#this is what happens when I’ve got four fixations very present in my brain. And like 3/4 of them are at all times

[mister-ancunin]

fighting the urge to make my blog vik themed again ……… sighs . I wanna make it aaravos themed too.

[crespinpoetryandstories]

The dark lone solider

February 14th 2035,

The years are rolling in on my life as they go by and it’s harder to recall the time. Time is just a good way to calculate what to do with myself. I’m up awake early and I’m asleep fast but all in between I’m fixated on becoming more productive and active. I now am well experienced in all things I do but I lack the resources. It’s crazy how I manage to make it to year 2035, after all these years and commodities I thought I would be squeezed out of the picture but instead I’m still active and present. The picture paints a well, happy life most would call it.

The other day I visited the local park, with my beloved wife. She had a smile on her face and loved that I was able to comfortably share my feelings without any pain or discomfort. That’s always a good sign and relief. Now it’s the year 2035, the technology advancement is crazy and I’m up to date with them.

The park was fun, the phone was fun, and whatever I saw on media was funny and amazing. I’m establishing myself again and my presence online is better than ever. It’s no longer a problem. Got real educated real quick, especially with tech. The guys in the industry, I believe they are always willing or trying to find waypoints to improve it.

I’m not afraid to drop these things anymore or any other things. It’s all apparent to me, in a very good way. I for one like it.

While reading, express yourself, loosen up and relax, stretch out your legs and cover yourself in the finest softest fabrics or linen.

I’m not here to rant or argue, the dark tales of life behind the scenes no longer interest me, the development of myself in having a career does.

Remember this story is about the dark lone soldier, he cruises, rides along the empty parts of town, seeks justice and cracks down on wrong doing. When I was trainee or an inmate.

The few things that enlighten my day were reading books and reading the stories in these fiction novels. They were amazing, the best story I’ve read while being incarcerated was probably the story about a middle age agent who saved a top dollar scale company from a murderous nut job who’s lust for love was too much. Of course the murderer identity was kept a secret until the very end of the book. Which was a good thing to do In my opinion.

As a solider I thought to myself, wow girls and guys even put a little too much attention on criminals as if they’re glamorizing them.

Way back then in my younger days I was just a trainee, in and out of institutions building my reputation up. Now I’m a full time solider. Discipline, discomfort, budgeting, all the incredible things I’m good at. Now it’s survival time, and to be surviving without any issues or problems.

Now that I got the chance to stay ahead of the game and to make things happen the real deal can happen. The power to make the change. I’m gunning for it, without any doubt. I sometimes think of it as a race for knowledge and adaptation. No longer a race for physical power, not a race for understanding others, not a race for anything else other than using my brain.

It’s quite hysterical, but I’m fine now. My emptiness and anxiety have no longer been a factor for a long time. I got that power now, I got that sense of control and it’s never been better. My battle scars are tremendous but in other points of view all it means I’m the one more experienced for the job, the war, the next mission.

It’s a couple weeks later since I’ve visited the park, the snow has finally melted and the sun is in full affect. I enjoy the sun and the power of sunshine. I even mentioned to myself how I miss that feeling of all the sweat cleansing my body and the heat pulsing through my body. All clear and never mixed up. I’m rolling out my favorite car,

A four door, high from the ground, jeep. Going to my favorite hang out spot, I need to change it up I thought to myself. It’s absurd how crazy things follow through and go on and on and on and never seem to end! But today as the dark horse. It will end today.

It’s sunny to the place I’m going and my appetite for justice is stronger than ever. Even more than your average comic book hero, the sun just blazes onto the cement and buildings. I’m now finally registered as a justice defender. Some status as a humanitarian or public informant. I guess being the best at what I do is what makes me the best at what I do.

[hteragram-x]

Firefighter AU (again)

It’s been a while since I posted anything about this AU, but I got some inspiration and finished new short story. This time about Virgil and Remus briefly discussing their jobs and characters. I think you can read it separately and still get what’s going on, but if anyone’s interested I’ll link previous related posts.

[HERE] is the introduction, [HERE] are some general HCs, and over [THERE] you can find previous story where Remus and Virgil met for the first time :>

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Word count: 1348

Relationships: technically Dukexiety, but they’re not there yet

TW: mentions of fire (what a surprise), mentions of dead animals, mentions of a car crash, swearing

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The phone rang for about half a second before Virgil picked it up and gave his practiced introduction. It was calm and quick. Then he fell silent and let the woman on the other side of the line speak, listening carefully and responding with a few instructions. In an even voice he explained that the team has already been sent, that the fire engine was on its way. That there was no need to panic and that someone else has already called and now the only thing she should do is patiently wait, sit at a safe distance from the flaming car, and keep him updated if anything bad happened before the brigade arrived.

He made sure the woman was safe, said goodbye, and let the conversation end.

 Then he leaned deeper into his chair with a heavy sigh.

“I have a question!”, the loud yell right behind Virgil nearly sent him flying to the floor. He glared at Remus, clutching his headset and trying to readjust it before it slid off his ears. Why was he still surprised by these random outbursts? He should have gotten used to them weeks ago.

“What kind of question”, he asked in a tired voice very much aware that getting mad at Remus would only make his behaviour more annoying. Or worse… it’d make Remus upset... “The one I answered forty nine times already or something new?”

“A new one!”, Remus beamed sitting on a spinning office chair and moving closer to Virgil. “And if you’re exaggerating anyway you could’ve said sixty nine. That would’ve cost you nothing.”

“It would also cost you nothing to not say that right now, and yet you did”, was a slightly drained response.

"I always do!”, Remus giggled in a surprisingly cute way and leaned even closer, still remembering to not push Virgil too far from the desk. They were both currently at work, so distracting his co-worker too much and slowing down his response for even a few seconds could have potentially tragic consequences. Remus was definitely a careless person, but not when it came to other people’s lives. That fact was often shocking even to those who knew Remus for a very long time.

Virgil lifted an eyebrow making a “go on” kind of gesture with his right hand.

“Okay”, Remus started excitedly sounding as if he was trying to hype himself up to do something difficult. “How do you do it?”

Virgil lifted his second eyebrow in a silent question.

“I mean: how do you stay calm during the calls. Why do you even work here? I can scare you by saying “boo” in quiet monotone. And then you talk with panicking people who just crashed their car into the lamppost like it’s nothing!”

To Virgil’s credit he put a lot of effort to making his brain not fixate on the “Why do you even work here?” part of Remus’ words and not see it as a kind suggestion to fuck off. He mostly failed, but the intensions were there.

“I- I’m not sure”, he responded carefully after a moment filled with sounds of a chair squeaking under Remus who was usually unable to stay still for more than four seconds. “I have a separate… headspace for work, I suppose. I dunno how to explain it. Just like… switching to a different mindset when it’s something professional. Don’t you have the same thing with putting down the fire? I assume you don’t stare creepily at other people when you enter the building that’s in flames”, he added with a small smile, reminiscing their first encounter.

