#top dew point meter

[herrera2k]

My Girl

The bell rang to signal the young students of the end of the day. Y/n dashed to the closet in her teachers classroom and was the first to grab her backpack. She then ran to the bathroom to change after slipping the bag onto her shoulders. The young girl found an empty stall, and began to undress. She peeled off her baggy jeans before slipping on a pair of loose shorts, and slipped off her long pink top, spangled with flowers, and replaced it with a t-shirt. She walked out of the stall and ran outside, her bag now bouncing against her skin. Once on the large field outside of her school, she tossed her bag on the bench and began to take off her school shoes. As she took them off to put her boots on, a familiar figure preformed tricks across from her. Upon seeing her, he looked up and waved with a genial smile.

“Y/n!” He exclaimed while she pulled up her socks, “Hold on, I’m coming!” Y/n replied. Y/n and her best friend, Cristiano, had often played football together after school, and almost all day during the summer. The two had been friends for six years, and had met when they were four. Y/n’s parents had planned to hang out with his parents, which required the two children to play together. They’re parents forced them out of the house, for they wanted time to themselves for a few hours, and the children stood aimlessly in front of the house until Y/n took the initiative and said: “Do you like football?” Cristiano looked at her and nodded without saying anything. “I have a football in the backyard, we should play.” Again, Cristiano nodded, but this time, he said “okay.”

They picked up the ball from the backyard and strolled to the playground. It was early in the morning, and the dew felt strange against their socks, so they took off their shoes and played barefoot. The game started out with two-touch, then transitioned into a talent show that went on for a few hours. Eventually, Y/n’s little sister had to come back to grab them, for there parents were concerned about there location. After that day, they had remained friends for years.

Once she had finished putting her boots on, Y/n jogged onto the muddy field and placed her hands on Cristiano’s shoulders before jumping to the side of him. He was dribbling the ball between his feet, and when Y/n had noticed, she placed her leg in between his and dragged the ball away from him with the tip off her foot. Cristiano turned around and plastered a blank and wide-eyed stare into his face, which prompted Y/n to laugh uncontrollably. The sound and sight pleased her friend, causing him to smile too, before catching her off guard and steeling the ball from her.

He made exaggerated sound effects as he dribbled past her with a large grin. As he neared the goal, he began to narrate his actions, all Y/n could do was watch and laugh, for she knew he was too far away now. “Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldo…” he repeated as he ran towards the net, increasing his volume as he edges nearer. Once he was about ten meters away, he had swung his leg back and kicked the ball. Upon scoring, Cristiano spread his arms out and began to run around the field whilst imaging the sound of a crowd screaming his name. A wife smile was plastered onto his face as he slid onto the green grass before pointing at Y/n and winking. She began to laugh and jogged towards him, grabbing his hand and slapping it. After this, the pair continued to play, then eventually began to practice drills. After some more hours of playing, they walked to the bench that Y/n had put her shoes on and sat down. She unzipped her bag and pulled out two bananas and handed one to her friend.

They sat there for a few minutes, for they were out of breath, and eating was already quite difficult after the workout. Cristiano paused, and looked to his friend, and found his stomach churning. He examined her messy hair, and her clothes dirty from tackling. Her nostrils slightly flared as she tried to control her breathing. Y/n was too focused on the banana to notice Cristiano staring at her, and it was only when she finished did she see him. She turned her head and raised her eyebrows, only to be met with a warm smile and squinted eyes. Confused, she let out a laugh and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Cristiano responded, “I’m just looking at you.” Y/n was taken aback by this, but shrugged her shoulders and said “alright.” She then began to pull off her boots to put on her shoes, yet Cristiano kept staring at her.

“Can I kiss you, Y/n?” He blurted “Oh, I’m so sorry-”

“No it’s alright” Y/n said, watching as her friend grew flustered. She placed her lips against his, very softly, and placed a small peck upon his mouth before pulling away with a smile. Cristiano felt his cheeks warm up, and his eyes widened. “Oh.” He said as a grin began to grow on his face. The expression was quite hilarious in Y/n’s opinion, which prompted her to burst out in laughter. “What?!” Cristiano asked with a worried face and furrowed eyebrows.

“Nothing, you just seem so shocked,” Y/n giggled. “I’m sorry, you just looked so pretty, and I didn’t know why I asked that.” Cristiano confessed.

“Cristiano, I said it was fine.” She assured with a nod,

Again, he furrowed his eyebrows and asked “Are you sure?” Y/n simply nodded before bursting out in laughter again, then wrapping her arms around him. The feeling was warm, Cristiano placed his arms around her back and began to laugh along with his friend. After that day, the two never really mentioned it again. While the young boy’s friends would often tease him for his relationship with Y/n, he never thought of her as more than his best friend, and the feeling was mutual.

As they grew up together, his talent had greatly improved, and eventually led him to become a professional athlete. Y/n took note of how his appearance changed, his once messy long hair, now very sharp and “profesional.” He had also invested in braces, and veneers, causing his teeth to shine. She was proud of her friend, and admired how far he had gone, but there was still a feeling of yearning in the pit of her stomach.

Okay, so I’ll do a part 2 of this, where I’ll have more dialogue and get all angsty, lmk if you have advice or criticism

[advancedel]

Suto Flow Sensors & Meters in Delhi | Advanced Equipments

Advanced Equipments and Solutions Pvt Ltd. provides premium Suto flow sensors, dew point sensors, and flow meters in Delhi. Designed for precision and efficiency, these solutions meet industrial demands for accurate monitoring. Choose reliable sensor solutions for your business with Advanced Equipments in Delhi.

[hhiandfloorcovering]

Types of Professional Water Damage Restoration Equipment

Various types of equipment are available to help clean and rehabilitate properties. A professional has experience accessing and using top-of-the-line water damage restoration equipment. Therefore, water damage restoration work can be quickly mitigated. It helps restore your home or business property to its former condition. Let's quickly learn about the different types of equipment for water damage restoration use:

Innovative Moisture Detectors

While other moisture detectors are pinless. There are a few types of moisture detectors with handheld devices. These can include pins stuck into a material to sense moisture under the surface. They have electromagnetic sensors that can determine the location of moisture. Some water damage restoration models integrate both methods.

Updated Dehumidifiers

A low-grain refrigerant (LGR) dehumidifier works similarly but is more powerful than the standard dehumidifier. It is also effective over a wider temperature range. Removing the residual moisture from the air prevents or limits mold and mildew growth.

Thermo-Hygrometers

Undoubtedly, hidden water damage can promote unwanted mould growth. It can lead to weakened building materials and structural supports. Since not all water damage is easy to see, a thermo-hygrometer is useful. By measuring ambient temperature, dew point, Grains Per Pound (GPP), and other metrics, it tests for ambient humidity in the air in a given location.it helps water damage restoration experts find moisture pockets. That can present a risk even after remediation.

The thermo-hygrometer provides a thorough assessment for water damage restoration. It helps professionals determine whether their water removal efforts are successful. Humidity Temperature and readings are taken outside the building and in each room. These two instruments are used together to get the most accurate results.

Air Scrubbers

Other issues, such as smoke particles and odors, often accompany water damage. An air scrubber can remove particles, chemicals, and gasses from the air. However, most water-related odors are related to mold and mildew. A wet air scrubber uses a wet filter, while a dry air scrubber has an ionic purifier to draw in molecules that cause odors.

Air Movers

An air mover has more functionality than a traditional fan. These machines include axial air blowers, which can dry flooring and other materials from the top down, and centrifugal air movers, which guide air behind drywall, under cabinets, and to other specific areas. When an air mover is used, the drywall may need to be removed to dry a wall frame, or a smaller hole can be cut to allow airflow into the space. Whether flooring and carpet can be dried from the top down or removed to dry the subfloor depends on the extent of the water damage.

Infrared (IR) Cameras

Moisture and damp building materials usually have different temperatures compared to their surroundings. An IR water intrusion camera detects these temperature variations, allowing the identification of water-affected areas. A technician can then use this information to plan the appropriate clean-up and restoration actions.

When used with sensors and meters that measure the actual moisture content of building materials, the IR camera provides a comprehensive assessment. These tools help pinpoint areas that need focused drying efforts or materials that need to be removed.

Dump Container: Self-Propelled

Water-damaged materials often need water damage restoration work. Whether manual or self-propelled, mobile containers make this step easier and faster.The container's weight capacity is determined by its size and power. Some models use hydraulics for dumping, while others are small enough to fit through gates, alleyways, doorways, and other tight spaces. 

