#to specifically make sure it means dreamwalk but yeah

[gingergari]

@dooplissss

meet ayumu nakagawa(中川歩夢, nakagawa ayumu), the second year art history teacher at ua and pro hero dreamer!

quirk: dreamwalk

dreamer can enter the dreams of others and interact with both the elements of the dream and the person dreaming themselves. with training in lucid dreaming, dreamer can summon some objects but is limited outside of his own dreams. any injuries inflicted on either party while the quirk is active will reflect on their physical bodies once they wake up.

the quirk active radius can vary, but average strength is around 25-30 meters.

dreamer typically works at night and works in finding missing persons and otherwise locating and/or apprehending hard to find villains. one of his students has expressed interest in joining his agency should he expand operations.

dreamer has a soft voice and appears to be rather tired some days, but tries his best to keep the class engaged anyway. he has been teaching at ua for about 4 years.

(submit a number from 1-30 to see one of my bnha ocs!)

here’s the one other time i drew him! (2021)

[free-boundsoul]

His moms are super duper nice. I would bet anything that they’ll come to a few of the home games, even though they live so far away. You could bake any one of those brownie varieties you mentioned. Besides, I can’t imagine you making a bad impression. You’re always so friendly, Freelancer. You clearly can handle dealing with any type of person. After all, most people have one conversation with me and run. You not only lasted for the whole conversation. You chose to have another one. And more after that!

That’s what I’m saying! Exactly. You get it Freelancer. I don’t think know more than fire-based magic means that I am somehow renouncing my identity as a fire-elemental. Of course I love using my fire most. But, as much as I hate to admit it, there are times when fire doesn’t help the situation. I hope it’s not because I’d be fighting another elemental, though there is a certain water elemental I’d gladly like to burn to a crisp…

Oh, that’s understandable. Definitely leave him at home then. Gavin feeds your cat enough treats to be the favorite. Cheater.

Thanks! That sounds really meaningful, Freelancer. Thank you. Oh, wow, and you’re sketching it right now for me to see? That’s such an incredible talent. Although, you’ve really got to watch your posture when you draw. Geez, Freelancer. Either that or you better draw yourself a back-brace! It’s not that I don’t want you to draw. I love seeing you create art. But I also don’t want you to hurt yourself when you do it. I don’t know about that. People can probably tell I’m a fire-elemental from my aura. Besides, as soon as I open my mouth, they were probably realize it. Freelancers have a less-specific aura, but it’s still detectable as a Freelancer. Kind of like process of elimination.

A sadism demon? But they are so rare. And I’ve never heard of one being seen by humans, much less being threatened by one. That sounds so scary, Freelancer. I’m just glad you’re okay now. I think there’s a ward to help with dreaming and sleeping. Let me check my text from a dreamwalking/dreamscape class I audited last year. Do you think that might help?

Well, to be fair, I’m not sure if the line itself was the problem or the fact that I was the one speaking it. Well, there’s no reason to be uncomfortable if you don’t have to be. Making you feel better could never be bother to me, Freelancer. Never. I promise you that. Here, give me your hands for a minute. That better?

Oh that’s way too much to make at once. Baker’s choice. You make whatever it is you want. And… whatever calls for the ingredients we have in the house. I heard there’s a storm coming tomorrow, so I don’t think we’ll want to go to the grocery store to pick up anything unless we absolutely need it.

Yeah! Anything that he remembers can be shared like that. Memory retention is a skill that you can practice. It’s related to memory-modification, but not exactly the same thing. The emotions have a more difficult time being shared between two people. It’s possible, but I think it takes more energy, especially if you’re not a telepath with a gift for that type of magic. It’s hard because we all experience emotions differently, so there’s a lot of translation that it has to go through. I think that’s why teachers don’t exactly rely on telepathic stuff to teach, but I imagine that it could help supplement lessons, maybe in a one-on-one tutoring session or something. Could you imagine the energy it would take to connect a five hundred person lecture hall like that? I’d be wiped after ten minutes!

You’re bad enough, Freelancer! Don’t you dare hide any of these delicious eclairs!

-Damien

I'll have to make sure with Hux that they don't have any allergies. That's really sweet of you to say Damien, but I think you're forgetting how awkward I was when we first met. I'm surprised you kept talking to me. Which will only lead to your downfall cuz now you're stuck with me.

I always thought it was admirable that you're going for full certification as a fire elemental, since most elementals seem to just focus on their element. Though, it is absolutely dazzling getting to watch you in your element, especially your performance at the games this year. And you'll have to meet Eren the next time you come over. I bet he'll be glued to you. He loves stretching out on warm spots.

.... It's not that bad, I don't hurt when I draw...just when I straighten up after spending hours in the same position. And you'd think a back brace would be a good idea, except when I wore one, I ended up fighting against it and doing more damage. But het, if you ever have back problems, let me know. I got good at back massages since my grandpa has a bad back. I bet I can get your back to pop like a glowstick. Gavin seems to enjoy it at least.

And I don't know if they realize it when you open your mouth. It'd be pretty stupid to assume someone's race by their personality or how they talk. I bet there are fiery earth elementals, or somber air elementals. You're a pretty cool fire elemental, once you get to know you.

That'd be super helpful, thank you, Damien! I don't think we have to worry about him anymore but it's better to be prepared. Gavin is teaching me some defensive magic to break free from paralysis too, so even if I do get caught, I can hopefully get free.

Oh, um, yeah, that's a lot better, thank you Damien! Your hands are always so pleasantly warm. I guess we should go take a look at what your parents have to see what I can make. Though, I'm leaning toward the red velvet cheesecake brownies. I think your mom and dad would like those. Should we take a run to the store tonight before the storm comes? That way we can pick up anything else we'll need too.

Oh wow that's so cool! And that makes sense, emotions are pretty volatile. Can you do memory retention? That would make a useful study tool. Kind of like photographic memory? And yeah, I didn't think of the energy needed to connect to such a large audience, haha. I don't think I'd want to hear five hundred voices in my head, either.

Oh, think you can stop me? I could just lift them out of your reach if it came down to it.

[rayofsunas]

red – choi san

A/N: sorry for the long absence y'all, but I plan to be writing a lot more. thank you for being patient, and to those who have stuck around or kept reading my works! <333 This took me close to 3 hours, but I honestly had so much fun writing it. I used Grammarly to edit this and went over it as well, it's 1 am though so sorry if there are typos. I'm sure you're all itching to read something so here you go, lol! stay safe and be kind to one another! (no gif because the one I was going to use wasn't loading properly) 

Pairings: Choi San x Fem! Reader

Summary: There was always this beautiful, but horrifying, place where you would always travel during deep slumbers. You were never sure if it was based on your fears, maybe wishes. If it even existed or not. But turns out, you weren't as scared of the place as you originally thought.

