhere before. But the details are murky. He isn’t sure. He simply knows there’s one infamous phoenix sorcerer family in existence.   The fire disperses as Yoongi’s let go from his binds, no longer pinned to the wall.   “You….” You’re panting, out of your mind. “You did all that to prove a theory?!”    “Well, I had a feeling you wouldn’t be honest with me if I asked.”   “You fucking crazy bastard!”   Namjoon laughs and then suddenly lowers himself to one knee, height no higher than your own knee. He blinks up at you with his brightened irises. “Will you marry me, Miss? Our powers combined would make for the best offsprings.”   Your eye twitches. “You’re a piece of shit.”   //   The library is old and dusty, but the winding bookcases that reach the ceiling tells him there’s an endless amount of knowledge stowed away between these pages of parchment. It is larger than any library he has known at home in his faction or in the castles he’s been stationed at. These books radiate types of magic, each enchanted with different spells he will never know the names of.   Seated at the round table, his trance is shattered without warning when there’s the ear-piercing noise of a stool scraping against the floorboard. If Yoongi didn’t know any better, he would think it was his imagination but then the short Hafling hops up on the stool to be seen and spreads the map across the wooden surface.   “You wanted to know about the Dragon of the North, yes?”   Yoongi nods in silence and he studies the map. Never has he seen something so extensive and detailed, all towns and rivers labeled with different kinds of terrain shown on the parchment. There are numerous roads winding on the paper, a scale for size he has no doubt is accurate.   “Can I copy this map?”   “You can just take it.” Namjoon grins. “I have plenty, don’t worry. I have some ancient dragon books too if you’d like.”   Yoongi nods again and the Hafling bounces off his stool and tottles over to one of his bookcases. He climbs the wooden ladder but when that can’t even grab the spine of the large book he’s reaching for, he whirls his finger and it slides out for him, swooping onto the table.    There’s a pile of dust that flies when Yoongi opens it, but he brushes it away and tries to read about the myths spoken about the North Dragon and Stoughsby Peaks.   “It seems like this dragon isn’t as dangerous as it seems,” Namjoon comments as he pushes up his circular spectacles. “And it’s been hidden for quite a while.”   “It kidnapped a girl.” Yoongi places the book down, telling him in case he can offer anything insightful. “We’re on a quest to bring her back at any costs.”   But Namjoon merely hums and his eyes twinkle. “Maybe it did it for a reason.”   In spite of this place behind a holder of knowledge, there isn’t much on the North Dragon aside from folktales and rumours of travelers who witnessed the creature and survived the encounter. But Yoongi makes sure to read every word, knowing that anything could be helpful.    Though after a while, the sentences dull and Yoongi finds himself curious about something else.   “Do you possibly have any books on phoenixes?”   The Halfling wizard smiles. “I’ll happily lend you some. Perhaps one specifically on magic, human and phoenixes?”   //   You’re taking a long rest in one of the countless bedrooms when Yoongi enters.   But despite how soft the mattress is and how warm the sheets are, different from the many nights spent on the forest floor or in dodgy inns, you aren’t comfortable in the least bit.   “We need to get the fuck out of here, Yoongi,” you say immediately when the door opens and it’s duckling hair that you see. “I need to get out of here. He’s psychotic.”   He smiles gently and takes a seat on the edge of the bed, allowing it to dip underneath his weight. “We’ll leave when you can stand up again.”   “You can just carry me.”   “And risk breaking my back? I almost did last time and you still owe me.”   You pout, knowing full well he’s exaggerating. “I’m not that heavy.”   It goes quiet for a moment as if he has something to say and doesn’t know how to broach the topic which is unlike him. “Hey, Y/N.”   “What? And ew, don’t call me like that.” Your nose scrunches, making fun of him to lighten the mood he’s created.   Yoongi grins. “Like what?”   “Like I’m dying. Y/N,” you lovingly whisper, mocking him and causing him to scoff lightly. “Makes me feel like I’m your bedridden wife.”   “Well, at the rate we’re going at,” he mutters and you’re not sure what he means — if you’ll end up bedridden or his wife or both. But you can’t dwell on it when he continues, “I never finished telling you about my family.”   “Oh yeah.” You lean back against the headboard. “And that guy who wanted to kill us at the market?”   Yoongi nods. “I’m the youngest son of the Min house, a faction in Srinas.” It’s the capital of Pegan, the largest country bordering this one. “The region is broken up into factions and a house owns each of them.”   “And I’m guessing that Elf was from another faction?”   He nods again. “I didn’t expect to see him there.”   “Why did he want to fight you?”   “Our houses are enemies,” he explains with a sigh. “No matter where I go, as long as I’m a Min, there will be preexisting enemies. The factions are different from how you’d imagine them.”   It’s interesting, intriguing to hear. You aren’t someone who cares about the troubles of another, but you’ve traveled with Yoongi for so long that a part of you has always longed to know more about him, about his background, where he came from, what led him here. “What do you mean?”   “There was constant backstabbing and betrayal. Your friend one day would be your enemy the next. Anyway, it doesn’t matter,” Yoongi brushes it off with a stoic expression. “I got tired one day and decided to leave.”   You know he left to join the Order of the Black Sun where he trained to become a knight. “And you haven’t looked back since,” you finish.    The silence confirms your guess.   It feels like you’re filling in the gaps of your knowledge about Yoongi, that you’re finally coming to understand the man in front of you. But you wonder why he’s telling you when he’s been so private. Why he’s voluntary letting you in his secrets without you needing to pry or whine. Perhaps he wants to know about you, but is taking the first step for you to know him.    So you indulge him, taking the initiative of what you assume he’s seeking without him needing to ask. “Mine’s not any different. Well, less….backstabbing, but it’s true. I’m a phoenix sorcerer and so is the rest of my family.”   You trust him. You trust Min Yoongi.   “My great, great grandfather saved a phoenix and a shard of its power runs through my bloodline. My power draws from an immortal flame.” It’s a mixed blessing. Like the creature indebted to your ancestor, you can conjure its fiery energy and be able to cheat death itself.    But it comes at a cost.   The fire within you bristles. Always demanding to be unleashed. You find yourself thoughtlessly feeding fires, hearing them call out to you, being unable to bear them sputtering out.   You uncurl your fingers and a flame ignites in your palm. Yoongi watches it dance then his eyes flicker to your face, soaking it how the fire glows against your cheeks, warming your features.    “People like me make others nervous. Our magic is volatile. It can be dangerous and we have a reputation for reckless behaviour. The stereotype isn’t untrue though. Most phoenix sorcerers think the essence of the phoenix can save them, but we aren’t necessarily protected from fire. We’re as vulnerable as the next creature, the next human. All we can really do is use our powers to pull ourselves from the brink of death. But most often than not, the reliance on our destructive magic is what put us there in the first place.”   You shut your eyes. The fire smothers out.   “My family has tried their hardest to remove themselves from such labels and molds. Each generation is put through strict teaching and training since the moment each person is born. But my family still think of themselves as superior. They were suffocating.”   Yoongi connects the dots. “So you left.”   “It wasn’t a life that I wanted to lead, so three years ago, I learned how to forge fake documentation and I ran away.” For the longest time, your greatest fear was being deported. It was being brought back to that house that was more concerned about status and upholding the bloodline than your own wishes. Where your freedom was suppressed.   You release your breath. The corner of your mouth pulls.   “I’m sure if you turned me into officials, you’d get yourself a handsome reward, Yoongi.”   Yet, Yoongi doesn’t give into your banter or playfulness. He remains solemn and sincere. “I have no plans in doing so.”   The two of you gaze at one another.   He doesn’t seem affected whatsoever by this new information, about the secrets you’ve held close to yourself. The both of you come from rich and dark histories, but you’ve never encountered someone who wasn’t at least a bit surprised.   But the way he looks at you is familiar. As if you don’t scare him.   “Get some rest, Y/N,” he says as he finally stands, turning towards the door.   “Yoongi,” you call his name tenderly before he can leave. The man pauses and your teary eyes trace his backside. “Thank you.”   //   The second you feel well enough, you get the fuck away from Namjoon. You sprint faster than you ever did before. He waves goodbye enthusiastically, saying that the offer of marriage still stands indefinitely — clearly, the Halfling wizard finds you sorcery magic quite intriguing and even bombards you with questions until the last moment — but you don’t entertain him.    You run for the hills without looking back. And finally, the two of you make it to Rutherglen.   It’s built on the bottom of a snowy thicket with a woodland forest nearby, the terrain rocky presumably from the mountains seen vaguely through the clouds. The village itself is plain but humble. With its redwood rooftops and maple wood walls, Rutherglen carries an inviting atmosphere. Though right now, there seems to be a certain commotion, lanterns strung through shops, vibrant posters set against brick walls, children wearing masks running through the streets and other adults preparing stalls that line the streets.   “Is there something special going on today?”   “Why, tonight is the Festival of Champions!” A petite woman says as she passes by, holding a ribboned basket of bread and biscuits, and catching wind of your question to Yoongi. “You must be travelers! How exciting and great timing, really.”   “What’s the Festival of Champions?” Yoongi asks, having never heard of such a thing.   “A long time ago, a powerful demon was driven up from this town and now we celebrate that day that we freed! The festival only happens once a year and it’s spectacular, much needed as well considering how on edge everyone’s been from those rumours of a dragon up north.”   “What?”   “Anyhow, no time like the present to enjoy yourselves!” She grins. “Enjoy yourselves, travelers!”   