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graysongraysoff · 3 years ago

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Fandom: JJK Ship: Chuuya/Dazai Character: Nanami

AIGHT LET’S GET INTO IT

001 | Jujutsu Kaisen

Favorite character: SON OF MY HEART AND BOY OF MY LIFE YUJI ITADORI

Least Favorite character: sukuna >:c

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): yuta/rika, satosugu, nobamaki, um. uh. i don’t know if i have five. *sweats.*

Character I find most attractive: i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: christian gray wants what kento nanami has

Character I would marry: i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: kento nanami is the dilf of all time and if you disagree you are playing yourself

Character I would be best friends with: my irl best friend is essentially a carbon copy of nobara kugisaki, so definitely nobara 😊

A random thought: cursed speech is the coolest fucking curse technique and i go feral every time inumaki gets to use it

An unpopular opinion: my most unpopular opinion is that i’m not all that into fushidori but that is entirely a personal thing and not at all, like, a condemnation of the ship at all, if that makes sense??? like i think it’s a good ship that the text 100% supports, i’m not saying i don’t like it bc it feels ooc or anything, bc it absolutely doesn’t, and there’s all kinds of Symbolism that backs it up, too. i just typically don’t really tend to ship my faves bc you know. hashtag just aro/ace things.

My Canon OTP: YUTA/RIKA MY BELOVED

My Non-canon OTP: SATOSUGU MY BELOVED

Most Badass Character: nobara “let’s play a game of chicken” kugisaki

Most Epic Villain: there are a lot of good ones in jjk tbh but i think it’s gotta be sukuna for me. what the fuck are you planning you bastard.

Pairing I am not a fan of: uh damn well while i’m raining on people’s parades, lol, i’m also not really into yuta/inumaki. again, not because i think it doesn’t make sense or anything!! it super does!!! but also yuta is in deep, pure, everlasting love with his monster gf and i just can’t bring myself to care as much about yuta/inumaki as i care about yuta/rika.

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): look into my eyes. gege akutami has never done anything wrong in their life, ever. (at least not in terms of characterization, lol.)

Favourite Friendship: i cry noble tears of joy every time the main trio interacts in any capacity.

Character I most identify with: he’s a much better person than i am and way like cooler and stronger, etc, but i do identify with yuji bc he is the same brand of stupid as me and it’s nice to see someone with terminal dumb bitch disease represented in media.

Character I wish I could be: Bakery Girl, iykyk

002 | Soukoku

When I started shipping them: i think i started like shipping-shipping them when i watched dead apple.

My thoughts: did you really think you were going to give me a character who has a power that could kill him and another character who is the only one who can keep that power from killing him and i wasn’t going to end up fully, madly and deeply invested in them?

What makes me happy about them: i’m a chuuya simp so this is a chuuya-centric answer, and i talked to you about this already, but i always love it when a character who has the huge, op powers gets to feel protected by someone else. chuuya is the best martial artist in the port mafia, he can manipulate gravity, and he’s able to go sicko mode via corruption; he’s a fucking atom bomb. but because dazai can nullify his powers and pull him back from the brink of literal self-destruction, chuuya doesn’t have to be the protector in their relationship; he gets to trust that someone is going to catch him when he falls.

What makes me sad about them: moving on from the port mafia and joining the armed detective agency is clearly what’s best for dazai and he absolutely seems happier and like he has more of a purpose with them, but it makes me sad that him leaving also kind of sets chuuya adrift. chuuya has been dazai’s partner for as long as he’s been a member of the port mafia, since he was 15 years old; he essentially left his previous gang, who looked up to him and trusted him, to partner up with dazai. so then when dazai just leaves and breaks contact one day i’m sure it not only hurts like hell, but also makes chuuya question whether dazai ever cared as much for him as he did for dazai and what he’s even doing with the port mafia in the first place.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: i haven’t yet read enough fanfic for things to start bothering me.

Things I look for in fanfic: major character death and grief/mourning are literally the tags i search, lol. i am who i am.

My wishlist: if i can be frank, at this point in the narrative i just want these guys to have some hatesex, lol. The One Where Dazai Hooks Up With His Ex.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: i think ultimately kunikida is probably a healthier match for dazai, lol. chuuya is my fave so, again, having a hard time shipping him with anyone else. i feel like he’s the kind of person who really wouldn’t be interested in romance unless it was as deep and encompassing as what he has with dazai, and it doesn’t seem like anyone else in the canon so far comes anywhere close to that.

My happily ever after for them: i guess ideally chuuya would eventually either 1.) become the new boss of the port mafia and form some sort of alliance with the armed detective agency or 2.) he’d join the ada. either way he and dazai would Talk It Out and reach an Understanding, and even if they didn’t end up back together romantically they’d be like back on good terms with each other, and chuuya would get to feel protected again and dazai would get to feel Challenged.

