#this escalated so quickly i wanted to do just water colours and then it bolted

[salbertwolf]

Vander, Hound of the Underground.

Warwick, the Uncanged Wrath of Zaun.

Combined picture

[wolfish-trickster]

Lost traveler

1/?

Loki x female!reader

Word count: 1590

Tag list: @gaitwae @lucywrites02 @hard-to-be-the-bard @birdgirl90 @laramoonworld

Summary: A mysterious traveler visits Asgard and thanks to an accident has to stay for longer than she expected. Bonds are created but also shattered along the way.

A/N: reader has elemental powers, something like avatar the last airbender.

Being a traveler had its pros and cons. Pros: you learn a lot about different realms and make a lot of friends along the way. Cons: you don't have a home, all the friends you make you either never see again or they don't remember you when you visit their planet, and you are alone. 100% of your time. None of the people or creatures you meet want to travel with you. You don't make a big deal out of it, you never did. You liked your privacy and alone time. Even if it hurts you sometimes.

You had your amulet though. A black stone in golden bracelet. Thanks to it you can create portals to travel. Sometimes it felt like the bracelet was pulsing with its own life. It was like a dear companion to you. You haven't taken it off in years, it became part of you. Sometimes it warmed your skin when you went to open a portal. That's how it was usually telling you where the best worlds to visit are. You were always excited when you felt the warmth under your bracelet. It meant it wanted to show you a beautiful part of galaxy you haven't been to yet.

Like now. You were making your way through foggy swamp, looking for a rare plant to study. As you jumped over fallen tree you felt your amulet warming your forearm.

"In a minute buddy, I really need this flower," you said a little too fast. You really needed that plant, but exploring a new world after weeks spent here was just too tempting.

However the stone was stubborn. The warmth escalated into burning. "Argh! Alright, I get it! I'm going, see?" your hand started to draw circles and symbols on the ground in front of you. Your other hand pulled the darkness from your stone, making it light yellow temporarily. The darkness with blue highlits seeped into the ground and teared the air before you, creating a small crevice.

Like an opened window it showed forrest. Nothing too unusual. Some oak trees, grass, wild flower here and there. 'What are you up to my friend?' you thought to yourself as you walked through the crevice. It immediately closed after ypu passed, leaving you alone in a new world.

First rule when you come into new place: find water. Fairly easy. Sound of water was near, a creek maybe? After you filled your bottle you started walking north, looking for any hills or mountains to climb onto and get better view of this realm.

Suddenly a storm like sound broke through the peaceful silence. You looked towards the sky to find clear blue. No dark grey clouds. So why was it roaring as if a thunder was starting? And there was the sound again, from the same spot as before.

You pulled your black leather hood over your head and slowly started to approach the thundering place.

"Thor! Can you stop doing that for at least 5 minutes?!" a voice came from your right.

"And why should I?" came a strong voice from in front of you.

"Because I'm trying to think, which is thanks to you nearly impossible!"

"Unlike you, dear brother, I have mighty powers that need to be controlled. How better than testing how far I can go?"

"That doesn't even make sense."

So brothers. And one of them is lightning thrower. Maybe the one named Thor.

"I don't have enough nerves for this," the Not Thor started to walk further right, away from lightning thrower.

It seemed wiser to aproach the calmer one. You already had the honor to meet a lightning thrower before, never again. Even though this other man could be even more dangerous than his brother. Decisions decisions. One could get you killed, the other even worse.

Eventually your legs started to take you to your right, after the calm one.

The man sat himself on a rock in front of a clear lake. He had black hairygreen and black clothes which looked to be made of leather with golden plates on forearms. He had his back turned to you, approaching him from behind would be stupid. You slowly walked around him, keeping yourself in trees' shadow.

You purposfully stepped on a dry branch to attract his attention. And fair enough, his head shot to you, dagger in hand, danger in eyes. You held your hands up to show you weren't armed and stepped into the light. "Hello," you greeted.

"Who are you?" he asked rather harshly. You're used to people being affraid of you, the cloak made you look scary, especially with a hood on.

"I'm a traveler," you answered simply.