In Conclusion

Hawkins Home Improvement & Floorcovering, LLC team utilizes cutting-edge equipment to promptly evaluate damage, extract water and moisture, and restore your residence or business. We guarantee rapid response times, arriving within 60 minutes for emergencies. Each solution is tailored to meet the specific challenges of every project. We offer pack-out services, thorough property cleaning and sanitization, and collaborate seamlessly with all insurance providers. Contact us for immediate water damage restoration assistance when dealing with a broken pipe, sewage backup, or flood.

[ledvideo]

Four factors will affect the safety and fire protection of LED display

The fire prevention of LED electronic display screen is the top priority. In addition to the factors such as the screen's own heating, materials, and installation, many human factors should also be noted. Here Sostron will talk about the precautions for LED display screen fire prevention. Do you know how to prolong the life of LED display?

Four factors will affect the safety and fire protection of LED display

First point: In most display applications, the larger the display unit area is, the greater the power consumption is, and the higher the requirements for the electrification stability of the wire are. Among many wire products, the use of wire that meets the requirements of the national standard can ensure its safety and stability. There are three requirements: the wire core is the conductive carrier of the copper wire, the sectional area tolerance of the wire core is within the standard range, and the insulation and flame resistance of the rubber covering the wire core meet the standard. Compared with ordinary copper clad aluminum wire core, wire core with small sectional area and insufficient insulation rubber grade, the power on performance is more stable and short circuit is not easy to occur;

Second point: UL certified power supply products are also the best choice when selecting similar products. Its effective conversion rate can ensure the safety and stability of power load, and can also work normally in the hot external environment;

Third point: In terms of materials for external protective structure of display screen, most display screen products with higher fire resistance rating on the market are made of fireproof aluminum plastic plates, which have excellent fire resistance, strong fire resistance and flame retardancy, and strong oxygen aging performance of core material special materials. The melting point temperature is 135 ℃, decomposition temperature ≥ 300 ℃, environmental protection performance, low smoke and zero halogen, and comply with SGS, flame retardancy B-S1, d0, t0. Refer to UL94, GB/8624-2006. The aluminum plastic plates of general outdoor display screen products age rapidly with high temperature and cold and hot impact of rain, which makes it easy for rain and dew to penetrate into the screen in a humid climate, causing short circuit of electronic components and causing fire;

Fourth, there is another important part of the raw materials for fire protection of the display screen, which is the plastic kit. The plastic kit is mainly used for the bottom shell of the unit module mask. The main raw materials are PC+glass fiber materials with flame retardancy. It not only has flame retardancy, but also can not deform, embrittle or crack under high and low temperatures and long-term use. At the same time, it is used in combination with glue with good sealing, It can effectively prevent rainwater from external environment from penetrating into the interior, thus causing short circuit and fire.

External configuration and design of LED display focus on fire safety

In addition to the internal raw materials that will affect the fire protection effect, the external configuration and design are also very important, but the external configuration mainly involves the heat dissipation in the fire protection problem. When the LED display works, exhaust fans and air conditioners will be configured to cool the interior of the screen. It is recommended to equip 1P air conditioners every 8-10 square meters to ensure that the temperature in the screen remains normal and constant. If the air conditioners or exhaust fans are not properly configured, the heat dissipation will be uneven, It is easy to cause potential safety hazards inside the screen due to temperature rise. At the same time, many LED enterprises only simply simulate the test of spray waterproofing in the external environment when testing the protection level of the box, and the durability and strength of the waterproofing effect need to be verified, so water seepage occurs after the display screen products have been used for a period of time, which is an important reason why outdoor display screens are prone to fire or have a short service life. When dealing with thunderstorm weather, the lightning arrester of the screen device is also a necessary tool to avoid burning the internal components of the screen body due to lightning strike. It can directly lead the lightning to the ground without affecting the screen body.

The above are all internal causes of the display screen. Of course, we cannot ignore the man-made factors in the later maintenance process. For example, in the subsequent maintenance work, the operator did not operate according to the strict process flow (module screws were not tightened, wire polarity was reversed, conductive objects left after the operation, etc.), which is easy to cause fire. On the premise that the entire industry standard has not been established, the national markets have also formulated relevant regulations on the fire prevention of LED products. Enterprises in the industry can improve their product performance according to the relevant regulations to avoid the next "accident", so as to enhance the international competitiveness of the entire industry and turn LED products to "intelligent manufacturing".

Thank you for watching. I hope we can solve your problems. Sostron is a professional LED display manufacturer. We provide all kinds of displays, display leasing and display solutions around the world. If you want to know:11 common LED display unit board failures and solutions. Please click read.

[minzart]

It's the ghost Yuu AU

So, yeah I woke up and choose pain

Everything here is just my tired brain and my f'ed up imagination

Imagen

Many, many years have passed, most most people that knew Yuu before their passing were graduated and sent off to their future lifes.

Yuu knows it's selfish to wish for their friends to be young and stupid forever but the feeling of loneliness creeps in more and more these days.

One night, lighted by the moon, thy stand near their own grave, looking at stars and remembering the old days. How they used to pool their idiot trio from the trouble, how they got scolded by dorm leaders, how it was nice and peaceful.

Yuu heard a weird sound, like a whisper. Normally they would've thought it was wind but they were staining in Ramshackle long enough to know it was no wind.

Turning sharply on their heels they spot their good old friend. A moment of shock and disbelief. Ace Trappola was standing right before their eyes. It could've been a very fun surprise but...Ace was see through... Just like Yuu and ghosts in Ramshackle.

It was a first time in a while when Yuu cried.

Turns out, Ace died due to the heart attack. His body buried in Ramshackle's grave yard, because of his ghost demands. Poor guy, one thing never changed about him, his live for pranking... That's kind of ironic, having a heart attack because of your own prankster life. Someone just decided it would be fun to prank Ace back...At the wrong time, in the wrong place.

Next thing you know, months passed by with Ace's company. Having so much fun with him: pranking kids in school, talking about life, remembering the old times and looking disrespectfully at headmaster! And now they're back at the grave yard, looking at stars together.

And again, that whisper in the air. Both of them snapped their heads back and who do they see? Deuce!

One brain cell trio is back together!

Spade died due to the car crash. He was peacefully driving home from work and the next thing you know, Bam! Some drunk guy just smashed into his car on full speed. Deuce was now resting near his long life friends.

Next thing you know, their fun continues! Dancing around and laughing about anything and nothing at all, your small group had fun to catch up on.

Now you're back at the grave yard, just chilling near your graves. You heard already familiar whisper, turning your heads towards the sound, you spot Jack!

Howl died savings people from fire. He was a fire fighter and it was one of the house with many people inside of it. He got almost everyone out. When he was saving the last person...He lost his consciousness...The person survived, Jack unfortunately didn't.

Some time passed again, all 5 of you were happy with one another. Happy that you could have more time together, happy that you weren't alone anymore. And before you knew it, you heard the same whisper again, in the same grave yard. It was Epel!

Poor guy died because of a storm. He was running home to hide from the horrible weather. In places where he was from, storms were deadly and could easily kill! Well... One of the trees feel right on top of the poor guy...Epel was only dew meters away from his house.

Now 6 of them hanging out together, like there's no tomorrow. There is not in fact. Any of them could disappear any moment, so you got to relive the whole time together. Even if your body's are buried in the same grave yard it doesn't mean you won't disintegrate at some point.

Before you knew it, you were standing in that same damn grave yard. Same damn place, looking at those same stars. And hearing that same damn whisper. It was The Zigvolt. His royal majesty's guardian.

Sebek died protecting Silver from the assassins attack. He took it upon himself to protect human. Sebek new that His chances to survive the hit were bigger then Silvers, so he risked it.

Now all of them are here. Lying down near each other. Looking at starts and talking about good old days.