Warnings: Swearing, god/angels/heaven (mentioned), devil/demons/hell (mentioned), supernatural lore, dream walkers (supernatural), dark humor, sarcasm

Words: 1,509

requested by @ShadsKpop on wattpad

––

The sky was red, the air was heavy, smelling like something metallic, and another scent you couldn't decipher, the environment around you made you feel trapped, yet secure at the same time, scared but also filled with a curiousness that seemed to block it all out.

This place, whatever it was, definitely wasn't like anything you'd seen before. If you could guess, it was something that closely resembled what one would think hell would look like. Red sky, black trees, vines, and flowers that seemed withered and pretty much dead. Not even a water source of any kind, but still there were what looked like life if you could say those mimics of life were alive. They looked pretty dead to you. As you ventured further into the world you know for sure you've seen many times in your dreams, you realized that there was definitely luring you in. Maybe it was your own curiosity, but you definitely felt another presence, calling for you, almost reaching out for you.

Why were you here? Where were those monsters you saw in one of your dreams? Why were you conflicted? Feeling both terrified, yet not tremendously keen on returning home to the real world just yet.

A wisp of air being blown in your ear caused goosebumps to rise along your chilling skin, something you had felt a few times after waking up from nightmares. "You're finally here. I've been waiting for you."

Gasping, you couldn't help but jump from the sudden scare. Whipping around, you found yourself facing a young man with dark raven hair and a red outfit with a silver chain necklace, it seemed to represent his muscly body incredibly, from what you could see from his toned legs. Considering the place you were in and assuming it was something like hell or maybe even the dark place itself, you weren't sure he'd find the name 'God' enjoyable. But he did look like a beautiful creature that God had created, and it astonished you greatly.

He didn't look familiar, though but his aura felt identical to the presence you kept feeling in your dreams, almost every time they occurred. What the stranger did too, blowing in your ear. That action was familiar, a habit even for him.

His head cocked to the side, and his eyebrows knit together, he looked just as lost as you. Completely puzzled.

"Your aura doesn't feel like the prophets said it would," He muttered. "Stupid angels, once again wrong."

You just eyed him suspiciously, mouth still agape from the jump scare earlier. Speechless was definitely an understatement as to how you felt, you truly were lost in an abyss. You didn't understand what he was saying, you couldn't even think properly.

"Are you going to speak or what?"

You stared at him in disbelief watching as he sighed loudly and walked over to a blackened 'tree', where he plopped against a large boulder.

"Great, another slow earthling, who happens to be a dream walker, isn't that just great."

Anger bubbled with your bones.

"Am I going to speak?" How inconsiderate of him, expecting you to be able to speak actual sentences that made sense, while he was throwing confusing concepts at you. Stomping over to him, he held a smirk on his face as he watched your own become reddened by the growing anger and annoyance. Asshole. "I am beyond confused and you're just going to be rude to me?! Maybe if yo-" Something shiny on the young man's right pinky finger had caught your line of sight. Snatching his wrist, you held the surprisingly burning body part in front of your face, ignoring. "Wait!" You snapped.

It was ruby red, with a silver band of sorts. It looked incredibly simple, yet sharp, and unlike any other jewel, you'd seen before. You hadn't seen many as beautiful as this one, ever.

The sight of it just confirmed what you were already assuming.

"So you were the one in my dreams," You pointed out, he nodded, seemingly glad you were catching on. "That was me!" Your eyes squinted at him, dropping his wrist distastefully and pointing your pointer finger at him. "You were watching me."

"Sure call it what you want. I was just observing the girl who apparently will do great things here on hell." He waved it off nonchalantly.

So, this was hell... That didn't explain anything though, except as to where you are.

"You're a stalker." You concluded.

"I was told to look out for you." He tried to redefine stalker. It wasn't going to work for you.

"Correction, stalk me." You couldn't count how many times he'd appeared in shadows, never showing his face, obviously toying with you, but showing specific parts or doing things like blowing in your ear, that would be recognizable in the future.

He shook his head abruptly, jumping to his feet. "Watch over you!"

You rolled your eyes. "You're a stalker, end of story," he rolled his eyes, approaching you with long strides. "Since I now know you were the one who's been stalking me, it's safe to assume you were the asshole who kept blowing in my ear."

"Also me," He took credibility proudly, despite it not being something to want to claim proudness over. "Definitely not the asshole part, that couldn't have been me." You huffed. "It was. The asshole part included, I wasn't even bothering you in the dreams. You were just doing it because you're an asshole."

"I'm a demon, I like playing around with clueless earthling-dreamwalkers," The nameless being, now known as a demon, shrugged his shoulders.

"So, what exactly is going on here, asshole-stalker."

"Well, clueless, earthling-dream walker," you scoffed, annoyed that he managed to one-up you by one more nickname. "Welcome to hell, my name is San, son of Satan, the most powerful demon, outside out of my father of course," San carried on. "You're here because you're the Red Queen we've been waiting for, and you're going to unite heaven and hell."

"Unite heaven and hell?" He nodded.

"Isn't that... weird?"

His head shook, "Why would it be?" You deadpanned. "Um, I don't know, how're good and evil supposed to co-exist together, like that..."

"Easy! Once those pissy angels are under the control of Satan, coexisting won't be a problem!"

"We'll be in control."

"So what do you expect me to do, annex them?"

"Exactly!" You shook your head at the demon's excitement.

"No thanks, I don't want any part in this." He snorted loudly, calling bullshit on your statement. "That's what they all say! But you're the Red Queen, it's your destiny."

"Red Queen, huh? I have no special abilities, I'm from earth, and apparently I'm an idiotic dream walker, whatever the hell that means!"

"That's why I'm here, as the second most powerful being in the world, it's my job to help you awaken your powers."

"No, I want no part."

"It's in the prophets Y/n!" You could tell San was growing more and more frustrated. But what bothered you was that he knew your name and you hadn't even gotten that far as to tell him. Why were you even shocked though? He was a stalking asshole.

"I'm not from here, it's not my job." he looked furious, and you were so sure he was going to snap at you, yell some more. But he didn't, instead, the young man shook his head and stepped back with a sharp glare.

"You're selfish." You frowned but immediately replaced it with a scowl.

"You're still an asshole." He wasn't phased by the insulting nickname, not right now at least. Maybe another day.

"It's what's right. Angels have been capturing demons and taking their demonic grace, many of my people have gone missing over the years. They seem to think they're so high and mighty after the last battle between angels and demons,"

"It pisses me off, that they think they can just get away with it. My old man says their time will come when the Red Queen arrives."