With the short-sightedness of these villagers, it’s no wonder they run into predicaments like demons and dragons attacking them.   “I don’t think I can do it.” There are two young girls chatting on the street and as you pass, your ears perk, picking up their exchange. “What if he rejects me, Lirla?”   “He wouldn’t. You have to confess!” At that, you turn your head, watching as the girl in the plum dress grabs the hands of her friend with a brightened, innocent smile. “You’ve been waiting for this day for months and you know what they say, if you do it tonight during the fireworks, you’ll have luck on your side.”   “I don’t know…..”   Such fickle emotions such as love, nervousness in wanting to declare one’s feelings, uncertainty of how the other person will respond — you never got to experience such nonsense.    But you can’t help but feel envious of them. You were never allowed to have such freedoms such as love.   Yoongi shifts, having overheard the conversation as well and noticing how silent you suddenly are. “Y/N?”   “Hmm?” You turn to look at him, but in doing so, your focus gets captured elsewhere. “Yoongi!”   It’s a red and white striped circus tent pitched in the town’s center. A six feet tall Fighter in a ripped tank top struts in a chalk ring while flexing his biceps and a Halfling wearing a top hat stands on a soap box. For being a fraction of a human’s normal size, his voice is deafening—   “Test your fortitude! Test your steel strength! Kourteous the Mighty challenges you to the Terror of the Rings! Best out of three clinches wins!”   “Yoongi, Yoongi! Go!” You push him forward with a ginormous grin.   His tender features twist is mortification. “What? You want me to fight him?!”   “All you have to do is push him out of that ring and we get prizes. C’mon! Don’t be scared!”   With one last shove, Yoongi stumbles forward and the Halfling grins. “Ah! Is there a new challenger?!” Yoongi turns around, glaring daggers into your soul and you give a sheepish smile.   The blonde knight sighs and scratches the back of his neck. “Yeah, sure, I guess.”   A crowd soon gathers to watch and Yoongi joins the circle, knees bent and hands open. Folks cheer on the Fighter and you suppose it’s fair considering Yoongi’s shorter stature and smaller body. No one expects him to win.   But you know him — you know he’s carried you on his back, that he’s fought countless creatures, that he’s protected you in several instances.   Yoongi is strong. Even when he doesn’t look like it.   “Round one!” The Halfling slams a wooden rod into a bell, making it ring loudly. “Fight!”   At once, the Fighter makes a big show. He flexes his muscles, brushes his feet against the dirt and shouts from within his belly.    It makes the crowd cheer.   The Fighter charges Yoongi, but he keeps a low stance and dodges easily. The taller male swoops past, nearly running out the chalk circle with his sheer speed, but stops right on his toes. It causes the whole pack of creatures around to gasp in delight, put in anticipation.   The Fighter turns around with a growl and runs to grab Yoongi. But this time as he swiftly ducks, Yoongi steals the opportunity and shoves the larger male out, centering his strength on the man’s abdomen.    The Halfling throws his arms out dramatically. “One to zero!”   They meet each other in the circle again and he switches to an offensive strategy. The Fighter is caught off guard with Yoongi’s strength with their hands meet each other and their arms strain, trying to push the other out.    Yoongi is the epitome of stability.   He pushes him and the Fighter stumbles out while trying to keep balance.   “Two to zero!”   It’s unexpected and the crowd is going absolutely crazy. They’re hooting and hollering like it’s the middle of a tavern on a drunken night of celebration, and you feel your chest blossom with pride. “I know him!” you shout above the uproar to the Elf next to you. “He’s my partner!”   During the last round, Yoongi obliterates it.    He wins so hard that the Fighter is stunned and the Halfling is speechless. “C-Congratulations!”   Immediately, you run to Yoongi. He catches you in his arms while your own loop around his neck. You giggle into his shoulders and he grins, squeezing you.   It’s a moment that you will come to cherish.   You end up asking if he can do another round once the Halfling gives you the prize money of seven silver pieces. But he nearly cries and begs you both to leave instead.   “I knew you could do it!” You’re tossing the sack of silver up and down in your hand, feeling its weight and listening to the clank as you do so. It’s technically Yoongi’s but he said you could have it and you didn’t hesitate to accept the gift.   “You pushed me in before you even understood what the game was.”   “But I believed in you anyway,” you laugh.   The both of you continue on your way while you’re humming with a light skip in your step. When you find Yoongi looking at you, you flash a bright grin at him and he scoffs. You’re starting to like this place. But you don’t make it far before something else captures your attention.   This time though, it’s not a circus game or creatures trying to sell you something.   You’re enraptured by a fifteen-foot statue of a woman unmarred by time. There are steady streams of seemingly clear water traveling down the woman’s eyes, but leaving no erosion there. But next to her are the shattered remains of another smaller stone statue. The feet of this smaller statue remains affixed to the ground while the rest are scattered around. It looks close enough that the body may have once held the woman’s outstretched hand.    You’re close enough that you can read the silver plate of the statue. It says ‘Missing Daughter’.   The statue reminds you of your mother — and you wonder passingly if any members of your family have tried employing others to find you, much like Yoongi has been sent to find Mina Stav. Or maybe they haven’t. Maybe they think your family thinks you’re dead...   “Y/N?”   “Hmm?” You turn away from the statue outside the sanctuary. “Where’s this person again?”   Half-across Rutherglen, you and Yoongi knock on a cottage door while unsure of yourselves. It's a single floor modest home, not at all extravagant like you expected it to be. Sorli Stav, the woman who commissioned you and Yoongi on this quest, reeked of wasteful luxury after all. You expect her sister to be the same or at least have some level of similarity.   “Are you sure this is her?”   “I’m sure,” he says in spite of his own skepticism.   The door opens a moment later and on the other side is a thin lady with long, stringy hair and a flowy skirt. “Hi, how can I help you? Are you the workers from Johnson? I told him I’d be right down for the festival. What an impatient man, he is. Really—”   “No, ma’am,” Yoongi politely interrupts. “Actually, we were told you could help us. Are you Ashal Stav?”   “I am.” Her sparse brows furrow. Then as if she suddenly recalls, her entire face lights up. “Are you those heroes looking to rescue my niece?! Come in, come in.”   You’re guided into the cluttered home with an open living space, a kitchen and dining room. It looks like there’s only three separate rooms after that. “I’m so sorry for the mess.”   “It’s quite alright,” you muster a smile as your eyes stray to the dirty stains on the wall by the bookshelf.   “Oh, I should’ve really cleaned better but the festival was here and I didn’t have much time.” The older woman is rushing about, collecting her clothes off the floor to throw into another corner and clearing the table of rotting food by pushing it aside. “My younger sister sent me a letter telling me you were coming. Although she informed me it would be a young fighter and a much...bigger barbarian.” She eyes you curiously like she didn’t expect a peasant girl.   You smile as your eyes glitter. “I replaced him due to some unforeseen circumstances.”   “Well, thank you for your service then.” She kicks some books on the ground underneath a table between the armchairs. “I really hope you can save my niece. Mina’s a wonderful girl really. A bit outspoken and stubborn, but very pleasant.”   “Actually, we were told you could help us,” Yoongi says. “You have information about this dragon?”   “Information, dear? No, no. I’m afraid I don’t know anything about the North dragon whatsoever. I only know you will be in grave, grave danger.”   The pair of you exchange expressions.   “You can feel free to stay here for as long as you’d like,” she huffs while catching her breath from the impromptu cleaning session. “I make one mean apple pie. You two look like you’re cold too! Rutherglen is practically winter all year round, so feel free to take any coats in the closet you’d like. And oh! Enjoy tonight’s festival as well!”   You and Yoongi don’t know what to say, simply holding in your groan. And when you come into the room she’s offered you, you find out that you’ll have to share a bed meant for one.   //   “That could’ve gone a lot better.”    You realize you should’ve bargained for a better reward. That woman prepared nothing for the two of you — there’s virtually nothing to go on, no help, no information. If not for Yoongi seeking out Namjoon, you wouldn’t even know how to get to that mountain. Still, it’s a death sentence.   But Yoongi merely hums, stoic and unaffected.   “So you’re really just going to march up that mountain?”   “I suppose,” he says.   You had no plans in fighting a dragon — you still don’t. But the thought of Yoongi going there alone while you wait here in this town makes you unsettled. Your stomach turns and you feel nauseous. In a split second, you can imagine him never returning. You can envision waiting for agonizing weeks until you venture up there yourself and die in the frozen wasteland before your body is covered in snow never to be found again or at the mercy of a dragon’s fire breath.   Either way, the outcome won’t be good for you or him.   “Yoongi—”   “Fire! Fire!”   There is pandemonium as people shriek, scrambling out of the Market District. Both of your heads lift, catching the rising smoke that curls in the sky and turns it gray. It’s growing fast and you exchange expressions before hurrying forward towards the inferno — Yoongi feeling an intrinsic need to investigate as an honourable knight and you with an inborn fascination for fire.   With what people are shouting as they pass, you learn it’s started from a cobbler shop that put too many cobblers in the oven at one time and forgot it was in there. And by the time you get close enough to see people running in with tiny wooden pails of water, you know it’s hopeless.   It’s already started to spread.   You quickly tug on Yoongi’s sleeve. “Hey…”   He looks at you and then follows your line of sight to the unattended market stalls filled with exotic items for sale. In one moment, he already knows you’re planning to satisfy the itch of your fingers. But before he can stop you and grab the back of your collar, you’ve already crouched down and slunk away from him.   “What do you think you’re doing exactly?”   There’s a sharp, husky voice and you peek over your shoulder, discovering Yoongi hunched down with you behind some wooden crates. The corner of your mouth curls at his frown.   “When life gives you chances, duckling, you have to take them. There’s nothing free in life. But there are opportunities, don’t you know?”   His brows lift. “You’re going to steal?”   “I’m going to pick up some abandoned items at a substantial discount,” you correct, “if you’re not going to help me, then get out of my way.”   Your eyes flicker in all directions. There are creatures gathered around the flames, trying to help. Once the coast is clear, you stealthily slink over to the stall.    Yoongi’s hot on your heel, hiding his smile of amusement. You don’t seem to know but his hands aren’t completely clean either. With life in a faction the way it was, he was forced to steal things numerous times. He’s just never taken from innocent folks out in the world before.   At the stand, your hand lifts and you swipe at a leather pouch. Peeking inside, you find five branded agates, colourful rocks that seem to be worth a good amount. You slip it into your bag.   Yoongi scoffs, watching you. “What do you even plan to do with these things?”   “I’ll sell it, obviously.”    Unfortunately, your whispering is loud enough to catch the attention of a woman nearby who spins around. Once she looks at the stand, the burly owner notices and looks. He steps aside and immediately sees you and Yoongi murmuring to one another while squatting next to his merchandise.    “Hey! What're you think you’re doing?!”   You gasp, eyes wide, and you stand. Yoongi is slower to your feet as he retains a calm disposition. You steal the chance at hand and point to your companion. “I’m stopping him from stealing!”   “What?” the man huffs, louder than the sputter of the fire meters away.   Yoongi’s brows raise, surprised at your betrayal before his expression morphs into a glare.    “I’m not,” he deadpans, calmer than ever before.   “You dare take from me?!”   “You’re mistaken and my friend here is only kidding. She has a terrible sense of humour, I apologize.”   In the meanwhile, your hand slips behind you. Your fingers find a cool, silver surface and you nab it. Your other hand also curls around a thin piece of glass that’s heavy in your grip. With your bag of holding shifted behind you, you easily slip the objects in.   The man is convinced with Yoongi’s composure, one that does not belong to a thief. “You better be kidding, boy! If I find anything missing, your head’s gonna be on the chopping block,” he grunts, turns away to address the urgent fire.   Yoongi releases his held breath and glares at you.    You sheepishly grin at him and the both of you walk away from the commotion.   “Thanks for that. You really saved me there.”   “I can’t believe you betrayed me without even needing to think about it.” His eyes narrow in on you. “But I’m not surprised.”   You pout and lean into him. Your arms wrap around his body. “Aw, Yoongi. I’ll split the gold with you, promise.”   He lightly scoffs and you laugh before taking a chance to look into your bag. Instantaneously, your eyes glitter when you discover it was a bottle of common wine and also a flash of alchemists’ fire, probably worth around fifty gold pieces.    Day by day, you’re getting you closer to your goal, your dream. Soon enough, you'll have a house in the middle of nowhere, much like that Halfling wizard’s. Yet somehow, the taste of victory doesn’t have as much of a glorious flavour as it used to.   Ever since you’ve seen your ambition in the flesh, the fantasy you dwelled on doesn’t seem to be as vibrant in your mind….   Yoongi abruptly halts on his heel and you turn to him, your own trance broken.   He glances over his shoulder. “Shouldn’t you put out that fire?” he asks nonchalantly and your eyes sweep the chaos, soaking in the distress etched on the villager’s features. Yoongi steals a glance at you. “Taking is also about giving back, right?”   There is silence.   Then, a long sigh releases from your lungs. “I never took you to be so righteous, Min Yoongi.”   “I am an honourable knight.” He smirks. “I think you forget that sometimes.”   “If you were so honourable, you’d turn me in,” you quip.   “Let’s just say I’m more loyal than I am honourable.”   Smothering it out goes against your impulse for keeping flames alive. Like you’re suddenly writing with your other hand or clasping your hands and switching which thumb folds on top of the other. Yet you still grasp your magical orb that swirls red and orange and extinguish the inferno. You stand sixty feet away beside Yoongi, hidden in the shadows as you control the flames with the movement of your palm. It smothers within five feet in one direction and the creatures around cheer, assuming the water’s finally snuffed it out.    You repeat it twice more until the fire dies down enough to be stomped on.   “Feel good?” Yoongi asks, accidentally catching your tiny satisfied smile as you both walk away.   “Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s gonna take a lot more convincing for me to do charity work like that again, Yoongi.” You exhale and passingly tell him, “There’s a reason I’d rather be seen as a useless peasant girl. A lot of the time, folks would think fires like that are from people like me.”   “That’s impossible. There’s too many valuables. You’d rather take them than burn it down.”   You laugh, heart swelling.   //   The minute the sun sets over the horizon, the lanterns strung along stalls and the lights inside shops are ignited to illuminate the streets, and the humble town of Rutherglen truly comes alive.    In the town square, there are bards playing flutes and fiddles, lutes and mandolins. The folk music brightens the ambiance even more and children giggle and dance together while the elderly sit by with warm mugs of cider in their laps, clapping along. Other children are running around with paper masks, playing games and couples stroll the streets with one another.   It’s a beautiful, cozy atmosphere as snow sprinkles down from the sky in a gentle flurry. It collects on rooftops and crunches underneath your steps, glitters and shimmers against the warm glow of the lights. You aren’t cold at all, not with the emerald pea coat wrapped around your shoulders. Yoongi’s in a coat too, leather and long to his knees. He would look like a mercenary, if not for his rosy cheeks and tender features that says otherwise.   “Why are you looking at me like that?”   “No reason.” You tear your eyes away, a smile still plastered across your face.   You’re glad that you came here. Opportunity like this doesn’t happen often. Having the company of someone you find pleasant doesn’t happen either.   “Oh, oh! Look, Yoongi!” Immediately, you drag him over by his sleeve.    Yoongi knows better than to resist your whims, especially when you get excited. So he only feigns annoyance yet still follows you diligently. The two of you come to a booth with fishes swimming inside a rectangular pool of water. Kids are huddled together with buckets while the man behind the booth is loudly advertising people to come try their luck at goldfish scooping.   But even without the vendor, it’s a game you recognize well.   “Should we play?!” you ask, turning to Yoongi with glittering eyes.   “Where would we keep a goldfish?”   You deflate, disappointed, but you know he’s right. “Never mind. It’s okay. It’s just I used to play this a lot when I was a kid,” you reminisce, not sure when the last time you went to a festival was — though it might’ve been years ago when you were still a child with your family. “But I always broke the scoop before I could get one and my dad wouldn’t let me play more than once. Did you ever hear that rumour though? Some say the goldfish are actually polymored fair-goers who were caught cheating some of the other games.”   He grins. “Is that why you don’t cheat?”   “Hey, I have integrity too! Business and games are two separate things. I would never cheat during a festival or carnival.”   Yoongi scoffs lightly, but his eyes are still lit with mirth. “You always know how to twist your logic.”   It’s not long before another game interests you and Yoongi’s following you closely behind before you lose each other in the crowd.   It’s an archery competition where contestants are trying to shoot an apple off the head of a Gnome — a Gnome that was presumably forced to take on the role with the way his knees are shaking and he squeals every time someone new comes forth. The prize is an elemental gem, something you’re sure you can use to sell at a higher price.    “You know I’ve only been trained in swordsmanship, right?”   “Giving up already? That’s not the spirit.” You slap Yoongi on the back harshly despite his glare and you point at the frightened Gnome that looks like he’s about to sob. “Take your shot, duckling!”   Yoongi sighs, but raises the bow to eye level and draws it. The tip of his tongue peeks out as one eye flutters shut and he takes aim. Holding in his breath, he releases and the arrow flies.   The Gnome squeaks. Unfortunately, the arrow slams above the apple, off by a few inches.   “Better luck next time,” the girl managing the booth chimes.   You exhale in frustration and immediately toss a silver piece to the girl. You snatch the bow from Yoongi’s hands and snag another arrow from the basket. The Gnome’s eyes bulge as you aim for the in-between of his brows and before he can stutter out “W-W-Wait”, you’ve released.   There’s a sharp whistle. The arrow spirals. The Gnome ducks with a shriek and there’s a loud thunk! The apple’s pierced through it’s core, hitting the bullseye on the target behind.   “Amazing!” The girl blinks as she soaks in what transpired in a mere three seconds. But she gives you the prize as promised. “Here you go.”   You slip the shiny gem in your leather bag with a smile before turning to Yoongi and finding his surprised and impressed expression. “What? Let’s go.”   The next game you stop at is an arm wrestling contest. There are several beefy fighters and barbarians getting in a line to challenge one another at wooden tables and while it’s not something that particularly captures your attention, the prize makes you halt on your heels.   “Fight for love! The winner receives an uncommon potion! A philter of love!”   “Yoongi.” Your hand plops on his shoulder, making him stop. “Want to play?”   He looks at the horde of people and then back at you. “You want to verse me?”   You burst out laughing before it dies down and your expression washes over into impassivity. “I don’t think so. I don’t do arm wrestling contests. Ever.”   That seems to pique Yoongi’s curiosity and his brow cocks. “Why not?”   “I just don’t.” When it seems like that answer isn’t enough to satisfy him, you sigh and explain yourself further, “My older brother challenged me once and I lost so bad, I broke my wrist. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that the prize is a philter of love! Don’t you know what it means? A creature who drinks it becomes charmed by another creature they see for an hour and they regard them as their true love.”   “And you would need that because….”   “To sell obviously. Unless.” You come closer to him, closing the distance between your bodies and a sly, playful smirk comes across your face. One that Yoongi finds both unsettling and provoking to his emotions. “...Unless you want to become charmed by me.”   He scoffs. “I don’t think so.”   “Because you’re already charmed, right?” You wink at him and giggle when he merely turns away and joins the lineup to play.   Yoongi ends up annihilating his competitors as you expected. He wins three rounds consecutively without one loss within minutes and hands you the prize as you’re cheering him on. The fighters and barbarians around are absolutely speechless at how such a smaller looking man seemingly without muscles could be so strong and they even challenge him directly. Yoongi sticks around for two more matches, but when the crowd grows, he decides it’s time to leave.   They beg him to stay, but he doesn’t even look back.   “You could make a living doing that, you know.”   “Playing strength games at carnivals and circuses?” He laughs and you grin, bumping into him.   “You could get famous! Think about the notoriety. People coming from far lands to challenge you.”   “Fame’s never interested me,” he breathes out.   “Wow.” You roll your eyes at his righteousness and part of you wonders what it is he actually wants. Fame and gold doesn’t seem to affect him like it does to a normal man. “The Great Min Yoongi never gets greedy for anything, huh?”   “No,” he murmurs, eyes flickering to you. “There’s definitely some things I’m greedy about.”   Before you can ask what it is specifically, he walks ahead with his arms behind his back.    You quickly catch up to him and the following game that the both of you stop at is actually something that interests Yoongi. It’s a pick pocketing challenge. People are given bright pieces of cloth to be put on their belt or in their pocket — and the last one who still has it wins a grand prize.   “Ten gold pieces?” You sharply inhale, considering it. “That’s actually not bad.”   “Want to try then?” Yoongi grins and you smile at his unexpected enthusiasm.   “You really think you could beat me in this?”   He merely shrugs and the two of you step up to join the round that starts at the beginning of the hour. You’re given a bright scarlet cloth while Yoongi’s given a soft hue of baby yellow that you find all too fitting. There are about ten people within a fifty feet circle, all of different ages. You won’t aim for the young kids, that’s a given. While children shouldn’t be underestimated, it’s clear they’re playing for fun and their parents who joined are just trying to humour them.   Your eyes, however, pinpoint on the other participants — an elderly man, a teenage girl, a married couple and Yoongi.   The Dragonborn referee blows his whistle to signify the start of the game and immediately, the teenage girl is booking for you. You dodge out of the way easily, but when you try to snatch her own cloth from her pocket, she shifts back, out of reach. The two of you stare at one another and like having mutual respect and creating an alliance, you turn away and pick different targets.   The married couple is easy to eliminate. They don’t expect it when they’re too busy with one another and you sneak up to steal their strips of cloth. You’re surprised Yoongi’s made it as long as he has and when you turn around, you find he’s taken out the elderly man ruthlessly.   “Not too bad, Yoongi.”   The corner of his mouth curls. “You underestimate me too much sometimes, Y/N.”   “We’ll see about that.”   The both of you circle each other with hooded eyes and mischievous smiles. The tips of your fingers itch to unleash magic, but you hold it back to play fair and when Yoongi swiftly surges forward, you dodge enough to barely brush against him.   You turn around, gaze locking with Yoongi’s. He grins a gummy smile full of victory and holds up your red piece of cloth that you didn’t even know you lost like it’s a winning flag. But then your eyes glitter and an enormous smile plasters across your cheeks. Yoongi finds his pastel yellow cloth is twisted around your finger and his heavy sack of gold pieces is in your other hand.   “Player four and five eliminated!”   The teenage girl ends up winning after the children forget the rules and go running out of the circle, thereby being disqualified.   “Not bad, Yoongi,” you sing-song afterwards. “But I think it’s safe to say that I still win.”   “I let you win. I know you’d sulk all night if you didn’t because you’re a sore loser.”   “Am not!”   Yoongi laughs gleefully and you can’t even feign annoyance at his teasing. You muse that there are truly few opportunities like this — where you get to spend time with someone you like as much as you like Yoongi….   The two of you soon settle down after hearing that the fireworks are beginning. If possible, the streets go into a bigger frenzy, friends coming together and families meeting in ferment. You try to go to the center of it all to watch the show, but with the crowdedness, you and Yoongi nearly lose one another.   It’s not until he grabs a hold of your hand and suggests sitting somewhere farther away that you find yourselves on a hill not far from the commotion. It’s quieter, where the noises become a lull of background sounds and you can finally hear one another’s voices. You and Yoongi sit on a dry patch of grass, shoulders brushing while you gather your knees, keeping yourself warm.   It starts after a countdown.   Colours burst in the air, one after another. They’re vivid hues that are brightened against the darkened sky, blossoming into all sorts of patterns and reflected in your irises. Some whirl into spirals, tumble in a shower and others shatter into sparks. Your breath is stolen, put into awe.   The scent of gunpowder and smokiness to the air makes the magic inside you tingle.   “Do you still want to live by yourself?” Above the bang of the fireworks is Yoongi’s husky voice. You turn to him, eyes soaking in the profile of his face illuminated by the lights. “Don’t you think you’ll be lonely living in isolation where no one can find you?”   “I never thought I would.”   You know it’s a childish dream. You came up with it as an adolescent when you were upset with your parents and you stuck with it until now. You envisioned it in moments of defiance and frustration. You held onto it with a vice-like grip. It was your anchor. Your buoy.   But you’ve been free for a long time.   Ever since you left that night with your forged documents, left behind a single note and fled without looking back, you’ve had freedom in your grasps. Now all that was left in your plan is to be kept away from the world, from any human or creature….   But as you look at Yoongi, an uneasy emotion overcomes you.   Maybe you will be lonely. Maybe the illusion is better than the reality.   You’ve always wanted a home for yourself, but a place where there isn’t anyone like Yoongi by your side feels lonely.   “I’ll make an exception,” you tell him and he turns to you, eyes locking with yours. Your mouth pulls into a smile. “You can come visit me, Yoongi. Whenever you like. It’s a one of a kind invitation.”   His lips twitch, and then they spread into a gummy grin. Yoongi’s eyes crinkle slightly, but it’s not a sight you get to savour for long when he turns away to keep watching the fireworks.    “Since we’re all getting it out in the open, can I ask why you keep calling me duckling?”   “It’s the hair.” You observe the horizon and the burst of red that comes across the darkness before more sparks spiral upwards and explode. “It’s pale yellow like a baby duck.”   You don’t notice the way Yoongi pinches the strands of his bangs. Or the way his eyes flickers up to try to see what you’re talking about. He’s never really thought about the actual shade of before — it’s always just been hair to him. It’s been the same as birth, the same as his mother’s.   And while the effort to analyze the strands are futile in this darkness and he gives up, a tender smile comes across his features.   Tomorrow, if all things go well, the two of you will finish your quest. The end is coming soon. Quicker than you’ve had a chance to realize. But you suppose that’s what time is. Fleeting.   “I’ll miss you, Yoongi,” you murmur so softly that you’re not sure if he can hear you.   But then you feel his gaze on the profile of your face and he says, “We still have to go back together. That’ll take a good week or two and even then….I don’t think I have any plans of returning to the Order.”   You’re surprised, neck whipping to the side as you look at him. “Where are you going to go?”   Yoongi shrugs nonchalantly. “I feel like I’ve spent enough time there. It’s why I took on this quest in the first place and agreed to do the favour for my mentor. I was trying to take the next step in my life.”   The next step in life.   You hum, looking at the night sky and the smoke that curls in it after the fireworks have fallen. “I’m envious….”   “You don’t have to be,” he says automatically.   Your gazes connect with Yoongi’s. “What do you mean?”   “You could do it too.”   “What would I do?” you ask, uncertain if this is an invitation to come with him, to continue your journeys together after all this is over. But Yoongi isn’t a straightforward man — that much you know. He’s blunt, though never honest with his feelings out loud. Yet in this moment, as the vivid lights are still bursting through the horizon and your eyes have met one another’s, you think you know what he means.   “Anything you want,” Yoongi murmurs in a low voice and you swear his eyes flicker to your lips.   You swallow hard and hold your breath. But as nervous as you feel, anticipation bubbles in the pit of your stomach and you lean forward, eyes fluttering shut. You feel his breath skim against your skin, warmth rising to your face and heating your cheeks like a furnace. You don’t know that Yoongi’s eyes are half-lidded, staring at your lashes as he tilts his head at a better angle.   Your foreheads nearly graze. Your mouths are a millimeter away—   “I like you!”   Both you and Yoongi jolt in your spots and your eyes open in an instant. Yoongi moves away and you turn your heads at the noise, on alert. There’s a teenage couple a few feet away by some trees and they don’t see you and Yoongi sitting together on the hill.   “Really?” the boy gives an awkward and nervous laugh.   At the same time, Yoongi releases a sigh and looks at you with a soft smile. “We should get back. There’s a long trip in store for tomorrow.”   “Y-Yeah.” You nod, getting on your feet and rushing away to try to dispel the magic spell Yoongi’s put on you that’s made your cheeks this warm.    You never notice the tender smile on his face as he stares at your backside.   //   The two of you set off an hour after the first blush before you can change your mind about coming with Yoongi. While you had planned to stay back, you can’t bear the thought of him not returning and knowing that you could’ve been there. Yoongi’s worth any kind of danger.   But it’s not like you’ll ever admit that out loud.   Your pride is too much and your fear of his impassivity to your emotions is overwhelming. Neither of you speak about last night’s affair either. How the distance was almost closed, how your lips almost touched his — maybe Yoongi changed his mind, but when he doesn’t talk about it, you don’t bring it up either.   So you both trek up the mountain in brooding silence, also sore from poor sleep. You shared the same room and bed, but peaceful slumber was far out of reach. Yoongi hogged the blanket and apparently you snored too loudly, making him beat you with his pillow several times through the night which woke you up and made you cuss at him. It didn’t help that the woman, Ashal, also barged in during the middle of the night to give you healing potions. She was the least helpful person on your journey so far and you’re glad to get away from her while you could.   “How much longer?”   “An hour. Or two.”   Yoongi twists the map around and you sigh, allowing the flame in your palm to grow and flicker. One glance at your companion and you notice the way his hands are shaking as he holds the parchment. “Aren’t you cold?”   “Not particularly,” he mumbles.   But you pull him in anyhow, looping your arm through his and holding the fire in front of both your faces. “I’m not going to save you if you freeze to death.”   The corner of Yoongi’s mouth curls. “Good to know. Are you hungry? We can take a short rest if you are or if you’re tired.”   “I’m fine. The faster we move, the quicker we get there, right? Or are we lost?”   “Stoughsby Peaks is over there.” He points and beyond clouds, you can see the imposing silhouette. What was a tiny shape back in the village has now taken up the entire horizon. “I know where we’re going.”   “Uh-huh.”   Yoongi folds up the map, places it into his pocket and buries his hands deep, finally getting them warm. You don’t miss the way he leans into your frame as well, how he comes closer to the fire dancing in your palm and you keep the flame strong so there’s some sort of heat.   You wouldn’t say it — but you’re happy to keep him warm.   “Are you not coming with me into the cave?” he asks, a cloud of air emitted from his mouth as he does so.   “I’ll support you from outside.”   “Are you scared?” his brow raises, finding such a thought surprising since it’s rather uncharacteristic of you to be.   “It’s not that. It’s….” Your voice grows quieter as your eyes narrow into this distance. Yoongi’s staring at you, but when you nudge his arm, he follows your line of vision. “Yoongi….what is that?”   There’s a rising shadow, an outline of a ginormous centipede but with wings, and it’s coming closer. Slowly and carefully, Yoongi pulls his rapier from his sheath while you take your orb out of your satchel. The two of you hold your breaths in your nose and your other hand comes to tug on Yoongi’s sleeve.    As the seconds pass, you’re finally able to discern what’s approaching — a monster that’s forty feet, scaly body with horns and an insect-like head. It’s ice-blue in colour with a dozen legs, and its back glows red with an inner fire.   “Oh fuck...oh fuck.”    Both you and Yoongi scramble back but it’s too late. The monster had picked up your scents the moment you stepped onto its territory.    “It’s a Remorhaz!” A monstrous beast resembling a cross between a worm and a centipede that thrives in cold environments. You’ve learnt about it back in your schooling days and learnt that it’s to be avoided, that the monster is worse than death itself.   The two of you start running, though the effort is futile when you hear it shriek behind you and start chasing at an impeccable speed.    You shut your eyes and channel your magic. Without hesitation, your hand slips downwards to Yoongi’s. He turns his head to you. You cast your spell and shove him away from you.   “Y/N!” Yoongi’s eyes are wide and then he fades away into the snow. Gone from your sights.   Yoongi looks down at himself to find that his entire body, clothing and weapons are translucent. You’ve casted an invisibility spell on him and with that fact known, he grips his sword and runs forward towards the monster. He strikes it on the back, surging forward to dig his blade in and the monster shrieks.   It twists and turns. But it finds nothing in its sights.   Yoongi holds in his sharp inhale. The Remorhaz’s body is hot as if it’s oozing of fire from within and feels himself burning when he comes close.   “This is why I don’t want to fight a dragon,” you spit, terrified when the fire-resistant monster coils around to approach you. “Most of my magic is fire based!”   You run again, but turn around to cast lightning bolt. It’s one of the few offensive spells you know the monster isn’t immune against. And a stroke of lightning forming a line a hundred feet long and five feet wide blasts towards it. The monstrous beast howls in agony and anger.    At the same time, Yoongi strikes his sword twice on the Remorhaz from behind. It confuses the creature even further.   Before terror can render you frozen, your palm thrusts out. A hundred twenty feet away towards the East, you stitch together an illusion. An image of another forty feet Remorhaz twitching. It seems completely real, including sounds and smells. A picture of your new worst nightmare.   The real creature contorts its head around to look, ducking and dipping, unable to discern that it's fake. The Remorhaz’s attention is completely stolen, taken away from you. And it instantaneously dives towards it while you take a temporary sigh of relief. You’re thankful you’ve always liked illusion magic more than the fire magic and spells your family taught you.   In the meanwhile, Yoongi takes the opportunity to strike it twice more, running his blade along its scaling back, making it move away faster in a frenzy. You cast lightning bolt once more, stealing the chance while you still have it.   The creature is getting weaker. You can tell with the way it slows and slumps. But the distraction doesn’t last long. When the monster bites through the illusion and completely passes through, it turns around, bulged white eyes directed right at you.   “Yoongi….Yoongi….!”   He chases after it and throws one of his daggers with as much strength he can muster. The blade lodges into its back and the Remorhaz shrieks yet again. Unfortunately for you, you’re too slow. Your feet slide from the slickness of the ground and you fall on your back into the snow.   The Remorhaz’s jagged teeth split.   Its head snaps down to bite.   You scream bloody murder.   “Yoongi!”   There’s a sudden pained shriek — it’s ear-piercing, making your ears buzz. And you open your eyes to see the monster’s bulging ones a few inches away. It’s frozen. And you scramble back in a whimper as it falls. Colliding to the ground. Lifeless.   Yoongi’s finally visible again once your concentration has shattered. And he’s standing at the back of the Remorhaz’s neck, pulling out his rapier from the soft spot. He dives into the snow immediately to cool off his body. “Fucking hell. That….that was something alright...”   You’re gasping for air, hand over your heart that’s about to give out.   “Are you okay?” he asks and when you don’t respond, Yoongi stands. He dusts himself off and comes over.   “I...I’m fine.” You take his outstretched hand and get back onto your feet. “I...I think I might need that short rest though.”   “Okay. We can do that.”   You’re reeling and your eyes peel away from the dead monster to Yoongi’s. “You...saved my life.”   “This isn’t the first time, you know,” he says with a tender smile as if he’s willing to do it a hundred more times. Yoongi’s hand pats your head affectionately as he passes by you.   You snap out of it quickly and join his side, getting the hell away from the large corpse as fast as your feet can take you.    Yoongi doesn’t ask why you decided to save him first, why you used your invisibility spell on him and not yourself. With the way you’ve been looking at him when you think he’s not looking, he already has an inkling of the reasons. And he smiles to himself, merely glad the feelings are mutual.   “W-We’re going to need a plan to fight that dragon.”   “We’re? You’re coming with me?”   “I think I owe it to you after that. At least to help in any way I can.”   The tiny smile he’s been repressing stretches into a gummy grin.   //   Stoughsby Peaks is a snowy mountain in an inhibited empty void. It’s quiet, eerily so. In the patches without snow is exposed rocky terrain that’s rough against your shoes. The opening at the entrance stares right at you as you climb the steep slope. It’s a dark cavern without a lick of light, making you unable to see anything inside. But there’s another path on the left that wraps around, leading to the top.   “So this is it…..”   Both you and Yoongi are stuck in your spots, gawking at your inevitable demise.   Had you told yourself a few weeks ago that you would be encountering a dragon with a stranger that’s no longer a stranger to you, you would’ve laughed before packing your bags and hitching a ride back to your overbearing family. As restrained as your freedom was, you were at least safe and away from danger.   But as you stand here next to Yoongi, oddly enough, you don’t feel frightened.   You feel….calm.    Maybe Yoongi’s finally emanated his stoicness and projected his indifference onto you. But you have a feeling that even if you become consumed by your own fire or that of the dragon’s, you wouldn’t mind as long as he’s there with you.   “It’ll be okay,” he says.   “Yeah…” You exchange soft expressions. “I know.”   The interior of the cave is damp, carrying a musty odor that makes you shudder when you sniff. But you try not to gag, instead keeping quiet as you stalk the walls. You and Yoongi are both hidden, coming inside from different points — you from the upper path while he took the main entrance. You can’t see him, but you know he’s here.    The plan is to stay hidden, to channel and conjure your illusion magic as a distraction while Yoongi fights the creature — a strategy similar to the one used with the Remorhaz.   So you keep yourself small, sliding behind a large boulder at a tiny plateau, a spot above the ground that makes your stomach coil when you realize you could fall to your death. It’s dark, but there’s light that comes up from the opening at the top of the mountain, a subtle beam cascading in.   But as you peek out for a tiny look, your breath hitches. There’s a mountain of diamonds and other light-hued gemstones at the bottom, a horde of highly polished platinum and silver pieces, works of art that look like mirrors, all glittering like ice. More importantly, the dragon having a slumber on top of its riches isn’t red, brass or gold like you feared it to be.   The sleeping, scaled beast with barbed claws and wide wings is white.   