Those who became family of Ramshackle, will forever be together like family.

~~~🌟🎃

STAR PUMPKIN MY HEART I'M CRYONG IT'S SO SAD BUR EXTREMELY HAPPY ENDING TOO OH MY LORD MY HEART I CAN'T

[haifengg]

04:23 am - Dino -> 💯

On occasion of the 0.1k event.

Prompt: “Did I ever explain to you how to properly push a cow?”  + “Abort Mission! Retreat!”

Genre: Fluff! Crack!

Pairing: ChanxReader

Memo: I am so happy this was requested with Chan omg it fits so well. This is based on my own experience and it’s a memory I always forget about and then suddenly remember lol It’s buried somewhere deep in my head and pops up every now and then

“Did I ever explain to you how to properly push a cow?” You ask and Chan snorted, having trouble not spitting his beer across the tent. 

“No you haven’t. But please, elaborate.” 

You sit up a little bit more straight and Chan got chills as he saw your eyes lighting up. He loved seeing you all passionate about something. Which happened a lot to be honest. A huge part of your friendship was hyping each other up and getting each other into new things. 

“So it’s actually hilariously easy. You approach the animal from a side of your choice and lean against. Just lean heavily and then quickly take a step back. The cow will try to balance it out but because you’re suddenly gone it will over do it and fall to the side you were leaning on.”

“You made this sounds way too professional.”

“That is a very serious topic so you should always treat it with the appropriate amount of professionalism.” You smile and take a chug from your beer.

“I want to try it.”

“Pushing a cow?”

Chan nodded excitedly and got up, his head pushing against the roof of the tent. It was a warm summer night early in the morning. The two of you made camping plans for a long long time but since covid emerged you couldn’t go anywhere. So eventually decided to just camp on your parents farm.

Your parents knew Chan well. You had been friends since kindergarten and since you didn’t see each other that often since you entered university they were happy to see him again. Your mother went on and on about how tall he’d gotten and how handsome he’d become and when your mother mentioned all these things so smitten by him you began to notice them yourself.

You secretly hated her for pointing it out.

Because this certainly wasn’t the first time you camped together. You’ve done it a million times. Sleeping in the same tent, changing in the same tent. When you were younger you even shared a sleeping bag when the temperatures suddenly dropped.

But since your mother got all fangirl about Chan you couldn’t stop noticing how he had changed from when he was a kid or teenager. He still was your age but as often as you forgot that you got older, you certainly forgot that he was ageing as well.

“Of course.”  He waved at you. “Hello? Are you tired?”

You didn’t notice you were staring at him, completely ignoring his answer. You only just now noticed that his cute little young boy hands had turned into grown-up man hands since you last saw him.

And even though you hated to admit it: You just wanted to know what it felt like holding them.

“What? We can try it. You know we have cows.” Just the second you said these words he opened the entrance and disappeared into the night.

“Dude, wait!” You shout and go after him. The last time you’ve checked the clock it displayed 3 am. Some time passed since then and even though that number climbed up - the temperatures didn’t. It was still cold. 

Morning dew covered the ankle-high grass. You planted the tent under the huge tree in the corner of your parent’s farm. It was somewhat far away from the house and the stables and hangars where they kept all those huge machines one needed to stay on top of the whole thing.

You ran after him, both of you left your beers in the tent.

“Chan wait!” You shouted and your breath condensed in front of your eyes. He stoped around 200 meters ahead of you and turned around.

Seeing him, the sillhouette of his grey hoodie against the dark blue-is green of the forest behind the farm. As you caught up to him waiting for you, you painfully noticed how much you had missed him.

“We shouldn’t push our cows.” You said.

“Why not? Are they getting old?” Chan joked and you laughed at it softly.  

“Yes and no, but we should push the neighbour’s cows. He blocked my parked car with his at he grocery store last week and I have to pay him back.”

—

“Okay, so you remember how I explained it to you?” You ask sitting next to him on the fence. 

“Lean against it and then go away and very likely run away? Because cows are animals and they will come for you.”

“Exactly they are less peaceful than you think and also there is a dog somewhere who goes off as soon as he hears a moo that isn’t off a satisfactory origin.”

 Chan laughed and jumped down the fence. He tied his shoe laces and his look fell onto your bare feet by the way. “Where are your shoes?”

“You ran off so quickly I didn’t have time to put them on.” You say and he smiled in apology. 

“I am sorry, you know how excitement always gets the better of me.”

“I do.” You say. “Now go and push your cow, boy.” 

As he ran off to find a cow and shouted back: “I will get back to you for that one later because that was low, even for you!”

You laughed and just prayed that the dog didn’t hear either one of you. Soon Chan was out of sight and you let your eyes wander across the foggy pasture. For a few minutes you were alone with your thoughts again. And if you liked it or not: They always wandered off to Chan. Even though you tried to distract you. Maybe it was the unusual time of the day that caused this blue feeling but it just wouldn’t let go of you.

Suddenly you hear a scandalised “MOO” and shortly after aggressive dog barking. Even shorter after that you saw your friend emerging from the fog and running sprinting towards you, nothing but fear on his face.

“Abort Mission! Retreat!” He yelled and as he reached both you and the fence he quickly jumped over it propping up with one hand and pulling the perplexed you with him. So that you almost fell back first off it.

But Chan didn’t let go of your wrist and pulled you closely behind him through the tiny forest that separated your farm form the neighbours farm.

“Chan, ouch! Stop! I’m not wearing any shoes!” You cry out as he dragged you through the trees and undergrowth. “The dog can’t get over the fence!”

“I bet he can!” Chan yelled 100% certain.

“He is trained not to! Would you just stop?” As soon as those words left your lips he stopped and you bumped right into him. Heavily panting he looked at you. 

“It’s trained not to? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought you’d remember!”

“How would I remember, we didn’t see each other for over two years.” He said, catching his breath in-between words. “Btw you don’t remember everything I told you either.”

“What am I not remembering?” You ask frowning and struggling for air. What ever he was about to say next - he sounded somewhat offended. Hurt actually. Just as if he was sitting on this unresolved matter the entire night.

“You seriously don’t remember how I told you I liked you back then?” He noticed the change in your eyes and leaned forward, propping up on his knees, one hand on his chest to avoid your look. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up. It’s so long ago … you probably do remember but didn’t say anything because you don’t feel the same-“

“Except I do.” You state bluntly and look at him deadly serious, still catching your breath. The quiet forest around you swallowed every noise the two of you made which gave your words a very ultimate feeling. Chan looked up.

“I really don’t remember when you told me but I swear since my mother noticed all these things about you earlier today ... I notice them too and I felt how much I have missed you the entire night. I guess I just got used to not being around you when I am at college but now that we’re spending time again I know what I was missing.”

“Okay no, say that again. I think I lost the thread. My ears are still pounding from the running.” He demanded.

“Chan, I think I like you. And I think I did for a long time-“

He didn’t let you finish your sentence by righten for up and crushing his lips on yours. After a second you pulled away as you still were out of breath and you had to chose between kissing him and breathing. 

Which was honestly a tough choice to make.

“Sorry, I had to.” He said, wanting to take a step back but you kept him from it. “I had been sitting on this for too long.” He apologised and avoided your eyes once again. 

“No, no. Don’t be sorry. I just need to breathe.” 

Somewhere in the distance a dog started barking again. “As much as I want to continue this, I think we should head home first.” You say and finally (finally!) acted according to your wants and grabbed his hand. It felt amazing. Chan had a naturally tight grip. Promising to never let you go.

After a few steps and curses from your side he crouched down in front of you, to piggy back carry you home.

Which you happily accepted.

Masterlist

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@jeonghanmoon @kpopsnowball @soleilsuhh @himitsu-luna

[astrandofgold]

Take Me As I Am

Chapter 5: cast some light, we’ll be alright

Note: it gets dark and creepy, but it’ll be alright. I promise. Based on this sketch.

______________________________

Lightning broke the sky in half above Leo’s head. The thunder, louder than any noise she had ever heard, screamed around the landscape, shaking the surrounding earth. Leo had never seen a storm like this before, electric and heavy and terrifying, dark tumultuous clouds writhing above. Leo’s skin prickled with the charged atmosphere, and her body screamed at her, instincts telling her to run. But there was no where to run to.