You ignored what he had to say about the Red Queen prophecy, not wanting to feel pressured anymore into taking up on whatever troubling offer he had up his sleeves "There was a battle?"

"Of course there was a battle!" San's eyes rolled, "It was bound to happen."

"On this very Island actually, what a coincidence."

Looking around suspiciously, you frowned in confusion. This was an island? Where was the water then... "Island?

"Yeah, island," he looked annoyed once again as if he wanted to flick your forehead. "We're on one of the old battlefields. It broke off a couple of thousand years ago when the angels and demons went to war."

"Who won?" You questioned curiously.

"Evil always wins." He gloated.

You couldn't help but snort and shake your head. Clearly he hadn't seen the movies where hero's had always beat evil. "Not true. Where I come from, the hero's in stories always come out victorious."

"Maybe on earth where earthlings can make up fake characters based off of their wishes and fears,"

"Here where I come from? Satan and his demons always win. Evil wins every time."

[pinkykitten]

Uncertain Hunting

Avatar (James Cameron)

Tsu’tey x dream walker! female reader

Warnings: 1 cuss word, hunting

Specifics: hunting, comedy, fluff, romance, man vs nature, na’vi language, training, race neutral reader, dream walker reader

People: Tsu’tey te Rongloa Ateyitan, you, Jake Sully (mentioned), Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at’ite (mentioned), Grace Augustine (mentioned),  Norm Spellman (mentioned), two other trainees from the movie (mentioned)

Words: 1,533

Summary: As a dreamwalker learning the ways of the Na’vi people you must learn how to hunt. Of course your teacher is the stern Tsu’tey. He must teach you all that you need to know. 

Authors Note: where do i begin...*sigh* THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST MOVIES EVER MADE!!!!! i fell in luv with it when i first saw it in 2009, i have always wanted to write about it but my writing wasnt really that good back then and i was still self conscious about my writing. but now i am going to try to rebuild this fandom, i am going to try to make it luved again. it will take time but oh well. also my sis luvs tsu’tey, like that is her husband. i am so excited to show this to you guys, and to kinda write something i want to write (not that it means i dont like writing what u guys request cuz trust me i totally do). get ready to see more of avatar and request if u want to about this fandom, trust me it will make my day. i hope u guys like this as much as i do and feedback is always appreciated! no this was not requested. 

You were taught many things in your life. Taught how to care for yourself, how to be your own person. 

You also studied the Na’vi people for 5 years. Recently, you had gotten your avatar body. It was such an experience, to feel more alive. 

All the hard work paid off in the end. 

You and others such as your friend Jake Sully, Grace Augustine, and Norm Spellman came to Pandora to research the land and take some samples. 

That is until Jake had to start making a ruckus and you and Jake got lost. But maybe Jake didn’t do such a dimwitted act after all. 

You both then found, well Neytiri found you both, and took you and Jake into her clan. 

This, you felt was what you trained for all your life. To learn and try to become one of them, and to earn their trust. 

“Agh this stupid horse...thing!” You shouted at the ground, stomping at how frustrated you were. 

Trying to climb this...horse, or excuse me 

yeah, direhorse, or what Tsu’tey taught you, pa’li, was like trying to climb a mountain. 

“You are not trying hard enough. Again,” Tsu’tey instructed you. 

You peered over to see your poor friend, Jake, also failing, making you laugh. 

“Over here,” Tsu’tey grabbed your chin to get your attention to what you were doing. 

“Okay, okay, okay.” You huffed, walking backwards a good enough distance, and then with all your speed you sprinted forward, ending it with a jump. 

As you looked under you, you saw you were indeed riding a direhorse. 

“Look Tsu’tey I did it!”

Just then the direhorse, sped away at the contact. You desperately holding on for your dear life. 

“Tsaheylu y/n! Mend the bond,” Tsu’tey shouted, while running after you. 

All you could do was erupt a helpless scream, “I SHOULD HAVE NEVER DONE THIS!”

As you look up ahead you spot a cliff, “oh no.”

If you don’t form the bond now, you were going to be flung off the cliff. 

“Tsaheylu, tsaheylu, tsaheylu,” you whispered to yourself. With some struggles, you grasped your braid and put the queue in its place, to make the bond with the animal. 

“Y/n,” Tsu’tey yelled with a worried tone. 

“Stop!” You yell before you almost, with a just a little more, fall off the cliff. The direhorse’s breathing softens and you are one with the animal. 

“What was that?”

You peer at Tsu’tey, then you burst out into laughter. I mean you almost died but the look on Tsu’tey’s face was priceless. 

You gave an evil grin, “wow. You actually were scared for me. You actually worried about me. I’m shocked, I am s h o o k e d all the way to my bones.”

Tsu’tey looked away, bashfully, giving you a tsk and a scowl, “ skxawng.” (idiot, moron)

“You know you love me, I can see it in your menari.” (eyes) 

Tsu’tey gave you a look of suprisement, his yellow cat like eyes widening. 

“Whats next... karyu?” (teacher) You straightened up. 

“Are you serious,” you opened your mouth wide. 

After your fiasco with the direhorse, your next lesson was to learn how to hunt. 

“You do realize this is life or death? Like I could die!”

Tsu’tey nodded, “well if you should die y/n, at least you still would have your other form, your other body.”

Rolling your eyes you puffed out your cheeks, “thanks for the reassurement.”

Out of the bushes came the other two students of Tsu’tey’s. They communicated in the Na’vi language making you feel left out. You were nervous and a bit embarrassed with having to learn these things with the other two students. They knew so much and they were younger than you. It made you feel self-conscious. 

Shaking your head you pushed those thought out. You regained your posture and interrupted the conversation, since the group was laughing, probably making fun of you. 

You spent 5 years learning about these people, you dam* right you were gonna learn how to hunt. 

“Are we ready to begin?”

Tsu’tey gave you a glare and then nodded. He explained to you how you and another group, which included Neytiri and Jake were also going to hunt. 

You breathed in and out, scared to what the outcome might be. You felt a large hand on your shoulder. You look to see that it is Tsu’tey, “you will be alright, I am here.”

You smiled at his comment and placed your hand on his shoulder. 

This next part will be inspired by this scene: 

Avatar DELETED Scenes 3 look up on youtube these words

On a direhorse you try to catch a sturmbeest or how the Na’vi call it a talioang. Carrying your bow n arrow, your direhorse runs by the creatures. A stampede, their legs booming with such power. They sprint as a herd, trying to get away from the hunting. 

You spot one that is close to you and try to shoot it with an arrow. The arrow hits its hardened skin at the top, and the arrow breaks. 