003 | Nanami

How I feel about this character: I’m Aro/Ace But When I Tell You I Would Fully Become A 1950s Housewife For This Man,,,,,

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: you are probably getting tired of hearing this lmao 😅 but i don’t….. really ship him……. with anyone………. (except, of course, for me). i don’t hate nanami/higuruma but the canon compliant bitch inside of me can’t really get fully behind it. i could see him and bakery girl being cute if they decided to flesh her out and go that route 🙂

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: his mentorship of yuji 🥺

My unpopular opinion about this character: i feel like nanami is the kind of character that’s easy to kind of fall into the shorthand of characterizing as Stuffy and Boring and Proper, etc, but he honestly isn’t any of those things? he’s, like… quiet, lol. a little blunt, sure. massively depressed. but his entire philosophy about corporate jobs is that you should milk them for all that they’re worth without working a second you’re not being paid for; he has a lot of the same issues with the jujutsu world that gojo does and he helps train yuji while he’s Supposed To Be Dead, so it’s not as if he’s some kind of strict rule-follower or anything; he’s a foodie and he loves bread 🥺; he had an emo haircut as a teen so you canNOT convince me his taste in music isn’t fire.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: i wish we had gotten to see him interact more with geto, especially post-[spoiler].

Favorite friendship for this character: it’s a tie between haibara and gojo; i think they’re both very important people for him to have had in his life in different ways.

My crossover ship: he could easily be swapped out for kunikida in bsd, i doubt dazai would even notice.

#THANK YOU MY LOVE!!!!!!#thestatuspoe #jujutsu kaisen #bsd #skk

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appolojustice · 6 years ago

Text

HOO BOY

So as my DnD group and anyone who follows me on twitter probably already knows, I’ve been working on this fic for pretty much every spare moment I’ve had for. A while now.

And I am. Very happy with how it came out. And very emotional about our kids.

There’s about 6k under the cut in which Silas and Riley try to go partying together and instead end up talking about some tough subjects, barely avoiding bar fights, star gazing, realizing they may have more in common than they thought, growing even closer, and all in all just being sweethearts.

Huge shout-out to @chromochaotic who plays Riley and who helped me make sure I got her character right and who like. Is always down to talk about our kids.

I hope you all enjoy!!

@thestatuspoe @finngodwetrust @coroarchenland @sickburnsides @rhetoricgrimes

Silas wasn’t expecting a knock on his door.

It was late afternoon, and Silas had slept most of the day, recovering from the group’s recent trip to the Temple of Naldya. He still felt sore, and a little queasy, a consequence of….well. He wasn’t exactly sure. Just like the last time they had faced this foe, the fight was a blur. None of them could remember anything about the creature they had fought- and that was almost as unnerving as Silas was sure the creatures themselves had been.

More significantly, he still had a hollow feeling in his chest, deep and persistent and aching.

He knew what had caused that. He knew what the temple had asked of him. What he had willingly given up.

In his mind, it now felt like one day his mother had been there, and the next she’d been gone. He already remembered so little about her, clung to so few snatches of moments they shared, and now one of those moments was just gone, and he knew it had existed, that she had left him with something…

It was already growing harder to believe, and that terrified him.

He wasn’t feeling his best. He’d been planning on finding some food before immediately falling back asleep.

But someone had definitely just knocked on his door, and that threw his plans a bit to the wind.

For a moment, he debated whether he should ignore it, pretend like he was already back asleep. But he soon realized it might be an emergency, so he opened the door.

He was immediately glad he had.

“Come with me,” Riley said, grinning.

Silas blinked, his excitement at seeing his friend briefly overtaken by confusion. “What?”

“Oh,” Riley said. “Sorry. Hi, Silas.”

“Hi,” Silas said. “What’s wrong?”

Riley shook her head. “No, nothing’s wrong! Everything’s fine.”

“But…we’re going somewhere?” Silas asked. He still didn’t quite get where this was going.

Riley looked a little sheepish now.

“Well,” she said, “Only if you want to. I found this Tavern nearby- The Lying Loch- it looked like a fun time. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to check it out with me?”

Silas didn’t answer at first, unsure how to.

“You don’t have to,” Riley added, quickly. “I know you don’t usually go to taverns, but-“

“Why are you asking me?” he asked.

Seren was the better bet for a fun night out drinking. Rhogar, too, at least moreso than Silas was.

Riley paused, now looking as confused as Silas was.

“Because I want to spend time with you,” she said.

Silas didn’t often blush. He was a bit annoyed at himself for doing it now.

“Oh,” he mumbled.

Riley, at least, didn’t say anything about his reaction. “So, what do you think? I mean, we don’t have to go today. I can give you time to think-“

“It sounds fun,” Silas said. “I’ll go. Why not?”

It was true, taverns weren’t usually his first choice for fun. But that had traditionally had more to do with the need to preserve his money than it did with his personal feelings for them. Besides, he wasn’t about to turn down a chance to spend time with Riley.

Riley’s face lit up, and Silas felt the heat creeping back into his face.