He eyed you suspiciously, hand holding a dagger was slowly lowering. "And what's your name little traveler?"

Just as you wanted to answer a jolt of pain striked you into your shoulder, electricity engulfed you and the last thing you saw was the mysterious man in green and black leather rushing to catch your falling body.

~~~

Mornings in Asgard are usually quiet and calm. This one however was far from it. Loki's older brother Thor finally got into age when he can produce and control lightnings. Well, he tries to. That's what woke young sorcerer. Thor breaking a pillar near his window on accident.

"Love, would you be so kind and take your brother far from anything he can destroy? You're skilled with your gifts, I'm more than sure you will teach him how to control his own," the queen of Asgard asked the still half asleep trickster at breakfast table to which he nodded without even thinking.

And that's how he got stuck with him for the whole day. Alone. They already walked through forrest near Glittertind mountain and currently were trying to find the perfect place for Thor to train.

They were getting deeper into The Great Oak Woods when Thor thought it would be great fun to destroy a tree or two.

Loki was looking at map of Asgard in his head, trying to look for the nearest quarry. The mental gymnastics he had to do to concentrate in such noise was olympic worthy.

"Thor!" his brother turned to him. "Can you stop doing that for at least 5 minutes?!"

Thor's fingers begin to sparkle, teasing Loki. "And why should I?"

Loki pinged the bridge of his nose. "Because I'm trying to think, which is thanks to you nearly impossible!"

"Unlike you, dear brother, I have mighty powers that need to be controlled. How better than testing how far I can go?" he smirked confidently, sparks were now flying uncontrollably from his hands.

"That doesn't even make sense," Loki shook his head and begun walking away from him. "I don't have enough nerves for this."

He found himself a nice rock near his favourite lake. Birds around were chirping in their nests, sparkly fish with colourful fins were chasing each other in the crystal clear lake. Loki could finally relax.

Until he heard a wooden crack coming from his side.

On an instinct he drew daggers and turned towards a danger. Which turned out to be a girl. Bout in Loki's age. Knee high black boots covered by drying mud, dark green trousers and brown leather jacket hidden under black cloak which covered her hair as well. Sparkly curious eyes bore into his as she held up her hands in surrender.

He was more than sure he has never seen her before. She's a stranger.

"Hello," her melodic voice greeted.

"Who are you?" that wasn't probably the nicest thing to say to a newbie but Loki was trained to never trust a stranger.

"I'm a traveler," he expected a name, this answer sparked curiosity inside of him. She sparked a curiosity inside of him.

"And what's your name little traveler?" he started to lower his daggers, she didn't seem like a threat.

She opened her mouth but her face got twisted by pain as lightning struck her side. He quickly rushed, catching her before her head could collide with a rock.

"There, who needs training? One clear shot at first try!" a familiar booming voice came from Loki's left.

"You oaf, you nearly killed her!" Loki yelled at him.

"Her? I simply struck a moose."

Loki gathered her body into his arms and showed her face to his brother. "Does this look like a moose?"

Thor looked down at her, visibly paling. His hand started scratching the back of his head nervously. "Damn. Who is she? Did you know her?"

Loki shook his head and started to walk towards palace. "She said she's a traveler. Look at her clothes. No one on Asgard wears such fashion. Not to say a girl from Asgard would ever wear this," he gestured to her cloak which looked like a snake skin rather than an ordinary leather.

"Where are you taking her?" Thor trailed behind him.

"To fields, she'll make an excelent scarecrow," sarcasm was dripping from every word he said.

The older prince chuckled. "You and your jokes... What will we do with her when healers take care of her?"

"We? I'm not going to do anything with her, but YOU are going to apologize."

None of the princes noticed the white cracks looking like lightning bolts on the traveler's amulet.

[ms-znodgrass]

Too Much Pino (Newt x Reader)

Word count: 2274

When the reader has to pretend to be Newt’s girlfriend, a little home truths are revealed...

Authors Note: Please excuse any grammatical errors, I didn’t have time to read this through. Sorry!