“Usually I don’t”, Remus answered with slightly disturbing, cheerful honesty that Vigil learnt to expect from his chaotic co-worker. “But, yeah… you’re right. I can be calm when I’m professional. And I’m way less tempted to taste fire when I’m fighting it. You know? Like… you don’t think so much about eating a bear when it’s chasing you down the extremely narrow path where trees are getting closer and closer until the forest gets very dark and there is no way to escape anymore.” Remus finished a rushed sentence with wide, light-hearted smile that lit up his face not unlike a lighter with which he almost singed his moustache on regular basis.

Virgil blinked at him and slowly shook his head.

“O- One thing at a time, okay?”, he answered finally. “Let’s leave the bear out of this for now. I know I shouldn’t ask, but did you just say that you’re ‘tempted to taste fire’?”

“Yeah!”, Remus answered with enthusiasm sending Virgil another bright smile that somehow still looked nice despite some unhinged glint always present in his green eyes. “You can make so many tasty things with fire. Like grilled vegetables! Or…”

For some reason, the fact that Remus was vegan never failed to astound the confused operator. Maybe his dietary choices would be less unexpected if he also didn’t rate every dead animal he ever saw on the street on a scale from ‘probably inedible, not enough fur’ to ‘no one touch that! It’s my lunch’.

“…or potato chips!”, Remus finished a long list of foods. ”Those are kinda made with fire?”

“…yes?” Virgil said carefully, not really sure where this line of logic was even going.

“See?! Fire makes tasty things. Ergo, hypothesis, fire is tasty too!”

“That’s… that’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard today…”

“Well, jokes on you, because I’ve said something much more stupid only twenty minutes ago. You just weren’t there!”

“I’m not sure this defence is as strong as you think…”, Virgil sighed, annoyed at himself for a tiny bit of fondness that seeped into his voice. “Anyway! Please don’t eat fire.”

“Fine”, Remus said tipping his head back with a huff. “You’re so boring.”

“And you’re a dumbass. I can’t believe I was scared of you at first…”

“You were?!”, Remus asked delighted despite knowing this information before. It was always nice to hear that he actually frightened someone, even if it was a guy scared of drinking with a straw for the fear of chocking on it one day. Or maybe especially if it was that guy.

“Shut up…”

Surprisingly, Remus did fell quiet. They sat in silence for a few minutes glad that the phone stayed silent as well. It was nice to have a few minutes of peace and calm before someone else needed help. It meant that people were safe and it let them just appreciate each other’s company in the half-empty office.

“By the way… I do get the whole ‘work mindset’ thing”, Remus continued suddenly as if they never stopped or changed the topic. “It’s like I have a separate brain and personality that kick in when it comes to these things. I see everything differently.”

Virgil nodded in understanding.

“I’m less scared when I know I have to help someone.”

“Exactly!”, Remus exclaimed, once again almost making Virgil fall out of his chair. “I have that too, but I become more serious instead! So you’re a coward, but a protective one. Got it.”

“Get out of my office.”

Remus laughed and didn’t make a single move to exit the room. He sat more comfortably in his chair, reaching into a pocket for his favourite lighter with luminescent tentacles painted over sparkly black background. It was one of the most “Remus” things Virgil has ever seen.

The next stretch of silence didn’t last as long as Virgil would have wanted. After about a minute his phone rang again, distracting his from very vivid visions of the firehouse burning to the ground because of Remus’ negligence. He gave his colleague a brief smile and promptly answered the call, his head immediately clear – the thoughts about anything irrelevant temporarily forgotten. Few seconds later the alarm went off and the dishevelled firefighter jumped off the chair with a serious expression. He gave Vigil last look seeing his focused eyes and calm, patient face. Then he switched his own brain into appropriate mode and run out of the room towards Roman and the rest of his brigade.

-

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Next part is [HERE].

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My one-person general taglist: @imma-potatoo

My one-person taglist for this AU: @isabelle-stars

I used the term “taglist” very loosely here :D

[romantic-barnes]

unintended | part four

| part four - don’t waste your time or time will waste you |

Pairings: king!bucky x reader | king!steve x twin!sister

Summary: The moment you have come of age, you are being ripped out of the place you call home and into the kingdom of Cydonia ruled by King James, your betrothed. Neither of you pleased with the situation, neither of you being honest. Between fights, snarky remarks and glaring, do you find time to breathe? Is it possible to reconcile or even love one another?

Warnings: slow burn, inaccuracies in term of royal affairs and such, 

A/N: i am so so sorry for the delay, but this is pretty long so I hope that makes it ok. this is my entry for @sillyqt​​​​ 1k writing challenge!! hope you all enjoy!

Dividers by @whimsicalrogers​

A few days, that’s all you had until you would officially be the wife of King James and the Queen of Cydonia. There was a part of you that screamed and shouted at you for not enjoying your time unwed. For letting (as they call him) Bucky take your thoughts away from more important things. 

The only thing keeping you steady is the fact that your sister would be arriving for the wedding. Her and Steve will attend the ceremony and you can finally have your family together in one place again. 

As for today, Bucky has arranged a ride through the woods, but you were sure his mother set it up. 

An entourage of guards were riding behind you and Bucky, alongside Sam and Clint. It was the same route you rode through with Clint and you were excited to see the flower field again. 

The fresh air bit at your cheeks, leaves rustling above you. Bucky was chatting happily with Sam and Clint looked at you from the corner of his eyes. You knew that he wanted to talk about the ball, about what happened. You were confused. 

The trees thinned before you and the flowers peaked through, flowers of every colour. Your chest fell and you breathed through your nose. The scent filling your senses. As soon as you rose through the tall field, sun falling from the sky, slowly, a smile spread across your face. 

Bucky came to a stop and a blanket was laid out. You sat next to Clint, reaching forward to pick some flowers and bind them together. 

Bucky sat looking at you, sun shining orange and yellow across your figure. You looked peaceful. Flowers laid out before you, eyes fixated on your hands as they connected the different flowers together in your delicate fingers. 

You smiled as you finished the flower crown, but instead of putting it atop your head, you turned to Clint placing the flowers on top of his hair. Clint laughed striking poses with the crown making you laugh. You missed it but Bucky couldn’t help but laugh. 

You and the others mounted your horses again, taking the cobbled path back to the palace. You were sure that you could never get tired of the sunsets here in Cydonia. For some reason thy are even better than at home. 

As the little house came to view a smile broke out on your face, seeing the family out on the front. You saw the girl from a few days ago sitting on the grass. You got off your horse walking towards the house. 

You greeted the family, two boys standing off to a distance shyly and with their mouths agape. You were sure that this didn’t happen often, seeing the King so casually riding by. You dismounted your horse, walking up to the little girl. Her smile was unmatched from the first time you’d seen her, the admiration warming your heart. 

“When I grow up I want to be a princess!” The little girl exclaimed with excitement. 

You smiled, but within you, you were glad that she wasn’t. 

You sunk down to your knees, turning the girl around by her shoulders. “You see that?” You pointed to the line of trees cutting the sky, orange and red painting the blue. She nodded her head. “That’s the horizon. Do you know what’s beyond it?” The little girl shook her head ‘no’ and you giggled. “It is your duty to find that out. To ride to the horizons of the world, sail the sea where the sky meets the water, to leave no part undiscovered and to learn what has not yet been learned and protect what needs protecting. To welcome everyone to follow you on your quest who wishes to, and lead them with care and love.” 