It’s a white dragon — a dragon of ice.   You nearly scream of delight, but you cover your mouth with your hand, trying to not be too loud. If you knew that the dragon wasn’t fire-breathing or fire resistant from the start, you would’ve marched straight in and torn this mountain apart. It’s not like a white dragon is any less fearsome, but now you know your abilities aren’t completely useless.   The dragon shifts, huffing through its nostrils and you have an inkling it’ll awake soon. Time was running out — the opportunity is still at hand and so, you steal it.    Before Yoongi can run in and sacrifice himself.   You grip onto your swirling orb and slide out into the open. Your fingers point at the stirring beast. At once, a bright streak flashes from your flesh. It blossoms with a low roar into an explosion of flames. The fireball spreads around all corners of a twenty foot radius sphere. And the ice dragon awakes with a pained growl from deep within its stomach.   Yoongi who’s been hiding behind other rocks is startled, cussing you under his breath for being a reckless brat and foiling the plan. But he takes it in stride and once the fire dissipates, he comes out and tosses the dagger. It hits — the blade dug in between the wings of the dragon.   “Who. Goes. There?!”    The dragon’s pained voice booms and echoes throughout the mountain, ricocheting in your ears and rumbling the ground beneath you. He is frightening, his presence calling all those to bow down to him, but you and Yoongi are unaffected.    “Come. Out!”   You follow its orders, but only to hurl another fireball at it.   Its howl is thunderous as its heavy limbs and scales are burnt, and Yoongi uses his secondary weapon that he seldomly touches, a crossbow, to shoot it at a distance. The arrow pierces into its leg. Yet the dragon’s attention has been taken by you and in spite of its heavy limbs and scales, it moves swiftly and dexterously. The creature of great stability inhales and then exhales an icy blast centered on you.   You’re able to move away, diving out of its range, but the damage has also been done. Your leg is encased in ice, but you prop yourself against the mountain’s wall and channel the magic that runs through your blood. Your hand lifts and you create a wall of fire to protect yourself from it.   It’s sixty feet long, twenty feet high and a foot thick. The wall is opaque, flaring every so often and heating up your cheeks. It makes your skin feel like it’s melting off of your face, your eyeballs burn to the back of your lids. Yet the orange glow almost seduces you to come closer, to feel the true intensity of the heat.   You allow the phoenix fire blazing within you to unleash — and your slumped form is magically wreathed in swirling fire. A bright light sheds from your flesh and your eyes glow like hot coals.   “How. Dare. You?!”   “Where is she?!” you strain your voice, allowing it to pull from your vocal cords. “Or did you already eat her?!”   “Who. Do. You. Seek?!”   “Sorli Stav’s daughter. Mina Stav,” you spit feverishly, barely able to recall their names as you feel yourself on the verge of burning.   “You. Come. For. Mina?!”   Yoongi fires another arrow and you hear the beast roar in torment. Despite the fire that you’ve stitched together to encase you, Yoongi dashes up the slide of the slope, shouting your name.   At the same time, the white dragon crosses the wall of fire. It braces through the flames, taking damage and howling as it does so. But once it makes it to the other side and claws at you, the flames wrapped around your body burns it further. You don’t go unscathed either — lacerated in three different strokes from your shoulder downwards and feeling the bleeding wound go numb from the coldness of the creature.   Still, your trembling hand lifts and you create three rays of fire in your palm, throwing them at the dragon with little effect.    It’s over. Surrounded by your fire, at the hands of a dragon emulating ice, you can only hope your family won’t be too disappointed. You can only hope that Yoongi makes it out alive.   But the man you’re thinking about, with his pastel yellow hair that you adored from the second you laid eyes on him, he rushes in front of you. His blade, drawn and shimmering in the glow of your inferno, strikes down upon the dragon. He flicks his wrist, raises his arm and slices him across his muzzle.   The dragon cries and Yoongi yells deep in the pits of his stomach before surging forward, driving the sword further into its hide.   “Yoongi.”   Before he can grip the handle and use his body weight to tear the blade down the dragon’s front, there’s a scream of terror—   “Wait!”   A girl covered in a black cloak, skirt of her white dress peeking out, comes into view. She stands at the entrance of the cave, chest rising and falling as she gasps. And she pulls her hood down, revealing brunette curls and brightened eyes.   “Please don’t hurt him,” she begs.   Your brows furrow, having no idea who she is or where she even came from. But Yoongi seems to know her with the way he steps forward and his eyes become rounded, recognizing her from a painting he had seen. “Mina?”   “Mina?!”    You whip your head over and everything finally clicks.    //   The kidnapped girl you were sent to rescue was in fact not kidnapped.   “We met when I was a child and he saved me when I was lost in the forest for days,” Mina reminisces with a tender smile, looking over at the dragon that’s polymorphed himself into a human form. He’s become an otherworldly man with long, black hair, his skin fair yet his eyes still icy blue. He doesn’t have any cuts or bruises from the earlier fight either.   If you didn’t know any better, you would think he was a divine being.   “We became friends and...somewhere along the way, I fell in love with him.”   You’re still reeling. It’s hard to comprehend what’s going on. Or wrap your mind around the fact that there’s a tunnel system underneath the mountain and they have a whole living space here. As Mina speaks, you soak in the mundane kitchen space — the glass cupboards of mugs and teacups, the cozy picture frames of flowers in a row above the sink.   “We’ve been together for years, but it was only recently I decided I wanted to be with him forever without needing to hide him or myself.” She lifts her hands, placing it on top of his on the table and he smiles, turning his palm around to interlace their fingers together.   “Your mother thinks you were kidnapped,” Yoongi tries to explain, “She sent us here to find you.”   Mina sighs. “My mother is an...anxious woman. I left her a letter, but it seems like she still thinks I was taken against my will.”   “Maybe you can write her another letter,” he offers. “We’ll deliver it and tell her our own account on how you want to stay here.”   “But even then, who’s to say she won’t hire someone else to force her back?” you pipe up, turning to Yoongi. You know full well how overbearing family members can be and with the way that woman had disdainfully spoken about the Ice Dragon, there’s no way she’ll allow her daughter to be with him. That much is obvious to you. “She might just think we’re lying and get other people to repeat exactly what we did.”   “You’re right.” Mina’s eyes are downcast. “If she won’t even listen to me, she would never listen to you adventurers.”   “You should go back with them,” the dragon, Azer, states in a low voice. You didn’t know dragons had proper names, but you suppose in these circumstances, such a thing isn’t too strange.   “No!” She turns to him immediately. “I want to be with you. I thought we talked about this.”   “Yes, but I want you to be safe and free, and here, you’re not—”   “But I’m happy here.” Mina smiles at him lovingly and in reassurance. “I’m happy with you.”   Yet, he takes her hand and caresses it, not quite looking her in the eyes. “Even at the expense of your mother’s worries?”   “She has always worried about me. If I returned, she would marry me off to some wealthy, old man. Would you be satisfied with that?”   “Of course not.”   “So let me be with you.”   It feels like you’re intruding in on an intimate scene meant to stay between a couple. You stay quiet, trying to blend into the yellow wallpaper with Yoongi — but one glance at him and finding that he has an impassive expression, it makes your lips tickle.    You never could’ve imagined an ancient ice dragon could be such a hopeless romantic. But while things of this nature would’ve made you feel unpleasant a few weeks ago, suddenly, it seems sweet. And familiar. As if you and Yoongi have had many intimate conversations like this before.   As if you are no stranger to these affectionate-laced words.   “Please don’t tell my mother I’m here.” Mina breaks your trance, turning to you both with a desperate expression. “I don’t want her to harm Azer anymore than she already has.”   The pair of you exchange expressions and after a second, Yoongi relents. “Then we can tell her that you passed away but we defeated the dragon. We’ll need evidence for it though.”   “My blood,” the dragon in human form hums. “A vial should be enough. It’s rare to come across dragon blood, so she’ll believe you.”   Yoongi nods.   “You should leave this place too,” you say, looking around the cozy abode that they’ve made together. It would be a shame to leave this place, but a necessity for the plan. “There might be other travelers or creatures that hike up this mountain. If they see that you’re alive, the whole rouse will be over.”   They take each other’s hands, gazing at one another with warm smiles. “That’s easy enough.”   “Thank you.” Mina looks at both you and Yoongi. “Truly.”   But you don’t feel like you’ve accomplished anything spectacular. It wasn’t a fight, a battle, a victory. It was a compromise. One you had never expected to make during the trek here.   The couple offer you spare rooms to take long rests in and afterwards, they serve warm meals to satisfy the bubbling starvation in your stomach. It’s odd to see the dragon sitting there at the table, not at all resentful or angered at how you barged into his home and started to attack him without warning. He even makes jokes to you and Yoongi to which you both stiffly laugh at.    But neither of you linger for long.   When you both feel well enough to make the trip back, you bid your final farewells.   Though before you leave for good, there’s an urge to satisfy the curious question probing your brain. So you turn around to the girl you’ve been searching for all this time. “Won’t you ever get tired spending the rest of your life running and hiding?”   Mina smiles at you, a tender way you don’t yet understand. And she looks over her shoulder to the man wiping down the table. “Maybe. But I think I found something that’s worth it.”   You wonder if your own reasons are worth it.   //   A sigh befalls your lips as you walk down the steep mountain, leaving your footprints in the snow next to his. “Love does crazy things, huh?”   Yoongi steals a glance at you and smiles. “Yeah, it does.”