“Great!” she said. “Great. We can go now! Do you want to go now?”

“Hang on,” Silas said, unable to suppress a smile. “Let me pack a bit first.”

Riley laughed. “Right. I’ll meet you downstairs, okay?”

Once Riley had left, Silas began to pack for the impromptu trip. He packed light. But then, he always did. Just a couple changes of clothes and some spending money. It still felt odd to have spending money. Money meant for fun, and not for survival.

He couldn’t bring himself to take more than a few gold with him.

When he came down the stairs of the inn a few minutes later, he didn’t see Riley, but he did see another familiar face, sitting at a table with a half-eaten plate of food and a very strong looking drink.

“Evening,” Silas said, approaching Seren’s table. He didn’t sit- he wasn’t sure how Seren would feel about that breach of personal space. “Have you seen Riley?”

“Not since we got back,” Seren said. “There a problem?”

“No, I’m just meeting her,” Silas said. “We’re going out to a tavern- The Lying Loch.”

“A tavern? Interesting.”

The look Seren was giving Silas was a little too knowing. He narrowed his eyes, but before he could reply, Riley walked up to the table.

“Found her,” Seren said, taking a sip from her drink. “You’re welcome.”

Riley looked for a moment like she was going to ask, but thought better of it.

“You ready?” she asked, turning to Silas.

He nodded, gesturing to his small pack.

“Have fun,” Seren said, as the two began to head for the door. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Doesn’t narrow our options much,” Silas sent back, cheerfully.

If he hadn’t known any better, he would have sworn he heard Seren laugh as he and Riley disappeared out the door.

* * *

“Oh,” Riley said. surveying their room. “I think we may have made a mistake.”

Their mistake had been buying a cheap room without checking what the room consisted of. Now they found themselves in possession of a single bed in the corner of the room.

“It’s alright,” Silas said. “I’ll take the floor.”

“No, you don’t have to do that, I can take the floor,” Riley replied.

Silas paused at this before smiling. “Maybe we should both take the floor.”

It was meant as a joke, but Riley’s eyes lit up.

“I know what to do,” she said, heading for the small closet. “Hang on a second.”

The next few minutes were a blur of Riley rushing around the room, grabbing whatever linens and sheets she could find, moving furniture around the room, and telling Silas how he could help.

At the end of it, in the middle of the room, several chairs had been pushed together with sheets draped over it, forming a little hollow that they had stuffed more blankets and pillows into.

“There,” she said. “A pillow fort! Now we both have a spot. This is more fun, anyway.”

Silas glanced inside.

“Looks pretty cozy,” he said. “Glad you thought of that.?”

Riley smiled, looking very pleased with herself.

“Let’s go back downstairs,” she said. “I’ll buy the first drink.”

Several minutes later they were siting at a table together, two drinks and dinner in front of them. Riley was drinking her mead more enthusiastically than Silas was. She kept glancing over at him, but so far neither of them had spoken much.

Silas was studying the inside of his glass, watching the drink swirl around inside. He’d wanted so badly to spend time with Riley, but now that it was just the two of them his nerves were definitely getting the best of him.

“Hey,” Riley’s voice said. “You okay?”

Silas looked up, his thoughts interrupted. “Yeah. ‘Course I am.”

Riley still looked a little concerned.

“It’s just,” she said, “Are you having fun? Because you look kind of sad.”

Silas shrugged. “That’s just what my face looks like.”

Riley smiled, but she didn’t seem too convinced.

“Sorry,” he added, “I’m just…not very used to this, and…”

He stopped short, frowning.

And what, stupid? he thought. I’m nervous because I really want you to like me? Yeah, that’ll make things less awkward.

Riley, thankfully, didn’t seem to notice his sudden pause.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “You can’t do this sort of thing wrong, really.”

Her smile faltered for a second.

“I don’t have a ton of experience, either,” she said. “I mean, we didn’t do this sort of thing back home. But the circus crew liked to, after a big show.”

“And what would they do, when they did this?” Silas asked.

Riley grinned. “Drink a lot. Talk about things. Just have fun, really.”

Silas felt himself relax, just a little bit.

“I guess that doesn’t sound too hard,” he said. “It’ll be nice to just…talk, you know? We don’t get to do that much.”

“Yeah,” Riley said, “We’re usually too busy fighting…nightmare abominations.”

“And saving magic,” Silas added. “We do end up doing that quite a bit, huh?”

“It’s odd,” Riley said. “What do you think those…things were? What do they want?”

“It’s hard to say when we can’t remember them one minute to the next,” Silas said. “I don’t think we’ve seen the last of them, though.”

Riley hummed and looked deep in thought for a second. “That whole temple was something else, huh? With the heartfelt speeches, and the sacrifices…”

“Yeah,” Silas said, quietly. He’d spent a lot of time thinking about what Riley had told him outside the temple. About how he might be one of the amazing things her sister had told her she needed to find.

