#the closest thing to a voice of reason in the trio is tails but even the. he is very easily swayed

[0vergrowngraveyard]

i think tails, cream, and charmy would be absolute unhinged when they’re older. like leave them alone for five seconds and charmy and cream have convinced tails to attach rockets to a shopping cart and they launch themselves off a ramp to see how far they go (they can all fly so they’re fine)

[merminns]

Bad influence

Fred Weasley x Reader

❧ Content: fluff, just the Weasley Twins and Lee being trouble makers

❧ Word count: 1.8k

❧ Notes: this is a repost from my old blog

It has been a calm, peaceful morning. It was finally the weekend after a long tiring week. You had agreed to spend the morning with your friends in your dorm to make up for the lack of time you spent together during the week, then the rest of the day is reserved for your boyfriend, who has grown restless over the lack of attention you’ve been giving him.

The sun was giving off enough warmth as you walked through the hallways to where you and Fred agreed to meet. Your walk held an air of blissful silence that you rarely ever get. Being a student in Hogwarts and dating one of the infamous Weasley twins, ‘peace’ and ‘silence’ aren’t words that usually made it into your daily vocabulary.

You love Fred, so much that it sometimes feels unbelievable, but sometimes you just long for some peace after all the chaos that comes with dating him.

Unfortunately for you, today wasn’t a day where peace would find its place. Your peaceful walk was cut short when you noticed all the noise in the hallway ahead of you. You walked closer to the noise, only to come face to face with a chaotic scene.

The first thing you noticed how the hallway was unusually filled with students. It was very unlikely for this number of students to be packed in one place on the weekend. But that wasn’t even the problem. Almost every student was on the ground struggling to stand, and those standing seemed to be struggling with keeping their balance.

The chaos should have been enough for you to stop in your tracks, but the confusion you felt kept you moving forward. Before you knew it, your feet were slipping fast. The world started spinning as you lost all balance and you closed your eyes in preparation for your awkward fall.

But the cold hard surface of the ground didn’t come. Instead, you felt an arm wrap quickly around your waist as you were pulled into a broad chest. Your eyes opened cautiously to meet the familiar red sweater with a golden ‘F’ in the center.

“Fancy meeting you here,” your gaze shifted upwards to come in level with your boyfriend’s grinning face “Seems like you quite literally fell for me.”

Despite the panicked state you were in a few seconds ago, you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at Fred’s silly comment as he helped steady you on the slippery floor. It’s not even a surprise he is here, wherever chaos is Fred was sure to be found.

“Let me guess, you’re responsible for this.” you stated. Chaos and Fred in one place, it’s only reasonable to assume he caused the chaos rather than just be there. Fred confirmed it when his goofy grin turned into a smirk. A smirk matching those on George’s and Lee’s faces as they waved to you from where they stood behind Fred.

“We figured a spell to wax the floor without making it obvious,” he replied proudly “here, have some fluffy socks, they should do the trick.”

Of course, it is never possible to spend a single boring moment when these three are around. “Wax the floor don’t you think that’s k—”

“MR WEASLEY!”

The booming voice unmistakably belonged to professor McGonagall. You felt the little hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

It won’t be hard for her to figure what was going on, and despite usually living up to their pranks, the trio was in serious trouble this time. It’s not even about this silly prank, it’s more about the amount of trouble they get themselves into.

These three had been getting into plenty of trouble lately. Some Slytherins think it’s funny to tail after them and inform the closest professor about their newest prank. The number of house points they lost was horrifying. It even reached the point where they were threatened that if they were found causing more trouble, they’d be forbidden from joining any quidditch activities till the end of the year. So they agreed that if they ever got caught again, the first action of defense is to escape.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you could see George and Lee taking baby steps away from the scene to avoid getting into trouble, leaving you and Fred into the direct line of fire.

Fred, whose arm was still wrapped around your waist, tried to retreat as well, dragging you with him before McGonagall’s figure is close enough to prevent your escape. And it would have worked, had it not been for your clumsiness.

You managed, with the help of the waxed floor, to trip over your own feet. This time no one was there to break your fall. You fell face first dragging Fred and a couple of the standing students along with you, leaving you trapped under a mass of bodies.

By the time you recovered from the fall, professor McGonagall’s stern face was towering over you, wand in her hand, and the ground beneath you had lost its waxiness.

“Care to explain, Mr. Weasley?”  

It’s common for you to not be one of those held responsible for such chaos. You were always known to be the goody-two-shoes. The model student, one who’d never cause any trouble.

It was even a common wonder to Hogwarts how you ended up with a trickster like Fred. No one had any idea that sometimes, you would be the mastermind to one of the trio’s pranks. Only a select few knew that you could cause a lot more trouble than Fred could.

But now, Fred was the only one around to blame for the complete chaos and the coupe of minor injuries caused by the silly prank. You know there’s no way for him out of this one. He’d be prevented from playing quidditch.

The thought filled you with an uneasy feeling. You know how much he loves the sport, separating him from his broom was like taking away part of him. And a glance at your boyfriend’s face was enough indication that he is thinking the same.

“It’s my fault!” you said before Fred could open his mouth to speak. Now, you aren’t any good at lying, and McGonagall wouldn’t just believe that a ‘perfect’ student such as yourself could cause so much trouble.

You slowly reach for your wand and hold it up. "I was trying to practice a new spell but it went wrong.”

You definitely are not a good liar but you had no choice here. Lying is your only way out of, or rather, into trouble.

“See, professor?” you said with a shy smile “Fred was just trying to help me… I’m sorry for causing trouble.”  

If your lie wasn’t obvious, then the incredulous look on Fred’s face was enough evidence that you’re lying. It was very clear to McGonagall you are trying to get your boyfriend out of trouble.

A brave move. And if McGonagall admired anything in the world it is small brave actions like this.

You could see a tiny smile on her face. She can call you out for your lie and punish Fred. But she couldn’t bring herself to let your effort go to waste.  The only downside? Someone has to be punished, especially because of the audience of students watching the scene, and you choose to be that someone.

Detention is boring, a complete waste of time and energy. But you’re thankful McGonagall was going easy on you. Having detention where you just sit around practicing transfiguration spells over and over again is so much better than any other outcome that could have taken place.

Though if Fred thinks he’s off the hook after this, he’s dead wrong. How dare he get himself into enough trouble that you’d have to go through detention to save his ass. You’re going to have to watch over him, he can’t get into any more trouble! And you just want to spend more time with him.

Your train of thoughts was rudely interrupted when a loud knock sounded at the closed door of the almost empty class. As McGonagall got distracted by whoever’s at the door, you caught movement through the corner of your eyes.

You shifted your attention to where the movement came from to see Fred waving at you from behind a statue placed at the far corner of the room, a wide grin covering his face as he motioned for you to come over. You mentally facepalmed, this is only getting you into deeper trouble.

You slowly inched closer to where your boyfriend was hidden out of McGonagall’s sight. He waited until you were close enough to pull you into him behind the statute.

“What are you doing? We’ll get in trouble?” you whispered as he crouched to the ground to pull on an almost invisible trap door. “What the hell?! When did this get here?”

“Shut up, you’ll get us caught!” he whispered back as he helped you down through the trap door and jumping in after you.

You walked through a dark tunnel the only light coming from Fred’s wand. You mattered a quick ‘Lumos’ to allow yourself more light. The walk wasn’t comfortable; the space was cramped and dark and completely unfriendly. Only kept moving thanks to Fred’s encouragement until you noticed another source of light ahead of you. As you walked closer you could see another trapdoor wide open above your heads.

As you walked closer, you noticed a hand reaching down to help you out of the claustrophobic space and into a dusty classroom that seems like it has been deserted for quite a while. The room was empty, aside from you and George who was now helping his brother up.

You waited until George closed the trapdoor and pulled a small worn out rug over it before you turned to your boyfriend.

“Before you ask, yes, we used the map” Fred beat you to it as he started explaining their little plan to help you escape.

Lee acted as a distraction as Fred helped you escape, George was to help you out of the trapdoor and then leave to notify Lee that the plan worked.

Your goofy little boyfriend managed to come up with a plan to ‘get you out’ of detention along with these two troublemakers. It won’t be long before McGonagall notices your absence, but your detention was just for show anyway, you doubted she’d punish you for this.  

But this was still escaping detention and it’s something that you never thought you’d ever do. You never even got in detention before you started dating Fred. You were never a saint, you liked to do be a little mischievous sometimes, but you always managed to keep your front as the model student.

But now, your beloved boyfriend was slowly turning you into a troublemaker as well, but you couldn’t say that you didn’t enjoy every exciting moment you spent with him.  

Masterlist | Share thoughts with me ☺

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Eye of the Storm

Warnings: nonconsensual sexual acts (tags to be added throughout series)

This is dark!Thor and explicit. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: You are a new servant at the palace of Asgard but the job isn’t so easy as you thought.

Note: So I have been wanting to start a Thor series for months but I also have this little devil on my shoulder @lokislastlove​ who is constantly in my ear so while I continue to play with my old series and try to finagle whole chapters, I present to you what will eventually be a very scary Thor.

Thank you. Love you guys!

As always, if you can, please leave some feedback, like and reblog <3

The palace was overwhelming in its splendor. You had never set foot in such a place and now it was to be your home. No, you weren't to live among the upper floors of nobles, but to serve them and reside with the other servants below. You couldn't complain as already the position was preferable to your former. You didn't miss the steam of the launderers down by the docks nor did you miss the smell of fish guts and worse things.

Melora was to share the thin hay-stuffed mattress with you in the servants' quarters and so it was also her task to accommodate you to your new duties. It was simple enough to clear away the plates and scraps of the wealthy and sweep away the dirt left behind by the soles of their polish boots and sandals. It wasn't some new and extraordinary mission, only the setting was different.

You first week was overwhelming only for all the new faces; servants and aristocrats alike. The latter swept by in their silky gowns and capes as you paused to show deference. You'd bend your knee and bow your head until they passed then resume your work in the corridor. You truly preferred the kitchen where there was little risk of encountering any of the noble Asgardians. One slip and you could be back to the docks or worse. 

Melora had already told you many stories of errant eyes and harsh consequences. Her former bed mate had scuffed the toe of Prince Loki's boots and was dismissed the next day. You wondered how long you would, or could, last. You'd just have to do what you did best, fade into the wall.

That night, the king, Thor, planned a feast to mark his late father's name day. It was to be a significant affair and the palace was alive with frenetic energy. Servants toiled below and nobles harried above to dawn the perfect attire for the occasion. 

You tended to the evening's meal along with the kitchen staff; several boars spitted for the occasion and mounds of vegetables pealed and speared on long skewers to roast. Casks of ale and wine were rolled in from the cellars and ewers shone as they were loaded onto carts along with stacks of golden plates, bowls, and goblets. You'd never seen such turmoil, not even when a storm crested just off the shore and the fishermen flurried to unload their wares should their ships be lost.

The hours flew by as the chores seemed endless and as the signal was given to start arranging platters, you were picked out with a dozen other girls to carry ewers filled with wine to the feast hall. Melora was just behind you, her toes whispered behind your heels as she kept close.

"We'll be serving for the night. It's tiresome, not a moment off your feet." She muttered. "Those nobles stomachs are as endless as their pockets."

You nodded, your voice locked deep in your chest. The hall glowed with glass lanterns that illuminated golden silk draped artfully from the columns around long trestle table lined with benches. You recalled the nicest dinner you'd ever attended was held by your mother when you were a child. Seasoned fish and carrots shoveled down in the small house behind the smithy.

Melora stopped you as you made to follow Irene to the north wall. She touched your arm and kept her voice low.

"We will keep an eye to these tables," She pointed the the three rows between you as she took her place beside a marble plinth, "Stay alert but don't let your eyes stray."

"Alright," You mumbled softly and hugged the ewer.

Scarlet table clothes draped the long tables and the golden dishes were set out precisely. You were distracted from your awe by movement near the doors. A man with a horn entered and placed his lips to his instrument. Voices rose from the corridors and the brass called to the approaching nobles, arriving from the ceremony held on the palace green

You lowered your eyes as the nobles entered in pairs and trios and larger groups. They trilled as they found a seat among the trestles and when all were upon the benches, the horn sounded again. The guests stood and quieted as they looked expectantly to the doors.

It was a moment before the king appeared. He wore his golden crown and formal cloak of a similar shade. You peeked at the hem of his cape but kept your chin down. You hadn't yet been in the presence of King Thor and you had been content to avoid him. The thought of it made you quiver. While he was known to many as a jovial king, you'd found that those rumours did not come from the lips of the palace staff. 

Music rose from the harps and fine lutes as the king's footfalls echoed through the hall. As he neared the table at the head of the chamber he turned and his people fell into an uproar. The applause was raucous if not overdone. You suspected that obligation was more the reason than admiration.

Well, it wasn’t your duty to surmise.

The king sat and the nobles followed suit. You mimicked Melora and the other servants as they walked the length of the table and filled the cups of guests. You went to the casks hidden behind a curtain at the rear of the hall and refilled your ewer before returning to your vigil. The hall burgeoned with the sound of scraping cutlery, buzzing voices, and booming laughter. For a moment, you envied them all. What was like to be them?

A cup raised and a call came for a drink. You diligently made your way along the table and filled the goblet. You glanced across as Melora did the same at the next table, just a little further down. A hand reached back and squeezed her ass. You blanched and righted the ewer. 

You retreated, eyes on the floor. What should you do if it happened to you? Melora only giggled and carried on. What if you overturned the pitcher? Well, Melora was rather pretty, perhaps it would not happen to you.

The night wore on as such, pouring and standing. You noticed that Melora was not the only servant prone to wandering fondles. None of the women seemed particularly bother however and tarried from their perches along the wall to act coy for the noblemen.

"Drink! Drink!" A deep voice called as a giggle chirped just in the next row. "Drink! Servant! Who will serve their king?"

Tho sounded as drunk as the next guest. You glanced over, just for a second, and took in his long golden hair and thick beard, the rosiness in his cheeks and the fire in his pale blue eyes. You looked around and none of the other servants seemed to hear him, they were all too distracted by the words and coins offered by the lascivious guests.

You blinked and hesitated. The wine sloshed in your ewer and you looked around once more. The king continued to call, growing increasingly irritated. You watched your feet as you turned and began down along the wall. You walked behind the line of chairs at the head table, fewer than the rest. Only Thor, his brother, and his closest friends had the honour.

Your heart was beating in your ears as you grabbed the handle of the ewer and lifted it from against your stomach. You saw the tail of his gold cloak, hung from the back of his chair, and his crown, sat beside his plate. You kept your head down as you stopped beside his chair. You squeaked first, your words garbled, then tried again.

"Your majesty?" You held up the ewer and he put his cup out toward you. You filled it and he rescinded it so quickly, some splashed over the rim onto his hand.

You bowed and backed away slowly. You heard a deep gulp as you focused on the legs of the chairs.

"Another, sweet maid," He called before you could get past the end of the table. 

He had drank so fast, you wondered how he did not keel over. You returned to him and filled his goblet again. He chuckled and took another drink.

"Your majesty," You repeated and took a step back.

"A shy one," He mused and you stopped. "I've not seen you before."

Your eyes rounded at the floor and your lashes fluttered.

"Me, your majesty?" You asked.

"Yes, you, I don't speak to my own brother," He scoffed. "So, are you new or have you hidden in the shadows?"

"I arrived at the palace only three weeks past, your majesty," You said.

He leaned on the arm of his chair and waved his fingers along the edge of your vision.

"Come closer or speak up," He urged. "I cannot hear you."

You swallowed and took a breath. You struggled to steady your voice.

"Your majesty." You said loudly.

"Well, you may look upon me, should you wish. It is not forbidden. Not looking, anyway." He drank again and held out his cup. You stepped closer to pour and watched the wine trickle from the ewer but still could not look up. "Very well. Your ears seems sharp enough. Stay close, I am thirsty."

You uttered another 'your majesty’ and carefully tiptoed away. You thought he would remand you once more; tell you how you had failed at the mere act of walking. He didn't and you backed up to the wall. You felt a warmth around you. He was still looking at you but you did not dare to raise your head. You did not dare to see what should happen if you did.

🌩️

The rest of the night was uneventful aside from the king’s lingering eyes. By the end, you suspected it was some sort of game. The same that all the other men in the room seem to be in on. The only difference was that your reticence made it little fun for either side. And in the end, there were a dozen other servants who would gladly accept the king’s ploys.

When the feast hall was empty, you remained with the rest of the servants and those who came from the kitchens to help clear the trestles and decorations. Like many of the others, Melora was still giddy from her flirtations and there was a slight jingle to her step as a few coins were nestled in her bosom. 

The next time there was such an event, you might request to remain in the kitchens. The very thought of those men touching you made you recoil and the memory of the king’s taunting gaze made you burn in humiliation. It was one thing to clean up after others, it was something else entirely to be mocked by them.

You were exhausted by the time you returned to your shared mattress. Melora whispered with Magga as you slung your arm over your head in hopes of tuning them out. It was so late that the morning arrived within a few hours and you woke with a heavy head. You pulled on your servant’s dress over your slip and belted it first with a plain strap of leather and then the apron you wore to mark your station.

You yawned as you went to fetch your broom and bucket. You were stopped by Agnes as you did, the older maid often sent you off where you were needed before ordering another to fix their cap or their dress. She caught the handle of your broom and snatched the bucket from you as you stared at her dumbly.

“The king has council this morning and I heard what Melora got up to last night.” Agnes took the broom and pail from you, “You will take her place and mind your place. You girls…” She sighed. “As quickly as you’ve come, you can go. I shouldn’t have to remind you so often.”

You nodded and she pursed her lips.

“Well, better go. You don’t want to be barging in in the midst of royal business,” She shook her head. “Remember to keep your mouth shut and your head down.”

You gave another silent affirmation and flitted past her. Melora rolled her eyes as she was handed your broom and you gave her a pitiful smile. You didn’t tarry to commiserate as you realised you had to find the council room on your own. You’d only passed it once in your short time in the palace and you weren’t quite trusting of your memory or sense of direction.

You went down the east corridor instead of the west as you reached the upper floor. When at last you righted your course and found your way, the chamber was empty. You placed the steins before the seats and poured the light ale in each. As you left the pitcher in on the side table, the door croaked and you turned to greet the first arrival.

Prince Loki entered with an arched brow. You bent and averted your eyes at once. You recited a quavering ‘your highness’ and he grumbled in response and sat. He let out a long breath and turned the stein before him with his long fingers.

“You haven’t any wine? Or in the least, water?” He asked.

“I brought some water as well but no wine, your highness,” You offered.

“Very well,” He shoved the stein away from him.

You poured him a glass of the water and he took it without platitude. He sipped and rubbed the arm of the chair as he leaned back and hooked one leg over the other.

“My brother and his cronies are ever late,” He sneered. “You might quit your hovering until they arrive.”

You bowed your head and backed up to the wall. The prince picked at his nails and fidgeted then another entered and he greeted him in monotone. Lord Geir sat heavy across from him and grabbed the stein impatiently. He was followed by Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun, Amund, and the solitary female, Sif. The king was last, almost a whole hour after his brother as he strode in and greeted the room with a booming jape.

Loki rolled his eyes and you caught yourself staring at the nobles. You sucked your lip in and listened as Thor sat and the wooden stein scraped on the table. 

“You all look well-rested,” He mused and a grumble rose from the table. “I must say I didn’t sleep much. Lady Dagny is rather persistent.”

“Brother,” Loki cleared his throat and shifted in his chair, “Shouldn’t we begin? You are already late and the day does pass us by.”

“Jealous?” Thor chuckled. “Oh, but you always were rather dull. I doubt you’d know what to do with her if she did venture to your bed.”

“This is a council meeting not one of your repugnant socials,” Loki drawled. “I’ve come here to tend to business but if you haven’t any business to tend, I will be on my way.”

“Don’t you fret, we will attend to business,” Thor declared and made a horrible squelch as he emptied his stein. “Once I get another ale.”

“Perhaps water would--”

“Ale,” Thor ignored his brother’s plea and waved his stein in the air.

You jolted away from the wall and took the pitcher from the table beside you. You swept around the table, head down in hopes the king did not recognize you, though you had faith he would not remember you, be it for his drunkenness or the sheer number of faces in the palace. You poured and uttered a “your highness” before you drew away.

You stood against the wall once more and stared at the back of the chair in front of you. Hogun’s shoulders slumped as he leaned on the left arm and yawned. You swore you were being watched but again did not look up. You assured yourself it was your paranoia. And after a night, you were certain it had been as much before. Thor was a king with much bigger concerns than a servant; especially you.

As promised, though with obvious reluctance, Thor began the session. You didn’t understand much of it and even if you did, it was difficult enough to listen to the dry discussion. You filled the cups as bid and kept your vigil by the wall. Your feet were sore from standing still for so long but so was the life of a servant. 

After two hours, the king gave his dismissal but not without a final disagreement with his brother who did not agree with some tax on lumber or another good. You hadn’t really followed. One by one, the council members trickled out. All but the king as he leaned back in his chair and belched.

“You’ve got more ale?” He asked.

“Your majesty,” You grabbed the jug again and neared. “Another stein at least.”

He waited silently as you poured the dregs of ale into his cup but he did not touch it. Your doubts were no longer so firm in your mind. He was most assuredly watching you. You made to back away and he raised his hand, his palm to you as he hummed.

“Stay.” He ordered. He sat forward and took the jug from you and put it on the long table. “Sit.”

You glanced over to the seat as he pointed to it. You didn’t move, too nervous, and just stared.

“Must I tell you again?” He warned.

You sat, almost falling as you did. Another “your majesty” rose out of habit.

“Look at me,” He planted his elbow on the table and he leaned forward and tried to look in your eye. “Sweet maid, look at me.”

You braced yourself and slowly lifted your head. As your eyes met his, a smile spread across his face. You blinked and your eyes fell just as soon as they’d risen. His arm slipped from the table and he grabbed your chin. He lifted your head and squeezed. You looked at him and took a deep breath. Your hands tangled in your lap as you went rigid in the chair.

“Does the sight of me offend you?” He asked.

“Wh-wh-- No, you’re majesty,” You stammered. “I only… Out of respect, I--”

“You have beautiful eyes,” He said softly, “I wouldn’t mind so much to have them upon me.”

Your brow crinkled despite yourself and he released you. He chuckled and grabbed his stein. He tilted it slightly towards you.

“Thirsty?” He asked. You shook your head. “Ah, you wouldn’t-- Other duties no doubt await you.” He took a swig and placed the cup down. “Be on your way then, sweet maid. I will not keep you from your diligence.” His eyes clung to you as you stood warily. “Your devotion is most admirable.”

“Your majesty,” You as good as whispered.

“I fear I haven’t your name,” He said.

You flinched and had to think. You were stunned by the simple request but managed to eke out your name. His smile grew and he nodded as he rubbed his knee thoughtfully. He said your name gently and nodded.

“I might see you again,” He said. “You do seem to be everywhere.”

[coffeestainsandcashmere]

Let No Man Steal Your Thyme - (older Dramione), Part Three

Wow! Thank you so much for your feedback and apparent enthusiasm for the previous parts, and for your excitement to see more in the future! I never imagined it’d get any traction, but I’m staggered and touched to see that people are enjoying it!

Here’s part three for you, as promised. I had written twice as much as this (around 7k in total) for part three, but I split it up into two. Part Four will go up tomorrow after I’ve given it another once-over. It’s tooth-rottingly adorable really. There’s pizza involved. And a little delving into the past.

Content warnings for part three: unexpected run-in with Ron, passing mention of past alcohol abuse (Ron), and general prejudices against Slytherins. Again, this isn’t supposed to be a Ron-bashing story, but relationships do break down when fundamental beliefs don’t align. If I seem harsh on Ron, I don’t really mean to be. Hermione also isn’t perfect or unbiased, but she has perhaps slightly more reason to be upset with him than he does with her. It will all be explained in a later part, I promise, but it has been hinted at already in the previous two parts.

