#the whole downstairs is like uninhabitable for me

[fourteen--steps]

Nuka ate a fuzzy the other night and has kept it down for 2 days, and gained 3 grams from it! He's also gotten two doses of his meds. No word on the IBD test results yet. But he's hanging in there.

[dinogoofymutated]

Nightcrawler/GN!Reader The first Fic of the season is here!!! I'll go ahead an outright say that the other fic will NOT be this long and this in-depth. This one took me literally the whole month of september when it was only supposed to take me two weeks. I'm going to do my best to make sure that the other fics come out on time, but please have a little patience with me ;-; Also, This fic has not been beta read bc it is an absolute beast at 8k words (at least for me), so if anything seems off, or the ending was too abrupts, don't be mean lol.

You've recently moved into an old, spooky mansion that your great-aunt left you in her will. It's been uninhabited for years but is strangely well-kept. You're sure you live here alone, but every once in a while you can't shake the feeling of being watched…

Tws: Demons, stereotypical witchcraft, Alcohol consumption, Graphic depictions of blood and wounds for a minute, I'll add more if I can think of any.

    When the keys are plopped carelessly into your hands, they’re cold. They’re still cold, two weeks later when you finish moving in. It wasn't a fancy affair, no movers or big trucks, just some friends and the van they borrowed from the school. Truthfully, you didn’t really have a lot anyway. Most of them had honestly only shown up to offer their condolences for your loss.

    Your groceries feel heavier than normal when you set them on the kitchen counter, stepping back with a sigh. Never in your wildest dreams would you have even imagined of living in a place like this. You’d never even visited Aunt Maude’s house- Your, house. Sure, you and the rest of the family all knew she was well-off, but no one had a clue that when the will was read she had left you a Victorian-era mansion along with her estate. Even you hadn’t until you googled her address after the lawyer gave you the keys. 

    As surprising as it was, it was definitely your Great-Aunt Maude’s house. Every bathroom, bedroom, living space, You could see her in all of it. She was kooky and eclectic, with a love for all things strange and unusual. It was comforting, almost. To be wrapped in a house filled with the remnants of your aunt. Your eyes sting as you begin to fill up the long empty fridge, organizing it to your liking. You close the door and see your graduation photos stuck to it, along with a photo strip from the photo booth she dragged you into at your sweet sixteen. You suck in a shakey sob, tears welling in your eyes for what feels like the millionth time that day. You’re sad, and exhausted, and you haven't even unpacked yet, most of your belongings set in boxes in the Sitting room and Hallway.  But you just… couldn’t bring yourself to bother. Everything that was cold was already put in the fridge, so you decided the rest can wait till the morning.

    You trudge up the stairs with as much energy as you can muster, and when you finally make it to the master bedroom, you’re ready to pass out. The room is decorated in a way that feels much more like you than it felt like your Aunt, and you notice that the quilt on the bed was one she had shown you at Christmas one year. One you told her you very much envied. It was like she had made the room your own before she even stepped foot into the nursing home. The thought is enough to choke you up again. You crawl underneath the soft covers in a pretty pitiful manner, falling asleep almost immediately. 

    It’s only when you wake up the next morning that you start to notice something strange about this house. 

    The kitchen is a somewhat long walk from the upstares bedroom, and you’re basically starving by the time you get downstairs. You yawn as you grab the milk out of the fridge, still feeling half asleep as you turn around to grab the cereal off the counter only to find it… gone. In fact, all of the groceries you had left on the counter yesterday were gone.

     The realization is like a shot of ice through your veins. What the fuck?… You must have put them away last night, right? But you knew they were on the counter when you went to bed. You feel like you’re going to throw up, thinking about the chance that a burglar had broken in last night and you hadn’t heard it because you were upstairs. You sprint to the sitting room taking note of all your boxes and things, making sure to double-check that your TV was actually there and not a figment of your imagination, but it was definitely solid. You cautiously walk back to the kitchen, staring at the pantry door for an anxious moment before biting the bullet and swiftly opening it.

    All your groceries were in place. All are organized neatly exactly where you would have preferred them to be. Strange. You must have woken up last night and done it. Right? It wouldn’t be too absurd to assume you had put the groceries away half-asleep and forgotten about it. That had to be it. It’s not like someone broke in last night just to put your groceries away. Now that was just plain ridiculous. 

    From then on out, The strange things only seemed to continue.

    Sure, a house this old wasn’t without a general peculiarity about it, but after being told it hadn’t been inhabited since Aunt Maude put herself into inpatient care, it should be dusty, right? A home of this size, cluttered with the many odds and ends she had collected over the years? You’d never heard of a house that could dust itself. Your hands wander more than ever as you traverse the mansion, they run down the banister, across the pretty wallpaper, even taking a swipe at a shelf or two, and still, they’re clean. Not a smudge or spec of dirt on your fingers. 

    Strange, but not unexplainable. Maybe she had scheduled a cleaning service to take place after her death or something. You didn’t know. But a week goes by. Then two and then three, and everything is still spotless. And that was the least of it. Lights seemed to turn off by themselves at night. Things that you’re sure you heard fall were placed upright. If you forgot to turn the oven off, it would already be cool by the time you ran back into the kitchen- and the house constantly smelled like sulfur and brimstone. At this point, you’ve called the fire department so many times worried about a gas leak that they think you’ve gone crazy. 

    You just felt… Uneasy. Like you were being watched.

    “I feel like I’m losing my mind, Jean.” You watch as the redhead tries to hide a smile on the other side of the Facetime call, and you can’t help but pout a little when she inevitably laughs. Your little image on the top part of the camera must look rather ridiculous, hands tangled in some string lights you had found in the closet. As strangely organized and spotless as everything was, it seems that the Christmas lights in the back of the closet weren’t so lucky. Yay for you. 

    “Look, you’re just overthinking things. Don’t stress out about it.” Jean says, ever the voice of reason. You know she’s probably right. “Besides, you’ve been through a lot lately. It’s not abnormal for stress to do weird things to the mind.”

    “Yeah, I guess so.” You mumble. Detangling these lights is beginning to be a bit trickier than you first expected them to be. Each tangle and loop seems to be interconnected, and no matter how gently or firmly you are with the cords, another knot seems to form with every probable success. You sigh in annoyance, and Jean raises an eyebrow at you. 

    “Do I need to ask about the Christmas lights?” You’re about ready to give up on them when she asks, dramatically dropping them in your lap.

    “Well, remember how I was gonna throw that big Halloween party this year?” Jean hums in response. “Well, turns out that all the decorations I had for the apartment only cover like, an eighth of the house. I’ve been rummaging around in the closets all day to try and find something that might work and all I’ve been able to find is this.” You hold up the old, tangled lights for her to see.

    “That’s weird. With what I know about your Aunt, you’d think that she’d have a ton of decorations.” Jean mentions. You groan loudly, pressing your palms into the round edges of your eyesockets in frustration. 

    “Exactly! She loved Halloween, and with a house like this, there’s no way she’d just leave it bare. I’ve raided practically every closet and storage room in the house and haven’t found anything at all.” You almost shout the words, exasperated at this point. You knew for a fact Aunt Maude had to have something. It didn’t matter if it was even one of those awful animatronic jumping spiders at this point, you’d take anything if it meant you wouldn’t have to tap into your inheritance to decorate this big ass house (because there was no way in hell you weren’t going to decorate, you’d never disgrace your Aunt’s memory like that.). Jean is quiet for a moment, looking sympathetic through the screen. To be honest, as much as you value Jean’s advice, you’re beginning to think she’s got nothing to help you until-

    “Are you sure there’s not an attic or anything?”

    The thought makes you pause.

    “Oh my god, I’m an actual idiot.” You practically shriek the words, quickly standing from the floor and shoving the Christmas lights to the side as you run to get some shoes on. The attic! God, you feel so stupid for not thinking of it before! All you had to do was find the access hatch!

    “Just be careful though! Even though the house is renovated, that doesn’t mean-”

    “I’ll call you later, Okay? I’m gonna go look upstairs!”

    “No no no, don’t-”

    It takes you forever to find that damn attic. You’d think that it would be easy to find, seeing that it’s sort of an important structure in this house, but nooo. It’s been almost a month since you moved in, and yet you still feel like you’re lost while you wander around the third floor. How hard could it be to find a simple hatch? You feel like you’re looking in all the wrong places, and you know you probably are. You’re pacing around one of the third-floor bedrooms looking at the ceiling when a noise from the billiards room across the hall makes you freeze. 

    Were those footsteps?

    No, you were home alone. It couldn’t be. 

    Still, the sound leaves you on edge. You stalk across the hallway, stopping at the door to the other room as you briefly debate on how to open it. A small shuffle from the ceiling makes you jump a little, and you quickly decide, Fuck it. We ball. 

    You swing the door open with a bit more force than necessary and find the room… empty. Right. Of course, it was. You sigh in relief, running a stressed hand through your scalp as you take in the sight of the room for the first time since your original walk-through of the home. 

    In your brief scan of the room, you manage to spot a small string hanging right above the pool table, swinging back and forth. You slowly look up, and there it is. The fucking attic hatch. 

    “Oh god damn it. Was it really that easy to find?” You mumble to yourself, wondering if you really were just that stupid. 

    It doesn’t take a lot of time to move the pool table over so that you can open the latch and pull the rickety old ladder down. It looked more modern than most of the house, but it was easy to tell it was about as old as you were. You take a moment to just stare into the black hole in the ceiling, wondering if all this was really worth it. Well, you already spent all this time looking for the thing, so…

    You’re a little extra careful as you climb the ladder up into the attic, using the flashlight in your phone to light the way the further you go. The attic is a little bit dustier than the rest of the house, but to be honest, it was cleaner than you were expecting. It's dark and cramped, but once you fully enter you find that you can at least stand up to your full height. The excitement of finding the place has begun to wear off, and you start to feel a little flighty as you look around and the light from your flashlight shifts. This is okay. It’s fine. You’re fine. Maybe she had lights installed, right? You look up at the roof and are thankful to see those long, industrial fluorescent lights screwed to the ceiling. Thank god. 

    It takes a minute of stumbling and carefully following the wires to a corner of the attic, doing your best not to trip over anything along the way, and you find a small light switch in the corner of the room. You breathe a sigh of relief as you flick it on, and the lights overhead blink and light up. That’s a bit better!

    You find that Aunt Maude’s attic is cluttered with various random items, some older, others a bit more modern. The exercise bike and the Zumba tapes made you laugh a little as you passed them by, while some older cloth dolls and bunnies just made you uncomfortable. You’re not really sure where to start the search, so you just walk around for a minute. One of the lights overhead is starting to flicker a little, and you’re inwardly hoping that there’s no faulty wiring or anything that might start a fire when your foot catches on something.

    “Oh Shit!”

    There’s not a lot of time for you to catch yourself when you fall, eating absolute shit as you fall face-first into a stack of boxes. You smash your nose into something particularly hard when you land, and there’s a variety of shapes sticking into your sides that have sprouted from the smashed boxes below you. Ow, ow ow! God damnit! This is what you get for not listening to Jean. You feel a little dizzy as you sit up amongst the boxes, holding your nose tightly while you wonder if you just broke it. Your eyes are blurry from the pain, and it takes a second for you to fully come to.

    “What the hell did I just fall into?” You’re blinking away the blurriness as the sight in front of you finally starts to clear, A bunch of broken boxes now greeting you. Boxes that now had a bunch of plastic bones sticking out of the torn sides. You make a fairly embarrassing noise of excitement when you realize you had found exactly what you were looking for in the first place. The Halloween decorations!! Thank god! You were so unbelievably happy to find them that you couldn’t help but reach forward and look through the boxes immediately. 

    After thoroughly inspecting the contents, you realize that there were about eight large boxes of Halloween decorations in total. Motherfucking eight! This was perfect! The only thing was that there was still one little issue: getting them downstairs. You try not to think about those rickety ladders too hard as you move each box to a place a little easier to get to. Your back is already aching when you’re done for the moment, so you decide to sit down on the floor and lean back a little, catching your breath while looking at those eight, somewhat heavy boxes you were gonna have to fool around with in just a moment. Your foot nudges something as you do so. Hm. 

    Sitting up a little bit, you can see that it’s a floorboard, just sticking out a little bit. Oh! Guess that’s what you tripped over earlier. You try and press it back down with your foot, and that definitely doesn't work. Damn. Hopefully, you could find a hammer or something to tack it back down. You scoot over to get a better look when you notice that there’s something underneath, a dark blue color just faintly catching your eye. Curious, you lift the board a little, and after a tug or two, it gives way.

    You find an old, leatherbound book underneath. It’s got no clear name on the cover or the spine, simply a rune or emblem of sorts burned into the upper left corner. Finding it a bit strange, you flip open the cover, thinking that it must be a diary or something left by the original owners as a time capsule of sorts- but it’s not. Every page in the book is blank except for the very last one. This book is not what it has been. When the Veil strains thin will the ink be seen.

    Weird, but okay. You assume it’s a novelty or a trick or something, but it looks spooky enough, so you gently set it in one of the more empty boxes of Halloween decorations. Now it was time for the hard part.

    You drag one box at a time to the ladder, and looking at the size of them vs. the skinny steps below you, you wonder just how the hell Aunt Maude got these up here in the first place. Just thinking about getting these downstairs is intimidating, but you were never a quitter. One by one, you carefully take each box down, making sure to never carry more than you can handle and to keep a good grip on the ladder no matter what. After about 20 minutes, you get about halfway through. Four boxes down, four to go. Your arms are getting a bit tired and you’re a bit sweaty from the lack of AC in the attic, but you think you’ve got it. 

     On the fifth box of decorations, your foot slips. You gasp in shock, your stomach flipping as you fall backward- a split second of absolute terror as you fall. You’re terrified that you’re gonna die, and that Jean will never forgive you and you’d never get to throw that stupid party you were doing all this work for in the first place. 

    The air is knocked from your lungs from something that felt much more like a catch than it did the floor. You don't know what’s going on for a moment, eyes shut tight as the shock begins to wear off and you realize that you’re fine… Wait. Hold on. Someone had definitely caught you, and unless Jean had snuck in…

    To be honest, whatever you were expecting when you opened your eyes was very, very much wrong. Your heart is beating a million times a minute, a chill running through you when you finally register who is above you. Or what, rather. The first thing you see are his eyes. Yellow from pupil to scelera, almost glowing in the low light of the billiards room. He’s more fuzz than skin, blue in color, with devilishly sharp canine teeth he reveals with a sheepish smile.

    “Hallo?”

    He flinches when you shriek, doing his best not to drop you as you squirm out of his arms. Your knees give out the moment your feet hit the floor, and you scramble back, grabbing the first box you can and throwing anything you can find at him. 

    “Sorry- Sorry! I had not mean to scare you!” He holds his arms up to block each decoration you throw at him. A few plastic spiders, a zip lock of polyester faux webbing, and a little floral crow or two. You can hardly even think at the moment.

    “Stop! Please stop! I didn't want to let you fall!” He flinches at each item although none of them are very heavy. You’re running out of things to throw, stalling for a moment as you debate lunging for one of the other boxes.

    “WHAT ARE YOU?!” You shriek again.  He opens his mouth to speak as he takes a step back, and you flinch as you see something move in the corner of your eye- a tail. A spaded fucking demon tail. You had to be losing it. Having hallucinations or a nightmare or something- but as it turns out, you are definitely a fight-over-freeze kind of person, and your body kicks in before your brain has caught up. The box of bones was next to go. A hand, and then two small rib cages and a slightly heavy bundle of newspaper fly through the air.

     “Careful!” He flat-out ignores the other items, going wide-eyed at the ball of newspaper and lunging to catch it in time. He takes an audible sigh of relief when he does, and says something that makes you pause from pelting him with any more Halloween shit.

    “You’re certainly Maude’s kin, but I doubt she’d appreciate you throwing her breakables.” He halfheartedly jokes, an awkward smile on his face. You’re mid-throw with another bone, hand frozen in the air with a range of emotions going on in your head.

    “Excuse me?” You ask, possibly a little overdramatic at the moment. He goes to move, probably to set the wad of newspaper down, but you raise your hand again as if to throw, making a face at him that’s a little more goofy than it was intimidating. He hands the newspaper off to his tail, raising his hands to show that he means no harm.

    “Maude? The woman who lived here before?”

    “Yeah, I got that part!” You cry out, hands shaking a bit from adrenaline. “How do you know my Aunt Maude? And what are you!? Why are you here!?” The rapid-fire questions seem to interrupt him every time he opens his mouth, but he doesn’t seem to lose his patience with you. He very calmly places the wad of newspaper on top of a box that happens to be near, and you eye him suspiciously as he does. He sits down next to it, the tip of his tail swaying just slightly.

    “Maybe we should take a step back, Ja? I can explain everything, I promise.” He says, patting the space next to him. “Herkommen. It might be better to sit for this.” His smile is polite, and if this situation were any different, you might find his kind demeanor charming. But the situation isn’t different. He was a stranger in your house. A blue, possible-demon stranger, with a tail and what you think looks like small, pointed horns sticking out from the thick curls that cover his hairline. You eye him suspiciously, halfway wondering if this was a trick of sorts. He’s looking at you expectantly, waiting for you to sit. Eventually, you do, but not next to him, definitely not. You sit down right where you are, hesitant and fidgety as he begins to speak.

    Of course, it would be your Aunt to summon a demon to aid her with her ridiculous (lovely) house in her failing health, instead of hiring a fucking nurse, or an assistant, or just selling the damn thing. Of course, it would be your Aunt to leave you the house with said demon in it, and not tell you. OF COURSE, It would be your aunt to tell him to take it slow while introducing himself so he wouldn't freak you out, and OF-FREAKING-COURSE, it would be you who almost killed yourself on accident and completely derail that plan. Jesus, what was worse? The fact that your aunt was apparently an actual witch who summoned demons in her elderly years, or that she didn’t explain any of this to you before leaving you the house. You didn't know how to unpack all of this, hell, you weren’t even done unpacking all of your things. 

    Well, It’s not like you could (or would) kick him out really, but in the coming weeks, you notice that Kurt is really more of a butler than a roommate.

    He’s been cleaning even before you knew he existed, but now that the grand reveal was over, you see him around the house much more often. He helps you with groceries, cooks for you when you’re exhausted, he takes the trash out sometimes too, when the sun goes down. He doesn’t go outside in the front yard very much to avoid being seen, but every once in a while, he’ll take a walk with you in the backyard. You were hesitant of him for a good bit, but you’d be a liar if you said he didn’t have a way of worming his way into your good graces. He’s… sweet. And easy to get along with. He effortlessly fits into your life, and you find yourself excited to see him when you wake up every day. You get along so well that it makes you wonder if your aunt had known that you would when she summoned him, or… you know what, probably not. 

    You learn more about him as the weeks go by. His past, his hopes for the future. You learn that his father is a demon lord of some sort, and his mothers are a bit more complicated. All three are dangerous, and all three are trying to find him. 

    “Is that why you took the pact with my Aunt?” You ask, late one night. Both of you have drinks in hand, leaning back on a pile of pillows and cushions you found in the tower room. It’s comfortable, if a bit warm. The two of you are a little flushed, words surprisingly clear as you speak. Despite being a demon, you find that Kurt is a bit of a lightweight. An accident on your part, having poured the drinks a little stronger thinking that he had a bit more tolerance. 

    “Mostly.” Kurt hums. He’s fully leaning against you, head resting snugly against your own with his tail curled around your abdomen. His horns are resting against your temple in a rather uncomfortable manner, but you don’t mention it. He takes another drink.

    “I don’t know how she knew. Or if she knew, really. Magic is specific to each demon, like a fingerprint of sorts, just a bit easier to track. When a demon makes a pact, their magic is filtered through the pact-bearer- which creates a different kind of magic. I needed a place to hide, she was offering me a home. It was easy.” His words slur a little where his accent tends to come out a bit stronger.

    “Was that all she offered you? A place to stay?”

    “That and…” He trails off for a quick moment, clearing his throat to change the subject. “Well, anyway. I was desperate, and she seemed kind, so I agreed.” You nod as you think it over yourself. You can’t tell if he’s just drunk or it's a sensitive subject, but he can’t just have accepted the many tasks of cleaning and caring for an old woman for something less in return. Was it that easy for demons to make pacts like that? Surely, she wouldn’t have offered him her soul or anything.

    You open your mouth to ask him more questions, but when a light snore reaches your ears, you know he’s fallen asleep. You can't help but smile, a warmth in your chest that you don’t really think is from the alcohol.

    A few days later, it’s Saturday, October 31st. After some long weekends and late nights, you finally have the whole house decorated, inside and out! You were so beyond excited. The whole place looked like it had come straight out of a Halloween catalog! You were so proud of how amazing it looked, but you could never have taken all the credit. Kurt was a big help, both with the placement and creativity of the many decorations. Everything that had to be put outside had to be done so at night so that Kurt wouldn’t be seen, and sure, sometimes you would wake up and see a few things were crooked, but at least it was fun! You’ve never felt so invigorated and filled with Halloween spirit, especially now, a few hours before the party. You’re shaking some full-sized candy bars into a big-ass plastic cauldron, and Kurt walks in with his arms full of Party favors for tonight.

    “You know, I’m not sure you could give away all of these if you tried!” Kurt laughs, setting them all down on the coffee table in the sitting room. It's a bunch of plastic spider rings, vampire teeth, squishy skeletons, slap bracelets, and more. All sorted into their own neat ziplock bags. The apartment complex you used to live at never really got any trick-or-treaters, so you had a lot of leftover goodies you were happy to finally use. You let out an excited giggle, taking one of the bags and emptying it into the cauldron. 

    “You’ll be surprised! With the neighborhood that’s just around the corner, I know for a fact that we’ll have plenty of kids come by!” You almost sing. Kurt smiles at you, taking a bag of his own to empty. 

    “Don’t get your hopes up, Schatz. It’s an old building, and rather scary from afar. Maude never really had a lot of visitors on Halloween.” You pout at his words, before tilting your head like you’re considering them as you continue to fill the cauldron. 

    “True, but Aunt Maude never tried posting on neighborhood Facebook groups and hyping up PTA moms before. Besides, the house is scary, but that's what the lights are for!” Kurt shakes his head, laughing as you voice the thought. You mayyy have gone overboard this year. A few extra strands of lights, blow-ups, and animatronics never hurt anybody, right? I mean, with most of your expenses taken care of due to the paid-off mansion you live in, you were able to spend a little bit more of your personal spending money on Halloween. Your new home was a whole-ass Halloween attraction, and a good bit of the neighborhood thought so too! After posting online, you were pleasantly surprised with the positive feedback from the surrounding neighborhoods, and had even personally met a few kind neighbors since!

    Kurt however, couldn’t risk being seen, and had to hide every time. Most people would freak out, just like you did, and the attention isn’t really a good thing for him. The thought sends you on the same spiral that you had been on for the past week, and the smile slowly slips off your face as Kurt takes the pot from you and begins to mix the goodies all together.

    “...You’re sure you don’t want to come tonight?” You ask, vulnerability shining through your voice. Kurt looks up from the task, brow furrowed. He opens his mouth, then closes it, then looks back down again.

    “I don’t want to scare anyone.” He says softly, making your frown deepen.

    “You won’t! I promise you won’t. None of my friends scare easily- and besides! It’s Halloween. Everyone will just think you’re in a costume!” You try to make the last bit of the plea happy and convincing, but it doesn’t seem to work very well. Kurt doesn’t look at you until he’s done with the pot, placing it back on the coffee table. When he does, his smile doesn’t seem to reach his eyes,

    “I’ll be fine, Schatz. I promise. It will be easier for me to just hide. I can easily enjoy the party from a distance.” The words aren’t very convincing, but before you can say anything else, the doorbell rings. Kurt dusts himself off as he stands, tail swaying as he pulls you to your feet. 

    “Looks like your guests are early. Make sure to have fun tonight, Ja? I’ll see you later.” Kurt squeezes your hands, and you try not to look too disappointed. After all, it was his decision, and you don’t want him to feel forced to show himself when so much could go wrong. You give him a moment to head back upstairs, disappearing like he used to do back in the beginning. You can’t help but sigh a little, but there’s a hesitant knock on the door instead of the doorbell this time, and you know you can’t just stand here and ignore it.

    You don’t really know who is going to be on the other side of the door, with it being mid-afternoon and still a hot minute before the party actually starts, but the bloody, red-haired Carrie on the other side of the door brightens your spirits the moment you see her.

    “Jean!” You cheer, rushing to give her a hug that she warmly returns.

    “Happy Halloween!” Jean says before pulling away. “I hope you don’t mind, I thought I’d come by a little early to help you set up.” 

    “Are you kidding? I have a whole ass kitchen of food I still need to plate.” You step aside to let Jean in as she laughs. You were originally to do most of the prep with Kurt, and although Jean is technically interrupting, you try not to let it get you down. This is the first time you’ve seen her in a long while, and you were already rather lucky that Halloween was falling on a Saturday this year- most of your friends/guests all working at the prep school nearby. 

    “Am I the first one here?” Jean asks as you lead her to the kitchen, and you hum in response.

    “Yup, It’s been just me all day.” You’ve never been the best liar, but you think you’re a little convincing at least. 

    “Funny, I could have sworn I heard a man’s voice when I rang the doorbell.” Jean’s smug tone almost makes you stop in place. If you were even a little convinced that some of this house was soundproof, those hopes were dashed instantly. You smile nervously, trying to play it off as you pass the sitting room, the TV giving you an idea.

    “Whaaaattt? No. I mean- I’ve had the TV in the sitting room running all day, so maybe that’s what you heard.” You say, trying to wave her off. Unfortunately, Jean had the ungodly ability to pick up your anxiety like a goddamn bloodhound.

    “Really? There’s not some mystery boyfriend you’re not telling me about?” Jean teases. You get stiff and quiet immediately, biting your lip as you reach the kitchen. She takes the silence as an affirmative answer, and she’s not exactly far off. Jean cocks an eyebrow at your nervous stance, chuckling at the sweat that practically beads at your brow. You try to hide the flush of your cheeks by busying yourself with setting out different snack foods to organize and avoiding her eyes, but it doesn’t work. 

    “Oh come on, I’m not blind. You’re over there blushing like a student. Who’s the lucky guy?” Jean asks, helping you with the task. You begin to open a back of chips, looking away from Jean’s knowing gaze.

    “I- We’re- We’re not really a thing. He’s just a friend.” You say, heart thundering in your chest as you pray Kurt isn’t lurking nearby. You’re struggling with the bag still, and Jean holds her hands out as an offer. You hand it to her without a second thought, and she opens the bag easily.

    “And is this friend coming to the party tonight?” She asks. You stall for a moment. All you can hear are the soft clinks of the chips hitting the inside of one of the bowls you had set out. You’re not quite sure what to say to that, or even if you had anything to say. Your hesitance makes her frown, looking up at you cautiously. When she puts the bag back down, she reaches out to take your hand. 

    “Well, if he does stop by, I’ll be glad to meet him.” Her tone is reassuring, and you muster a small smile for her. Tonight was supposed to be fun, so you’d do your best to enjoy it.

    The night goes by busier than you ever would have expected. Everyone comes dressed to the absolute nines in their costumes, and although a few were lacking in imagination in your opinion- Logan specifically- everyone looked amazing. You quickly realize that It’s harder to be a good hostess in this big ass house than you would think. Between the food, trying to catch up with friends, and the doorbell constantly ringing with practically a line down your driveway of more trick-or-treaters than you’ve ever seen, you were constantly busy. Lucky for you, you had good people around you. Logan and Scott thankfully took over cooking hamburgers and hotdogs- and Jean promised to keep them from butting heads. Ororo and Xavier happily volunteered to hand out the candy when you couldn’t, and you had Jubilee to count on when it came to the music. The house was busy, people were smiling, and overall, everything was going really well. 

    The only downside was that you hadn’t seen Kurt since Jean arrived. Sure, it was busy, but every time you managed to pry yourself away from the crowd and look for him in his usual hidey-spots, you never found him. He’s good at being sneaky, I mean he has to be, right? Being blue and all, but his consistent absence makes you a little nervous. He’s probably just being extra cautious, and you can’t blame him for that.

    After a few drinks have been had, spirits are high, and some different party games you had planned were finished, it was time to vote for best costume. Almost everyone had gone outside, enjoying the yard and the house in all its festive glory, but you stayed inside to count the votes. Kitty and Illiyana had volunteered to help you, and it takes a surprising amount of time to count the various strips of colored construction paper. In the end, it seems like it was really more of a “most ridiculous” costume contest instead. Jubilee, dressed as the one in only Kool-aide-man in the biggest plastic fishbowl you’d ever seen, won best costume by a single point, with Kevin’s fantastic costume of Professor Xavier himself a single point behind. You try your best not to laugh, knowing that they are not going to be too happy about that. You had bought a light up-sash and a plastic crown for the winner, stopping to grab them before stepping outside to try and find the teen. 

    Somehow, you can’t find her. I mean, You think it would be easy to find a huge red bowl with a face on it, but she’s not outside at all. When you ask Hank, he says he’s pretty sure she went back inside, so inside you go. You’re starting to get a little anxious at this point, not finding her on the first, or second floor. The third floor is completely dark, aside from the colorful light coming from the windows. You call out her name with no response, and then thinking that Kurt may have seen her, you call out his name next. Nothing. He’s never done that before. Sure, there was a lot going on, but normally he’d at least try to answer you. You creep from door to door upstairs, without any luck, when a muffled sound from the tower room falls on your ears. It makes you pause for a moment. It might be nothing, but you remember telling Jubilee about the room earlier, so you figure it wouldn’t hurt to check.