The journey back to Millpass takes a week without any detours.   The pair of you aren’t stoppered by ridiculous antics of other travelers nor encounter many monsters or beasts that prevent you from going forth. It’s almost ironic how smoothly and quickly things progress, how each day you make it farther than you thought was possible.   Ironically sad, of course.    Not that you would ever admit it for fear of exposing the rest of your brewing emotions. But you can’t help dwelling on the fact that the moment you learned to cherish Yoongi’s presence is when the inevitable end was approaching. Barreling towards you. Mercilessly.   Time with him always felt like it was slipping through your fingertips. To the point where you can’t even enjoy the present moment, aware that the future will have his absence. Aware that you will someday come to miss these simple affairs, these measly spats and bantering conversations.   You’ll miss him, you know that much.   How painful it’ll exactly be is something you’ll still have to wait on and see.    But no matter how much you brood, how much you try to preserve the mundane moments in your mind, the journey unavoidably ends.   In Millpass, the two of you are welcomed back as heroes. Sorli Stav is absolutely devastated over the news that her daughter is dead, but is thankful for your vengeance in ‘defeating’ the dragon. She even takes the dragon blood vial you give her as evidence, and parades it around before placing it on her mantle, underneath her ginormous portrait, as a sick memento.    The other spare dragon blood vials you have are things you sell at astronomical prices, much to Yoongi’s dismay. Although it’s not as bad in comparison when there’s a surprise celebration hosted on the streets by Sorli Stav herself. She makes sure that the whole town and their mothers know that both you and Yoongi are heroes. That you gutted that Ice Dragon to death.   There’s a party. Balloons. Free drinks. A whole speech from the mayor.   In reality, you and Yoongi are shams. Not heroes. But it’s actually not such a bad feeling.   Real heroes are overrated anyways.   “Thought I would find you here.”   Yoongi scoffs lightly but still smiles as you climb the hill and plop down beside him on the verdant grass. “I just wanted a break.”   “Too tired of all the ladies throwing themselves onto you?”   “Half of them don’t even know my name.” The man lazily grins, sitting back and leaning his weight onto his hands. “They keep calling me Yorgo. Who the hell is Yorgo.”   “Obviously the name they’re going to be screaming tonight.”   Yoongi bursts out laughing and you giggle with him.   “That mysterious front is going to land you into some trouble some day, Yoongi.”   “Yeah?” He cocks a brow, looking at you. “Is it?”   A noncommittal sound is made at the back of your throat. “People are going to fall for you left and right. What will you do then?”   “Maybe you could help me.”   “Don’t put the responsibility on me,” you tease. “It’s your fault. Appearing and disappearing. Not saying much. You just like making people wonder about you.”   “Does it work for you too?”   “Maybe.”   The evening sun’s beams pierce the sky. The sunset glow has pressed itself on your cheeks, and you both watch the soft colours cascade through the horizon, allowing the laughter of the town to fall into background noise.   Suddenly, your eyes light up as you remember something and you reach into your pocket. “Look how much gold I made. This isn’t even Sorli’s reward either. Just the dragon blood.”   He snorts and lifts his hand to feel the heavy weight of the sack. “Not bad. Are you far from your goal?”   “Halfway there,” you sing-song, “But you can keep that.”   Yoongi raises his brows, surprised that you’re sharing your wealth. “Really?”   “Yeah, I just figured….I’ve taken a lot from you anyways and it’s only fair if we half it. Plus, it can be my goodbye gift.”   It goes silent.    Yoongi holds the leather bag in his hand and focuses on it as if he’s using it to avoid his eyes straying towards you. “Are you going to look for those tapestries?”   You sigh after a moment. “No.” You can feel his gaze on you and you fiddle with your fingers. “I don’t think it’s in my reach anyways. After hearing all the rumours from different places, I have a feeling the tapestries are actually lost in the castle itself and they haven’t searched hard enough for it.”   “Then what are you planning to do after all this?”   “I...thought about what you said, Yoongi.” You shift towards him, eyes connecting. “I’m going to go home.”   “I’m tired of running away and I think it’s time I confront them and gain my legitimate freedom. I’ll fight for it. So I can come and go as I please. So I don’t have to hide under a different name.” The house that you dreamed of doesn’t need to be secluded behind a barrier in the middle of nowhere. You don’t need to go to such extremes as to cut off the rest of your family. You believe there has to be a way to have the freedom you seek and the comfort of home. “I’ll fight for it.”   “You can do it,” he whispers and you look up in surprise. Yet, Yoongi only smiles. “I believe in you.”   He is sincere. Earnest. And it means a lot coming from him, a man who is blunt and not necessarily encouraging. To have Yoongi’s support makes you feel like you could conquer anything.   “What about you? What are you going to do?”   “I should probably go back home too.” He looks off at the sunset. “It’s been a while. And there’s unfinished business I should tend to.”   You hum, following his line of sight to the beautiful sky and the fading light. Suddenly, you feel a soft touch on your finger, warm skin that hesitantly meets yours. The corner of your lips quirk and while you never once look at each other, your hand interlaces with Yoongi’s.   “We’ll see each other soon,” you promise aloud, not sure if you’re saying it for yourself or for him.   But within a beat, Yoongi hums in agreement. Like he didn’t even need to think about it.    “You still owe me that refund.”   “What about that whole sack of gold?”   “Doesn’t count. That’s a goodbye present. Not a refund.”   You laugh, leaning into Yoongi who smiles to himself.    It’s bittersweet — to know the impending yearning, but also the ultimate reunion.