“Crap,” you mutter under your breath. 

The sound of banshees, or ikran’s makes you look up to see Neytiri and Jake (jake aint that high up in social standards yet he still is training) and a group of others. 

Your attention was to them that you almost forgot that you had to watch out that you didn’t interfere with a sturmbeest. Thankfully you looked just in time, you were about to knock into one. 

“Nari si (watch out, be careful),” yells Tsu’tey, keeping an eye out for you.

“Sorry,” you shout. Focusing again on hunting. 

You feel a smile creep on your face seeing out of the corner of your eye Tsu’tey watching you. Making sure you are okay. He gives mini glances to the other students but with you, he keeps on the watch. 

You stand up on your direhorse and erupt a war chant, earning a grin from Tsu’tey. As you stand you try to get a good angle at the operculum. 

“C’mon y/n, you got this,” you tell yourself, closing one eye to get a better look at your target. 

Suddenly, a sturmbeest came by your direhorse and knocked it down making you also fall down. But you jumped in time to land on a sturmbeest. 

“Y/n!” Tsu’tey called out to you. Worried laced in his voice. He rode next to you. 

You screamed in fear, holding on for dear life. Other sturmbeests smashing against you, making you almost slip off. That couldn’t happen because then you would be trampled by other sturmbeests. 

You tried to shoot the creature under you, to gain your first kill. Struggling to get the arrow into its operculum, you try but then slip almost falling off. 

“Y/n, you need to jump,” yelled Tsu’tey as he rode next to you. 

“Why?!?”

“Look up,” Tsu’tey exclaimed looking up. 

You move your head to see what laid in front of you.

“Are you serious?!?” You were just not having good luck today. A huge, thick tree was ahead in your path. Sooner or later you would be knocking into the tree. 

“Y/n, listen to me you need to jump,” Tsu’tey ordered you. 

“Wait, I need to kill this thing first.”

“No, we don’t have time. Y/n listen to me.”

“Trust me!” With that you quickly looked behind you to make sure no other sturmbeest or animal was coming next to you on your left. In one swift movement, you jumped to the side of the sturmbeest, you holding on to the side of its neck. You grab your arrow and forcefully, with a cry, stab the animal in its operculum, making it stumble and fall. 

“Tsu’tey,” you quickly make a great, huge jump from the sturmbeest you were riding on to Tsu’tey’s direhorse. 

Tsu’tey caught you in his arms, and then placed you behind him on his direhorse. 

Tsu’tey rides away from the commotion. You taking long breaths and sweat producing on your forehead. 

It is quiet for a couple of minutes and then Tsu’tey starts, “what was that woman? Do you know what you just did?”

You get off the direhorse and land on the grass. “I just did my first kill, I did it!”

Tsu’tey also got off the direhorse, “Y/n, you almost killed yourself! You also almost got others killed!”

“You see the key word is almost, I didn’t-”

“Do you see this as a joke? You could of gotten very hurt today, and I promised to myself and Eywa that I would protect you. You frightened me today y/n.”

“Ngaytxoa (I’m sorry). I just wanted you to be proud of me like how you are with your other students. I want you to see that I am willing to give my all to become a part of your people. To earn your guys trust. I needed to prove to you and, to myself.”

Tsu’tey walked closer to you, a angry scowl on his face. He placed his hands on your shoulders, “Skxawng (moron, idiot) be careful next time.” His face softened into a loving smile. 

He placed his hands on your cheeks, giving them a small caress. 

“And y/n, I am always proud of you.”

[welcometophu]

Missed Fortunes: Crowns 7

Twinned Book 2: Missed Fortunes

Crowns 7

[ Previous | First | Next ]

Carolyn isn’t drunk. She hasn’t had a sip of alcohol, or any other substances that might alter her mood. But she’s happy. Giddy. Silly from dancing for hours and spending time with her friends, and perhaps a little punchy. She slips off her shoes as soon as she’s inside the house, then picks them up, straps dangling from her fingers, as Mac laughs.

“You don’t have to take off your shoes. We don’t have to sneak in,” Mac whispers.

“Then why are you whispering?” Carolyn whispers in return. Mac laughs again, the sound echoing off the walls in the small entryway; Carolyn presses a finger to her lips as she slowly climbs the stairs with Mac behind her.

It’s late, but not all that late. Some of the SigPsiE sisters are still at the event, cleaning up, or doing press with the local celebrities to be ready for the morning news. Most left earlier, heading out with families or significant others, disappearing to enjoy their lives outside of the Paint it Red gala.

Carolyn had stayed because her friends were there and she was having a great time. It wasn’t a surprise when Cass and Dax left before the evening was over, but Drea stayed, along with Corbin, and as long as they were there, so were Alaric and Chris. Carolyn had eventually persuaded Kit to join them on the dance floor, where Mac, Soledad, and Serina were already dancing with the group. They’d all danced until the DJ played the last song, and when silence fell, it was finally time to go home.

Mac hisses, “Shhhh,” and when Carolyn turns around, Mac opens her eyes wide and tiptoes up the stairs past her in exaggerated motion. Carolyn giggles, the sound loud in the strange silence of the house. She can’t remember ever feeling this silly while completely and utterly sober before.

A door opens on the second floor, and a girl calls out, “What are you guys doing?” The door slams again, and Carolyn laughs loudly while Mac hushes her equally loudly.

“We are sober!” Carolyn insists, lost to laughter.

“We are totally and completely sober,” Mac agrees, laugh fading to a quiet giggle. She nudges Carolyn. “Come on. We should get to bed. You’ve got a case of the sillies and so do I.”

“We’re punchy from lack of sleep.”

“It’s been a long week. A long few months,” Mac agrees, smile disappearing. She takes a deep breath as they reach the top of the stairs. Carolyn echoes her, the urge to giggle slowly fading with the long exhalation. It really has been a long few months. One night doesn’t erase all the stress, but it still makes Carolyn happy that they had this one good night.

“I love how, despite all the work that goes into it beforehand, Paint it Red always somehow ends up being fun,” Carolyn says quietly. “Even though there was plenty of awkward drama—”

“Did you hear Alaric shouting a time limit when Cass dragged Dax off the dance floor to leave?” Mac asks.

Carolyn winces. “I tried to ignore that part. Is Cass oversexed or is that just me?”

“She’s got a healthy sex drive, and you prefer that people around you are private, which is fine.” Mac tugs, and Carolyn goes into the hug, lets Mac pat her on the head. Carolyn’s tall enough that Mac comes up to her nose, so she has to hunch over to let Mac try to take care of her. It’s uncomfortable, but kind of nice at the same time. Besides. She’s used to Heather being short.