    You’re hesitant, but then there's another muffled cry, and this time, you know it’s him. You slowly creep up over to the door, and then up the stairs to the room. Minutes feel like hours, and when you finally get there, you find Kurt, on his knees and doubled over in pain with his hands pressed to his chest.

    “Oh my god, Kurt!” You cry out, running over to him. His face is scrunched up in a wince, his eyes shooting open when you try to help him sit up. 

     “No, no- You can't be here- You need to go,” Kurt’s voice comes out between heaving breaths. Your hands are shaking, panicked as you spot the blood seeping through his shirt. He hisses in pain when you touch the spot, as if he’s been burned, and when his hands quickly tug your wrist away- his neckline shifts. There’s a brand over his heart. Etched into him as if it were carved with a scalpel.

    “What happened? What's happening?” The words come out faster than your brain can catch up. His nails are elongated, razor-sharp points almost digging into the skin of your wrist as hold hold shifts. The brand glows as another wave of pain washes over him. Those small points that normally hide in his curly hair have grown, too. His horns sweep over his head, prominent and black at the very tips. He cries out, slumping forward onto your shoulder as the pain passes.

    “You need to go. Bitte- I need you to leave.” Kurt almost whimpers, practically limp against you as he tries to catch his breath. “It’s Azazel, my Vater. He’s found me. He’s using the brand to track me down. It’s too dangerous for you to be here.” He stiffens as another wave of pain hits him, and you do your best to keep upright. There’s so much running through your head, concern, confusion. You don't know how to help him besides holding up up and it's killing you to see him like this.

    “I don’t understand- I thought he couldn’t find you unless you used magic?” Kurt looks ashamed when you ask the question, tucking his head further into your shoulder. It's only then that you actually take a look at the room around you. There's an open book on the ground, runes and lettering you don't understand scatter the pages, along with a diagram of a devil that seemingly shifts into something more human and back at every shift of your eye. When you see the worn cover, you recognize it as the book beneath the floorboards- and you finally understand that it's a spellbook.

    “I… I wanted to join you.” Kurt whispers, unable to look you in the eye. “My Mutter was skilled in transmutation so I…” He trails off, shaking his head and wincing when another sharp pain shoots through him.

    “It was stupid. I’m sorry. I should never have touched it without a pact.”

    “If you make one now, will the brand disappear?” 

    Kurt visibly pauses. Sitting up as best he can to get a look at your face. You're still panicking, but overall you feel mortified. Ashamed. Did you do this? Were you so instant that he came tonight that he would risk everything just to do so? What was wrong with you- and why on God's green earth would he actually try to go through with it? You're beginning to tear up, swallowing down your thoughts as you offer the only thing you can think of. Kurt doesn't answer you at first, his yellow eyes wide with shock as he stares at you. 

    “If you make a new pact, will you be able to dispel the tracker?” You repeat, trying so hard to seem confident and self-assured through your shaky voice. Kurt’s face shifts into something you can't quite place, and he shakes his head.

    “I can’t ask that of you-”

    “Kurt, just answer me!” You’re too stubborn to let it go. A trait that you and Maude often shared. Kurt takes your hands into his own, squeezing them, and shakes his head. He's insistent in his own right, conveying his worry and fears- not for his own future, but yours.

    “This isn’t the way you want to gain a pact! Maude had made preparations. She had charms and protections and rules in place! There’s no time for us to do the same. If you make a pact with me now with nothing? It would bind your soul to mine for eternity. You would have no rest, no peace- no Heaven. I won’t-”

    “I love you!” Kurt sucks in a sharp breath at your exclamation. Tears have started to roll down your face no matter how hard you were trying to blink them away. 

    “I don’t care about eternity, or rest- or any of that. I love you. Fuck- I know I haven’t even known you three months- I just…” You trail off, looking away from him in embarrassment that all of this had to come out in such bullshit circumstances.

    “Please just make the pact.”

    Kurt’s eyes soften, almost scanning your own as if he’s trying to figure out if you’re telling the truth. He uses the back of his hand to wipe the tears from your face, careful of his claws, and then suddenly, he kisses you. It’s easy for you to melt into his desperate kiss, a hand coming up to cup his face as he pulls you closer with his tail. The strong limb pulls you into a straddle across his lap as he takes your free hand in his own. When he breaks the kiss, he does so with a mumbled apology as he takes your free hand. You feel a sudden stinging pain as a careful claw slices across your palm, and he apologizes again as he presses it over his heart, directly against the bleeding brand. Both of you hiss at the sudden, blinding pain as his hand continues to press your palm tightly to the wound.

    There’s an energy that begins to fill your body, like an electric current that links the two of you together. Your skin is buzzing, your head spinning as you fall against his shoulder in a mirror of his own position earlier. Kurt’s new claws dig into his own skin, and he grits his teeth as the pain from the brand grows more and more- before everything stops.

    You wish you could say there was some spark, or spoken words, or something, but it all ends almost anti-climatically. Everything stops. Everything is quiet- almost too quiet. Whatever vertigo you are feeling begins to wear off, and when you feel like you can finally lift your head, you look at Kurt.

    He’s smiling at you, horns reduced, fingernails shortened, with your hand still pressed over his heart- the brand gone and the skin healed on both of you

    “Is it over?”

    “It’s over.” He confirms, and you sigh in relief, pressing your forehead against his own. Kurt doesn't take long before he’s pressing kisses all over your face, holding you still as you giggle and squirm. You know there’s more to be said between you, but it’s been one hell of a night, and right now you’re enjoying the comfortable silence between Kurt’s fluttering kisses- until someone calls your name from the tower stairs.

    “Hey, You in there?” Jean’s voice echoes through the space, and you sit straight up, heart given a jumpstart as Jean comes into view- you don’t have time to move before she gets there.

    “You’ll never guess where we found Jube….” She trails off when she sees you and Kurt. “Oh?” Your face is as red as it can get, panic shooting through you at the realization that she’s seen the actual demon living in your home. All he does though is smile and wave, although a bit nervously. Jean raises an eyebrow, beginning to smile just as you realize the position the two of you are in.

    “Nice costume,” Jean says, and after a moment of confusion, you realize she’s talking to Kurt. Kurt looks relieved, shoulders relaxing underneath you, and you clear your throat.

    “Jean, this is Kurt.” 

    The air settles in the Tower room once it’s empty, the sound of the party downstairs is muffled through the floorboards, but still present nonetheless. There’s almost a giggle in the air, and the book flips from page to page before it closes shut, and the ink fades as the grandfather clock in the downstairs hallway strikes midnight. A pact is completed, and the energy in the air begins to fade. After all, a soul can’t leave the mortal plane until its final business has been finished, and Maude had not promised her own soul to the friendly blue devil, but no one said she couldn’t offer something else- a soulmate. 

[pixeldistractions]

Ten minutes later—okay, maybe closer to fifteen—Maria returned downstairs in pajamas with a towel on her head, a flush in her cheeks, and she hoped not too obvious a tremble in her knees.

Johanna grinned with an animal cracker in her mouth. “Mama’s all squeaky clean!”

Lou said, with an eyebrow raised, “Yeah, your mama was a very dirty girl.”

They made polite conversation about Lou’s legal work while Johanna finished her crackers, then she left the table to play with her dolls.

“So he’s still calling?” Lou asked.

“You thought he wouldn’t?”

Lou laughed. “Do you want me to be honest?”

“He was just out of cell range for a while. See, here.” Maria pulled up some pictures he sent of where he camped in the northern Cascades. It looked so beautiful and wild. Maria kept thinking about this one photo he took from a summit, an expanse of pine forest for as far as the eye could see, and she never imagined anywhere could be so uninhabited. It seemed scary, to be honest. He was so brave.

But Lou was more of a city girl, and she didn’t appreciate the appeal. She smirked. “Nice rocks, they look very mountainous.”

“You think he’s a bad influence on me?”

“He’s definitely some kind of influence,” Lou said. “It’s just, so, he ran off to follow his dreams? What about your dreams? Don’t just sit around pining for him.”

“I’m not pining, this is just my face.” Maria shrugged. “My dreams? I don’t know, should I start knitting? Scarves can’t be that hard, they’re just like rectangles, right? I’ll open an Etsy shop. Do you like that dream for me?”

“God, that would be a very sad shop.”

Maria never considered what her dreams were supposed to be. She thought she had that figured out once. She married a military man, and she was going to be a wife and mother. She’d already decided to give up her music. When that didn’t pan out, next she dreamed of Jordan, her elusive and charming friend, her sweetheart, but that didn’t pan out like she thought, either. Now what?

She pined for Jordan, yes, but she also pined for his bravery, that he was trying to know himself so deeply, that he actually went out and did it. She was proud of him. She was inspired by him.

“Well, whatever you do,” Lou said, “don’t throw away your whole life to follow this one, too.”

“I was supposed to be a military wife,” Maria said. “Maybe following a man around is the one thing I’m actually built to do.”

Lou sighed and shook her head. “But look at how that turned out for you.”

Lou never really loved Joseph much, either, or the idea of her sister ditching her orchestral aspirations to get married and then soon widowed at the tender age of twenty-two. It was an old wound at this point, but still, an actual husband dead wasn’t something to joke about. The thing was, Maria was pretty sure her sister wasn’t joking.

“Rude, Lou,” Maria said. “You’re just a mean old lesbian who hates men.”

Lou chuckled. “I am a mean old lesbian, but I don’t hate men. I love Leo.”

“That doesn’t count, he’s your brother.”

“And he’s not much of a man,” Lou said.

They both had a little giggle at their brother’s expense. “Okay, this calls for a girls’ night,” Lou announced. “Let me know what nights you have off. We’ll do it at my place so JoJo can crash. Not too many people—Jaime, Jessica, Laney, some girls from work. We’ll get smashed and watch dumb horror movies and play cards.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll let you know,” Maria said. Then she called out to Johanna, “Bedtime, little monkey. Come say goodnight.”

Johanna gave her aunt a hug and ran upstairs to wait for her bedtime stories, which meant playing with every toy in her bedroom and leaving them all sprawled across the floor before her mother got there to read.

“You’re going to show me more pictures, aren’t you?”

“Just a couple more,” Maria said.

“Okay, go on then.”

Maria scrolled through a few more of Jordan’s photos. A selfie on the edge of a cliff. A fish he caught. “There was only one fish, he’s very bad at fishing.” A stew he made from mushrooms he foraged. Several shots of campfires. The murky mountain lake where he swam. “And he got a leech on his ankle. Oh my god, I would have actually died!”

“How many pictures did he send you?”

“I don’t know, like a hundred or something,” Maria said. “Oh, and he got another tattoo. It’s hot, right? Well, you probably don’t think it’s hot. But trust me, it’s hot.”

“You’re a complete lost cause, you know that?”

Maria grinned. “Goodnight.”

— from “boxes and squares #3: what dreams?” (8/8)

story notes:

So we only just met Lou properly, even though she’s been mentioned several times as “Maria’s sister” in the stories. She doesn’t have a profile page made yet on the blog (although there was that short OC bio), so I’ll fill in just a few gaps about her. She’s a logic type, a lawyer, she’s opinionated, independent, and no, she doesn’t have much fondness for many men she meets, except her baby brother. She cares about her family, and she does look out for her siblings in her ways. But besides that, she is rather detached and a little cold. Not mean, exactly, but definitely blunt. I don’t think that’s because of any trauma or anything, it’s just who she is and how she prefers to operate. Sometimes that bluntness hits Maria a little hard, because Maria is much softer. But I think there’s a lot of genuine caring there. I’m very much looking forward to exploring their sisterly relationship as we go forward.  

Next ->

[moonlightserenadeeznutz]

Wake up sleepy head

Scorbus prompt from @abi-the-gay (sorry if I missed any details). Albus sneaks off to Malfoy Manor after a nightmare, and he and Scorpius get caught by Draco walking in on them asleep together the next morning.

A flash of green light exploded in front of Albus’s eyes, and her face... her face grinned right back at him.

She was holding something, no... someone. Her arms were wrapped around a blonde boy, long fingers creeping towards his neck, like vines. Scorpius. She had Scorpius. Albus tried to scream, to yell, to call out Scorpius’s name, but no sound came out. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t stop her from pulling out her wand and pressing it to Scorpius’s temple. Albus looked into the boy’s grey eyes, desperate and pleading. And all he could do was watch.

“Avada Kedavra!” Another flash of green light bursting into his bedroom as Albus suddenly lay awake, panting, sweating, terrified.

Scorpius. Where was Scorpius? Everything Albus had seen had felt so real, so vivid. His stomach dropped as he had the sudden, awful thought: what if it was real?

He sat up in bed, his mind running at a mile an hour. He had to see Scorpius. Now. Sending a letter would take too long. He wanted to see his... he wanted to see Scorpius.

It was still late, dark out. Everyone was fast asleep. No one would notice if he snuck downstairs and used the floo network to visit Malfoy Manor.

Albus didn’t risk turning the lights on; he knew his house like the back of his hand, so he managed to reach the living room fireplace with little mishap. Albus took a handful of floo powder from the pot beside the stokers. The fire had long since died out, but the coals were still hot enough for the powder to work.

“Malfoy Manor!” Albus instructed, as loudly as he could without alerting the rest of the house, which still left his voice barely above a whisper. He hoped he wouldn’t get splinched on the way there.

Green flames erupted around him, and he had to close his eyes; too reminiscent of his nightmare. Of Delphi. Of Scorpius.

Before he knew it, he was thrown out the other side of the floo network, regaining his balance on the polished floor of Malfoy Manor. It was dark. Quiet. Was that a good sign? Or a bad sign? Albus wasn’t sure whether he wanted to find out or not.

But he had to. He couldn’t leave without making sure Scorpius was alright.

And that’s when he suddenly realised: he had no idea where Scorpius’s bedroom was. And it was a big house. He could be searching all night.

Albus began on the next floor up, up the large, winding staircase. The first few rooms were rather sparse, uninhabited, and one of them- which made Albus hold his breath upon entering- was Draco’s room. Albus closed the door behind him as silently as he could.

He stood for a moment and pondered his next move, soon spotting a door at the far end of the hallway. As he drew nearer, he noticed some sort of trinket hanging from the doorknob, a kind of lucky charm perhaps. Scorpius was relatively superstitious. This must have been his room.

Albus slowly opened the door, his heart beating faster in trepidation at what he might find. As his eyes adjusted, he saw a figure underneath the covers of a bed, in the middle of the room.

“Scorpius?” Called Albus in a whisper. “Scorp!”

The figure moved, turned around, and switched on the oil lamp beside his bed. The light illuminated the faces of the two boys, and Albus was so relieved to see Scorpius alive and well- if a little perplexed- that he almost started shaking. Scorpius noticed his slightly panicked disposition.

“Albus, what are you doing here? What’s wrong?” Scorpius was clearly concerned, and Albus felt bad for waking him up. Of course it was just a dream, you idiot.

“I’m sorry, I just... I just had to make sure you were okay.”

“Another nightmare?” Albus nodded. Scorpius moved over and opened up the covers.

“Do you want to stay?” He asked, and Albus gladly accepted, thankful that Scorpius didn’t ask anymore questions, such as how he had got there or what the nightmare was about. He simply let Albus snuggle up beside him and settle into his arms, exhaustion washing over both of them.

“I can read if you want?” Scorpius suggested, a murmur in Albus’s ear.

“That would be nice.” Scorpius reached over Albus to pick up a book from his bedside table.

“It’s a muggle book,” Scorpius explained. “Rose sent it to me a few weeks ago. I’m already halfway through, but I’ll start again from the beginning.” Albus tried to listen, really he did, but as soon as Scorpius started speaking, his soft, calm voice meeting Albus’s ear, Albus immediately felt his eyes start to close.

“This Side of Paradise, by F. Scott Fitzgerald,” began Scorpius, and within moments, Albus was fast asleep.

————

The following morning, Draco was sat at the dining table in his dressing gown, sipping his morning coffee and reading the Daily Prophet. He was about to check on Scorpius, thinking it odd that his son wasn’t up yet. Scorpius was usually awake way before him, a morning person through and through.

Draco finished his coffee, folded up the newspaper, and began his ascent up the flight of stairs towards Scorpius’s room. Reaching Scorpius’s door, he knocked lightly, receiving no reply. Draco was starting to get worried now, so he allowed himself to enter.

His son wasn’t alone.

Scorpius opened his eyes as he entered, and froze. He tried to nudge awake the sleeping figure beside him.

“Al. Albus, wake up,” he whispered frantically. Albus? Thought Draco. Albus Potter? Albus groaned lightly, and mumbled something inaudible. Never had Draco felt so awkward in his life, and he coughed nervously, finally alerting the boy beside Scorpius.

Albus turned around- and Draco could see that it was indeed Albus Potter- and immediately turned back, facing away from Draco and burying his face in Scorpius’s chest, muttering something about not being able to deal with anything today.

“Dad, I can explain...” Scorpius began, but Draco interjected.

“How about I leave you two for a moment and you can explain downstairs.” Scorpius nodded gratefully, and Draco left the two in peace, heading back to the dining room and trying to process what he’d just seen.

————

Ten minutes later, and two fifteen year old boys were sitting awkwardly in front of Draco, both of them avoiding eye contact with him.

“So...” Draco began. “Are you two...?” He sort of gestured between the two of them, hoping they’d fill in the blanks.

“We’re together,” confirmed Scorpius.

“Right...” Draco didn’t know how to feel. He wanted to be supportive of his son of course, but a Potter and a Malfoy? Who would have thought it? It would certainly take some time to wrap his head around the idea.

“So that means you’re...”

“Gay?” Draco nodded. “Yeah, I am...” Scorpius finally made eye contact with his father, and Draco noted how terrified he looked.

“Alright. That’s fine, Scorp. I love you no matter what.” Scorpius looked at him disbelievingly, which sent a pang of hurt through Draco’s chest.

“Really?” He asked, hopefully.

“Of course! You’re my son, and I’m proud of you.” Scorpius smiled at him, clearly relieved.

“So how did you two... how did you two become a thing?”

“Oh, um...” Albus coughed nervously.

“Well, it was after the whole Delphi thing,” began Scorpius. “You see we... we had a lot of nightmares, and we would calm each other down.” Scorpius fiddled with his sleeves.

“Is that why Albus was here?” Prompted Draco. They both nodded in unison.

“Yeah, and we’d read to each other,” Albus continued. “Stuff that Rose would get from the library and lend to Scorpius.”

“And I suppose it just went from there. Started out as platonic, and... became romantic.”

“So you both knew you liked each other?” Draco knew he was being too personal, but this was the first time Scorpius had ever really opened up to him, and he didn’t want to waste the opportunity.

“I liked Scorpius, because he was nice to me, especially when I’d fallen out with dad.”

“And I saw Albus shirtless once, and I just knew-” Albus snorted, immediately stifling a laugh. Scorpius too was holding in a smile. Draco just raised his eyebrows, letting the two have their own inside joke, before continuing.

“Well, you both have my blessing,” Draco concluded. “Thank you for telling me Scorpius. Even if you didn’t have much of a choice.” Scorpius nodded in acknowledgement. “And, Albus. I take it your parents don’t know where you are?” Albus suddenly remembered what time it was, and his eyes widened.

“No, you’re right. I need to get back.”

“I’ll see you off,” said Scorpius. They all stood up. Albus left the room to return to the fireplace in the living room, leaving Scorpius and Draco alone for a moment.

“Your mother would be proud too, you know,” said Draco, his voice softer than before. Scorpius looked at him, grey eyes meeting grey. Draco hadn’t even noticed that they were almost the same height now. How had that happened?

“You really think so?”

“Of course. All she wanted was for you to be happy. And I take it you are?” Scorpius nodded.

“I am. Really.”

“Then she would be proud.” Scorpius smiled, paused for a second, and then closed the gap between them. For a few moments, they hugged in silence. Unfamiliar, but nice. Draco was glad to have his son back.

[firstofficerwiggles]

Chapter 8: Desperately Seeking Mandos

Link to Chpt. 7, Link to Masterlist

Pairing: The Mandalorian x female reader

Rating: M/E, 18+ only

Warnings: SMUT, oral sex (F and M receiving), explicit description of sex (still romantic smut though), canonical violence

Word count: ~11K

Author’s Note: This chapter took a bit longer than I originally planned, but my semester has reached its busiest time and it’s harder to carve out as much time as I’d like to write. So, thank you for being patient with me. Also, I would like to send a special thank you to @imthemandalornow​ for being an excellent source of inspiration -- you’re the best, darling. As always, thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

You sit in the passenger seat of the Razor Crest as you stare out at the blue glow of hyperspace, normally you find it pretty and rather peaceful, but today you’re sitting tense and fraught with worry. Din monitors the scanners regularly and it appears as if you have avoided detection by any Imperial vessels. Still, the feeling of unease stays with you. Din talks to you about some possible planets you could try to avoid detection, but neither of you seem very sure about what your next move should be. You’re distracted from having to decide when the comm dings with an incoming transmission.

“Princess and Mando, are you there? It’s Mistress Eira.” Her image comes in over the holo and she looks distressed.

“We’re here, Eira,” Din replies. You come over to stand close to him so you can see the holo better.

“I’m so glad to hear your voice, Mando, I was so worried for you both, something terrible has happened here,” she tells you in a serious voice. “There were ex-Imperial officers here; they killed Mistress Sigrid.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that, Eira,” you tell her with a heavy heart, “Was anyone else hurt?”

“No, but, honestly you shouldn’t shed any tears over Sigrid,” Eira sounds angry now, “She had some type of deal with them, apparently she was helping them find you. I’m calling to warn you.” You gasp at this news, you didn’t expect such treachery from Sigrid.

“Eira, do you know who any of the Imperials were?” You feel like you already know what her answer will be.

“Yes, the man that killed Sigrid is a Commander Kerrick Hoven, we have security footage of their interaction and then the shooting,” Eira confirms your worst fear, “I have to tell you, Princess, the man seems obsessed with you, the footage of him is unsettling, he was… talking to you, well, an image of you.”

“I’m sorry, Eira, I had no idea he was looking for me, I haven’t seen him in years and I never would have thought that I was putting anyone in danger,” Ok, technically you did know there were Imps after Din and the baby, but not you too. But who could have predicted that they’d find you on Angel One of all places?

“It isn’t your fault,” she says, “We’ve discovered that Sigrid has been in contact with the Empire for years making many underhanded backdoor deals.” Eira pauses for a moment and then says, “Listen, I’m going to send you the security footage, I think you should see what I mean about this man, you need to know what he’s like.”

“Alright, thank you, Eira, any information we can get about him will be helpful,” you say.

“Do you have any information about their ship?” Din asks Eira.

“Oh yes, I’ll send all that we have to you now,” she replies.

“Eira, thank you for helping us, you’re a true friend,” you tell her before she ends the holo.

A few minutes later, the files she promised come through. Din reviews the information for Kerrick’s light cruiser and confirms that it was the one the scanners detected as you were leaving Angel One. After he’s stored all the pertinent details about the ship, you know it’s time to see the second file.

As the holovid begins to play, you watch as Kerrick goes from an icy calm officer, to an angry bully, and then to a disturbing ex-lover. You clutch Din’s hand as you watch and you cringe in horror, as it continually gets worse. When Kerrick finishes his creepy soliloquy to your image, you feel ill.

“Oh, cyar’ika, come here,” Din stands and pulls you into his arms, “Don’t cry, my love, you’re safe here with me.”

You didn’t even realize there were tears streaming down your cheeks until he says that. You let your arms come around him tightly and you try to even out your breathing. Din rubs your back and murmurs soothing words to you and slowly you feel yourself calm down. With your face still pressed against him, you say,

“I had no idea Kerrick still thought about me, let alone that his feelings for me have become so twisted, ugh and he still calls me his ‘doll’, I always hated that, even when we were a couple… I can’t believe we ever were,” your voice shows your disgust.

“I’ll do everything in my power to keep him from you,” Din pledges to you.

“I know that you will, Din,” you murmur against his chest. You hear a sad little coo and look over to the child who is looking back at you with teary eyes.

“Oh sweetie,” you say, and you go over to him, pick him up, and hold him tight to your chest, “I’ll be alright,” you look back to Din, “We’re all going to be alright,” you promise.

“Maybe you should take him downstairs and try to get some more rest?” Din suggests his voice full of concern, “I’ll reach out to my contacts and work on finding us our next destination.”

You’re feeling exhausted and so you pull Din into a hug with you and the little one, before heading down the ladder and crawling into your bed. You don’t bother to put the child in his hammock and instead let him cuddle up next to you. You rub his back as you watch his tiny face and see as he slowly drifts off to sleep. Eventually your own eyes start to feel heavy and you fall asleep too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Frustrated, Din ends another holocall without much to show for it. He’s been at this for almost two hours now and he still has no idea where to go, or what the best course of action will be. He knows he needs to be more patient, he’s made the calls for assistance and now he has to see what comes from them. Still though, the churning in his gut keeps him far from patience and instead brings him doubt and worry. It doesn’t help that he can still hear Kerrick’s disgusting words in his ear, calling you his ‘doll’ and promising to rid you of the ‘vile Mandalorian’. He’d never wanted to shoot someone through a holopad before, but as he watched that holovid his fingers were itching to pull out his blaster. When you first told him about Kerrick, Din had thought about tracking the man down, thinking maybe he’d help you get a little revenge on the man who broke your heart and betrayed you. Later, he realized that was just a silly fantasy to make himself feel important to you, but once Din understood how much you’d come to care for him, he had stopped thinking about your ex-lover altogether.

Din sighs, rolling his neck and stretching the muscles there. He’s wishing he could go down and join you in some sleep for a few hours, when the holo dings.

“Din Djarin, I hope you are well,” he hears as the Armorer’s image glimmers into view, “Word has reached me that you are being pursued once again by Imperial forces.”

“Yes, that is correct, I am seeking shelter for a few days to formulate a plan,” Din replies.

“The Covert has regrouped and joined with another,” the Armorer tells him, “You will join us here and we will assist you in your strategy.”

“I- I do not wish to endanger the Covert, I should not come to you,” Din responds, his tone regretful as he remembers all that the Covert has sacrificed already on his behalf.

“By its very nature the Covert is always in danger, it is a fact that we accept,” she states calmly, “We are gar vode, your brethren, and we welcome you in your time of need. We are always here for you. This is the way.”  

“This is the way.” Din responds and he enters the coordinates she gives him into the nav. As he does this, he tells her about you and the latest trouble that has managed to find you both. Din feels comforted by the Armorer’s genuine interest in you as he tells the story, and he greatly appreciates her willingness to help you.

Feeling a sense of relief Din after his conversation with the Armorer ends, he switches on the autopilot and heads downstairs. When he sees you and the child sleeping so soundly, Din feels a sense of contentment wash over him. As he snuggles up next to you in the bed, he knows that he’ll do whatever it takes to keep you both safe and that it will be worth it no matter the cost.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Din explains that you’re heading to his Covert, you feel reassured at first because you know how formidable your Mandalorian is and you can’t think of safer place to be than surrounded by a whole group of them. Nonetheless, it dawns on you that this is Din’s family that you’ll be meeting and you find yourself wishing that you were getting to meet them under better circumstances. You also start to feel a tad nervous about making a good first impression.

The Covert is currently located on Dol’har Hyde, a planet almost entirely covered in dense forests. When you land in a clearing that is just large enough for the Razor Crest, you wonder if the coordinates were correct because you can’t see any type of settlement or structures of any kind. You follow Din down a narrow forest path listening to the birds singing and enjoying the natural beauty of the place. It’s soothing and if you didn’t know any better, you’d think the planet was uninhabited. The further you go down the path, the thicker the forest becomes and it seems as if you are walking in twilight as the multitude of leaves above you block out more and more of the sun’s rays. Finally, the path appears to end and you see the opening of a cave.

“This is it,” Din says, and you look up to see a small carving of a mythosaur in the stone entrance. You get no more than five steps into the dark cavern when two Mandalorians appear out of nowhere asking you to identify yourselves with blasters raised. Different from Din, their armor is decorated with paint, one in orange and the other in blue. Once they recognize Din, they lower their weapons and greet you.

“Welcome home, Djarin,” the Mando in blue says as he thumps Din’s pauldron in greeting, “Still getting into trouble I see.”

“Vizsla, still a pain in the ass I see,” Din replies curtly.

“I’m afraid the trouble is my fault,” you speak up, not wanting Din to take the blame for your past catching up to you.

“Well hello,” Blue Mando welcomes you with a pleasant tone, “The Armorer mentioned Djarin was bringing someone with him, who knew you’d be so pretty.”

His compliment surprises you, and you stutter out, “O-Oh, thank you.”

Din makes a grunting sound as he places his hand on your lower back and steers you past the two guards, “We’re going to see the Armorer now,” he informs them.

“I’ll take you to see her,” Orange Mando offers.

“Thank you,” Din responds.

“I guess I’ll see you later then, pretty one, you too, Djarin,” the Blue Mando chuckles as you walk deeper into the cave.

As your eyes adjust to the dimmer lighting of the cave’s passageway you can see that there are drawings on the walls, many featuring Mandalorian helmets. They look like they could be children’s sketches given the simplicity and the height of most of them. It makes you smile, knowing that you’ll be somewhere with families, maybe your own little one will be able to make a few friends while you’re here. Eventually, you can hear the sounds of other people and when the passage opens up to a large room in the cave you see a comforting and homey site.