You turned the girl to face you, tears welling up in your eyes. You ushered to Clint to hand you the flower crown, holding it above her head. “I hereby announce you the princess of the horizon. May you choose your path and widen your horizon.” With that you lowered the flower crown on her head, cheers erupting around you and you bit back the tears threatening to fall. If you could not do it yourself, then you would inspire someone else to do it. 

Bucky watched with adoration. He was sure of it, the fact that you tried to give the girl what you don’t have. The freedom to run to the edge of the world with no one chasing after you. To chose your path amongst many and never slow down. Without the heaviness of the crown crushing your weight. Bucky realized that maybe, just maybe you weren’t so different from him, that your dreams sync up in a way. 

But there was the tiny problem that you felt nothing for him, you’ve made that very clear Bucky thought.

You rose from your knees, walking to your horse. A tear escaped from yur eyes, but you were quick to catch it. A look back on the family and you saw the girl swirling, a big smile on her face.

Soon. Soon you’ll have Julia to confine in. 

While you were wrapped up in preparations for the wedding, Bucky was struggling to wrap his mind around the different sides you’ve shown him. He was trying to puzzle together the pieces to get a clear picture of the woman he’d be married to by tomorrow. The one who he’ll build a family with. 

Bucky asked himself if that would be possible though. For the past days he’d had this strange feeling every time he’d seen you. The was you walk, talk or laugh with your family. The way you behaved when you’re parents were around was something he’d not seen ever since you arrived. 

He walked through the corridors, his shoes echoing through the space. Servants carrying candles and golden candle sticks for the wedding. He roamed these halls like every other day. Bucky wasn’t nervous when he became King. His father ensured that he was well prepared for the day he would take on the throne.

Bucky reached the oak wood doors of his mother’s chambers. As soon as he stepped into the room, his mother embraced him in a hug, her face bright and glowing. There aren’t a lot of times where Winnifred, the Queen mother, looked this gradient. It was said she had the same expression when Bucky was born, her wedding and Bucky’s coronation. 

“My Bucky, I’m so proud of you.” Winnifred beamed with excitement. “I’ve been waiting for this day for, oh god, way too long.” She cupped his cheeks with her gloved hands.

“I know, mother.” Bucky smiled weakly, his mothers face falling. She took his hands and guided him to the velvet sofa. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Bucky exhaled, scrambling his brain for the right words to say. “Why did you chose Y/n?”

Winnifred stared at Bucky, eyebrows furrowed together. “She’s perfect, that’s why.” 

“I don’t understand.” Bucky tilted his head, rubbing circles on the back of her hands to soothe her. 

Her face relaxed. “On my search of a suitable wife and Queen, I met a lot of princesses. A lot of them from finer families than you could imagine, ones with more wealth than the last, education from the most knowledgeable men, princesses who have been trained to perfection. I even considered her sister Julia.” 

Bucky’s lips parted. The thought of marrying your sister was odd. 

“But when I spoke to their father, I knew that Y/n was the only choice for you. Sure, they’re not the finest family, or the richest, but Y/n loves to travel just like you. The people love her because of her nature, the way she presents herself. Her knowledge expands beyond textbooks, she lives with a sort of freedom that reminded me a lot of you, dear.” His mother caressed his cheek. 

Bucky was running her words in his head again and again. If only he wasn’t such an asshole the fist time he met her, maybe she would’ve fallen in love with him. His mother had all the right reasons to chose you and his big head got in the way. 

“Mother, I made a big mistake.”

Your brain was going a mile per hour. Between trying the dress on and deciding what jewellery to chose, you barely got the chance to breathe. You were so wrapped up in your head, you didn’t even notice your mother walking through the door. With your head hanging low to look at the different necklaces, you examined every stone, getting lost in the different colours of the rainbows. 

“You look beautiful, darling.” Pepper spoke quietly behind you and you looked over your shoulder. Pepper held her hands over her chest, glossy eyed. 

You wrapped your arms around her, afraid that she might disappear. “Thank you.” You drew back, Pepper’s eyes roaming the dress until her eyes met yours again. 

“I’m so glad you’re happy. You are, aren’t you?” 

“Yes, yes I am.” You said, but you weren’t sure if it was for your reassurance or hers. 

“Good, because I brought a special guest for you.” 

You heard the door to your chambers close and as soon as you saw the figure moving towards you, you knew it was Julia. 

You let go of our mother, throwing yourself in Julia’s arms. Immediately the forset stared running and your cheeks were wet from tears. You never thought you could miss a person this much. Feeling Julia’s body pressed to yours, the scent of her flowery perfume and the satin of her dress brought a sort of comfort to you like nothing else. 

With a shaky sob you pulled apart, taking a good look at your twin. Her hair nicely pinned up, a gold crown sitting atop her head and she already looked like the Queen she would soon be. 

“Y/n, you have to idea how much I’ve missed you.” Julia spoke, with teary eyes. 

“I’ve missed you more.” 

Your mother’s cough interrupted your sweet sisterly moment and you followed her eyes to the person standing at the door. 

Steve, the King of Thaumasia, smiling brightly at the two of you, but you were suddenly afraid you had disrespected him by not addressing him first. You lowered yourself in a deep curtsy. “King Steve, I apologise.” 

“Princess Y/n, no apology needed, I know you were just as eager to see Julia as she was to see you.” He kissed the back of your hand and upon further inspection, you noticed that he was just as handsome as in the portrait, but he could not compare to Bucky. Wait what? “I heard there will be an archery competition later today?”

Your face lit up as soon as the words left Steve’s mouth. “Yes! I will be participating, of course.” Your smile reached your ears at the thought of it. It is tradition in Cydonia to hold a competition in archery. The winner will choose who will be given the title ‘woman of orchids’. In Cydonia it is a great honour to be chosen, as she will represent the love and fertility of the King and Queen. 

“No one will stand a chance!” Julia chimed in, making Steve laugh loudly. 

“I look forward to it. Now if you excuse me, I’ll see what Bucky’s been up to.” Steve bowed again before taking his leave. 

You changed into a ruby coloured dress made by Natasha’s request and you could tell just by the heaviness that shooting for a target will be a disadvantage for you. The pearls around your neck are a nice addition to the deep red, but not exactly something you would pick for archery. 

“Nat, do you think I could wear something less extravagant?” You turned on the spot to look at Natasha.

“No, absolutely not! You look fantastic in this dress and I can’t stand seeing you walk around in those striped dresses any longer.” Nat scrunched her nose, waving her hand in front of her face.

“But I know for a fact that I won’t be able to shoot arrows with this on.” You pointed to the skirt of the dress.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Shoot arrows? You know you won’t participate, do you?”

Your mouth opened and closed. You knew things were different in different kingdoms, but everyone was allowed to participate in tornaments. “Oh, ok.”

You walked off next to Natasha and Clint to the courtyard. From the distance you could see the masses and Bucky, Julia, Winnifred and your parents to the side. You were just as dolled up as they are, but that would stop you from trying to enter. 