You had met Newt Scamander at an exhibition of some sort, studying the creatures of the magical wizarding world. Secretly, you were quite the fan, having heard of his large list of inhabited creatures and having read up on his findings regarding every single one.

To say you were a little star struck was a slight under exaggeration. But, once the halo around his head had grown fainter, 6you were able to speak with him as a normal person would. The two of you became very close friends.

That was years ago however, and since, you have both done intense research together. Often you co-wrote papers about rumoured animals that were to be found, and created plans on how you could find them. One of your most recent findings was a Spurlgeo that you named Pino. Splurgeo’s were relatively rare, but gifted in the sense that they could detect dishonesty. Pino was a derivation of Pinocchio, because whenever a Splurgeo knows you’re lying, its nose would grow. The name amused you, and Newt for that matter.

Your research into the genetic structure of a Mymph was cut short when Queenie knocked at your door. “Hello,” you said, knee deep in an essay about the lack of chromosomes found in a Mymphs cell cluster.

“Sweetie, we need to get ready,” she chimed, peering her head around the door. You finished copying up your sentence, before turning to look at her. You beamed, you were so excited about the ball tonight. It was a perfect break for you all, a ray of sunshine that streamed through the dark ‘Grindelwald’ cloud that hung over your heads.

“Let’s go!” You squealed, following her to her bedroom where she was determined to make you look like a movie star.

After an hour or so, Queenie had completed your look. You’d settled for a long, navy, velvet dress that clung to your curves and wrapped seamlessly around your body. The long sleeves protected you from the harsh winter chill, and the v-neck plunge showed a little bit of cleavage.

“Are you sure this isn’t too much?” You asked her, as you inspected your flawless make-up, polished off with a red lip. Queenie appeared in the mirror behind you, eyes sparkling.

“I’m sure. You’re gorgeous!” She giggled. You turned to look at her, her porcelain skin was draped in a beautiful red dress, her hair hung in tight curls about her cheekbones.

“And you look stunning,” you told her, “thank you so much. Now we beet head off before Tina thinks we’ve stood her up.” You took her arm in yours, and both skipped to the door.  

 The ball was lively as you entered, everyone was laughing and smiling and drinking. People waved at you, Queenie and Tina, approaching you with warm hugs and soft kisses. After an hour or so, you began to look for Newt. You had discovered some new information about the Splurgeo and were eager to share your findings. After a couple of minutes of shuffling through the crowds, you spotted his tall stature a few metres in front of you. “Newt!” You yelled, hoping to gain his attention. He turned his head, looking around curiously. He couldn’t spot you and his dumbfounded expression was amusing to you.

Suddenly he spotted you, a small smile crossing his features. Only for a second though. His sweet grin was replaced with a concerned look, and he bolted towards you.

Breathlessly, he started, “Y/N I really need a favour, it seems I’ve gotten myself into a situation and I really need you to help me.”

“Woah, Newt, breathe,” you told him, placing your hands on his shoulders. He inhaled deeply. “I’m sure it can’t be that bad at all, we can easily-“

“I need you to pretend to be in love with me.”

“What?”

He half laughed, almost making you think he was joking. But then his stern expression told you that he certainly wasn’t.

“What?”

“Please! Something slipped and then unravelled into this stupid lie, and I can’t let people think I’m any more of a loser.”

“You’re not a loser. At least they don’t think so, I on the other hand-“

“Please Y/N! I’ll do anything,” he pleaded.

“Anything? Like, lend me your Farheo analyser?”

“Yes!”

“Done.”

“This is Y/N, my… partner,” Newt sighed, “this is Lacabelle and Gregario Jones.” The two people that stood before you were polar opposites. The lady, was tall and thin, her purple hair hung below her lips, lips painted with a bright red colour. On the other hand, the gentleman was short and stout, his hair balding a little. His lips were red also, but it was a result of the red wine he was sipping ever so frequently.

“Hello, its lovely to meet you,” you smiled, shaking their hands. “I hope you have a lovely evening, and-“

Pino appeared out of nowhere, brushing up against your leg and stopping your train of thought. “Oh hello,” you grinned, rubbing his furry head.

“Who’s this?” Lacabelle smiled, looking down at Pino.