As the wind wrapped around Leo, pulling her hair and tugging her clothing, she took one last look at the wrath of the storm, then retreated inside the house. The front entrance, which looked out on the valley and normally provided a peaceful window to the outdoors now became a terrifying weak point of the structure. The windows shook and groaned against the pressure of the wind. Leo paced, running hands through hair, eyes wide as she tried to override the compelling longing to hide. She had to prepare for this storm.

Running from room to room, grabbing as many blankets and linens as possible, many bearing the old Bridges logo, Leo started covering windows and door frame gaps. Anything to prevent shattering glass or leaking rainwater. A sheet of rain slammed against the side of the house, causing Leo to jump. The ferocity and suddenness with which the torrent beat against the house was not normal. It shouldn’t be so strong. Is it a tornado? Leo had read about them while reading through science texts she found on the network, but they were unheard of in this age.

Without warning, floodwaters filled the valley, and Leo found herself mere centimeters away from meters of water, with only the panel of glass between her and it. Water began seeping in between the cracks of the doorframe. The water, now obscurring the windows entirely, filtered the light and filled the room with a deathly red glow. Leo held back a scream with her fist when a body hit the window, the face of a poor porter caught on foot in the storm. The water was now pooling at her feet. A quiet sob rattled Leo as she realized that she was going to die here. She wanted out of this house, the structure that was her prison growing up, where the ghosts of her memories would replay the beatings and the screaming of her childhood over and over and over again. She already ran away from this place once, but it found a way to drag her back. She never thought it would be her grave.

She wanted to see the sun. She wanted to hold Higgs again. Wanted to feel his warmth against her, his hand running through her hair, lips against her forehead, whispering all the reasons why he loved her.

Leo wrapped her arms around herself, sobs now filling the dark, empty room. She slumped to the floor, giving up on trying to keep the looming flood out. She knew there was no way out of this. She was dead, and she was alone. She wondered if she could find her gun in time to avoid a death by drowning. One quick pull, and it could all be over. Just do it. Do it before the water breaks through the door.

Crack.

It was too late.

Leo whispered one last love note to Higgs before the door gave in to the tidal wave of water, and Leo’s body was seized up by the unforgiving darkness.

“I’ll be waiting for you, Higgs, on our beach”

Higgs was half asleep, eyelids heavy with the late hour when he sat up in bed and found Leo huddled on the floor of their bunker. Shaking off the drowsiness as he processed what was happening, he jumped out of bed and swiftly moved to her side. Her underwear and tank top were drenched in sweat, eyes wild, frantically seeing phantoms around her that didn’t exist.

“Leo, darlin’—sweetheart—it’s okay, it’s alright, you’re safe. It’s Higgs…”

Higgs knelt in front of her, cradling her in his lap. He brushed aside her damp hair, humming quietly. Anything to try and break Leo out of her nightmare.

“I…the water...Higgs….t-the storm….you need to save yourse—”

“It’s okay, darlin’, I’m right here, I gotcha.”

Higgs wrapped an arm around Leo and held her close to him, and placed her small hand in his own, larger hand. He set it on his chest, just over his heart.

Eyes bloodshot and defeated, Leo stared through Higgs, and he gently brushed the side of Leo’s face with a thumb. Tears fell down, one after the other, as consciousness started returning to the hazel eyes.

“Higgs….th-the nightmares…won’t stop….”

“Listen to me, darlin’. I’m right here. Feel my heartbeat. This is real, this is where you are. You’re with me, in our home. You’re safe, and I love you.”

Higgs searched her face, desperate to find any sign that the horrors plaguing Leo were receding. He hated seeing her in this pain, hated that he was powerless to stop her from enduring this. He’d take on the DOOMS nightmares tenfold if it meant she never had to live through one more. He knew exactly what she was going through, and while he’d long ago figured how to cope with them, he knew Leo was fighting this as hard as she could.

Looking at her glossy eyes, Higgs bit his lip, then decided to take a chance.

“Sweetheart, I’m gonna pick you up and take you outside. That okay?”

Leo slowly nodded.

Progress.

Higgs let out a soft, relieved sigh, then scooped her up, grabbing a blanket as he went. As much as he hated the term, it always made him feel warm and fuzzy inside whenever he lifted Leo. Everything in him craved the need to protect her, and he held her close to his chest. She was so small, and should have been fragile based on her stature, but within her tiny body hid her namesake’s strength. Higgs couldn’t help it when the corner of his mouth lifted in a slight smile at the thought of Leo’s ferocity. She was an absolute wildfire.

The cool breeze gently enveloped the two when Higgs stepped out into the grass. The moonlight gently bathed the valley in a soft glow, and the dew on the ground sparkled, much like chiralium used to. Mist blanketed the far reaches of the valley, near the edge of the small forest. The range that hid Mountain Knot City pierced the sky, caps dusted with snow. It was silent, and it was absolutely beautiful.

Leo, now rapidly gaining consciousness courtesy of the chilly night air, snuggled close to Higgs. He was still holding her in his arms, blanket wrapped around the two of them. Tonight was a particularly clear night, and the stars twinkled above.

Higgs broke the silence with a content hum.

“You know, I never saw the stars until a few years ago. Not like I was ever gonna, what with the chiralium and my daddy-“, the motherfucker, added under his breath, “-keeping me from enjoying them like I am now. The view’s exceptionally beautiful, better than anything I ever dreamed about.”

Leo shifted her view from the twinkling night sky to Higgs, and smiled, watching his boyish blue eyes take in the wonders of the universe. The nightmare’s last strand of dread dissipated. She lifted a hand and placed it on Higgs’ face, caressing over the stubble, closed her eyes, and sighed contently as he leaned into her embrace.

“The view from where I’m sitting is even better.”

[skyemak]

Hi Skye!! 👁️✨ May I request a first kiss scenario with Jade? I'm so soft and you said you want fluffy ideas so maybe a little hand h*lding too...? Haha jk... unless..??

Take a Hike

Yuu sat at her desk, absentmindedly poking the eraser head of her pencil on her cheek. Laid before her was her homework for the night, which was almost finished. She sat on her stiff chair with one leg crossed over the other. Her foot did not quite touch the ground, and she kicked it around as a means to fidget. The girl stared out the window, not because there was anything quite worth seeing outside, but due to the rain outside. Droplets of water hit her bedroom window, and occasional bursts of lightning would light up grounds through this dusk. From the other side of the room, she heard grumbling from her roommate. Most likely he was frustrated with the homework assigned to him. Yuu knew how to pace her homework over a period of time, but Grim was one to put off things until last minute.

Heaving a sigh, Yuu set down her pencil and grabbed for her phone. She lightly tapped the power button to turn the screen on. No new messages. No notifications. Nothing. Dejectedly, she set the phone back down on her desk, and leaned back in her chair. Of course Yuu wasn’t expecting any messages, but she felt disappointed, nonetheless. A few weeks ago, she had approached Jade, and confessed her feelings to him. The girl was doubtful he would reciprocate, but figured it’d be no skin off her nose. She’d just get it off her chest and move on with life. Unexpectedly, after a time to ponder to himself, Jade said it sounded interesting, and agreed to be in a romantic relationship with Yuu. At the time, the girl’s heart had leapt out of her chest, and she was all smiles for a week. Afterward, however, no matter what Yuu would try, he’d never be available to make time for her.

Go for a walk after class? He’d have plans.

Meet up before class started for the day? He’d have plans.

Eat together at lunch? He, too, rejected that idea, mentioning something about not wanting to make their relationship public.

“It doesn’t even exist in private…” Yuu muttered to herself. Did he not know what it means to humans to be in a relationship? Is it different underseas? She grabbed her pencil again and flipped threw a few pages of her textbook. After finding the page she searched for, Yuu looked toward the window again, contemplating the thought that, perhaps Jade was just trying to be nice. Perhaps he didn’t want to date but didn’t want to outright reject her. Maybe he was just avoiding her until she called it off?

“Maybe I’ll just call it off tomorrow,” Yuu mumbled, returning her focus to her notebook. “One more question, then bed… Then I’ll ask if he wants to cut it off tomorrow…”

The girl couldn’t deny the squeezing feeling in her chest upon that thought, but found she had no other means to approach the situation.

-----

“Hey—Grim! Wait up!” Yuu called.

“You’re the one being slow!” Grim called back, about five meters ahead of her.

“There’s mud puddles everywhere!” she complained.