This part of the cavern has a small pool in the middle and it creates a beautiful soft glow as the water reflects back the artificial lights that have been arranged throughout the space. Around the room, there are small groups of people chatting with each other, playing sabacc, helping children with schoolwork, polishing armor, and performing all sorts of small domestic tasks. It makes you smile to yourself. Everyone here wears helmets, including the children, and all of the adults wear armor too. You notice a few helmets turning towards you as you move past the groups and you wonder if you must seem odd to them with your face uncovered.

There is a second passageway on the other side of the room and you follow Orange Mando down this next path. As you walk, you can feel a hot wind run through the tunnel and you hear a metallic clanking in an almost rhythmic pattern. The noise grows louder and soon you reach a warm room where the Armorer is working. You are mesmerized by her striking golden helmet and the graceful but powerful movements she makes as she forges a piece of beskar armor. When she sees Din, the child, and you, she pauses in her work and nods in your direction. Din motions for you to sit on a stone bench and the three of you sit patiently as she finishes her work.

“I see your foundling is doing well,” the Armorer comments, “And this is the caregiver.” She looks over at you and you offer her a smile and a nod. She rests her tools on her workbench and comes over to you. Din stands and you mirror his movement. The Armorer offers you her hand and welcomes you to the Covert.

“Din Djarin tells me that you are a very special woman, it is clear you have been a positive influence in his life.” The Armorer speaks in such a deliberate way that you feel honored to hear such praise from her.

“Thank you, I’ve tried to do my best to help him and we’ve grown very close, but I feel such regret that it’s my fault we’re in trouble now,” you admit to her and you know your face shows the guilt you’re feeling.

“It isn’t your fault,” Din corrects you, “You have no control over Kerrick’s actions.”

“Din is correct,” the Armorer affirms his statement, “You are not responsible for the actions of an evil man who seeks to control you. We will do all that we can to assist you. This is the way.”

“This is the way,” Din repeats.

“Thank you, I am beyond grateful for your help, and for making me welcome with your tribe,” you tell her.

“You are welcome,” she responds, “I must ask now though to speak to Din alone with the other members of our tribe, if you do not mind.”

“Of course.”

You hear footsteps behind you and you see that several other Mandalorians have joined you. Several of them give you a nod in greeting in your direction and a woman with purple armor steps forward.

“I can take you and the child to the place where you’ll be staying while you’re here,” she offers. You turn to follow her, but before you can, Din reaches out to give your hand a squeeze and says, “I’ll find you later, cyar’ika.”

Din watches you leave and then turns back to the Armorer, feeling a little nervous now that he is alone with her and those who remain in their tribe. His own feelings of guilt rise within him as he looks around the room and realizes how few their numbers have become.

In a low voice full of shame and remorse he says, “I am sorry for Nevarro. I can never thank you enough for helping me and the child, but I--”

“Have nothing to apologize for,” Paz interrupts him in a gravelly voice laden with emotion. Din turns his head toward him in surprise.

“We were honored to help you and we would make the same choice again,” a female member of the tribe speaks up.

“It was our duty and our privilege to fight alongside of you in Nevarro,” another tribe member says.

“You are ner vod, an important member of our tribe and we are here for you,” yet another person tells him.

One by one each tribe member speaks up to reassure Din of his place in the tribe and to express that none of them hold him responsible for the attack on the Covert in Nevarro. His eyes fill with tears and he can feel them slowly gliding down his face in response to their acceptance and love for him. He’s felt so disconnected from the tribe since being forced to flee but being with them here now, and hearing their words of support makes him feel like part of a family again. It is so much more than he could have asked for and it means everything to him.

“Th-thank you,” Din chokes out when the last person has spoken, he wants to say more but his emotions are causing a tightness in his throat and it’s all he can get out now.

“Now, let us discuss the threat against your companion,” the Armorer says.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Purple Mando leads you to a small room with modest furnishings where you are able to stow your bag of belongings. She asks if you want to rest, but you tell her that you’d rather spend time with the others if that’s alright.

“I know that little one would love a chance to run around a bit too and maybe play with some other children, if he can,” you suggest.

“That sounds like a nice idea, and you can meet some of my tribe members.” Her voice has a pleasant tone and her friendly demeanor puts you at ease.

When you’re back in the larger cavern that seems to serve as the common room for the Covert, she introduces you to a group of her friends.

“Look at your little foundling, what a cutie he is,” one of the women coos at the kiddo.

“He’s a sweetie,” another one says, “He’s welcome to go play with the other children, here, I’ll introduce him to my two boys.”

“Thank you,” you reply and you put the child down so he can toddle over to the other little children who are playing with blocks. “Be sure to share, buddy,” you call after him.

“Oh, is he in the ‘mine’ phase?” Purple Mando asks you.

“It’s hard to tell really, it’s more that he doesn’t have much time to spend with other children so he’s used to all the toys being his,” you explain.

“Ah, I see, well I’m sure he’ll be just fine,” she says in a reassuring manner.

“So, will you tell me a little about your tribe? I’ve only ever met the one Mandalorian.” You’re really curious to know more about their way of life.

“Sure, we’re happy to tell you anything you want to know.” Her friends make positive sounds and nod their heads in agreement. “But you also have to be sure to tell us all about you and your Mandalorian,” she says with a small chuckle.

You agree with a smile, and the women proceed to tell you about the tribe. They’ve been here in this Covert for quite some time now. On the other side of the cavern system there is a settlement where they can go for various necessities. Unlike Nevarro, there is less threat here so they are able to leave the Covert in small groups. The adults in the tribe have one of four principle jobs. The protectors assist with guarding the Covert and training the others in fighting techniques. The hunters are responsible for bringing in fresh meat from the surrounding forest. The crafters make weapons, vibroblades and other knives in particular, that they sell to help earn income for the tribe. Finally, the caregivers are responsible for the domestic tasks including maintaining a large garden to grow food for the tribe. There are also a few members who have special jobs like the tribe’s two healers, the Armorer, and the beroya, a bounty hunter, like Din.

“Although we hear your beroya is more skilled than ours,” one of the women says, hinting a little at the subject of Din.

“Well, he isn’t one to brag, but he always seems to be successful in catching his quarry, at least as far as I’ve seen,” you explain but you can’t keep a note of pride out of your voice.

“His tribe has only been with us for a few months, but we have heard stories about him,” Purple Mando tells you, “And they were very pleased to hear that you were coming to stay with him for a bit.”

“Really?” This surprises you because you wouldn’t have believe that Din’s tribe would give too much thought to you seeing as they’ve never met you.

“Mmhmm, yes, apparently he’s never been serious about a woman before, so they’re all wondering if he’s finally ready to settle down,” she laughs lightly as she says this and tips her helmet in your direction.

“Oh I- I don’t know about that,” you stumble over your words a bit, feeling flustered at the implication, “He um hasn’t said… I mean, I wouldn’t assume anything… I-”

“Don’t let her tease you,” another woman pipes up, “She’s a hopeless matchmaker.”

“Oh c’mon, what can I say, I just adore love and a riduurok,” Purple Mando giggles.

“What’s a riduurok?” you ask.

“A marriage ceremony,” she tells you, “When two people become each other’s riduur, or spouse.”

“Well, I appreciate learning new words in Mando’a,” you say with a chuckle, “But I don’t think there’s going to be a riduurok any time soon, unless one of you are getting married this week?”

The women laugh with you and you feel a contentment that you haven’t felt in days, it feels like you can let your guard down with them. As much as you enjoy spending time with Din, you’ve missed having friends. The afternoon passes quickly as the women fill you in on the gossip in the tribe and you watch the child playing happily with the other kids.

When Din returns to your side with several members of his tribe, he introduces you to many of them although all without names as per their tradition so you continue to refer to them in your mind by the colors of their armor. Even though some of the colors are repeated, the patterns of the paint vary sufficiently that you can easily tell everyone apart.

One woman with pink armor seems very chatty and interested in you. She asks you all about your work with languages.

“Oh, how did you know about that?” you ask surprised.

“Din told us of course,” she says pleasantly, “He’s very sweet on you and talked at length about your many accomplishments while we were catching up.” As she comments on Din’s affectionate side, she nudges him slightly with her elbow and it’s clear she’s teasing him. It’s cute and it reminds you of the way you used to tease your brother about girls.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret,” you whisper conspiratorially to her, “I’m sweet on him too.” You hear Din let out a chuckle at that and he rests his hand on your knee. He’s relaxed here in a way you’ve not seen before and it’s nice.

“Oh, but yes, languages have always intrigued me, I love figuring out how they work and learning about new ones,” you explain, “I’ve even learned several words in Mando’a today.”

“Which ones?” Pink is curious to know.

“Well, beroya, talking about Din, of course,” you say with a smile, “And then a few related to families, ad’ika, aliit, and buir, oh and then riduur and riduurok too.” You’re just happy you remembered all the new words.

“Hmm, riduur and riduurok, talking more about Din, I suppose?” she giggles.

“Oh! No! I- I didn’t mean in reference to him, it- it just came up…” you trail off embarrassed to have implied such a thing. You’re thankful that Din is deep in conversation with one of the other men and doesn’t appear to have heard that.

“Don’t worry, I’m only playing,” Pink reassures you, “I’m just so happy with my own riduur. It’s only been eight months and I’m already expecting.” She tells you this excitedly and places a hand on her lower abdomen tenderly where you can see a small baby bump.

“Congratulations!” you beam at her with delight, “That’s so exciting.” You ponder her news for a moment and then ask, “What’s it like? Being pregnant, I mean? I’ve always been curious.”

“Well, at first I just felt really tired and I could throw up at a moment’s notice,” she explains, “But now, I’m further along and I just feel really happy and excited. Plus my riduur is just so proud and happy too.” She points to a man in black armor. Then she leans in closer to you and drops her voice low as she whispers, “And honestly, the sex has never been better. You’d think he was trying to get me pregnant twice.”

You laugh merrily along with her, not realizing that you’re drawing Din’s attention back to you when you pipe up to say, “I’ve always fantasized about being pregnant, it seems like such a special time, knowing that a new life is growing within you.” Your face takes on a dreamy, wistful look as you say this to her. But then thinking about your reality, you say, “I guess it’s just a far-off wish, but it’s fun to dream about it.”

Din’s helmet snaps to look directly at you when you say this, and, as it turns out, so do several other curious helmets. Something deep inside Din’s chest pulses with a desire to make your wish come true. Suddenly he can see what you would look like round and swollen with his child, the beautiful glow you would have, the tender way you would look at him when he’d caress your belly, and so much more. He wants to say something, anything to you, but he can’t think of the right words, especially not in front of so many people. Happy giggles from you and your new friend distract him from these thoughts.

Pink giggles at your statement and then leans in to stage whisper, “You should be careful saying that around a bunch of Mandalorians, one of them might take you up on it and put a baby in you tonight.”

Her statement is rather blunt, but it just makes you laugh along with her. After the stress you’ve been under all day, you’re enjoying making a new friend and just giggling along with her. As nervous as you were about meeting Din’s tribe, you are so thankful to be here now.

“So Djarin, your woman wants a baby,” Paz ribs Din, “You know if you’re not up to the task, I’d be more than happy to oblige her.”

“Shut up, di’kut,” Din mutters at him.

“Vizsla has a point; she is a beauty, I’m surprised you’re not trying harder,” another guy sitting next to him gets in on the teasing.

“Not you too,” Din replies and gives the guy a shove.

“Maybe we should introduce ourselves, get to know her,” Paz says cheekily, then walks over closer to where you’re seated. “Hey, mesh’la, how are you doing this evening?” he nods his helmet in your direction.

“I’m pretty sure he means you,” Pink snickers.

Not wanting to be impolite, you smile kindly as you answer, “I’m having a nice time; everyone has been so welcoming.”

“That’s good; we all want you to feel welcome.” He props his knee up on a rock formation and then leans his arm down on it so he can be closer to where you are. “Maybe later you’d like a nice tour of the caverns? I know some really nice spots.”

Din stands up at this and positions himself between you and Blue Mando, “You want to ask her that again, Vizsla?”

“I dunno, maybe she’d rather see some Mandalorian sparring? Let her see how a real man fights,” Paz jeers at Din.

“Why not? I’m sure she’d enjoy watching me kick your ass.” Din taunts back.

“Whoa, guys, there’s no need for this,” you try to interrupt, but the air is thick with tension and testosterone. This seems to be an older dispute, and you’re just a convenient spark to reignite the flames of the argument. You’re worried that they might actually start fighting when the child comes to your rescue.

The little guy toddles over carrying a big piece of paper in his claws. He wants to show Din and you a picture that he’s drawn.

“Hi, buddy!” You purposely step between Din and Blue Mando to reach down and pick him up. “What do you have here?”

It’s a drawing of a stick figure family with flowers and what looks to be frogs surrounding them. One of the figures has a helmet-shaped head, another has hair that looks a lot like yours, and the third little figure has big green ears, so it’s clear that he’s drawn his own little family of Din, you, and himself.

“This is so good, buddy,” Din tells him and then he leans over to pat the kid on the head.

“You did so great, kiddo!” You say enthusiastically, feeling a bit relieved too. You lean in and kiss the child on the forehead, and then whisper, “Good job calming down your papa too.” He coos at you in his happy way and you could swear he understands everything you say to him.

Just then, a soft gonging sound rings out across the cave. You watch as the other children scramble back towards their parents and little groups begin to funnel out of the room.

“What’s happening?” you ask Pink.

“It’s time for the evening meal. The food is prepared collectively, and each family goes to collect their portion before heading to their private quarters to eat. Follow me and we’ll get you three all set up.”

You follow her and the rest of the Mandalorians towards another large room with a buffet of food. It all smells delicious and you didn’t realize how hungry you’d become. The child starts wiggling in anticipation when he sees the feast before him. He starts making little whiny sounds and grabby hands towards the dishes.

“It’s ok, sweetie,” you tell him, “We’ll get our food very soon, I promise.”

Din moves forward to begin collecting your dinner and he quickly scoops up a bun that had started to mysteriously float upward and hands it to the child so he won’t get too fussy. “Don’t get too impatient, kiddo,” he says gently reproaching the child.

You retreat to your appointed room with your meal and once you make sure the child can’t peek over at Din, you’re able to enjoy the food. For a while, you simply eat in a comfortable silence. There’s been so much going on today, it’s nice to be here where it’s more tranquil and you have a moment to yourselves that doesn’t feel as stressful as early in the day.

“I’ve really enjoyed meeting everyone here, they’re so caring and nice,” you tell Din, “Pink and Purple did a great job of introducing me to lots of people and teaching me about the Covert.”

“Pink and Purple?” He asks, confused.

“Oh, well, I don’t know anyone’s names so I’ve just been referring to them by the color of their armor in my head, Pink, Purple, Orange, Blue, you know?”

Din laughs at this and says, “You’re so adorable, cyar’ika.”

“Thanks, darling,” you say laughing a little with him, it is rather funny, “Seriously, I’ve felt so safe and at home here, even though it’s only been a few hours.”

“It makes me happy to hear you say that, cyar’ika,” he responds, “I hope you don’t mind but I told my tribe a lot about you, I wanted them to know how hard you’ve worked to take care of the child and keep him safe.”

You feel a fluttery sensation in your chest at his words, “I’m honored that you wanted to tell them about me.”

“Of course I wanted to,” Din says, “You’re very important to me.”

“You’re important to me too, Din,” you admit softly, trying not to get too choked up as you share your feelings with him. You hear him come closer to you and then he’s placing his arms around you, hugging you to his chest. His helmet is still off and you can feel him nuzzle his face into your neck and hair.

You sit like that for a while, just enjoying the closeness; you’re holding the child in your arms and Din is holding you in his. After a bit, you start to rock the child a little and hum a little song to him. He’s had a long day after running around with the other children and now that his belly is full, you can see he’s getting drowsy. As his big eyes start to blink longer and longer, you get up to put him in his little pod for the night. When you close it, you can feel Din has followed you and is standing right behind you.

“I have something for you,” he says, his voice a little gruff, but modulated so you know he’s wearing the helmet again. You turn and face him and you see he’s holding out a small leather pouch for you to take.

You smile broadly at him, “A gift for me?”

“Yes,” he confirms.

You untie the strings of the pouch and reach inside to pull out a necklace with a heart pendant made of beskar. It glimmers in the light and you can see there is a mythosaur skull imprinted on the heart. You hold it up and smile, touched by the gesture.

“Oh, it’s beautiful, Din,” you breathe out in delight, “Thank you so much. Will you help me put it on?”

You hand him the necklace and then turn away so he can clasp it at the nape of your neck. He tries to do it first with his gloves on, but then you hear him mutter, “Kriffing gloves,” followed by some shuffling before you feel his bare fingers against your skin as he finally secures the clasp for you.

“How does it look?” You ask him.

“Beautiful, just like you,” he says, before adding, “It’s made from a piece of my armor.”

“It is?” you gasp a little, “So it’s like I’m wearing a little piece of you?”

“Mmhmm,” he nods.

“Then I love it even more,” you tell him truthfully. “If I close my eyes, can I thank you with a kiss?”

“Absolutely,” Din says. You let your eyes flutter closed and then you feel his lips on yours, kissing you softly and slowly. It’s so sweet and romantic, you feel like you want to swoon. His tongue comes out to brush lightly against your bottom lip and you open your mouth letting him deepen the kiss. You pull him closer to you, running your hand up into his hair as you tug lightly and shift against him to position yourself to an even better angle. This rouses something in Din and he kisses you more passionately as his hands run down your back to your hips before pulling you flush to his body. After a bit he breaks away from your lips, only so he can trail kisses down your neck and throat, traveling further down until he kisses your chest right above the pendant.

“I’m glad you love the necklace,” Din says and you can feel his breath on your chest as his fingers lightly play with the pendant, “It… it means a lot to me, giving this to you means I feel attached to you… it means that you have my heart.”

“Oh, Din,” your voice fills with emotion, “You have my heart too.”

“Then I don’t need anything else in the galaxy, cyar’ika.” After those sweet words, Din moves back up to give you another scorching kiss.

When he pulls away this time, he rests his forehead on yours and asks, “Did you think to grab the sleep mask before we left?”

You giggle a little at that and say, “Yes, I did. It’s in the outside pouch of my bag.”

He kisses you again, “Can I get it?”

“Yes, but, do you think it will be ok with the little one right in the room with us? I mean I know he’s in his pod…” you trail off, really wanting things to continue but a little torn given the sleeping accommodations tonight.

“His pod is soundproofed, but I’m sure we can be quieter if we try,” Din replies, “But if you’re not comfortable with that, we can just sleep.”

“Well, if you think we can be quieter,” you reply honestly, “I’d rather keep going.”

“Me too,” Din says and in almost an instant, he’s back by your side slipping the mask over your eyes and kissing you soundly again.

“Cyar’ika, can I undress you?” he asks.

“Yes, please,” you respond. Gently, Din removes each piece of your clothing. He is unhurried as he reveals more of you to him, almost as if you’re a present and he’s savoring the unwrapping. When he reveals a patch of skin, he pauses to kiss you there, sometimes letting his hot tongue slip out and taste you. Each time he does it, you melt a little more into his touch. When you’re completely naked, he guides you to the bed so you can lie back. He kisses your lips one more time before telling you, “Let me remove my clothing now, I’ll be just a bit.”

You wait in anticipation, and when you hear him moving closer to the bed again, you’re surprised when you feel him kissing your toes.

“Din!” you yelp in surprise.

“Shh, cyar’ika,” he murmurs, “We’re supposed to be quieter.”

“You surprised me,” you explain, but in a softer voice this time.

You feel his lips again on your feet as he starts to kiss his way to your ankle and then up your calf. He’s gradually parting your legs as he works his way up higher and higher. You can guess his destination as he places a kiss high up on your inner thigh, but then you’re surprised again when he pulls away. When you feel him kissing your other foot, you realize he’s repeating the whole process on the other leg this time. He’s taking his time kissing and tasting your skin, and it feels so good that it’s turning you on more than you can believe. This time when Din gets to your inner thigh, you’re trembling in anticipation. As he lingers, you can’t take it anymore and you start to beg him.

“Din, please,” you whine out so softly it’s almost a whimper.

“Do you want more, cyar’ika?” he says against your skin and he lets his tongue caress the very top of your thigh. It’s so good, but it’s still too far away.

“Yes, please, higher.” This time it is a whimper and you don’t even care just so long as it gets him to finally kiss and lick where you need him most.

“Well, when you ask so nicely…” Din finally brings his tongue to your pussy and licks a path from the bottom all the way up to the very top where he places a kiss directly on your clit.

You let out a soft mewling sound and he says, “Was that better?”

“Please, more,” you manage to get out in a breathy voice.

“Anything for you, cyar’ika,” Din says before licking you again in the same deliberate manner. He keeps this up, licking in long strokes but very slowly, driving you completely crazy with desire. You start to try to grind your hips against his tongue but his hands come up to hold you still.

“You’re so eager,” he chuckles, “But be patient, my love; I’ll make it good for you.” With that comment, he pushes his tongue inside you as his fingers come up to draw light circles around your clit. It feels incredible and you let out a shaky moan as he finally starts to give you more. His tongue and his lips start to explore you in earnest, tasting and sucking on your most sensitive parts, turning you into a moaning mess. It an attempt to be quieter, you hold your hand up to your mouth to muffle the sounds because you just can’t stop making them.

“Mmm, that’s a sound I like to hear,” Din says between licks, “Reminds me of when you were first on the ship with me, late at night, I’d hear you trying to be quiet as you touched yourself.”

“You heard that?” you manage to gasp out, you’d be a little embarrassed but considering where his head is now, you don’t care.

“Yes, and I lived for it,” he tells you before diving back in and picking up his pace. You keen up into his mouth as he sucks hard on your clit, like it’s the last thing he’ll ever taste, and you feel your thighs starting to quake. When he pushes two fingers deep inside you, you can feel yourself starting to tighten around them. Your pleasure builds and just when it seems like you can’t take anymore, you feel yourself coming apart all over his face and hand.

You’re still panting when he makes his way up your body and then pulls you into another passionate kiss. His enthusiasm for you is humbling, but truthfully, you feel the same way, like you can never get enough of him. You break the kiss to move down his body now; you place hot, open-mouthed kisses all down his torso. You stop at both of his nipples to tease them with your tongue and nip at them lightly. Now it’s his turn to moan as you let your hands and mouth guide you lower and lower.

“Where are you g-going, cyar’ika?” Din grounds out, his voice stuttering as your tongue delves into his navel.

“Mmmm, can’t you guess, my love?” And with that, you let your mouth envelope the head of his cock and swirl your tongue all around it. Din lets out a loud groan that is almost a whine and you smile to yourself.

“Now who needs to be quiet?” you tease before returning to let your tongue caress his shaft all over with long, wet licks.

“Aaaahhh, just feels so fucking good,” Din breathes out, his voice low.

“I’m going to make you feel amazing,” you promise, and you return to the head, rubbing your tongue across the sensitive spot just underneath before sucking him into your mouth. You go about halfway down this time before pulling off him again. You return to taunting him with licks, this time running your tongue over his balls before you resume sucking him. You repeat this teasing process, each time sucking him deeper into your mouth until you start to hum to open your throat as you begin to reach his base. When you finally take all of him, he’s practically shuddering at the sensation. You take pity on him and instead of continuing to tease, you hollow your cheeks and begin to glide up and down, showing him how much you want to please him, wanting to give him the same intense pleasure he brought you a few moments ago. You can hear him doing his best to muffle his moans as he shakes and writhes underneath you. You can tell he’s trying not to thrust into your mouth, but he can’t help bucking his hips a little and when he does, it causes your throat to constrict around him increasing his enjoyment. You can tell he’s starting to get very close, but before you can get him there, he’s pushing you away.

“No, no, wait, I… I don’t want to yet…” Din gasps.

“Are you sure? I wanted you to finish in my mouth,” you explain, still eager to resume.

Din groans a little, but moves to haul you back up against him, “If I do that right now, I don’t think I’ll be able to make love to you anymore tonight, and I want that more.”

“Oh, Din,” your voice catches a little, “I do want you to keep making love to me, but sometime, I want you to let me finish you with my mouth.”

“Yes, sometime,” he kisses you to seal the promise. Din rolls you onto your side so that your back is flush against his chest, “I want to take you like this, cyar’ika,” he says. His hands are already maneuvering your legs so he can slide himself between them, and then you feel his steely erection rubbing deliciously between your folds.

“Yes, Din… aaah, like this is perfect.” Your breath hitches in your chest as he positions himself to enter you.

“Tell me,” he says.

You reach back to cradle his head with your hand and bring him closer to you, “Take me like this, Din, I want you… I need you.”

With that, he thrusts into you in one swift motion causing all the breath in your body to push out in a gasp. As he moves within you, he winds his arm around you tight holding you close against his chest. It’s like there’s no space between you at all. His mouth attaches itself to your neck where he’s biting and sucking a new mark into your skin. You can feel him everywhere and it’s overwhelming in the best way.  It doesn’t take long for you to feel the stirring of your climax again and you start to struggle to stay quiet. In this position, every thrust hits on your most pleasurable spot deep inside you and it’s taking all that you have not to scream out Din’s name. You know he must be getting closer to his peak too, as he’s also starting to groan and grunt more.  

“Are you close, cyar’ika?” Din asks you desperately and he drops his hand to your clit to rub fast circles there. All you can get out is a whimper and a shaky breath, as you start to feel the waves of your orgasm lapping at you. Din doubles his efforts and starts to beg you, “Please, cyar’ika, please… I’m so close… want you to come first… need you to… oooh, please.”

Hearing him plead with you like that is all you need to send you over the edge and almost as soon as your inner muscles begin to flutter around him, Din is following right along with you. He holds you as tight as he possibly can as he pumps himself into you and bites down on your shoulder to keep himself from crying out. You’re so stunned by the sensation you feel like you might black out from the pleasure. You’re shuddering from little aftershocks of bliss when Din starts to speak to you again but he’s speaking in Mando’a and you can’t fully understand what he’s saying.

“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, ner cyar’ika,” he says reverently and turns you towards him so he can kiss you fully.

When he breaks the kiss, he speaks again, only this time in Basic, “I love you, my sweetheart.”

Your heart skips a beat and then you tell him, “I love you too, Din.” His lips find yours again in the sweetest, most tender kiss.

When you break apart the next time, you ask him, “Will you say it in Mando’a again?” He does and you carefully repeat it back to him. You barely get the last syllable out and he’s kissing you again, as if he can never kiss you enough. You kiss him back fervently trying to pour all of your love into it, wanting him to understand just how much you love him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next two days pass pleasantly in the Covert. Din feels pleased that you fit in so well with everyone and it warms his heart to see how eager you are to learn more about his culture. It fills him with a new hope for the future, and he lets himself daydream about being able to return to the tribe permanently with you. Still though, Din can’t ignore the danger that you’re in and each hour that passes makes him anxious that the Imps could be headed here right now. In discussing the predicament with his tribe, Din was able to come up with a plan to keep you on the move and, hopefully, to find a stronger Covert that could help you defeat Kerrick. While his tribe and the others in this new Covert offered up their fighters, Din refused to accept based on their already reduced numbers. Now each moment that passes, his unease at being caught builds. It’s on this third evening, that he brings up his worries with you.

“I think we should leave tomorrow,” Din suggests, and you can hear the concern in his voice.

“You don’t think we’re safe here?” You’d been feeling so much better since arriving, that you’d hoped you’d be able to stay longer.

“It isn’t that-- I… I don’t think we’re safe anywhere, really,” he pauses and looks down at the ground when he says, “I’m worried that if we stay any longer, I’m endangering the Covert again, like Nevarro.”

You know all about Nevarro now as the other night the Armorer and the rest of Din’s tribe spoke about it, wanting both you and the other Mandalorians to understand more about that part of their history, and as a way of honoring those who lost their lives during the battle. Din was very quiet though as the story was being told, opting to simply grip your hand tightly and listen. You could tell that he still felt responsible for the loss of the Nevarro Covert, despite his tribe’s endeavors to show everyone that only the Imperial forces were to blame.

“I understand,” you reassure Din, “We can leave tonight if you think we should, it won’t take long to get our things together.”

“Can we? I think it would be the best option.” You can hear a note of relief in his voice as you agree with him and let him know that you’ll start packing right away.

“I just need to speak to the Armorer again,” Din tells you, “I shouldn’t be too long.”

When he finds the Armorer at her forge, she appears to have been expecting him. He doesn’t know how she does it, but it’s almost as if she can anticipate his thoughts, it’s always been that way with her. He wonders for a moment if she might share some of the child’s powers.

“Din Djarin, I have the pieces you have requested,” she speaks in her carefully measured voice.

“Thank you, I appreciate that you’ve worked to complete them so quickly for me,” he responds and watches as she moves to collect two small leather pouches. When he opens the first, he pulls out another beskar pendant; this time it is a mudhorn, the exact match to the one on his pauldron. The second pouch contains three rings, one is a ring of yours that Din swiped from your jewelry collection, and the other two are matching bands of beskar, one in the same size as your ring and the other sized to fit his own finger.

“I see that she wears the heart pendant with joy,” the Armorer tells him, and then asks, “When will you ask her to join your clan?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Din admits a bit bashfully, “But I want to be prepared to ask her when the time is right.”

“You have the blessing of the tribe, if you should want it,” she declares to him, “Your woman has mandokarla and we will always welcome her.”

“Thank you, that means so much to me,” Din replies gratefully.

“You have decided to leave us,” the Armorer states, again already seeming to know his thoughts before he shares them.

“Yes, I think it is for the best.” His voice can’t contain its concern, but he knows she understands as she nods to him.

“You must do what is best for your clan. This is the way,” she confirms.