Part One | Part Two

___

Friday found her lingering awkwardly in the Ministry’s echoing Atrium, waiting for Theo to come out of his last meeting of the day, up on level five. The problem with being the former Minister for Magic - and one so famously young - was that quite literally everyone knew who she was. So far, in the ten minutes she’d been standing there, a seemingly ceaseless line of twittering assistants and employees had come cringing up to her to ask if she needed anything.  

She’d just sent the latest one packing with a tight-lipped ‘no, thank you. I’m just waiting for a friend,’ when someone cleared their throat behind her, and a familiar voice made her heart clench and her breath come short for half a moment.

“’Mione? What are you doing here?”

“Hi, Ron,” she sighed, even before she turned to face him.  

In the decade or so since their divorce, he’d actually done pretty well for himself. Gone was the lingering paunch that had crept in towards the tail end of his quidditch career, and now he looked… well, quite frankly, he looked really good. He reminded her of Charlie Weasley a little, with floppy, roguish hair and a surprisingly lean figure once more. Becoming the coach of an internationally-recognised quidditch team suited him, clearly. That, and a happier, second marriage with Lavender, she supposed.  

“How are you?” she asked, trying not to sound too stiff and failing abysmally.  

“Good,” he said, rocking back on his heels for a moment with his hands shoved into his pockets. “What, uh, what brings you here then? Miss the place too much?” he asked with a little snort of laughter.

“Hardly, Ron,” she said with perhaps a little too much feeling. “No, I’m waiting for Theo.”

At the mention of Theo’s name, Ron’s eyes darkened. “Why?” he blurted.  

“Why? Because he’s my friend, Ronald,” she said. “And what are you doing here? Come to blag your way out of another ‘drunk and disorderly in possession of a broomstick’, hmm?”  

She knew even as she said it that her snide comment was uncalled for, and that she was being disproportionately petty, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. Something about his lingering, bone-deep resentment of the people with whom she chose to associate these days just brought out the worst in her even now. She wasn’t proud of it. In her defence though, how many times had he tried to use the whole ‘The Minister for Magic is my wife’ ploy to get out of scrapes like that in the past?

Ron’s freckled face flushed at that. “I’m clean and sober now, Hermione,” he said. “Have been for the past five years, which you’d know if you ever came to any of Harry’s dinners. We used to be the ‘Golden Trio’ for fuck’s sake…”

Very quietly, and with what she thought was a remarkable degree of renewed self-control, Hermione said, “Excuse me for not wanting to intrude on your happy family, Ron. I am pleased to hear that though. That’s no small achievement. Congratulations.”

“But you’d still rather go scuttling off with the Slytherins instead of having dinner with me and Harry?” he said, eyes flashing.  

There it was. There was the comment — the little dig at her choices — that she’d been waiting for ever since she’d mentioned Theo’s name. 

“I hear that you and that lot are pretty tight now. Even dragged Neville into it.”

Her already-simmering outrage crept a degree or two hotter beneath the surface, and Hermione blinked rapidly. “‘Dragged’ Neville? Is that what you call his perfectly healthy and happy relationship with Pansy?”

“He wouldn’t have had anything to do with her if it wasn’t for you and Nott meddling. He’d have settled down with Hannah instead of leaving her for some Slytherin trust-fund bitch. You know she’s still heartbroken about it?”

Her eyebrows rose. That wasn’t how it had happened at all, though she knew Hannah was still upset, and she’d just opened her mouth to say so when she felt the prickle of other people’s eyes on them.

“I’m not discussing this, Ron, and I’m certainly not starting something here in the Ministry Atrium, for God’s sake,” she said, turning away. Her ears were starting to ring as her magic crackled inside her and she took a long, steadying inhale to try and calm down. People were indeed starting to stare, and she thought she glimpsed Gabriella Guile lurking near the sandwich shop with one of Rita Skeeter’s bloody ‘Quick-Quotes Quills’ hovering at the ready. “Please, Ron.”

He stepped in close and snarled, “Well, at least some of us still remember where our loyalties lie.”

Hermione saw red at that and spun back round to face him, eyes flashing and hair expanding like a Devil’s Snare. “Loyalty?” she spat. “You — you of all people — want to lecture me about loyalty?!”

Clearly he hadn’t followed that thought through to its conclusion before opening his mouth. He turned beetroot red and took half a step back, hands up defensively. “Look, Mione, I’m sorry. I didn’t come over to start another fight. It’s not like I expected to see you here - you don’t even work here anymore, and it’s not like we hang out or anything. How was I to know?” He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m meeting Harry when he gets off work and we’re going for a drink at the Leaky. Let’s... Lets just forget it, ok?”

A hand landing gently but firmly between her shoulders made her jump and she whipped round to find Theo standing behind her, looming over her from his six-foot-something height. “Alright, love?” he asked in a steady baritone without taking his eyes off Ron.  

“Ready to go,” she said tartly. “Say hi to Harry for me, Ron.”

And with that, they left the Ministry by floo for Theo’s.  

As she stepped out of the swirling green flames of the fancy, Mayfair town-house’s marble fireplace only a moment or so behind him, she found Daniel rising from the sofa to greet Theo with a kiss, and once Theo had moved off through the house to hang up his cloak, he opened his arms to hug her warmly.

Dan, always a pleasure,” she said. “How are you?”  

The unexpected meeting with Ron left her oddly rattled. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen him at all in the decade since the divorce - his little sister was her own best friend, and she’d met Bill Weasley on more than one occasion during her time at the Ministry, but still, to see him doing so well for himself and to see him so happy should have made her pleased. After all the years of shared friendship that she genuinely cherished, she should have been happy for him.  

Instead it galled and made her uncharacteristically bitter to know that he had everything he wanted now and he still couldn’t resist trying to rubbish the few things she had left of value in her life. Theo and Daniel were among her closest friends, and to her surprise, the rest of the Slytherins had adopted her into their little group without question.  

“Let’s start a bit early, shall we?” Theo chimed as he re-entered the living room with three champagne flutes and a bottle of something French and no doubt eye-wateringly expensive floating in front of him. Since that left his hands free, he began undoing his cuff links as he walked. “The others should be here soon enough anyway, and I just closed a deal with the Ministère des Affaires Magiques de la France that I’ve been trying to hash out all year. Yay me.”

His flawless French accent made Hermione smile. Everything just seemed so easy and natural to Theo; it might have enviable if he weren’t such an affable sweetheart to go with it.  

“Yay you,” Daniel chuckled, eyes glittering with affection as Theo handed Hermione a very full glass. “To my brilliant husband.”

Two hours later, amid the happy murmur of conversation that now filled the gorgeous, airy ground floor, Hermione looked up as the floo whooshed and Draco Malfoy stepped out. She’d begun to think he wasn’t going to show, and when she caught sight of him, a weight unexpectedly lifted from her chest. Something, at least, was going right today.

He had a heavy, black cloak around his shoulders and a bundle of brown paper parcels under one arm, printed with the logos of various Diagon Alley shops, though it was well past most of their closing times. She wondered where he’d been in the meantime, but didn’t want to pry.  

Whether out of surprise or curiosity, the chatter in the living room sputtered out a little at his arrival before Pansy rose to her feet and flung her arms around his neck. “Draco, darling!” she laughed as she air-kissed his winter-pink cheeks and hissed melodramatically in his ear — loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear —, “I’m so glad you came; Blaise owes me ten galleons. He said you wouldn’t come.”

Draco twitched his lips fondly into something that was almost a smirk and unclasped his cloak as she stepped away from him. He folded it up neatly atop the parcels beside the now-still fireplace and shot her a look. “Glad to know how much my company is worth these days, Pans,” he drawled.  

As he straightened, Hermione actually sank her teeth into her lower lip at the way his bespoke charcoal grey suit fitted him, accentuating his long, lean figure, with narrow hips and broad shoulders. He looked every bit the successful businessman while she was slouching around in the jeans and mauve hoodie she’d thrown on in the back room after closing the bookshop for the day. No wonder Pansy had given her an affectionately pitying grimace when she’d greeted her earlier.  

Theo rose gracefully from his seat beside her on the sofa to join Draco and Pansy by the hearth, and he hugged Draco fondly, murmuring something in his ear. The two were almost a match in height, though where Theo’s hair was a warm, copper-streaked, chocolate brown and his skin a tanned, freckled olive, Draco’s hair and skin were almost as colourless as the marble fireplace behind him.  

When Draco drew back this time, he spotted Hermione over Theo’s shoulder. He offered her a slow incline of his head, and allowed a clinking tumbler of whisky and ice to be pressed into his hand by Theo.  

Hermione wasn’t really sure quite what she’d been expecting from Draco when she’d invited him to join Theo’s usual Friday night drinks. Whatever it had been though, it wasn’t the thoughtful, considerate conversationalist she now found engaging Neville in detailed discussion about the disadvantages of farming dittany commercially. For some reason, Draco’s icy exterior and apparently reclusive behaviour had made her think he might be socially awkward, but apparently one can’t train the upper-class manners out of someone once it’s been bred into their bloodline for umpteen generations, even after a dusty decade of disuse. Further to her surprise, he actually seemed genuinely interested in what Neville had to say about the difference in potency between rare, wild-harvested dittany and the farmed stuff.  

Meanwhile, she just sat on the sofa with Neville on her left and Theo on her right, and only half-listened to the talk around her, not participating at all.  

Despite everyone’s obvious enjoyment of the gathering, Hermione found herself unable to muster any of her usual social enthusiasm, and remained in pretty subdued silence. After a while, Neville politely excused himself to find Pansy, with an earnest promise to follow up on something or other for Malfoy, and his seat was not reoccupied.  

In the lull, Malfoy took the opportunity to lean across the space from his armchair to the sofa and murmur, “Everything alright, Granger?”  

From beside her, Theo looked round and slung his arm causally over her shoulders and squeezed. “Hermione had a small run in with her ex-husband in the middle of the Ministry Atrium.”

Draco’s eyes flashed and his lip curled minutely.

“Nothing dramatic, but the prick had the nerve to insinuate that Slytherins make for poor company. Luckily, dear Hermione reminded him that we’re not all still twelve years old...”

She managed a smile at that. “Don’t let me rain on your party, Theo, but I think... I think I will head home now.”

“Feel free to floo,” he breezed, waving the hand that had been around her shoulders with a flash of the gold signet ring on his little finger, “But obviously I’d much rather you stay and drink yourself into a giggling stupor again... It’s been far too long since that happened.”

“You drink yourself into a giggling stupor every Friday, Theo. I’m sure you can manage to do it again on my behalf tonight. I’d love to stay, but it’s all getting a bit... loud now anyway...” she said vaguely. “I think I’ll walk home.”

Theo just nodded and gave her an affectionate little wink that would have looked corny on anyone half as charming. “Take care of yourself, sweetheart. Say hello to whatever your book-du-jour is for me. Will it be Emily or Charlotte this time?”

Draco frowned in confusion and she laughed a little. “Charlotte.”  

Still cleanly nonplussed, Malfoy looked from Theo to Hermione before Theo grinned at him. “Brontë,” he said conspiratorially. “Muggle author.” He looked back to Hermione and said, “Means it’s an evening with dear Jane Eyre then. Haven’t you read that a hundred times?”

“More, probably,” she chuckled, standing. “Goodnight, Draco. I’m glad you came. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

He nodded, looking slightly winded for some reason, and offered nothing else.  

After saying goodbye to a few people, and finding that Pansy had somehow managed to drape herself successfully across Neville’s lap despite the fact that he was sitting on a bar stool of all things, Hermione headed for the front door and slipped out into the night alone.  

With her coat still over the crook of one arm despite the biting wind, she made her way from Theo’s cushy house out into wider Muggle London, and from there she began to meander.  

Just as she crossed the boundary into Hyde Park, she heard running feet and someone calling her name. To her surprise, she turned and found Malfoy loping along the pavement after her.

Halting, she waited for him to catch up and looked curiously up at him. His pale cheeks were flushed pink again from the bout of light exercise, his breath billowed white, and his hair seemed to glow like burnished silver in the harsh light of the street lamps. It was hard to doubt the rumours of him being part Veela in moments like that.  

“What is it, Malfoy?” she asked when he didn’t articulate the reason for his hasty journey. “Did I forget something?”

“No, I —“ he faltered and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. The motion ruffled his hair into something altogether softer and more attractive. He cut it much shorter at the sides now but left the top longer, and it had an attractive wave to it that had once been oiled out of existence in his earlier years at Hogwarts. “I thought — ach, this was a stupid idea.”

“What do you mean? What was a stupid idea?”

“I thought I’d come after you and see if you were alright. You looked fucking miserable back there, Granger.”

“You taught your son foundation spellwork with that mouth, Malfoy?” she countered, slightly staggered by his apparent thoughtfulness. This was not the Malfoy she remembered at all, and it was gratifying to find that her experience of him over lunch had not been a one-off.

He smirked and the effect was disarming in a way it never had been at Hogwarts. “I do try not to swear around him, but if he’s learnt something uncouth, I couldn’t promise it didn’t come from me. Or Theo. Actually it’s more likely to have come from Theo.”

She laughed suddenly. “Your little mandrake,” she sighed.

Something odd passed across his face and he stuffed his hands into his jacket pocket. “Salazar’s balls,” he cursed. “It’s colder out here than I thought.”

Wandlessly, she murmured a spell to extend the radius of her own extant warming charm to surround them both. “Better?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled. “Left my cloak and stuff back at Theo’s.”

Hermione smiled and gestured with the arm holding her coat. “I’d offer you mine, but I’m not sure even you could pull off a Muggle women’s rain mac that’s several sizes too small for you.”

“Oh I don’t know,” he said. “I think I could transfigure it into something… workable.”

“You sound just like Theo and Dan and Pansy,” she groaned. “They’re always threatening to take me shopping. I’m terrified to let them loose on my wardrobe. I’m afraid I’ll never see another pair of comfy jeans again!”

“Don’t listen to them. The way you dress is just fine,” he said easily. “Besides, you give that lot an inch and they’ll take a mile. You should always stand your ground, especially against Pansy…”

“Well, I’ve got Nev on my side too,” she said. “Though even I have to admit that she’s had a positive effect on his wardrobe. Maybe I should let her take me shopping after all... I probably couldn’t afford the places she shops though,” she laughed, then looked up to find an odd light in Malfoy’s grey eyes. “You really came haring through London after me just to check I was alright?”

“And walk you home if you’d like,” he added. “But I’ll leave you in peace if I’m imposing. Heavens know you’ve had one pushy bloke to deal with already today...”

“The last thing I think of you right now is ‘pushy’, Malfoy. I think you’re very kind to come after me.”

He looked away at that and a private smile graced his lips. Bloody hell though; where some people’s looks seemed to have been watered down with age, Malfoy’s features had been honed and refined by time into something akin to a masterpiece, with high, sharp cheekbones and a slim, and clearly very fit and healthy, figure. It made her stomach swoop and ache again in a way she hadn’t felt in years. It also made her feel a little self-conscious of the softer curves she was carrying around her hips, arms, and lower stomach these days. Hefting books around kept her strong, but a largely sedentary life in the bookshop wasn’t doing wonders for her once-svelte figure, it had to be said.  

He nudged his elbow out a few inches and she smiled, taking the offer and sliding her fingers into the crook of his arm.  

They set off and walked slowly, aimlessly, along the walkways of Hyde Park, and for a long time neither of them spoke. A cyclist shot past them at one point, and Malfoy watched him disappear into the distance with an inquisitive frown, as if trying to figure out how it could possibly function. He never said anything though, and they carried on, warmed by Hermione’s spell and encased in an oddly amicable silence.  

It was Malfoy who broke the silence at last. “You find this strange, Granger?” he asked, glancing down at her.  

Her breath caught as she stared up into those full-moon eyes of his; bright and silver and so god-damned intense. Gone was the pinched look of fear and insecurity lingering in the corners. Gone was the cruel, steely glint. The lines of his face were still hard and severe, and he carried a hefty frown most of the time, and that trademark pointy chin was still there, but he really had grown up, inside and out, and it showed.  

“Strange?” she croaked. “What, you and me walking arm in arm through Hyde Park at seven in the evening?”

“Mmm,” he nodded.  

“A little,” she admitted as she looked ahead up the path. “A little.”

.

Part Four

___

As before, if you like where it’s going and want to see more, do let me know! I will post it on Tumblr as I write it, and once it’s all complete, I’ll plop it onto AO3 in one go. That way keeps the pressure off a bit, I think? Anyway, let me know if you’re enjoying it, and why, either by reblogging this or sending me an ask

writing masterlist | Ao3

[fallen029]

In the Know

“I like it when you smile like that.”

And those words, immediately, brought the atypical lifting of the man’s lips back down as his face turned more into a scowl and the man found himself asking, “What do you mean? ‘Like that’?”

“I mean,” Mirajane said with a bright grin as she lingered for a moment before the man’s table, a tray of empty mugs balanced on one hand while the other reached out to ghost just over his scarred eye,”that I like how soft and genuine it looks. When you smile like that?”

Snorting, Laxus remarked, “What’s there to smile about? Huh? Sitting in this dusty old place?”

“Well, I dunno,” Mira remarked, glancing around the hall in question, fighting herself to not take offense to the implication that building she worked so hard to maintain might be viewed as dusty. Still, eyes alight, she insisted, “Must be something.”

“Hardly,” he retorted and, as she continued on with a bit of a shrug, the man only took to hunching up his own shoulders and glared down, instead, into his beer.

Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow, who’d been uncomfortably observing this interaction as they sat at the table in silent contemplation. It wasn’t exactly unknown, the fact the demon and slayer was something of friends, but it was odd, to say the least, to see the two of them do more than trade general conversation. The slight grin on the man’s face hadn’t been lost of them either, Bickslow having assumed it was for the humorous aside he was conveying so well while Freed thought it was due to the adventure the trio had just returned from, framing the story the seith was relaying.

Evergreen however was hardly as slow on the uptake as her male counterparts.

She’d followed Laxus’ gaze more than once in the past few months and found it, frequently, glued to the head barmaid. This was hardly anything new for most of the male (and some female) populous of the guild. Though it might pain her to admit it, Evergreen was aware of just how attractive the other woman was and the certain hold she had over others. Surely, there were many beauties in Fairy Tail, but in certain ways, Mirajane seemed to reign supreme.

She checked all the boxes for most of the miscreants that found themselves sporting them emblem desired. She was cute, overly kind, served them cold beer and warm food all while plastering a smile on her face that fooled them just enough into opening their wallets perhaps a bit too much.

Evergreen could dislike the woman in some regards while still admitting her game was nearly flawless.

But Laxus was hardly one of the men to be fooled into the fantastical beginnings of a relationship with the barmaid. He respected her, fine, and seemed to view her as a more worthy ally. And fine, yes, men could be stupid at times, fanciful in ways comparable to women, with ideas of relationships or, well, at least relations.

Men could be stupid.

Most of the time.

She felt something had changed though, recently, and it wasn’t readily visible to those who didn’t know the man as well as she. Because she did know him well, Laxus. In a way, perhaps, only the two other members of the Thunder Legion could counter.

Evergreen was far from in love with Laxus, at least in the way that mattered most (he wasn’t nearly...muscular enough for her, as it were), but she did spend a considerable amount of time hanging on the man’s every word and this had more than given her an insight into his psyche.

As the slayer glared down into his ale, she only eyed the woman, across the bar now, refilling mugs and chatting with her sister, seemingly nonchalant over the interaction that had just taken place. Laxus seemed uninterested himself, in mentioning it again that evening, merely finishing one more beer for taking off for the night.

But he’d be back, the next day, something that in times past wouldn’t be the case. Laxus was known to hang around the hall very infrequently, just long enough to drink for a night and grab a job to last him for the next few. He was hardly a barfly and mostly seemed to see his presence in the hall as, while more pleasant than in years past, hardly a common occurrence.

He’d changed in that regard as well, the last month or two, and the Thunder Legion was right there with him, drinking and goofing off some, on Bickslow’s end at least, as he creeped on some of the women in the guild. All in good fun, he assured Freed, who frequently sighed and buried his head in his hands, when his best friend crossed the line more than once. Ever, however, had split intentions that day, spending the majority of it needling Elfman Strauss into all sorts of knots as he attempted to navigate the impossible conversations she was throwing down, but also keeping an eye out for the man’s oldest sister.

Or, at least, as she related to Laxus.

It happened much the same as the other day. Very minimal conversation between the two of them, the demon and slayer, with her delivering him booze the same as she would any other and him replying in well enough satisfaction with the action. It was boring shit, to be honest, and after a few drinks herself, Ever was far more interested in her own romantic entanglements and, through listening to Elfman’s droning on about something stupid, she just about missed it, when Laxus and Mira’s interaction altered a bit.

“There it is. Back again.”

Mirajane was leaning over the table this time, her face nearly in the slayers, and it seemed that this moment was beyond most everyone else, who were distracted by a loud argument Natsu and Gray were getting into on the other side of the bar, but Evergreen caught the woman’s words over the commotion.

Laxus was grinning into the barmaid’s eyes, his head resting in one of his palms as he seemed unconcerned with the finger the woman was sticking out now, no longer ghosting, but truly tracing over his scarred eye. He shut it, instinctively, and she pressed down harder, zigging and zagging over his flesh.

“When you smile like that,” Mira offered as she lifted her finger and he blinked into her own grin, “it almost looks like you’re winking at me.”

“What do I gotta smile about?” he asked, much as he had the previous day. “Huh?’

Mira wasn’t given a chance to answer. At the exact moment she was forming her mouth to, there was a stray, empty mug tossed at her head, thrown by the just drunk enough to miss Gray by a mile Natsu. There was a pause after this, as everyone glanced Mira’s way and, though it had been a shock to be hit and would no doubt leave something a lump, the panic that ran through her was more related to all the gazes she and the slayer had in that moment. There had always been something fun about it, flaunting in front of the others something that they didn’t know, but now, so close to being outted, Mira looked just as stricken as the rising lump on her head.

Tensing, Laxus was less concerned with that and felt something close to possessiveness as, while Mira more than could hold her own, even against the fucking Salamander, the woman he was not so clearly involved with had just been slighted and he was rather inclined to defend her. But that too felt as if it would be a blatant step in the direction of revealing more than they were willing and as he stood, glaring over at Natsu, it was hard a hard debate, whether or not he should pummel the man into the ground.

Though it seemed to last many, the moment was in fact fleeting and, as Laxus and Mira seemed stuck on what to do next, Evergreen decided, on a whim, to help them out.

“Elfman!” And she slapped at his arm. “Natsu just hurt your sister. What are you going to do about it?”

A lot.

And as the now enraged oaf turned his heavy gaze away from Mira and Laxus and instead onto the guild’s favorite fire mage who bucked up immediately at the chance of tangling with his best friend’s older brother.

The whole guild joined into the fight, quickly, as Elfman tossed more than a few others out of his way to get at the Salamander and it was all good fun, or at least would be, when the day was looked back on, but it was a full-blown brawl that night. Which was a good thing, for the demon and slayer, the former quickly attempting to calm the tensions in the bar while the latter made his escape, tossing some jewels on the table before leaving quickly through the thick front doors, mostly undetected. Even Bickslow and Freed were caught up, at least momentarily, in scuffles of their own, and Evergreen might have taken time out to either participate or judge, but instead she found herself quickly heading after her idol, only calling out to him only once they were both safely off the Fairy tail grounds, outside the guild’s wrought iron gates.

“Yeah?” he grumbled a bit at the sound of his name, turning merely because the voice it belonged to was one of his closest friends. Still, his tone was less than friendly and his cheeks even looked a bit tinted, perhaps rosy from the freezing temps outside (or maybe something else entirely), as he griped, “What do you want?”

Evergreen felt her own cheeks heating up and couldn’t quite meet the man’s eyes as she wasn’t really sure what she wanted to say to him. What had happened back in the bar felt like the final confirmation she needed as to the hidden relationship’s actuality. Still, to confront Laxus with it, the man who she so admired and revered, felt odd.