The night before brought more rainfall than anticipated. Throughout the path to school were a series of puddles. Not wanting to slip and fall into a puddle, the girl was being very careful to watch her steps.

“You’re gonna be late at that rate!”

“Well some of us can’t fly!”

Grim only responded with a laugh and continued to get farther away. With luck on her side, Yuu found herself with a few minutes to spare before class. As she powerwalked through the hallway, she was surprised to see a certain figure standing by her classroom door.

“Jade?”

“Oh, there you are,” he smiled toward her, walking a few steps in her direction.

“What’re you doing here?” A bit embarrassingly, Yuu was panting due to the hurry she was in. She tried to hide it but—

“In a bit of a rush this morning?”

“Uh, well—kinda,” Yuu averted Jade’s gaze, and timidly tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Oya, there must have been quite a lot of rain last night,” he chuckled to himself. “Speaking of rain, this weekend I was considering going mushroom hunting. The next few days will be a bit cool as well, so I expect to find quite a few. Would you care to join me?”

Yuu shot a look of surprise toward Jade, “Wha—?”

“That is if you’re interested,” he grabbed his chin and looked a bit bashful. “We’d leave early morning and expect not to return until evening. It’s similar to that of an all-day hike. Oh—of course we’d have food and water to nourish ourselves throughout the day.” He glanced toward Yuu expectantly.

Was…Was he asking her out on a date!? Yuu was astonished. Until now, she thought he wasn’t that interested in dating and was ready to break things off. Now she found her heart beating loudly in her chest and her cheeks flush a light shade of pink. The girl’s hair bounced as he vigorously nodded towards Jade. “Yeah! I’ll go! I’d love to!”

The eel smiled elatedly, “I’m glad to hear it. I’ll send you some advice and resources later in preparation. Now then, class is about to start, and I must be on my way. Until then.” Jade turned to leave and strolled in the direction of his classroom. Yuu could hear her heartbeat ring through her eardrums as she watched him leave.

-----

True to his word, Jade had messaged Yuu some advice and helpful tips for the upcoming Saturday. Yuu was all smiles when she opened her phone to find new messages from him. The message did not stray from the plans they had made, but she was happy to finally have something to talk about with Jade. Before and after school, she’d ask him a few questions here and there related to what she should bring or wear. His face would always light up with a smile when Yuu’d ask. Seeing him so excited about his hobbies made him seem so precious. On top of that, Yuu felt special to be invited along his adventures.

“Tomorrow is the day~” the girl hummed to herself. She laid on her bed on her stomach, reading through a few sources on her phone relevant to the next day. Yuu eagerly kicked her feet in the air as she read her screen. Eventually, she called it a night and double checked her alarm for the next morning before putting her phone away.

-----

“Oya, you look more prepared than I was expecting,” Jade commented at the sight of Yuu. He wore long black pants, a lightweight jacket, and a set of hiking boots. Hung over his shoulders was a hiking bag, presumingly stored with their food and water for the day. Yuu’s outfit was similar, also with a lightweight jacket, dark gray pants, along with her own set of durable hiking boots. She made a grin and posed. “Yup! I listened to all your advice!”

Jade chuckled pleasingly. “I see. Then, shall we be off?” He turned toward the mountainous landscape before them. “Yeah!” Yuu scampered toward him.

With the sunrise being only a few hours prior, the air felt chill as it brushed over Yuu’s face. The wind was not too strong that morning, but the girl was grateful she wore a windbreaker jacket to keep the cold air from penetrating her deeper. The ground was vast with evergreen trees, moss-covered rocks, and what sounded to be a small stream nearby. As they stepped through the grass, tips of the blades of grass still held some morning dew, causing the tops of their hiking boots became damp. The ground underneath was still cold and moist too. Yuu had to be cautious while she walked, since the terrain was rougher than she least expected. The girl was careful to follow Jade’s lead; he seemed to be very experienced with the area, or at least was good at adapting to changes of the topography.

Jade was quite thrilled when they found their first batch of mushrooms at the trunk of a nearby tree. He sweetly hummed to himself as he pinched the cap from its stem and placed it into a mesh bag. Yuu noted in her research the reason for the mesh bag was to help spread spores from the mushrooms to encourage more growth.

The morning was spent 90% walking and 10% actually finding and picking mushrooms. Jade found a number of different fungi growing about, but Yuu only managed to spot one before he did. Unfortunately for Yuu, the mushrooms she did find, Jade had said they were inedible. Her heart sank when she found out, and her mood began to spiral downward. Hours had passed since they began the day and her feet began to feel sore. He had mentioned bringing along food but had only given her a water bottle. Yuu’s stomach felt like it was about to concave from hunger, and she was hoping he’d propose a break soon.

However, a break never came. About twenty minutes after her thought of taking a break, he only offered her two granola bars from his backpack and kept trudging along. Jade seemed to be excited about the plentiful findings of the day, but more and more Yuu began to feel ignored. He’d run away without warning when he saw a bundle of mushrooms growing from the ground. When Yuu caught up to him, Jade would already be done picking them and continue on his way. Her legs grew sorer and more exhausted. She already had to quicken her pace to keep up with his longer stride, but eventually she let herself fall behind, doubting he’d even notice.

At some point, in the middle of a small forest, Yuu found a dead log to sit on. The log felt hard against her bottom, but it was a great relief for her legs. She could feel what she could presume would develop into blisters ache around her feet. The sun was overhead at this time, and rays of sunlight lit up spots of the forest floor. The girl held her head in her hands and leaned her elbows on her knees. Her eyes traced Jade’s movements as he waved through the trees, north to south, south to west, west to east, etc. Occasionally she’d see him pause at a certain spot ten meters away to crouch down and pick from another finding.

Yuu sighed, dejectedly scraping the heels of her boots into the forest ground. She felt forgotten about and questioned if he’d even remembered inviting her out here. It’d be unfortunate for her, but she wouldn’t be shocked if he left her in that forest alone. She laid her palms down behind her and leaned back on top of the log. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come…” she mumbled. Yuu absently stared at her surroundings, admiring the forest and its beauty. At least it was a nice day out and she was getting fresh air…

Abruptly, Yuu felt a bug crawl over one of her hands on the log and yelped in surprise. She shook her hand furiously and turned around to see what the culprit may have been, but what actually caught her eyes was—

“Oh, a fairy ring,” Yuu said. From behind, she heard a set of footsteps approach. When she turned around, she saw Jade walking toward her.

“You shrieked earlier, Yuu. Are you okay?” he asked.

“Jade!” she excitedly called out to him, “Look at this! I’m surprised you didn’t see this!”

Yuu hopped off the log and walked a few meters. She approached a cluster of mushrooms in a circle formation. “There’s a fairy ring over here!” she smiled gleefully, crouching down beside it.

“A fairy ring?” he asked quizzically. Jade climbed over the log and walked toward her. “I only see a collection of mushrooms though?” The eel crouched down beside her. “Though I’m unfamiliar with this species…” He reached down to pick one, but Yuu pushed his hand away. “No, you’re not supposed to disturb the ring!”

Jade blinked toward her, astonished she had made that sudden movement. “Why?”

Yuu grinned ecstatically. “Heehee~ You don’t know?” she teased. “I just read about them last night. There’s a bunch of different beliefs surrounding them. Some say fairies will dance around the ring, or sit on the mushrooms to use for tables, or for umbrellas. The ring might also be a portal between the fairy world and this world—though we have fairies here so that may not be the case?”

“Ohhhh?” Jade smiled as he balanced his cheek on his fist. He was smiling toward her, but she did not notice.

“But don’t step into the ring!” Yuu continued. “You might die young, become invisible to the mortal world, or be unable to escape the ring. I don’t remember the details, but you’re also not supposed to disturb the ring.”

“I see. It’s a good thing I brought you here, otherwise I may have taken all these mushrooms and endangered myself to an early death,” Jade said.

Yuu giggled, “Well, I’m not sure how much of that is true though.” She stared down toward the mushrooms, absently holding out her finger as if too poke one. Jade smoothly grabbed her hand and used it as leverage to pull Yuu closer to him. Suddenly, she felt his warm lips over hers. He placed a hand on the side over her head to cradle and pull her in closer. Yuu’s eyes were wide in shock at first, and her chest felt like it was going to burst. Eventually, however, she found herself leaning into the kiss, and shut her eyes. His lips felt soft on hers, but as the kiss continued, he almost seemed…hungry.