“This is the way.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few days later and you’re back in hyperspace. You’ve been following the plan that Din’s tribe helped him design, stopping at some remote outposts in hopes of finding other Mandalorians. So far, the information the Covert shared with Din has been reliable and you both feel confident in your efforts. A sudden pinging on the dash draws Din’s attention and he sees that a transmission is coming in.

“Brother, we heard you are seeking assistance,” a strong voice speaks out into the cockpit, but no holo accompanies it.

“That depends on who’s offering,” Din responds carefully.

“Our Covert has heard that you need warriors to battle against some Imps,” the voice says, “We are willing to help you in that endeavor.”

“How did you come to hear that?” Din questions the voice.

“We are in communication with many other Coverts, and heard of your needs through our contacts,” the voice explains.

Din stays quiet as he thinks; the caller’s explanation seems logical but trusting a disembodied voice also seems a bit naïve. He continues to hesitate in his response when the voice speaks again.

“We also have information about where you can find the Jedi.”

“What are your coordinates?” Din asks, his mind made up. If they know about the Imperials and the Jedi, then they must have spoken to his Covert.

“We’re transmitting them now,” the voice informs him.

“Thank you, for being willing to help us,” Din says graciously.

“Ibic mando’kar,” the voice states.

“This is the way,” Din replies before ending the call.

As soon as the transmission is cut off, you speak up, “Do you think they’re the Mandalorians we’ve been searching for?”

“They must be, I know they’re an older sect and it makes sense that they’d say ‘Ibic mando’kar’ for ‘This is the way’,” he explains to you, “I think they can help us.”

You’re about to ask him more about these Mandalorians and what he knows, but you’re stopped by the child who has started fussing and crying. You go over to pick him up, but he’s worked himself up into a real tantrum, and no matter how much you try to soothe him, he won’t calm down.

“Are you hungry already, buddy?” You pull out some snacks from your pocket for him, but he shoves them away and cries harder. You know Din needs to focus on piloting the ship to the new coordinates so you descend to the hull with the poor little guy. You try rocking him, singing to him, even a warm bath, but nothing seems to help. He doesn’t seem to be in any visible discomfort so you simply sit and hold him hoping that ultimately your presence will show him that everything is ok. Eventually, he’s exhausted himself and falls asleep. You clean the tears off his little face, and although it’s finally quiet on the ship, you can’t shake a feeling of unease after how upset the child has been. However, you’re exhausted too after trying to care for him and you find yourself curling up on your bed your own eyes closing shortly afterwards.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You reach the coordinates provided to you by the Covert on a remote planet whose name you don’t know. The scenery does nothing to lift your mood, as the place appears to be an old industrial center and now looks run-down and abandoned. Although, given what you know about the need for the Mandalorian Coverts to remain secretive, you suppose that makes sense. You follow Din off the Crest with the child’s pod floating right beside you. As you walk to the designated meeting point, a large warehouse building, the child begins to whine again. You see the familiar sight of a mythosaur skull painted above the doorway to the warehouse and you breathe a sigh of relief, that this must be the correct place. You enter the building, but everything is dark and dusty inside and it doesn’t look like anyone is around. Thinking back to Din’s Covert, you expect that some guards will probably appear like before. When you see a helmeted figure in the shadows, you think you must be right, that is until the person turns to reveal the stark white helmet and armor of a storm trooper.

“You found us!” An eerily cheery voice trills out, making your blood run cold. It’s Kerrick.

Din instantly moves to shield you behind him, but you know it’s in vain, as now you can see an entire squadron of troopers moving out of the shadows to surround you. Even with Din’s impeccable skills as a gunslinger, there’s no way you could take on this many troopers, you are hopelessly outgunned.

“Come now, my little doll, don’t be shy,” Kerrick’s voice is almost sing-songy in his joy at trapping you, “I’ve missed you so very much, baby doll.”

Your heart is lurching in your chest and you feel sick to your stomach. You’re running through all the possible scenarios in your head, but there’s only one that you can think of which will keep Din and the child from being hurt.

“I’ve missed you too, Kerrick,” you call out, stepping out from behind Din.

Din’s hand reaches out to pull you back, but you gently shake your head and pull away. Before you do, you try to look into his visor with all the love you can and silently try to tell him that everything you’re about to say is a lie, but you have no idea if he can understand that.

“My sweet baby doll, come here and give your man a kiss,” Kerrick leers at you with a wide grin.

You raise your hands up as you walk slowly towards him, and you make your voice high pitched and girly, the way he used to like when you were in bed together, as you say, “Kerrick, all these guns are scaring me, can’t you have them put the blasters away?”

“Oh, my little doll, those are for your protection,” Kerrick explains condescendingly.

“I don’t know, I don’t think I can come any closer, I’m too scared,” you tell him.

“Alright, my doll, for you,” and he motions for the troopers to lower their blasters.

You feel a tiny sense of victory as you can tell you still have some power over Kerrick even with how twisted and vile he’s become. You move closer to him and when you’re within arm’s reach, he becomes impatient and he reaches out to grab you. Din’s instincts kick in and he draws his blaster without thinking and aims directly for Kerrick.

“Uh, uh, uh, Mandalorian, she just said she’s scared of blasters,” Kerrick admonishes, “You don’t want to scare my doll any more than you already have, do you?”

Oh no, you need to salvage this and quickly, “It’s not like that, Kerrick, he’s been trying to help me find you,” you lie, “I’ve been so lonely and sad without you, and he’s been protecting me until I could get back to you.”

“Is that true?” Kerrick asks, skeptical, “From our visit to Angel One, I was under the impression that you’ve been acting like a little whore for him.”

You want to die as you say these next words, but you know you need to convince Kerrick to let Din and the child go, “I was just using him, so he’d keep helping me, but it was just so I could find you again, Kerrick, after all, I’m still your doll.” Your hand comes up to your chest to sit over Din’s heart pendant hidden under your tunic and you hate yourself for having to put Din through this.

Din’s blood is boiling and he feels heartsick as he hears you lie to Kerrick. He knows you must be lying in an attempt to save him and the child. But he can’t ignore how much your words hurt, even if they’re not true. Hearing you call yourself “doll” though and seeing you grip your pendant, he tells himself that you don’t mean what you’re saying, that you do really love him, and that you’re prepared to sacrifice yourself to save him. He’s so angry with himself for leading you into this trap and he’s desperate to find another solution, but like you, he’s out of options. He has to do all he can right now to reign in his desire to start shooting.

Kerrick’s arms are wrapping tighter around your waist, and you know you’re going to have to muster up every acting skill you have if you’re going to convince him of your falsehood. You bring a hand up to caress his face, and he nuzzles into your touch. You thought he was handsome once, but his years with the Empire have changed him and his smug, pretty boy face holds no attraction for you now. You push these thoughts deep down though, and close your eyes as you bring him closer to you for a kiss. It takes everything you have not to shove him away in disgust. As Kerrick forces his tongue into your mouth, you tell yourself to be calm and then you pretend you’re kissing Din. It’s a struggle, but you manage to fool Kerrick enough that when he pulls away he’s grinning from ear to ear.

“Let’s go, doll,” he says and he starts to tug you away.

“Wait, Kerrick, will you do something for me, please?” You do your best to make yourself look as sweet and innocent as you can and you use the girly voice again.

“What can I do for you, baby doll?” He looks at you like you’re a child asking for a treat.

“Will you let the Mandalorian go back to his ship? He really did help me find you, and if it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have this wonderful reunion.” You pray Kerrick won’t see through your ploy.

“You always were so softhearted,” Kerrick says as he pats you on the ass.

“Please, for me? Please, Kerrick,” It’s soul crushing to have to beg him like this, but if it can help Din even a little you have to do it.

“Oh alright, I don’t want you to be sad or distracted all night. I have much better plans for us,” Kerrick tells you suggestively. You do your best not to throw up right then, but plan to save it as an escape for later.

“You six, take the Mandalorian back to his ship,” Kerrick motions to a group of troopers. Ok, six is still kind of a lot, but if feels like a number Din can probably handle. You don’t believe for a second that Kerrick is actually going to let Din go without a fight, but at least now he’s not facing an entire squadron.

“Can I say goodbye?” You know you’re pushing it, so you add, “To the child.”

“Fine, but make it quick,” Kerrick pats you on the ass again and you run back over to Din and the child. You scoop the baby up in your arms, but you look directly at Din and mouth, “I love you, I’m sorry.” He inclines his head in the slightest of nods and you know he understands. It doesn’t stop your heart from breaking in two though and you know tears are threatening to spill from your eyes.

“That’s enough!” Kerrick’s sharp voice calls out and you place the baby back in his pod before fixing a fake smile on your face and turning back to Kerrick. It’s shaky at best and you know you can’t hide your teary eyes so you throw yourself back into Kerrick’s arms hoping that a seemingly enthusiastic hug will mask your true feelings.

He chuckles, pats your head, and says, “Don’t worry, doll, I’ve got you now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The troopers lead Din out of the warehouse and each step feels painful, as he knows it’s taking him further away from you. All he wants to do is run back into that warehouse and fight for you, but he knows a deathtrap when he sees one. He doesn’t believe for one second that the troopers are going to let him leave, but he’s pretty sure he can take them out and get to the ship fast enough to get away. If he can make the jump to hyperspace before Kerrick’s cruiser can realize what’s happening he should be able to escape with his life.

“Be sure to get the asset,” one of the troopers is muttering to another, and Din knows it’s time. He charges and fires his whistling birds taking out four of the troopers at once and as he turns to fire at the other two, he sees their bodies being slammed together forcefully. Despite the terrible situation, he smiles to himself as he sees the child’s hands raised, helping him defeat the Imps. He quickly dispatches the last two troopers and then dashes to the Razor Crest.

He takes off as quickly as he knows how and, risking everything, makes the jump to hyperspace while he’s still in the planet’s atmosphere. It’s incredibly dangerous but it pays off and thankfully, the Crest manages to get away.

As hyperspace glows blue around him, Din plots in a course back to his Covert. He needs reinforcements and this time he can’t let the past hold him back from accepting help.

“We’re going to get her back, buddy,” Din vows looking at the child, “Don’t you worry.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for reading!! I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. Link to Chapter 9: Not Without My Cyar’ika

Mando’a glossary:

gar vode = your brethren, your brothers

ner vod = my brother

beroya = bounty hunter

riduurok = marriage, wedding ceremony

riduur = spouse

ad’ika = little one (affectionate)

aliit = family

buir = parent

di’kut = idiot

mesh’la = beautiful

Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum = I love you (literally, I know you forever)

mandokarla = having the right stuff, the epitome of Mandalorian spirit

Ibic mando’kar =This is the way (there is some debate about how to say it)

Tag list: @grogusmum @wellofeternalthirst @idreamofboobear @theamuz @fangirlalexia @callmekane @im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11 @theravenreads @nicotinebirds @boomtownboy @nova646 @wandering-storm-lost-shadow @becks-things @sleepwithacommunist @mackycat11 @som3thingcr3ative @punkdalek @pinkninja200 @s-unflowxr @ladyjenny19 @peppywitch @haley7242 @the-bottom-of-the-abyss @hotsauceonabiscuit @asta-lily

[username-was-spoken-for]

Party Dwellers Part 1

“I’m not jealous.” Saying it out loud doesn’t make the sick feeling any better. I bite my lip as I look in the mirror. The music from downstairs is loud and shakes the walls of the house. Whose house this is? I have no idea. I just just got in the car with my friends and we made our way to the huge houses in the suburbs.

It seemed like the average high school party when we pulled up. There were sweaty bodies all over each other in hopes of getting lucky. That constant smell of puke from the kids who got pressured to do something stupid. And of course clouds of cannabis that either made you gag or sniff out the source like a hound.

That’s all normal, that’s the shit I can handle. What I can’t handle is him, Wally West. I could make out his red hair even in the neon light filled house. He was sitting on the couch with a cup in his hand bobbing his head to the song playing on the speakers. His curly mop bounced with each movement. It wasn’t until someone bumped into me that I realized I was staring. Maybe I coul-No! I can’t, but maybe I can! I started walking through the crowd of bodies between me and Wally. People strike up conversations all the time at parties so this shouldn’t have been weird. Really it should have been easy. Wally’s so nice and social he probably wouldn’t mind talking.

I make it about a foot away before I notice her. Grace, Mackey...the swim team captain. The blonde, hazel eyed, sweet rack, and rich swim team captain. Now usually I have no problem with Grace, but seeing her all over Wally? Oh yeah, that’s a problem. A surge of anger went through me, then a cold feeling followed. I felt like my heart dropped to my ass. Any confidence I built up walking towards Wally went out the window. With another step I turned towards the right and made my way upstairs. I rushed through other guests and eventually found an empty bathroom. And that’s how I ended up here with wet eyes about a boy who doesn’t even know me. Thank God that the speaker downstairs can drown out any noise. Whether it’s moaning or my sniffles. I wanna go home but my friend with the car keys is currently MIA. So with that being said, I’m gonna go pop a perc and wait for this already shitty night to be over. With that thought I unlock the bathroom door and slam right into something.

“Why am I here?” I mutter to myself. I have training with the team tomorrow and if Barry found out I was here he would lose it. All these valid thoughts bounce around in my head as I keep walking into the huge house. I usually don’t go to these kind of things but sometimes the urge for teenage normalcy is strong. I've got at least experience a house party once! Who knows I might even have fun!

Wrong. It only took 15 minutes to realize that the food sucks and people from my school are still assholes. I don’t really know anyone here and the bitter taste from my drink doesn’t help my bad mood. Eventually I found an uninhabited couch and plopped down. The only upside to this whole thing is that the playlist is great! I know every song and vibrations from the beats feel pretty nice. I drown out everyone else and just listen to the music. For a minute it felt like I was in my own little world. This is just the escape I needed from—a solid body lands next to me. My right arm is overtaken by a warm chest and slender arms. I turn my head getting ready to go off on whoever is on me. The words died on my tongue when I realized who it was. Hazel eyes owlishly blinked up at me. “G-g-GRACE Mackey! Uhhh..hi!” I had to be dreaming. There’s no way one of the most popular girls in school is snuggled up on me like this. It’s not possible Grace Mackey’s boobs are on my arm! There’s just no way! My suspicions are answered when Grace finally opens her mouth to talk to me.

“Hiiii umm...Willy! Ya, Willy. Wha-what are you doin o-over here by yourseeeelf?”

Of course. She’s fucking hammered. I knew there was no plausible reason why Grace would be all over me. I put my cup down so I can try to pry Grace’s arms off me but to no avail. Damn those years of swimming really paid off. As I struggle I see someone walk up the steps. Was that, (Y/N)? She’s like the one of the few people who isn’t an asshole at my school!

“Uh, look Grace I’ve really gotta uhhh..PEE! I’ve really gotta pee so I’m gonna get up now.” Grace stiffens up and stares at me. Suddenly she starts to shake.

“PEE! BWAHAHAA! HE SAID PEE! OMG HAHAHA!” Grace doubles over to laugh at the nonexistent joke. I’m finally free from her clutches but also very confused. Maybe even a little scared.

As fast as I can without revealing my powers I race upstairs. I jump over slouched bodies and duck under flimsy limbs. She’s nowhere to be found. I know I saw her come up here. I even checked the very much “occupied” bedrooms. With a sigh and lean on the wall. Forget it, I might as well go home. The team is in a bit of a rough patch after the failsafe training. Life with my parents hasn’t made things any easier either. Times like these make me wonder if recreating that experiment was worth I-UGGH! Stop thinking like that Wally! I shake my head to rid myself of those negative thoughts. I push off from the wall and walk towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. Now I actually do have to pee but once I’m done I’m out of here. Plus mom and dad are probably asleep right now so I may not have to worry about them. So caught up in my thoughts I didn’t see the bathroom door open. Someone bumped right into me making me stumble. Luckily I caught myself and the person. And it’s just the person I’ve been looking for!

“Hey (Y/N)! Enjoying the party?”

[prorevenge]

Mock my mother’s death? I bankrupt you.

So this could be a very, very long story. I’ll try to summarize where and when I can.

My now ex-wife Kate and I moved to an apartment in 2010. The house as a whole a renovated town house split between two sides with two apartments on the bottom and two apartments upstairs. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the apartment as it was a much older building that I had ever lived in but I quickly adjusted to the wood creaking throughout the night. On the initial walkthrough we noticed that the only problem was that there was a dip in the bathroom ceiling. The landlord, Jay, promised he would get fixed ASAP.

One year to the day when we moved in there was a loud crash at 4AM. The bathroom ceiling had collapsed and there was tiling and wood all over over the floor and in the bathtub. Now Kate was typically the aggressive one, while I was more passive and laid back, and she kept calling Jay throughout the day. When she got in touch with him at around 9PM she explained what happened and insisted that it be fixed immediately. He rebuffed with him yelling that his girlfriend was a lawyer and he didn’t need to do anything. Now this is where I got mad. I went outside and called him myself. I feigned a relaxed demeanor and at first he began trying to talk to me as a “bro” and kept saying “Dude, I’m gonna get someone out there but it’s gonna take a few weeks..” When he couldn’t sway me that way he began yelling about his girlfriend and her knowing the law. What he was unaware of was that I had read the tenant laws in my state and so as he tried to lie I waited until he was finished and I recited the law stating that, if an apartment was considered uninhabitable then the landlord needed to pay for the tenant to stay in a place until it was resolved. He tried to say that our upstairs neighbor Phil was the super but he wasn’t sure if he could get down there that night. He put me on hold, then came back a few minutes later and said that Phil and his girlfriend were out of state. I rang Phils doorbell and asked, with the Jay on speakerphone, if he was assigned as the super. He laughed and said “No.” Dejected, he said he would have people out there the next day (previously he said they were busy for at least three weeks). There’s more to this incident but it lead to two conclusions:

If you’re going to lie then there has to be a consistency in your lie AND make sure that the people you lie to DON’T communicate with each other.

This is where a feud started between me and my Kate versus him and his mother (she was the original landlord and gave the house to him so he could begin to profit.)

So forward to a year later. Jay stopped coming to the house and his mom began doing the pick-ups. Around this time my ex- and I had been laid off and we were working with social security for food, health, and housing insurance. We were approved for all three in April but we would not get the check until May. When our typical check wasn’t in the landlord’s mailbox he immediately gave a summons saying that he was taking us to court for eviction. The day we went to court he had no lawyer and, going before the judge, here’s the summation:

Judge: Does the defense have a means to pay within 90 days of non-payment? Us: Yes judge (hands over paperwork showing that he will be paid for April and May) Judge: I see no problem. They are breaking no laws. Why are we here? Jay: Well your honor, they have been bullying- Judge: I don’t care, unless they are breaking a law then this case is dismissed.

Suffice it to say Jay and his mother’s were NOT happy. Around this time in my life things were tumultuous. My mother, who had been battling lung cancer succumbed to it in June . This happened at roughly the same time his mom came knocking looking for payment. I explained that I would leave it in the mailbox when we got back from the funeral home and to please just respect my right to mourn. She took her fingers and began rubbing them together, pretending to play the smallest violin.

I will never forget what she said next “Oooh, my mommy just died. Woe is me. She probably had it coming. I don’t care if your entire family is dead. I want my money.” She smiled smugly, proud with what she had just said. I saw red and my heart jumped into my throat. I went, grabbed the check, and handed it to her in absolute shock that anyone would say something so...fucked up? She had finally managed to push a button that very few people I’ve known throughout my life have seen. I went into rage mode but not in the way you would expect.

THE REVENGE: We were always told that if a health inspector came by to not open the door. I waited until Aug. since that was when the lease was going to run out and we knew they would not extend a renewal. I walked up the block to town hall to ask for a health inspection of our property. It was scheduled for several days later. Now it’s important to know several things:

I was friends with all of the tenants. Phil had moved out with his fiancé but the new tenant was Dani upstairs in our side. Tom and Hana on the other side of the downstairs floor had moved out and Jay was still looking for new tenants. The only one who wanted to stay out of this was Rose on the upper right apartment.

I had gotten a key so I could let the inspector in Dani’s apartment and I knew that I could use the back staircase on the right side to let him in on Tom’s, now vacant apartment.

I also knew that Dani was moving out in September along with Kate and myself.

The inspector came and it was glorious. He checked the exterior of the house first noting that wires were exposed, there was an old empty dryer along with other odd clutter in the backyard. I bought him inside the shared entrance and, as I was counting on, he noticed that the last inspected dated back to 1994; 18 years. This meant that for each year he did not have an inspection there would be appropriate fines. For our apartment we had black mold growing in our bathroom and the bubble in the ceiling had begun to grow to problematic proportions. Upstairs, Dani’s apartment was suffering from leaks in the ceiling and it looked like her bathroom ceiling was also on the brink of collapsing. We then went to the basement. The boiler was on the verge of exploding, there was flammable items along with gasoline and a pack of matches sitting right beside it. Two things that I did not know was 1. The fire door that separated the two sides did not close all of the way rendering it moot and, on the right basement side there was a toilet. A toilet that had blown up. It had coated the surrounding walls and the leakage prevented us going up to the floor via the right side. The entire time the inspector was photographing and writing constantly.

We stepped outside and he said he needed to come back. When I asked why he said he had run out of space to write down all of the infractions (he had filled the front and had written an entire page on the back portion). I kindly and coyly asked “Well, how much will it cost right now?” He scratched his head and said “Around 20-30k from what I can see but it’s probably going to be higher as this house was never licensed to be split into apartments.” I thanked him and he was going to come back with the county inspector.

So we moved out and but I got the rundown from Rose. Because he was the current owner he owed all current fines and no one new could not move into the empty apartments until everything was up to code. Because three out of four were vacant he was losing 4,500 in potential rent. He handed the property back to his mother and had to claim for bankruptcy. Now here’s the other thing. Every time an old tenant left and a new one was coming in an inspection was supposed to be done. Now that all of the financial burden fell on her they looked into the records and was she was fined for each time she had broken that rule 750/per. By the end of the year Rose had moved out so the place was hemorrhaging money. I sat back, proud of what I had done, and left it be.

Haha, no, fuck that. I wasn’t close to done yet.

I felt like I had destroyed Jay but my real target had always been his mom. I learned that she had about eight properties throughout three towns in my county. I went to each one, spoke to the tenants, and said I was a concerned tenant from another property and asked if they had any problems with their apartments. EVERY person I asked described the apartment in very poor to intolerable levels and that the mom was effectively a slumlord. She would ignore problems unless someone turned to litigations, she was threatened that they would summon the inspector, or, more often than not, the people would move out, she’d refuse their deposit, and sink those into repairs. People rarely fought back because she knew that the occupants were of upper, lower class minorities. So, being the concerned person I was, I want to the inspector of the other two towns and asked for an inspection to be done with at least one, if not more, would be awaiting the inspector when they came. Turns out that she faced pretty much the same infractions on every apartment she owned. It turned out she actually had 12 apartments but I initially only knew about the ones that fell within my county. The remaining properties in the next county over were given a heads up for a surprise inspection. From what I can tell Jays mom had been in the landlord business for about 35-40 years. That collapsed quickly.

Since we moved literally one block down the road from our old one I got to see Jay lose his primary source of income and have to claim bankruptcy BUT also saw that his mother was also trying desperately to find a buyer for all of the apartments so she could pay off the fines. I learned two years later that she too had to file for bankruptcy. Jay and his mother camped out in front of our next apartment two days in Oct. of 13 before she filed for bankruptcy (I’m guessing to scream at me and/or Kate) so I called the cops and said that there were strange people standing in a no parking zone and they kept looking up at the second floor. A cruiser swung by and told them to leave.

I know I should have used the two months I spent monitoring everything to find a new job but this was the one and only time I wanted to cripple a person where they hurt the most; their wallets. I think I got my point across. None of this would’ve happened if you had just fucking fixed the ceiling before it collapsed Jay!

Th;dr: Had a couple of slumlords, they pushed me to a place where I snapped, and so I went a bit crazy and bankrupted the slumlord AND his slumlord mother as well.

(source) story by (/u/Theliterside)

[hopecountysfavhoe]

‘Cold’ Chapter Sixteen Pt.2

Rating 18+

Word count: 3,379

It was a quiet day for Jacob. He was back at the Veterans Centre after taking a 'hunting trip' to Holland Valley. He knew that he wasn't really supposed to butt in on what was happening over in John's region but he had to do something. He'd gotten word that the Deputy was spotted in Holland Valley in a truck with Kim Rye and it was just too perfect.

So he told his people he was going on a quick hunting trip and took a Bliss bullet with him. He had followed the Deputy's truck to Nick and Kim Rye's house, waiting patiently for her to leave like he knew she would. If he knew anything about the Deputy it was that she couldn't sit in one place for too long.

When she went to meet up with Grace Armstrong he kept his distance. He knew Grace was a good sniper but he was better at hiding. It was a pretty easy shot, the Deputy's neck was exposed and she was walking pretty slowly. Jacob smirked at her comfort. She had gotten relaxed, too relaxed. He had to send her a message and a Bliss bullet was the perfect one.

When he hit her, Jacob watched through his scope as the Deputy fell to the ground. He was careful to hide his scope and gun barrel when Grace scanned the area. He watched Grace as she practically carried the Deputy to her truck. It was amusing to say the least, watching the Deputy be so fragile with the people that 'cared' about her.

He still wasn't convinced that the people of Hope County cared about the Deputy the way she'd convinced herself they did. She was a weapon to them, a tool they used to help better the Resistance. But as soon as she breaks beyond fixing they'll toss her aside and find someone new, and that's when Eden's Gate will be there to pick her up.

Jacob didn't know why he cared, it wasn't like the Deputy had ever treated him with kindness. Except in that cabin... but that must have been her plan, to feed him lies and tend his wounds, make him feel bad for her and her past. God, what was wrong with him? The Deputy wasn't capable of something that cruel, that manipulative...was she?

Jacob doubted it. He'd watched her in the trials and on his cameras, if she ever felt like being cruel she would just outright be cruel. She would kill his hunters and Judges but she was straightforward about it, she didn't play mind games. It was annoying to spend so much time obsessing over the Deputy's behaviour but Jacob couldn't stop, it was too intriguing.

Everyone he'd encountered in Hope County was fighting for something or someone, but the Deputy had no connection to this place. She didn't grow up here, she didn't have family or a house that she had to protect, she just fought them because she was asked to. It was a respectable way of acting, if only she wasn't on the opposite side. Jacob could only imagine what he could get done if he had the Deputy fighting for him. She'd be unstoppable, probably to a fault, to her death.

These were all things he mulled over as he backed into the woods, making his escape back to his own region. He didn't tell John about him being there, he didn't need the lecture about John being able to govern his own region without interference again. So he just found his truck again and got back the the Whitetail Mountains as quick as possible.

Jacob wanted to feel pleased with himself. He managed to get a swipe at the 'untouchable' Deputy, that was a major achievement. But still, his stomach churned at the thought of the Deputy being in the hands of those people. He knew Grace was smart enough to drive around the valley to get any potential followers off her trail so that meant the Deputy was probably slumped over in the back seat of some pickup truck, unable to react to anything or protect herself. It should have brought him pleasure, the thought of the Deputy incapacitated by his own hands, but instead it brought him worry. It was worry he didn't want so he tried to shrug it off and focus on his men's training.

Everything was quiet, the men were training, Jacob had just finished overviewing another trial, it was an average day. But while Jacob was sitting at his desk in his upstairs office he heard chaos erupt outside. His guards started yelling about an attack, causing Jacob to jump to his feet. He went to his window and looked down on the front yard. Guards and other trainees were running around in panic, their guns pointed all over the place.

Jacob rushed downstairs and realized what brought the chaos on. The guard on his front step had an arrow in his neck and was dead. Jacob barked and order to find whoever did this, even though he had a pretty good idea. If it was an arrow it must have been that Jess Black kid, she had a lot of gall antagonizing Jacob in his own home. Around the arrow was a paper note, now splattered with blood. Jacob untied the note from the arrow and quickly unfolded it to read it.

We need to talk. Now.

Meet me at the Flanagan cabin tomorrow at noon, alone. No guns, no weapons, just a talk.

-You know who

Jacob cursed and ordered his men to tighten the perimeter, the Deputy just taunted him and he didn't like it.

The Deputy drove down a dirt road and parked next to a tall tree. She was alone and was about to meet Jacob Seed for a talk. She just hoped he would show up and not blow her off. The Deputy knew that shooting one of his guards with an arrow that had a note on it telling him to go meet her in the woods was probably the least smart thing she could do but she was fuming the day before.

Before she could head up to the cabin, the Deputy remembered the rules she made and set her weapons in the passenger seat of her truck. She knew not to go into the woods completely unarmed though so she kept her knife and a pistol tucked into her waist band behind her back. She was a little nervous, the last time she was alone with Jacob was in that room after he forced her into another trial. Even so, she was filled with anger towards him so that helped a little bit.

After putting away her guns the Deputy started up the hill to the Flanagan cabin, praying that Jacob actually listened to the 'alone' part of her note. When she made it up the impossibly steep hill followed with a thirty minute hike through the forest she came upon a shocking discovery. The Flanagan cabin had been burnt down.

It wasn't too recent, the fire was probably a couple weeks before then. The Deputy didn't know who would burn it down or why but at least it was uninhabited.

She walked over to the driveway and waited, she checked her watch for the time. It was 11:57, Jacob should be there soon. The Deputy was uncomfortable to say the very least. In a show of good faith to her 'no weapons' rule she had also elected to leave her bulletproof vest in the truck. So now she only had a pistol and a hunting knife, no vest, no rifle, and she wasn't even fully convinced Jacob would show up alone, or even show up for that matter.