In what was was there any shame in it? Being with the oldest Strauss sibling? Evergreen could think of a few reasons, personally, but she doubted most others would agree with them, and it felt odd to call him out on something that he so clearly wanted to keep private.

And yet…

It was a hard fought thing between the trio of the Thunder Legion, as they attempted to not only win the favor of the man, but also be more in the know about all of the secrecy by which the slayer shielded himself. To know something that the other two didn’t, even if she was the only one aware of her insider info, well…

Well…

“A thanks,” Evergreen decided to remark, “would be nice.”

“A thanks?” Laxus snorted. “What are you talking about?”

“You know…”

“I know what?”

And the man was never known for making things easy on others.

“Just that…I get it.” Ever sighed and she was able, finally, to meet the man’s eyes as, on some level, she felt they were equals, at least in this very specific thing. “The Strausses are...weird, but… There’s something special about them too, I guess. Don’t you think?”

At her last word, the woman took to winking, quite heavily and obviously, quite pleased with herself it seemed...until she noticed how strangely Laxus began staring at her.

“Uh,” he began, taking a bit of a step back, “do you have something in your eye? Or something?”

“N-No!” Frowning then, she took a step back as she defended, “I was winking. At you. Laxus.”

“Why?”

“Because…” And she couldn't tell if it was put on or not, the man’s confusion. If he was truly spending time with the eldest Strauss, then it stood to reason he might pick up on her skills at coyness. “I just meant… When you smile a certain way, it kinda looks like you’re winking. You can see your whole scar. The lightning. It’s nice.”

He didn’t wink for her. Or smile. Only narrowed his eyes some before taking a step towards the woman and saying, “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, Ever. And neither do you. So go back to sniffing around Elfman’s drunken ass and I’ll forget this ever happened. Alright?”

She wanted to turn back then. Head into the guildhall and do as he said. Drink with the others and pretend all of this had never happened. Save face. Go back to observing, if even that, from afar.

Stop Laxus from potentially being angry with her.

But there was something inside of her that felt like this was an important moment. One that if she let slip away now would never found itself coming back around again. The idea that she had something socially in common with the man, something neither Bickslow nor Freed could boast, yet Laxus was denying her the right to claim it…

“I’m not going to tell anyone, Laxus,” she assured the man softly, staring up into his eyes while her own remained round. “At all.”

And he was challenged then, at least somewhat, as the woman stood her ground. Usually this would be met with some blowing of his top, but perhaps the demon was having some sort of affect on the man as, after a deep breath, he didn’t choose to further argue, but instead be the one to take a step back.

Huffing, Laxus said simply, “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. And I’m headed outta town, so tell the other two that I won’t be around for training in the morning. Got that?”

She nodded, Ever did, softly and somewhat sadly as he was forcing it to pass, the moment, whether she consented or not. The slayer turned his back and went to walk on, fluffy coat fluttering in the wind. That would be the end of it, the woman of stone was certain, but just as she reached up tot toy with her glasses and collect herself once more, Laxus did pause.

But just like the scene back inside the bar, it was only for a moment.

With a glance over his shoulder, he did manage to grumble out, “Thank you. Evergreen.”

Her chest swelled and she saw stars, but this unfortunately caused her to miss her opportunity to remark anything back to him. By the time she regained the ability, it seemed to have passed her by, with Laxus too far down the street to call out to, headed around a corner now, and maybe it was for the best.

She shouldn’t press her luck.

Back inside the bar, the brawl was calming down and while the more injured were looked over by the less, Evergreen found Elfman over by the bar, helping Mirajane ice a growing knot atop her head.

“He got you one good, sis,” Elfman grumbled softly, as if he spoke too loudly, surely the fighting would all recommence, “but I sure socked him one just as good.”

“Mmm,” Mira sighed, distracted it seemed, as she held a baggie of ice to her head, more focused on scanning around the guildhall than anything else. Looking for someone. But he was long gone by now. “I’m sure Natsu didn’t mean to, you know, Elfman.”

“A real man,” her brother retorted, “only does exactly what he means.”

“I’m not sure what that means,” Mira admitted, but Elfman only nodded at this.

“Well,” he assured her, “you’re not a man, so-”

“Nice going, Elfman,” Evergreen intervened, seemingly tired of listening to the two bumbling siblings speak. As the pair glanced at her, she only narrowed her eyes at the younger, remarking, “You scared off Laxus.”

He frowned at the woman for her complaint before shrugging and muttering, “Good.”

But as Ever was ready to rebuke him for this, Mira took to sighing loudly, cutting off the other woman’s reply.

“He left?” she asked with a frown.

“Skipped out on his bill, I’d bet,” Elfman kept up because Ever had snapped at him, multiple times that day, and that meant that he had to hit her where it hurt the most; insult Laxus.

But she didn’t seem too concerned with the man’s antics that day, instead focusing an odd amount of energy on his sister, watching the woman silent for a minute before something odd settled in her stomach. Something that Evergreen wasn’t quite used to.

Was this pity?

Or something more?

It was rare that she felt exceptionally close to other women (it was difficult for her, most of the time, to even interact with them), but something about the slight look of disappointment on Mirajane’s face, stemming from a supposed love, really made it difficult for the typical woman of stone not to crack, if only slightly.

She’d been there before.

Not with Elfman. He was rather easy to drag around without any threat of self-harm. But she’d been with other men, not unlike Laxus. Ones who would leave you in the dust over the smallest of things, running off to find new adventures in the wake of any little argument.

You weren’t important to them.

And Evergreen, while she knew Laxus treated women much the same, was slightly unnerved to find out that even the highly coveted Mirajane Strauss wasn’t enough to tie the man down.

“I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” she offered softly and Mirajane turned her gaze to the other woman then, smiling sweetly as she could only shrug.

“Oh, I’m not worried,” she assured Ever. “I’m sure he left enough jewels for his tab. And if not, I’ll catch him next time.”

Ever only continued to stare though, hard, as if hoping to catch the woman breaking. But it didn’t occur. And soon enough, Freed and Bickslow were done with their standard back and forths and now needed her to add in her own sentiments. Plus, Elfman would not be ignored for long.

Not to mention, it was about time for more wine.

So it was easy for her to forget all about Mira and Laxus’ supposed romance; for the moment. It would all come back to her, of course, the next morning and days following, as she considered if she’d truly observed what she thought and if it meant more, even, than she surmised, or if she was wildly off base and only fueling unfounded delusions.

But Mirajane didn’t have to wait weeks for the slayer to return to find out exactly what had gone on. Rather, it was that exact night, well after closing, once the head barmaid had sent her younger sister and Kinana home, leaving herself to clean up all alone.

She was hardly alone for long however.

The hour was late when the guildhall doors creaked open softly. Mirajane, busy counting out the register for the night, didn’t even glance up, call out to come back tomorrow. No. Mira knew exactly who it was that was slinking in that night and she didn’t hide it as well now, all alone, just the two of them, as a smile spread across her face.

Laxus had sobered up the past few hours it seemed and his eyes felt more concentrated, as they smoldered on the woman. As he strode into the bar, his coat hung loosely from his arms, and he felt much the same as the woman, even if he was still, even alone, hiding it.

“Place was a mad house this morning,” he finally spoke as he didn’t come over to her at the bar, but rather, went to examine the job board. “Bunch’a nobodies doin’ nothing to make themselves somebodies.”

Looking back down at her last bit of jewels to count out, Mira replied simply, “You shouldn’t speak so ill of your fellow members, you know. Laxus.”

“I’ll speak however I want.” Still, he did roll his shoulders a bit, as if expecting some sort of rebuke for this. “Mira.”

One didn’t come though. Instead, only silence. And, after glancing over the last job, he finally glanced towards the woman, not shocked to find her done with the counting it seemed and instead heading over to him.

At his side, she didn’t comment on his snarky comments and instead only reached out to snag one of the two S-Class jobs hanging before them before, with a sigh, handing it over to him. Laxus, having already read over them, knew the distance this would put between them and only nodded, softly and solemnly, before pocketing it.

Sighing some, Mira offered him, “You must be pretty important, getting to come in here after hours and all. Take whatever job you want. Boarders on expulsion levels, I would think.”

“I’ve done worse.”

“You have.”

“And I am important,” he reminded her simply. “I’m Laxus Dreyar.”

Mira nodded before adding, “Yeah. But that’s not why you’re important.”

He broke.

Finally.

Turning slightly, he caught the woman’s eyes and as she blinked up at him, he only smiled, fully and uncharacteristically, bowing his head some to nuzzle it against the top of hers.

“Won’t be long,” he assured her though, as the one to file the job, she for certain knew this to be a lie. “Demon.”

“it never is,” she agreed though he was very aware, every second he spent away, just how lengthy each and every job was. “Dragon.”

A moment had more than come in went, perhaps quite a few of them, before he retreated some, shrugging as he remarked, “If I head out now, I can make a few towns before the sunrise. Catch a train and snooze for awhile.”

She nodded some, remarking absently, “I’m sure you won’t get much sleep. On a train and all.”

Briefly, he thought of the queasy feeling he could get at times, from the slightest of motions, and had to fully shake his head to free his mind of the thoughts.

“You’ll wait for me, won’t you?” he questioned then, having taken another step back, but still just staring at her, expectantly. “Mira?”

She pretended to think momentarily, tilting her head back as she brought a finger up to her lip, tapping it against the pink flesh before nodding her head, “I guess so. Laxus. What else can I do?”

A lot, he knew, and it frightened him every time.

Still, he only remarked, “Not much,” before winking at her, just slightly, now no one to be caught by, but the gesture brief all the same. As she grinned, he assured her, “I love you, you know.”

“Yeah.” Mira could still only nod though, slowly, her vision went back to the now empty spot, where an S-Class job once hung, now barren and leaving the other alone. “I know.”

[alittlebitgoofy]

glass wings chapter 6 (lemonjuice)

took a lil bit but chapter 6 is here with 7 being mostly done, just needing more work and editing. i've been really excited for where this is going, i hope people enjoy :)

thanks to emerald for betaing they do be very entertaining

ao3 link

“You’ve gotten better! Try to relax more, though, let yourself feel the power before you use it.” Jan held back a laugh. Lemon had a lot of skill, but no patience to let it build up before doing something. She picked things up quickly, but the lack of attention after a short while was a little concerning.

“That sounds like a lot of effort,” Lemon whined, her eyes glued to her hands, still sparkling as she’d managed to teleport herself and Jan.

“You’re not good at that are you? Paying attention to people or focusing on things.”

“I’m also not good with people!” Lemon looked thoughtful before blurting out a response with a grin. She shrugged, it was something she’d always struggled with so why be negative about it? Though the positivity masked something darker, she wouldn’t let her self-doubt seep into this. It could bottle up and come out at a more reasonable time than when she was trying to pay attention to Jan’s teachings.

“I can tell, that’s not a thing to boast about.”

Jan shook her head, though they hadn’t known each other for that long, Lemon had become a little sister of sorts. They had a lot of similarities in their level of energy and excitement for small things nevertheless Jan could calm herself when needed. Maybe it was due to having a few years of life experience on the smaller girl.

“Maybe it is! Me and Juice have that in common.” It wasn’t surprising how she managed to bring up her best friend. Throughout their conversations, Lemon couldn’t help but bring Juice up every now and then. She had a big impact on the pixie although she wouldn’t admit it to her, knowing how smug Juice would get for succeeding in trying to calm the troublemaker.

“You and Juice have a lot in common, Lem. She’s a bit calmer than you though.” Jan lightly elbowed her in the arm, laughing at the overdramatic squeal she let out.

The noise alerted Rock, peering her head round the door before shrugging and going back inside. The pixies were both loud, dramatic people. It wasn't too shocking to see them play fighting. Something about the way Jan had taken Lemon under her wing was adorable though. She’d found her way into Rock’s life quite the same way. She was quick to warm up to people, endlessly loving to the point it was hard not to like her back.

The elf wondered if she would tire of this, her seclusion from people or the way she lived. Deep down she couldn’t help but hope Jan would stay with her, however unlikely that may be.

----

Crying. That was all Kiara could hear. It was faint, sounding as if the person didn’t want to be heard but couldn’t hold back their feelings. It hurt her to hear, and she fluttered over to the source of the sound cautiously. The sight of someone hunched over, head in their arms sobbing came into view. Then she realised who it was.

Juice couldn’t hold it back, her cold demeanor could only last for so long before she broke down. Though she thought she was alone, finally comfortable to let out her pent-up feelings, she heard someone fly around her, a concerned voice asking if she was okay.

Juice froze, looking up wide-eyed. Her stomach dropped as Kiara stared back at her, concern written all over her face. Though she didn’t move, the tears didn’t stop from rolling down her paralysed face. Everything was too much to deny, she’d been caught and had to say something to get Kiara off her back but the excuses weren’t there. She could do nothing but accept the hug her friend offered and cry more.

“Juice, hey, it’s okay. What’s wrong? I’ve never seen you so upset,” Kiara spoke in a hushed tone, holding the shaking girl closer. Juice wasn’t one to show much vulnerability, even to a close friend, something must have happened to cause this.

Juice couldn’t verbalise a response, struggling over her words before crying more, half out of frustration for her lack of communication skills and the other regarding everything happening at that moment.

“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. I’m here for you, yeah?” Kiara rubbed her friends back supportively, whispering supportive words to her as the tears showed little sign of stopping.

That was what Juice did, she bottled up her emotions until they spilled over. It wasn’t a smart strategy, but it kept her able to function most of the time. She was used to swallowing down everything until the last moment that releasing it felt foreign. It was terrifying to do in front of another, although the way Kiara supported her made it feel that little bit better.

---

“Juice? You alright there? You’re thinking a lot, that’s worrying.” Tynomi hovered over the smaller girl, confusion etched onto her features. Juice realised she’d been blankly staring, her mind distracted by a distant memory that decided to make itself known again. It brought up a sour taste of how she put too much into her training, leaving the one friendship she had from getting closer. Kiara was the closest she ever got to someone her age before Lemon.

It stung in hindsight, knowing that had been the only time she opened up to Kiara. The fear stopped her after, not wanting to ruin any perception of strength she had. They’d talked about it after, once Juice had become the leader of their clan and Kiara had settled into a medic role. But it wasn’t the same as adults with responsibilities. Juice couldn’t help but yearn for her adolescent ignorance but also resented that time with a passion. At least now she had people around her, even if the walls rarely came down.

“I’m allowed to think, you should try it sometime,” Juice laughed as Tynomi looked taken aback before returning with an amused smile.

“Oh? She’s suddenly gotten a lot happier. You were moping yesterday and today you’ve bounced right back? I’m happy to see it.”

Juice felt an arm snake its way around her shoulders. Though she didn’t move away, the action felt foreign. She got along quite well with Tynomi. She had to, since they ran the entire clan between the two of them. Tynomi was also good for picking up things Juice couldn’t do, namely talking to people. She handled the large speaking roles, Juice’s anxiety getting the better of her a lot of the time.

They’d never been like this, something easier. A friendship.

Oh. A friendship. She had those. Multiple.

Juice smiled, relaxing into the affection. Tynomi almost couldn't believe she was seeing the infamously serious fairy relax. She knew of Juice’s issues with people, even those she’d consider a friend. Maybe that pixie was a good influence.

“So, Lemon? Ever since she’s come around you’ve been a little different.” Tynomi saw something change in Juice at the mention of her friend. Something she never thought she’d see from the leader. “Little Juice, she’s fallen in love hasn’t she.”

Juice stared blankly, processing before her eyes widened, a heat of embarrassment lighting up her face.

“You are!” Tynomi erupted into laughter at the way Juice avoided her gaze. Her eyes fell to the floor, though the blush on her face was clear from the way it crept its way up to her ears.

“Tynomi!” Juice cursed herself for not having any other response, only a squeak of protest due to how flustered she was. Was it that obvious? She’d been acutely aware there was something different about her and Lemon’s relationship but to call it love was startling

But it felt right.

Lemon had been nothing but a good influence on her, letting her calm down when things got too overwhelming and always finding a way back to her side. She’d felt so much happier since they started to get close. It finally all made sense. Lemon was an escape from the repetitive stress of her duties and lack of close relationships. The pixie forced her way in and helped fix the issues without realising.

She loved Lemon. Now, she had to process everything that went with that.

----

Kyne felt her heart melt as Kiara played with their dragon. He was a rowdy little guy, always wanting to play or follow one of his mothers. He’d clambered around her lap for a little while before setting his sights on the most comfortable looking place, her hair. Kiara attempted to get him off but the little guy was persistent. He made his way up her arm, gleefully nestling his hair into the curly afro. Kyne knew Kiara was against it but couldn't stop the sight, it was too adorable to intervene.

“Ok boy, I know it’s comfortable but can you please come down?” Kiara spoke to the dragon softly, a hand moving to slowly stroke his scales. Her question received a growl of protest, Pythy waving his wings to get her hands off as she attempted to move the small reptile.

The pleading look Kiara sent her made Kyne begrudgingly step in, lifting the dragon off without much difficulty, though he looked utterly betrayed by the act. An indignant huff and flick of his tail was all the anger he had in him before going back to begging for pets in Kiara’s lap.

Their quiet downtime could only last so long, a sudden noise got the attention of the trio as something came crashing through the door.

“Kiki! Kyne!” Juice flew through, her words fast and panicked. Pythy leapt up with a growl, relaxing upon seeing the familiar face.

“Have you seen Lemon?” Juice’s eyes watered, her face contorted in a pained sorrow. Despite the melancholy of her appearance, she seemed fidgety. Anxiety bubbling under the surface of sadness she carried.

“No? Isn’t she normally with you?” Kyne questioned, her tone trying to be soft enough to not rile up the smaller girl.

“Well, she isn’t!” Juice snapped, a wave of intense anger took over her as she went flying off. Kiara roughly grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving but causing the fairy to struggle like she was being held captive. “Kiara! Let go of me!” Her voice was higher, louder than her friend had ever heard. Juice continued to struggle, though it came to bite her as Kiara took a grip on both of her wrists.

“Juice? What happened?” Though her grip tightened, Kiara struck the right tone to get through to the thrashing girl. She held no anger in her words or eyes, only genuine concern that made her friend finally break.

The pain in her tone broke their heart, Juice turned around, eyes unable to move from the floor. Her whole body trembled as she held back a sob. Her tone was broken, solemn words spoken by someone who had the one thing she loved ripped away in the blink of an eye.

“Lemon is missing.”

[tsukikoayanosuke]

“This is your captain’s order!” - Twisted Wonderland OC

School Uniform

Dorm Uniform

(Picrew used)

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Jonah Argentum is the main protagonist in my fanfic, Twisted Wonderland: Our Precious Treasure and taking the role as MC/Yuu. A mysterious non-magician student who doesn't have any memories of his past. Gaining the title ‘Captain' of the Ramshackle Dorm’, he's the one who leads his crew out of their own mess and is very protective toward them.

.

==/Technical Information/==

Japanese: ジョナ・アージェンタム

Romaji:  jona aajentamu

Voiced by: Akira Ishida

Debut: Chapter 1: The Flickering Darkness!

.

==/Biographical Information/==

Name: Jonah Argentum (ジョナ・アージェンタム / jona aajentamu)

Gender: Male

Age: 16 (Chapter 1-68); 17 (Current)

Birthday: 31st October

Star Sign: Scorpio

Height: 157 cm

Eye Color: Black (left), Yellow-and-Red (Right, covered by an eye-patch)

Homeland: Radiant Haven

Family: Benjamin Argentum (father); Dinah Argentum-Goldstein (mother, deceased)

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==/Professional Status/==

Dorm: Ramshackle Dorm

School Year: First

Class: 1-A, Student no.3

Occupation: Student, Part-timer at Mostro Lounge (former)

Club: Board Game Club

Best Subject: Flying Skills; Astronomy

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==/Fun Facts/==

Dominant Hand: Ambidextrous, but prefers right hand

Favorite Food: Bonzabeast Stew

Least Favorite Food: Kimchi

Dislikes: His 'crew' getting into troubles; Any memories problem; Not understanding anything

Hobby: Cooking; Flying; Stargazing or just looking at the night sky in general; Just talking to people; Exploring, investigating, and treasure hunting

Talents: Cooking; Strategist leader in battle; Possible Team Mom

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==/Personality/==

Jonah is, at his core, a nice guy. He tends not to get involved too much but can be curious. He likes exploring new things that he didn't understand before (even if he had trouble catching up with school). Around his friends, which he often calls them his 'crew', he's the voice of reason and probably the only sane one around the bunch, which makes him the captain of the crew.

And speaking of being a captain, Jonah does have that commanding aura. He knows when he can be lenient or when to be serious. He takes the role of 'captain' pretty serious, making sure his crew listens to his order so that they can get out of the mess they got themselves into.  Because he cares to much about his friends, sometimes he forgets about himself. He would risk himself jumping into trouble as long as his friends are save. Thus, he very often gets himself in trouble that almost takes his life.

Between his days, he grows to have a big heart. Compassion can be his biggest strength. He believes in forgiveness, second chances, and people can changes. He wants to understand the situations first and provide helps the best as he can. He may step back if it becomes a more private matters, but willing to be a mediator.

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==/Relationships/==

Grim (closest friend; crewmate; fellow Ramshackle Dorm)

Dire Crowley (possible father-figure)

Ace Trappola (close friend; crewmate)

Deuce Spade (close friend; crewmate)

Riddle Rosehearts (friend, Riddle may have a little crush on Jonah after Heartslabyul Arc)

Trey Clover (friend)

Cater Diamond (friend)

Azul Ashengrotto (he cleaned the Ramshackle Dorm and Jonah keeps reminding himself to say thank you, Board Game Club member, former his boss at Mostro Lounge, their relationship is a bit wobbly after the whole contract shenanigans,)

Jade Leech (former coworkers at Mostro Lounge, fellow-chef , their relationship is a bit wobbly after the whole contract shenanigans )

Floyd Leech  (former coworkers at Mostro Lounge, he likes to hug Jonah unannounced, their relationship is a bit wobbly after the whole contract shenanigans)

Leona Kingscholar (acquaintance but grows some respect between them; Jonah stepped on his tail once and Leona disintegrated his arm)

Ruggie Bucchi (acquaintance ; Ruggie is grateful from Jonah saving his and Leona’s butt and grows respect between each other)

Jack Howl (friend; crewmate)

Vil Schoenheit (potential brother-figure since both of them are Crowley’s godson)

Epel Felmier (friend; crewmate, flying buddies, Epel saved him once from falling)

Idia Shroud (acquaintance, Board Game Club member)

Ortho Shroud (acquaintance;   Board Game Club (honorary) member)

Malleus Draconia (acquaintance, they had a cryptic midnight conversation once; Apparently they met each other once when Jonah was 10 years old)

Kalim al-Asim (partner in training camp)

Jamil Viper (not the best considering he’s behind the training camp fiasco)

Alchemi Alchemivich Pinkaa (unknown relationship, though it appears that they were good friends back in Royal Sword Academy)

Jacob Orion Columbus (childhood friends before amnesia; their relationship are rather shaky)

Magdalene Killigrew (childhood friends before amnesia; their relationship are rather shaky)

Bridgette Eduarda Newton (childhood friends before amnesia; their relationship are rather shaky)

Benjamin Argentum (father and son; their relationship are rather shaky)

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==/Trivia/==

Jonah has amnesia. While he can do basic stuff like talking, writing, cleaning, and cooking (which he’s really good at it), his other memories revolving around his past and family are blocked [Chapter 136-137]

The Dark Mirror said that he has magic power inside but is dormant for an unknown reason [Chapter 3]. Though it could be related to his blot-absorbing eye.

When he takes the lead, he usually reveals his strange eyes. It makes him more confident.

He’s a slow learner. He’s not great at schoolwork, but when he finds his right tempo. he can learn faster.

Jonah has a history with Royal Sword Academy and Che’nya implied that he once attended there. During the Interdorm Magishift Tournament, when Jonah passed with some RSA boys, they recognize him despite Jonah himself doesn’t because of his amnesia.