“This is Pino, Y/N named him after Pinocchio, because he’s a Splurgeo,” Newt announced, chuckling a little. You knew he found the joke funny.

“Oh how enchanting! A splurge! Ha, these little guys are always hard to find!”

“He must’ve hidden in my bag,” you said, a little embarrassed.

“He’s very cheeky,” Newt chimed in. Pino wrapped his body around Newts calf, as he always did. At times you had to pry Pino away from Newt, much to Pino’s dismay. The little fluffball loved Newt, and never enjoyed leaving him. He was the reason you were around Newt so much. Well, part of the reason.

“I can see. It must be interesting to have him around, I’m sure he settles many of your arguments,” Gregario laughed. You and Newt looked at each other, sharing a nervous glance.

“Very rarely,” you joked, suddenly feeling Newts arm snake around your waist.

“Well it must be nice to know when he’s lying, Y/N?”

“Of course! Though the only lie that has ever left his mouth is, ‘You look beautiful’. Especially after hours of research,” you smiled.

“Oh but you are beautiful Y/N!” Lacabelle compliments.

“She’s certainly the most beautiful woman in the room,” Newt chuckled, his grip softer around your waist. You all spotted Pino out of the corner of your eyes, awaiting the growth of his nose. But, it didn’t change shape. His little paws touched his face, scratching at his neck. Nothing.

You could feel your cheeks burn as Newt peered down at you through his lashes. You couldn’t help but allow your lips to curl up, and tried to prevent your smile escalating to a full beam. “Oh I say, you’ve found yourself a real charmer Y/N!” Lacabelle sung, sipping on her wine.

“I’m rather lucky,” you said, more to yourself than the others. Gregorio swayed a little, his nose as red as the wine in his hand. He looked between you both.

“It’s so good to see a couple find love even in the darkest of times,” he smiled.

“Oh hush Gregorio, they might not have announced it to each other yet,” Lacabelle laughed. You looked at Newt, afraid of what might come next.

“Well, have you?”

“S-sorry?” Newt choked.

“Do you love each other?” He smirked, nudging Newt. Low and behold, your worst nightmare. With Pino present, this could go one of two ways – and both outcomes would not work in your favour. Lacabelle softly punched him arm, mumbling about how ridiculous he is. Still, she was waiting for an answer.

You looked at Newt, scoffing. “Well, you know-“

“We haven’t really-“

Suddenly, you both transformed into a pair of absolute idiots. You had started rambling, at the same time, desperately trying to think of ways to avoid the question. The only problem was that Newt had finally shut his mouth a little too early. This meant that your last little confession has slipped out, and he had heard it perfectly.

“-he likes animals which is amazing and has really good hair and I do love him but…”

All of you turned your heads to Pino, who once again stood there and shrugged. You allowed a few seconds to pass before you began to silently pray that the ground would swallow you up, or that the ceiling would collapse solely on you. Pinos’ nose hadn’t stretched, not even an inch.

It had suddenly gotten very quiet. Lacabelle stared at you and blinked once. Gregorio was in the process of finishing his drink, and Newt had removed his arm from your waist. You felt awful, and your heart had stopped beating. At least you though, or hoped.

You blinked a few times, and cleared your throat. “It’s suddenly gotten very warm, please excuse me.”

You had never walked so quickly. People around you looked like coloured blurs in your vision, and you couldn’t tell whether that was a result of the clumsy way you were navigating yourself, or the water that slowly began to well up in your eyes. At one point you felt an arm graze your shoulder, and caught Queenies eye. You smiled unconvincingly, and kept walking.

The cold air hit your burning cheeks with a silent slap, instantly calming you down and relaxing the muscles that had sewn together in your throat. The balcony was bare, thankfully, bordered with a marble railing. It kept you from nearly throwing yourself over the edge. Nearly.

You began to pace, hoping to rid yourself of the embarrassment. Talking to yourself helped too, a series of ‘why’s and ‘how’s and curse words flew from your mouth. Eventually you just buried your face within your hands and screamed. So very loudly, you felt as if your voice was about to disappear. Maybe you would too.

“Y/N?”

In the midst of your meltdown, you hadn’t noticed that another body had joined you outside. You furthermore hadn’t noticed that the one person who had followed you, was the last person you’d expect to want to see you.