Oh. Right.

Heather.

Carolyn looks at her own door. “Um. Do you know when they left?” She keeps her voice down, even though she knows that if Heather’s awake, she already has to know that Carolyn’s right there. It’s not like she’s managed to be quiet, after all.

“Last I saw they were slow dancing, then you went to drag Kit away from the table and I lost track of them.” Mac gestures at the stairs. “You’re welcome to sleep on my floor, if you need to.”

“No.” Carolyn puts her hand on the door knob, turns it without opening. “Nik’s already here most of the time. It’s not anything new tonight.”

Even if it actually is, because they’re dating now. Heather and Nikita are official, and Carolyn’s not sure what that means for her room. One nice thing about rooming with Heather has been the fact that neither Carolyn nor Heather has dated anyone since moving into this room. They haven’t had to worry about this before.

“The offer stands. Just knock if you change your mind,” Mac says. She waves as she heads for the stairs that lead up to her tiny room on the third floor.

Carolyn pushes the door open slowly. She figures that if they’re in the room, and awake, they already heard her outside, and she gave them plenty of warning by turning the knob and waiting before she opened the door. But more warning can’t hurt, so she calls out a soft, “Hey,” before she gets the door open all the way. As light spills out, she moves more quickly, stepping into the room.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Nik says, catching the door before Carolyn can let go. Nikita’s already wearing a sleep shirt and shorts, her feet bare as she pads down the hall.

Carolyn closes the door slowly. “Hey,” she says again.

Heather’s hair is loose from her earlier twist, frizzed and curled around her face. Abandoned semi-formal attire lies crumpled on the floor, and Heather’s also already dressed for sleep. She sits on her bed, cross-legged, her expression soft. “Hey,” she replies, smile blooming.

Carolyn feels calm wash over her. Soft pleasure in slow waves. “Um. Do you realize that you’re leaking happy all over the place?” she asks with a small laugh.

“I’m not the one who sounded drunk and could’ve woken the dead coming up here.” Heather slides off the bed, stretches. There’s a red mark on her side, where her shirt rides up, and for a moment Carolyn is concerned. Then Heather tugs the shirt down quickly, and Carolyn feels embarrassment wash over her.

She’s pretty sure that’s both her and Heather. Carolyn really doesn’t want to think about the specifics of how that mark got there. “Still leaking all the happy and awkward emotions,” she mumbles. “Also, I didn’t interrupt something, did I? I mean, is this sleepover a girlfriend thing, or a Dreamwalker thing? Do we need to start doing some kind of a sock on the door thing? Or you could just text me. I’ll read my texts before coming home.”

“It’s both a girlfriend and a Dreamwalker thing, but you didn’t interrupt anything,” Heather says, her expression still soft. “Is that going to be okay?”

“As long as you’re done having sex and I don’t have to see or hear it,” Carolyn says, because she knows Heather will value the bluntness. Still. Carolyn sighs heavily. “I barely saw you before the gala today. And we all had a really great time during it. You guys are really cute, and I can see that she likes you. A lot. I just… I’m sorry we fought last night.”

Heather licks her lips, her gaze darting toward the door. Her skin is flushed, stained with red. When she pushes a hand through her hair, pulling it back from her face, it lifts her shirt again. Carolyn stares at Heather’s face to avoid seeing any other signs of their intimacy.

“I’m sorry we fought, too,” Heather says. “I was going to tell you, but it wasn’t actually a girlfriend thing before you interrupted us last night. She kissed me, and I—”

“I didn’t even know you liked—” Carolyn stumbles to a stop. She didn’t mean to interrupt Heather, and she waves her hand in the air for her to continue. Or respond. She’s not sure exactly what.

“Nikita?” Heather says, breaking into low giggles.

“Girls,” Carolyn says quietly. It feels like something she should’ve known already. Heather knows that Carolyn doesn’t care, right?

“Yeah, I hadn’t really come to terms with that myself, either,” Heather admits. “I had crushes. I just never really thought about acting on them. I thought it was an aesthetic appreciation, or some kind of spillover of emotions from somewhere. You know how sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s internal and what’s external.” She touches her head, waves as if to say emotions could be coming from anywhere, and for Heather, Carolyn supposes they can. “I didn’t really think of it as me, and now I’m wondering how many opportunities I missed because I didn’t get past she’s cute and into oh hey I should ask her out before.”

Carolyn glances at the door, lowers her voice. She remembers Nikita saying how maybe Carolyn didn’t think Heather was gay enough for her, and she wonders if that was Nikita worrying out loud that maybe Heather wasn’t as invested as Nikita. “This isn’t an experimentation thing, right?” At Heather’s dark look. “I just—I don’t want you hurt. But at the same time, Nikita summoned a hail storm on my head. I’m pretty sure she really likes you, and she has universe destroying Talent. I don’t want to see her get hurt, either.”

“I don’t want to hurt her. I really like her. Emotionally, aesthetically, and physically.” Heather grins and wiggles her eyebrows. Her bright cheer is infectious, even without her emotions leaking. It’s obvious that she’s happy, and Carolyn’s happy for her.

Carolyn holds out her arms, hugs Heather hard and says, “Gross. No details.” She digs in the closet, pulling out a fresh t-shirt and shorts. “And stop thinking about missed opportunities. You make your own fortune in the end, right? And it seems to me like you’ve made the one you want most. You like Nikita, she likes you, so you’re where you need to be. Nothing’s been missed at all.”

“When you put it like that….”

“I almost sound like the smart one about relationships.” It’s a joke, and Heather laughs, as Carolyn meant for her to do. The change in tension gives Carolyn a chance to step back and get changed out of her dress, hanging it over the edge of her chair so she can send it off for dry-cleaning tomorrow. Once she’s changed, she picks up Heather’s and Nik’s clothes as well, draping them carefully.

By the time she looks at Heather, the serious expression has returned.

“We didn’t get to talk last night,” Heather says. “About what you did.”

Carolyn stops cleaning, confused. “I thought we just did.”

“Not about you barging in, or interrupting. About how you did it.” Heather gestures at her, at her backpack lying on the floor. “Was that your traveling Talent? Like in your dream? Did you do it on purpose this time?”

“Oh! That.” Carolyn grabs her discarded clutch and pulls out her phone and the two pictures now tucked in the pocket on the back. She motions for Heather to join her, then carefully unfolds them both on the desktop. “Do you remember when Kit did this sketch of our room back when we first moved in? Serina and I were at Sweet Scoops, and I told her about the illusions. She asked about the card I saw that got me back here when I had the nightmare, and I remembered this sketch. So I brought it out and I tried to see if I could create an illusion for it, and it sucked me in. I disappeared from Sweet Scoops entirely. Cass had to get Serina home, and she brought me my notebook when I left it behind.”