After Savanaclaw Arc, Jonah loses his right arm starting from below his elbow. It’s replaced by a modern prosthetic/cyborg arm (courtesy from Idia) [Chapter 64-65]

While magic can work on him, Jonah is immune to potions, poisons, and non-magic medications (like aspirin, kool-aid, and cough medicine). This is the reason why his bone can’t grow back after losing his arm despite bone-growing potion exist. His body basically rejects them, leaving him throwing up everything. If you force him to drink them and he somehow managed to swallow them, he'll just become sicker than before. [Chapter 63; 97]

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==/Behind the Scene/==

Jonah is basically my version of the MC, though I'll try to make him stand out more. 

 In the game, it is unclear why the MC can’t get home, that’s why I gave Jonah one reason: he’s unable to remember his home, thus the Dark Mirror can’t send him back

Jonah is actually based on an already existed Disney villain. I will talk more about this when my fanfic is nearing the end.

While Jonah's eye is also related with the Disney villain, it is also inspired by Itsuki Iba from Rental Magica (who reminds me of Ciel Phantomhive from Black Butler)

My goal is for Jonah to befriend with all first years. We're going to make a squad! Outside of Ace, Deuce, and Grim, there will be Riddle, Jack, Azul, Epel, Sebek, and Malleus. I don’t know about Scarabia and Ignihyde yet, because I can’t really separate Jamil-Kalim (but leaning toward Kalim) and Idia-Ortho (possible both).

I've sort-of planned for Jonah to end up in a romantic relationship with one of the characters. Who? I won't tell you. Yet.

I often refer to the gang as the ‘Golden Trio’, because Jonah, Ace, and Deuce remind me of Harry, Ron, and Hermione (this is coming from someone who never read or watches Harry Potter) so can I ship ADeuce now?

If you want to read more about Jonah, check out my fanfic Twisted-Wonderland: Our Precious Treasure [https://archiveofourown.org/works/23666923/chapters/56812873]

[ends-of-the-wayward-storm]

The Big Four--Through Moonlight--Book 1

Chapter 12--From the Air to Beneath the Ground

_______

Summary

Why something decided to bring so many different people together from so many different places was beyond them. But it had to be for good reason. And that reason just happens to be an elusive enemy who is searching for a powerful artifact, one with an unfathomable amount of knowledge.

There was definitely one thing in question, however—was this enemy the real deal, or something else?

(AO3 version) (First chapter)

[This chapter is also a bit longer than usual, but the next chapter’s just about my usual length.]

_______

Everything abruptly became darker, greener, and much more humid around Rapunzel. Screeching filled her ears as several people she didn’t know ran around and . . . looked to be fighting giant vultures made of tree bark.

“Rapunzel!” Eugene who was quickly followed by Cassandra hurried after her. “What in the name of—”

“Duck!” Cassandra yanked Rapunzel and Eugene down as a tree vulture failed to nab them. A much larger one locked onto them, and its hiss earned the attention of the trio.

“That is just about the biggest bird I have ever seen!”

Those voices. . . . Régine looked to where the outburst had come from and saw three very familiar people. “Rapunzel?!”

The blonde started. “Wait. Was that—?” Rapunzel quickly skimmed the area and found a black-haired princess rushing toward them. “Régine?!”

“What?!” Varian shouted just as Régine stole the big vulture’s attention. He looked to where she was and managed to spot one of his friends. “Rapunzel!”

“Varian?!” the newcomers said in disbelief.

“How did you even get here?! Wherever here is!” Eugene said.

“We’ll explain later!” Varian said. “Wait, where’s the jar?!”

Jar? Wait a minute. “I got it!” Rapunzel announced.

“Whatever you do, don’t lose it!” Hiccup said. A cry brought the Coronans’ attention to Régine slamming into a wall and falling limp onto the ground.

“Régine!” Charles and Chane shouted.

“Cass, get to Régine! Eugene and I’ll draw the vulture’s attention,” Rapunzel said.

“On it,” Cassandra said.

“Pascal, I need you keep an eye on the jar.”

The chameleon nodded, and Rapunzel set the jar down for him before untying her hair.

Anna attempted to swing at one of the tree vultures’ ankles with her new ice sword. “This is really frustrating!”

Hiccup and Toothless barrel rolled away from a rake. “Keep going! We got this!” The Viking then spotted Varian quickly working on something. “How’s it goin’ down there?”

“Almost done! I just need a few more minutes!” Varian replied from behind a partial dome of ice shielding him from most of the vultures.

Eugene rolled out of the way of a wing slap from the larger vulture. “Really wish I had a frying pan on me!”

Rapunzel pulled harder as the vulture viciously fought against her. “Come on come on!”

The vulture screeched lividly as it vainly tried to make its way toward Cassandra retreating with Régine, and Charles and Chane valiantly forced the vulture away from them. Rapunzel yanked even harder, and her hair managed to make a dent in the vulture’s chest.

Hiccup briefly skimmed over the area. Anna and Kristoff could only do so much from the ground, and Sven was doing his best in backing them up. Elsa was powerful but even she was beginning to tire. Poor Angus was cowering in a corner, and Merida would eventually run out of arrows which wouldn’t be good. Régine was out for the count and Chane and Charles were doing what they could. To top that off, the last people to be summoned (or so he assumed) had just been thrown into this mess. (And one of them apparently had just about the longest hair he’s ever seen.)

“Varian!” Hiccup urged.

“Just one more minute!” Varian said.

Merida loosed and arrow, landing a direct hit at the heart of a vulture. But when she reached for another arrow, she grabbed air. “Varian!”

He flinched as he hastily finished up his last concoction. “Got it! Ready when you are, Hiccup!”

In a heartbeat Toothless landed beside Varian, and Hiccup looked to the sizable collection of concoctions.

“Wow. That’s really impressive,” Hiccup complimented.

“Thank you,” Varian said with a smirk.

“All right. Slow burn, bud.”

Varian held two concoctions up to Toothless’s mouth, and the dragon's plasma instantly turned them from green to a sort of aqua. Slowly, the concoctions began to brighten, and Ruddiger took cover in a corner. “Heads up!” Varian chucked them at the closest vulture and ducked back behind his dome. A pained shriek filled the air, and the vulture was disintegrated instantly. “Yes! It worked!”

“Yes! Let’s keep ‘em comin’!”

Another pained screech, this time louder, erupted from the larger tree vulture. Charles yanked his sword out from its chest, and the creature dropped onto its side. Rapunzel’s hair slackened, and shock appeared on her face as rot began to cover the vulture like a disease. And within a minute, its form fell apart.

The vultures screeched and shrieked in agony, forcing everyone to cover their ears. But their cries quickly shifted to rage as they vehemently darted toward everyone.

“Quick! Toothless! Keep lighting them!” Varian urged.

The dragon did as told, and Varian threw one explosive after the other at the vultures. Elsa meanwhile kept firing at the vultures, but she could feel herself tiring out.

If only we still had Régine, she thought. Oh I hope she’s all right.

“Elsa look out!” Kristoff warned.

But it was too late. A vulture knocked Elsa back, sending her toward the dark water below. Above her Anna held an expression of horror as she watched her sister fall, but her view was abruptly blocked by Hiccup and Toothless swooping in just in the nick of time.

“Th-thank you,” Elsa stammered, trying to push her shock aside.

Cassandra managed to scrape the tail feathers of a vulture with her sword. The vultures seemed like they were multiplying, and the scales were tipping out of their favor. If they kept this up, they would be overrun. “We have to fall back!”

“Fall back where?!” Chane asked.

“The ruins!” Merida said, swinging her sword. “Hurry!”

Everyone fled for the ruins while attempting to keep the vultures at bay. Chane, Rapunzel, Cassandra, and Eugene began to push against the doors with all their might. Slowly but surely, the doors began to open. Toothless quickly pitched in, and in no time everyone was able to get through the doors. Elsa placed a wall of ice to keep the vultures at bay before hurrying after everyone else. Hastily the doors were closed, leaving the vultures to angrily protest in vain.

“Everyone accounted for?” Hiccup asked. The large group muttered replies, and they took a moment to breathe. Charles gently set Régine down, and the group glanced to them.

“Is she okay?” Varian asked.

“Nothing appears to be broken. . . .” Charles said. His eyebrows furrowed. “. . . I should’ve stayed closer to her. It’s my duty to protect her.”

“You protect her well enough,” Chane assured. If anything I feel just as responsible, maybe more than you. “. . . I’m sure she’ll be just fine.”

A couple moments went by before Régine furrowed her eyebrows with a groan. Immediately Chane dropped to his knees beside her. “What happened?”

“That vulture knocked you back,” Eugene said. “You all right?”

“I’ll be fine. Thank you.” She winced as she sat up. “I don’t know why that bird didn’t burn to a crisp when I used my magic. Those tree monsters burned easily.”

“It was probably tougher than it looked,” Kristoff guessed. “All of those things were.”

“I’m glad you’re safe, Princess,” Charles said. “. . . Forgive me for not keeping a more careful watch over you.”

“It’s fine, Charles,” Régine said. “I know you always try your best.”

“Those little explosive thingies were really great, by the way,” Anna said. “How did you make them so fast?”

“Well, I’m glad you asked,” Varian said. “First I used—”

“I hate to break this up but does someone mind explaining what’s going on and where we are?” Cassandra said.

“Oh. Right.” Varian explained to his friends the situation pretty well. But now that he was actually saying it out loud, it sounded insane. True, but insane.

After everything had been said, the trio of Coronans (and Pascal) was . . . at a loss for words, for one.

“Doesn’t that sound just a little far-fetched?” Eugene said after a few moments.

“A little?” Cassandra said.

“It’s the truth, I’m afraid,” Chane said.

Régine studied Rapunzel. “Your hair’s not brown anymore. Or short.”

“It’s a long story,” Rapunzel said, glancing to the side.

“Wait. You’ve met before?” Varian asked.

“They met when Princess Rapunzel came to our kingdom,” Charles explained.

“Oh.”

Our kingdom. . . . Suddenly something dawned on Rapunzel. “Ohmigosh! My dad’s going to freak when he finds out we’re gone.”

“My dad’s probably already freaking out,” Hiccup said.

“Is . . . my dad freaking out?” Varian asked.

“A little,” Rapunzel said. “He’s really worried.”

“Mine most likely thinks I’ve run off again,” Régine said. “And my mother. . . .”

“Mai dad’s probably searchin’ the entire kingdom now,” Merida said. Anna and Elsa glanced to each other.

“I guess everyone’s dads are worried,” Anna summed up with a trace of sadness.

“. . . Kai and Gerda are probably worried,” Elsa said. “Oh, and Olaf. . . .”

“Well the faster we find that book the faster we can all get home,” Chane said.

“Back you beasts!” a man’s voice snapped. Unanimously the group looked to the doors.

“Is someone still out there?” Anna asked.

“Oh no. . . .” Merida groaned, pulling her face down with her hands.

“What?”

“Mai dad.”

“Wait your dad is out there?”

“More importantly how did he even find us?” Kristoff asked.

Instead of answering, Merida pulled at the doors. Toothless pitched in as well, but Hiccup pulled him back.

“Hold on a second, bud. I think you might need to stay in here,” the Viking said. “I don’t think her dad’s going to like you all that much.” Toothless uttered a sort of sympathetic noise before backing down.

The doors were open again, and Rapunzel peeked out only to see an icy wall.

“Dad!” Merida yelled.

“Merida! Are you all right, lass?” Fergus yelled back.

“Ahm fine!”

Shortly after that a vulture was taken down by him. “Where’s that boy?!”

Hiccup flinched. “Aaaand maybe I should stay in here, too.” Nothing like the king of your enemies angrily searching for you.

“I’ll explain later!” Merida was about to charge out when Elsa spoke up.

“Wait. You need arrows.” With a quick wave of her fingers Elsa filled Merida’s quiver with icy arrows.

“Uh thanks.” I think ah better make some more later.

A large explosion suddenly went off, making Varian wince. “Well. There go my explosives.”

Pascal left the jar with Hiccup, and everyone with the exception of Hiccup, Toothless, and Angus went back out. The instant Elsa removed the ice wall Régine hurled her fire at the vultures. Another wall was placed to keep the vultures from getting into the ruins, and Elsa went to catch up to Anna, Kristoff, and Sven.

“How are they doing that?” a man asked, looking in awe at Elsa and Régine.

“Ah don’t care as long as they get rid o’ these things!” another said.

Merida notched an arrow, and she could already feel a difference in it. “This better work.” The arrow flew nearly exactly like her wooden ones, and it struck just as true. “Huh. Not bad. . . .”

Rapunzel wrapped her hair around a vulture’s ankle and flung it into a nearby vulture, stunning them. A brief but angry growl told her Régine was close by, and she stole a quick glance at Régine incinerating both vultures.

“I never thought hair could be used as a weapon,” Régine said.

“You’d be surprised how much you can do with seventy feet of it.”

Soon the vultures were overwhelmed, forcing the surviving ones to retreat into the sky. Fergus’s men cheered, and they followed their king as he reunited with his daughter.

“Merida! Ma wee darlin’!” He picked her up in a massive hug. “Oh your mother an’ I have been worried sick!”

“Ahm fine, Dad. Really,” Merida said. “But . . . ah can’t come home yet.”

“What?”

She stepped back. “. . . Ah don’t know how ta explain without makin’ it seem like ah’ve gone mad.” And so to the best of her ability, she explained.

Her father and his men listened intently with growing disbelief. But Fergus had seen nonsense prove itself to be true. After all his wife and three sons turned into bears because of a spell.

Once Merida had finished, Fergus and his men were ultimately at a loss for words.

“An’. . . all o’ you are involved in this?” he managed to ask.

“We are,” Elsa answered.

“Does that mean you all can’t go home, either?” a man asked.

“Not until we find that book,” Varian replied.

“And that ‘boy’? He’s involved in this as well,” Merida said. “. . . He's someone ah can trust.” Hiccup and Toothless exchanged glances.

“Where is he, then?” Fergus asked.

Elsa looked to Merida, who nodded. The ice wall disappeared, and everyone’s attention went to the ruins. Again Hiccup and Toothless exchanged looks.

“Stay here, bud,” Hiccup said, and he walked out into the open. “I uh, I’d like to apologize for making you worry and ultimately think the worst. Things kind of . . . happened pretty quickly.”

“So ah’ve been told,” Fergus said. It was strange how much he reminded Hiccup of his own father. They both had that stern look, and they were both pretty big. And they both cared about their kids. “Merida says she trusts you, lad.”

“I uh, I heard.”

“And . . . if she trusts you . . . then ah suppose ah shouldn’t have reason to worry.” A knowing grin grew across his face. “Besides, you wouldn’t stand a chance against her in combat.”

Fergus’s men laughed in agreement, and Hiccup refrained from frowning. However the king’s grin vanished as he set his gaze back onto Merida.

“Do you know how long you’ll be gone for?”

“. . . No,” Merida replied. “But I’ll try not to be long. I swear it.”

Fergus enveloped her in another hug. “Be safe, lass.”

“Ah will, Dad.”

With one final but gentle squeeze, Fergus let go. “Wait ‘til your mother hears this. She won’t believe a single word.”

“Ahm sure she will.”

The king mounted his horse. “Oh! Ah think you might be needin’ these.” He handed her the arrows he had salvaged.

Merida smiled, and she returned her arrows to her quiver.

“Back to the castle, then!” Fergus spurred his horse on, and his men and deerhounds followed. “Ah look forward ta hearin’ the tales you’ll bring o’ this!”

His daughter laughed, and the group watched Fergus and his men depart.

“Well! That couldn’t have gone better,” Hiccup said, relieved.

“At least he’s not hunting us down anymore.”

Toothless nosed Hiccup, who rubbed his dragon’s head affectionately.

“Let’s try to get a move on, then,” Chane said. While the others headed back into the ruins, Merida, Hiccup, and Toothless drifted behind the group.

“I thought your dad was going to send me off to the dungeon,” Hiccup said.

“Ah wouldn’t have let him,” Merida said. “Ah trust you, even if you are a Viking.”

“Well you’re not too bad yourself.”

Toothless hummed contently, and he gave both of them a grin.

Back with the others, Rapunzel was running her hand across the wall in thought. Another adventure had begun, and it had taken her very far from home and to a whole new world. She was excited, of course, but she was also a little nervous. Well not really nervous. Just worried about her dad worrying about her being missing and the fact that there was probably no way to let him and her mom know that she was just fine.

Something caught her eye on the wall. It was subtle even with Régine’s fire giving them light, and it looked like some sort of writing. It was only a few symbols, but one of them seemed partially hidden. Upon brushing the dirt aside, she found more symbols.

“Hey guys? I think I found something,” Rapunzel said. Régine held her hand up and made her fire brighter as everyone tried to gather around.

“Looks like some sort of writing,” Anna said. Merida nudged her way through, and she squinted at the wall.

“Can you read it?” Cassandra asked.

Merida brushed off any extra dirt. “ ‘Earth be moved. . . . Earth be changed. . . . Grant us passage . . . through walls aged.’ ”

The group flinched as the ruins rumbled. The writing glowed grass green, and part of the wall descended into the ground, revealing a dimly lit passage of stone and rock.

“Well. That was eerily convenient,” Eugene said.

“How far do you think it goes?” Rapunzel asked.

“Could be pretty deep,” Kristoff said. “Might be home to a few things.”

“Hopefully those things are regular animals and not those monsters,” Hiccup commented.

“Is it even the right way?” Régine asked.

Charles, who had picked up the jar, held it toward the passage. The moonbeam flickered more, and if he didn’t know any better he’d suspect that it seemed nervous. “This is the way.”

Angus nickered uneasily, and Toothless skeptically peered into it.

“You’ll be fine, Angus,” Merida said.

The horse shook his head, and Sven nudged Angus. The reindeer made a sort of soft noise of encouragement, and Angus whinnied briefly. Sven smiled in reassurance, leading Kristoff to clap him on the back.

“He’s got your back. Trust me,” Kristoff said, and Angus cautiously peeked inside again.

“Well, here goes nothing,” Anna said, and she stepped inside.

Cassandra managed to make two torches for Régine to light before handing one to Eugene. Everyone carefully filed into the passage, and once the last person was through, it closed behind them.

“No turning back,” Elsa said, a little uneasy.

The group continued on in silence, their footsteps echoing throughout the passage. Stalagmites big and small stretched up toward the top, while smaller stalactites hung from above. And luckily the passage was tall enough for Angus.

“So,” Anna started, making a couple people jump, “I think we should probably introduce ourselves. I’m Anna, this is my sister Elsa, that’s Kristoff, the reindeer’s Sven, oh that big horse is um . . . uh. . . .”

“Angus,” Merida finished.

“Right. There we go. Oh that was Merida that just spoke. The dragon’s Toothless, aaand the guy next to him is Hiccup. Oh! And then there’s Varian. Oh and his raccoon.” Anna paused. “Am I missing some people?”

“Those people would be Régine, Charles, and um . . . whoever that other guy is,” Eugene said. “Don’t think we’ve met before.”

“It’s Chane. And I’m sure Régine and Charles are familiar with your friends.”

“Eugene Fitzherbert. The grumpy one is Cassandra and the amazing one is Rapunzel.” At the remark Cassandra rolled her eyes.

“And Pascal’s here, too,” Rapunzel said, and the chameleon saluted.

“Wow. This is a lot of people,” Anna commented.

“Well these enemies are supposed to be dangerous,” Régine said.

“I’m sure we’ll be able to handle it,” Elsa said. Something grabbed the animals’ attention, prompting the party to stop.

“Now what?” Chane sighed.

“Wait.” Régine took a couple steps forward. “Listen.”

The party fell silent as they strained their ears, and they could just barely hear something up ahead.

“There’s water down here,” Kristoff said.

“Might be a river,” Hiccup suggested.

The group followed the sound, keeping alert for any sign of that girl’s creatures. As they went, the passage became wider and taller, and everyone was able to spread out a bit. The water grew louder and louder with every step, until they eventually reached a waterfall feeding into a small lake.

Somehow the ruins looked to be in much better condition underground. The gray stone blended smoothly with the rock of the cave, as if the ruins were built in harmony with it. Cassandra and Rapunzel shared a look. Although it was a far cry from the hidden lagoon they had once come across, the clear water seemed to glitter in the sunlight like the gems they had found.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Régine said.

“Ah wonder who built these ruins,” Merida said. The group made their way over to the lake, and Angus sniffed the water before taking a few sips, Sven joining him a few moments later.

“We should probably get some rest before we keep going,” Elsa said.

“And maybe we should figure out a plan for when we run into the maker of those creatures,” Chane added.

_______

(First chapter) (Next chapter) (Previous chapter)

[iblue-kitzune]

Of Rising Calamities Beyond the Cosmos: Chapter 10

A/N: And now we have arrived at the final chapter guys! This one is a bit special because it serves as both a regular epilogue (NOTE: There’s a bit of time-skip in here just to let y’all know) and a Halloween chapter, so it’s a half-and-half kind of deal if you want to look at it that way. 

So, with that out of the way now, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! Happy Halloween everyone!

Droplets of water fell from the air and onto the rocky floor below, which was littered with puddles in every direction Jane looked. And the young woman took care to avoid stepping in one as she walked deeper and deeper into the darkness, a single blue flame lit in the palm of her hand to light her path up ahead.

“[Tell me again why are we exploring this dingy and damp dungeon?]”

“[Jane said she wanted to investigate this place a little bit more thoroughly this time.]”

“[Then why did she send a clone in place of herself and have the three of us accompany it?]”

“[Maybe she thought the monsters and wild animals wouldn’t dare approach her at the sight of us being by her side? I don’t know! I’m not exactly a mind reader or know the woman’s thoughts like you two think I do just because I spend more time with—]”

“Raiden! Gale! Inferno!” the three great spirits went quiet at the sharp voice of the clone and looked up. “I can hear you three you know...despite your whispering,” the trio sweat-dropped and turned their heads away from the moody half-spirit.

‘Finally...’ Jane let out an inaudible sigh when her great spirit companions switched to a different topic. Thank god for that. She didn’t have to listen to either of them complain anymore—even though most of it came from Raiden.

But she wasn’t focused on that. Right now, she just wanted to pass this section of dungeon and get to the next level. 

And sure, it’s been a while since she’s last been down here, but it’s not like Jane had forgotten the layout of the cavern. 

The floor above her, she knew by heart now. This one, however, not so much.

‘All the more reason to check it out.’

When the young woman found this cave two months ago and started to explore it, she made sure that she memorized all of the pathways and secret crevices in this area—well this floor at least, before she left. But now that there weren’t any pressing issues at hand here or any type of commotion happening outside of the cave, she was free to investigate this place without worry for the time being.

There was just so much energy she could feel in here, and so many shiny objects she could see around her, twinkling within the cracks embedded into the walls, and ceiling. All of them had an iridescent glow to them, and all of them were glowing a different color—from golden white, seafoam green, and baby blue to periwinkle, alexandrite, and coral pink. Any one of these could a rare item or ingredient for something; however, Jane wasn’t so sure about that.

‘Maybe I should take a look first.’

The young half-spirit stopped to pull out an empty transparent container with a handle on the top, and set it on the ground. She kneeled, and with her free hand, Jane tapped on it. A small section of the container glowed white and opened up with a chilling swoosh. Then she carefully stuck her fireball inside before pulling her hand back out, watching the hole close up and disappear. 

Satisfied with her work, she moved away from her makeshift lantern and stood halfway up, making sure to crouch on the balls of her feet. And once she did, the clone of Jane bounded high into the air with just a single leap and latched onto one of the stalagmites hanging from the ceiling. 

‘Wow!’ her eyes turned into stars at the sight of many items and gems staring at her right in the face. ‘There’s so stuff...huh?’ she trailed off with a silent gasp. But that didn’t last long as the look of excitement entered her golden brown-amber eyes, and replaced her awe.

‘Oh my god! Is that what I think it is?!’