As you greeted everyone, you sat next to Bucky on the raised platform on cushioned chairs, overlooking the lawn where ten targets were stood a few feet away. All the participants stood on their designated places, getting ready. Your leg was shaking in anticipation and you glanced over to Clint who stood off to the side. The guests from all kinds of backgrounds stood behind the participates, waiting eagerly with their champagne flutes. 

There was just one question in your mind and when you turned to Bucky you blurted it right out. “Can I participate, too?” 

Bucky was taken aback by your question, but one look to you and he knew that he couldn’t refuse. He could say to just to annoy her, but Bucky knew that that would be counterproductive to his plan, so without hesitation he ordered one of the participants to step down from the competition and gestured for you to take his place. 

He watched as you descended the stairs, walking passt all the men staring at you as if they’ve never seen a woman before. It was amusing to Bucky, seeing you walking so confidently and he enjoyed it. Bucky leaned forward watching as you took the bow in your hands as the tournament started. 

As soon as the first few arrows flew towards their targets, you knew nobody else stood a chance. Every round after that you proved to the men next to you that you were the best, hitting bullseye every time no matter how far away it was. With the last bow fired, cutting through the air, you knew you had won, but the faces of the guests were still priceless. 

“Congratulations to Princess Y/n!” The words left Sam’s mouth and you turned to look at Bucky, your face hurting from the extensive smiling, but you still lowered yourself to curtsy. Sam came forward handing you a flower crown made of different colours and plants. “You may chose you woman of orchids.”

With a few strides you reached the wooden platform, standing in front of Julia. “I hereby chose you, Princess Julia, to be my woman of orchids.” You lowered the flowers on her head. Julia jumped up, hugging you while the people around you erupted in cheers. 

From the corner of your eye you saw Bucky standing, clapping, with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen. You untangled your arms from around your sister and turned to Bucky. Maybe it was his smile, the proud look on his face, or the feeling of victory, but the urge to kiss that smile off his face was unnerving. Your heart hammered in your chest, taking a step forward. Without thinking much, you got on your tiptoes, placing a gentle and light kiss on his cheek. The look on Bucky’s face was worth the heat crawling up your cheeks as he blinked frantically. 

Bucky slowly took the crown from his head, placing it on the cushion with distance in his eyes. Maybe you didn’t resent him as much as he thought. Maybe in the middle of all this you saw what he saw, a partner. Bucky couldn’t make a lot of sense of your sudden affection towards him since you’ve been fairly distant since the ball. Maybe it’s all a show.

A knock on his door pulled him out of the trance like stante and as soon as he saw Steve, relieve washed over him. “Steve, good to see you.”

“Yeah, I feel like now more than ever we have less time for each other.” Steve laughed as he hugged Bucky. 

“especially since both of us are getting married.” Bucky poured wine in two goblets, offering Steve one.

“Tomorrow is you big day!” Steve beamed as he sat down on one of the velvet chairs opposite Bucky. 

Bucky sighted, turning to look at a portrait of his father. “I just with my bride would be excited too.”

“What do you mean?” Steve scrunched his face. “She seemed pretty happy by your side to me.”

“Well, the thing is we had some... issues.” Bucky looked at his friend, finding nothing but confusion, so he explained everything from the start.

“Bucky, I know you’ve had some issues in the past and with your fathers passing ruling became your number one priority, but you have to understand that it’s not her fault. She has to face the same fate as you.”

Bucky looked down in shame, taking a big swig of wine. “I know. I talked to my mother.”

“That’s not enough.” Steve interrupted him. “You have to talk to Y/n, too. Explain the situation and confess your affection. You have affection for her, do you?” Steve grinned.

“I do, yes. But I’m afraid she doesn’t.

“The only way to find that out is by talking to her. Go to her tomorrow first thing in the morning and clear the air.” 

Bucky smiled weakly. “Ok, I will.”

It wasn’t like Bucky was afraid to talk to you, he was afraid of what you would say. The feelings that have manifested were scary to him and to have his heart broken by the one he will marry would only mean unhappiness. And Bucky wasn’t ready to have his heart broken again.

[ next ]

[too-scared-to-do-this]

Of the Devil’s head

Chapter four - Bloody hell!

Sander’s side fanfiction

Wordcount: 1304

Ships: still just prinxiety 

TW: mentions of blood, cursing, injury, post-operations stuff talk kinda, imprisonment, a lot of panicking and distress - which kind off resembles an anxiety-attack but not really. I think I’ve got all. As always, if I missed anything, let me know, please. I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. :3

Summary of the whole story: They say, the one that wears the crown rules all - the living, the dead, the walking, the crawling, the rooted, the sane and the mad. They say, once you own the crown, you become the  most powerful being on Earth and beyond. Roman’s stolen bigger things - a measly little crown won’t present a problem, even if he has to steel it straight off of the devils head!

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Chapter four - Bloody hell!

Not only does time not work in Hell, but apparently physics doesn’t either. Because no matter how Virgil looked at it, there was just no way this weird figure could’ve fallen straight onto him from the place he was situated at.

He was climbing the throne from the back. Reaching from the side. So please explain to him, how the hell was he able of falling fall over and landing directly on top of the king?

Either Hell was truly that massed up, or this person was just unconventionally clumsy.

Virgil didn’t have much time to ponder on it, though. He yelped and pushed the stranger off. Which resulted in poor Roman landing on his back on the hard ground. Broken stalagmites and new once that were just growing out pushed into his back, his head hitting a particularly sharp one.

Dull ache spread through his whole body. “Aw…” he groaned weakly, reaching for his head. Carefully trying to lift himself into a sitting position, the voices around him started to come back to him.

Someone on his right was barely breathing, short fast breaths not enough to satisfy their lungs. And someone on his left was laughing their ass off.

Roman frowned at the general direction of the laugh. This was not funny.

And why was everything so hazy? His vision was fogged and blurry and his hearing muffled and muted down. And oh god, his head!

He pulled his hand away. Even this out of focus, he could make out the big red splotch that covered his palm. Well, this is just great!

He had to get out of there before these things could lock him up, but the room was starting to spin and his eyes got kind off heavy… He just wanted to lay down… just for a little bit….

“Startup immediate! Let’s fucking eat him!”

Well at least that’s what Roman made out of what the creature on his right said. And that didn’t sound like the most pleasant thing. He didn’t feel like sleeping anymore. He had to get up! He had to run!

In reality, what Virgil said was: “Shut up, you idiot! They’re fucking bleeding!”

Panic seeping all the way to his bones he rushed over to the distressed stranger. This wasn’t good! He couldn’t leave them to just bleed out!  

Remi paid his master’s stressed-out state no mind. He was too preoccupied leaning over, just barely standing - laughing so hard. “And?”

Virgil couldn’t believe this! “Remington! Go get the fucking healers!”

When Virgil got distressed and needed people to listen, his voice pitched down a few octaves and doubled over. Demons called it his Monster voice.

In this particular instance, the Monster voice was nothing compared to the way he roared at the servant.

He immediately shut up and ran off to find help.

The king was left alone with a very woozy, barely conscious and scared to death Roman. “Oh shit! Don’t die on me...! Please...!”

He didn’t know what to do with his hands. Could he touch the creature? Should he touch them? What if they have a broken rib or something? 