Silas was pretty sure someone like him wouldn’t be what Val was talking about, but the sentiment still made his heart skip every time he thought about it.

“You gave up some of your life in the temple,” Silas said, trying to distract himself with a new topic. “Are you…doing okay? I remember getting aged up that one time. It wasn’t fun.”

“It’s…really not,” Riley admitted. “But I’m doing okay. I’ll just have…older, creakier bones from now on. You’ll have to help me with things.”

Silas laughed. “Then you’re really in trouble. You could probably be an old lady and still be stronger than me.”

“I’m already an old lady,” Riley said, giving a dramatic sigh. “With this poor, tired, old body of mine…”

“Yeah, sure,” Silas said, still grinning. “Don’t go dying on us anytime soon, okay?”

“I’ll try to hold on,” she said, with a grin. “And, you know, I’m going to try to find a way to reverse it! I’ve done it once already.”

Silas nodded. “Gotta be a way, right?”

“Exactly,” she said, and then she grew a bit more serious. “What about you? You had to give up a memory. Are you okay?”

He hesitated before answering.

“Not yet,” he said. “I will be, though. It’ll just take time.”

“Can I ask what it was?” Riley asked.

Silas wasn’t sure how to answer for a long time. Where to even begin?

“It was of my mother,” he said. “The last time I saw her.”

“Oh.” Riley’s voice was subdued now. “What happened to her?”

Silas took a deep breath. “I don’t know. I wasn’t there. She left to go on jobs a lot. One time she didn’t come back.”

“I’m sorry,” Riley said.

Silas looked up in surprise, and saw the genuine sorrow on Riley’s face.

He forced himself to shrug. “It was a long time ago.”

Riley didn’t seem to buy his act of indifference, but thankfully, she didn’t push any farther. Instead, she said, “I’d been meaning to ask you. About your family. What was your mom like?”

“I don’t remember much,” Silas said, then instantly regretted it when he saw Riley’s face fall. It was too easy to slip into being difficult, to avoid talking about things that hurt because no one had ever really cared to hear them.

Riley cared.

“She was funny,” he said. “I used to get into all sorts of trouble- making messes and pulling little pranks. She always just laughed and humored me. She taught me to read and write, in Common and in Elvish, because she knew I liked it. She did everything she could to make me happy. Always. She…she made me feel loved.”

Riley gave him a smile, part sympathetic, part genuine warmth. “She sounds amazing.”

“She was the best,” Silas said. “I still…”

He stopped short of finishing the thought. He couldn’t go into how much he still missed his mother. Not now, anyway.

“Anyway, that’s my family,” he said, forcing a smile. “What little there was to tell about it.”

Riley frowned. “What about your dad?”

Silas took a second to answer. “No idea.”

Riley blinked as this information sunk in. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Silas said. “Like I said. Not a lot to talk about.”

“Well, you have us now,” Riley said. “We’re kind of family, right?”

Silas looked up, surprised, but didn’t answer.

A family.

He’d be lying if he said the thought hadn’t occurred to him, but it wasn’t easy to hope for. Not when he knew how fast things could fall apart.

“What about you?” he asked, suddenly very ready to change the subject. “Did you have a family? You don’t talk much about it, either.”

“Oh, well, it was mostly just my sister and me,” Riley said. “I mean, there was my tribe, But I was only really close to Val.”

“I don’t think you’ve ever really told me about her,” Silas said.

“Really?” Riley said. “Val’s great. I really looked up to her back home. She always…knew what she wanted, you know? She was smart, and brave, and….she meant everything to me.”

“What happened to her?” Silas asked. “I mean…I don’t mean to pry, just…you always talk like she’s not around anymore.”

“She left,” Riley said. “I mean, I think she did. We had this coming of age ceremony in my tribe where you go and survive in the mountains on your own. Val…never came back. Some of the other thought something must have happened, but. I didn’t believe that. Val was too strong for anything like that to happen to her.”

Silas wasn’t sure how to respond. There was a part of him- a part he hated at the moment- that wasn’t entirely sure Riley’s tribe mates had been wrong.

“So you think she left? Just like that?” he asked. “Without saying anything? That doesn’t seem very fair to you.”

Riley shook her head.

“I’m sure she had her reasons,” she said. “She always knew what she was doing. I know she had a plan.”

“Is that why you left?” Silas asked. “To find her?”

“Yeah,” Riley said. “And, well. Find out why she left, I guess. Join her.”

Silas couldn’t help the little flip his stomach did at the thought of Riley leaving their little group. He ignored it. It wasn’t fair of him to do that.

“You know what I think this conversation needs?” Silas asked, as he finished the rest of his drink. “Us, a lot more drunk.”

Riley laughed and got the attention of a barmaid, who brought them two more drinks.

This time, Silas immediately took a large swing, and regretted it when he realized his head was spinning. It was definitely getting to him already.

“Tell me about the Druids,” Riley said. “When did you join them?”