After a few moments, Jade withdrew his lips, but Yuu found herself leaning closer toward him in a futile attempt to continue. Her eyes fluttered open as he lightly traced his fingertip down her jaw and to her chin. With a teasing smirk on his face, he whispered, “Don’t you disturb the ring either. I can’t let you be whisked away or see an early death.”

The girl’s face flushed red as she stared into Jade’s affectionate eyes. Yuu was so happy she decided to tag along.

“Now then, my dear,” Jade stood up and grabbed Yuu’s hand to help her up as well. “I must apologize for my behavior today. I was so entrapped by the numerous findings, I neglected you. You don’t have much experience with hiking around all day, so I’m sure your feet are sore.”

Yuu shook her head, “N-No! It’s fine! I’m fine!”

Jade made a bitter smile and shook his head this time. “Either way, thank you for coming with me today. I’ve already filled two bags in half a day, which must be a record. Yuu, you must be a good luck charm.” He beamed, and Yuu could feel her heart skip a beat. “Let’s call it a day here. I’ll cook you something with the mushrooms I found today as thanks.”

“Okay…” she mumbled, coyly twirling her hair.

Jade led Yuu on a path for the way back to Night Raven College. This time around, when Jade walked in front of her, he’d occasionally look back to make sure she was not too far behind him. When he saw she was a few meters away, he’d wait in his tracks for her to catch up before continuing on. Part of the path included a steep hill that made it difficult to descend. He had warned her to watch her step, but along the way, she lost her footing and fell on her behind.

“Ow ow ow…” Yuu groaned.

“Are you okay? You must have lost your footing,” Jade walked up to her and offered his hand. Yuu nodded and reached for his hand. The eel helped her to her feet and kept a hold of her hand. He guided her the rest of the way down the hill until a flatter area.

However, he did not let go of her hand. Jade’s finger’s were entwined with hers. Yuu glanced toward their hands then up toward him. He just smiled back at her, “This way you don’t fall again, or at least, I’ll use that as an excuse.” Yuu felt her heart pound and her face grow hot. She squeezed his hand a bit and felt a smile grow on her face.

The two continued to hold hands for the rest of the trip home.

 -----

There you are taku! 🥰

[captureatrip]

Best Places to celebrate New Year in Uttarakhand

With Covid now a somewhat permanent fixture in our lives, travelling can be quite a problem and might even make us feel guilty. But even with all the troubles of a global pandemic, we know what you’re thinking ‘New year’s pe toh banta hai!’ So, to help you with deciding the best location for this New Year’s Day, we’ve come up with a list of places you can visit in Uttarakhand to celebrate this special day.

Rishikesh

Where: Foothills of Himalayas, Northern India

What’s in here: This city offers a stunning view of the Ganges and the gorgeous Shiwalik Hills. Its most popular sporting activity is river rafting from popular spots like Brahmapuri, Shivpuri, Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Kriti Nagar, Byasi, Marine Drive, and Kaudiyala. Do bungee jumping at the Jumpin Heights, get dazzled by the burning lamps of Triveni Ghat, enjoy the sight of various water springs at different spots and even explore Vashishta Gufa as a part of your New Year get away. New Year in Rishikesh is sure going to be a sporty fest.

Mustn’t miss: Laxman Jhula and Ram Jhula, Rishikesh view point

Where to stay: Veda5 Ayurveda & Yoga Retreat

Auli

Where: Chamoli District, Uttarakhand

What’s in here: Auli is famous as the ski resort of India. If you want to spend your new year in peace and tranquillity this is the perfect place for that. Tracking, Yoga, Camping, Skiing, Dancing, Meditation and many other activities can be done at this mesmerising place. There are also a lot of clubs and resorts where you can party hours on end on the New Year’s Eve. Clifftop Club, Blue Poppy Resorts, The Tatva are only some of the popular names of the clubs available in Auli. Celebrate your New Year in Auli for some peace and calm this year.

Mustn’t miss: Trishul Peak, Auli Ropeway

Where to stay: The Himalayan Abode, Hotel Mount View

Chopta

Where: Rudraprayag District, Uttarakhand

What’s in here: Known as the mini-Switzerland of India, Chopta offers a stunning view of the snow-covered Himalayan mountains and surrounded by thick forest. Chopta tourism is most famous for its 4000 meters long Chandrashila Summit trek. It also has the highest Shiva temple in the world called Tungnath. It is mostly visited by tourists for trekking, bird watching, yoga and meditation. If you celebrate your New Year in Chopta, you can also enjoy the experience of an untouched and protected biodiversity on this land.

Mustn’t miss: Deoriatal, Chandrashila Temple, Ukhimath

Where to stay: Magpie Eco Tourist Village, Mayadeep Herbal Resort

Chandrashila

Where: District of Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand

What’s in here: If Mountain climbing and trekking are a huge passion of yours, you should celebrate your New Year in Chandrashilla. Chandrashila trek is one of the best treks to take in India and Uttarakhand and the idyllic beauty surrounding it makes it even more perfect. You can partake in activities like skiing and rock climbing to make your day more adventure filled. With perfect trekking trails and snow-capped mountains, you will have nothing to complain for.

Mustn’t miss: Kedarnath Temple, Tungstan

Where to stay: You will have to find a hotel in Chopta as Chandrashila does not have any arrangements for tourists to stay

Dhanaulti

Where: Foothills of Garhwal Himalaya Range

What’s in here: If you are a nature lover who would love to spend the last day of the year in peace, you should celebrate your New Year in Dhanaulti. Since, Dhanaulti is most of the times a stop for people rather than the destination for their holiday, it will give you the peace and tranquillity you need. You can set your camp in Camp Thangdhar and enjoy various adventure sports like river crossing, rock climbing, rappelling, commando net, zigzag bars, trekking, badminton, and mini basketball.

Mustn’t miss: Potato farm, Chanderi town, Tehri Dam, Apple Orchard Resort

Where to stay: Glamwood Resort Dhanaulti, Silver Dew Resorts, Rock resort

Mussoorie

Where: In Dehradun District

What’s in here: Known as the queen of the hills, Mussoorie is the perfect spot for leisure travellers. You can take part in famous treks like Top Tibba Trek and Benog Hill Bird Sanctuary Hike and enjoy the nature. Or Zipline in the Adventure Park of Mussoorie. Even Mussoorie’s food palette is quite famous around the world so must try the local cuisines there. Of course, no trip to this hill station is really complete without visiting the famous Mall Road of Mussoorie where you enjoy a leisure walk and shop around for your loved ones. Celebrate your New Year in Mussoorie for some good old hill getaway.

Mustn’t miss: Kempty Falls, Gun Hill, Landour, Lake Mist

Where to stay: The Forest View Resort, Hotel Sungrace, Hotel Padmini Nivas

[advancedel]

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[loganscanons]

mh2 - life after death

Makani the morning she realizes she’s a ghoul :3

The highway, once a busy thruway, is now a relic of the past, hardly used. The centered double lines faded long ago. A forest looms on either side of the road. Year by year the woods slowly reclaim the land. Trees force their roots beneath the asphalt, causing the road to bulge and crack along the edges. Ambitious weeds have snaked their way through the cracks, leaving green stretchmarks across the faded gray asphalt. Squirrels and deer amble across without concern, unused to cars or people. The only patrons of the road are teenagers looking for a place to drink and smoke with their buddies and lost travelers. The visitations of teenagers will lessen as summer is drifting into autumn, leaving the forest and its inhabitants to continue their repossession of the road.

Dawn emerges above the tree line, and with it comes the conversations of birds singing their sunrise greetings. The morning sunlight slips through the branches, refracted by a thick fog that hugs the trees. The weather forecast calls for a warm day with low precipitation, but the forest doesn’t seem to have received the message. The fog gathers around the tree trunks like colorless cotton candy, ghostly, wispy, and opaque. Morning dew gathers on foliage and dampens the earth.

Beneath a tall pine, a teenage girl lies on her side, curled into a fetal position atop the damp soil. Her eyes are closed, her body still. She’s barefoot, her legs and feet covered by sheer black stockings. The nylons are nicked with tears and holes. Beneath the runs in the stockings, her legs are marked with scrapes and thin cuts, and the blood from the scrapes has stained the nylons. Her skirt, a plaid polyester, is singed on a portion of the seam, and flutters gently in the wind. Twigs and leaves are caught in her braids, which are tousled and unkempt.  

A gray squirrel scampers across the groundcover and leaves, its nose twitching as it nears the body lying among the trees. It inches closer, flicking its tail. The girl smells recently dead. Another lone creature to decompose and nourish the forest’s ecosystem. The squirrel puts a small paw on the dead girl’s leg, sniffing the air.

The forest falls silent.

The birds stop their songs mid-note. The squirrels stop chittering. Even the wind stops, silencing the rustling tree branches. There’s a cold hush. A forest holding its breath. The squirrel freezes, startled by the sudden quiet. It gives a flick of its tail and darts away from the body, bounding up a nearby tree to safety. As the squirrel’s small paws propel it up the tree bark, the dead girl suddenly sucks in a deep breath. Her eyes flash open.