She was in heaven right now, and rightfully so because she could see a bunch of stuff on the ceiling and higher end of the walls ranging from bottle based items: 

Holy Bottle, Dark Bottle, Life Bottle, Panacea Bottle, and Syrup Bottle 

To tool based items: 

Banrea, All-Divide, Hourglass, Spectacles, Dried Peels, and Goat Horn

And medicine based items:

 Lemon Gel, Melange Gel, Miracle Gel, Pine Gel, and Elixir

It was hard to believe that she was seeing all of this in one place since they would normally be spread out throughout the cave, or just be hidden in some obscure spot no one would bother to check, especially if it’s not sticking out in the open. But Jane wasn’t like others, and she wasn’t the type to pass up on stuff like this just sitting out here. 

She was like a collector of sorts, and sometimes she likes to stock up on these items for future use. And whatever’s left that she doesn’t use, she mixes them together—much to the surprise of her friends who thought she was crazy for doing something potentially dangerous like that.

To her and everyone else’s shock, the mixed components come out looking totally different. They become a completely new item, medicine, or tool. One with brand new properties that changes after each use. It was something her and her friends had never seen before, and Jane loved it—so did Tony, Bruce, Peter, Shuri, and Strange (to some extent), who were like scientists in their own way as they, too, tended to experiments with things from time to time, magic or not.

Plus, it’s not like she can help it. She was a scientist—and a brilliant one who won the Nobel Prize many years ago at that! 

And as such, Jane felt obligated to mix components with others and see what comes out of it. If the experiment turned out to be a successful one, then the next logical step would be the test the bad boy out and see what it does. If she likes the results of her fruits of her labor, she will keep the finished product and think about making duplicates in the future—which, nine times out of ten, she does.

However, if the whole thing turned out to be a failure in the end, then Jane saw no reason to continue working with the components. She would just dispose of them in the biohazard bin she keeps in her lab.

‘It’s a good thing I found these things. I was just beginning to get low on all of this stuff,’ the clone said as she proceeded to pick them all out of the cracks of the walls and ceilings with her telekinesis.

Two minutes later after gathering all sixteen items and arranging them in a giant ball, the young half spirit took out a black-light blue accented bag that had a star shaped zipper on it, and unzipped the thing. The pile fell neatly inside, and Jane zipped the bag up before making it vanish back into her pocket dimension.

“[Are you done with collecting items, Jane?]” she heard Gale ask, and looked down at him and the other two great spirits, who were all patiently waiting on her.

“Yeah!” she answered and let go of the stalagmite. “For now I am,” the young woman quickly added once she landed safely on the rocky ground.

Raiden pinched the bridge of his nose while Inferno and Gale sighed to themselves. 

The clone gave them an apologetic smile before she picked up her lantern, turned on her heel, and took off with a light dash, then heard the three flying after her seconds later.

                                            XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thousands upon thousands of miles away from Snow Lunar Island, and somewhere in London, two animals sat on the front lawn of a huge two-story, thirty-eight hundred square-foot home that had a large walkway area leading over to the garage on the other side, and leading down to the sidewalk where a mailbox stood in place. 

The first animal was a large midnight blue and pale yellow dog with extra fur that was colored black on its back and fluffy tail, which was tipped magenta at the end, black hind paws, black tipped pointy ears, and magenta eyes while the second animal was a large royal purple and white bird with teal colored markings on the sides of its cheeks, the inner lining of its wings and the tips of its feathered tails, which were also tipped white, yellow talons, and teal eyes.

The two were currently playing a game of fetch with Darcy, who decided to come out here and play with Jane’s pets. No offense to her friend or anything, but she got tired of waiting in the lab on Jane to finish streaming the mini expedition her clone, Inferno, Gale, and Raiden were on. 

As exciting as it was to see what the inside of that mysterious cave was like on one of the three twenty-four inch screen desktop computers of Jane’s, she got really bored thirty minutes into the video when nothing of interest was happening. And so, she told Jane that she’ll be outside with Luna and Raymond, who is called Ray for short, sometimes—but only by his owner and her closest friends.

And that happened an hour ago.

“Luna!” she shouted, grabbing the dog’s attention, “Fetch!” and tossed a red ball with a white strip filled with black diamonds on it up in the air.

Luna barked and ran after it; however, Raymond, who she thought of like a little brother to her, swooped down and quickly yet carefully caught the ball with his talons. She stared in disbelief at the bird, who gave her a bird-like cry of laughter, and flew over to the human woman.

Darcy sweat-dropped and caught the ball Raymond dropped in her right hand. “Sorry Luna! I guess Ray beat ya to it!” she said to dog and almost rolled her eyes at the display of Ray puffing his chest out in pride. “Wanna try again?”

Luna narrowed her magenta eyes and nodded in determination. 

“Woof!”

Before she could get ready, however, her ears perked up at the sound of an engine from a vehicle pulling up in front of the house. When she turned around and saw a dark haired man and light haired woman get out of a red SUV, her eyes lit up at the sight of them and three other people climbing out from the backseat.

“Woof, woof!” she ran over to them with Raymond flying overhead not too far from her.

Darcy looked up to see the two getting petted by Kagome, Sota, Morgan, Pepper, and Tony. Then all of a sudden, she remembered what today was and what was supposed to take place at the Devil May Cry shop tonight.

‘Oh shit! I totally forgot about that!’ she panicked a bit on the inside, and before she could say anything, the Stark family walked up to her with Luna and Raymond in tow.

“Hello Darcy. How are you doing this evening?” Pepper, who was dressed up in a modest-looking devil costume, greeted her with a small smile.

“Splendid,” she answered part truthfully before looking down to see Morgan, who was in a cute little fairy costume. The little girl ran up to her and hugged her. “Oh you look adorable, Morgan!” she cooed.

“Thank you Auntie Darce!” the little six year old said with a big smile on her face.

The young woman grinned down and patted the young girl on her head with her left hand. Though she laughed when Morgan pulled back and gave her a pout before deciding to turn away in the other direction, as if she was saying “don’t look”, to fix her hair. 

“So are you, Jane, and Lady ready for the Halloween party yet?” Tony, who was dressed up in a handsome pirate costume, asked, raising a brow at her casual state of her appearance.

Darcy sweat-dropped. “Eh, not exactly,” she said with a slow shrug until she brightened up and waved her hand in reassurance. “But you guys can wait inside the living room while Jane, Lady, and I go get ready.”

The Stark family looked at each other then back at the young woman.

“That’s fine with us,” Pepper replied.

Darcy nodded and led the family along with Jane’s pets up the walkway to the house.

                                            XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jane stared at her desktop monitor, watching her clone and the three great spirits arrive inside of a brightly lit room filled with shiny gems that were embedded in the stalagmites hanging from the cavern ceiling. There was also some kind of runes, black in color, etched onto the walls, giant potholes that were either filled up with water or had a large glowing gem stuck inside of it on the ground, and a bunch of floating platforms gathered around a circle of sharp pillars that contained an unidentified rune inside.

“I sense a large amount of mana and some other kind of energy in this room,” she heard her clone speak.

“[Yes, I sense it too. And it seems to be coming from both the rune behind those pillars and further down the path I see up ahead.]”

‘In that case...’ Jane narrowed her eyes before pressing a button on the side of the wireless headphones she had on her head. “Alright, listen up you four!” she spoke into the built-in mic of her headphones. “Inferno, I want you and my clone to stay there and check out the rune. Run an analysis on it with the Magi Analyzer Spectro-Rod. And in the meantime, Raiden and Gale can go further into the cave and check the other sections out with the other six MASRs. Got it?”

“Yeah! / [Yes!]”

The young half spirit watched her clone pull out twelve intricate-looking silver and violet colored rods with shiny red gems on top of them, and distribute the items amongst her companions evenly. 

With their equipment in hand, the group fanned out and got to work.

‘This will take a while.’

Jane pushed away from her computer desk and leaned back in her rolling chair. Seeing as the young woman had no further instructions to give to the group, she was in the mood for a little break. Maybe she can sneak in a small nap while she was at it too?

“Hey Jane!”

Well so much for that idea.

‘Aw screw it! I’ll just have another me take over.”

With a few simple gestures of her hand, Jane summoned another clone, making it appear by her side in a flash of red flames. Then she took off her headphones and turned to face the second clone. “Since there’s a high chance that Darcy is calling me to either come do something for her or drag me out of the house with her somewhere, stay here and watch the video and the other desktop monitor. Give more instructions to the group if you have to, okay?” she told her and handed them over to her.

Her second clone nodded and took the headphones, putting them on right away.

“Jane!”

A small sigh left the young astrophysicist’s mouth as she rolled around in her chair and faced her ex-intern and best friend, who was standing in the doorway of her lab and panting out of exhaustion.

“I thought you said you were going to be outside with Luna and Ray for a while? And why in the world do you look so out of breath?” she frowned at her.

“I was at first but then Tony and his family stopped by, so I told them they can wait in the living room while I come get you,” Darcy answered. “Oh and the reason why I’m so tired is because I ran up the stairs to put your pets in your room then ran back downstairs and came over here.”

Jane sat up. “Huh? Why didn’t they call—oh...” she leaped from her chair, her eyes wide in shock. “Oh god! They came to pick us up for the party at Dante’s place tonight, right?” the young woman grabbed her clone, who was looking so puzzled by what was going on, and sat her down in the chair. “Darcy! Why didn’t you remind me?” she moved away and rushed past her best friend.

Thankfully, Darcy moved out of the way in time to avoid getting ran over by her former boss who already bolted out the door and into the hallway. 

“Hell if I know! Look, how the heck was I supposed to remind you if I forget about the whole thing myself?” she whined at the older woman and ran after her, but not before shutting the lab door closed.

“That’s surprising to hear coming from someone like you who loves parties,” Jane said over shoulder at Darcy, who caught up with her.

Darcy rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Let’s just hurry up and get dressed in our rooms then see if Lady’s up yet—”

“There’s no need for that,” came the muffled voice of Lady.

The two women looked up to see their other roommate standing at the end of the hallway, already decked out in an elegant kitsune costume she was wearing for the night. And to complete the look, she had a mask on her face that came with it too.

“You two are the only ones that are not ready. We have three hours until the party starts at seven. I suggest you hurry up on upstairs to your rooms and get dressed so that all eight of us can leave the house and get there on time,” she continued and turned around. “I’ll be waiting in the living room with Tony and his family in the meantime.”

Then she was gone.

“Let’s go before she comes back here and yells at us.”

“Yeah, good idea.” 

The two quickly made it out of the hall, passing through the lobby area, and headed up the long stairs.

                                            XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two hours have gone by since Lady had last seen her two roommates on the first floor hallway, and she was starting to get a little anxious now. They were starting to run out of time. Sure the drive from here to the shop wasn’t far—just a thirty minute drive...if you don’t count running into any traffic along the way, but she rather be safe than sorry, and show up at the party on time. It was a routine of sorts she got into since she started working as a devil hunter all those years back and had to meet up with her clients at the destination on time, something that they —and even Vergil, who teamed up with her a few times in the past on missions, and he always made a point to meet up with her halfway so that they can head over to their client’s destination together— appreciated her greatly about.

‘Unbelievable...what are those two taking so long for?’ Lady thought to herself in irritation as she sat on the couch in between Kagome and Sota, who were watching and laughing in joy at their little sister standing in the middle of the living room, posing for the pictures that Pepper and Tony were taking on their phones.

Just when the devil huntress was thinking about getting up from the couch to check up on Jane and Darcy, she felt both of their presences walked into the room.

“Okay guys, we’re ready!”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the two, a collective gasp leaving their mouths at the sight of them.

First up was Jane. The young woman wore a long dark robe with pale yellow accents and a star symbol on the hood over a midnight bluish-black skin tight sleeveless tunic that had a glowing white star (with a black diamond inside of it) marking on top of an upside glowing white crescent moon sitting on her chest, which had a few stars scattered about. She also wore a full lavender and glowing white accented waist cape-like cloth —that had a slit in the front, back, and both sides— with an intricate pale yellow metallic belt on top, some black tights that were tucked into her tall brown heeled boots, and a long light purple vest with a pale yellow accented high collar that also had a transparent vest in the form of a cloth attached to it on top, and it stopped just a few inches above her ankles.

Then finally, to top the whole look off, Jane wore some large curled dark horns on top of her long stylized white wig, pale yellow contacts over her eyes, and fake elven midnight blue ears over her real ones. She also painted her eyebrows white, painted both her face and whole body midnight blue, and painted some white stars on her bare arms, hands, cheeks, and the bridge of her nose.

“So, what do you think?”

Up next was Darcy. She wore modest-looking one-piece black tube top and purple tights outfit that had small violet bat symbols on her legs, brown arm warmers with white fluff over her bare arms, and some black high-heeled boots on her feet. 

Then to top the whole look off, Darcy wore some black-purple bat wings on the sides of her long stylized green wig and her waist, and green contacts over her eyes.

“Beautiful / Pretty costumes!” Pepper and Morgan cooed in unison.

Sota, who was dressed up in a jester costume, and Kagome, who was dressed up in a witch costume, looked at the two with impressed eyes.

“So cool! You nailed that one star-touched dude from The Dragon Prince down pretty well, Auntie!” Sota said with a grin.

Kagome rolled her eyes at her brother, “His name was Aaravos I believe, Sota...” and turned to her other aunt with a smile. “Anyway, your Morrigan looks wonderful, Auntie Darcy.”

The two said nothing as they beamed under their praises and compliments.

“Well...” Lady began as she and the Starks stood from the couch. “I think it’s about time we head out now.”

They all nodded and headed out of the living room, making their way over to the front door. Jane opened it, letting everyone else out first before stepping outside herself and locked the door behind her. Then she ran to catch up with the others who were waiting for her by Tony’s rental SUV. 

It only took a few minutes for everyone to pile in the vehicle and buckle themselves in before taking off down the road.

                                             XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The made it to Devil May Cry, which had been heavily remodeled since anyone’s (except for Lady) last been there, with two minutes left to spare. And the group met up with Nero along with Jude, Elize, Teepo, and Alvin, who were all wearing costumes, inside. 

Then after walking further into the shop, they came across the Sparda twins, Trish, Patty, Nico, Nero’s wife: Kyrie, Jude’s childhood friend: Leia, Kagome’s friends: Shippo, Miroku, and Sango, Clint and his family, Bruce, Bucky, and Peter hanging out in the huge living room.

And since everyone was here now—at least the ones who were invited and able to attend, music started blasting through the speakers that were set up by the wall, signifying that the party has begun. It was also at this time the kids and teenagers went upstairs on the second floor to have their own party in one of the back rooms while the adults stayed downstairs and had their own.

Throughout the whole night, Jane and all the other adults played many games: 

First, they bobbed for apples. And Dante was the only one out of everyone else that was able to snag the most apples from the bucket with Nero coming in second place, Clint in third, Tony and Jane tying in fourth, and everyone else following up after.

Second, they had a drinking contest. And surprisingly enough, Jane and Lady —who weren’t really casual drinkers compared to some of their friends— along with Bucky drank those who participated (Nico, Nero, Alvin, Clint, Tony, Miroku, Sango, Leia, and Trish) under the table.

Third, they all participated in a dance off competition that was held in one of the rooms next over after drinking some water and eating some snacks, which were laced with magic, that sobered them up. Too bad the whole dance thing ended up being awkward for some since they weren’t dancers; however, Dante, Darcy, and Sota slayed the competition with their smooth moves. So in the end, they ended up out dancing them and the ones who already knew how to dance.

And finally, they held a quick costume competition to see who had the best one of them all. It was no surprise that Jane ended being first place winner with Lady coming in second place and Darcy coming in third place.

The party started winding down near ten o’ clock, and by the time eleven o’ clock rolled around, everyone started cleaning up their mess. Due to their combined efforts, the whole group finished putting everything back where they belonged twenty minutes. Then everyone said their goodbyes to each other, and the Sparda twins along with Trish escorted their friends out the door.

                                            XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Hey Jane...” 

The young woman stopped in her tracks, letting Darcy and Lady walk past her towards their home, and turned around to see Tony rolling the passenger window down.

“Yes?” she asked, walking up to the vehicle. Then she blinked in shock when the man picked up a metallic case and held it out to her out the window. “What’s this?” the young half-spirit took the case and looked at it curiously. “What’s in here—” Jane trailed off with wide eyes when she felt the familiar presence of a certain infinity stone inside.

“Think of it as a “trick-or-treat” from me. I want you to look after the thing from now on—at least for a little while until we find a better place to stash the stone...” at Jane's confused look, Tony went ahead and told the woman point blank, “Reindeer Games’ been looking for it. Well, only after he left that morning before you and the others did and came back two weeks later.”

“I see...” Jane mumbled, taking a look around the area to make sure there weren’t any lurkers nearby. When she sensed none, she vanished the case away and asked, “Has he been causing you guys any trouble or bothering you?” in a serious voice.

Pepper frowned from her spot in the driver’s seat. “Other than the few unannounced visits he’s made here and there at our home, no. He’s been strangely compliant with us after Tony and I discovered him playing with Morgan out in our front yard, disguised as a black cat with green eyes no less, one day. Then, we sat him down before he could make his escape and had a nice, long chat with him after that,” she explained.

“That is strange,” Jane looked down with a muse.

“We haven’t heard anything “disastrous” on the news this past month-and-a half, so we assume the guy isn’t causing any trouble,” Tony added. “Then again, as long as Rock of Ages isn’t trying to cause chaos anywhere, take over a city, or kill anyone, Pep and I don’t care what he does in his free time. He can stay here on Earth without any complaints from us. And we won’t take any action against him either as long as he doesn't do any of those three things I listed there.”

Jane nodded. “Do the other Avengers know? And did they agree with this decision?” 

Tony gave her a sly smile. “They do now. I told them during our little “get together” kind of meeting we held at the Tower last week, but that was only after the guy appeared and played a little harmless prank on us before disappearing. The gang weren’t too happy about it in the beginning, which I can understand. But in the end, they reluctantly agreed with my wife and I’s decision,” he explained. “I have no idea what Reindeer Games wants with the Tesseract—which the team also knows about too by the way. But anyhow, that’s not the point! From what Nero, Lady, and Kagome told me, he seems to gets along with you pretty well...” there was something in his tone of voice that made Jane want to glare at him. 

But before she could do so, Tony continued on—and in a normal voice this time. “So, if you happen to run into him in the future, can you try to get an idea of what his motives for the stone are?”

Jane looked up. “I was already thinking about doing that actually,” she replied, repressing a sigh back.

“Oh good!” he sighed in relief. Then he cheered up and gave her a grin. “Well, have a good night Jane!”

“You too! And thanks for dropping me and the girls off, Pepper!” she waved at them both with a smile on her face. “Have a safe trip back to the hotel!”

The two waved back before the window rolled up and the SUV took off.

Three minutes passed by with nothing but serene silence. And once she no longer saw her friend’s rental vehicle in the distance, Jane turned around and started walking towards her home, the one she shared with Lady and Darcy.

                                            XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The clone slowly looked up at the sound of door opening up behind her, and she turned around to see Jane, who was still in her Aaravos costume, standing in the doorway of the lab.

“Did you capture anything good?” she asked, watching over to her.

Without saying anything, the second clone nodded and stood up from the chair, removing the headphones from her head as she did so with a sleepy look on her face.

Jane took the headphones from her then walked right past the clone and stopped in front of the desk. She raised a brow and leaned down to take a closer look at her screen monitor. Even though there was no video showing now, she could see that it had been downloaded and saved right to her desktop along with a new file that she never seen before right next to it. “Hmm...” her eyes narrowed at the title typed on it. “Data Findings from The Cave on Snow Lunar Island,” she quietly read out loud.

‘This will be interesting to look through...’

The young woman placed her headphones down before straightening herself back up. And she stood there with her arms crossed over her chest, slowly going over what she read in her head. ‘But I’ll do that another day. Too damn tired at the moment to do really anything productive,’ she said to herself while covering up a yawn. ‘Now then...’ she uncrossed her arms and turned her attention back on the silent clone. “Since I felt my first clone dismiss herself about an hour ago, I’m gonna assume that Inferno and the other two went home already. Am I right?” at her nod, Jane continued. “Alright then, nice work. I don’t need you anymore for the night,” she said to the clone before sending her off as well.

Once she vanished, Jane shut her computer down and turned it off. “Time to go shower now then head to bed,” she mumbled, sleepily, and walked away.

However, in the midst of her wanting to hurry up and leave the room, there were a few strands of black fur and faint claw marks left behind on the floor, sitting oh-so innocently next to the computer desk that she completely missed earlier.

CLICK!

The door shut closed.

[mama-m1na]

Journey of the Chaos Trio: Chapter 4

                                                   ~~~IV~~~

Over the next three days, Rhamina’s wounds slowly began to close as she dwelled in the mirror with Aaravos.

“I should probably get to Xadia,” Rhamina said once she entered the dining area of where ever she was, wearing a white blouse with a long blue skirt and black, heeled combat boots provided to her by Aaravos, “They should be reaching the border soon.”

“I wouldn’t suggest leaving just yet,” Aaravos said as he looked up from his book at the table to she the ravenette braiding her hair over her left shoulder, “Your injuries aren’t completely healed yet.”

“And technically they never will,” Rhamina retorted as she sat across from the elf, “Plus I’m able to walk without any pain anymore, that’s enough for me.”

“Fine,” the male sighed as he closed his book, “You’re packing first.”

“That’ll literally take ten minutes,” the ravenette chuckled, “I didn’t have much with me to begin with.”

The male gave her his usual mischievous smirk before walking down the hall.

“What did you do?” she asked following to the room she had been using.

In her stay, she was not allowed to re-enter the study where the mirror led and Rhamina did not question it nor was she concerned with this fact.

Upon entering she saw three new outfits laid out on her bed along with a book, a her war fan, a bluish-purple cloak with a hood, and two new pairs of hair sticks.

“What is this?” she asked snapping feeling the fabric of one of the tops.

“I told you that you would need to pack,” reasoned the male as he handed her a bag.

“You didn’t need to do this, I would’ve been fine,” the ravenette sighed as she began to fold the clothes and place them in the bag.

“If you’re always as reckless as I’ve seen you then this is a necessity,” the male chuckled as the female shot him a glare.

“So how do you plan on getting to Xadia?” the male asked as Rhamina strapped the bag across her body before putting the cloak over herself.

“Through the water,” she said with a smile, “I’m going to the closest water source to the border on the Eastern side.”

“I’m sure you know that probably isn’t the safest option, especially if they aren’t there yet.”

“That’s what makes it fun!” the ravenette chirped as she went to the bathroom and proceeded to fill the tub with water.

Once it was filled almost to the brim she stuck both her hands into the water and closed her eyes.

She felt her aura fill the water and search for another exit point in Xadia.

“Stirips fo retaw, wolla em efas egassap otni eht txen drlow,” she chanted as her pendant began to glow and her hair began to float.

As she removed her hands from the water, it too glowed before displaying steam and what seemed to be a cave.

“A hot spring?” Aaravos questioned as he saw the surroundings.

“Yes, it’s on the border between Xadia and the human territories so it would make sense,” the ravenette chirped, “the border is littered with volcanic activity.”

“Thank you so much for what you’ve done for me, Aaravos,” she said turning back to the male and bringing him closer in an embrace, “I’ll be sure to find a way to get you out of here.”

“Oh, I’m sure you will,” he chuckled with a knowing glint in his eyes as he pulled away, “Now go.”

The ravenette smiled at him before stepping through the portal she had opened.

On the other side she had stepped onto some hard rock and was in a cave.

Looking back at the pool of steaming water the portal was indeed closed and she made her way towards the light of the tunnel only to find a large dragon.

“Hello, there,” she chirped with a smile as the large reptile looked down at her.

The next morning cheers came from the group of seven as they successfully made it across the border.

“Oh, no,” Rayla stated as the silhouette of a dragon loomed over the group, “It’s him. Sol Regem.”

The group immediately readied their weapons until a smaller silhouette appeared right in front of the dragon.

“There you guys are!” a familiar voice chirped as she threw back her hood, “Took you long enough!”

“Mina!” Chloe exclaimed as she immediately tried to dash up the rocks to reach the ravenette.