She decided to give it until 12 o'clock precisely for Jacob to show up, if he wasn't there by then she was going to get the hell out of there before she got trapped and kidnapped or something. She folded her arms over her chest, trying not to fidget incase Jacob was watching her.

While three minutes clicked by as slow as they possibly could, the Deputy rethought her whole plan. She didn't think Jacob would actually show up, she was also worried he would but that he would bring his whole damn army with him. Part of her wondered if this was his plan, doing something to provoke her then make her make him agree to a weapons free meeting so that he could take her without too much of a fight. It wasn't as unlikely as she hoped it would sound.

She looked at her watch and saw that it was 12:00. She scanned the woods for Jacob, her heart pounding in her ears while she tried to remain calm. She swore she saw something move in the tree line and stared, waiting to see if it was her imagination or if it was actually something. She watched intently but didn't see anything move. The Deputy kept scanning the tree line when she saw it. Jacob Seed came waltzing out of the trees, holding the still bloody arrow in his hands.

He looked up at the impatient Deputy with her arms crossed. He let out a throaty chuckle. "Didn't think I'd make it?" He asked nonchalantly and continued to study the arrow in his hands.

"What makes you think that?" The Deputy fired back, but she knew she radiated a certain worried energy.

Jacob shrugged and looked up at her. He held the arrow up as if he needed to see it better in the sun. "So...you think shooting my guard is the best you can do?" Jacob slowly slinked towards her as if they weren't in a neutral area, as if she was tied down to his chair and waiting for him to pull out that music box.

"I do think it was one of my better revenge plans." The Deputy hissed. "Did you follow the rules? No weapons?" The Deputy asked and glanced down at his hip holster for his knife.

Jacob stopped approaching her when he was about 6-7 feet away from her. She could read his body language and tell that he was furious, even if he did do a good job at hiding it. "I was going to but you can never be too careful, can you, Deputy?" He said the word 'Deputy' as if it were poison. He motioned with the tip of the arrow to her belt holster for the Deputy's own hunting knife.

"So, are we alone?" The Deputy asked, trying to see if Jacob was too obviously lying.

"You're instructions were clear, alone. Did you follow the rules as well?" Jacob asked and the Deputy pursed her lips together.

Jacob's crystal blue eyes bored into the Deputy's as she reached down for her radio. She unhooked it from her belt and raised it to her mouth. "Stand down guys, it's ok." She said into the radio and waited for a response.

The radio was silent until it crackled to life. "Are you serious, Dep?" Grace's voice asked through the radio.

"Yes I am, Jacob and I are talking."

"Ok, but I'll be watching." Grace's tone sounded more like a threat than a reassurance. The Deputy hooked her radio back onto her belt while Jacob fought back a grin.

"The rule maker doesn't even follow her own rules, impressive." Jacob gloated and the Deputy refolded her arms.

"Now tell your guys to stand down, this talk is supposed to be peaceful." The Deputy spat and Jacob made a deep humming noise.

"Stand down men, me and the Deputy are having a talk." He said into his own radio and waited for an answer.

"Roger that, sir." An obedient voice returned on the radio. Jacob slid his radio back into his pocket and faced the Deputy again.

The tension in the air was so thick it could stop a bullet. The Deputy wanted to go first. "Ok, now that we're as good as alone, you and I need to chat."

"I'm waiting, Deputy, I don't have all day." Jacob informed her with a hint of impatience in his voice.

"You and I have been playing a serious game of cat and mouse since I've gotten here. You hit me, I hit you back, I hit you, you hit me back, it's just how it's always been. But look around you Jacob, neither of us are winning. I know you see it too. The Project and the Resistance are at each other's throats but both of us are going down, neither side is getting what they want.

"The land is suffering and the people are suffering, on both sides. How many people do you lose in a day? In a week? It's bloodshed, and I know you've seen bloodshed before. You've been to war, you know how dirty it can get, well we're there. Both sides of this war want nothing more than to piss off the other side and we're using people's lives to do that. This won't end in one side coming out on top of the other, this will end with this whole county burning while we squabble over the ashes." The Deputy glanced away from Jacob, biting her cheek.

"As much as I hate you for all that you've done, I don't think this fighting can continue." She finished. Every one of the Deputy's points was a fair and rational one, which infuriated Jacob because he couldn't debate them.

"What are you suggesting?" Jacob inquired but by the look on the Deputy's face he already knew what's she was going to say.

"I think that if we made a temporary peace treaty then it's possible we could work something out to where both sides can stop this incessant fighting." The words were like battery acid on the Deputy's tongue. She hated the idea of trying to work with Jacob on anything but right now she had to try and swallow her pride for the good of Hope County.

"A peace treaty? This isn't like you, Deputy. I thought that tattoo of yours said Wrath." Jacob taunted and the Deputy bit her tongue.

She took a breath and locked her jaw. "I'm not lying Jacob. This is the only way I can see this ending without this County getting destroyed."

"What if I say no?" Jacob questioned, tilting his head as if he were looking at a peculiar science experiment.

"Then I'll have no choice but to fight back, but if you say yes then I think this can work." The Deputy's voice wasn't masking any of her anger as she spoke but she was sincere, she really did want to see this fighting stop.

"Saying yes isn't my expertise." Jacob responded, hoping to keep this conversation adversarial.

"You can talk to your brothers. I can't get near them. If I step on a branch wrong in John's region he shoots me in the back and forces me to confess shit, Joseph won't listen to me because he's convinced I'm Hell incarnate, Faith would never even consider it if it came from me. So that leaves you. Believe me, if I thought I could go to any other sibling I would but I didn't, I came to talk to you." The Deputy made a fair point. Jacob knew that if she tried to walk in anywhere and talk peace then his siblings wouldn't blink before doing what they always do.

Joseph might listen but he was near impossible to get alone. Jacob knew why she came to him, that part he didn't need help with. Their relationship was more cat-and-mouse. Both of their moves against each other were calculated and not impulsive, they talked far more than any of his other siblings did with the Deputy, even if you ignore the time they spent in the cabin together.

Jacob studied her in silence for a minute, probably to see if she was truly being sincere. It was strange to see her in this light in person. Every time he's seen her outside of the Veterans Centre it's been through the cameras, but in real life you could really see the wear the fighting has had on her. Her gashed cheek was still healing, the weight she'd lost was evident in her face and neck only, since she kept the rest of herself covered. He could see the dark bags hanging under her eyes, weighing her whole face down with them.

Jacob remembered seeing her when she first entered the church last year. Her face was serious and stoic, her posture was stiff and yet her eyes told a different story. Even in the dark her eyes showed you right into her soul. When she hesitated before putting the cuffs on Joseph, Jacob just watched her. They were full of life even if they were serious, and her face was full and healthy, she looked like a real person and Jacob had to admit that she was an attractive person. John of course made a comment about her physical attractiveness later that made Jacob roll his eyes but he couldn't exactly deny it.

The Deputy standing in front of him now was not that first Deputy. This one was tired and in pain, and in that moment Jacob realized it. She was broken already. He had broken her because otherwise she would be cursing him out and spitting at his face. Her gaze was angry and full of fire but that fire was fading. He had watched her walk up through binoculars and noticed how bad her limp was.

Good God, she was falling apart right under his nose.

"So? Will you agree to talk to your brothers?" The Deputy was obviously uncomfortable with Jacob's staring.

Jacob realized he used his time to think about the Deputy instead of a peace treaty. "I will talk to Joseph, only if you get the Whitetails to agree to a temporary peace treaty as well." Jacob bargained and the Deputy fought to keep her relief off her face.

"I'll do that." The Deputy nodded. Jacob seemed satisfied with their discussion and turned to walk back into the woods.

"Hey Jacob?" The Deputy got his attention again. "This doesn't mean we're on the same side, this just means we aren't fighting each other right now." She clarified and Jacob gave her a nod.

"Understood." He was about to turn again and walk away when he heard the Deputy's radio crackle.

"Watch ou-" was all that Grace Armstrong could get out before the Deputy's chest heaved like she'd been punched. Jacob couldn't process what happened until he saw a growing spot of red on the Deputy's chest.

Her face was just as shocked as Jacob's was. She brought a hand up to feel her chest, pulling away a hand drenched in red blood. She fell to her knees, her hand still shaking in front of her. It was like all sound had shut off in Jacob's ears, he couldn't hear a thing except for the Deputy's shuddering gasp of pain. She'd been shot by a sniper.

His feet brought him to her side as she fell back into the dirt road. He grabbed a handkerchief out of his pocket and jammed it in her bullet hole, forcing a whine of pain from the Deputy. He placed a hand over her bullet hole and grabbed his radio. "Who the fuck fired that shot?" He shouted into his radio, his head looking around furiously as he tried to stop the bleeding.

"I said who the fuck fired that shot?" He demanded once more.

"It wasn't us sir! None of us have our safety off!" A panicked voice came across the radio.

"Then find the person that did! Now!" He dropped his radio and brought his other hand back to the Deputy's chest.

Blood was pouring out between his fingers while he cursed. "Don't you dare die right now Deputy. Not now, not here." Jacob threatened while pressing his weight into her chest.

"Get away from her now, Jacob!" A familiar voice shouted from behind him. Jess Black had her bow drawn and aimed right for his head.

[alpineglowx]

I'll Do The Same {Din Djarin x OC} Chapter Three: Grass

pairing: din djarin x female oc

warnings: none

* * * *

“We’re here.”

“Really?”

Thell could hardly contain her excitement as the Razor Crest landed on the remote forest planet. She could touch dirt for the first time, real dirt. Feel wind pushed by the trees blow in her face.

She nearly threw herself down the ladder, waiting for Mando to open the side telescopic gate.

“Hold on. Don’t get yourself too excited.”

He stepped past her, grabbing a large blaster from his regiment of weapons before stepping in front of the gate.

“I need to make sure we’re alone first. Wouldn’t want anyone shooting you as soon as you jump out there.”

Thell laughed. Almost.

She watched as he cautiously paced the perimeter of the woods, pointing his blaster in several directions while he mapped the area. At his signal, Thell revealed herself and stepped down the gate. The forest was large, extending for miles and miles across the planet. But they had landed in a clearing surrounded by knee high grass, as green as she had imagined. Even more so.

Thell slipped her shoes off, wanting to feel the real earth beneath her feet. She could hear the child cooing behind her, curiously peeking out as he also descended the ramp.

She stepped forward, until the bottom of her foot was tickled by the dry grass, and then she was standing, dirt and leaves crunching under her toes. It was softer than she had imagined, and so much richer. She couldn’t help the tears that suddenly came to her eyes, the joy that was overwhelming her. The sun was warmer here, and the wind sounded like peace flowing through the woods.

She heard crunches beside her and looked to see Mando approaching her, blaster at his side. It was only when he was a few feet away that she realized she still had tears on her face, and moved to wipe them away quickly. If Mando noticed, he didn’t make a scene of it, instead coming shoulder to shoulder with her and staring out into the forest.

“We need to lay low for a little while, do some repairs on the ship.”

“Okay,” Thell said softly.

“We’ll need to start right away. You know the basic controls and mechanisms of a military patrol craft?”

She looked up to see him already looking at her. “Um, yeah. Darand had me help with repairs on his cruiser, so I guess it should be pretty simple.”

“We’ll see,” the Mandalorian grumbled before stepping away. Frustration rose inside Thell. She knew she was no expert on all things having to do with ships, but the least he could do was at least not make comments on her lack of skill.

Nonetheless, she hiked back up the telescopic gate with him, watching him set aside his blaster rifle.

“You can have one day off a week. You can do whatever you want, just don’t go too far if you decide to wander off.”

Thell looked down at her feet. “How long can I stay?”

The Mandalorian looked back at her, in all of his unnerving strength.

“Till the end of the month.”

The first three weeks were strenuous, compared to the work Darand usually had her do. After dropping off his bounty, her old master, on an unnamed planet, they traveled to the remote forest planet so they could work on repairs to the ship. Mando had her perform various tasks, like replacing and cleaning the cooling radiator panels and repairing siding in the cargo hold. It was no easy work by far, but the more she did, the more secured Thell felt in his company. He was not a conversationalist by any means, and neither was she, so most of their time was spent in silence. Better than him snapping at her for asking too personal a question.

The planet was mostly uninhabited, but on her day off, Thell allowed herself a walk through the forest. She had just walked down the side ramp when she heard footsteps approaching behind her, and turned to see the Mandalorian following after her.

“Yes?”

“Where are you going?” For once, he sounded genuinely curious.

Thell shrugged, holding her pack tighter to her side. “I was gonna take a walk... it’s my day off, right?”

Mando dipped his head, but before he could turn away, Thell lingered at the edge of the gate.

“Do you... Want to come with me?” She asked.

She had tried to get to know him, as much as she could; but he was the most private, and surprisingly quiet, man Thell had ever met. He didn’t share much, and he asked even less about Thell herself. All pleasantries and introductions had been made the first week: her name, her age, how long she had been on Bespin, what type of work she did for Darand. Nothing that mattered, at the end of the day.

And even though she was with two new people, she felt as lonely as she did in that mansion on Bespin. Mando was quiet, and while not inherently harsh, was rather cold in his disposition. The only time she saw warmth radiate from him in any capacity was with the kid. He loved the child; Thell could tell as soon as she had seen them together that first night on Bespin.

He held the alien with such tenderness, offered him that metal orb, and prepared meals for him. It was quiet work; those who didn’t know to watch would have never noticed in the first place. There was some strange connection between the Mandalorian and the child that he affectionately called “kid.”

And there had been rare moments within those first three weeks that his warmth seemed to carry over to her. It was not immediate, and it never lasted for more than a few moments, but it was the times that she wondered who the Mandalorian truly was, where he came from, what his story was.

One night she had been curled up in the passenger seat of the cockpit, digging her chin into her chest, aching for warmth. It wasn’t the most comfortable spot on the Razor Crest, but the only place that seemed manageable to sleep. However, her cloak only kept her so warm, and she debated whether to sleep out in the forest.

She had nearly fallen asleep, teeth chattering, when the doors slid open and she fought not to flinch. She could tell by the heavy metal footsteps that it was Mando, and listened intently as he neared her. She didn’t open her eyes, in fear that he was suddenly changing his mind and kicking her out. That’s what she should have expected anyway, running off in the middle of the night with some strange masked bounty hunter that could kill her in her sleep. But it was none of those things.

In fact, the only thing she felt was an abundance of warmth as a heated blanket was draped over her, and loosely fitted around her shoulders. And when she opened her eyes to see Mando, he was already gone behind the sliding doors, and Thell curled closer inside the blanket, the one that smelled faintly like steel and leather.

The same thing happened yet again two nights later, but Thell raised her head as soon as she felt the blanket touch her skin. The cockpit was dark, and she could only see the silhouette of the Mandalorian standing over her.

“Mando?” She whispered groggily.

“Go back to sleep,” he grumbled softly.

Something like a hand softly rubbed against her head, and she lolled against the seat, comforted by the warmth the blanket always brought. She wondered why it had disappeared the morning she woke up, only for the Mandalorian to return and drape it over her. One that was starting to smell faintly like home.

The next time it happened, Thell sat up. It seemed to surprise him, as the Mandalorian leaned back slowly when he noticed she was awake.

Something had been happening within her spirit over the past week, as soon as he had showed her that single ounce of kindness. Maybe it was because no one had before. Maybe it was because she loved the small green alien sleeping away downstairs, and her heart was becoming softened towards this man.

She still didn’t know much about him, but that seemed to be his problem. He didn’t open up or allow others into his life. He didn’t plan ahead, and it constantly seemed like he was running from something, someone. Maybe himself.

And she only had a week left with him, before he dropped her off on another planet or left her with someone. She would be alone, left to fend for herself in a galaxy she had never known. And she was becoming desperate. Her shyness and hesitancy towards someone that could kill her, someone that had killed people, had made her weak. And she knew she needed to do something before he left her out on the streets.

That, and she couldn’t help but dream of living with him and the little alien. Permanently. Life seemed rather simple in the Razor Crest, on this unnamed forest planet that she loved so dearly. And as much as she loved the kid, she wanted to get to know him too, have a friend for once.

“Are you okay?” Thell whispered, adjusting in her seat.

“What?”

“You... You seem like you’re running from something. You’re always on edge.”

She could hear the Mandalorian take deep breaths from where he stood, his back to her.

“We’re being hunted. The kid. Me.”

Thell’s brows creased. “What? What do you mean, hunted?”

“There's a large bounty on the kid’s head, and one on mine for harboring him.”

“The kid? But... he’s just a child. Why would anyone be after him?” Fear was suddenly making its way into Thell’s skin. When he didn’t answer, Thell slipped up from her seat, standing face to face with him. Without her shoes, she was even shorter than normal, and had to tilt her head to look at his helmet.

“Mando? What’s going on? What is this?”

“I told you you could be here until the end of the month. No one has seen your face during this time, so you’ll be safe wherever I drop you off.”

Thell’s jaw dropped. “So I’ve been in danger this whole time, and you never told me?” When he didn’t respond, Thell chewed the inside of her cheek.

“Since when did you care about my safety? I thought you only saw me as a servant.”

“You left that life behind as soon as I kidnapped Darand.”

“... What about the kid?” Thell asked.

“What about him?”

“Does he know?”

“Of course he knows. I’ve been trying to get him back to his people for months now.”

Thell’s anger dissipated. “His... people?”

But Mando seemed spent, and with a simple wave of his hand, passed through the sliding doors and out of sight.

“So, what do you say?” Thell repeated, looking expectantly at the Mandalorian. Since their heated conversation regarding the bounties on both of their heads, they hadn’t spoken much in the past few days. Mando seemed to lighten a bit at her question of taking a walk.

“Where are we headed?”

Thell beamed. “Anywhere we want. Planet seems pretty quiet anyway.”

“Let me get the kid.”

As soon as the kid was in the Mandalorian’s arms, they set off into the forest, with the sun warming their backs and leaves crunching beneath their boots. Thell let the silence simmer for a minute, letting the cool breeze waft through her cloak before glancing sideways at the Mandalorian.

She only had three days left with them. Just three before she had to make a living for herself. Before she had to leave the both of them.

“Hey,” she started to get his attention, which also made the little alien look her way. They stopped halfway into the woods, facing the other.

“I wanted to apologize for how I spoke the other night... You have a right to your privacy, and I shouldn’t have pressed you. I shouldn’t expect every answer from you just because... I live with you right now.”

He was silent for a long moment, studying her under that cold mask.

“You had a right to know your own safety. I should have told you sooner.”

Thell’s brows raised in surprise. “Oh... that’s okay. I’m just glad I know now.”

The Mandalorian motioned them over to a fallen log, where he placed the child between them. His eyeline was on the kid, but Thell sensed his mind was somewhere else, somewhere far off.

“Grogu is a very special kid.”

Thell’s jaw dropped. “Grogu?”

His head dipped. “That’s his name.”

The alien, Grogu, made a small burbling noise and made direct eye contact with Thell, who’s heart was overwhelmed with new affection.

“There’s been people looking for him for a long time. He was in hiding for many years, alone, scared. I was sent to hunt him.” Thell’s gaze wavered back to the kid, to this small, innocent alien that was the cause of their hiding away.

“But I... He’s just a kid. I couldn’t do that.” There was something like pain in his voice.

Her eyes fell to Mando’s mask. “So you saved him.”

“Yes... And now I’m supposed to bring him back to his people. I brought him to one, but... she said that he has to choose his own path.”

Thell felt movement near her wrist, and noticed Grogu pawing at her thumb.

“But he’s just a kid. He can’t even talk.”

“He’s older than he looks.” When Thell waited for a response, Mando continued. “He was training to be a Jedi during the age of the Republic and the Clone Wars. When the Republic fell, and the Jedi were slaughtered, someone hid him away for a long time. He can... do things, unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

“Like what?”

The Mandalorian reached inside his pocket, fishing out the silver orb Thell had seen the child play with many times. At the sound of his name, Grogu turned, looking at the Mandalorian with great curiosity.

“Grogu, you can have the ball. But you have to do it like last time.”

The child whined before slowly lifting his hands, his eyes creasing as he focused. Suddenly, the orb flew to his small hand, and he burbled with joy. Thell could only watch with wide eyes and an even wider smile.

“That’s... amazing. How does he do that?” She asked.

“The Jedi I found said that its the Force. He uses it to... lift things, I suppose.”

Thell leaned back against the tree stump. “My mother used to tell me stories of the Force and the Jedi. They weren’t all just myths, were they?”

The Mandalorian shook his head. “Not all of them.”

“So... that’s why he’s a target. People want him for his power.” She cast anxious glances between the Mandalorian and Grogu, and in a moment of pure sentiment, reached forward to place her hand on the Mandalorian’s arm, in the crook of his arm where there was only garment covering his skin. He flinched upon her contact, and she moved to replace her arm, but when he didn’t pull away, she lingered momentarily.

“You’re... you’re very brave, to do what you’re doing. It’s a very honorable service, putting your life in harm’s way to protect him.”

The forest was quiet around them, almost soft, but the silence that the Mandalorian left her with was more than unsettling. So she replaced her hand before it became too awkward, which she feared it already had. She got up to leave, dusting off her pants and about to turn the other way when Mando spoke again.

“Thell.”

She paused, looking at him from over her shoulder.

“Why did you stay with Darand as long as you did?”

Her muscles relaxed at his question, which coming from anyone else, she might have gone silent. But after weeks, nearly a month, he was finally asking her about herself. And more than just her name.

[hello-robin-goodfellow]

The Three Musicians (Fairy tale by Andrew Lang - Green fairy book)

@superkingofpriderock @princesssarisa @mademoiselle-princesse @ardenrosegarden @amalthea9 @anne-white-star

Once upon a time three musicians left their home and set out on their travels. They had all learnt music from the same master, and they determined to stick together and to seek their fortune in foreign lands. They wandered merrily from place to place and made quite a good living, and were much appreciated by everyone who heard them play. One evening they came to a village where they delighted all the company with their beautiful music. At last they ceased playing, and began to eat and drink and listen to the talk that was going on around them. They heard all the gossip of the place, and many wonderful things were related and discussed. At last the conversation fell on a castle in the neighbourhood, about which many strange and marvellous things were told. One person said that hidden treasure was to be found there; another that the richest food was always to be had there, although the castle was uninhabited; and a third, that an evil spirit dwelt within the walls, so terrible, that anyone who forced his way into the castle came out of it more dead than alive.

As soon as the three musicians were alone in their bedroom they agreed to go and examine the mysterious castle, and, if possible, to find and carry away the hidden treasure. They determined, too, to make the attempt separately, one after the other, according to age, and they settled that a whole day was to be given to each adventurer in which to try his luck.

The fiddler was the first to set out on his adventures, and did so in the best of spirits and full of courage. When he reached the castle he found the outer gate open, quite as if he were an expected guest, but no sooner had he stepped across the entry than the heavy door closed behind him with a bang, and was bolted with a huge iron bar, exactly as if a sentinel were doing his office and keeping watch, but no human being was to be seen anywhere. An awful terror overcame the fiddler; but it was hopeless to think of turning back or of standing still, and the hopes of finding gold and other treasures gave him strength and courage to force his way further into the castle. Upstairs and downstairs he wandered, through lofty halls, splendid rooms, and lovely little boudoirs, everything beautifully arranged, and all kept in the most perfect order. But the silence of death reigned everywhere, and no living thing, not even a fly, was to be seen. Notwithstanding, the youth felt his spirits return to him when he entered the lower regions of the castle, for in the kitchen the most tempting and delicious food was spread out, the cellars were full of the most costly wine, and the store-room crammed with pots of every sort of jam you can imagine. A cheerful fire was burning in the kitchen, before which a roast was being basted by unseen hands, and all kinds of vegetables and other dainty dishes were being prepared in like manner. Before the fiddler had time to think, he was ushered into a little room by invisible hands, and there a table was spread for him with all the delicious food he had seen cooking in the kitchen.

The youth first seized his fiddle and played a beautiful air on it which echoed through the silent halls, and then he fell to and began to eat a hearty meal. Before long, however, the door opened and a tiny man stepped into the room, not more than three feet high, clothed in a dressing-gown, and with a small wrinkled face, and a grey beard which reached down to the silver buckles of his shoes. And the little man sat down beside the fiddler and shared his meal. When they got to the game course the fiddler handed the dwarf a knife and fork, and begged him to help himself first, and then to pass the dish on. The little creature nodded, but helped himself so clumsily that he dropped the piece of meat he had carved on to the floor.

The good-natured fiddler bent down to pick it up, but in the twinkling of an eye the little man had jumped on to his back, and beat him till he was black and blue all over his head and body. At last, when the fiddler was nearly dead, the little wretch left off, and shoved the poor fellow out of the iron gate which he had entered in such good spirits a few hours before. The fresh air revived him a little, and in a short time he was able to stagger with aching limbs back to the inn where his companions were staying. It was night when he reached the place, and the other two musicians were fast asleep. The next morning they were much astonished at finding the fiddler in bed beside them, and overwhelmed him with questions; but their friend hid his back and face, and answered them very shortly, saying, 'Go there yourselves, and see what's to be seen! It is a ticklish matter, that I can assure you.'

The second musician, who was a trumpeter, now made his way to the castle, and everything happened to him exactly as it had to the fiddler. He was just as hospitably entertained at first, and then just as cruelly beaten and belaboured, so that next morning he too lay in his bed like a wounded hare, assuring his friends that the task of getting into the haunted castle was no enviable one. Notwithstanding the warning of his companions, the third musician, who played the flute, was still determined to try his luck, and, full of courage and daring, he set out, resolved, if possible, to find and secure the hidden treasure.

Fearlessly he wandered the whole castle, and as he roamed through the splendid empty apartments he thought to himself how nice it would be to live there always, especially with a full larder and cellar at his disposal. A table was spread for him too, and when he had wandered about for some time, singing and playing the flute, he sat down as his companions had done, prepared to enjoy the delicious food that was spread out in front of him. Then the little man with the beard entered as before and seated himself beside the flute-player, who wasn't the least startled at his appearance, but chatted away to him as if he had known him all his life. But he didn't find his companion very communicative. At last they came to the game, and, as usual, the little man let his piece fall on the ground. The flute-player was good-naturedly just going to pick it up, when he perceived that the little dwarf was in the act of springing on his back. Then he turned round sharply, and, seizing the little creature by his beard, he gave him such a shaking that he tore his beard out, and the dwarf sank groaning to the ground.

But as soon as the youth had the beard in his hands he felt so strong that he was fit for anything, and he perceived all sorts of things in the castle that he had not noticed before, but, on the other hand, all strength seemed to have gone from the little man. He whined and sobbed out: 'Give, oh give me my beard again, and I will instruct you in all the magic art that surrounds this castle, and will help you to carry off the hidden treasure, which will make you rich and happy for ever.'

But the cunning flute-player replied: 'I will give you back your beard, but you must first help me as you have promised to do. Till you have done so, I don't let your beard out of my hands.'

Then the old man found himself obliged to fulfil his promise, though he had had no intention of doing so, and had only desired to get his beard back. He made the youth follow him through dark secret passages, underground vaults, and grey rocks till at last they came to an open field, which looked as if it belonged to a more beautiful world than ours. Then they came to a stream of rushing water; but the little man drew out a wand and touched the waves, whereupon the waters parted and stood still, and the two crossed the river with dry feet. And how beautiful everything on the other side was! lovely green paths leading through woods and fields covered with flowers, birds with gold and silver feathers singing on the trees, lovely butterflies and glittering beetles fluttered and crawled about, and dear little beasts hid in the bushes and hedges. The sky above them was not blue, but like rays of pure gold, and the stars looked twice their usual size, and far more brilliant than on our earth.

The youth grew more and more astonished when the little grey man led him into a castle far bigger and more splendid than the one they had left. Here, too, the deepest silence reigned. They wandered all through the castle, and came at last to a room in the middle of which stood a bed hung all round with heavy curtains. Over the bed hung a bird's cage, and the bird inside it was singing beautiful songs into the silent space. The little grey man lifted the curtains from the bed and beckoned the youth to approach. On the rich silk cushions embroidered with gold a lovely maiden lay sleeping. She was as beautiful as an angel, with golden hair which fell in curls over her marble shoulders, and a diamond crown sparkled on her forehead. But a sleep as of death held her in its spell, and no noise seemed able to waken the sleeper.

Then the little man turned to the wondering youth and said: 'See, here is the sleeping child! She is a mighty Princess. This splendid castle and this enchanted land are hers, but for hundreds of years she has slept this magic sleep, and during all that time no human being has been able to find their way here. I alone have kept guard over her, and have gone daily to my own castle to get food and to beat the greedy gold-seekers who forced their way into my dwelling. I have watched over the Princess carefully all these years and saw that no stranger came near her, but all my magic power lay in my beard, and now that you have taken it away I am helpless, and can no longer hold the beautiful Princess in her enchanted sleep, but am forced to reveal my treasured secret to you. So set to work and do as I tell you. Take the bird which hangs over the Princess's head, and which by its song sang her into this enchanted sleep--a song which it has had to continue ever since; take it and kill it, and cut its little heart out and burn it to a powder, and then put it into the Princess's mouth; then she will instantly awaken, and will bestow on you her heart and hand, her kingdom and castle, and all her treasures.