Makani doesn’t know where she is or how she got here. She pushes herself into a sitting position and turns her head slowly to take in her surroundings. The fog obscures her vision beyond a few meters. Putting one hand on the trunk of the nearest tree to steady herself, she stands. One side of her body is covered in forest soil, her other side damp with morning dew. She makes a half-hearted attempt to brush the leaves and dirt off her clothes. Twigs and leaves latch onto to the polyester fabric of her skirt and the nylon of her stockings. Dirt sticks to her skin and hair. She wipes her cheek with the palm of her hand, smearing the dark, cool soil across her face.

Unable to see anything through the fog, Makani turns her face to the sky, squinting at the rising sun. Makani is more familiar with the moon than the sun, having asked the moon for guidance and light for most of her life, but she tries to glean some information from the burning sphere. The wind begins to blow again, but this time it whispers a warning, sending its message through the rustling branches. Without much consideration for where she’s headed, Makani turns her attention back to the obscured forest and begins to walk. She instinctively puts her weight on the sides of her soles, protecting the sensitive skin of her arches. From its spot in the treetops, the squirrel watches the girl disappear into the fog, her eyes fixed forward, her gait wobbly but assured.

Makani can feel the cool dampness of the forest floor’s decomposing foliage through her thin stockings. The breeze and the morning chill warrant a jacket, but the cold doesn’t touch Makani’s skin. She can feel the wind buffet against her skin but not the chill that comes with it. Though she can feel the forest beneath her feet and the breeze blowing over her, she doesn’t feel the discomfort that should come with the sensations. The world is dulled, distant. How she wound up unconscious in the forest is inconsequential to her.

Makani stops short. A thin, sharp twig hidden beneath the decaying leaves has pierced her foot, tearing another hole in her nylons as it imbeds into her skin. There’s no pain. She leans against a tree and examines the bottom of her foot. The twig is long and pointed, dry due to the blanket of leaves. Unaffectedly, she removes the splinter and tosses it back to the forest floor. She presses her thumbs into the sole of her foot, stretching her skin to examine the wound. The twig went deep into her skin, drawing blood. But the blood that slowly oozes from the wound is unlike any blood she’s seen. It’s thick and black and moves like molasses. She rips the hole in the sole of her stockings wider and wipes away the blood with her thumb. The blood has stopped, and the only evidence of the splinter is a small laceration in her skin.

Makani places her foot against the forest floor again, pressing the wound against the ground. There’s no pain. Makani can’t convince herself that the black blood or the lack of pain are particularly remarkable. No more remarkable than waking up in an unknown area of a forest. She resumes her aimless trek.

In the absence of pain, cold, or concern, another sensation has overcome her. A deep, feral hunger. Makani has never felt so hungry in her life. And yet, there’s no dizziness or a growling stomach to accompany the hunger. She just wants. She craves. It’s a base need deep within her.

As Makani walks, the sun seems to maintain a still position in the sky, unmoving, not marking the passage of time. Aside from the wind, the forest is still silent, its hundreds of eyes watching Makani, the girl who smells like she recently died, the unnatural being, as she walks without a destination.

Through the trees and the fog, Makani spots a clearing, where the shadows of the trees leave a wide berth. She recognizes the area. It’s the last place she remembers being conscious. She maintains her slow, steady pace, nearing the grassy glen with neither haste nor hesitation.

The clearing is her favorite place to practice spells. A place where her parents can’t interrupt. It’s a mile from the dilapidated road, a place Makani found when she’d been searching for animal bones.

When she discovered the clearing, she’d been carefully scanning the forest floor and caught a glimpse of light gray in her peripheral. From a distance, she couldn’t make out what the pale color was. The shape was inorganic, out of place in an area typically untouched by man. Filled with curiosity, she neared the object and found herself entering a small clearing. Out of the shadow of the trees, short grasses and flowers had spread over the dirt, covering it a blanket of live foliage, right up to the edge of the light gray object.

The object was a large slab of concrete, around ten feet on each side. Makani walked around the slab, examining it, wondering where it originated. The grass had grown around it; it wasn’t placed on top of the grass, so it must’ve been there a decent amount of time. Perhaps it hid a bunker beneath it. Or maybe it was once the foundation of a small house. She decided the origins didn’t matter. The concrete slab centered in the clearing offered an apt workspace, where she could draw symbols in chalk and charcoal beneath the light of the moon. The woods could provide easy access to small animals for sacrifices. It was an ideal spot. The next day she returned to cleanse the area and make the spot her own.

As Makani enters the clearing, she’s hit with a strong stench. The smell of death and burning. Even with her dulled senses, she has the urge to cover her nose and turn away from the awful stench. She’s familiar with blood, and the clearing smells like a massacre. It smells like charred remains and pints of blood. Last night she’d been calling on dark forces, but nothing she did could have warranted an odor of this magnitude.

Despite the stench, she doesn’t break her stride. She keeps walking forward, toward the concrete slab. Carcasses of small animals in varying states of decomposition scatter the ground. The remains of sacrifices both recent and old. The grass, which was green and lush last night, is scorched black, but it’s cool against her feet. She nears the slab and stops at its edge.

Deep cracks run through the middle of the concrete. The symbols she drew in charcoal and chalk have been blown out, smeared like a strong wind blew through, but the smears point outward in all directions from the center of the slab. Makani kneels and wipes her forefinger across the smeared symbols. The charcoal comes off on her finger. The concrete slab is cool like the grass. It’s stained with the blood of past sacrifices.

Makani stands and circles around the slab, examining the damage. The candles she set up near the edges have melted, the wax blown out and splattered on the charred grass. Once she’s made a complete circle, she pauses, and stares at the wreckage, trying to remember what happened. She remembers chanting, the wind kicking up, the candles flickering.

Then she woke up far from the clearing, lying in the dirt.

Makani looks down at herself. Twigs and dirt still cling to her clothes. The collar of her shirt scoops low over her chest, and as she looks closely, she realizes the dark fabric is covered in blood. Her skirt laces up above her waist, and the laces are still tied tight. There’s no blood on it. She raises the seam of the skirt, noting the burn marks. Her stockings are a lost cause, too torn and bloody to ever be repairable. She looks at her bare feet, only covered by the destroyed stockings. Where are her shoes?

She glances around and spots the black contour of her boots at the edge of the clearing. She recalls setting up for the spell last night, then taking off her shoes, leaving them beside a tree along with her backpack. The backpack and shoes are where she left them, far enough from the wreckage to be undamaged. She sits beneath the tree to put on her boots, pausing to look at the sole of her foot where the splinter pierced her. The wound seems smaller now, but she can’t be sure. She pulls on her boots, lacing them tight, and stands again.

The wind picks up and a wailing scream tears through the fog. The forest bristles. A fox, Makani thinks. Another scream erupts, accompanied by a howling wind that pulls at Makani’s skirt and hair. The forest wants Makani gone.

Makani picks up her backpack and pulls the zipper open. She gathers what remains of her things in the wreckage. A few undamaged herbs. Her spellbook, which is charred along the edges. A couple unused candles. She tosses them all into her bag and zips it closed, then pulls the backpack straps over her shoulders.

Before she disappears into the fog, Makani takes a long look at the clearing. The scattered carcasses, the cracked and blood-stained concrete, the melted candles. The wind howls, and Makani realizes that she won’t be returning to the clearing again. Something happened. She’s not who she was last night.

She’s ravenous. She yearns for something beyond her grasp. Something she must have. She’s just not sure what yet.

Makani turns away from the clearing, parting without another thought. She’s walked the invisible path from the clearing to the road dozens of times, and even with the thick fog, she finds her way out without difficulty. As she gets farther from the clearing, the fog begins to thin and her line of sight increases. By the time she gets to the road, the fog in front of her has completely disappeared.