“Few years back,” Silas said. “I was fourteen, I think. I left them a few months before we met.”

“So you were with them a while,” Riley said. “What was it like?”

Silas thought about his answer for a moment.

“Different,” he finally said. “Not in a bad way, just…they have a different way of thinking about things. They care about balance- in everything. And they put the land above everything. Orel kind of reminds me of them, actually.”

Riley looked a little confused. “Huh. How did you end up leaving home and joining up with them?”

Silas hesitated.

“It’s a long story,” he finally said. “Let’s just say I…I didn’t really plan on it. It just sort of…happened. I didn’t fit in very well, but they were nice enough to me anyway.”

“And they taught you your magic?” Riley asked.

“Yeah,” Silas said. “Or, well. They tried their best to, anyway. I was never very good at it.”

“What do you mean?” Riley asked, sounding genuinely confused. “Your magic is amazing.”

Silas felt his cheeks growing hot.

“If you saw the other druids, you wouldn’t say that,” he said. “They were amazing. I saw them grow whole patches of forests overnight. Revive dead rivers in a few minutes. I can barely even make a decent fire.”

Riley frowned.

“You’ve saved my life,” she said. “A bunch of times. I mean, look.”

She pointed to her bracelet, where she had carved three notches into the wood.

“That’s three times you’ve saved me,” she said. “I think that’s pretty incredible, at least.”

Silas stared at the bracelet, breath caught, not quite able to comprehend what it meant.

“You’ve kept track?” he said, very quietly.

Riley nodded. “Well, yeah. I mean…I owe you.”

Silas’ face was so warm now that he was sure Riley must be able to tell.

“How could you owe me?” he said. “You’ve gotten us out of a ton of scrapes. There’s no way I’d be alive without you. I mean, I have my magic, but you…you’re incredible.”

Riley’s eyes widened slightly, and Silas realized what he had said.

“In a fight,” he added, quickly. “You’re incredible in a fight. I mean, not just in a fight, of course, but-“

Silas stopped when he heard Riley laughing. It was a fond laugh, warm and kind.

He looked at Riley and saw that she was smiling. A bright, warm smile that made his heart skip a beat.

If his face had been any hotter, he’d be afraid he might combust.

He finished the rest of his drink in one gulp and stood up.

“Looks like we need refills,” he said. “I’ll go to the bar and get some.”

Riley looked like she wanted to say something, but only nodded with another smile, and Silas quickly retreated from the table.

As he began to walk towards the bar and his embarrassment began to fade, he instead began to notice how unsteady his legs felt.

It was entirely possible he didn’t need a refill.

Still, at the rate at which he was making a fool out of himself, maybe it was for the best.

He continued on his way, taking each step carefully, and almost made it. Almost.

A few steps from the bar, a man stepped in front of him, and Silas couldn’t stop himself before he slammed into him.

The man’s ale spilled everywhere, all over the floor- and all over the man.

Before Silas could apologize, the man- a large half-orc- shoved him. He stumbled back, barely stopping himself from falling over. Anger bubbled up inside him.

“Stupid bastard,” the man grumbled, clearly drunk. “My ale. You’d better have enough coin for another.”

“I’m not paying for the ale you spilled,” Silas said, before turning around to continue on his way.

The man’s hand was on his shoulder then. “It’s the least you owe me,” he said.

Silas sighed and turned back around. “You ran into me,” he said. “At worst, it was an accident. I don’t owe you anything. Not when you’re being an ass about it.”

“Show some respect,” the man said. “I’m a General. Fifth in my family.”

“Oh,” Silas said, “Was it Dad or Grandad that got you that title, then?”

He’d known it was a mistake the minute the words had begun to leave his mouth, but he hadn’t been able to help himself. Now, he ducked as the man threw the remnants of his drink at him.

The glass sailed harmlessly over his head, but the way it shattered on the floor behind him told him with just how much force it had been thrown.

“Talen,” one of the man’s friends said, “He’s not worth it.”

Silas glanced behind him, and then turned back to Talen.

He’d been in enough scrapes in his life to recognize a point of no return. And Talen was twice his size- if not in height than in width. Still, that sort of thing had definitely never stopped him before.

He couldn’t resist.

“Nice throw,” he said. “You could try aiming next time.”

“I’ll show you aim,” Talen snarled, before lunging for Silas.

Silas was quicker, and ducked just in time. When Talen’s arms sailed over his head, Silas drove his weight into Talen’s stomach. He wasn’t strong enough to knock the man over, but he heard him gasp as the breath was knocked out of him.

Talen tried to grab for him, and Silas ducked lower, scrambling between the man’s legs and popping up behind him. He kicked out at the back of Talen’s knee, connecting with as much force as he could muster.

He was hoping this would finally stagger the man, make him fall, but Talen only stumbled before he turned with fury in his eyes. This time, Silas wasn’t quick enough to duck before Talen had him by the collar of his shirt, lifting him off the ground.