They ended up just awkwardly hovering over the wounded figure.  

Meanwhile, Roman didn’t even know what was going on. His mind was too foggy to comprehend anything. He just sat there, willing himself to think the one thought he needed to think.

But what was that thought again?

Some-Something about… running?

Yeah, yeah that…

He… he wanted to run. From what...?

Nobody seemed to be nearby… So why did he want to…

Wait, what did he want again…?

Oh, right. Sleep…

Virgil’s hand-hovering came to an end the moment the med-team stepped into the hall. “Your Majesty.” the demons all bowed.

“Stop bowing and get this Human to the med-bay! Immediately!”

“Yes sir.” the main healer nodded shortly and rushed over to the thief. The rest followed.

The devil let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and fall back against the throne. It was going to be okay now. His healers are the best in the under-world. They’ll take care of them.

He watched as they took the now unconscious figure away. Remi walked up to him, not-bothered as always. “I don’t see why we couldn’t just left it to bleed out.”

Virgil was too tired for this. His mind was going three miles per second and he just needed to calm down… He turned his cold gaze at the demon. “You’re a mind reader. Figure it out.”

That shut Remi up. No matter how much fun it would’ve been to see the Human suffer, hearing what ran through his king’s head wasn’t fun at all. He wasn’t about that. “I’ll be throwing down damned souls into the pit. If you need me, just call my name, babe. Byeeeee!!” And with a finger-wiggle wave, he left the room.

Virgil didn’t feel like getting up. The ground seemed comfortable enough for now. (There wasn’t much of a difference between it and the throne anyway.)

A Human being. A living, breathing, Human flashbang. He hasn’t seen a living specimen in… He doesn’t even know when was the last time one stood before him.

And now there was one in his med-bay. Antichrist, this was bad!

What is he even supposed to do with a creature like that? Besides torture, obviously. Sweet mother of evil!

The devil sat there, contemplating un-life until one of the healers walked into the hall.

“Your highness, the Human has been dealt with. We stopped the bleeding, and stitched up the wound best we could. It is still unconscious, though, so we locked it in one of the cells, temporarily.”

“Thank you, Lucius. Let me know when they wake up.”

“Yes, sir.” with that, the servant left. And Virgil finally climbed back on that uncomfortable throne. He pulled his phone out, and started scrolling through Tumblr once again. Things didn’t seem so boring anymore.

-

Roman came to a few hours later - not that he knew how much time had passed. What he knew though, was that he was in a dark cell guarded by two demons. Even through his hazy brain he could understand the situation he was in - he was a prisoner. ”Oh, holly mother Teresa!” he freaked, standing up and rushing over to the bars. Well, more like he stumbled...

“You have to let me out! Come on! You don’t understand! Let me out!” he gripped the cold stone bars.

One of the guards looked at him, then exchanged looks with the other. The second nodded and left, leaving Roman with a very angry looking demon.

He gulped. “Mr. Ehr, Miss- am… I… ah, please let me go…?”

The guard didn’t even glance at him.

Well, this was going well.

The second guard entered the throne hall and bowed down deep. Virgil rolled his eyes. “I’ve been telling you for thousands of years to stop bowing! It’s betting annoying.”

The demon straightened up immediately, nodding ashamed. “I apologize, your evilness.” Another eyeroll. These titles were getting better by the decade.

“What’s up, Derius?” he leaned on the arm-rests, razing his eyebrow.

“The prisoner woke up.”

Oh. Oh shit. Okay. Okay... “Are they okay?”

“It seems fine. IA bit out of it and scared, but that is to be expected. We did just imprison it in an environment completely different from his natural habitat…”

Virgil nodded, feeling his heartrate spike and slow again. They were all right.

Then an idea popped up in his head. Slowly, a grin pulled at his lips. Remi wanted fun, didn’t he?

Virgil could be fun. (Now that he knew nothing serious was happening with the Human.) Virgil could be very, very fun. He bit his lip and looked up at the guard.

“Bring me that thief.”

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

Iiiiiiii can’t even believe it!

Another part, right the next day? I’m kicking this block’s ass, y’all! :D And look where we are! Remember that first anonymous comment that started all this?

But hey, I really hoped you enjoyed it. :3

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. If I have an answer I’ll gladly share it. And if I don’t, you just helped me come up with another addition to the story ;D

I’ll be back with a new chapter as soon as possible :) 

(I wasn’t kidding when I said this was becoming my new hyper-fixation XD)

Bye, for now <3

Tag list:

@alice-only-me 

[twotwinks]

Ok

Y’all? Y ‘ a l l

I know I said I’d update last night after the show but uh

Well

I ended up Slightly Overwhelmed

Because I 100% ended up on stage with Colin and Brad yo!

So basically this is the story of How I Died

They asked for three volunteers who could help them out narratively and I’m like “hey I’m a creative writing major I could maybe do that” and then my mom started whispering “volunteer” and by that point Brad had already picked one guy so I’m like “well now there’s probably an even 50/50 chance that I’ll get picked I’ll take that” so I put up my hand, Brad picked another guy from the right side of the audience, then was like “alright let’s get a young lady up here” (which I technically Am Not but it’s fine!) and started scanning back over to the left side of the audience, and there’s lil ol me, sitting in the very third row (wearing Dramatic Earrings and a stripey sweater that I probably subconsciously picked to draw attention to myself) with my hand half up and he just looks straight into my eyes and goes “you”

So I gotta walk super far to get on stage because I’m sitting in the orchestra pit, but I was wearing my lil boots and I know how to run on my toes so I nyoomed up the stairs and across the stage and Brad’s like “we’ll put you in the middle” and takes me by the shoulders and backs me up to center stage and I’m like OH GREAT THE ATTENTION SPOT because at this point I’m somewhat panicking

Anyway the game is called Pillars, and basically Colin and Brad were telling a story, but using us as “the pillars of the story” because the joke was every once in a while they’d stop in the middle of a sentence and touch one of us and then we had to finish it.

Spoiler alert: I did NOT possess the narrative skill for this and my fiction prof would be Disappointed askhasdk

The story ends up being Brad has assembled a diamond-encrusted bra for the Queen of England (I had nothing to do with that, I promise, the audience suggested “bra” and Colin came up with the rest). I did, however, come up with the murder plot against the queen (which basically went...Brad: “They don’t want her to receive the bra because they’re planning to” Me: “KILL HER”) as well as the bra’s ability to explode (the murder plot made mild sense and drove most of the story but why did I make it blow up? Why did you think that worked brain? Spoiler alert it didn’t really and Brad had to perform modifications on the bra after the guy next to me also made it stab the queen/self destruct askhas).