“Guess who’s not dead?!” the ravenette sung as she watched all the excited expressions of the group.

“Mina, what the fuck happened to you?” Sam asked looking at all the bandages that littered the teen’s form, visible due to her outfit.

It consisted of a halter crop top that was purple and faded into a royal blue with gold trip at the neckline, straps, and bottom. She also wore dark blue shorts that ended mid thigh and black, heeled, combat boots. To protect herself from the sun she wore the cloak she had over everything.

She chose the outfit to accommodate for the heat but it did expose all the injuries that she had gotten four days prior.

“Well, I got Runaan back to Xadia,” the female shrugged as she tried to walk back into the cave with Chloe wrapped around her, “But in the process I may or may not have caused absolute chaos in the castle.”

“When did this happen?” Kerstin asked as the group followed the ravenette, “Those look bad.”

“Four days ago?” she replied as the dragon followed in as well, “Trust me, it was much worse back then.”

“You got Runaan out?” Rayla asked walking towards the girl with relief in her eyes.

When Rhamina nodded the white-haired female flung her arms around the older girl.

“Thank you so much!” she exclaimed as the ravenette let out a hiss.

“Sorry,” Rhamina said with a slight chuckle as she pulled away, “I might be able to walk but I’m still in pain everywhere.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the fifteen-year-old said.

“It’s fine. You didn’t know.”

“Hey so it’s great that you’re okay, Rhamina, but what is happening?” Callum asked as he gestured up to the dragon.

“Oh, yeah, well since I got here yesterday Sol Regem was the first thing I encountered and I explained our situation to him,” Rhamina said glancing up at the older dragon, “It took awhile to convince him but he says we’re welcome as long as we leave as soon as we’re done.”

“Oh, thank you so much,” the male bowed to the dragon who nodded.

“On the topic of explaining things,” Rhamina said turning to her sisters, “I think it’s best if you undo the spell for now.”

“What are you-” “Mina, are you sure?” Sam asked as she looked between Callum and Rayla.

“The other creatures in Xadia will find out either way and we trust them don’t we?” Rhamina asked, “So it’s better to just do it.”

“Okay,” Tijarah shrugged as she stepped away from the group.

“Finally!” Kerstin exclaimed as she began to shed off her metal armor, “Fuck this human body! It looks great but it’s so fragile!”

“I guess,” Sam said doing the same thing and spacing herself out.

Chloe hooted as she followed the lead of the other females.

The others watched as a different colored light enveloped each of the girls and they could feel a large change in auras.

When Kerstin’s red light died down, she now had large red and gold dragon wings sprouting from her back as well as matching horns and a long, scaly tail.

When Sam’s light green glow died down, she now lad a pair of large white horns on her head as well as various green markings across her body, including her face. Another notable change was her loss of pinkies.

When Tijarah’s dark green light died down, she had a pair of black cat ears on her head and a black cat tail was now swishing behind her.

When Chloe’s maroon light died down, she had a pair of brown, feathered wings on her back and she was happily flapping them.

“What in the heck?” Callum asked with wide eyes as he looked to Rayla who bore the same expressions as him.

“Yes!” Kerstin roared as flames lightly streamed from her mouth, “I’m back bitches!”

“Kerstin, can you calm the fuck down?” Tijarah asked.

“That isn’t my name in this form, bitch!” Kerstin cackled earning a face palm from Rhamina, “I am the great dragon Sora Byvrirth!”

“Wait, if you’re Sora Byvirth” Rayla said looking at Sam whose appearance barely changed, “then you must be…”

“Yeah,” Sam nodded looking at her hands, “Well, at least no one can make fun of my tiny pinkies now.”

“Then you’re Rozen Byvrirth!” the Moonshadow elf, “A high elf!”

“Yeah, I am,” Sam replied, “Respect your elders, bitch.”

“Wait… so the both of those names sound familiar,” Callum said trying to remember where he had heard the names over his shock that the girls he had known for over four years were not what he thought they were.

“You have,” Rhamina smirked with a small chuckle, “They are both part of the Chaos Trio, two of the last three remaining ancients.”

“Wait, if they’re magical creatures then what are you?” the prince asked turning to the ravenette who only shrugged.

“Not as exciting as them,” she said as she pat Chloe’s head, “I’m actually just a human. Unfortunately.”

“Yeah,” laughed Sam and Kerstin which earned suspicious looks from the Callum and Rayla.

“No, really I’m just plain old human who somehow ended up befriending those idiots,” Rhamina said raising both of her hands up.

“Wait, Mina, where did you get your clothes then if you were caught by the guards?” Chloe asked with narrowed eyes, “You didn’t own them before.”

“I got them from a friend,” she explained, “That’s also how I was able to even escape the dungeons.”

“Who was this friend, Mina?” Tijarah asked earning a cough from the ravenette who kept her upper arms hidden under the cloak.

“Well- oof!” she was interrupted by a blue mass of scales flying straight into her back causing her to fall forward, “Fudge nuggets that hurt!”

She then looked up to meet the force that knocked her over only to squeal in happiness.

“Hi, Little One!” she chirped upon seeing the puppy-like expression of Zym who chirped back in happiness.

“I fucking told you,” Tijarah scoffed upon seeing the dragon and human play around.

“Everyone could have guessed,” Kerstin replied, “So what’s the plan now?”

“W-well we should continued to return the dragon prince to his mother,” Rayla uttered still in shock at the so called criminals in front of her.

“How are you guys on supplies, exactly?” Rhamina asked as she cradled the baby dragon in her right arm.

“What do you mean?” Tijarah asked.

“So, you don’t have food or water?” Rhamina asked with an irritated look on her face, “Or any of the basic necessities for survival?”

“Mina, I’m sorry!” hooted Chloe as she clung onto the ravenette’s left arm.

“We’ve been getting by just fine,” Tijarah shrugged as her ears flicked.

“Mhm?” Rhamina asked with a raised brow before turning to Callum and Rayla, “How have you all been getting by?”

“We’ve come across a few villages and we stayed at the Moon Nexus for a few days,” the male replied.

“Y’all were lucky,” the ravenette scoffed in a scolding manner, “We’re in Xadia now, it’s going to be hard for Callum and I to blend in.”

“How hard could it be if we were able to fool everyone in the castle for four years?” Tijarah asked.

“That’s different,” Rhamina retorted, “Humans are easy to imitate because they’re stupid.”

“Hey!” Callum exclaimed in offense only to be met with agreement from everyone but him.

“Yeah.” “Honestly, though.” “She’s not wrong.” “Hoot!”

“I agree with that statement,” Rayla added, “I do a great human impression!”

“My point exactly,” Rhamina sighed, “If we ever have the need to stop at a village then I’ll guard Callum just outside of it while you guys get shit done.”

“I don’t really need guarding anymore,” Callum explained as he drew a rune before calling, “Aspiro.”

As a column of wind blew past the ravenette her face lit up in joy and she hobbled as quickly as she could over to the young male with her injuries and an owl clinging to her.

“You understand the Sky Arcanum!” she exclaimed nuzzling his hair since both of her arms her occupied, “I’m so proud of you!”

“Well, I was hoping we could visit my village,” Rayla suggested quietly, “It’s on the safer way to the Dragon Queen’s Domain and we can stock up on supplies there.”

“That sounds good to me,” Sam said as the other girls agreed.

While the group began to exit the cave Rhamina held Rayla back and when it was just them and Sol Regem, asker, “You wanted to stop by your village to see Runaan, right?”

“Well, yes, and I’m a bit homesick,” the elf chuckled.

“I’m jealous,” Rhamina sighed with a smile, “You have such a good relationship with your family.”

“Well he isn’t-” “He might as well be,” Rhamina said, “The way you two are I can see it. He’s really proud of you, you know.”

“What about you?” Rayla asked as they exited the cave to see the group just messing around with Chloe and Kerstin seeing who can fly higher, “What about your family?”

“I don’t really like my family much and they don’t like me either,” she started just watching as Kerstin gracefully ascended and Chloe made desperate flaps, “I was born as a twin, my older sister was the one they wanted since birth. Ever since I remember she would get all the praise and I would get slandered even if I did things the same way she did or even better.”

“So I took interests in different things than her inwardly hoping that it would stop them from comparing me to her but it didn’t stop them,” Rhamina continued as Chloe eventually fell from her flying height of about ten feet in the air, “So eventually I decided to just run away with these retards and ended up on the streets for a while. Then King Harrow found me at the edge of the forests while the others were in town probably stealing food or getting chased by the guards for fun. He offered us a place to stay and offered us work. He treated us with respect and affection that I personally couldn’t get at home. He became my father and a good one at that. He was fair and only wanted the best for everyone even if he made the wrong decisions sometimes. He recognized and lamented his mistakes though. That’s why he stayed that night instead of running.”

Rayla bit her lip in guilt before asking, “What about your sister?”

“Oh, well she cared for me very much,” Rhamina chuckled, “She saw how unjust my parents were and tried to help but it didn’t work. She didn’t approve of me hanging out with the sisters I have now, before I ran away and when I did she fully loathed them. Thought they corrupted me or something but I haven’t heard from them in a while and I’d like to keep it that way. My parents can have the perfect child they wanted without the mistake and I get to live adventurously and free with my actual family.”

“That’s what you get for challenging me!” Kerstin cackled as her wings beat at the air.

“Yes, yes, we get it. You’re the Chaos Queen, now we better get going!” Rhamina chuckled as she brought the hood back up to protect herself from the sun.

After about an hour Rhamina looked towards the human male.

“We should get you a cloak as well,” she commented, “It would be easier to hide the fact you’re human that way.”

“Mina, I’m tired!” whined Kerstin as she dragged behind the group with Sam.

“What happened to the almighty Dragon of Rage?” Rhamina chuckled as she paused to let the two catch up.

“Shut the fuck up we were traveling all night!” Sam added as the two leaned onto each other, “We have a right to be tired!”

“Well, we could stop for a while,” the ravenette sighed looking to see that they were already out of the volcanic terrain and in a forest, “I don’t want you guys passing out.”

The group then began to set up spots in a small clearing and soon enough all of the group except for Rhamina was passed out.

About four hours later they were woken by Rhamina’s loud laughter and multiple foxes either yelling or running over them.

“You sang that fucking song again didn’t you?!” Tijarah exclaimed after seeing her sister happily swamped by tens of foxes.

She was still playing with the multiple canines as the group watched her, now wide awake.

“You can’t blame me!” Rhamina gushed as she picked one up, “Look how floof!”

“It’s been so long since I’ve played with foxes,” she continued as she nuzzled the fox who barked happily, “I couldn’t do this at the castle since they’d either be killed for being pests or chased off.”

“How do you get along so well with them?” Rayla asked as a few retreated back into the trees upon being approached by her.

“Don’t ask,” Callum replied as the ravenette crouched down and continued to play, “She’s always been good with canines.”

Even the tiny blue dragon took part in playing with with multiple canines before they began their travels once again.

About ten days into their journey they were nearing the Moonshadow Village and had gotten Callum a cloak in one of the towns along the way.

Everything was going fine until Sam accidentally bumped into Chloe, causing her to fall and toss a bag of supplies they had gotten.

Rhamina immediately lept to catch them but landed wrong and rolled ending up face down, supported by her right arm.

The supplies were safe however the same could not be said about the ravenette.

“Rhamina, are you okay?” Callum asked as the ravenette turned to sit as she applied pressure to her right ankle.

“My ankle says no,” she hissed as she handed the bag to the male before reaching into her own only to pull it back out.

The group began to gather and Rayla asked, “Can you walk?”

“Yeah,” Rhamina replied standing only to pick up her right foot as she stood mostly supported on her left side, “I’m fine.”

“Hoot!” Chloe exclaimed as she went over to the ravenette’s left side to hold her hand, “Mina, no you’re not!”

“Do you think you can make it to the river?” Rayla asked looking around, “We can’t stop here, it’s too open. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine,” the ravenette chirped as she began to limp forward, “I should be fine after resting for a bit. I’m sure it’s just from the impact, it doesn’t hurt that much.”

As everyone could see her blatant lie Rayla led the group to the river.

Surprisingly, Rhamina was still one of the fastest in the group and seemed to not be hindered by her limp. Instead she seemed to go faster in order to make up for her injury.

“Mina, you’re crippled slow the fuck down!” Kerstin called as she emerged from the trees to see her sitting by the river as well as Callum with Chloe standing next to her.

The ravenette removed her right boot carefully to see her ankle was swollen and she could move it with some difficulty but it was mostly painful.

“Fuck,” she hissed as she pulled a wrap from her bag and wrapped it tight before leaning her head back on the tree she was sitting against.

“That doesn’t look good,” Rayla whispered before thinking for a few minutes.

She then bit her lip as the girls were talking to Rhamina before saying, “There’s a healer in my village. She doesn’t really care much for this war and might be willing to help if we explain.”

“Hun, that’s a good idea to try but I don’t think Mina should be walking,” Kerstin said earning a middle finger from the ravenette.

“I’m fine!”

“You’re crippled so shut the fuck up,” Sam said as the ravenette pouted before pulling her hood back over her face.

“Then we can bring her to Rhamina,” Rayla said, “She just needs to stay here and some of us can go to my village.”

“Who’s going to stay then?”

“I will,” Callum said, “Don’t think it would be smart for me to walk into a village where everyone probably wants me, you know dead.”

Rayla glared but kept her mouth shut, knowing it was probably true.

“Owl, stay too, hoot!” Chloe said as she sat down and leaned onto the ravenette.

“Okay, we should be back in less than an hour,” Rayla said as the other girls began to walk back into the trees, “Chloe, Callum, be sure to keep her off her feet and keep Zym with you guys as well.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” both fourteen-year-olds answered as the ravenette huffed.

“I do not need a babysitter!” she exclaimed as she pulled out a book from her bag.

“What are you reading, Mina?” Chloe asked.

“Howl’s Moving Castle,” she replied, “It’s an old book but I love it. The main male character is an asshole though?”

“Where did you get it?”

“Friend?”

“Is this friend the same one who got you out of the dungeon?” Callum asked earning a suspicious hoot and a glare from the ravenette.

“You don’t need to interrogate me about my escape,” Rhamina said, “All you need to know is that I got out and I found you so yeah.”

“Mina, I’m bored?”

“Do you want to hear a story?” Rhamina asked as she closed her book.

“Yah!” the tiny female excitedly exclaimed.

“In the end, I’m destined to become sea foam. In the pain and agony forever doomed to roam, but the love inside of me always stays true, so I sing on of how I love you,” Rhamina started singing earning the attention of both younger teens, “On one fateful day, he had come my way, granting me a wish as long as I would pay. Oh, but don’t you see? Somebody like me doesn’t deserve to have this opportunity. That girl moved with beauty and grace. Still a fate like hers is something I can’t bear to face. Could it be, though, I could make things right?. If I can protect those I love then I guess I will fight.”

“Though I struggle I know my wish wasn’t wrong. I’ll fight on as long as I know you can play your song. ‘Cause that smiling face of yours I can’t forget. So I do really have no regrets,” the ravenette continued as the water in the river next to them began to float and create visuals of a female wielding two swords, “This isn’t the way things were supposed to be, oh no please why is this happening to me?! Why you’d think he’d love you? God, you’re such a fool! The life of a magical girl is really cruel. So I was deceived, guess I wear a chain, I’ve no soul but I won’t let my wish be in vain. Carry on and simply block out all of the pain.”

“I don’t feel anything anymore!”

“Play for me, play for me, the sun will never rise. Play for me, play for me, I’m meeting my demise,” the figure then began to slowly become more erratic as it fought more and more monster like figures, “Everyday I’m alive is too much to bear. How I can I go on fighting knowing he doesn’t care? At the mirror, I look straight into my eyes. That girl’s someone I don’t recognize. In the end, I’m destined to become sea foam. In the pain and agony forever doomed to roam. Somebody reach out to me when all is through. All I want is to see heaven’s blue.”

“Mina!” Chloe called with a frown.

“I didn’t say the story was happy, did I?” Rhamin asked as she opened her book again.

“That was really sad,” Callum commented.

“The story was about a girl wanting power to be noticed by the boy she fell in love with,” she explained not looking up from her book, “When she did get power, she had given up her humanity and lost her courage to pursue the boy, choosing to suffer heartbreak before giving up her feelings completely. It is sad.”

About forty minutes later Rhamina’s eyes snapped up from her book to the trees across from her and nudged Chloe.

“Hoot?”

“Someone’s there,” Rhamina whispered, “It isn’t someone we know either.”

“Hoot-” Zip! Thud!

In the trunk of the tree the two had just been an arrow struck.

Callum immediately stood up at the sight of the arrow and backed up to where the two females were.

“Hoot!” Chloe exclaimed in alarm from the ground where Rhamina pushed her.

The ravenette stood up to hop slightly on her left leg from the spot where she rolled onto.

“We mean no harm!” the ravenette exclaimed as she held out her hands in front of her palms up, struggling to stay standing.

“Rhamina, sit down,” Callum hissed quietly as she stood in front of the two females.

“Who are you?” a deep male voice asked as a male Moonshadow elf stepped out from the trees holding a bow.

“We’re just travellers,” Callum replied as Chloe tried to block the elf’s view of the baby storm dragon.

“Two humans and a shifter?” the male asked glaring at them before turning to the winged female, “What were you thinking, bringing them here without killing them immediately?”

“I-uh, um- Mina!”

“Listen we mean no harm! We are here to-!” Rhamina tried to repeat only to get the bow aimed at her.

“You do not belong here!” the male exclaimed, “And now for your justice.”

As the ravenette closed her eyes and prepared for the pain of the arrow it never came.

“Zaos, lower your weapon!” a familiar male voice called as multiple pairs of footsteps followed.

The ravenette opened her eyes to see Runaan followed by Rayla, Tijarah, Sam and Kerstin at the edge of the trees.

“Runaan, but-” “They are here to deliver the Dragon Prince home,” Runaan explained as Chloe stepped to the side to reveal the scared, puppy-like creature, “And one of them is already injured.”

The male reluctantly put away his bow causing the ravenette to lower her arms and hide them back in her cloak.

“It’s good to see you found your way back to your village, Runaan,” Rhamina chuckled as she limped forward to greet the male.

“Thanks to you but what happened after the portal closed?” the male asked his eyes shifting to worry.

“Don’t worry I was fine!” she chirped eyeing her companions, “I got out before the guards could catch me.”

Before Kerstin could call out her lie the was whacked on the head by a tree branch as Runaan sighed.

“That’s good, so what happened?” he asked gesturing at her legs.

“I did a thing and rolled my ankle,” she explained with a smile, “It’s not that bad though.”

“Mina, that’s a lie!” Chloe said with hoot.

“Stop fucking exposing me,” she whispered harshly earning a chuckle from the male.

“Can you walk?”

“I can limp,” the female stated, “I can limp faster than most of these nuts can walk.”

“That will not help your ankle heal any faster,” he sighed going to her right side, “Do not put any pressure on it.”

“But I’m fine though- Hello?!” the female asked in slight alarm as Runaan picked her up with arms around her shoulders and around her knees.

“I can tell that you aren’t going to cooperate,” he stated as the ravenette huffed and looked to her sisters with widened eyes.

Most only laughed while Chloe followed with slight anger at a stranger touching the ravenette.

“Hoot!” she called as she flew over and landed right in front of him to glare.

He raised a brow before asking, “Would you rather have your stubborn friend make her ankle worse?”

The brunette shrunk back slightly before muttering, “Fine! But owl be watching.”

And she did. She walked next to the pair as the group was led back to the Moonshadow Village.