Silas flailed his legs, but Talen managed to avoid the kicks. Silas knew he should be worried now, that this wouldn’t end well for him, but all he could feel was a seething rage.

And then, someone was putting a hand on Talen’s shoulder, and they both simultaneously remembered that there were other people in the tavern.

“Hey,” Riley’s voice said. “Please put him down.”

Talen turned to look over his shoulder, and Silas saw him freeze.

As formidable as Talen was, Riley was moreso. Her words had been polite, but Silas knew her well enough to see the glint of anger in her eyes. He wondered if Talen could tell as well. Her grip on his shoulder did seem to be rather tight.

Whether Talen could tell how precarious his position was or not, Silas knew he was currently mentally deciding whether this fight, which had just become infinitely more complicated, was still worth it.

Eventually, he decided it was not.

He unceremoniously dropped Silas, who fell, still glaring, to the floor.

“I won’t forget this,” Talen said. “I swear…someday you’ll pay for this.”

“I’ll hold my breath,” Silas said.

Talen stormed off then. and the rest of the bar went back to their business.

Riley was at Silas’ side then, helping him to his feet.

“Are you okay?” she asked, the worry in her voice obvious.

“Yeah,” Silas said. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry. Remember what I was saying about you saving my life?”

“This doesn’t count,” Riley said.

“Pretty sure it does,” Silas said. “I owe you one. He probably would’ve smashed my head in.”

“That’s not funny,” Riley said, though her expression said otherwise. “What happened?”

Silas sighed and began walking up to the bar. “Just someone being an ass who didn’t like being stood up to. That’s all.”

He ordered two more drinks, and when they came, he handed on the Riley.

She looked down at it, briefly, before looking back up at him, half disbelief, half wonder. “Silas. He was huge.”

“All the more reason to stand up to him,” Silas said. “Guys like him are used to getting their way just because they’re big and mean. He was a bully, Riley.”

“You could’ve gotten hurt, though,” she said. “I mean, he could’ve…If I hadn’t…”

Silas smiled, a bit rueful. “You sound like Pip.”

He didn’t realize what he’d said until Riley didn’t answer.

“Want to go sit back down?” Silas said. “I think my adrenaline is wearing off and I don’t trust my legs at the moment.”

When they got back to the table, Riley was quiet for a moment, looking between Silas and her drink. Eventually, she said, “Pip was your friend, right? The one you grew up with.”

Silas took a deep breath and let it out before he answered. “Yeah. Yeah, he was my best friend. Brother, kind of. In a way.”

“You don’t talk about him much,” Riley pointed out.

“I know,” Silas said, nodding. “I just…I feel like I really messed things up with him when I left home, you know? It was…it was hard, is all.”

There was a brief moment of silence.

“I know how you feel,” Riley said. “Leaving the circus was really hard, too.”

“Yeah?” Silas said, with a small smile. “What was it like, the circus? Seems like you enjoyed it.”

“Oh, it was great,” Riley said. “Everyone was great. I joined up to help pay off a debt I owed them, but…everyone was so nice to me. There was one lady, Rose- she taught me how to play the drums. They were just like…a big family.”

Silas thought about this for a moment before he spoke. “How’d you know you did the right thing, when you left?”

Riley gave Silas a sad smile.

“I don’t,” she said. “I loved the circus. But…I hadn’t found Val. And as long as I hadn’t, a piece of me was still missing. And as long as piece of me was missing…the circus…it was never going to be home.”

She paused for a second before she added, “Does that make sense?”

Silas found it took him a long time to answer.

“Yeah,” he said. “I think it does.”

Riley looked like she wanted to say something more, but before she could, the music in the Tavern got a little more lively. A bard in the corner was playing a jig, and several patrons cheered and began to gather round him to dance.

Riley looked over at the crowd, then back over at Silas, he eyes shining.

Silas’ heart skipped a beat, already knowing what was coming. “Riley-“

“Let’s dance,” Riley said, smile broad. “Come on!”

“Hang on,” Silas said. “In front of people?”

“Well, yeah. That’s half the fun. Please, Silas?”

Silas raised an eyebrow, still apprehensive. Riley gave him a fake pout.

“Oh, come on,” she said. “I’m old now, remember? I only have so many dancing years left.”

Silas finally laughed, relenting. “Alright, alright. You’re lucky I’m very drunk.”

As if to accentuate his point, Silas took one last, long swig from his drink before he stood up. Riley grabbed his hand as he did so and led him over to the crowd.

Dancing with Riley wasn’t anything like he expected. He thought he would be awkward. uncomfortable. He was sure he’d embarrass himself.

But then they were both dancing in tune with the music, hand in hand, and Riley was smiling at him, and the world swirled around until it was just them, and Silas was laughing again, and his heart felt lighter than it had in a long time.

It was quite a while after the song ended that he realized he and Riley were still holding hands.