You slowly removed your hands from your face, wrapping them around your torso. Your head etched round to see Newt coming towards you.

Standing next to your side, he looked out at the view. A sea of darkness bedecked with flickers of golden paint. You were just able to make out the horizon, its silhouette illuminated ever so slightly by the rising moon. “I’m sorry I had to throw that on you, as soon as you came through the door,” he said, slowly and carefully, as if his words could break you if he wasn’t careful.

“No, no. Don’t be silly,” you sighed, struggling to maintain your composure. He noticed your change in aura, and tried to resume a normal conversation, hoping it’d make you feel better.

“The food here is-“

“Look, about what Pino said,” you began, “it’s really nothing to take in, not that I’m sure you did, you know, notice my little proclamation,” you were rambling, “in fact it’s not a proclamation because it’s not true, you know that Splurgeo’s are only accurate 90% of the time so 10% of the time they’re wrong.” You were still rambling. “And clearly Pino is wrong, I mean it’s blatantly obvious isn’t it? And the research I’m doing-“

You hadn’t noticed the change in proximity between you and Newt until you felt his warm breath fanning your face. You turned your body, practically bumping into his chest. You looked up at him, your nose ever so close to his. His eyes were catching yours, holding them. You felt as if your face was getting closer to his, and looked out at the view again, though it suddenly seemed very dull in comparison.

“I’m making you uncomfortable,” Newt mumbled, stepping backwards and thrusting his hands into his coat pockets. Instinctively, you reached out.

“No, no. I’m too comfortable when I’m with you,” you confessed involuntarily. He looked up at you again, watching you through the soft curls of his fringe. He took another step towards you, closing the space that hung between you both. His warm hands touched your cheeks, thumbs grazing over your cheekbones.

“You’re freezing,” he sighed, concern laced within his tone. You smiled.

“Am I?” You hadn’t noticed. The goose bumps appearing on your arms were certainly not a result of the harsh winter wind that soared around you both. He nodded, removing his coat. “Newt stop, you’ll catch a cold.”

“Better me than you,” he smiled, draping it over your shoulders. His wide mouth twitched slightly, eyes hiding behind his ginger curls, he was thinking.

“What is it?” You asked, touching his arm briefly.

“I so terribly want to kiss you,” he blurted out, his cheeks turning a shade of crimson. Your lower jaw dropped a little, and your eyes widened. The words left your mouth before your brain caught up with you.

“Then kiss me.”

Newt’s eyes flickered from the floor to your lips, and he brought his hands up to your cheeks once again. His lips softly touched yours, tickling your mouth. It was light and kind, leaving a large smile in its wake.

Again, he brought your head closer to his and deepened the kiss. You almost melted into his arms, and had to steady your body against his. He chuckled a little, that same laugh that caused your heart to beat two times as fast.

“I hope that tells you how very much I love you.” Newt took your body in his, and hugged you as tightly as he could muster.

“I would say the same, but I think Pino beat me to it.”

[clan-fuildarach]

danza verz

luke and rúth have some violent fun at a wind market together. this is what true love is made of

~

The Cú na Mara had made land for the first time in months, a diversion that was sorely needed thanks to the dwindling supplies on the ship. The Ashfall Waste had been too dangerous to approach in a wooden boat, so the ship had docked at the southern-most port in the Whirlwind Plateau.

Night had fallen by the time the clan begun to disembark from the ship. But the port was far from dark – the mistral jamboree celebrations had been going on all day, and if the lanterns and fireworks were any indication, the celebrations would go on all night too.

The night was hot and humid. Brightly coloured crowds milled around the port market, under a constellation of orange and green lanterns. Every so often a round of fireworks would go off overhead, showering the market with harmless multicoloured sparks. A pair of bands were playing too close to one another, producing a jangling clash of string instruments and flute music.

“Right, listen.” At the edge of the pier, Leo waved for attention. The clan was gathered around him, awaiting instructions. “We don't have a lot of money so I'm going to have to insist that you guys stick to your shopping lists. Got it?”

There was a grumbling chorus of assent.