Also. I find it necessary to say. Colin seemed to be using all the volunteers pretty evenly but I SWEAR BRAD HAD A PERSONAL VENDETTA AGAINST ME HE WAS NOT LEAVING ME ALONE EVERY OTHER SENTENCE WAS ME SIR PLEASE I’M JUST MAKING THIS WORSE

Towards the end, the guys end up killing a man who they think is an assassin waiting for the queen using a cat (my suggestion, which I regretted as it was leaving my mouth, because of course my mind immediately went to “THE CAT!”). The man ends up being a cleaning guy, so then they have to hide the body because oops they murdered an innocent man (again, Colin’s idea, for all this went off the rails 25% of it was also Colin’s doing) and Colin’s listing out what they’re going to do with the body, they’re going to take him down to the catacombs (which is how they snuck in) and then...he cues me, and I’m basically thinking something along the lines of throwing the body in an underground river, but I can’t think of a Concise way to say this when Colin has his hand on my arm (seriously how can you expect anybody to think when some of the greatest improvisers in the world are touching you, let alone when they also happen to be your heroes) so I ended up saying “DROWN HIM!”

Y’know

Drown the dead guy

A slight bit of flawed logic that Colin immediately pointed out asdkjhasd

But! They still ended up doing what I’d wanted them to do so it ended up being fine!

The end of the game was definitely the most terrifying, something I learned is that when these guys get close to the end they start making things Much More Difficult, either on themselves or on their volunteers. So I have Colin on my right, luckily not super close because I would have definitely stopped functioning, but Brad is on my left and he’s LESS THAN TWO INCHES AWAY I SWEAR TO GOD and they start prompting us for really hard suggestions, Colin starts with his father’s last three words and I can’t think of anything, and he’s looking at the guy on the other side of him, but I’m figuring he’s trying to lull me into a false sense of security and at the last minute he’s gonna turn and make me finish it (this is the price I pay for being Hyper Aware of everything huh) but luckily he spared mercy on my Tiny Anxious Soul and actually DID make the other guy come up with everything! Then Brad is like “oh yes, reminds me of my grandfather’s last words, his last four words” and I’m like OH COME ON but luckily he ALSO picked on the guy on his other side! I was spared completely!

I did not fare so well during the finishing limerick, however, (Brad I don’t remember why you decided we should do a limerick but I hope it went about as well as you were expecting)

Brad starts with me, and he’s already established a bit of an Irish theme (carrying over from the first volunteer who said she wanted to visit Ireland) and he starts with what I hear as “there once was a man from” and I love Ireland yo, I miss it, and so I’m thinking about when I went there and marched in the Dublin St Patrick’s Day parade, so I say “Dublin,” but judging by Brad’s reaction to this I now wonder if he actually said “there once was a man named” and I just have really bad hearing

Anyway, he then continues with “whose cauldron was a-” clearly setting up the next guy to say “bubbling” but this guy decides to be cheeky and say “sizzling” or something that definitely doesn’t rhyme and I’m like! What is happening! Brad sets me up to say “mouse” to finish the next rhyme of the limerick, which is what I say, and he brushes over it so fast that then I’m like yeah maybe I should have been a little more creative but it’s FINE because the next guy continues to break the rhyme scheme by saying “spouse” as the last line when he either should have rhymed with “Dublin” or whatever the other guy said. (I can’t remember it was A Lot!) For the record, a limerick’s rhyme scheme is supposed to be aabba but we ended up with abccc and you BET the guys made fun of us not knowing how limericks work for the rest of the show

They let us go after that, thank goodness, because I do NOT think I could have handled much longer of trying to direct this wild nonsense! And so they took the mics from us and shook our hands and I was Bad and fixated on Colin so I Very Distinctly remember his hand being very soft and the exact way he said “thank you so much” like! Tucking THAT one away into the back of my brain so I can pull it out in secret and remember how happy I was then when I’m having a hard time being happy in the present!

So yeah then I ran back to my seat, which was like in the middle of the third row (y’all I was so close! I could see their faces and their expressions perfect) and I had to pass by this middle-aged group of people and one of them has been drinking a little so he just goes “yeah girl great job!” (he was also cheering when I passed him the first time to go up on stage) and high fived me, and got his whole group of people to high five me as I went by askhsd

This guy, I swear, during intermission when I went to run to the bathroom and passed him again he had to cheer me again, and I’m certain I felt Hand somewhere on the tassels/hem of my sweater and I’m like SIR but I’m telling myself he was just aiming for my arm but I nyoomed too fast asjhasdh

One of the ushers also told me “good job up there” when I went by so! I feel like I didn’t really do that great but hey maybe I did!

That’s pretty much the End of my adventure! I did unfortunately have to deadname myself when I went up on stage because my mom brought me to the show, and after her last reaction to my chosen name I wasn’t quite brave enough to have Brad announce it to the world, y’know? But I actually ended up tweeting them both once I got home to say thank you, and I told them about that too, and I woke up to a like on the tweet from Colin so he at least knows my real name! And really that’s all I could ask for, this whole night was all I could ever ask for, I’m just so grateful I got this opportunity and that I’ve been strong enough to live my life long enough for this to happen to me! It was an absolute dream come true, of course I was secretly hoping that maybe I’d end up on stage but I really did think it was nothing but a dream! I never thought it would actually happen! Hundreds of people in that audience, and Brad decided to pick me!

I’m just so happy, really. I’ve been really low the last two weeks, especially this last week, but for now at least everything is good!

(Fingers crossed I can come up with some way to get over to our Rival College in January when Colin does a Hyprov show there!)

[polygamousstan]

Night Out (Derek Morgan)

Okay, so I’m starting the opening of imagines with Derek Morgan because who doesn’t love that sweet smile of his ? This is from my wattpad page @sweaterpawsfan so please check that out ! If you guys enjoyed this, share this, comment, anything cause I love receiving your comments !

I sigh, looking at guys flirting with girls at the bar.

If only men knew how annoying it can be.

Can't we just just have a drink peacefully without any hassle ?

I sip from my drink when someone sits beside me.

I roll my eyes, looking at the other empty seats around the bar.

I look at my phone when I see the stranger's gaze on me:

"I'm not here to bother you, you know that right" he says, his voice very low

"I know you're not like the others" he continues

"And how do you know that ?" I ask

"You are alone at  bar, you don't seem interested in people and if you did, you would look discreetly. If a guy came up to you, you would push him away because you try to show a feisty side of yourself but you're actually scared of getting hurt because you were hurt by people at a very young age and you haven't healed from that.

You also don't want to let a man in your life because you know you invest  yourself more in the relationship than he does. You always get with a careless guy who let's you do all the work and who always let's you down, which makes you lose your trust towards others, especially men.

If someone wants to be able to enter your world, they have to earn your trust ."

My gaze fixated on him, tears start overwhelming my sight:

"What are you, a psychic ?" I say, my voice cracking as I wipe the unfallen tears away.

"Not far from it, I'm a profiler from the FBI" he answers

My eyes open wide:

"I knew you looked familiar!

I saw you on the news not that long ago when you arrested Brian Maltoff after him being in a coma for three years and in the process, forgot everything that happened, he even forgot killing those four women. I followed the trial." I say, blushing as his chocolate eyes caress my skin

"Really ?"

"I find your work so inspiring, not a lot of people have the balls of doing what you do. You save lives and it's admirable, all the efforts you go through to help others. I know I wouldn't be able to do it..." I whisper the end of my sentence; warmth invading my red face

"I'm sure that you're capable of doing anything your heart sets out for you" he says

He takes out his hand and says:

"I'm Derek, Derek Morgan"

I take his hand and shake it:

" Y/N, Y/L/N"

We talk for a while until Derek's phone rings:

"Sorry Baby Girl but I've got a new case, I hope that we'll meet again very soon" he kisses my cheek and runs off, without leaving me any time to get his number...