He felt heat creep into his cheeks, but he didn’t pull his hand out of Riley’s. Instead, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

Riley looked down at their hands, then gave Silas a beaming smile that made his heart stutter for a moment.

“I have one more idea,” she said. “If you’re up for it.”

“I might be,” Silas said.

“I want to get on the roof,” Riley said, “So we can watch the stars. I bet they look amazing out here. What do you think?”

“I think,” Silas said, “They’ll throw us out of here if they catch us doing that.”

Riley thought about this for a moment.

“Well,” she said, “We’d better not get caught, then.”

Silas felt himself beginning to smile again.

“Alright,” he said. “I’m usually pretty good at that. Lead the way.”

They left the barfront together and headed towards the stairs up to the rooms.

“There has to be a window we can climb out of,” Riley said. “We can get to the roof from there.”

“Yeah, okay, just remember that climbing isn’t exactly my forte,” Silas said.

Riley laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you up.”

They made their way up to the top level of the little tavern, and as they rounded the corner into the hallway, Riley pointed ahead of them. There was a window set into the opposite wall.

Riley made a triumphant noise and quickly crossed the hallway to the window, Silas close behind. When she reached it, she opened it and stuck her head through.

“I can reach the roof from here!” she said. “Give me a sec and I’ll pull you up.”

“What in Creation are you doing?” A new voice said.

Riley pulled her head back inside as Silas turned towards the voice.

An elderly housekeeper had just exited one of the rooms and was looking at them with a glare, hands on her hips. She must have heard the noise and come outside to see what the source was.

“Oh,” Riley said, clearly struggling. “We, uh…”

The words came to Silas before he really knew what he was doing.

“We’re new hires,” he said. “Just started tonight. Barkeep sent us up because some customers were complaining of a draft. We’re just making sure the windows are closing right.”

The old woman sniffed.

“Be sure to check carefully,” she said. “I’ve been complaining about the draft for months.”

And she turned and made her way down the hallway, then down the stairs.

Silas let out a breath. “That could have ended badly.”

“Silas,” Riley said, with a laugh. “How did you know that would work?”

Silas shrugged. “Saw the hiring poster downstairs. Just gambled that she wouldn’t know who had or hadn’t been recently hired.”

Riley still looked amazed, so Silas added, with a small smile, “You always need a story when you’re up to no good.”

She grinned. “Is Seren a bad influence on you?”

Silas laughed. “No, more like Pip was. Come on, let’s go before she realizes no one actually sent us up here.”

As she turned and began to climb out of the window, Riley said, “Well, we’re definitely even for earlier.”

“I don’t know about that,” Silas said. “She didn’t look like the head smashing type, to be honest.”

“You never know,” Riley said, cheerfully. “Almost got it…there!”

Riley’s feet disappeared through the window as she climbed up onto the roof. Silas approached and stuck his head through the window, looking up at Riley.

Riley grinned and gave him a wave. “Ready?”

Silas reached up and offered his hand, and Riley pulled him up onto the roof. He’d been ready for it, but it still surprised him how easily Riley lifted him. His stomach dropped momentarily as his feet left the ground, but before he could panic, Riley was setting him down again beside her.

He took a deep breath as his stomach settled, and pulled his knees up to his chest. The night air was chilly, and it felt refreshing in contrast with the heat from the day.

Riley nudged him after a second and he glanced over at her. She pointed above them at the sky.

“See?” she said. “That’s why we’re up here.”

Silas looked up, and his breath caught for a moment as he took in the stars above him.

With so little cloud cover, all of the heavens were out for them to see. Shining and vast and a hundred different colors, sparking like winking eyes in the night.

“Whoa,” he said,

“Yeah,” Riley said, a bit wistful. “Almost as good as the mountains. That’s worth a little danger, right?”

“Pretty sure we’ve faced worse for less,” Silas said, and Riley laughed.

It was quiet for a moment, both of them taking in the night.

“Hey, Riley?” Silas said, voice quiet. “Thanks. For inviting me out here.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” she said. “I wanted you to come.”

Silas felt himself blushing again. “Well. Still. Thanks for wanting me along. I think…I think I really needed this.

Riley gave him a smile.

“I’m always here,” she said. “If you ever need this again. Or, well. Anything, for that matter.”

Silas was quiet as he processed this. It was a long while before he spoke.

“Can I tell you something?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Riley said. “Of course you can.”

Silas took a deep breath. It had been a long time since he’d talked to anyone about this.

“I didn’t tell the whole truth,” he said, “When I said I didn’t know anything about my dad. I know his name is Aedan. I know he was a druid who went back to his Grove before I was born.”

Riley looked over at him, surprised, but didn’t answer.

“He’s the reason I left home,” Silas went on. “I want to find him. The Grove I joined was his, but by the time I got there, he’d left again. I know it’s a long-shot at this point, actually finding him, but…I mean, there’s so much I don’t know about him. He’s the only family I have left.”

He rested his chin on his knees.

“I don’t want to give up on the chance of that,” he said. “I just. I want a chance to know.”