[tubbytroll]

So who is your Decker character exactly and how is he built? I'm interested in hearing about him.

Hey, thanks for reaching out.

I actually have never built Ranburu - I don’t have a Shadowrun game I’m playing in or GMing unfortunately. I’ve been wanting to play for about 9 years but so far I’ve only played a Mission at a local convention. I haven’t dug too deep into the rules, and at this point I’d probably be more inclined to run/play Anarchy for something less crunchy. (I GM Pathfinder and it can be so tiring, haha). Sorry if that’s disappointing!

He was actually the first idea for a Shadowrun character I had - a tubby, nerdy troll decker who was born to a human family and goblinized. (I know some people get upset when you play drastically against type, but as far as I know I’ve avoided the lore police.) 

Over time Ran has definitely morphed into something else entirely. I introduced my roommate and RP partner to tabletop gaming and of course Shadowrun. We decided it would be fun to take our characters we RP from World of Warcraft and port them over to Shadowrun. It’s funny actually. The original concept I had of my Shadowrun character had inspired my Darkspear troll when I started roleplaying him in WoW. Ranburu really became a character and not just an idea. In turn, when my roommate and I decided it would be fun to have an alternate universe of our WoW characters in Shadowrun, Ranburu returned to his roots.

[agooberscanons]

The year is 2023... Society has advanced little in the last 20 years. An infected burger has caused irreparable harm to the world as cute girls have been infected with an advanced strain of Mad Cow Disease. The irony of Patient Zero being a time traveler from the future who fell asleep during this part of class would be the first victim is indicative of her appetite increasing, drool production skyrocketing and worst yet... being unable to find a fitting bra for her nonstop lactating bust

Other victims appear to be the heiress to the Shiranui clan, a local Iwate idol, the Seventh Heaven's most iconic barmaid (wait, how did she get infected?), the Fujiwara clan's prized daughter and... An inhabitant of the Sanzu River (is that a real place? Actually I think that is just a cow)

Would you like to give us some words of advice, Patient Zero?

“Pl-Please make sure you take notes...with you...to avoid messing up the timeline so badly...”

She wobbles a little more as she shuffles towards the interviewer, jiggling and salivating obnoxiously. Making an absolute mess of the floor as she continues to spill milk everywhere with each movement.

“Also, pl-please leave...you’re making me...sooooo hungryyyyy...myooooooooonn...~”

[agooberscanons]

If there's a tummy, yo I'll poke it.

Chika's is cute. Boop.

“You keep poking my tummy. Can I help yooooooou?”

[agooberscanons]

Yeah, pretty much.

‘Heeeey, they don’t...do that much...!”

[agooberscanons]

Hmm... which muses would be the most likely to dress up as a catgirl? :3

That’s a great question! I’m gonna have to rack my brain for this for a moment?

-Daisy -Marin -Leona -Mai -Yuri -Xion -Yuffie -Girlfriend -Muffet -Sayori -Ibuki -Laura -Chika -Elma -Mikuru