3 Years Later:

"Hotch, we've got a new case" Penelope says

"Bring everyone to the briefing room but don't start just yet, we've got a newbie" Hotch says as Penelope leads everyone to the briefing room.

Hotch heads back to his office, opening the door as he catches Y/N staring at the different pictures on his desk:

"Let's go, agent Y/L/N" she nods as they both head out the office and she follows him to the briefing room.

He opens the door and interrupts the details of the case:

"Before we start the explanation of our case, we have a new addition to the team, everyone, meet SSA Y/N" she enters the room, feeling confident

Her eyes observe everyone as she tries to analyze their personalities by their clothes or body language when she lands on the one person she never expected to find again:

"Y/N ?" he says, stunned by her appearance

Everyone looks at Derek and Y/N feeling the instant connection between them as their paths crossed again.

Derek explains how they had met three years ago when JJ starts presenting the case.

They head to the jet, Derek and Y/N laughing as he carries her bag, the team profiling from behind:

"I give them a week until they get together" JJ says

"Is that a bet I smell Jennifer Jareau ?" David answers, smirking at the blondie

"I'm thinking the same as JJ" Emily reckons, hooking her arm to JJ's as a sign of support

"I would have to say that they'll probably go on a date after this case, given the tension between them and the seemingly brief history, they'll want to know more about each other" Spencer adds

"Alright, brains, you ready to lose 10 bucks ?" JJ says with a smirk

JJ, Emily, David and Spencer shake hands.

Let's just say, Spencer won 30 dollars after the case...

"There are no accidental meetings between souls" Sheila Burke

[idornaseminary]

Chapter Forty-Two: Mel and Calix

Liara’s voice seemed to echo through the Great Hall long after Professor Vincent had whisked her away. Mel sat stunned, her composure shaken from having witnessed Liara lose her cool quite possibly for the first time in history.

She was among the throngs of students filling the halls afterward. Everyone seemed too shaken to speak to each other, despite the angry outbursts only moments before. Mel couldn’t really say whose “side” she was on. It made sense for Liara to be striving for a sense of normalcy after such tragic events, but she also hadn’t lost anyone this week. Maybe she would have felt differently if she had.

The only thing she was certain of was that any division that existed felt foolish. Whatever darkness was brewing within the depths of the island, Liara only wanted to help. Mel was sure of it.

Although, that was the only thing she really was sure of. She still hadn’t been able to get any answers from Professor Owa. Any chance she’d gotten to track her down, she’d been “too busy” to chat. Maybe now that classes were resuming, she would have an easier chance of getting her alone.

She’d almost made it to the staircase when she felt a hand grip the sleeve of her robe. She turned to face Dr. Evans, blinking in confusion.

“You’re going to get me expelled,” she chastised jokingly. “What’s up?”

“I noticed you didn’t show up for your evaluation this morning,” she explained, her tone disapproving. “I thought my note made it clear that it was mandatory, Miss Winter.”

Mel’s jaw clenched. She did remember the note that had been waiting for her on her door the night before. But the thought of a mental evaluation after everything that had happened, while logical, made her blood boil just a tad.

“It must have slipped my mind,” she said finally. “Look, is this really necessary? Why am I the only on trial when there’s someone out there who’s actually behind those murders.”

“You’re not on trial. And they weren’t murders, Miss Winter.”

“Right. Suicides?”

Dr. Evans gave her a pleading look. “Look, no one is entirely sure of the cause of this tragic incident. All we can do at the moment is try our utmost to ensure it does not happen again, and that means ruling out all possibilities. If it truly was the cause of some dark magic or possession, then we must rule out all traces of it in the student body. Am I understood?”

Mel deflated like a balloon, feeling rightfully admonished. She didn’t offer another word, letting Dr. Evans escort her down the hall to the infirmary. Mostly everyone who had been admitted in the past week had been released, save for the four survivors. Mel was thankful for the peace.

Evans brought her to a desk in the far corner. Mel vaguely recognized the boy sitting behind it as the doctor’s assistant, an Ibinia student a year younger than she was. Calix Galen, if she recalled correctly.

Had Liara truly lost her temper? Had she? She never shouted like that… ever.

Calix’s mind ticked over, the well-oiled gears spinning like clockwork as he tried to rationalise the morning. He scribbled a plethora of messy notes on a sheet of paper, random jottings in slapdash penmanship, far removed from his otherwise neat script; the fragments of sentences, nonsensical and meaningless, covered the page from top to bottom. He found himself mostly writing Liara’s name, over and over, despite having started the scratches and scrawls to distract himself.

No matter how he tried, however, the memory always seem to find its way back into his head between every student that he saw. He couldn’t burn it out until he figured out a logical solution- the shaft of the arrow was buried too deep in his flesh to pull, and removing it could do more harm than good.

Nobody had ever seen the headmistress as emotionally unstable as that morning - even Doctor Evans had been quite shocked at Liara’s uncharacteristic loss of composure and self-control. Calix knew her to be sangfroid in all situations, as patient as the wise owl whilst as fierce as the brave eagle.

We’re all in deep shit if Liara is on the verge of a breakdown. She might very well be the one in need of an evaluation, not the student body.

Nevertheless, Calix had returned to the infirmary immediately after the meeting in the great hall. He returned to his desk, casting his eyes across the shimmering bubbles that still surrounded the four fallen students. They were still sleeping - or so he and Doctor Evans hoped. There was no way to tell what was going on unless they had a definitive causative agent.

He sighed heavily, lifting his head from his doodles as he heard Doctor Evans’ voice and the sound of footfall echo through the infirmary. He smiled softly when he saw a young woman making her way to him in the far corner.

She was another poor soul captured by Doctor Evans for her school-wide evaluations; another soul who simply didn’t want to be in the infirmary.

“Hi,” he said, standing up to pull out a chair for her, “My name is Calix. Please, sit down and relax. We just need to have a little chat.”

“Mel,” she replied, plopping down into the chair. She did her best to give him a smile. “Well? What would you like to know?”

Calix quickly took his seat, reaching across the desk for a fresh sheet of paper and the owl-feather quill from the golden ink pot.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mel. How are you feeling?” Calix asked, “I know, it’s a stupid question. But, I’ve got to ask. I just need to make sure you’re okay.”

Mel shrugged, tapping her fingers against her knees. “I mean, as well as can be expected at a time like this. I’m...trying to stay busy. I didn’t know any of the um, victims too well, so…” She trailed off, unsure of what else to say. Calix was pretty close to her age, but he was still technically a doctor. Doctors had always made her a little uncomfortable.

There was a discernable nervousness that hung in the air. Calix kept smiling, nodding his head slowly as Mel spoke. Her voice started to waver, small stuttering taking hold.

Calix was glad he decided to do the evaluations in the far corner when Mel mentioned the students who lay soporose behind her back, hidden by Calix’s protection spells. The infirmary always induced a white coat syndrome in people.