The little dwarf paused, quite worn out, and the youth did not wait long to do his bidding. He did all he was told carefully and promptly, and having cut the little bird's heart out he proceeded to make it into a powder. No sooner had he placed it in the Princess's mouth than she opened her lovely eyes, and, looking up into the happy youth's face, she kissed him tenderly, thanked him for freeing her from her magic sleep, and promised to be his wife. At the same moment a sound as of thunder was heard all over the castle, and on all the staircases and in every room sounds were to be heard. Then a troop of servants, male and female, flocked into the apartment where the happy couple sat, and after wishing the Princess and her bridegroom joy, they dispersed all over the castle to their different occupations.

But the little grey dwarf began now to demand his beard again from the youth, for in his wicked heart he was determined to make an end of all their happiness; he knew that if only his beard were once more on his chin, he would be able to do what he liked with them all. But the clever flute-player was quite a match for the little man in cunning, and said: 'All right, you needn't be afraid, you shall get your beard back before we part; but you must allow my bride and me to accompany you a bit on your homeward way.'

The dwarf could not refuse this request, and so they all went together through the beautiful green paths and flowery meadows, and came at last to the river which flowed for miles round the Princess's land and formed the boundary of her kingdom. There was no bridge or ferryboat to be seen anywhere, and it was impossible to get over to the other side, for the boldest swimmer would not have dared to brave the fierce current and roaring waters. Then the youth said to the dwarf: 'Give me your wand in order that I may part the waves.'

And the dwarf was forced to do as he was told because the youth still kept his beard from him; but the wicked little creature chuckled with joy and thought to himself: 'The foolish youth will hand me my beard as soon as we have crossed the river, and then my power will return, and I will seize my wand and prevent them both ever returning to their beautiful country.'

But the dwarf's wicked intentions were doomed to disappointment. The happy youth struck the water with his wand, and the waves at once parted and stood still, and the dwarf went on in front and crossed the stream. No sooner had he done so than the waters closed behind him, and the youth and his lovely bride stood safe on the other side. Then they threw his beard to the old man across the river, but they kept his wand, so that the wicked dwarf could never again enter their kingdom. So the happy couple returned to their castle, and lived there in peace and plenty for ever after. But the other two musicians waited in vain for the return of their companion; and when he never came they said: 'Ah, he's gone to play the flute,' till the saying passed into a proverb, and was always said of anyone who set out to perform a task from which he never returned.

[vicunaburger]

Admittedly, I’m Hard to See

Fandom: Beetlejuice the Musical Chapters: 13.1/? Pairing: Beetlejuice x OC (Holidae) The Players: Beetlejuice, Lydia Deetz, Holidae Bell Word Count: 2,301 Warnings: M for Suggestive Content and Language

Notes: I had to break this one up because it was getting away from me. Part 2 coming soon~

Chapter 13.1 - In Which the Mind is a Terrible Thing to Use

Time was a weird concept when you were dead.

Minutes, hours, days: none of them really had any meaning anymore. They were just arbitrary things that kept the mortal realm in line, dictating the daily lives of those still living in it. The Neitherworld time difference was one of the hardest things for the Recently Deceased to grasp upon entry, and it was part of Beetlejuice’s job as a guide to break it down in simple terms. Congrats! You’re dead, do what you want because you’re here forever. Take up a hobby or something, it makes the days go by faster.

When he was in the mortal realm, he never really paid attention to the passage of time, but he knew it happened.

It had been dark when Holidae had dragged him topside, and now her room was brighter with sunlight peeking through dark curtains. He wondered if Holidae even realized time had passed that much, since she had her nose buried in the Handbook for a while now. She had let him sit with her this whole time, occasionally leaning against his shoulder to find a more comfortable reading position.

When he realized it was already nearing the middle of the day, he offered to leave her alone so that she could sleep, something he knew breathers had to do, “Hey, your eyes are gonna cross if you keep that up. Go to bed or something, I gotta check on a project back on the Other Side anyway.”

Holidae looked up from her reading, blinking at him to let her eyes adjust, “You’re leaving me?”

Beetlejuice had been lighting up a cigarette, but her question made him pause, the unlit smoke hanging from the corner of his mouth. Something in that tone of voice was… familiar. A little nagging worm in the back of his mind that he couldn’t quite pin down.

“I won’t stay away too long, babes. You won’t even miss me that much.” He chuckled, resuming his task and taking a long drag, puffing out jagged little smoke heart in her direction. “I know how eager you are to have me all to yourself. I don’t blame you; all this sexiness within arm’s reach for so long… your willpower it amazing, ya know?”

Frowning, she waved the smoke away, “Not going to miss the crushing weight of your ego, that’s for damn sure.”

Chuckling, Beej snapped his fingers, vanishing with a soft pop. Holidae rolled her eyes, sliding off the bed and going over to check the alarm clock on the dresser, wincing when she noticed it was already the afternoon. Hearing movement from downstairs, she quickly changed out of her pajamas, heading down to see what Lydia was up to.

Lydia was by the front door, one foot planted firmly on the top of an overstuffed suitcase as she attempted to close it, struggling with the zipper. Holidae skipped down the stairs two at a time, going over to kneel down and help to make sure nothing was being caught in the closure.

��Jesus, Lyddy, you’re going away for one night. Do you really need all this stuff?” Holidae mumbled, stuffing a frilly lace skirt back inside the suitcase. “Are you going for a fashion show?”

“Hey, you never know what can happen in the uninhabited part of the woods at night. What if some cryptid comes out and want to borrow an evening look? I’m not going to be rude, Holli.” Lydia snickered, managing to secure the small padlock on the closure.

Laughing, Holidae helped to lift the suitcase up onto its wheels, “I can’t argue with that logic. Just make sure you take the dress to the dry cleaner’s afterwards. Might have fleas.”

“Speaking of fleas, it’s your turn for chores this weekend. I’ve already seen this house looking like a Halloween haunt once, don’t let it happen without me, okay?” Lydia grabbed the car keys of the entryway table, dragging the suitcase behind her as she headed outside.

———

Holidae spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the house from top to bottom; mainly not wanting to incur Lydia’s wrath should the house get another inch of dust before she returned, but it also served to take her mind off of other things. Her sudden burst of confidence in inviting her ghostly roommate to spend the weekend with her… alone… she wasn’t normally such a forward person. Her brain was having a time of it; trying to decide if she should try and politely rescind the invitation, or just jump in with both feet.

Reading the Handbook hadn’t really done much to ease her fears, seeing as there was absolutely no useful information on whether or not such activities were even allowed, let alone possible. Were the going to be consequences? Did they need to take any extra precautions? How did he even retain a sex drive with no functioning organs? Obviously, Beej wasn’t shy about getting a little frisky with her, but was it done through some sort of non-biological means?

Over-thinking about such things were probably why she hadn’t slept in the past 24 hours.

Holidae halfheartedly pushed the broom around the outdoor deck, trying to gather the fallen leaves into a pile. A sudden breeze kicked up some fallen foliage, disrupting the progress she had made in sweeping the porch clear of debris. Groaning, she knelt down and picked up one of the leaves, glaring at it as though it were the sole cause of her internal torments.

“Why must you taunt me, huh? I just get this all clear and pretty and moderately balanced in some semblance of external harmony. And now you ruin it so casually?” She tossed the leaf into the small pile she had gathered with a huff.

Not wanting to be deterred from her task, she slipped her phone from her back pocket, queuing up some music to break up the silence of the outdoors. Once she found something suitable, she placed the phone on the nearby lawn chair, turning up the volume.

It was a bouncy tune; one that made it impossible not to add a few extra flourishes to her broom strokes, sweeping along to the rhythm. Before long, all intentions of actually cleaning had ceased, and Holidae was far more concerned with pulling off fantastic moves with her dance partner. For a broom, it was surprisingly limber as she swung her arms wide, twirling in some bastardized ballroom number created just for this occasion. Waltz for an autumn cleaning spree.

“You’re making a mess.” A familiar, gravel laden voice cut over the music.

Holidae looked around wildly, clutching the broom to her chest in surprise, noticing the ghost casually lounging on the lawn chair. He held her phone in one hand, scrolling idly; a half-finished cigarette burning in the other.

“Holly-baby, you’ve been holding out on me. All these cute underwear pics… and you never bothered to share? I’m hurt. Who’s been seeing these if not me?” Beetlejuice waves the phone around for emphasis. “Do I need to remove some dude’s eyeballs now?”

Her face cherry-red, she marched over and snatched the phone away, “Hey, that’s private stuff, jerkass.”

Upon inspection, the phone was set on the lock screen, meaning he hadn’t been browsing her private photos as he had claimed. Beej sat up with interest, laughing at her panicked state.

“Ah-ha! So you do have sexy pictures on that thing. Give it here… don’t you know sharing is caring?” He held out his hand impatiently. “Call it a sneak preview.”

Holidae shoved the phone into her pocket, “Whether or not such pictures exist is none of your concern. And please don’t go around removing eyeballs. Or at least don’t tell me about it. I don’t want to be complicit.”

“It’s very much my concern, babes. I should be the only one getting the honor of seeing every bit of you from now on. But fine, I will keep you out of my eyeball collection.” Beej reached up, hooking a finger through the belt loop of her jeans, tugging playfully. “So, Cinderella, you done playing housekeeper? I could always get you a little maid outfit for authenticity.”

“Well, technically I’m done, but there’s always- eep!” Holidae was cut off, having been picked up and thrown over Beetlejuice’s shoulder like a sack of flour. “Put me down! This is undignified!”

Beetlejuice ignored her struggling, humming a nonsense tune as he glided through the house, heading up the stairs. Holidae kicked her feet in protest, stringing a few choice words together as she was carried around with little effort. One of her kicks landed dangerously close to a rather sensitive area below his belt, earning her a sharp smack across her backside.

“Ow. Fuck you!” She hissed, gripping his coat as he floated up the stairs. “I don’t like this one bit! Put me down or I’ll kick you again, and I won’t miss.”

Undeterred by her protesting, the ghost continued all the way into the attic, unceremoniously depositing her on the ratty sofa; having been folded up at some point. She sank into the half-stuffed cushions, propping herself against the arm of the sofa, angrily scrunching herself as far into the corner as she could fit. The ghost settled himself into the opposite corner, amused with how flustered he had made her in such a short time.

“Holli~” Beetlejuice was purring deep in his throat, “Babydoll, look at me.”

“No,” Holidae kicked at him with her feet.

He chuckled, “C’mon. Look, I’ll apologize if you just look at me. I don’t say sorry often, so I think you should take advantage of this opportunity. Look look look…”

With a heavy sigh and a roll of her eyes, Holidae turned to look at him, “You are such a pain in the- JESUS CHRIST.”

Beetlejuice was sitting with one leg folded over the other, his arm draped across the back of the sofa. A perfectly normal pose… save for the fact he was stark naked. His pale coloring covered his entire body; the bits of green-tinted mold dotting various parts of him. A thin smattering of chest hair - green of course, matching his hair - made a trail down his pudgy stomach, the rest hidden by his crossed leg. She could only assume that all of his hair sported the same color-changing hue, but wasn’t about to ask. The only thing really out of place about him was the fact there was a brutal looking scar in between two of his ribs.

Holidae stared, slack jawed like a fish, unable to look away for far too long; desperately keeping her eyes locked onto his face. Beej waggled his eyebrows in an exaggerated manner, gesturing over himself with his free hand.

“I’m sorry I made you undignified or whatever.” He attempted a sorry look, “I take it you like what you see? All this can be yours~ whenever you want. As an apology.”

“I… I can’t look anywhere but your face.” Holidae stuttered, a flush of color spreading out from her nose across her cheeks. “P-Please put on pants. At least pants.”

The ghost mumbled disapprovingly, but complied with her request to a degree; a pair of boxer shorts covering the most scandalous bits of him for the moment. Breathing a sigh of relief, Holidae allowed herself to relax against the arm of the sofa, running a hand through her hair as she gave him a better look-over this time.

“Ah, good, my plan worked.” Beej crawled over to her side of the sofa, squishing her playfully between his body and the cushions.

Holidae head-butted him, “The plan to embarrass me to death?”

He shook his head, conveniently resting his face on her chest, “My ice-breaker. Getting naked. You ever heard of that old thing where if you’re awkward about something, you picture people naked? I cut out the middleman. You’ve now seen me naked, so it you won’t be embarrassed about later, and now we just gotta work on getting you naked.”

“That’s an ice-breaker to you? That’s… that’s like final step territory. What kind of person just immediately disrobes like that? Okay, well, not everyone can just magic their clothes away like you, but it’s the point.” She pouted, brushing through the shorter hairs at the nape of his neck with her fingers.

“...hookers?” He offered, taking a moment to adjust her legs so he was between them, using her body as furniture instead of the sofa.

“Ah, good point, but you don’t strike me as a street walker.” Her skin grew warm under her sweatshirt, fully processing the mostly naked man lounging with her. “Even then I think there’s a least a few minutes beforehand where it’s all business transaction talk. So, being naked immediately is optional. Plus, what if the client wants to keep their clothes on? There’s too many variables, Juice. Did you even account for activities that don’t require disrobing at all?”

Holidae realized she was rambling, her nerves having set her brain on fast-talking auto pilot to cover the fact she was stalling the whole situation with him. She glanced down, finding herself face to face with a pair of molten gold eyes, practically glowing in the sunlight in the attic window. It was so easy to forget how inhuman he was; things like that were a stark reminder.

Beetlejuice had a lazy grin on his face, a few sharp teeth peeking out from the corner of his mouth, content with watching the breather talk circles around him.

Not the breather. His breather.

As much as she tried to ignore him, or refuse his playful offers, he could see it in her face as she stared back at him. Who else would let him lie around like this? Who else would validate his need for constant attention without even realizing she was doing it? This was not a bestest best friend: he already had one of those.

This was a Holidae: and he only wanted one of those.

Before he could utter so much as a snarky quip, her hands grabbed the sides of his face, pulling him close, and she closed the gap between them with a kiss.

Writing Tags: @mr-geuse @paxenera @leiasolo77 @go-commander-kim @ashemspirit @asriells

[zach-the-fox]

Furiends Episode 6: Research and Capture

The two girls and fox boy regroup with the rabbits as they stand on the outside of the chain-link fence surrounding a large, two-story building situated in the forest. Streaks of cracks line the concrete structure. Plants grow through the broken pavement around the uninhabited facility.  

Hatboy glances at the property and scans around the area. “Look at this place! What a total dump! Probably a home for rats.”

“I don’t find it bad,” says Brook. “I actually quite like it. And I adore rats. They are just so cute!”

Hatboy turns to the warthog. “Why did you tell us to come here? What’s going on?”

“Zach saw an article in the paper that there was some strange figure residing here,” Emmy answers. “And we suspect it’s the demon we summoned.”

“What?!” Brook runs up to her. “You found our child?! Is it here?!”

“Maybe. We won’t know unless we go in and check it out.”

“You want to go inside and explore an abandoned laboratory?!” Carly exclaims. “That doesn’t seem like a good idea.” Her expression relaxes. “Then again, with Team Rescuers sniffing around for ideas to make us look bad, I don’t want to get in trouble… My mother would kill me…”

“If we’re going to find this demon, we need to be quick,” suggests Zach. “There’s a chance Team Rescuers might show up and search this area, given all of the cries for help from Heroto.”

“Right, let’s not waste any more time,” Emmy utters. “Let’s get in there and find that demon. Now, how will we get over this fence?”

“Over here,” Hatboy spurts, standing by a slight tear in the metal fence, which forms a little hole for those to sneak inside. “We can just crawl in through there.”

“Good thinking!” Emmy walks down to the opening with the others. One-by-one, they get on their paws and knees to crawl passed the metal chains-links. The gang then make their way toward the two, shattered glass doors of the concrete structure.

Carly steps up and attempts to open them by pulling, then pushing. “They don’t budge… Guess we can’t go in…”

Brook grabs a metal pipe laying nearby and swings it at the glass, breaking it into pieces and clearing the way. “You were saying?” The friends then climb through the open spaces in the doors, entering inside. “Okay, we’re in. What’s next?”

“I say we split up,” Emmy orders. “We’ll cover more ground that way.” The others hesitate, then they agree before splitting into groups. Emmy goes with Hatboy and Zach as they head up the stairs while Carly stays with Brook on the ground level.

“I don’t feel very comfy about this place,” Carly comments, paws huddled together as she stays close with her friends.

“Come on, Carls.” Brook puts her arm around the cat, smiling. “It’s not so bad. I’ve been watching urban exploration videos Snootube and it’s pretty fascinating to see old structures hollowed out. The vide is quite nice.”

“Maybe for you. But me, not so much.” Carly narrows one eye and puts her paw on her chin. “Though, it wouldn’t be bad to maybe draw some of my characters in the same situation.”

“Oh! We could have a collaboration! You, me, and our friends searching for our baby demon in old ruins. Hm, I am pretty clueless on what the demon looks like… You have any idea what it would look like?”

“I don’t know,” Carly goes. “It was a fireball when we summoned it. I didn’t get a good look at it.” She gasps. “Wait. Zach looked at the article in the paper, and he said it’s a giant, furry, black creature. So, look for something furry and big, I guess.”

“Oh! Perhaps it has glowing eyes. Demons usually have glowing eyes that pierce through the dark.” Carly gulps, wearing the face of fear with wide eyes.

Upstairs, the boys and warthog enter a big room littered with barrels and tables of broken beakers and equipment.

“Interesting place,” Hatboy utters, passing the large machines to get closer to Emmy. “Why would people abandon a laboratory and leave some of their things behind?”

“Obviously, something must’ve happened to force the scientists to leave,” Emmy answers. “What that might’ve been, I don’t really know.”

“I know, though…” Zach places his paw on the wall and leans on it. “Ten years ago, when I was eight, we went on a class field trip to this place… We were to learn about the wonders of science and technology for our outing… The whole group and I were in one room when something knocked glass beakers and test tubes over and spilled on the table, causing it to react with the other chemicals; my tail. The entire facility was in chaos… We had to evacuate and exit the building when a giant explosion ripped a hole in the place. The government deemed the laboratory unsafe and shut it down. Our trip only had begun that day, too, but it ended quickly. My classmates all hated me for that and refused to talk to me.” He puts his paws on his head. “It’s all coming back to me… All the kids calling me “flawed fox” and how awful I just am…”

Emmy walks up to the fox. “Hey… It was only an accident. You didn’t mean to knock over all of that stuff and destroy the whole place. Mistakes happen… We can’t erase them…”

“Funny you say that, Emmy… Considering you’re talking to one…”

“You’re not a mistake, Zach. So, what if Team Rescuers and Heroto doesn’t like you? Their opinion doesn’t matter, anyway. Ours does! And we all like you.”

As the warthog comforts the fox, the red rabbit motions toward the pile of barrels situated in the corner. “Weird how scientists would abandon a lab and not take their chemicals with them.” He leans down and squints his eyes to read the label on one of them. “Danger. Handle with care. Avoid contact with skin and fur.” Hatboy tilts his head. “I wonder what’s so dangerous that they don’t want people touching.” He grabs the lid of one barrel and pulls it off the top. Looking inside, his eyes glisten and his mouth forms a small ‘o’ when staring at the colorful liquid settling in the container. “Whoa! Look at this stuff! It’s so colorful!”

Emmy takes her hoof back from the fox’s stomach, and turns around. “All right, let’s get back to- Hatboy, what are you doing over there?”

  “Check it out!” Hatboy shouts, holding the rim of the barrel and lifting it up. “Look at this rainbow liquid stuff! It looks so weird!”

“We shouldn’t be messing around with any of these strange chemicals. They could be dangerous.”

“This doesn’t seem too dangerous.” He looks into the barrel. “Looks pretty-” The container slowly slides in the red rabbit’s paws. “Whoa!” Hatboy struggles to maintain a tight grip on it. He lunges to grab it, but ends up knocking into the stack of metal barrels. “Uh oh…” The containers tip over and fall to the ground, dumping their colorful contents out all over the rabbit before flowing toward the warthog and fox. The three friends are knocked off their feet and swept away by the wave of rainbow fluids.

Back downstairs, the other two girls stop in place as they hear the sloshing sounds above, as well as rushing liquid and their friends screaming.

“What’s going on up there?!” Carly spurts. “What’s happening?”

“It’s probably the demon!” utters Brook. “It probably has our friends! We should help them!” She leads the cat toward the staircase, only to stop after a few steps. They freeze to see rainbow liquid rushing down the stairs, carrying their three friends in it as it surges toward them. “Oh, that’s not good…”

“Yipe!” Carly turns and runs down the other way. Brook is quick to follow, but the chemical flow swoops both of them off their feet and carries them into the room at the very end, piling the gang into a corner before settling. The friends remain sitting/lying in the puddles for a little bit, soaked by the rainbow water, then they each stand up, one-by-one, shaking off the remnants of the fluids.

“What was all the hubbub?!” Brook exclaims, looking at the warthog, red rabbit, and fox. “Did you find the demon? What is all of this? I feel like I’m glowing.”

“Some sort of rainbow water,” explains Hatboy. “I don’t see why it’s dangerous, though.”

“Aw man!” Carly shakes off her paws. “Now I’m going to need a shower! Thanks a lot, Hatboy…” Hatboy frowns as he looks at her.

Zach, on the other hand, forms a smile on his face while he remains seated in the chemical. “For once, I’m actually quite happy it wasn’t me this time.” He then sees Hatboy, as he removes his shirt to ring it out. The fox stares at his bare body with his cheeks transitioning to red. “Oh…”

Carly starts to take notice. “Like what you see, don’t you?” She teases, causing the fox to turn his head away with his blush. “Didn’t take you to be the gay type, Zach. I always thought you were mostly into girls.”

“Bisexual,” he corrects her after he turns to her. “I’m bisexual. I am into anyone regardless of gender.”

“Well, after being completely soaked in rainbow, I still don’t see where the demon is,” Emmy utters.

“We’ve just got to keep looking,” Brooks insists. “It must be around here somewhere.”

“I don’t even think it’s here, Brook. We should call it a day.” Everyone’s ears twitch upon hearing the sound of muffled voices outside and branches breaking. “What was that?”

“Someone’s here!” mutters Hatboy. “Perhaps Team Rescuers and the authorities!”

“Let’s get out of here, then,” Emmy states. The gang all bolt for the door where they came in, but soon halt in place to see shadows appear by the entrance. “Uh oh… Not good.”

“I know another way out,” Zach expresses. “There’s an opening in the wall we passed to get in the chemical room. We can go out that way!” He and the others scramble up the stairs and down the hallway to the giant, gaping hole in the wall. Hatboy slides down the side. Zach does the same thing, helping Emmy by carrying her on his back.

“You’ve got to be joking!” yells Carly. “I’m not jumping down from here!”

“You’re a cat!” Brook tells her. “You’ll land on your feet perfectly!”

The cat turns to her. “What?!” The purple rabbit shoves her off before jumping herself and hovers lightly down, using her ears as propellers. Carly lands in the bushes nearby, which have cushioned her fall. Brook goes over and helps her up. “Never do that again!” The friends then scurry off, vacating the area and then disappearing into the brushes as a shadow looms over their route.

 ***

 The five animals make their way through the forest and back into town, dripping wet with the rainbow liquid still soaking their bodies.

“Ugh, that went horribly,” Carly comments. “Not only were we walking around a creepy laboratory, but we also got soaked in some chemical…”

“I’ll need about ten baths a day just to get it out,” Hatboy adds. “It smells so bad!”

“I’m kind of used to it,” Zach butts in. “I’ve been covered in way worse.” Brook asks him what he means. “Oh, mud, ketchup, tar, sewage water, coal dust… Yeah, the list keeps on going…”

“Well, the whole “search and capture” mission was all but a fail,” Emmy implies.

“Aw man…” Brook frowns with drooped ears. “I was hoping we’d find that demon… Where could it be?”

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to head home immediately,” says Hatboy. “A little shower and freshening up is what I need.” The others agree before parting. “Coming, Zach?”

“Just a minute,” Zach tells them. “I’ll meet you at the house.” As the two rabbits head off, the fox steps toward the warthog, who remains still and lets out a sigh. “You okay, Emmy?”

Emmy pivots to him. “Huh? Oh, I’m fine… I’m just disappointed… I was actually really hoping we’d find that demon… Not just to stop Team Rescuers from finding it, but I also wanted it what we summoned so I could be very close to it. Would’ve been cool.”

“W-what? Why would you want a demon anyway? Were you hoping to use it against your stepdad?”

“Yes… Zach, I despise him and I’m so sick of him telling me what to do and what to think and what to feel… Now I know how you feel with all of the abuse…”

Zach places a paw on her back. “Hey… I’m sorry things didn’t go as planned for you. If you ask me, I’d say he’s very jealous of you. You’re not a bad person; you’re a sweet, talented young lady who’s different, like me. If anything, I’d say you’re someone I’m glad I’m close with. When you have the courage to be on your own, you’ll be better.”

Emmy shifts her head back at him, tears streaming from her eyes with a smile. “You know what. It doesn’t matter… I’m just glad I get to hang out with you, Carly, Brook, and Hatboy.” She throws herself forward to hug the fox. Zach smiles as he squeezes her in his arms. When they part, she looks up at him. “Thank you, Zach… Um, I should get back home before my mom and jerk of a stepdad get worried, and wash these chemicals off. Don’t want them getting concerned.”

“Can I walk with you?” Emmy asks him why. “Can’t friends walk together and enjoy each other’s company?”

Emmy chuckles slightly. “I guess it’s okay.” She walks down the sidewalk with the fox alongside her as they head into further in town. “When we get to my house, you may want to leave quickly. My stepdad can be very violent at times…” From afar, a pair of glowing eyes pierce through the foliage and watch the friends as they amble away.

@carlycmarathecat @emmy-the-absolute-goof​ @bendy-bear-15​

[oops-prow-did-it-again]

Pokémon Sword & Shield: The Novel (Chapter 1 - Pomp & Circumstance)

Part of Pokemon Retold. Find it on A03.

Prologue

-----------------------------

“Exhibition or not, Leon, your pristine record is about to end—when I beat you here today!”

“You know I don’t lose battles, Raihan! Charizard—DYNAMAX!”

Gloria couldn’t stay still in her seat. It was always a treat whenever Raihan and Leon battled—which, to be fair, was quite often even outside of the gym challenge seasons—due to just how intense both were. Raihan had an almost feral air about him once he got into battle, and Leon had such unbidden confidence. Though she was miles and miles away from where they were really battling in Wyndon, as she clutched the little Rotom Phone in her hands, she swore she could feel the crackling of the tension from the two in the air.

A harsh slam! pulled her nose from the device. Throwing a look over her shoulder and the back of the couch, she saw Hop rubbing his head and slowly closing the door behind him. She supposed he had ran into the doorframe. Giggling, she raised a brow at him. “Everythin’ okay over there, you Rapidash?”

“Haha, very funny! But hey, you better hurry up and come with me!” Hop exclaimed. He deftly rounded the corner of the couch and gestured for her to get up. “Oh, you’re watchin’ Lee and Raihan’s exhibition,” he said, “well, just record it! That’s what I do with all of Lee’s matches. But come on, come on!”

Gloria’s mother had now entered the room. She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. “Now Hop, what on Earth’s got you so riled up?”

“Oh!” Hop whirled around to face her. “My bad, miss. You see, uh, well… My brother Lee said he’s goin’ to give us both a Pokémon today! If that’s alright…?”

Gloria practically fell over the back of the sofa trying to climb over it to reach him and her mother. She grabbed Hop’s hands and made him face her. “Really? We’re—we’re getting a Pokémon today?”

Gloria’s mother let out a hardy laugh. “Yes, that’s fine, children. Just be careful, don’t hurt yourselves. Gloria, don’t forget your bag and phone.”

Hop grinned from ear to ear and pulled his hands free from Gloria’s grasp. “Yes! Come on, Gloria, get that bag of yours and let’s go! No time for dallyin’!”

Gloria nodded and scurried upstairs to find her backpack. She was already dressed for the day, and just needed to get that to carry some things in. Her mind was swimming. A Pokémon! She had avoided getting one up to this point since she felt she would have nothing for it to do and would waste its potential, but, well, if Leon was going to hand one out, she certainly wasn’t about to say no. No idiot would say no to a handout from the champion himself!

Once back downstairs, Hop began to laugh hysterically. “What?” she demanded. “What you laughin’ at me for?”

“That bag!” Hop rasped. “That thing looks like it’ll pull you to the floor!”

Gloria rolled her eyes. The bag had belonged to her mother during the gym challenge she had embarked upon during her teen years. It was massive, but at least it had room for everything she could ever want to fit inside it. “So, we goin’ or what?”

“We got to go get Lee from the Wedgehurst Station, he’s rubbish with directions and says his Charizard’s tired,” Hop said as he wiped amused tears from his eyes. “C’mon, the sooner we get him, the sooner we get a Pokémon!”

“Good luck, you too!” Gloria’s mother called. Gloria waved goodbye and ducked out the door in a heartbeat.

As soon as their feet hit the dirt and they no longer had to worry about her mother overhearing them, Gloria and Hop started chattering to one another. They were more excited and louder than a whole flock of Rookidee on an early Sunday morning.

“So, how’d this come about?” Gloria asked.

“Well, he apparently visited yesterday while I was away at Wedgehurst,” Hop said. “And as I was comin’ back from helpin’ at the station, he just started talkin’ to me and was like, ‘Hey, I’m goin’ to come back tomorrow. Want a Pokémon?’ Of course, I said yes!”

“Did he happen to say what they were? Maybe a Yamper, or a Skwovet? Rookidee would be awesome!” Gloria beamed. “Corviknight is just the most majestic Pokémon!”

“Corviknight?” Hop questioned. “Thought you said Rookidee?”