Heather’s smile blooms even wider, a tiny squeal of pleasure as she claps her hands. The sensation washes over Carolyn, infusing her bones with Heather’s cheerful delight. “You did it! What next? Was it because it was Kit’s sketch? I thought you were using your cards?”

Carolyn’s not sure she’s as excited as Heather. “This is still kind of terrifying and new,” she admits. “Kit’s art felt good. I had the cards in that dream, and I thought about a card for Alaric when I was desperate to get out of the dream with Mattie. But I haven’t been able to do it on purpose. With this picture, it worked when I wanted it to.”

“So you can control it,” Heather says.

The door creaks open slowly, thunking closed after Nikita slips in. “Don’t mind me,” she says.

“Carolyn made an illusion and traveled on purpose yesterday,” Heather says.

Carolyn winces. “On purpose and control are really big words for how I feel about this, Heather. I’m not sure either one really fully applies yet.”

Nikita huffs. “I completely understand that feeling,” she mutters. “Control and on purpose are things people say when they think you’ve figured everything out. Then next thing you know it’s hailing and you realize that it all means shit.”

It’s not exactly the same thing, but Carolyn appreciates the sentiment behind the statement. “Similar concept but with cards, illusions, and traveling, yeah.”

“What’s the picture of the library for?” Heather touches the new sketch on Carolyn’s desk.

“That’s my experiment for tonight.” Carolyn inhales slowly, holds the breath for a moment, counting. Trying to center herself and calm the nerves she can feel pricking at her skin. “I’ve only done it once that was mostly on purpose. So I still need practice, and it needs to be some kind of controlled practice. So I asked Kit if he could sketch the library Talent special collections room for me. I’m going to be spending a lot of time there this semester.”

Nikita slides up behind Heather, wraps her arms around her center. She’s tall enough to hook her hands together just below Heather’s breasts, the shirt bunching up as Nikita presses her cheek to Heather’s. It’s intimate in a surprisingly emotional way rather than physical, and Carolyn ducks her gaze away. She can’t figure out how she missed seeing it before now.

Probably because she’s not good with how people fit together, no matter how many people seem to be coming to her for advice lately.

“So you think you can use that picture to get to the library?” Nikita asks.

Carolyn’s heart trips because this seems like that moment to test the theory. “Yeah. I like the way my cards feel. They work for me for readings. They feel like a part of me. But when I want to reach out for an illusion, when I want to try to reach that new Talent, Kit’s art feels right to me. So I guess the trick is seeing if it’ll work, and making sure I take everything with me when I go.”

“Are you going now?” Heather’s brow furrows, and Nikita presses a kiss to her cheek.

Carolyn looks at the pictures on the desk, her phone lying next to them. She carefully folds up the picture of her room, tucks it back in the pocket, then shoves her phone into her bag. She has her notebook, and a book she needs to read if she gets tired of doing research. “Sure,” she says, not feeling as certain as she sounds. “Why not? I’m not tired, and you two probably wouldn’t mind some more privacy. And um….” Her smile wavers. “As cute as you are together, this is awkward. So I really wouldn’t mind giving you that privacy. Maybe text me when you’re going to sleep.”

“You could just walk over to the library,” Heather points out. Her lips are pursed, and Carolyn knows a lecture is coming. One that begins with you need to do things the right way and won’t be sated by anything Carolyn says.

So Carolyn shoulders her bag first, then picks up the picture and holds it in both hands. “The only way to know is to try it. And I need to know if it works before I can talk to Pawel about it, right?” She wiggles the picture a little, paper rustling. “So, I’ll just head to the library, do some more research. And if you text me when you’re going to bed, I’ll just… pop back here. Hopefully without tripping over things and landing on my knees this time. Practice. Control.” She breathes slowly, tries to project a far more calm presence than she feels, her heart hammering in her chest.

It’s impossible to lie to an Empath.

Heather stares at her, and Carolyn is absolutely positive that she’s reading her. Weighing the lie against the fact that one of Nikita’s hands lies flat against her belly, and the fact that Nikita’s kissing her cheek, then behind her ear.

Heather covers Nikita’s hand with her own, squeezes lightly, and Nikita straightens up to look at Carolyn.

“Show us the illusion?” Heather asks slowly.

Carolyn nods, as if she has any control over it whatsoever.

She holds onto the paper tightly, determined to take it with her when she goes through. She stares at the picture, thinking about the smell of the room, the order of the books on the shelves. She imagines it coming to life, and it does, springing up into a tiny image at first, just a few inches across. Carolyn inhales roughly, and the illusion expands over the edges of the paper. It takes up the space between herself and Heather and Nikita; they step back as if it’s chasing them.

“Text me,” Carolyn says.

“I will.” Heather nods.

And that has to be enough. This is going to work. She is going to do this on her terms, taking the picture with her, and being prepared to come back the same way. Carolyn holds onto the picture with one hand, reaches forward with the next. The illusion ripples as her fingers break the surface, and she resolutely steps forward and through.

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[renegadesrpg]

Family Matters Part 1: Female Bonding. Truely and Celia CROSSOVER WITH Rekindled

Truely: *It'd been a hell of a day. I was overwhelmed with the weight of everything I'd witnessed and learned. I couldn't bear to see my shop. I assumed it was a disaster zone and just, I just couldn't. So, I hid. Under the covers of my bed.

 Everything hurt from my head to my toes, but most especially my heart. It’s not that I thought Zav was lying, after all I'd seen the evidence of his truth all over my shop. I just needed time to regroup. I didn't want to see or talk to anyone, so I didn't.

 I called my staff and gave them the week off, with pay. Not sure how that'd work but I'll manage. Then I got under my covers and fitfully slept. Dreams were non-existent because I didn't sleep long enough to have them. I kept waking, crying, then repeat.*

*Now the sun will be rising soon and I need a distraction and my regulars will be wanting morning bakes. So, I shower, dress, and make my way downstairs. I hear a noise from the shop and steel myself for another confrontation.*

 Alright assholes...*I try and keep steel in my voice as I throw the back door open only to be knocked back by the smells of cinnamon and vanilla.* Celia?

  Celia: *I'd watched over Truely while she slept. Part of the job and ghosts don't need sleep anyway. It had been a rough night from what I could tell but ghosts don't have the gift of dreamwalking so short of waking her, there was nothing I could do. And I figured waking her would just freak her out more than she already was. So when I was sure she was rousing and knowing she was protected up here in her apartment, I shimmered back down to the shop and began work. I wasn't sure what exactly she'd had planned for today so I went with cinnamon rolls and apple turnovers to start. Can't go wrong with those. Humming to myself as I put the first batch in the oven, I heard my name.*

 Hey Truely, lemme' get these in and then you can tell me what you need for the day.