“Yeah, I know exactly what you mean,” Calix said softly, a friendly lilting tone to his voice, “Everyone is in the same boat, trying to keep themselves afloat. Which is why we’re all here, yeah. Everyone, all the students and all the professors are feeling the same set of emotions, and it’s important we make sure that nobody is having difficulty treading water.”

He wrote Mel’s name on the top of the sheet before making a few key notes. The ink was charmed to disappear, a little trick to prevent others from reading what was written, but also to preserve a degree of calmness in others.

“Tell me, have you been feeling ill or sick at all, lately?”

She shook her head, eyes fixated on the charmed page in front of her. “A little nauseous the first day, but...I don’t think that’s abnormal.”

“Not at all, I was feeling like that myself,” Calix comforted, watching her eyes fix on the invisible writings, “But, what I’m asking is whether you’ve felt anything strange? Something out of the ordinary? Perhaps even thoughts that a week ago you wouldn’t have ever imagined having?”

“Thoughts…” Mel chewed on her lip, falling silent. She knew what he’d meant by the question, but now memories were popping up in her head - particularly the night of the party in Old Aroon, sitting by the beach. That draw she felt towards the woods, the hidden figure...that couldn’t have had anything to do with this, could it? Any correlation she could make would probably just stem from paranoia. From her desperate attempt to draw connections, make sense of all this.

Still…

“Calix...do you think there’s anything living in the Gladur? Anything really out of the ordinary, I mean.”

Calix fixed his eyes on Mel’s as her voice fell into oblivion, a sullen silence taking hold. The sound of their breathing filled the space between them and Calix could sense a sea-change in Mel’s sentiments. The nervousness was still present, but he began to feel a new emotion bubbling beneath the surface. He surveyed her features, waiting for an answer. It was evident that she was trying to withhold something, a memory from not so long ago that resonated with his questioning.

What had she been thinking? What thoughts had invaded her mind?

When she spoke again, Calix tilted his head to the side, wondered why the Gladur had come to the foreground of his psyche when he asked about unusual thoughts: “The Gladur?”

He took a deep breath and let the air go slowly: “I would think that there’s things in that forest that we barely understand. But, why… why are you thinking of the Gladur?”

Perhaps the stories of the blackening of the leaves has her spooked?

“I know it feels strange, and maybe it’s nothing but…” She kept her eyes fixed on his quill for the longest time, until finally she met his gaze. He was giving her a searching look, but it was also inviting. She wanted to confide in him. Pick his own brain for understanding.

“During the party at Old Aroon, I was alone, and near the trees and I...felt something. Like someone was watching me. And despite my better judgment something made me actually want to go seek it out. I’d almost forgotten about it, but after all this I just feel…” She clenched and unclenched her fingers. She struggled to find words, like she was digging them out of the mud. “It feels connected. All of it. Does that sound insane?”

Calix listened with serious intent, putting down his quill as Mel met his inquisitive look. She seemed like she was about to pour her heart out, release the mental shackles holding her inner thoughts back, and Calix knew a physician taking evaluative notes was the last thing she needed at that moment. There was something about her, something about the way she spoke, something about the look in her eyes that pleaded her innocence, that made him believe the story that she told.

He leaned in closer, lowering his voice to a faint but audible whisper: “Okay, take a deep breath for me. As I said, I’m to help, okay? I don’t think you sound insane, Mel, not in a million years. But, let’s try and get to the bottom of this together. Did you feel the same presence at the Quidditch match, or did you feel anything there at all? Have you told anyone else about it?”

“It feels...similar,” she said. “I get this same feeling of dread.” She paused before answering his last question, wondering how best to answer it. She hadn’t really told anyone about it, save for Ella. She’d briefly brought it up to Owa, but hadn’t gone into much detail. And as for Enzo…

“I didn’t tell him about this incident in particular, but I did have a conversation with Enzo Bellerose,” she replied. “Just about the Gladur in general. He’s...heard some things. Just whispers, y’know. But he seems to be on the same page as me. There’s something seriously...amiss.

She thought back to the image of that single black leaf, and her heart clenched with dread.

“It’s just a feeling I have. I just know it.”

Calix reached across the desk as she spoke, taking Mel’s clenched hands in his. He wrapped his hands around hers and squeezed tight, little puffs of pink mist starting to appear as his magic poured into her. He had sensed her heart start to flutter, an arrhythmia beginning to form as the memories came rushing back and he cast gentle spells to settle her perturbed composition.

The mention of Enzo Bellerose made Calix take a sharp intake of breath, one he masked quickly. The Aquilen had left the infirmary not that long ago - Calix had been the one to sign his discharge papers having been his attending mediwizard. He wasn’t going to lie, he was happy to see the boy go. He didn’t have the nicest of demeanours nor the friendliest of ways with people. But, Calix wasn’t surprised to hear he was involved in some way. Perhaps Enzo had heard Calix speak of the Gladur while in the infirmary and had relayed it to Mel.

“I agree with you, Mel. There’s some connection between the Gladur and what’s going on, whether it’s a big connection or a small one,” Calix said, the reassurance hopefully adding to his spells, “But, for now, I think I would be best to not say much until we know what’s going on, yeah? You saw Liara this morning. Things are seriously amiss. But, we’ll sort them, okay?”

The magic leaving Calix’s hands seeped through Mel’s bloodstream and with it came a rush of calm, like warm sunlight. Her fears were still there, but they became muted, like hearing music from underwater. They were so far away from her now. Calix was right. Getting worked up wasn’t going to solve anything, and the last thing she wanted to do was cause any sort of trouble. There had been enough of that to last a lifetime over the last week.

Either way, Calix’s words reassured her. She smiled at him, a genuine grin, and squeezed his hands back before standing. “You’re right. Thank you so much, Calix. I feel a lot better after speaking with you.”

Their hands steadily parted as Mel stood from the chair. She was smiling, a genuine, wholehearted smile that was reciprocated by Calix without a moment’s hesitation as he watched the fears drift to the background of her mind. They wouldn’t leave - the feeling of dread would possibly return - but Calix would simply have to keep an eye on her.

“Hey, what did I tell you,” he shrugged, picking up his quill and signing his elegant signature on a slip of silver paper, confirming that Mel had completed her evaluation. He handed her the silvery document. “All I’m here to do is talk and make sure everyone is okay, yeah. And if you ever need someone to talk to, just give me a shout, Mel. We need to stick together now more than ever.”

As he spoke, he started to write on the sheet once more. The invisibility charm hid his recommendation to see Mel again soon, to make sure that in the coming days and weeks that sensation didn’t manifest as something more sinister or insidious.

Enzo and Mel have something to do with this… more than I dare to contemplate. I’ll need to keep an eye on both of them… before they get themselves hurt.

“It was lovely meeting you, Mel.”

She clutched the paper in her hands, feeling a further wave of relief wash over her. It had felt good speaking with Calix, but more than anything she was glad to be done of this ordeal so she could return to her room and prepare for classes the next day. A sense of normalcy and routine might be just what she needed to clear her head.

“You as well, Calix.” She dipped her knees in a half-curtsy of farewell, and then strode from the room, feeling significantly lighter than when she had entered it.