“So all your traveling,” Riley said, “Leaving Pip, and then the Grove…”

“Yeah,” he said. “I’ve been chasing him. Or trying to, anyway.”

“It must have been hard,” Riley said.

“It was,” Silas said. “It is. I loved Pip. Leaving him…it was the hardest choice I ever made. And the Grove treated me like family. They would have taken care of me. But…I don’t know. As long as my dad’s out there somewhere, and I don’t know him, I…I don’t think I could’ve bared staying put.”

He glanced over at her and saw the question in her face.

He shrugged. “They were never going to be home.”

Riley didn’t answer, but the question disappeared.

It was quiet for a long time after that.

Riley broke the silence. “Can I tell you something?”

“Anything,” Silas said.

She hesitated before going on. “I’m…kind of nervous about seeing my sister again.”

“Really?” Silas asked. “Why?”

“I…” Riley started, then trailed off. “I don’t really know. It’ll be fine, I’m sure. Yeah. Never mind.”

Silas studied Riley’s expression for a second, concerned. But the moment had passed, the temporary uncertainty gone from her face.

“You sure?” Silas asked. “Because, you know…I’m here if you need me, too.”

“I know,” Riley said. “Really, I’m okay. Just thinking too much, I guess.”

this didn’t do much to reassure Silas, but he let the issue drop. He didn’t want to push Riley too much.

“Do you really think we’ll find them?” he asked instead.

Riley nodded, fervently. “Of course I do. Don’t you?”

“It’s just hard sometimes,” he said. “I mean. All I have is a name. I don’t know what my dad looks like, or if he’s even still alive…”

Riley paused before she answered.

“You’ll find him,” she said. “And if you don’t…you’ll still have us, right? And me, too. You’ll still have me. That might not be quite as good, but…”

She trailed off, but her point was made. Silas stared at her for a moment, a funny feeling in his chest. He felt like he wanted to say something, like he should say something, but he couldn’t find the words.

He wasn’t sure what gave him the courage to lay his head against Riley’s arm then. Maybe it was the drinking, or Riley’s kindness, or his own sense of calm, or a strange mix of the three. But Riley didn’t pull away, and neither did he. He closed his eyes.

“I’m really glad I met you,” he said.

There was more he wanted to say. You’re wonderful, maybe. Or, How do you always make me feel like the world isn’t ending? Or Hey, I think I really, really like you. Is that okay?

But the evening hadn’t given him quite that much courage.

There were a few seconds of silence before he heard Riley answer.

“Me, too.”

Silas didn’t say anything else. He sat with his eyes closed and his head against Riley’s arm, listening to the sounds of the night.

It had been a long time since he’d felt this at-peace. This happy.

He wasn’t sure he wanted the night to end.

He woke up in the pillow fort he and Riley had built, his head pounding and light streaming through the gaps in the sheets.

He sat up, looking around.

He’d fallen asleep? On the roof, of all places. On Riley.

She must have carried him inside and helped him get into bed.

A strange mix of fondness and embarrassment settled into his stomach.

He slowly got up and left the fort. Riley wasn’t in the room. He figured she had gone down to breakfast, so he changed into some fresh clothes and followed her. Sure enough, he found her at a table downstairs, with several plates of food and another familiar face.

“Morning,” he said, as he sat down across from Riley and Mara.

“Hey,” Riley said, giving him a smile as she pushed one of the plates his way. “Sorry, I wanted to let you sleep.”

“How do you feel?” Mara asked.

“I’ve felt worse,” he said. “Just a headache. You here to cure our hangovers?”

“That was the idea,” they said. “Seren told me I should come over. But it looks like you two are okay.”

Silas raised an eyebrow. “Seren told you to check on us?”

Mara smiled sheepishly. “Well, not in as many words. I think her exact words at breakfast were, ‘Riley and Silas were at the Lying Loch last night. Bet they’re regretting their choices right now.’ Then she gave me a look and left the table.”

Silas shrugged and took a bite of his toast. “Close enough.”

Mara laughed. “I’ll get going then,” they said. “I’m supposed to go into town with Rhogar soon. Don’t overdo it, okay?”

“We won’t,” Riley said. “Thanks, Mara.”

When it was just the two of them again, Silas said, “Sorry about last night. Didn’t mean to fall asleep on you. Literally.”

Riley smiled. “Oh, it’s fine! I’m just glad I got you back without waking you up.”

“That really was some night, huh?” Silas said.

“I had fun,” Riley said. “Did you?”

“Yeah, Silas said, smiling now too. “A lot of fun.”

“Well,” Riley said, “We do have our room for two more nights. Think they’ll be as eventful?”

Silas’ smile grew, a warmth growing in him at the prospect. Once again the future didn’t seem quite as scary. And once again, he had Riley to thank for that.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But there’s only one way to find out.”

#Dungeons and Dragons #DnD #Kallende DnD Adventures #My Writing

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