Truely: *Whoaaaaa. I was not expecting this.* My shop is ok? I, um, I don't know what...thank you Celia. I don't know what happened as I expected a disaster but thank you. *I decided to close my unhinged jaw and get to work.*

It smells wonderful in here. Let me get the coffee going. *I grabbed my favorite apron and let the smells and sounds of a kitchen in use soothe me as I went out to the front and got the coffeemaker going.*

 Let's see, cinnamon rolls and apple um turnovers? So, should do some cookies, thinking chocolate chip and monster. Then maybe some peach cobbler sweet rolls for today's special. Whatcha think?

Celia: *Closing the oven door and smirking as I turn towards her* Of course your shop is ok. Didn't Zav tell you it would be? I could tell you a lot about that reaper angel of yours, but one of the top things would be that he keeps his promises. Cookies are simple enough. Add some coconut haystacks to that. I've got a good stovetop version that we can have out there in 15 minutes for early customers looking for something unusual. If you'll bring me a mug of that joe, two sugars please, I'll get the peach cobbler sweet rolls started.

 Truely: *I smile as I make my way to the coffee pot. I pour us both a cup, adding sugar to both plus cream in mine, then walk back to the kitchen.* Haystacks will be great! Here's your coffee. *I hand her the mug

But honestly so much was going through my head I probably spaced it. Oh! I should make chocolate peanut butter oatmeal no bakes. It can be a day of unusual. *I chuckle as I grab a bowl and the ingredients for my no bakes.*

Are you ok after all that happened yesterday? I'm guessing it was more fun for you, you know the whole kicking ass thing. Does your husband do what Zav does? I know it was mentioned he was away and that's why you came but now...I know it’s not the exact story right?

 Celia: *tilting my head at the cinnamon roll dough* I've got enough of this dough to use for a couple dozen peach cobbler rolls. If I use it, I can set another batch to rising and we can have both cinnamon rolls and peach cobbler rolls when the doors open and some of both baking for 10 o'clock brunch crowd. Do you get that here? *rolling out the dough as I speak,*

 Declan, my mate, is like me, a ghost. We aren't reapers. We were recruited to serve Zav's boss... well, it's complicated, he wasn't Zav's actual boss then, he'd stepped back from the reaper corps for the last thousand years, but he's back now... *sprinkling some spices and sugar on the rolled out dough, then opening canned peaches to make the filling* Anyway, his boss, Sin, wanted someone to cook for him and keep his properties in order. He said. I think he was just lonely. Reapers don't need to eat and he has lawyers and accountants to keep up with his money games. But when we died, Zav came for our souls, to help us move on, you know? But we weren't guaranteed our next lives were to be together and then Sin showed up and told Zav to leave us to him and so *shrugging* we stayed.

 Declan is supposed to be bodyguarding Sin right now. Like that's actually going to work. Sin does what Sin wants to do. The other reapers just wanted an early warning system in case Sin got jumped, someone to give them a minute to get to him. And who they could count on to shout out to them when it happened because they know Sin won't. And since winning the whole good vs evil showdown depends on Sin, it's kind of important he lives to do it. *snickers* They actually got him to stay on house arrest for a few weeks, but they had to know THAT wouldn't last.

Truely: *chuckles* Sounds like a man, er, male. Stubborn as hell. But this Sin must be a hell of a male to get such love and loyalty. I think it's wonderful he made sure you could stay with your mate. He must value the strength that comes from those things. Smart.

I smile as I drop the spoonful’s of batter on wax paper before putting the trays into the fridge to cool and harden.* I appreciate you sticking around. It’s nice talking to someone who gets what's going on. And any info on Zav you wanna share, feel free. *chuckles*

 Hey how are the buns faring? Need help?

 Celia: Sin /is/ a good male. He was a good man when he was human. Zav was his mentor then, you know? How they became friends. Zav told you he came to teach humans, right? It was a long, long time before we were around, but I know the story. Zav found Sin when he was just an ex-slave who had turned a rebellion into an army that was conquering war-lords left and right. Zav befriended him to teach him how to govern the lands he was conquering, to be a good king for the people. Something most of them hadn't had. And Sin became a very good king. But eventually it fell apart. Not because of Sin, unless you consider him being too successful and too tolerant a fault, but because a god got jealous of him. So Sin died and became Death's first reaper. And when that same god took Zav's family, Sin came for him and offered him a place with the reaper corps. So, yeah, he deserves the loyalty he gets. As for us, well...Sin lost his wife in all that. He's looked for her soul for thousands of years and never found it. I think he saw Declan and I as what he'd hoped to have. So we were lucky he was watching that day. *spooning the filling into the dough and then rolling it up.*

Can you hand me a knife so I can cut this into rolls?

 Truely: *I grab the knife closest to me and hand it over* Here you go. Zav is a teacher but now a reaper. He's still a teacher at heart though, I think. I take it Sin has yet to find his Queen? It’s a concept you learn about, reincarnation, and you think it's cool but you never think it’s really real. You know? *shrugs as I start the monster cookie mix* I wonder if my past self...hmmm, never mind. You could go crazy trying to figure some of this out. If I may ask, what was your life like when you were alive? Were you and your mate in charge of your people? Were you here in the states?

   Celia: *taking the knife and slicing the rolled log of dough* I think Sin's given up on finding her. It worries them, going into this. He'll fight to win, but he's lost his reason to survive it. *Laying the rolls one by one on a prepared baking sheet, being careful of the filling.*

Sure, you can ask. *laughs, then sobers* Wolfen can live a long time compared to humans. A couple of centuries, if they're allowed to die naturally. But wolven culture doesn't allow for that often. It's a survival-of-the-fittest world. And there's a very specific order within the packs. Declan was our pack's Beta, the second in charge. In the 20th century that basically meant he was in charge of security. His status gave me the status of second among the females. As such, I was in charge of domestic operations, including cooking. It was just luck that I went to culinary school before I was mated. All that stuff I told you was true, by the way. It was just in the early 1980's. *smiles reminiscently* We were the best fed pack in the northern Hemisphere.

  Truely: *smiles and chuckles* I bet so. You are very good at what you do. That includes kicking ass by the way. *I start spooning the cookie mixture onto the pans making sure to space them evenly.* So, I mean if you were seconds then what happened? Don't people usually go after the leaders?