“I can walk just fine!”

~~~Fin. Chapter 4~~~

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Songs used: “The Little Mermaid” - Oktavia

Picture: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/364510163589310352/

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[queen-scribbles]

The Usual Places

For @pillarspromptsweekly #89: Eora Day. I went with Ederity, cuz I’ve been dying to write them married(!) and anything that involves planting things is right up Charity’s alley. ;)

Charity was usually easy to find, at least in Edér’s experience. She was a creature of habit who gravitated toward a handful of places; the Dracogen, her gardens, their private chapel, or somewhere inside their house. Until recently--when his-or-hers had become theirs--Edér’s house would have also made the list. But they lived in her farmhouse now, and only kept his old house for nights work had him in town too late. There wasn’t much cause for either of them to visit it often anymore, effectively lowering the number of places he could (probably)find his wife.

She was not in any of the usual places today, but she was still easy to find. Planting, as usual. Only this time, it wasn’t vegetables or flowers, but a trio of young, almost reed-thin trees. She’d still clearly had fun; mud smeared up to her elbows and knees, smile even more sunshine-bright than usual, a small flush of sunburn tinging her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.

“Looks like you’ve had a good day,” Edér laughed as he approached. 

“Very good,” Charity confirmed. She stood and smoothed frizzies toward her bun with the back of one hand, streaking mud across her forehead. “Hendyna an’ I rescued these from a swampy patch near the Crossing. They wouldn’t’ve grown there, too much water in the soil. Here they’ll do great, an’ they’ll give us shade, and, you know...” she winked a him, “hopefully they’ll be sturdy enough to climb by the time we have a gaggle of tiny Teylecgs runnin’ around lookin’ for adventure.”

“A gaggle?” he said with mock-dismay, kissing her cheek. “How many kids’re you plannin’ on gettin’ out of me, woman?”

“If you wanna get picky about it, they’re gonna be comin’ outta me,” Charity retorted with a laugh, smearing mud down the front of his shirt as she playfully pushed him away. “And many as Hylea gives us. Why?”

“Just wanna know what I’m in for,” Edér teased. He gathered some of the mud from his shirt with one finger and smudged it along her nose. “And you realize you’re the one who’s gonna hafta wash this, right?”

“Yeah,” she shrugged, wiping the mud off her nose with the tail of her own shirt. “It’s just mud. I already got plenty of that”--she gestured at her own clothes--”what’s one more shirt?”

“Alright then...” he said, glancing at the trees. They were all firmly planted, spaced to accommodate future growth, and flanked by support posts. “You all done out here?”

“For now, yes,” Charity said with a nod. “A gardener’s work is never done an’ all, but I’m through for the day.”

“Good.” He peeled off the muddy shirt and draped it over her shoulder. “I’m gonna start dinner while you get cleaned up and deal with the dirty clothes.” He winked and tipped her chin up to steal a kiss before heading inside the house. Charity laughed as she followed, and Edér wondered just how tempted she was to rub mud on him, too.

However great the temptation was, she didn’t give in. She instead lingered in the vestibule long enough to strip off her boots and all the muddy clothes, wiping her hands and arms mostly-clean on the shirt before heading for the bedroom. “So, what’re we having for dinner, darlin’?”

“Nothin’ fancy; I’m pretty wiped out,” Edér admitted as he perused their options. Looked like they had the fixings for vegetable soup, which wouldn’t be too hard. Would be better if they had some venison or rabbit to toss in, but this would be fine.

“Everything alright?” Charity asked over the sound of splashing water.

“Yeah, just a long day,” he promised. “An’ I didn’t get to enjoy the pretty weather like you did.”

“Well, half the day was spent in a swamp huntin’ down medicinal mosses,” she said, leaning into view half-dressed and face still glistening with water. “Kinda hard to enjoy good weather when you’re almost knee-deep in sludge-water and bein’ eaten alive by midges. But we did find what we were lookin’ for.”

“Plus trees,” Edér grinned as he gathered up the vegetables.

“Plus trees,” Charity nodded in agreement. She smiled slyly and waited until his hands were full to toss him a clean shirt. “Here.”

He shot her a dirty look in the brief moment before the garment landed half over his head and half draped over the vegetables he carried. “Nice, Char. You wanna put on some pants an’ help me cut these up?” He couldn’t keep the amusement out of his voice, not that he was trying terribly hard.

She giggled. “Sure. The dirty clothes aren’t goin’ anywhere.”

Edér set down the vegetables and pulled on the shirt. “So... any particular reason for the trees?” he asked, voice slightly raised so she could hear, before he started cutting.

There was a soft grunt as Charity wriggled into a pair of pants. “Didn’t want ‘em to die.” She padded back into the kitchen, picked up another knife to help. “Trees are good to have. And the shade’ll be nice, once they get a little bigger, like I said.”

“All true,” he said with a nod, nudging aside the sliced-up carrots and reaching for potatoes. “They’ll help balance out that monstrous oak Soren just cut down ‘cause it was messin’ up his mulberry bushes.”

“What?!” Charity scowled, hands stilling halfway through chopping celery. “The man’s drownin’ in mulberry bushes, he couldn’t sacrifice a couple t’ let the thing keep growin’? It’s been there forever!”

Edér raised an eyebrow at her vehemence and reached over to tuck back an escaped tendril of her hair. “Darlin’, he’s drownin’ in them ‘cause it’s how he makes a livin’,” he reminded her. “An’ it wasn’t just a couple; the tree roots were threatenin’ near a dozen of the bushes. Yeah, he needs t’ keep ‘em on his land but he’s got a right to keep ‘em growin’ strong.”

Charity sighed and played with her necklace. “I know,” she groaned. “But it was such a great tree.”

“Hey,” he leaned over and kissed her temple. “Maybe ours’ll be even better.”

She laughed as she resumed cutting the celery. “Maybe. But not for a good long while; they’re still babies, as trees go.”

“Well, then it’s good that they’re here. You got a special knack for makin’ things grow,” he winked.

“Growin’ things and fixin’ kith, my two special talents,” she said with a smile.

“Don’t forget singin’ the praises of my cookin’,” Edér teased. “You’re also the best at that.”

“Only b’cause it’s such a sharp contrast to mine,” Charity laughed wryly. “An’ I think you’re forgettin’ how much Tavi likes your cookin’.”

“Nah.” He shook his head and winked. “She’s never kissed me to show her appreciation.”

“Well, that’s a relief to hear,” she deadpanned. “Might make our friendship awkward.”

Edér laughed at that as they finished cutting up the vegetables, then Charity left him with a kiss on the cheek to do the actual cooking part while she took care of the muddy clothes. Once the soup was simmering, he sat down on the couch and nearly fell asleep waiting for it to cook. This was not helped in the slightest by Charity sitting in her usual spot--next to him--to knit in comfortable silence until dinner was ready. It was, as a result, the closest he ever came to burning something.

Good thing he caught it in time to avoid that. He never would have lived it down. As it was, the vegetable were just a little on the too-soft side, but still good, They enjoyed their meal, peppered with the usual “How was your day?” small talk and discussing what might come in the next few, before returning to their spots on the couch. They snuggled close, despite how much it increased the risk of falling asleep there. It wouldn’t be the first time, or the last, and certainly wasn’t the oddest non-bed place the two of them had fallen asleep.

At least here’s comfortable, Edér thought contentedly, rubbing Charity’s back. Of all her “usual places”, tucked neatly under his arm was his personal favorite. And judging by her happy hum, she was pretty fond of it herself.

[necromatador]

Couriers Campaign: The Comet

When last we left off, we’d made it to the hidden island temple where the Star Of Nantzintli (the legendary gemstone said to have fallen from the sky) supposedly could be found.  After sending up a flare to tell the other search parties where it was, we settled uncomfortably around a campfire and waited.  Slowly the other two search parties arrived, both scuffed up from encounters with raptors as well.  Jab had gotten his leg broken, and Belmont was half covered in blood having only just escaped having his arm bitten off by the shortsword Aeron had let him borrow earlier.  We start setting up, Belmont watching for the comet in the darkening sky while the rest of the crew tried to figure out how to put the lenses on the pillars to unlock the temple.

Each one had a moon shape on it, and we eventually figured out thanks to a small mosaic on the side of one of the pillars that it was supposed to go something like Red > Yellow > Blue > Green > Orange from the closest to the farthest pillar.  We placed them all correctly and then sat back.  

Eventually the comet showed up.  A massive streak across the sky, radiating an iridescent tail.  Everyone was stunned for several minutes before Kelvayla called us all back to sense in order to start searching around for the entrance, since the legend said with the lenses in place and the comet in the sky, it should be open.

Hours pass.  Nothing.  Well, not nothing, but Xel’bal noticing that the designs on the overgrown stone road we’d followed in were all names wasn’t exactly getting us anywhere.  Everyone was getting more and more frustrated.  Aeron noticed, as Kelvayla was making increasingly annoyed rounds around the ziggurat, Vendus was walking around to each member of the crew.  Aeron went up to Nimh and warned them that Vendus was putting his mutiny plans into motion, and Nimh told Aeron to inform Keyleth and Kaicis while they went to go talk to Walker.  Aeron explains things quietly to Keyleth and Kaicis, telling them not to get involved with the mutiny, not to be surprised and startled when it happens AND not to take sides.  Nimh takes Walker off into the surrounding jungle a little and mentions to him that none of this mission feels right, it feels like graverobbing and they’re not finding anything anyway, and the crew isn’t happy, Walker sighing and admitting he knows.

Vendus confronts Kelvayla.  Bringing up all of the crew that have died in the pursuit of the star, and how without the party being here, even more would’ve.  Walker and Nimh come back at the sound of the confrontation.  The crew expresses their grievances, and with a comment of “the woman I signed up to serve went into her cabin one day with a letter and a piece of glass and never came back out again”, Walker tries to reason with Kelvayla.  She doesn’t listen, but backs down and allows the crew to leave behind Vendus.  The party and Walker are left behind briefly with her, and Walker tells them all that he won’t let them leave on the Seahawk without them.  Nimh tells Aeron, Keyleth, and Kaicis to go back to the ship, but they want to talk with Kelvayla.  Reluctantly, they agree and head off.

As the trio head back to the ship there’s an increasingly thick fog rolling in.  Almost pea soup by the time we get to the beach.  The party is understandably nervous about this.  Keyleth asks nervously if Drakkar ever showed to be able to control fog.  Aeron responds “I wouldn’t put it past him, the dramatic bastard.”  And lo and behold, looming behind the Seahawk, emerging out of the fog, is Drakkar’s massive galleon.  Keyleth drags Aeron and Kaicis back into the shrubbery of the jungle, and we hear Drakkar’s voice boom out in thunder: “WHERE IS THE STAR?  KELVAYLA.  YOU HAVE UNTIL NIGHTFALL TO BRING ME THE STAR, OR THE HEARTS OF YOUR CREW ARE FORFEIT TO ME!”  We turn tail and run back into the jungle to the ziggurat.

Still at the ziggurat, Nimh has been watching Kelvayla have a small tantrum.  They start questioning her about why she’s doing all this in the first place.  Is it because you want to prove something?  You certainly care about your crew, so wtf are you doing?  Except much better worded than that.  Then there’s a distant rumble of thunder, and they notice the fog and the localized storm clouds over by the ship.  Worried, they start heading towards the beach.

As the two groups just about reconvene, the comet passes in front of the rising sun.  There is a massive flash of rainbow light that we all have to cover our eyes from, and then it focuses down the lenses on the pillars.  Once we all regain the ability to see, we see each other and then notice that the focused light from the lenses has literally melted a doorway into the ziggurat.  Then the trio explained to Kelvayla and Nimh what happened, with Aeron mimicking Drakkar’s ultimatum.

With a look back towards the storm clouds, Kelvayla growls “well what are we waiting for?” and we head into the ziggurat.

[banesbottombitch]

“Youre being too friendly with them” & “Youre mine i watch everything you do” for the tozier reader thing if thats cool! i love your writing so much

I got carried away af with this. I hope its up to standard, and since i used “you’re mine and I watch everything you do” already, I did the first prompt. Also, this is a one shot, I will not be doing another part, so enjoy it as a singular work, my duderinos.

Prompt Used: “You’re being too friendly with them”

Word Count: +2,500

Warnings: Possessiveness, drugging, that good kush, Patrick POV. Tozier!Reader.

Tagged: @dreamboathannah, @restoftheworldfallsaway @ghoulishtozier @itwasmathilda, @fangirlinganditswonders, @neoandersons, @basicwheeler, @leetime14, @passionfortrashin

(Anyone who wanted to be tagged for WYS automatically gets tagged for my other Patrick works as a bonus, my duderinos. Message me -through pm-  if you want to also be tagged! Love y’all.)

Patrick leaned against the front of his car, wiping the motor oil off his long fingers and watching the Tozier girl while she helped their classmates. Her hair was rolled up into a tight bun, the dark green button up she had worn over her t shirt all day tied at her waist while she peered under the hood of Dylan Pram and Cole Harris’ project car.

She was talking some auto mechanic nonsense and pointing out where their problems mostly laid, the two dipshits at her side feigning cluelessness. Patrick knew their game, others in the class had tried it once or twice too, but to no avail. He would know best, [First Name] was fucking oblivious when it came to flirting.

Dylan stepped closer to her as she rummaged under the hood, and Patrick’s fingers flexed under the rag he rubbed them with when the jock rested a firm hand on her lower back and spoke in her ear.

He must have said something utterly hilarious, because the trashmouth choked on a laugh and straightened. Cole shared their smile, but his eyes connected with Dylan, a silent conversation running between them as Patrick’s partner parted from them with a wave and a soft laugh.

“Nice one, Dylan. Remember to clean it up when you’re done, dude.” She waved them off, coming back to Patrick with flushed cheeks from her laughter. Behind her, eyes and sly grins sought her back, and Patrick ignored them, smirking at the Toizer girl when she arrived.

“You’re being too friendly with them, Tozier.” He said quietly, tossing the dirtied rag over the top of his tool box. “They’re going to think you got the hots for ‘em.”

“Who? Cole and Dylan?” Her lips tilted in a cute little lopsided grin. “I thought they were going to announce their engagement soon, I had no idea they swung for the other team.”

He allowed a laugh, but a certain fondness for the girl startled him. She was starting to really soften him up, and day by day he found himself leaning closer and speaking more frequently with her. Gone were the earlier days of the truly antagonistic ways since Henry had dropped his grudge towards her cousin and his friends, and Patrick had grown used to falling instep beside her while walking to class.

He guessed that this would be called friendship.

So that was clearly why a strange fire built in his stomach when he caught Dylan eyeing his partner with particularly hungry eyes, because she was his friend…Then again, his underlying pining for her also applied to that, but he would never admit that aloud.

No, he was a good actor. He could win a god damn academy award for his patience and tactful thinking. Patrick could keep [First Name] in the dark over his, well he hated to say feelings, but yes, feelings, for her.

So he frowned, and easily slipped into the role of a concerned friend, nudging her with his elbow as she went to sit on the hood of the Monte Carlo.

“What?” She mirrored his frown, resting her ankle across her knee and drumming painted nails on her jeans.

“Don’t think we’re the only bad guys around here, Princess. There’s plenty of sleazy fuckers hiding behind a football jersey in Derry.” He warned with earnest, but was met with a scoff.

“Dylan and Cole are fucking nimrods, and they couldn’t fix a lightbulb together if they tried.” She waved him off as the class bell rang. “I’ll see you at the bonfire tonight, yeah?”

Patrick had done his duty, he had given her the passing warning. It was up to her to listen, he supposed.

“Yeah. I’m bringing some good shit too, hope you’re not as fucking uppity as you were last time.” He bent his lean form down, collecting his leather jacket that was draped over the hood as Tozier slipped off the front and snatched up her backpack. “See you around eight.”

“Adios, Hockstetter. Don’t keep Bowers waiting.”

She left, patting Belch’s arm as she headed out past him and Henry. She said something in passing, making Belch smile after her. Henry watched her go as well, a certain gleam in his eyes as Patrick came to meet them by one of the open garage doors.

“Glad we don’t have to worry about being ambushed with a fucking tire iron now.” The bigger boy said, pulling his varsity jacket over his shoulders. The three watched her go, her back growing smaller as she jogged across the fields to get to the parking lot.

Henry huffed indignantly. “She was going to be a fucking problem, that’s the only reason I’m not tormenting her little shit of a cousin. Cigs?”

He threw a hand out to Patrick, demanding the taller boy share his pack. Patrick complied, digging around the pockets of his jacket before tossing him the pack, the trio of boys heading across the field as students began to file out of the school in mobs.

“She’s a good work partner too,” Belch said absently, the spring air nipping his cheeks pink. “I got an A on our last assignment, my coach and Ma were in tears, swear.”

“Yeah, whatever. Goody two shoe bitches like her are a dime a dozen, but I’m not gonna deal with another run in with her.” Henry muttered, lighting his cigarette after a few tries and stuffing Patrick’s pack in his own back pocket, something that the lankier boy would not forget before the day was through.

“Sounds like you got a crush, Henry.” Patrick dared to say, eyes lazily raking over the boy next to him. Henry tensed, shoulders under his bomber jacket rigid as he sent a glare to Patrick.

They both held a steely gaze before Belch interrupted, announcing the arrival of their smallest and blondest, Vic.

“Hey! Did you get the part?” Belch called out to the victorious looking boy, who nodded eagerly.

Henry took the opportunity to look away, but Patrick chose to keep a dark look on his friend. The rest of his pals dissolved into talk over Vic’s newest accomplishment, Henry berating him and Belch defending him, while Patrick ignored it all. He was itching to get to the canalside and have a good time, if only just to abolish the jealousy he felt twisting in his gut.

He didn’t have time for that shit.

Patrick sat the closest to the bonfire, the heat curling the ends of his hair, but significantly warming his fingers that had numbed from the cold of a spring night in Maine. There had been a girl at his side at some point, but she was long gone, having moved on to someone who was more interested in her than staring into the depths of flames.

Henry and Belch had raced off elsewhere the moment the four had found the party, Vic staying close to Patrick for a while until he was led away by a few drama friends of his. Patrick was happy to be alone in all honesty, it made dealing and keeping his high all the easier. The party raged around him, fellow classmates dancing and drinking away, high on the drugs he supplied or drunk off cheap liquor and nasty beer. The music that blasted through speakers was crackled and heavy, something with a strange beat and sliced with dark lyrics. Patrick enjoyed it, sitting by himself and waiting for his next costumer to find him.

He felt a lovely haze, his high improving his mood tenfold. There was a sloppy kiss mark on his neck, but he could barely recall who had given it to him. It was perfection.

And then someone plopped down beside him.

“You’re a hard guy to find, Hockstetter.” Drawled a voice to his side.

“Am I?” Patrick said loftily, slowly turning to look to his new companion, and then felt his nostrils flare upon recognizing him. “Harris.”

The brunette bristled, and Patrick realized he had turned to face him without a mask, instead showing him the slack and emotionless state he normally had when he was alone. He brought it back, and Cole was set to ease at the surprisingly friendly smile he was given.

“So how much?” He asked, and dug out his wallet, opening the folds and showing off a pretty stack of cash.

Patrick felt limply at his side, finding his backpack and unzipping it. “What do you want? I’ve got weed, coke, E, a few poppers and a few tabs of acid if you wanna have a real good time.”

Cole sat still for a second, eyes darting around the contents of the bag. He licked dry lips before lowering his voice, barely audible over the roar of the flames.

“Do you have any… Roofies?”

“Why.” The dealer snapped, more forceful than needed.

“Do you or don’t you?” Cole insisted, keeping his voice low even as Patrick’s raised. It wasn’t as if anyone would hear them, but it didn’t matter to either of them- they both knew Cole has crossed a line.

“I’ve got some Molly, and that’s the closest you’re getting, Harris.” Patrick dug out a small bag of violet pills, smacking them to Cole’s chest. “Don’t be a fucking idiot. Thats a gram, so give me sixty.”

Cole eyed him, hand raising to take the drugs offered. “You sure-”

“Sixty bucks, then fuck off.” Patrick sneered, and snatched the twenties that were held out to him, stuffing the money in his pocket.

“Jesus, fuck. Fine.” Cole stood, and shuffled away, pocketing his drugs before casting his dealer a nasty little glare.

Patrick watched him retreat with his tail between his legs, digging into his bag for a joint. He lit it and took heavy hits, the smoke tasting musky but sweet. The haze returned eventually, distracting him as he sat there. He took patient drags, letting the smoke curl and twist from his mouth, ignoring the worry that scratched at his thoughts, it wasn’t his business. Harris wasn’t his problem.

But Tozier was.

He stood then, hauling his bag over his shoulder and walking over the rocks and gravel that crunched under his feet, weaving between crowds of grinding teens. What time was it? Where was Tozier, he hadn’t seen her yet.

Fuck.

Somehow, through his high and the distraction of the dancing and drunkenness, he found Belch. The boy was working on a drink of his own, the brown bottle in his hand nearly empty and his face flushed.

“What time is it?” Patrick demanded, Belch blinking in surprise as the urgency. The boys he stood with part of his football team and seeming confused at Patrick’s arrival, but they welcomed him with a round of nods.

“Uh,” Belch shook his arm, the watch he normally wore glinting in the far off fire light. “It’s like eight forty-seven, why?”

Patrick’s gaze swept the heads of their classmates, but he couldn’t find hers. “Have you seen Tozier?”

“No?” Belch said, caught off guard as Patrick spun away with a curse. “Hey! Wait, dude!”

But Patrick was gone, slinking away and now targeting Harris or Pram. A blond and brunette pair, who wore blazers and had proper preppy haircuts.

[First Name] was never late. To anything. She arrived nearly twenty minutes early for class, she turned in her work a day in advance and had never left him or the others hanging if she agreed to meet them up for a meal at the malt shop.

So there was no way she was late to the spring bonfire, not if she had assured him she would be there at eight. No, she would have arrived at seven forty-five.

He caught a mullet in his peripheral vision, as well as the arm candy Henry was desperately sucking face with.

“Henry.” Patrick jerked his shoulder, tearing him from liplock. The girl, a senior the dark haired boy recognized as Carly Henderson, whined from loss of contact.

“The fuck, Hockstetter!” Henry hissed, grinding his teeth as he rolled his head to face his friend. “I’m fuckin’ busy.”

“I can’t find Tozier.”

Henry’s brows furrowed. “I saw her earlier with Harris and that fuckwit Pram, by the coolers.”

Patrick’s jaw set, and he dug his heels into the rocks, sprinting away. He shoved aside a few people, the coolers in his sight. It was then he saw Tozier, leaning heavily against Dylan Pram and in the middle of a fit of giggles, her eyes glazed and face burning. She held a solo cup, the contents sloshing out her cup as Cole Harris tilted it back to her mouth, encouraging her to drink.

“Chug! Chug! Chug!” The pair cheered, and she downed the contents, crushing the cup with a valiant cry.

He slowed, coming up on them slow and steady, a predatory tilt to his shoulders as his eyes burned hotter than the logs of the bonfire. Cole was the first to see him, and his expression flattered a mere second before he paled considerably.

Pram was oblivious, carelessly crafting heavy touches to the girls waist and hips, the hands trying to wander further before Cole shot a hand out and gripped the sleeve of his blazer, catching his attention.

“Well, what do we have here?” Patrick announced his arrival with a dangerous tone.

His friend gasped, and she tore herself from the blond, taking a few steps to stumble to the man who had inevitably caused this mess, wrapping her arms around his skinny torso. “Patrick! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

Protectively, no, posessively, Patrick secured her in his arms. He threaded strands of her hair between his ringed fingers, rubbing a comforting thumb to her scalp. “You found me, Princess.”

She nuzzled her face to his chest and he held her there, grey-green eyes dancing with malevolence at the boys just feet from them.

It wouldn’t take a genius to see she was high, and higher than he had ever seen her. She had always been a lightweight, barely touching a beer and still stumbling around like she had drank a bar dry after a few sips. He’d given her a hit of a joint once and been entertained for hours as she babbled on about Star Trek with Belch and professional wrestling with Henry.

Those had been good times, he had smiled an actual smile once or twice during those times. But now? Seeing her fucked up on drugs he had sold some fuckwit jock with intent to do the worst? He saw red.

“You smell nice.” She murmured, and it was only her voice that stopped from him slugging the frozen pair in front of them. She drew him back from his rage, and he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, his hold tightening.

“Let’s get you some water, sweetheart.” Patrick said, and he turned with her, the hollow glare he shot over his shoulder sending a clear message.

‘I’ll remember this.’

He left the jocks there to stew in horror, their fates sealed. He’d be paying them a visit in the next coming days, but for now, he had a Trashmouth to attend to.

[felsight]

A short thing with my priest & druid as well as @warcraftingfox​ ‘s Mo’hir & Zatna. There’s not much context to this other than the fact I just wanted to write out this scene that’s important to my characters’ stories.

His lungs felt like they were on fire, like they would collapse at any moment. If only it could have been that simple, to end his existence as easily as that. But, no, Celendis had always been a stubborn man. He wouldn’t give up. He couldn’t. Running as quick as his legs could carry him, the elf dipped and dodged through the forest, stumbling every time his robes caught on the tangling vines around him. Instinctively, he pulled his hood closer around him as he ran.

Behind him, his pursuers seemed to be having just as much of a difficult time as he; though they at least had somewhat of an advantage with two of them being druids. Easily, they had simply flown above the trees to keep an eye on him, tracking his every move. The third, another Sin’dorei, despite her agility, had managed to tangle herself just as often as Cel did.

“Get your holy butt back here, Cel, we just want to talk!” The too familiar voice of Zatna rang out behind him, only managing to spur Cel forward even more.

He refused to let the trio capture him. He couldn’t let them see him like this; the void magic he’d embraced months ago had drastically changed his appearance as well as the exile of the Ren’dorei from their homelands, had caused too much shame to the priest. He couldn’t face Zatna. Or Mo’hir. Especially not Nezza.  Too full of shame and guilt, Celendis chose to run from his problems. Run until his legs gave out, if he had to. Until he was ready to face them again as what he now was.

What would his fiance think now? His once beloved partner, now at the mercy of this forbidden magic, at the mercy of the constant whisperings he now heard. Nezza would think him a madman. Insane. A monster. Betrayer. His heart lurched at the thought. It was better this way, better to stay away or risk those closest to him getting hurt.

< Their intentions are misplaced. They will betray you. > < They seek to harm you. Kill them first. > < They know not of the power you posses. Show them what true power is. >