Lehine's loud voice carried over the crowd. “Okay, but when we're done with the boring stuff we can have fun, right?”

“Yeah, sure. As long as it's free. Try not to wander around alone – use a buddy system or something. And I want you all back here at midnight.” Leo made shooing gestures at the clan.

Luke checked their own shopping list. They'd been given control of the healing supplies for the night, and it was their job to pick up ink and paper. Not a huge fan of crowds and loud celebrations, Luke had done their best to get Zeta to take their place, but Leo had insisted Luke take charge. Which would have been a nice gesture of trust, only Luke would now have to do business with complete strangers with the word CHEATER written across their face.

Admittedly, this was a pretty brilliant act of vindictiveness on Leo's part. Luke would have to think of some way to get him back for it later.

Lost in thought, they trailed after the rest of the clan and stepped under the net of lanterns. It was hot, sweaty, and noisy in the market. Large moths flickered past overhead, occasionally tangling with the lantern netting or stall awnings. Luke wished they still had a hood to raise to hide themself, but, this close to the Ashfall Waste, the night was sweltering.

People stared. Of course they did. Verzan face-paint was not a rare sight in the Windswept Plateau, but most of the dragons around seemed to stick to more conventional styles of ornamentation.

Head low, Luke quickly found a healing magic stall and made a beeline for it. Huge stacks of green and lavender paper stood on the counter, along with bundles of herbs and pre-made poultices. Luke checked the price tag, their heart sinking.

The shopkeeper stifled a snort of amusement behind one hand.

“Okay, okay,” she said, “I have to ask, what's the story behind the...” And she indicated her face with a wave and pointed to Luke.

“You can probably guess. How much paper can I get for ten gems?”

She grinned. “Changing the subject, huh? Well, that depends on the grade you want – I've got some high-grade stuff that's actually very nice, it's been treated to offset the heat of spell activation, so you don't burn your patients.” She held up a roll of nice but very expensive paper.

“No thanks,” Luke said. “Give me your cheapest paper.”

“My friend, cheap paper is a false economy. You'd be much better off with a quality product like this, you know. It's safer, lasts longer, and-”

Raised voices sounded over the crowd. Luke turned. Over by the bandstand, a shopkeeper was arguing very loudly with Rúth. The crowds had begun to edge away from the pair of them, half-wary and half-excited at the prospect of a real fight.

The paper seller tutted under her breath. “Why is it always those fucking verzans who get in fights around here? They shouldn't be allowed at all.”

By the other stall, the situation was growing more heated. Mostly, it seemed, due to the language barrier between Rúth and the shopkeeper. There had been some misunderstanding, and then it had all just escalated – Luke bit their lip, unsure. Rúth never performed well in crowds, surrounded by noise.

The shopkeeper leant forwards aggressively, pointing at the price tag on the roll of cloth on the counter. Rúth punched him in the face.

A cheer rose from the crowd.

“Oh, gods...” Luke shoved their gems back into their pocket and ran over, shoving through the tightly-packed dragons to stand beside Rúth.

The shopkeeper was still regaining his balance. Pale green blood spouted from his nose, which was clearly broken. Shying away from Rúth, he rounded on Luke instead.

“Do you know this person?” he said. “Control them! This is unacceptable!”

Rúth raised their metal fist threateningly and issued a stream of angry verzan, some of which Luke understood. Rúth was accusing the shopkeeper of robbery. Rúth had paid for sailcloth, but the shopkeeper, claiming not to have understood Rúth's request, had taken the money and given nothing in return.

“Once again,” the shopkeeper said in a slow, exaggerated voice, “I. Don't. Understand. You.” He gestured at Luke. “They're lying! I didn't take anything!”

Luke didn't even consider it. “They don't lie. Give them back their gems.”

“I don't have their gems,” the shopkeeper insisted, holding a wad of cloth against his bleeding nose. “Prove that I took them.”

There was probably a way to solve this situation peacefully. Luke could have called on the market guards and explained the situation. Once Rúth calmed down enough to be able to speak the right language, they could tell their side of the story. It could have been easy and pain free.