  Celia: *I'm quiet for a moment. Some memories are hard to talk about. Putting the peach rolls in the oven, I take a towel and wipe my hands before tossing it into a laundry receptacle. Taking a breath, I meet her eyes. The world isn't what she thought it was and I wouldn't be doing her any favors by not telling her all of it now that she was aware of the bigger picture.*

 They went after /all/ of us. Every male, female and pup. None of us survived. *Inhaling again and then huffing it out.*

 We were a very prosperous pack. Our territory encompassed a large area that was rich rare earth elements -- stuff that's used in everything from computer screens to jet engines to communications systems. And another pack wanted it. They infiltrated us and then one night overrode our security systems. *My eyes grow bleak at the memories*

 Declan was running the late watch that night. He was one of the first to die, but he managed to sound the internal alarms first. Our Alpha rallied as many fighters as we had left in an attempt to defend the families but there just weren't enough fighters left. We were overrun.

  Truely: Oh dear Gods. Celia. *I squeezed her shoulder letting her feel my empathy. I figured she wasn't much for hugs, especially from a near stranger, but I needed her to know I was there.*

Thank you for sharing that. It couldn't have been easy. Does the pack that murdered your still exist? Or did they get their just rewards? *I slipped the first two trays of cookies into the oven.*

 Celia: *shrugs* The world isn't exactly what you thought it was, Truely. You deserve to know all of it. The good and the bad. Wolven culture carries the survival-of-the-fittest philosophy to the extremes, yes, but it’s not so different from other cultures. Very few are live-and-let-live. Greed and jealousy are motivations in the human world too. It's just not usually so blatantly done. *sighing*

 The pack that destroyed ours no longer exists. We had just begun doing business with a pack that was venturing into telecommunication technologies. They were looking into partnering with us, with us providing the raw materials and getting into the manufacturing end and them developing the applications and marketing. Their territory bordered ours and their alpha wasn't open to doing business with murderers. *giving you a lopsided small smile.* He also wasn't open to having his pack, and his own mate and young son, live so close to a pack who would kill pups. He took them down. Hard. Made an example out of the alpha and beta. The females and young of the pack he allowed to become part of his own. Fighting males and the alpha's pack council didn't survive the initial onslaught but males over 16 who weren't involved in the fighting were given the opportunity to assimilate or go lone wolf. Most of the young ones assimilated into Blood Moon. I don't know what happened to the others.

  Truely: Well, I'm glad they got theirs. No one should get away with slaughter like that. I know it happens but I don't have to like it and I can relish when assholes get theirs. I need you to do me a favor, if you will. We need a new thing of flour but it's in the cellar. Usually I have Dusti or Lu get it but they are gone. Would you mind getting it? I'll keep an eye on the goodies in the oven.

Celia: *raising my eyebrow* You have a cellar? Did you and Zav ward it? Reapers can get in anywhere Truely. Any open space.

  Truely: It’s very small and ya Zav did. I just. I don’t down there is all.

 Celia: *tilting my head quizzically* You don't go down there? *raising an eyebrow* When I get back, we're gonna talk about that. Anytime somebody gets the creepies about a place or person, there's a reason.

 *Going ghost, I dematerialize down into the cellar. Reforming, I look around* Hmmm, just your run-of-the-mill basement, *murmuring to myself.* Well-finished and clean. Well organized too. No spirits or bad juju here.

 *There was a large sealed container on a pallet near one of the shelves labeled "flour". Opening it, I hoist out a 50lb bag of Minnesota Girl Bakers Flour and put it on my shoulder, then demat back to the kitchen. That's the thing about being both wolfen and ghost. I'm stronger than humans my size and more efficient.*

 Where do you want this?

  Truely: *I laugh with surprise and thrill when you come back carrying that bag* Usually I get 15 minutes of complaints about how I’m wrecking backs by making them drag it up. Thanks though. The rolls are close to done, and the cookies are just about ready to come out too. I'm just about to put the haystacks and no bake cookies out. Wanna help?

  Celia: *Sits the bag of flower on a metal prep table* Sure. Presentation of the food was an actual class. *laughs* But I might be out of practice at that.

  Truely: Easy peasy. *I walk out to the front, pull the show trays out and begin placing the cookies in three long rows.* I do three rows and put the prettiest three at the front. *smiling as I put one full show tray in the display and start working on another.*

 We'll put the haystacks to the left, our left, and no bakes to the right. Usually people start wandering in around 8:30 for coffee and whatever sweet thing is available. But the real crowds hit around 10am, like you mentioned. *I work on another tray as you grab and start yours*

  Celia: *Working quickly, I imitate Truely's display with the haystack cookies, finishing one tray and then starting another before beginning...* I checked out your basement Tru. There's no bad juju there or ghosts. And if there had been I'd have known. And taken care of it. So is it just this cellar or all cellars that give you the willies?

Truely: Oh um *her question caught me off guard since no-one has ever asked me why. They just figure it is one of those things like people who hate anchovies on pizza...just a thing a person dislikes.*

 Well, anything basement or cellar-like. I don't like those types of places, they *I sigh* scare me. Have since I was a very little girl. My parents even moved us to a new place that didn't have one when I was 8 because the one we had scared me too much. As I got older I could lock that fear away, you know I didn't let it bug me. But I still can't go down into them.

  Celia: *Nods as I finish the last tray of cookies* When we're kids lots of things scare us. And being afraid of the dark is usually one of them. But as we get older we usually lose that. Not to say we aren't cautious about things. There's scary stuff out there in the dark. I should know. A lot of people would think I'm one of them. But when we don't lose that fear of something, there's usually a reason behind it. Stuffing down the things you're afraid of only gives them power Tru. If you ever want to face it, I'll be right there beside you.

  Truely: Thank you. I, hmmm, well I don't remember exactly why. See, I was adopted when I was 3. I don't, naturally, remember a lot from that time but I do remember being locked in a very dark basement and being so scared.

 *I look off into the distance* I remember crying to get out. Whispers. Cold. *I shiver and wrap my arms around myself. Shaking my head I grin* Anyway....ever since, just hated them.

  Celia: *Slipping my arm around your shoulders for a quick squeeze* That would be scary for any kid. I totally get your fear. But did you know that little kids can sometimes see or hear us? Ghosts, I mean. It's because they haven't been convinced yet that we're not real. Those whispers could have been from someone like me, maybe just not strong enough to really make themselves heard, but trying to reach out to you.

Truely: Maybe, it's just that it doesn't feel umm nice. *The timer goes off just then*

 Oh, we best get those so they don't burn. We can um talk after if you want. Maybe explain ghosts more.

 <<<TBC>>>

  #FamilyMatters #FemaleBonding #RRPG #BDBAU #Renegades #Reapers #Angels #Vampires #Ghosts #Wolven