“Don’t be silly, come off it!” Gloria laughed. “Corviknight evolves from Corvisquire, which evolves from Rookidee.”

“Right, right! Sorry, blond moment there I think,” Hop apologized and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

It wasn’t long before they arrived at Wedgehurst. The two towns might as well have been one town, seeing as they were separated by just a short walk down an uninhabited route. You could practically throw a stone from one to the other, but Wedgehurst stubbornly remained outside of Postwick’s jurisdiction, and was home to its very own train station, a Pokémon center, a clothing shop—anything one could need, just about. Gloria and Hop found that today, its typically plain streets were brimming with movement, and it didn’t take long to see why.

A brilliant glow emanated from the center of town. It threw orange and red lights across the gathered crowd. The fire being blown sky-high was of course from Leon’s Charizard. Leon himself was standing ahead of the formidable Fire Pokémon, striking his unmistakable pose. Everyone nearby, including Hop and Gloria, mimicked him, throwing two fingers into the air. Hop took it just a step farther, however, showing how he had perfected the pose over the years.

“Galar has got the strongest trainers in all of the world!” Leon was bellowing across the crowd. “And I want to keep it that way! So, as always, I want all of you to train as hard as you can! Come after me in the Major League if you can! We can keep showing the rest of the world how to have a champion time!”

Raucous cheering followed. Gloria flinched a little from the sheer noise. She had seen Leon and his fans that seemed to converge from the woodwork whenever he was around before, but that didn’t mean she ever started enjoying the crowds he drew. They were noisy and people acted so strangely around him. She loved him too, but she was nowhere near confident enough to stride up to him and demand his attention like others did.

“Oh, and if it isn’t my biggest fan!” Leon locked eyes on Hop and casually strode over to his little brother. He ruffled Hop’s hair and winked at him. “You’ve grown taller, little boy.”

“Lee! You just saw me yesterday!” Hop remarked, moving Leon’s hand off his head. Leon’s Charizard landed behind Leon and appeared to be watching the gathered crowd carefully. His tail swayed irritably. Gloria acutely became aware of how the Charizard never seemed relaxed. It always seemed so tense and anxious…

Leon turned his attention back to the gathered Wedgehurst mob. “Thank you, thank you, everyone! Now, I’ve got some family business to attend to, so I’ll be seein’ you later!” He waved the people goodbye, then whispered something to his Charizard. And with that, Leon, Hop, and Gloria began to walk back to Postwick. Leon’s Charizard brought up the rear, following much more slowly.

“Oh, Champion Leon, please don’t go just yet! Please let me have an autograph!” A feminine voice practically screeched behind them. Gloria heard Leon’s Charizard growl and turned just in time to see it flare its wings wide and stand tall over the woman that had decided to try to follow them. Gloria couldn’t see the woman or Charizard’s face from where she was standing, but she was quite certain the woman’s eyes were bulging from intimidation, and that Charizard had embers curling from the edge of its muzzle.

“Charizard, easy,” Leon said sternly. “No autographs today, I’m afraid. Really, I’ve got to be home for a while.”

Charizard’s throat rumbled to emphasize his trainer’s point.

“Understood!” the woman choked. She pattered away back into Wedgehurst’s borders.

“Man, Charizard is so cool,” Hop said breathlessly. “And so protective!”

Leon didn’t seem to have much of a response for that. Gloria looked up at him with a bit of a frown, wondering why he had nothing to say about such a comment. Leon’s expression was suddenly very unreadable and stoic. She shook her head and silently followed, listening in as Hop and Leon talked a bit here and there. But even Hop didn’t seem to be able to carry a conversation with him. Leon always had lots to say in public, but Gloria always found it extremely hard to actually talk to him in the few times she had met him in private with Hop. He was so… unyielding…

Back at Hop’s front yard, however, Leon’s bright and sunny persona resumed. He joked a little with them both before chucking three Pokéballs from his belt to the grassy terrain. Hop and Gloria both gazed in wonder at the three creatures that emerged. They had only ever seen these kinds of Pokemon on TV!

--------------------

Hop had never seen Pokémon like these in the flesh before! He had heard of them, of course, and seen their evolved forms in matches on TV. They were incredibly exclusive to Galar itself. Sobble, Grookey, and Scorbunny; the deceptively adorable pre-evolutions to the monstrous Inteleon, Rillaboom, and Cinderace respectively. The Sobble in front of him quickly found its way to a small pond that had formed in their yard, where it settled in and began to lazily paddle about. The Grookey scampered over to the tree overlooking the pond and clambered high up its branches. It grabbed hold of a stick with a few leaves clinging to it, and waved it about happily, spinning in circles. The Scorbunny rapidly tapped its powerful feet against the dirt of the battlefield in their yard, and then started to jog in place. Jogging quickly turned to a full-blown run and small embers kicked up behind the Pokémon’s paws. Nobody was all that concerned, as the flames quickly died out.

Hop copped a smirk and crossed his arms. He looked at Gloria. “Why don’t you go ahead and choose? I’ve got my Wooloo already, after all.”

“Sobble,” Gloria practically spat before he had finished telling her that. “Sobble. It’s so cute. Please.”

Leon laughed and gestured for her to head over to the Pokémon. “Sobble’s all yours, Gloria.”

Gloria gleefully bounced over to the pond, where Sobble gave a start from her sudden movements. Gloria extended an arm slowly toward it, and the Sobble warily moved closer to inspect her hand.

“You goin’ to choose now, Hop?” Leon asked.

“Of course! I’m goin’ to go with Grookey!”

“Oh, you little git, you tricked me!” Gloria gave Hop a disbelieving smile. “You wanted me to pick first so you could get the starter that’s super-effective on mine!”

“You got it!” Hop snickered as he got closer, urging the Grookey to come down from the tree. It earnestly bounced down the trunk and landed on his shoulder, where it accidentally jabbed him with its favorite stick a few times. “Hey, ow—”

Scorbunny looked about the yard with a bit of confusion, and then its gaze settled on Leon himself and the massive Charizard standing at his side. It seemed to cower a little bit as Charizard leaned down to sniff its ears. “Haha, come now Charizard, you’re scarin’ it,” Leon said, walking over to the little Scorbunny. He scooped it up in his arms and scratched between its two ears. Its left foot began to kick rhythmically against his chest. “Charizard’s strict, but kind. It’ll be alright,” he reassured it.

Hop couldn’t help but smile wide at his brother. He was just so perfect with all Pokémon he came across. He seemed to know everything one would ever need to know about them and always made fast friends with new ones. He looked over at the Grookey currently chilling on his right shoulder. “I hope you and I will be good friends too, y’know,” Hop said. “You and me, buddy. Just like Wooloo. I’ll let you meet her soon!”

Grookey gave a happy squeak and bashed the stick against Hop’s shoulder a couple more times.

“Well, that kind of hurts… maybe I’ll get used to it,” Hop muttered to himself.

“So!” Leon clapped his hands and brought everyone’s attention back to him. “Everyone satisfied with their choices?”

Hop glanced at Gloria and saw she was cuddling her new Sobble tight against her chest, much to the creature’s apparent dismay. “Definitely!” she replied without ever looking up at them.

Hop nodded vigorously. “I like Grookey!” Grookey seemed to emphasize the point by jabbing Hop in the ear with its stick. Hop cringed and gently pushed the stick away from his head.

“Good! I’m starved. I’ll get the barbecue goin’, what you think?” Leon asked, slapping a hand to his stomach. He had handed his Scorbunny off to Charizard, who was doing its best to keep his tail flame away from the curious little Pokémon.

“Yes, please!” Hop begged. “I’ll go tell Mum and Dad!”

“Sounds good, I’ll get the grill goin’,” Leon said.

 -------------------------

Another jab to the neck and Hop finally lost his patience. He gently removed the Grookey from his shoulders and set it to the ground. He blocked its advances to get back on him. “Look you,” he said, “you’re cute, but that stick bloody hurts. Stay off my shoulders or stop jabbin’ me, would you?”

It huffed at him and prodded his Wooloo laying next to them. They were outside still and had gathered beneath the shade of the big tree next to the shallow pond. Away from everyone else, Hop enjoyed talking to Wooloo, so he decided the best way to start off his relationship with his new partner would be to talk to it as well. Wooloo was less than affected by Grookey’s jabs. Her thick layer of wool meant the stick barely fazed her. She looked as unaware as ever.

“You know, it’s so weird havin’ Leon over,” Hop said, petting Wooloo’s head gently. He glanced past the two Pokémon over at his brother. He was leaned over the grill. He had begrudgingly removed his cape to prevent it from getting caught in the grill’s stray flames and had even pulled his hair back. A few people were gathered around him and Charizard was laying nearby, lazily flicking its tail to keep Leon’s Scorbunny busy. It appeared to be dozing off on occasion, but every time it did that, its tail would fall flat against the ground, and Scorbunny would seize the chance to land directly on it. In turn, Charizard would jolt awake, causing its tail to lash and throwing Scorbunny from on top of it. Scorbunny must have seen it as a game since it kept coming back.

Hop kind of wished he could have been over there talking to Leon, but some reservation kept him planted in place with his two Pokémon. He always found it hard to talk to Leon whenever it wasn’t private or with just immediate family. Leon had a slightly different persona when others were around and sometimes he could say things that didn’t quite make sense. Hop also couldn’t shake the feeling that he came off as annoying to his brother. Leon had to be dealing with people constantly, all day, every day; having your irritating little brother at your side constantly begging for attention probably wasn’t very fun.

He jumped as Gloria sat down next to him. “Oh, h-hey, Gloria!” he stammered.

“So, why you think Lee gave us Pokémon, anyway?” she asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Do you think Lee’s goin’ to… endorse us?”

“Shut up!” Hop gasped. “You think he’s goin’ to endorse us?”

“I dunno, really,” Gloria giggled, “but why randomly give us three super rare Galarian-exclusive Pokémon if not to give us a head start on the gym challenge, hmm?”

“You’ve got a good point…” Hop said, rubbing his chin. “Man, I hope he does!”

Gloria fell silent for a moment as she looked over at the grill. “Who even are those people?” she asked about the small throng of people gathered around him.

Hop shrugged. “I’m not sure to be honest. But I’m sure they’re just good friends to him or somethin’.”

Gloria sighed. “Yeah, sounds about right.”

[littlexredxwolf]

Beauty and the beast

Fandom: Marvel/Disney Prompt: It’s beauty and the beast, with a twist. Word Count: 5,067 Character: Bucky and Reader. Warnings: None Author note: originally posted on impala-imagines, awfully written but amusing. Credits: I do not own marvel, i do not own this story and I do not own Disney.

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young Sergeant lived in a war filled world although he didn’t have much, the Sergeant was sweet, kind, caring. But then, winters night, a mission came to his team and caused him to go against those who would turn the world to hell. The Sergeant fell from the train that night and was found by a hideous scientist, who offered him a single rose as an agreement to work for Hydra. Repulsed by their haggard appearance, he sneered at the gift and turned them away. But they warned him not to be deceived by appearances for beauty comes from within, when he dismissed them again they stepped away to let him die. The Sergeant tried to apologize, but it was too late for they had seen there was no desire to live in his heart, and as punishment they turned him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful memory wipe on him. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the Beast concealed himself inside his home with a computer as his only window to the outside world. The rose the scientist had offered him, was truly an enchanted rose, and would bloom until his twenty first year. If he could to love another and earn that person’s love in return, by the time the last petal fell then the spell would be broken, if not he would be doomed to remain a beast, for all time. As the years past, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a Beast?

Leaving your home early that morning, you carried your bag and made your way toward the apple store. As you reached the edge of the town center, you saw the baker and gave him a smile. “Good morning Y/N, where you off to?” The baker questioned looking at you with a curious smile. “To get the new Ipad, it’s out today and it has better battery and, and-.” But the baker wasn’t interested, he was just making idol chitchat. “That’s nice. Marie, the baguettes, hurry up!” Excited, you shrugged it off and carried on walking passed the hair dressers, where old ladies were already having their hair done. You knew they would probably be gossiping about you always, calling you funny, strange, and that you were dazed and distracted. You noticed someone else commenting say you were never part of the crowd and another saying about how your head was in the clouds. But that didn’t matter, you were on a mission and you didn’t care.

“There must be more than this Proventil life.” You uttered to yourself shaking your head softly. Pushing the door open to the apple shop open, you walked inside and gave a giant smile to the owner. “Ah Y/N.” The store owner said looking at you with fond eyes as he always did whenever you came in. “Good morning, I’ve come to get the new IPad.” You were practically bouncing as you looked around the shop. “Already? Well you’re early.” He pointed out glancing at his watch. “Oh I couldn’t sleep last night, is it here?” He nodded before going out the back to get you the iPad you’d ordered weeks ago. “I’ll pay on this one.” Biting your lip, you knew you might be maxed out, but you had to hope as you handed over your card. “That one, but you’ve maxed it out twice.” Your shoulders slumped at the thought of not getting the IPad. “I know, but it’s the one with the best limit on it.” The man thought for a moment, looking at you, before he smiled. “Well if you want it this much, it’s yours.” A look of complete shock appeared on your face as he spoke, you couldn’t believe it. “But sir?” You tried to hand it back, but he pushed it toward you. “I insist.” Jumping the counter, you hugged him tightly and smiled. “Why thank you, thank you so much.”

Leaving the bookshop, you took your iPad out of its box and turned it on as you started to walk, getting the settings how you wanted them, you had a dreamy look on your face as you looked deeply at the iPad. You knew no one else understood you, but that didn’t matter at all. “Oh isn’t this amazing! It’s my favorite one so far, because it has better graphics, a quicker speed and connects to wifi so easy. But I won’t discover all the secrets with this low battery.” You carried on walking, not paying attention to anyone, or anything. You didn’t care what people said to you as you walked. Not even noticing Tony Stark and Bruce Banner talking, Tony turned to Bruce with a wide grin on his face.

The pair of men stood together, discussing a mission they’d had the night before. “Wow, you didn’t miss a bad guy Tony, you’re the greatest Avenger in the whole world! No bad guy stands a chance against you, and no girl for that matter.” Bruce said grinning at Tony. “It’s true Bruce, and I got my sights set on that one!” He pointed at you as you walked past, pushing buttons on your tablet. “That one, you mean the scientists daughter?” Bruce looked shocked, surprised that he’d even go for recluse like you. “She’s the one, the lucky girl I’m going to marry!” “But she’s-” “The most beautiful girl in town!” “I know but-“ “That makes her the best, and don’t I deserve the best?” Tony made his way through the crowds as you carried on looking at your IPad, making your way back home. Not noticing a single thing. No one really understood you at all, or how you operated. Computers made you safe, they always had, you were able to hide behind them and not have to face the world out there.

“Good morning Y/N.” Looking up from your Ipad you smiled softly. “Good morning Tony.” Reaching over, he took the Ipad from you. “How can you like this, it’s apple.” Taking it back, you glared. “Well, some people enjoy good quality.” You replied. He rolled his eyes as he watched you, suddenly Bruce was beside Tony too. “What do you say, you come and take a look at Stark tower and see some of my computers.” Moving away from him you shook your head. “Maybe later, I have to get home and help my father.” You said quickly, turning on your heel, you rushed off back home, not daring to look back.

Opening the front door, you rushed inside and looked for your father, finding him in his lab you smiled gently. “Hello Papa.” You exclaimed rushing down. “Hello sweetheart, did you have a good time in town today?” He asked causing you to show him your Ipad. “I got the new Ipad… Papa, do you think I’m odd?” You asked tilting your head. “My daughter odd, no… why do you say that?” You shrugged a little bit and watched him adding chemicals. “It’s just that I don’t really fit in here, everyone else likes none apple products.” Walking around, he placed his hand on your shoulder and smiled. “This invention will be the start of something new, just you wait and see.” Glancing at the time, your father rushed off to get changed and get ready to leave.

“Goodbye Papa, good luck!” You waved him off as he headed off in a cab. “Goodbye Y/N, take care while I’m gone.” Once your father was gone, you were upstairs on the internet enjoying the things you spent most days doing, you lost track of day and night until finally you heard a knock at the door. Getting up, you walked downstairs and opened the door to find Tony stood there. “Tony, what are you doing here?” He forced his way inside and smiled. “Just picture it Y/N, my penthouse, my latest news reports on the tv, while the little ones play with the dogs. We’ll have six or seven.” Looking at him confused, you raised an eyebrow. “Dogs?” Laughing softly, he shook his head. “No y/n, strapping boys like me. So what do you say?” Stepping back slowly, you took hold of the door handle and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry Tony, I just… I don’t deserve you!” Swinging the door open, you watched him fall flat on the ground as you moved to slam the door shut.

Storming back upstairs, you sat down at your computer and carried on skyping with a friend from across the sea. “He asked me to marry him, can you believe it? Me the wife of that boorish, brainless!” You started to imagine how awful it would be and cringed, even the thought of it made your stomach twist and turn, a sick feeling inside your stomach. “I just want someone to understand me, is that too much to ask?” It was then that your laptop started beeping. Getting up, you rushed over to it and opened it, your father’s GPS. “Oh no, Papa.” Writing down the location, you grabbed your things and headed out to try and find him. Your heart racing as you got into a cab and told him the location. “Hang in there Papa, I’m coming!”

The cab refused to go any further, leaving you at the end of a long winding path and screeching off before you could even think about changing your mind. Taking a deep breath, you walked slowly through the gates and noticed your father’s name badge. “Papa?” You rushed over and picked it up, looking at it and then looking around. Standing up, you looked up at the towering castle in front of you, it looked pitch black, uninhabited, looked as if nothing or no one had been in there for years and years. Taking a very deep breath, you touched the door and slowly opened it. It was even creepier from there. You took your time, gently edging in through the door, closing it behind you, you began to search. “Hello? Is anyone here? Papa?” You noticed a light on the steps and rushed after it, running up to find who or what it was? It led you to a room on the first floor.

“Hello?” You called out softly, until you heard the voice that you needed to hear. “Y/N?” Rushing across the room, you ran to him and hugged him through the bars. “Papa, oh your hands are like ice.” You said cupping them trying to warm them up. “How did you find me?” You shook your head. “It doesn’t matter.” Your father seemed to straighten up and look at you seriously. “You need to leave, go no. Not a minute to loose!” You found yourself snapping at him with anger. “No, I’m not leaving. Who done this to you!” Suddenly, you felt yourself flying across the room and landing on the ground, slowly looking up, looked around the darkness. “Who is there? Who are you?” A guff sandpaper like voice replied to you, causing you to swallow hard. “The master of this castle.” You slowly stood up, your eyes fixed on the location. “Please let my father go, can’t you see he’s sick.” The man yelled back at you. “Well he shouldn’t have trespassed here!” You paused for a moment, looking between your father and the figure.

“Take me instead.” There was a sound of a snigger coming from the man. “You?” He paused for only a minute. “You would take his?” You nodded gently. “Come into the light.” Slowly, the man walked into the light, you too in the tall figure with long hair and a metal arm and gasped. “You have my word.” You whispered, he moved to open the door for your father and he rushed to you instantly. “No, Y/N. I’m old I’ve lived my life.” You went to hug your father but he was dragged away instantly. “No, wait!” You screamed, watching your father leave with the monster. You crumpled on the floor and sobbed softly, the thought of never seeing your father again, never getting to be with him again and never even getting to say goodbye.

“Come, I’ll show you to your room.” Your head shot up at the voice in the doorway. “My room, but I thought…” “Do you want to stay in the tower.” You slowly shook your head, then got up and began to follow him. “This place is your home now, you can go anywhere you want, except the attic.” Looking at him curiously, you tilted your head ever so lightly. “What’s in the attic?” “It’s forbidden!” He snapped back at you causing you to nod slowly. You followed him to a room, where he opened the door and you slowly walked inside. “You will join me for dinner, that’s not a request!” The door slammed behind you, causing tears to prick your eyes. Rushing across to the bed, you threw yourself down and began to cry, just wanting everything to go back to the way it was before.

Meanwhile back at Stark Tower, Tony was licking his wounds, feeling awful about the fact that he’d been rejected, he couldn’t believe it. He was furious that you could say no to him. The avengers were busy throwing a party to celebrate their latest mission success, when suddenly Your father ran inside. “Someone, someone help me. He’s got her, he’s got her locked in the dungeon.” “Who?” “Y/N!” Tony stood up and adjusted is blazer. “Woah, slowdown, who has Y/N locked in a dungeon?” Taking a deep breath, your father looked at everyone. “A beast, a horrible monstrous beast!” Everyone stopped and looked at each other, before starting to chuckle. “Was it a big beast?”

“Massive!”

“With sharp cruel fangs?”

“No, a metal arm! Will you help me?” Tony quieted everyone down and smirked. “We’ll help you out.” Security escorted him out, as Tony looked at Bruce. “Bruce, I’ve been thinking. That wacky old coot is Y/N’s father and his sanity is only so/so. Now the wheels in my head have been turning, since I looked at that loony old man, I promised myself I’d be married to Y/N and right now I’m creating a plan!” With his spark back in his eye, the party carried on into the night, everyone, especially Tony celebrating.

You refused to go to dinner with the man who had you, you refused to even speak to him when he came to see you. The servants were kind to you however and when you finally snuck out, they fed you and entertained you for a little while. “Would you show me around?” You asked, they nodded and started to lead you around the massive house, as you passed a flight of stairs, you glanced up. “What’s up there?” A servant grabbed your hand and made you start to walk. “Nothing, nothing of interest in the attic.” You couldn’t help but glance back, curious as to what was up there. “Come, let us show you the computer room.” That perked you up, turning to look at them with a grin and an excited bounce in your step. “You have a computer room?” They started to lead you away, but you couldn’t help but glance back, after a moment you managed to turn around and rush off up the stairs leaving the servants to talk.

Slowly you made your way up the steps to the attic. A gentle cough came from your lips as you looked around, the dust was thick and it looked as if the place had barely been used for years. You edging into the room, you noticed a picture slashed and walked over, lifting it up to look at the handsome man in the picture. Looking away, you noticed an old army uniform, the only thing that hadn’t got a single piece of dust on it. Reaching over, you touched it gently, before you noticed the only form of light in the room. Slowly, you turned around and looked at the rose. Walking slowly over, you lifted the glass off and reached out to touch it.

A growl caused you to turn around, the beast placing the glass back over the rose and glaring at you. “I told you never to come here!” He snapped, looking at you as your heart started to pound heavily in your chest. “I’m sorry.” Lifting up something, he threw it across the room, smashing behind you. “Do you realize what you could’ve done. Get out!” Fear filled your eyes as you turned and ran, going as fast as your feet would carry you, you ran down past the servants. “Y/N?” Looking back at them, you shook your head. “Promise or no promise, I can’t stay here another minute.” Flying out of the door, you rushed off into the wilderness outside the gates and began to run, not caring that it was pitch black, you’d find your way, you had to find your way.

You ran through the wilderness, panting hard as you raced down a hillside, trying to find A road to follow back to civilization. As you ran down the hill, your foot caught on a branch and you tumbled down and started to roll, catching speed, unable to slow down until finally you reached the bottom of the hill. Laying down on the ground, you let out a soft groan. Laying there in the dark, looking through the canopy of trees toward the moon, you let out a gentle gasp as you regained your breath. As you lay there, you listened to the silence, until the sound of a howl caught your ears. Pulling yourself up, you began to run, not sure where to go, but trying hard to escape the wolves that had picked up your scent and were chasing after you.

Rushing through a ticket, you found yourself being caught on branches, some trying to take your legs out from under you, others ripping at your clothes trying to keep you from running away from what hunted you. Managing to get through with an almighty heave, you toppled to the ground once again, just in time to see glowing eyes coming toward you. You swallowed hard, trying to find the will to push yourself back up, but you were tired and in pain. Just as the first wolf lunged at you, it was scooped up and thrown, followed by another one, and another until they ran off in pain. Looking up, you stared shocked at the man in front of you, he didn’t speak, just stood there for a moment, before falling down. Rushing over, you helped him up and the pair of you slowly made your way back to the house.

Once you were inside, you ordered the staff to get you some hot water and a cloth as you helped him take a seat beside the fire. “Thank you.” You commented taking the warm bowl. “Stay still, this might hurt a little.” You explained as you began to clean his wounds. A growl left is lips, causing you to shy away from him. “That hurts!” He yelled loudly at her. “Well if you hold still it wouldn’t hurt as much!” You snapped back at him. “Well if you hadn’t run away, this wouldn’t have happened!” He quickly retorted. “Well if you hadn’t frightened me, I wouldn’t have run away!” He slowly opened his mouth, is eyes looking at you trying to find something to say. “Well you shouldn’t have been in the West Wing!” Looking up at him, you glared slightly. “Well you should learn to control your temper!” He stared at you, not a single world leaving his mouth as he looked shocked. “Now hold still, this might sting a little.” Your words came out tenderly, causing him to grit his teeth and bare the pain as you cleaned him. “By the way, thank you for saving my life.” There was a moment of silence, he stared down at you, surprise on his face. “You’re welcome.”

“I don’t usually leave the S.H.I.E.L.D at this time of night, this better be good boys.” Bruce and Tony looked between each other and nodded. “Yes, we do.” Pulling out a small file, they slid it across the desk. “I believe he’d working for Hydra; I’d like to get him investigated. Then what?” Nick asked looking between the two men. “Then, I would like to bring him in for questioning…” Tony explained looking at the man with the eyepatch in front of him. “Then what if he’s not?” Tony shrugged his shoulders a little. “Y/N will do anything to try and protect her father “So you’re doing this to get a girl.” There was a glint in Tony’s eye as Nick caught on. “Alright, I’ll play along.” Nick agreed with a smirk. The men left and made their way to Your house and banged on the door, ready to arrest your father, however, there wasn’t anyone there. “Bruce, you stay here, and wait till they return. Don’t move from this spot!”

Time rolled on and you and the beast began to bond, you found yourself finding a sweet side to him, you’d play outside in the garden together, and before you knew it, you were falling in love with him. Your eyes glanced at him for a moment, before hiding yourself. You felt conflicted, panicked, worried about what this would mean for the two of you. “Y/N, come on, I have something I want to show you.” Poking your head out, you got hit in the face with a snowball, chuckling softly, you threw one back and then dodged and hid, and gathered more snow, throwing it and hitting him before he was even able to gather the snow to throw again. “Come on, it’s time for a surprise.” Taking hold of your hand, he led you inside and glanced at you with a small smirk. Leading you through the castle to a room. “Close your eyes.” You looked at him a little skeptically, but then closed your eyes, slowly he led you inside and pulled the curtains back. “Can I open them?” He laughed softly and nodded. “Yes, open them.” You let out a gentle gasp as you moved your hands away from your eyes and began to look around shocked. “I’ve never seen so many books in all my life.” His hand moved to touch your cheek and he smiled. “I know it’s not a computer, but I thought you might like these.” You flung your arms around him and hugged him tightly. “It’s wonderful! Thank you so much Bucky.”

That night, both you and Bucky dressed in beautiful, clothes sort of like a first date. You had the most beautiful elegant 1940s dress and Bucky had a suit on, he didn’t know why but it was always what he’d been into. The pair of you met at the top of the stairs and you smiled at each other, you curtsied and he bowed, before escorting you downstairs to the ballroom. After dining on all of your favorite foods, you stood up and rushed over to him and held out your hand. “Dance with me?” Looking nervous, he slowly stood up and took your hand. “I don’t know how.” Ignoring him telling you this, you guided him to the floor and placed his hands in the right places and took hold of his hands and began to lead, showing him how to dance. You moved to the beat, all the way till he figured out what he was doing and took control, leaving you able to rest your head on his shoulder, it didn’t bother you that you could feel is metal arm through his jacket, his metal arm didn’t bother you at all.

The pair of you retired outside to spend some time getting fresh air, Bucky slowly turned to look at you. “Y/N, are you happy?” You nodded softly, looking up at him with fond eyes. “Yes, I… I just wish I could see my father one last time.” Bucky thought for a moment, and took your hand and rushed upstairs with you to the attic. Picking up a small tablet, he opened something and handed it to you. “This will show you whatever you want, just type in the words.” Nodding softly, you typed in the words and watched as a satellite zoomed in on an area not far away. “My father, he may be dying and he’s all alone!” You jumped up fear in your eyes. “Then you should go.” Turning around, you looked at Bucky. “What?” You spoke in a half whisper. “You’re free.” Hugging him tightly, you let out a soft sigh. “Thank you for understanding.” You went to hand back the tablet, but he shook his head. “Take it, so you always have a way to look back and remember.” Looking at him once again, you then turned and ran off.

You found your father and got a cab home. “Don’t worry Papa, I’ll look after you.” You said as you helped him inside and got him into bed. “How did you escape?” He asked, looking down at him you smiled softly. “I didn’t, he let me go. He’s different now Papa, he’s changed somehow.” You explained as you made him some tea. The sound of someone knocking on the door caused you to look around. “I’ll get it.” Slowly opening the door, you looked up to see Nick Fury and several different agents. “Yes?” He smirked softly. “I’m here to pick up your father, he’s suspected to be working for Hydra.” You shook your head. “No, my father would never!” You yelled. “He was raving about some sort of creature; he must be working for them and created it!” Tony shouted from the street, a mob was starting to form around. “I can clear up this little misunderstanding… if.” You looked at Tony curiously. “If?” He smirked and leaned closer. “If you marry me.”