Then again, though, it was just so much more satisfying to simply help Rúth attack the shopkeeper. The world descended into multicoloured chaos as the stall supports cracked and the awning came down. While Rúth was busy putting their size and strength to excellent use, Luke rummaged in the till box under the fallen counter.

The guards at the edge of the market were yelling, someone was still clapping and cheering, and the lanterns were coming down all around like falling stars. Luke waved for Rúth's attention, showing them a triumphant handful of gems. Rúth released their choke-hold on the shopkeeper, sprang to their feet, and bolted out of the back of the stall. Luke followed, almost tripping over a fallen stall support, but Rúth reached back and grabbed their free hand.

Somehow, they made it back to the pier without being caught. It was much darker out by the moored ships, a cool breeze moving in from the sea. Rúth drew to a halt at the very end of the pier, by the huge, hulking shape of the Cú na Mara, and sat down with a gasp. Luke joined them, pausing to count through the gems they'd blindly snatched from the stall.

“That's... uh... fifteen? How many did you have?”

Rúth pulled up their heavy skirts and dangled both feet in the black water. Back in the market, the bands had begun playing again. “I had twelve.”

“Close enough.” Luke pocketed the gems.

The distant moonlight skimmed over the waves, washing all the colour from Rúth's outfit. It was so much more peaceful out here, away from the heat and the noise. It was the first time the two of them had been alone together since a couple of days before, when Rúth had written on Luke's face.

“He deserved it,” Rúth said decisively, folding their arms. Although their voice was hard, still angry, they were grinning. “Next time he will not try that again.”

“He'd better not,” Luke said, after a pause. They'd never been more conscious of the awkward gap between the two of them. Was this Rúth's way of showing they were ready to talk? Unsure, Luke moved to the side a little, putting another couple of inches between themself and Rúth.

Rúth glanced across at Luke and snorted, their grin widening. “You look so funny with that on your face. I am sorry, but you do.”

“Thanks,” Luke said, chancing a smile in response. “I think it suits me.”

“No,” Rúth said critically. “No, red is not a good colour for you. It makes your skin look grey, and that is so ugly.”

“So what would you recommend?”

Rúth stared at Luke for a long moment, frowning. The distant light from the market washed one side of Rúth's face orange and gold, setting off the vivid red markings on their cheeks.

“Brown,” they said, after a pause. “Or green? Blue would get lost, I think, and it's boring.”

“Good to know.” Luke's gaze fell on Rúth's hair, which was loose around their shoulders, glowing in the dim light like a coil of copper. It was so maddeningly pretty that Luke had to force themself not to reach out and touch it. It was almost as if Luke had been transported back to those very first weeks when Rúth had just joined the clan, and the two of them had been so awkward around one another. But this time it was no one's fault but Luke's.

“Rúth,” they said quietly, “I'm really sorry. For what I did, but also for avoiding you afterwards. That wasn't fair.”

“Okay, yes,” Rúth said, “you should be sorry for that.”

“I know.”

With a deep sigh, Rúth shuffled closer to Luke and slung an arm around their shoulders. Suddenly finding themself pressed up against Rúth's side, Luke froze up, then just as quickly relaxed into the embrace.

“And I am sorry, too,” Rúth said, a touch of amusement in their voice. “That paint is not going to come off. But... well, it was funny...”

“I think I can live with it,” Luke said, turning in to inhale Rúth's beloved scent. It had been so long since anyone had hugged Luke that it was starting to make them a little giddy. The fight and subsequent escape from the market had already made it the best evening in recent memory, but this was something else. The other aspects of their reunion could wait; for now, Luke was simply content to just sit in silence and hold Rúth again.

It didn't last, of course, because within ten minutes Leo had arrived to tell them both off about their behaviour at the market.

“We have to set sail again,” he said, setting out the gangway to return the ship, “thanks to your shit we're fucking banned from this market. I've half a mind to leave you both here.”

In small groups, the rest of the clan returned to the pier, some still complaining about having been forced to leave so early thanks to the brawl at the market.

Luke was sorry about a lot of things, but they really were not sorry about that.