The creeping thoughts caused the priest to hiss and shake his head violently. As he did so, he stumbled again. This time, he fell to his hands and knees and before he knew it, the trio surrounded him. Zatna to his back, Mo’hir and Nezza to the side and front respectively. Both druids had shifted back to their troll forms, Nezza holding out his hands reassuringly as they crept closer like he was a wounded animal.

Maybe he was, in a way.

“Get back!” Cel rasped out as he tried to breath. The energy he exerted in the short amount of time through the forest had caught up with him, causing his body to shake as his lungs tried desperately to fill to quell the fire inside them. His desperate words seemed to halt the other tree in their tracks for the time being. Or maybe they had been caught off guard to the ting to his voice he now carried thanks to the void coursing through him. He wanted to believe the former.

“Easy, mon, it just be us...” Mo’hir replied.

“You shouldn’t b-be here.” He gasped out. “I-it’s not safe.”

“We not be goin’ back wit out ya’.” Nezza stated matter-of-factly. As if Celendis could go back. “Just...Talk to us.”

Cel shook his head fiercely again. “I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Zatna piped up.

“I CANT!” Cel roared, turning quickly to face her. In his movement, his hood had flew off to lang loosely against his back. Desperately, he grasped for the hood to cover himself but it was too late. Zatna had gone quiet and wide eyed as both Mo’hir and Nezza staggered slightly.

For the next few moments that would stretch on into infinity for the priest, nobody said anything. The only thing to be heard was Celendis’s ragged breaths and the soft caress of the breeze through the leaves overhead.

“I can’t.” Celendis repeated, more sturdy this time. “The others... Other void elves.. We’re no longer welcome in Silvermo-”

“You don’t know that.” Zatna interrupted.

“I know that for a fact, Zatna. The terms of exile are pretty clear.” Cel retorted a bit too harshly to his friend.

Turning to Nezza, the troll’s expression remained unreadable as he gazed at his lover. In his silence, the druid approached the elf. Cel felt the urge to duck away from him, to turn tail and run farther away but with Zatna and Mo’hir flanking his other sides it would be pointless to even try.

Nezza didn’t stop until he was a mere few inches from Celendis before he took his face in his hands, tilting Cel’s head up to look him in the eyes. Reflexively, Cel’s own hands met Nezza’s. Light blue eyes met amber as the two remained like that until finally Nezza spoke.

“What have you done?” He said. His tone was gentle, not at all condescending like Cel half expected. Not full of horror as he imagined so many times.

The priest sighed, his gaze falling from the others to focus on the space between them. “It’s a long story.” he replied.

“We got time.”

“Nezza please listen-”

“No, you listen.” Nezza said stubbornly. “You left us in de dark. You up an’ vanished one day wit out a trace. Not even a letter or anythin’! By Bwonsamdi’s big bones, Cel, I was worried sick! I thought...” The trolls eyes glistened with unshed tears. “For Loa’s sake, I thought you were dead. Do you know what dat’s like? To wake up one mornin’ wit de love of yer life just gone in de night? I blamed myself every day for not protectin’ you bettah.”

“Brudder..” Mo’hir interrupted, placing a hand on Nezza’s shoulder. “Let de mon explain before you go an’ berate him. However..” A stern gaze was sent to Celendis, making the elf squirm slightly. “It betta be a damn good reason.”

Letting out a defeated sigh, Celendis slumped into Nezza’s arms, resting his head against the larger’s chest. “You’re...right. I should have said something. Anything. But.. How could I?”

“A letter would have been nice.” Zatna interjected. The other three shot her a look and she merely shrugged. “Just sayin’.”

“I..suppose a letter would have been best... Please forgive me, dalah’surfal, I didn’t think about the consequences.” Cel said.

“What did you do?”

“Ever since I learned of Magister Umbric’s teachings with the void, I followed him. He gave me a hope that I could return to my former glory as a priest with these methods.” He explained.

“I know dis. I remember from de first day you met ‘im.”

Celendis nodded. “Well. Not very many seemed too keen on the idea of practicing void magic; those that did would end up joining our ranks. Even the Grand Magister himself condemned the practice. He was the first to call for our casting out.”

“So den it’s his fault?” Nezza questioned.

“I told you he was a bitch.” Zatna huffed, ignoring the glare Celendis threw her way. “Relax, family’s family.... sort of.” She muttered.

“No. Not..Not entirely. Not even Umbric fully understood the power he was teaching, not until it was too late and we became like this.” Celendis motioned to his now purple-hued skin and the void tentacles that draped across his shoulders.

“There’s a lot more technicality to it but to spare the details and to make long story short... Nezza, don’t you see? I can heal again.” Cel said, a look of desperation on his face as he searched his partners face for some kind of reaction.

“Question.” Zatna piped up again, raising one of her hands. Turning to her, Cel raised a brow. “Do you happen to know someone a few inches taller than me,  very snarky, power-hungry, narcissistic as hell, with an ego and a god complex to boot?”

“Uh..No? Why?” Cel replies.

“Just askin’. No reason.” She shrugs.

“You have ya’ powers back...At de cost of exile?” Nezza said, capturing Cel’s attention once again.

Celendis nodded.

“Was it worth it?”

He bit his lip as silent tears streamed down his face. “No. It’s not the same. Not without you. Not without home.”

[azulaphales]

Speak From the Heart

A late entry for the Regeith Mini Event day 1 loyalty/sacrifice, posted on free day so it’s also that (but I have more for free day!) 

Wedding fic. Please enjoy~

@thegalranetwork

ao3 here

Keith’s steps shook as he walked up to the platform, struggling not to trip over his long robe. Even though only team Voltron and the Blades he was closest to were there, he still felt like too many eyes were on him. He tried to keep his head high while walking down the aisle, but once he was standing on the platform he realized he was staring at his feet.

Regris’s fingers brushed under his chin and tilted his face up to look at him. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I’m nervous,” Keith whispered.

Regris smiled warmly, the fangs at the corners of his mouth poking out over his lip. Now Keith’s heart felt like it was about to pound out of his chest for a different reason. Regris looked breathtaking, with the pale gray sheer robe draped over his bluish skin.

Thace and Ulaz had essentially become Keith’s adoptive parents, and when Keith and Regris announced that they were getting married, they offered to let them wear their robes from their own wedding. Keith wore Thace’s, and Regris wore Ulaz’s, tailored to fit his tail, of course.

Keith thought he looked less than stunning in Thace’s black robe. For one thing, it was too big. Thace had hemmed it up for Keith, but he still left it a little too long, reluctant to sacrifice any more inches of the intricately woven fabric. Thace had been fiddling with Keith’s collar up until the moment he was supposed to walk through the doors, and far from making Keith confident in his appearance, it only made him more anxious.

Regris rubbed his thumb along Keith’s cheekbone. “I’m nervous too,” Regris assured him. “Just really good at hiding it.”

He took Keith’s hands in his, and then, impulsively, pulled him against his chest and rested his chin on top of Keith’s head. They weren’t supposed to stand this close this early in the ceremony, technically, but Keith was sure no one would mind. They knew how he was. He liked to be touching Regris. If Keith and Regris were sitting in the same room, one of them would end up in the other’s lap within five minutes. Even if they were in a diplomatic meeting and both happened to forget that they were supposed to act professional. Keith laughed, remembering that incident, and leaned into Regris’s chest.

Regris wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist, and Keith did the same. They started swaying back and forth to the soft music that was playing over the speakers, Regris’s tail sweeping lazily along the floor. Regris hummed along to the music and purred deep in his chest. It did wonders to soothe Keith’s nerves. Keith barely noticed when Regris’s humming changed to speaking, reading off the long speech they were both told to memorize, the Marmora wedding vows. Keith didn’t feel the need to listen to the words, just the cadence of Regris’s deep voice. He already knew the speech by heart himself. Instead, he ran his fingers through Regris’s mane as he stared out at the audience.

Weddings in the Blade of Marmora were not always a public affair. They didn’t require an officiant or witnesses, because in their secret society where most of their members were undercover, those might be hard to come by. They had their sacred script and that was enough. As nervous as he was, Keith remembered that he had wanted his friends to be there.

Everyone was sitting in one row, in a semicircle that curved around the platform. Keith’s eyes first went to Shiro. His long-time best friend was looking back at him with a proud smile. On either side of Shiro were Allura and Matt, holding Shiro’s hands. They had had an Altean trio wedding earlier in the year. It had been the Altean royal family’s best-kept secret that Alfor was married to Coran as well as his wife, and they had followed the same tradition when Allura wanted to get married to Shiro and Matt. Coran was sitting beside Allura at the end of the row, with a solemn expression and tears in his eyes.

Next to Matt sat Pidge, who was watching raptly, like they were playing out a movie. Beside her were Shay and Hunk, who had also gotten married a few years ago. Shay had come all the way from the Balmera to the Blade of Marmora base for Keith’s wedding, and Keith was a little embarrassed about that, because he didn’t know her that well. But it obviously made Hunk happy that she was there, and that made Keith happy too.

On the other side of Hunk, at the end of the Voltron side of the row, Lance was sobbing. The first thought that crossed Keith’s mind was that it was because even Keith, his former rival, had found someone before Lance, the self-proclaimed ladies’ man, did. Lance would probably say that was the reason if asked, but Keith knew that wasn’t it. They had grown from their immature teenage bickering to being close friends over the past seven years. Seeing him so emotional over Keith being happy set off a pang of fondness in Keith’s heart.

There was a small gap in the row, and on the side of the platform closer to where Regris was standing were the Blade of Marmora guests. Thace was crying on Ulaz’s shoulder, and Ulaz was gently soothing him, nuzzling his head. Antok and Kolivan looked more composed, but by the way Kolivan’s hand was tightly clasped around Antok’s, he could tell that the leader was probably getting emotional under that scowl. Antok had his mask on, as always, so it was possible he was crying too. It was a teary occasion for everyone, it seemed.

Keith glanced around the room again, and he couldn’t understand why he’d been so nervous. These were his allies, his friends, his family. His blood family, the Marmorans, and his found family in Voltron. And Regris, his husband, his new family.

Regris nudged the top of Keith’s head with his chin. “Yes?” Keith murmured, looking up at him.

“Now’s the part when you’re supposed to proclaim your undying loyalty to me, remember?” Regris said with a cheeky grin.

Keith’s eyes widened. He had been so distracted that he hadn’t even noticed that Regris finished speaking a minute ago. Now it was his turn to say the speech. The speech that he’d completely forgotten.

Keith fidgeted nervously, spinning his black hematite wedding ring. Regris had not only researched human culture enough to know that rings were the traditional wedding trinket, but enough to make him an ace ring with a spinner. That way, he would think of Regris whenever he got anxious, when he needed it most. It was little things like that that made his heart swell up with love for Regris… and suddenly he didn’t need to remember the speech.

Keith looked up at Regris, his eyes shining with determination. “Regris,” he said. “I love you so much. More than anything in the universe.” He struggled to keep the words coming out when he saw Regris’s lip quivering. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I swear to protect you and keep you close to me. I am yours, as you are mine…”

Keith trailed off when he noticed the tears pooling in Regris’s amber eyes. “You went off the script…” Regris murmured. “That was beautiful, dear…”

He swept Keith up in his arms and kissed him, lips surging into his. Keith laughed when Regris started kissing and nuzzling all over his face, rubbing their noses and cheeks together. He swung his legs, and Regris put him down, then enfolded him in a tight hug. His friends were cheering and applauding.

Keith didn’t know how long this happiness would last. This was their first day off in so many weeks, and after the wedding was over, they would have to return to leading the Coalition and fighting the Galra Empire. They all knew that dismantling a 10,000-year-old empire might take longer than their lifetimes, and it wore them down. Since Keith was a paladin again and Regris was still running missions with the Blade, they were long distance most of the time, never knowing if their last visit or their last call would truly be the last.

But for now, in Regris’s arms, he could hope that the war would be over soon. That one day they would know a peaceful life, wake up in bed together and see each other’s faces, happy and healthy and alive. For now, they had this moment and they had each other, and Keith would do everything he could to make sure that it lasted forever.

[black-strike-otp]

part 60

‘How many times did you fall asleep while working on this Tiffany?’

Only like twice. //collapses on the floor//

Time, the illusion that it was, persisted still on board the transporter. Blackout couldn’t determine who had managed to come up the system they used to fasten the Revenge II to the Rising Star. It was a larger ship than the ‘Star; it couldn’t possibly be easy for their smaller voyager to tug along. Then again, there was also no telling how fast they were going through the empty blackness they all just simply drifted through. Maybe they were floating more than cruising as prior. It was unknown to him.

In all actuality, he wasn’t involved in any decisions for the past few days so much was unknown to him. He was stuck in one of the three room’s closest to the med-bay that had been designated to ‘serious’ patients. The critical and critical but stable’s were kept in the med-bay and in the nearest room thereafter; while the serious were kept in two other chambers further out. There simply wasn’t enough space for any other variations. Others were told to go where they could; their rooms, boarding in the nearest accommodations after the primary trio, whatever they preferred.

Guard went back to controlling the ship. Occasionally he’d come in for Blackout’s opinion, but he had most everything under control. By himself too, from the sound of it. It added further shame to Blackout. Here he was, laying around, a still fresh and newly appointed commander of the ship just lounging.

All the rumors said that Neutroboost still hadn’t been seen since the incident as well. Maybe he’d perished. He could hope. But considering a few bots confirmed that delivering an energon cube outside of his locked quarters that they were being retrieved and empty ones left outside the door.

Despite how useless to the rogue party he felt, not everything was a disappointment.

Novastrike lay on his chassis, recharging. The past cycle full of jours that went by she mostly rested. When she was active though, he enjoyed the loud purring of her frame as she nestled against him. He only had to tell a few bots in the room with him to shut it when some of them dared to jest him on his softness.

So what, he’d discovered a softness inside of himself? Or rather, Nova had dragged the softness out from him. It didn’t matter either way, it didn’t make him any less of a fighter or any less than what he had been before. If anything it only made him stronger, wiser, more sure of himself.

There was one problem. One tiny, itty bitty, singular problem.

What in the frag was he supposed to do about loving her?

< Tell her? > Scorponok offered.

< Shouldn’t you be recharging, you are in one of the critical rooms. >

< With a broken arm, I deserve a little pampering and TLC. Now, why don’t you consider telling her. >

Blackout would fume then, and the argument would go on with him saying something like: < That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard. What if she doesn’t love me back? What happens then? >

< Bots have to deal with that fear all the time, Blackout. You’ll never know how she feels unless you say something. >

And risk losing her, forever? He felt sick at the very thought. And bots had to deal with this all the time? Terrible. Disgusting. Why wasn’t there any easier way to deal with this?

For such an appealing strand of emotions and sentiments, love sure was a pain in the aft to deal with.

But he convinced himself he had all the time he needed. For now, he would chew on his impatience and his own inner conflict on how terrible he felt doing nothing. Well, between feeling blissfully happy and listening to Novastrike bicker at him that there was no reason for him to feel bad and then she would cuddle up against his chassis or in the crook of his neck like a little warmer and he’d laugh and she’d laugh and the beautiful music of her voice, her giggling...

Primus how long had he been this smitten and enamored by her?

~

Waking up from recharge, Novastrike looked around the room slowly. The lights had been dimmed for regular intervals of recharge. The sound of bots intakes so softly moving warned her that everyone was in a restful state at the moment.

And that appeared to include Blackout.

Looking up to his handsome face, the white armored femme placed her chin on her servos and swished her tail as she simply drank in his good looks. The poor handsome mech; he had patches welded on and bolted on every which way on his back that made it uncomfortable for him to rest easily. But at least he was getting some proper slumber in now.

Rolling over to her aft, Nova slid off Blackout’s chassis and on the edge of the berth. Her legs didn’t want to work at first and she nearly lunged into his arm that lay near. Venting lightly, she straightened her backstrut and ran a servo along the patch on her side with a wince as she made contact with the edges. Still tender.

Careful not to disturb anyone, Novastrike jumped off the berth and on the floor. Pins and needles shot up her legs as she landed. She wobbled briefly before shaking her helm and quietly making for the door. A few bots mumbled tiredly as she passed. The door hummed open and she looked back to make sure nobot had been awaken before stepping out.

Tiptoeing down the corridor a short ways, Nova entered the med-bay.

The medic looked up as she entered. “Oh, good evening Novastrike. What did I tell you about sneaking about when you should be resting, hmm?”

“Sorry ma’am,” Nova whispered, inclining her helm. “I just came to see if you needed anymore help.”

“Not trying to escape the servos of that mech guarding you so fiercely, hmm?” she teased with a grin.

Novastrike’s audios lit up. “No,” she hissed. “I enjoy being in Blackout’s servos. They’re gentle and warm-”

“Alright, alright, okay,” the larger femme stated with a shudder, waving her servo. “I don’t need to know all your mushy-gushy sparkfelt attractions for him.”

“I didn’t mean-”

“I know you only mean his kindness, but it’s no less obscene.”

Novastrike placed her servos on her hips. “You’re telling me you don’t care for affection?”

“Oh dear, no,” the medic stated with a snicker. “I’m telling you I don’t care for hearing any bot’s affection. My own is my own business, your own should be yours.”

“Fair enough,”  Nova agreed. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

“Likewise, young one. Now why don’t you head back before he notices your missing.”

Novastrike offered a shake of her helm. “I’d like to offer what I can. You’ve not gotten much recharge yourself these past few cycles, just let me help a while and I’ll go back, I promise.”

The medic sighed, shaking her helm. “Still too soft for your own good.”

A sad smile flashed across the small femme’s faceplate. “Not soft enough,” she disagreed. “If I had a gentler spark, maybe some of those bots wouldn’t be offline.”

The medic arched an optic ridge. “Oh? Is that so?”

“Well, yes... I... I mean, I offlined some of them-”

“And you can be sure that not offlining them would have effected the future, made them see differently if they’d lived?”

“Well, I don’t know-”

“You can say for a fact they wouldn’t have destroyed you if you placed your guns down and opened your spark and your mouth to them, speaking with true genuine warm and consideration? They all would have simply adored you and hung on your every word, hmm?”

“That’s not what I’m saying at all-”

“In a roundabout way, you are,” the medic pointed out, raising a digit in the air. “That’s just the thing: you have no idea what could or would have happened given an alternative outline. It’s in the past. In the middle of a fight, do you think you have the chance to stop and tell your opponent you don’t want to hurt them, that their lives and hopes and dreams matter, that they are worthy of a better life? No, you did what you had to do. Any bot can see that.”

Lowering her audios, Novastrike turned her optics to the floor. It’s true she couldn’t alter the events and outcomes, but it didn’t make her wish any less that she could have. Just as she wished she had been more careful in that fight with Blackout further back on Epads. Her suitor may have survived, but just as these corrupted bots offlined, he too had deserved a chance to have a better life.

Raising her helm, Novastrike met the medic’s optics as she raised her voice just a fraction: “What about those on the Revenge II, in their cells?”

“What about them?”

“Do you think that they will decide to help us, be willing to hear us out?”

“Everybot’s capable of change, dear. I think you know that pretty well.”

Nova made a tiny frown as the medic looked away. She knew that the femme was implying Blackout, but she found her suggestion insulting. As if he didn’t have his own thoughts and feelings until recently; as if he was just a mindless drone prior. It only took some awakening for him to see another side of himself and bring it to life. A part of himself long hidden, sheltered, neglected and in dire need of a gentle nudge.

That didn’t make her wrong. You learned, you aged, you grew, you changed and altered with these things.

“Well if you’re not going to leave, you may as well come over here and help me look over the vitals of the bots in the room,” the medic murmured with a fussy gesture of her servos all over the place.

“Yes ma’am,” Nova whispered, inclining her helm with respect.

~

The door to the med-bay opened. Whirling around with surprise, Novastrike half expected to see a damaged bot waddling in, or someone crying out that there was trouble and yet another ship had found them.

Instead, she was greeted by the warm face of Guard.

Offering a massively goofy smile, she pounced off the berth she’d been on and on the floor. She hesitated after taking a few steps towards him, only just realizing she was neglecting the work she had been assigned to.

Swiveling her helm towards the medic, Nova offered an apologetic half-grin as she started to turn back to the berth.

“No, go,” the medic whispered with a smile and a flick of her wrist. “You’ve been working for a little over two jours now. Just don’t be too long, you need to head back and go recharge. You need your rest if you’re going to recover quickly.”

Novastrike gave an enthusiastic nod. Her legs skipped more than ran across the floor over to the large commander, whom chuckled as she came closer.

“Good to see you walking around, Novastrike.”

“And to you too, Guard!” Nova squeaked loudly.

“I’m doing what I can,” he confirmed with a nod of his helm. “Rotating crew members to guard the prisoners aboard the Revenge II, keeping a healthy bot at the storage area to keep an optic on things, redirecting our flight plans, the usual.”

“Blackout’s sorry he can’t help out more, sir,” she whispered, lowering her audios.

Tilting his helm, Guard grunted softly as he tapped his cane against the floor. “He has nothing to be apologizing for. Tell him to stop beating himself up. He saved us from likely become servants to those scoundrels. We owe him a great deal.”

“I’ll tell him, but I’m sure he won’t listen anymore than he has on the matter, which is little,” she stated with a half-smile.

“Hmm. I’ll be sure to have a talk with him, then, when I can. In the meantime, I overheard the medic saying you’ve been standing around helping for a while, is that so?”

Novastrike bobbed her helm in agreement.

“Youngling, I like your spirit, but you should go. Your injuries are not the most severe, but you require recharge and to be at ease. You deserve that. You worked your aft on defending this ship, and then proceeded to work your aft on as a partial stand in officer while Blackout and I were overhearing complaints and figuring out where we needed to go from that point. We appreciate you, Novastrike. I appreciate you, I like to consider myself a fan.”

He offered a wink, causing Nova to giggle.

“But right now,” he went on, “the best you can do for all us is to look after yourself, and that mech of yours.”

“Guard, he’s not my mech,” Novastrike giggled, sticking her glossia out partly.

“Hmm. Fooling the whole ship then it seems. I don’t think there’s many bots unaware of just how cozy you two have gotten.”

Once again, the tiny femme’s audios grew warm. She fidgeted in place, lacing her digits in front of her.

Guard gave a deep chuckle. He gave an inclination of his helm towards the door behind him.

“Go on now. I can take it from here.”

“Are you sure?” she murmured with concern. “What about your leg?”

“What, this old thing?” Guard stated, waving his servo down to the appendage in question which was encased in a metal sheath. “I’ll be fine, don’t you worry. I can’t lie to your sweet faceplate young one, I am in some pain, but I will take pain any day if it means being online and helping my brethren. Besides, the medic managed to work on my boot, as she calls it, a little more. It’s a bit more structurally sound. I’ll be fine.”

“If you say so, sir...”

“I did so. Now go, hurry,” he made a gesture frantically towards the door. “Move along before somebot notices you’ve been missing!”

Pressing her digits against her mouth, Nova giggled as she did as instructed and ‘hurried’ towards the door. She took a long enough detour to hug Guard’s leg before scampering off. The old mech’s warm laughter followed her out the door before it closed.

Quick and quiet as her sly cat-like reflexes kicked in, Novastrike sneaked back into the room stealthily. The door hummed opened and closed behind her, momentarily bringing light in the mostly dark room. A few bots stirred slightly and muttered drowsily, but nobot sat up or seemed alarmed.

She moved light on her pedes. Careful of anything on the floor left behind by the medic or any bot, she made her way around to Blackout’s berth. She breathed in his scent; that armor of danger and darkness, and bent at the knees before leaping up to the berth.

She flashed her optics towards his faceplate.

Good, still recharging peacefully.

Nova took a careful step as if to walk around his servo, and released a squeal as Blackout’s arm moved around her.

“Third night in a row you’ve ran off on me,” Blackout rumbled, his crimson optics staring at her with curious mischief.

Novastrike’s optics grew wide and her audios burned with mortification. “You- you knew I left those other nights? But you looked so peaceful when I came back.”

“I played along,” Blackout smugly reported, gently pushing her towards him.

“Sorry if I wake you when I come back- and leave,” she sorely commented stepping forward to place her servos against his side.

He offered her a small smile that made her spark flip. Turning her helm away before she got sidetracked, Nova hopped up to climb on his chassis. Her ears only managed to burn more as she growled at him when his servo lightly bumped her aft to help her up.

“You touched my aft!” she growled lightly.

Blackout raised an optic ridge, his smile now growing more bold. “I could swear I’ve touched a lot more provocative areas than your aft...”

“Shhhhh!”

He gave a shrug of his massive shoulders. “You started it.”

Shooting him a glare, Novastrike crawled the rest of the way over to her spot right over Blackout’s spark chamber and flopped down. She stuck out her glossia towards him for good measure, too.

He chuckled quietly, and then whispered, “You’re returns aren’t what woke me up.”

Nova raised an optic ridge curiously.

“When you leave, I feel your weight disappear,” he admitted. “It’s a little colder where you normally lay on me without you there.”

“I was about to demand if you were calling me chubby, but that sounds awfully sweet when you put it that way,” Nova hummed, nuzzling her cheek against his chassis.

Rolling his optics, Blackout went to place his servo lightly over her. She purred softly, arching out her back slightly and snuggling between the protective blanket of his digits against her and the sturdy armor beneath her.

“Are you going off to see other bots?” Blackout mockingly growled.

She didn’t have the spark to play along. Emitting a static filled yawn, Nova drowsily responded: “Sorry, dear, I only have optics for you. I’ve only been helping the medic situate some stuff, nothing extraordinary.”

“You are adorable and extraordinary,” Blackout growled, tapping her very, very, very lightly on her faceplate with the tip of his digit.

“I know,” she mumbled.

As Blackout snickered once more, Novastrike’s optics flickered and went offline as they shuttered. She curled her legs in closer to her body as she settled in to recharge a bit longer.

While drifting off, the faint sound of Blackout’s spark humming lulled her into a peaceful sleep.