“Never!” Men forced themselves past you and went inside to get your father, running inside after them you grabbed the tablet. “My father doesn’t work for Hydra; I can prove it!” Grabbing the tablet, you rushed outside and turned it around to show everyone. “He’s a human, my father doesn’t work with humans!” You shouted, showing everyone. But there were gasps as they saw the dark look in his eyes, the metal on his arm. “Is he dangerous?” You shook your head. “No, he’s kind and gentle, he’s my friend.” A glare appeared on Tony’s face as he moved over and snatched the tablet away. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you have feelings for this monster.” You pulled away from him. “He’s no monster Tony, you are!” A sneer appeared on his face. “She’s as evil as her old man!” He snapped. “The beast will make off with your children, he’ll come after them in the night!” Gasps spread through everyone as they looked around and Tony started to rile them up. “Lock them in!” He ordered, you were dragged and thrown inside your house with your father, guards stood on the door and refused to let you out.

The mob started to make their way toward Bucky’s house, anger on their faces as they went together. “We won’t rest until he’s dead!” They announced as they made their way off. Unaware that your father was sneaking you through the cellar and out of a small window so you could make off after the mob and try and rescue the beast. The mob drew close to Bucky’s house, Tony leading them in his super suit. “Take whatever you can find, but remember the beast is mine!” He announced as they moved and blew the doors open. Everyone stopped as they found a silent entrance. Suddenly the servants burst out and began to fight with everyone. They were all clearly going to protect their leader for as long as they could.

Tony slipped through and made his way up the stairs, searching for Bucky bursting into the attic, he found him and hit him out of the window. “Get up, you worthless piece of shit, get up.” He snarled at him. “Were you in love with her you beast? Did you honestly think she’d want you, when she had someone like me?” He moved and smashed into him once again, an angry glare on his face, causing him to end up close to the edge of the roof. “No! Tony, please, no!” You screamed as you arrived, it was then Bucky moved and pushed himself up and began to fight against Tony, they collided hard as Tony flew into him and Bucky stopped him with his suit. Running through the house, you made your way up to the attic and out onto the roof. “Stop it, please.” You arrived just to see Bucky holding Tony over the long drop, he suddenly changed and dropped him down onto the pavement. “Get out!”

Bucky turned around and started to make his way up toward you, but then suddenly Tony hit him. Bucky fell backward, you caught him and held onto him, trying to pull him up. Tony slipped and plummeted toward the earth, his suite failing as he did. You pulled Bucky up onto the ledge and lay him down. “No, please don’t leave me.” You uttered, your fingers touching his cheek. “At least I got to see you one last time.” He whispered as he gasped for breath. The petal fell from the rose as tears trickled down your cheeks. “Please, don’t leave me. I love you.” Suddenly everything started to change, you stepped back as light flooded around Bucky, his body moved into the air and something happened to him, before gently lying him back down.

You watched, mouth open as he pushed himself up and turned to look at you. “I remember.” He whispered. “I remember everything.” He moved over to you and scooped you up in his arms and kissed you deeply, spinning you around as he did. “I love you Y/N, you broke the spell.” He said holding you in his arms. “I love you too Bucky.” You stood looking up at each other, smiles on your faces as you knew this was the start of a beautiful new adventure.

[anjana-sen]

Sapphire Lodge - Quaint & Haunted with Fjord View

Sapphire Lodge - Quaint & Haunted with Fjord View

by Dr. Anjana Sen

I am staying at the Sapphire Lodge by the Mirage Valley overlooking the Mist Cavern in the outskirts of Magnolia fjord. The Lodge is halfway uphill, with 500-700 meter high cliff lines both at the back and frontside.

I wanted to stay by the onset of spring-time, before I make a decision to purchase (and thereby squander a fortune). Spring comes quite late here, and unusually late this year. The lodge seemed a bit atypical to me because of its combined stone-log structural built. I have a great fascination for stone-log cabins, particularly in the wilderness.

However, this is way far from being called a “cabin”. Idyllic, remote, secluded, rocky, rugged terrain with foggy cedar-birch forest, far away from 10th floor board meetings and financial district mayhem. But not just bleak emptiness.

What a coincidence,…..Silver and Sapphire. Magnolia and moon. These have long been the theme of my life. And weeping willows suit perfect with my solitary disposition.

I visited this place last autumn. The guards and caretakers keep this place securely locked up. That might have saved this classic treasure from vandals, paranormal-enthusiasts and explorers but upgraded very little in the renovation efforts.

The North-West part of the mansion was in relatively poor condition.

Conversely, the South-East wing of the mansion, “The Sapphire Lodge”, where I will be staying for now, is in much better shape and safer as well.

Last year when I took a very brief tour inside the mansion, I felt like verging on getting lost in a labyrinth. Its perplexing floor-plans seemed to be a complex series of countless doors after doors, rooms after rooms, lounges, parlours and salons, porticos and windows, galleries and libraries, lobbies, terraces, secret chambers, assembly halls, banquette halls, ballrooms, frequent staircases after staircases, endless corridors after corridors, covert tunnels and lavishly decorated ceilings and walls.

The North-West wing is mostly full of abandoned clutter, antique handicrafts, sculpture, art objects, ornate rugs, lamps, wall brackets, crockery, damaged paintings, ancient wood doors, windows, monographs, daily-life items, and more.

What distinctly mesmerized me was the wine-cellar with its exquisite wood-carvings, and the remarkable collection of vintage wine; now merely a dilapidated crawl-space almost obliterated by cobwebs.

“Tomorrow I am planning a whole day on a library ladder somewhere in this wing of the villa, devouring hardcover treatises from another century”, I promised to myself. I can hardly wait.

That time I spent half an hour at the most, and made a rushed assessment. The libraries and chandeliers in the mansion particularly attracted my attention, as always, and distracted me, to be honest. So I had to draw a rather vague floor plan in my head, which I noted down on paper ......back home.

The North-West wing is colossal and spread out in an L-shape. Considerably larger than the South-East part. I explored the North-West wing in the past, when it was in better condition, not as perilous as it is now.

This mansion is a hidden gem, architecture-wise, but nobody is interested to purchase it. It used to be frequented by hunter groups using it as a hunting lodge. Rumors of haunting and mysterious spooky incidents that go on in this villa have kept people away for decades. Now its glorious past is forgotten. It’s abandoned. Wild grove has taken over. Nobody stayed here last 15-20 years.

On my long drive here, a nebulous crescent moon in the background of hazy grey-peach sky on its way to the direction of the South-West was staring down at me. The location and timing indicates that it’s a waxing crescent.

I relished a spectacular sunset through the askew terrains and hills in nuances of dark olive and sepia, even though I heard on the radio about the quickly approaching bad weather in the late evening today.

I passed through wide uninhabited natural forest areas of 20-30 meter high nearly 200 year old murmuring cedar and birch trees, from the foothills all the way up to about 2000 meter altitude.

On arrival, a very familiar fragrance of high-quality cheroots, incense sticks, wild flowers and lime oil gave me a nostalgic feeling, and I almost heard a sort of hypnotizing whispers in my ears, as if the lodge is saying it’s my long-lost home. It wasn’t an uncanny feeling, but a mystifying ambience.

Large glass windows along with the sliding glass door from the ceiling to the floor are occupying the entire front-wall of the living room.

In front, far off on the remote shore, dense forest borders the landscape in conjunction with the cove on the right corner (South side), whereas, on the East side (left corner), the old lighthouse is not clearly visible at the moment because of the thick mist in the background of deep murky birch and spruce forest, under the gloomy sky, which is gradually turning into an appearance of smoked silver.

In the late afternoon, I settled down in an antique bamboo armchair by the fire. A light knitted blanket is loosely spread on my feet. The wood-burning fireplace is on its way to succumb to ashes, leaving a pleasant fragrance and more of a smokey shadowy surrounding.

On the corner table, an antique lantern of hazy glass lampshade is giving dim light from its quivering flame.

The heavy curtains were slightly open for me to look out to the dreary weather. Light sleet has started silently. To my dismay, this seemed to be utterly contrary to my plan and expectation!

I frowned, since I was really looking forward to gaze at a picturesque panorama view of starry night, a dreamy setting moon over the fishing boats, canopy of arctic willows, listening to cicadas. Well…..apparently not today.

I turned my attention from outdoor to the interior. Other than armchair, foot-rest and lantern, there are velvety sofas, low sofa-table of glass, heavy rugs, few faded oil-paintings depicting seascapes, lighthouses and hillside farmhouses, also wicker sideboard, bookcase, glass-cabinet and grandfather floor-clock, which must be the leftover that didn’t qualify for last year’s auction.

Suddenly through the corner of my eye, it appeared to me as if the glass-cabinet door is moving. Well,…it looked like an apparition standing in front of it and is trying to shake it open! As soon as I chuckled, “Here we go……..”, a knocking sound started behind the fireplace, but only a few times, then it stopped! What was that about?

By now I have realized, absolute tranquility that I was expecting does not exist. Incessant rounds of violent gusts are blowing through the dense forest, almost to the extent of harsh disruption. And the forest is waking up from its hibernation, responding back with a jarring sound, leaving a whispering echo, which I am listening to with my eyes half-closed.

I noticed now, the line of horizon distinguishing between the remote coast-line and the sky has started to disappear behind the grey mist, becoming more and more obscure, and soon invisible.

When I started to feel sort of a damp chill in the air, I shivered and pondered, should I bring more fire-woods and enjoy a little bit light reading or get ready for bed. I rummaged through the bookcase only to find old magazines, catalogues and news-reviews. I frowned, I feel like reading something else.

I turned to the rear side of the ground floor and stepped outside the drawing room area. After two dark corridors, right turn at a half-empty gallery and two small steps up, there comes ground floor’s large bedroom first, then kitchen and bathroom farther back. Staircase to the upper floors is located next to the kitchen, and at the side of the bathroom, a dark narrow hallway leading to the North-West wing of this villa. This passage is actually “blind”. In order to block direct access, it’s most certainly kept shut at the other end, even though that cannot be seen from here.

The ground floor bedroom looks charming but outdated, it has a large four-poster bed with silk brocade frills. Hmmm,………..I contemplated the choice of floor and choice of bedroom. I never liked the idea of ground floor bedrooms. This is something that has always made me uncomfortable for some unknown reasons. I took the stairs to inspect further upstairs. I can see it’s not an open staircase. The door at the top end of the staircase is locked with a padlock.

The floor plan drawings in my head are rather vague. This is unexpected, but anyway. I came back down to find the keys. The first place I would look is the top of the fireplace. And…yes! There it is. A large key ring of total…. 7 keys. After trying 4 keys, the fifth one opened the padlock. But I wasn’t ready for what was coming next.

As soon as I pulled open the door, I’m sure I heard a sort of a creaking sound, as if somebody is tiptoeing in there on the old wood floor. But nobody is supposed to be here,…..or anywhere in this villa at the moment. The staircase door was locked until now, and I just opened the lock 5 seconds ago !!! There is no other access route, as far as I know. I froze at the doorway and the sound stopped. Burglar? I had an eerie feeling, and it made me worried.

Oh no,…………I didn’t have my flashlight in my pocket. Should have brought the oil lamp from downstairs. But soon I noticed a dim ray of light as I stepped into a lounge area. The first floor in this section seemed to have an open lounge area with assorted dining furniture and glass walls on both South and East sides, opening to an attached covered terrace on the South-East corner.

Obviously there is nobody in here. I had no idea why the wood-floor made that creaking sound even before I stepped on it. Must be some other very familiar sounds caused by very common things, like the water-droplets trickling down the chimney, or the wind blowing into its top. I didn’t feel like thinking too much about that right now.

There are two additional bedrooms on either side of the first floor, one of them being relatively larger than the other. Another elegant bathroom at the rear side as well. The dim quivering light rays were actually coming from the corner room, which turned out to be a medium size library. Yes, I remember now.

I can see that, one bedroom has the view of the cavern in the fjord, and the other, the larger one is overlooking the lighthouse. Moreover, this larger bedroom overlooking the lighthouse also has a fireplace itself! “Superb!” I mumbled to myself. Then there is no point of staying by the fire downstairs. I will bring up some fire-woods upstairs, start this fireplace instead and sleep in this cozy bed.

OK perhaps I need the blanket from downstairs. First I wanted to check out the library. There is an antique oval center table and a similar lantern is sitting on top of it. Who lit this lamp in here, while this floor was locked?

All the walls are filled with large bookcases containing old hardcover classics. There are also some paperbacks and some handwritten manuscripts. “Hurrah!” I mumbled again. Surrounded by antique furniture and hardcover classics in a quaint mountain lodge and shopping at the farmer’s market would be paradise for me.

I quickly set down the large key-ring from my hand on the center table next to the burning lamp in the library, and went back downstairs to fetch the blanket, which was now hanging at the back of the sofa in the ground floor living room. Is this the way I left it? Hmmm…… I am getting confused again. OK, never mind.

When I went back to the bedroom upstairs with the blanket, I felt stupid. Only if I opened the small closet in this bedroom sooner. There are two thick soft quilts in there. Those I could use on the bed. There are extra pillows as well in a wicker chest in the other bedroom here.

Abruptly, I caught a glimpse of something white, and a faint scent. My eyes fell upon a small pile of gardenia flowers, which were lying on the small bed-side table !!! No, not artificial ones, they are real ones. Fresh and wet. I can swear they were not there when I first time came in to this bedroom a few minutes ago. And how would someone know about my fascination with gardenia?! How would someone even obtain those tropical beauties in this part of the globe?! Ok, whatever.

As I was closing the wardrobe in the bedroom, suddenly something caught my eyes through the bedroom window. The steady illumination from the lighthouse is still piercing through the bleak weather, as usual, but….what’s that over there?!! Some strange light out in the pitch-dark gravel path……almost like a group of fireflies. Not only that,…….a dark figure (a person?) was walking towards the lodge.

Who’s out there in this weather in this remote solitary region that does not even have a railroad or a post-office whatsoever? That eerie feeling is back again. One of the watchmen perhaps? No, not before the season starts. Even the lighthouse-keeper’s cottage is empty, and that’s a long walk from here.

It’s hard to see because of the tall dense foliage of the high hedges along the pebble-fence in the premises, and 10-20 meter high Rhododendrons, which are almost guarding or hiding this villa from the outsiders. I went down all the way to the ground floor living room, but by that time that obscure figure had disappeared or perhaps turned around the left corner.

The main entrance port is not really on the ground floor level, it’s located halfway below, on a semi-basement level, with a few stone-steps leading to a foyer, so that the real ground floor is elevated to a rather higher level, making me unable to see all the way down beyond the turns of the gravel path. I am absolutely certain that I locked the main port properly myself, and the port is considerably robust.

“Don’t worry about that”, I assured myself, “I was mistaken.” Now I need to go get some fire-woods from the utility-shed at the back of the lodge.

I pulled out my flashlight from my overnight-case, ran upstairs again to fetch the key-ring from the library table, opened the back-door of the ground floor, sauntered through a dark hall-way, took a few stone-steps, and arrived in front of the boiler-room-utility-room area at the end of the hallway. This annex area, built adjacent to the main structure, is not totally indoor, not totally outdoor either.

The drizzle was brutally whipping me. Thank god I didn’t have to go out for fire-woods. According to the weather report, this drizzle is going to turn into heavy downpour of hail after midnight. The dew drops at dawn are definitely going to form ice crystals.

Right behind starts a wide expanse of backwoods and plantation. I stood there for a while and fantasized about a perfect blend of North and South, Besalύ and Undredal.…..a backyard, pink-purple lupine and rhododendron, fragrance of lavender, gardenia, magnolia, …..blended with intoxicating smell of lime leaves, coriander, basil, eucalyptus, faint glow of moonbeam,……ahh.

Both utility-rooms were locked with padlocks. I unlocked the rooms, filled a large pale with fire-woods, checked that there is plenty of hot water for my night-time shower and then locked the rooms. On my way back through dark hall-way, just by chance my eyes suddenly looked up to the direction of the North-West wing, and my jaws dropped. There is a bright light in the attic room and a silhouette figure is standing there!!!

The South-East wing, where I am staying, does not have any attic room, but the middle part of the North-West wing is a colossal three-and-a-half floor building with that attic room on the top. The North-West wing is not safe to live in, and hence barricaded by the authority. All the rooms, corridors and access-tunnels have old-fashioned padlocks on. It’s practically impossible for outsiders or criminals to…..just barge in.

I looked again. That head, that build, form and shape of the body have a creepy likeness to something very familiar to me. Cannot figure out what at the moment. It was quite baffling, and I was apprehensive, but not really panic-stricken. Not yet anyway.

I shut the back-door carefully and went back upstairs feeling a little bit jumpy. What’s happening? I went into the bedroom to start fire in the fire-place. Suddenly a metal-glass clinking or rattling sound in this mute deserted villa startled me and made me look up, and I noticed that the chandelier is now swaying like a pendulum, as if mild earthquake is going on, or somebody smacked it. There was no reason for that kind of movement. I told to myself, “Who’s trying to scare me off ??” I went back to the library.

And I froze once again.

I can swear I saw the hurricane lantern of hazy glass lampshade was the only thing that was sitting on the oval center table, and I can swear I left the key-rings right next to it. Oh yeah, I also came second time to fetch the keys. But now,… there is something lying next to the lantern on the table. It looked like one of those hand-written manuscripts from the shelves over there by the East-side wall. And it’s lying open.

I am now leaning forward on the table. No, I am wrong! Not manuscript. It’s actually a sort of ancient diary. Sapphire colored soft cover with gold borders. Not turquoise, not aquamarine, Sapphire! And the ancient yellow-brown water-damaged pages of fibrous pulp. Moreover, as I notice now, the page that was open, is 30 April ! Today! 200 years ago!

My freezing cold trembling fingers hesitantly picked up the diary. Somebody has written in violet ink, which is mostly faded but legible, “The gardenia in the bedroom cheered me up today.” “I saw a dark shadowy figure in the attic. Then I discovered a dead-body lying in the South-East corner library floor.”

I felt my arms and knees starting to get severely debilitated and getting almost paralyzed. Reminiscence flashed in my eyes, and certain words started ringing in my ears, “my long-lost home”, the words first came to my mind the very moment I entered Sapphire Lodge !

I warily turned to the East wall, and now………there is no shelf anymore. The whole wall has now turned into some kind of glossy shiny plate, like a home-movie. An entity, sort of two-dimensional, is appearing, but my eyes failed to recognize what it is.

I came out of the library like a zombie, petrified and traumatized. On my last visit, I made sure to note down all access tunnel-routes / passage-ways in my head. And I am 200% sure, there was absolutely no access to this floor area from the other parts of the mansion. But….now….I can clearly see a pitch-dark tunnel has appeared on the right side of the staircase. And it’s connecting directly to the North-West wing. It didn’t even exist few minutes ago, when I carried the pale upstairs!

My blood has turned into ice. Right in front of my blurred eyes, I now see that dark shadowy entity is emerging from the North-West end of the tunnel and sauntering towards me!

Now there is no doubt why this physical structure in the attic looked so familiar to me, when I first saw it while carrying fire-woods. It’s me, no doubt. Only difference is, the face is upside down !!!

I staggered back in to the library, stumbled and collapsed. Fragile yellow-brown pages turned into crisp beige, faded ink turned into bright violet, 200 years’ ignominious past disintegrated and vanished mercilessly in dismal emptiness, as deluge of hail started.  

[hoe-for-daddywise]

The fiction that was never released.

As you are all aware I have been vacant and doubt I will be back. And I miss you all entirely. And to apologise for my disappearance I bestow upon you a fiction I wrote but never posted. It is unfinished, yes. But I spent ages writing it and I hope you would all enjoy it. Think of it this way, you can make up your own ending in your head. Like British films that break against the American conventions of happy endings in every film and leave you to decide how something ends. So here it is. The fiction that was never released. For this I’m tagging those who always made me feel happy to be in this fandom.

@smileysam13579 @penny-trash @pennydaddywise @robindanielle @randomcatgirl1 @trinsghost @take-a-penny-leave-a-penny @ohhh-pennywise @princess-pennywise @peenwise @pimmelwise @pennys-drool @pennywises-cum-dumpster @astrotheclown @sewer-party @sheeit-pennywise @dancing-sewer-daddy @dick-me-down-sewer-clown @desallinhada @fuckin-boiis @floatpenny @fallenchrysalis @gothguitargal @hauntedneibolt @hellodaddywise @literalslutforpennywise @capicornoo @nychowise-hl @silent-world-of-a-deaf-boi

/ /

The early bird gets the worm. This being a singular proverb used to galvanise the spectator or humour the tentative other, as what is perceived as normal for the spider would become chaos for the fly. Horror has always had its way of lurking in all times and in every corner of the world, and you, a soul drunk with isolation, were certain of this. And as the rain threw itself violently against the window of your plaintive flat in the small town of Derry, you tugged at your bottom lip, daring yourself to go outside into the misery the early morning had brought, to see, Indeed, if today would be prosperous.

Darkness had plagued itself across your room, threatening to swallow it whole like a cancer; the only light discernible was from a street light adjacent from your room and a small, dull lamp placed within it. Every slight movement you made caused your shadow to follow you like a lost boy glued to you, or like sin hiding itself from the light of God. However, you failed to make out all the shadows, as some appeared as mix matched shapes perplexing to your eyes. Yet the next thing that happened not only confused your senses but made you question your very own sanity. Upon further analysis of the shapes around your room, you had discovered your own shadow had manifested; into what, was still uncertain. Initially it started off as your own, until it started dancing and twirling, spinning randomly in a rhythmic pattern, it was almost hypnotic. And when you moved the shadow wobbled with you, you was bound by the shadow and the shadow bound by you. But this wasn’t your shadow. It was attached to you but it wasn’t yours. Then you heard it. The sweet sound of laughter followed by the gentle call of your name.

“Wh-who’s there?” Croakily you managed through disbelief still doubting your senses. A small but prominent sound rang out, the jingling of bells. Hastily you shuffled backwards, not once taking your eyes off the black mass which still moved in sync with you despite the fact it was evolving. Both you and it were slaves to each other like a demon at night, destined to do as the other does, creating the question of were your movements even yours any more or were they caused by the mass?

The black abyss before you had conjured into a full bodied apparition before your very eyes, no longer being a darkened reflection of yourself. “I’m Pennywise, the dancing clown.” The words he had spoken were mirrored by that of his actions as he jumped and swayed around, bells clattering against each other as he did so. You analysed the clowns every move, like you were trying to figure out an algorithm as you and the clown had seldom met before. Pennywise, in turn, stood before you as if waiting to gain some sort of a response from your parted cracking lips. There was almost a silence of some sort if it had not been for the ticking of the small plastic clock tucked away behind a pile of dusty books on your bedside table. Yet this ticking, no matter how quiet, didn’t go a miss, for any more silent it would have caused your ear drums to ring with the upmost discomfort.

“What’s the matter, Y/N? Never seen a shadow change before?” Pennywise cackled at you, taunting you; you proceeded to walk backwards until you felt your hand come into contact with the cold condensed glass on the window. “Come join the clown, Y/N. We all float down here. Yes we do.” It was difficult to make out his figure in the darkness and lack of light your lamp emitted, however, you were still able to register the heavy Victorian clown attire he wore and the intricate makeup he had so carefully stained on his chubby face.

“Leave me alone!” You challenged yourself to shout, astonished you were able to retain your voice from cracking yet again.

Adamant to appear unfazed by the clown, you propelled yourself off the window you had used for support and started forward; the clowns laughter increasing ever more mocking your pathetic effort of standing your ground. The next set of events, which followed after this, provoked the up most discomfort through your body; disturbing you relentlessly as the clown dissolved back into the shadows for a brief second. Instantaneously, Pennywise leaped back out at you generating supplementary shadows in the room to ricochet; they ambushed you, vaulting themselves from individual directions with edges like knives, all fleeting at you. You forced your eyes shut.

Like necromancy, the shadows were being conjured, launching a heap of black liquid on top of you. What this liquid was is still a mystery to you. It entered your mouth with force, leaving a bitter taste on your tongue and seeping down your throat. You tried to scream but found yourself gagging as it made its way up your nose, you couldn’t breathe. You had come to the inescapable conclusion that right here and now your life would come to a tragic end and your death would remain a mystery to all those who pretended to be dear to you. Panic seeped within you, tensing your fists until your knuckles were white and the bone threatened to pierce your delicate skin. Suddenly, it stopped, but at what price? Spluttering out as much of the black liquid as you were able you regained your breath and wiped your eyes free from the goo; opening them slightly the clown was gone and for this justice you, the tentative other, were thankful. However, one thing you noticed was how the shadows were no more. The mix matching shapes around your room were now gone, leaving each object unbound. Even yours, was gone.

The majority of your day, after this series of events, was spent stood in the same spot the clown had left you, eyes fixated on the wall of where your shadow once lived. Day light had spread it’s way across the room and had left once again, indicating you must have been unchanging for 12 hours. So you showered and plonked yourself on the sofa downstairs and where you would make your bed for the night as your room was uninhabitable thanks to the black goo. You hadn’t even eaten that day but your appetite was non existent. And as you laid down, ready for your slumber, you thought about the clown. You thought about Pennywise, and replayed his words over and over in your head. “We all float down here.” What was that even supposed to mean? Was it a riddle? Everything was uncertain and you hated that. Would he be back? What did he want? So many questions and no answers. But you couldn’t tell anyone as some memories are meant to stay secret and some secrets do not allow themselves to be told; if this one was, people would think you were surly mad. So you hoped, that when you woke, you room would be back to normal and that this will have all been a dream.

Morning came, as it always does, accompanied by the gentle sound of birds, tweeting as they always do. Subsequently, you almost had to question why you had slept downstairs until memories, secrets, came flooding back to you. Yet, these were memories you had hoped to have dreamed, thus, you ventured to your room to collect the evidence. As suspected the goo was unmoved. The full extent of damage your room held was remarkable with not a single item within left untouched; still you couldn’t help but listen to the nagging sensation in your mind that you had lost all sanity that was left in you, so you set about getting a second opinion. There, out of the window, a man in his 20’s walked so smoothly he could have been floating. Running as quick as your feet could take you, grabbing the door handle to reveal the outside world. “Excuse me!” The man glanced around to see who else you could be shouting at, noticed no one else was there and then pointed at himself. “Yes, you.” Laughing you motioned for him to come over. “This is going to sound ridiculous and I’m sorry, but something remarkable happened last night and I need to know if you can see it too.”

The gentleman laughed as he reached your doorstep, and it was at this instant you recognised how handsome he was. He partially opened his mouth to lick his plump lips, which were so damn gorgeous, and his ebony hair perfectly combed. And then you realised you were staring when his piercing blue eyes connected with yours causing your heart to flip. You had only just met this man. What’s the matter with you?

“Erm, should I take a look?” Thankfully he broke the awkwardness as he pointed inside your flat with a smirk on his face, biting his lower lip.

“It’s this way.” Ushering him inside you hear him shut the front door behind you and continue down the hall, leading him to your room. “I’m Y/N, by the way.” You acquaint yourself with a small smile.

“Roman.” He replied gently still smirking.

“Okay, well, here we are.” You gestured towards the closed door to your bedroom. Daintily he stalked to the door and groped for the handle in the dull corridor. With a push he was staring into your room.

“Oh my.” He glanced around.

“You...you see it too?” Hope probably too prominent in your voice.

“See it?” Silence. “Some just dripped on me.” He turned towards you, and, indeed, some had dropped onto his beautifully sculptured face. You glared at each other for a moment until you both burst out laughing at the exact same time.

“Let me get you something for that.” The bathroom was just across the hall in your apartment, rushing, you grabbed for a packet of makeup wipes and headed back to him. You held one of the moist wipes between your forefinger and thumb and held it out towards Roman. But instead of taking the wipe he presented his hands before you which, much like his face, were coated in the black liquid.

“That just sort of...happened.” He laughed. “Would you mind?” He gestured towards the wipes and then his face. “It’s just I would end up with more on me if I try to wipe it.”

The concept of touching Romans face sent butterflies scurrying round your stomach but you didn’t want to appear too eager so you replied with an unpretentious, “Erm, sure.”

“So, what exactly happened?” Roman interrogated as you cleared his face free from the goo.

“You wouldn’t believe me.” You shook your head and sighed, to this, Roman raised an eyebrow.

“Try me.” Is all he said.

Withdrawing your hand from his face, you began to explicate the details of last nights revulsion to the stranger, whom, you had just acquainted. During intervals of unsurety, Roman would nod his head when he perceived necessary, for this, you were grateful and for more than one reason. The first being that he had not absquatulated in fear of his own safety. And, the later being, he was listening and attempting to make sense of the narrative you had abruptly situated before him.

“So this clown, Pennywise, I think you named him...”

“Yes.”

“Pennywise came out of your shadow on your wall?”

“Yes.”

Romans face appeared as if it was swallowing itself, his features getting smaller. It was as if he had been sucking a Lemmon for the past year.

“You think I’m mad don’t you?” All hope you once attained was now failing.

“Mad? No, not mad. Insane? Yes. But I believe you. And I guess that also makes me insane.” He laughed at his own comment. However, you wasn’t certain what to make of this or how Roman, knowing of your situation, would benefit you in any way. One thing, however, you now had the knowledge that your senses did not deceive you and Pennywise had in fact conjured shadows to assault you last night.

SNAP

Your train of thought was interrupted from the simple click of fingers in front of your face.

“Hmmm, sorry?”

“I said, do you need help cleaning up?” He indicated towards your room. You sincerely had not contemplated the cleaning process as your mind had been otherwise occupied with a certain clown.

“Oh, I couldn’t allow you to help. That’s far too much to expect.” Thanking him, you refused him even though you knew help would be most welcome.

“I insist.” Roman disputed with you as he knew this was all talk much for you to take on by yourself.