Her dad’s car, which she’d borrowed with the excuse that she had a sleepover to go to, is parked where the forest and the road meet. She fishes the keys out of the smallest pocket of her bag, and the car chirps as it unlocks. Tossing her bag into the passenger’s seat, Makani slides into the driver’s seat. The small crescent moon pendant that hangs from her mirror sways when she slams the car door closed.

Makani reaches for the sun visor, and for the first time this morning, she hesitates. What will look back at her in the mirror? She flips it down and uncovers the mirror.

She looks like she’s been to hell and back. Her braids are fraying, strands of hair sticking out in every direction, decorated with an assortment of leaves and twigs. Dirt is smeared across her right cheek. Her lower lip is split, slightly swollen, and caked in dried blood. Her brown eyes are cloudy and fogged. And her neck.

On the right side of her neck, a long gash is clotted with dried blood. The blood that poured from the wound covers her neck, sternum, and the collar of her shirt. She touches the gash gently, expecting pain, but feels none. She tilts her head up, trying to get a clearer look of the wound in the mirror. She runs her forefinger and middle finger over her neck and stops at the location of one of her carotid arteries. The thickest part of the gash crosses over the artery.

I died, she thinks, without affectation. She knows it’s true. A small smile twitches at her lips.

Mother won’t be happy about this, she thinks. She flips the car mirror up, starts the engine, and pulls out onto the old road being taken over by the forest. As the car speeds down the street, the birds begin to sing again, and the woods come alive.

[jiuwuming]

Today Is Wingman Day, Ch. 1

Fandom: Red Velvet Pairing: WenJoy Words: 5.4k+ Rating: T Summary: Joy downloads Tinder. Wendy suffers through the trials and tribulations of being Joy's wingwoman for one day—while juggling some complicated feelings. Good thing Yeri's there to help them both in her own way. Links: ao3 | aff

Sooyoung leaned forward across the table. “So, listen…” she said, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, a sly smile tugging on her lips.  The hairs on Seungwan’s arms stood up.  A smile like that from Sooyoung spelled trouble—

“I’m thinking of hooking up with a girl.”

—and bad ideas.

There were few things Seungwan hated more than her sleep cycle getting cut short on a Saturday morning right after midterms.

As a university student smack dab in the middle of her senior year, tackling five whole courses and several extracurriculars that kept her up well into the early a.m.’s, Seungwan cherished every minute of sleep she could get. Admittedly, it was her own fault for being overambitious.  But after spending week after week downing espresso shots just to get through morning lectures, substituting a good night’s rest for caffeinated blood coursing through her veins, any weekend where she could finally sleep in was a luxury. A godsent gift.  And finally, after getting through the midterm exam week, she could finally get the relaxation she deserved.

The incessant vibrations of her phone against the bedside table, however, said fuck you, Seungwan.

Seungwan groaned, rolling over to her side to reach for her phone.  Who the hell was texting her a storm on a weekend morning?  A precious weekend morning!  She slapped her hands blindly on the table until she found the device, bringing it over to her face so she could read the offending name on the screen.

Park Sooyoung, 7:52 a.m.

She sat up immediately, blinking away the blurriness from her eyes as her vision adjusted to read the words in the slew of texts.

Hey.

Hey.

Hey.

Seungwan-unnie.

I need you.

Meet me at Café Eureka.

I have something to tell you.

Important news.

Cold dread crawled down Seungwan’s spine as she scanned the messages.  Any traces of her sleep-induced haze scattered like ashes in the wind.  It was never a good sign when Sooyoung sent her texts like these—full of urgency yet aggravatingly vague.  Was it good news?  Bad?  Seungwan had never been able to get a straight answer, and she’d long given up trying.  Any attempts for elaboration through text were always met with increasingly evasive non-answers, each one more cryptic than the last.  Coming from a typically blunt girl like Sooyoung, though, it was always a cause for alarm.

At least, it was cause for alarm, until Seungwan had figured out that Sooyoung just liked to mess with her.

See, historically, ‘important news’ from Sooyoung meant one of two things:

1.     either she really did have something important to share—like when she had just broken up with Sungjae and needed to be comforted, or

2.     she was just baiting Seungwan with the fear that there was something hypothetically wrong—only to trick her into coming over to her apartment, trapping her into doing something as inane as figuring out which color dress looked better on her.

So yes, lately ‘important news’ was a dice roll.  Over time, alarm over Sooyoung’s wellbeing had turned into wariness; wariness, into dread.  Dread of a flagrant waste of time.  Her best friend was a mystery at times, and Seungwan never knew which Sooyoung she was going to get on any given day.  Excitable Sooyoung?  Sad Sooyoung? Trickster Sooyoung?  

Well, there was only one way to find out.

Seungwan sighed as she uncovered herself from the nest of her warm, plush blankets, resigning herself to another sleepless day and to Sooyoung’s whims—whatever they were.

I’ll be there in a few, she texted back.

-

For a day that was nearing the tail end of March, the weather outside was still surprisingly wintry: frozen dew clinging onto bladed grass, flowers that were normally in full bloom at this point only just shy of budding.  Seungwan shivered as she stepped out of the dormitory, the chill of the cold spring air seeping through her white cardigan and into her skin.  Maybe waltzing out in jean shorts wasn’t such a good idea.  Out of all the advice she’d taken from Sooyoung, ‘dress for the weather you want’ (which was her go-to excuse for wearing skimpy clothing even in frigid temperatures) was probably the worst.

Not many other students were out and about at this time of day on a weekend. Especially not on a weekend after exams.  There was still the occasional ever-so-disciplined jogger looking to knock out their daily run early—Sooyoung was one of them, which was why she was always up so early—but the vast majority of the student populace was probably enjoying their time off. Doing things that Seungwan sorely wished she could also experience: lazing around in bed, drinking a cup of hot chocolate, recovering from a hangover after celebrating the freedom from the brutal crunch of midterm studying.

While Seungwan didn’t regret her impulse decision to minor in music on top of being a biology major, the bone-deep exhaustion after a strenuous school week was… something else.  She missed having leisure time.  A life outside of school dedicated to hobbies.  Having time to spend with friends.  Partying.

Dating might’ve been nice, too, Seungwan thought as she passed by a couple holding hands, bundled up in hooded bubble jackets.  They were strolling peacefully along the tree-lined paths that led to the city, pausing to take photos together against the sunrise-tinged lake.  Stopping to smell the flowers.  Poking each other’s cheeks.  Laughing.  Living in the moment as if they had all the time in the world.

It reminded her of how Sooyoung had been, back when she was with Sungjae.  Carefree and happy.  But here she was, forever single and without a lick of romantic experience.  Oh, how Seungwan wished she were one of the normal students sometimes.

“Unnie, good morning!” called out a voice that sounded entirely too cheery for a Saturday morning.  “Wait up!”

Seungwan’s shoulders tensed as she turned to see Yerim running to catch up to her, guitar case slung over her shoulder.  Kim Yerim. Resident prankster.  Sooyoung’s partner in crime.

There was a wide grin on her face as Yerim fell into step with her. Despite feeling wary toward her and cranky at being woken up early, Seungwan couldn’t help but return the smile. Yerim’s enthusiasm was infectious like that.  On good days, it made the semester a little more bearable when they shared their music composition class together; on bad ones, it foreboded a future of trouble because she was a little shit sometimes.  Like Sooyoung, Yerim was someone who always knew how to keep her on her toes.  A frightening pair, those two.  Especially when they put their minds together.

Even so, it was impossible not to have a soft spot for her.

“Yerim—hey!”  Seungwan pulled her in, wrapping her arm over her shoulder as they walked side by side.  Mostly, she just wanted to steal her body heat.  “You’re going to band practice?  You have a performance tonight at the new bar, right? What was it called—Tiki Island?”

“Yup!”  Yerim nodded, waving her sheet music in front of Seungwan’s face.  “Also, we’re finally going to try out that new tune that you helped me with earlier this week and see how it goes.  I think Seulgi-unnie is going to love it.  Thanks for that, by the way.”

“No problem, kiddo.”  Seungwan gave her a pat on the head.  “You had great melody—just needed some polishing on the harmonies.  You did say you’d pay me back anyway.”

“Of course, unnie.  I’m a woman of my word,” Yerim said.  With her big round eyes and angelic face, anyone else who didn’t know her as well would’ve been fooled into trusting the innocent smile that graced her lips.  But years of being swindled by that very smile had taught Seungwan better.

She raised her eyebrows.  “Uh huh. Sure.  The most reliable person I know, really.”

“You headed to Café Eureka?” Yerim asked, pointedly ignoring Seungwan’s jibe.

“Yeah, I am.  Did you want anything?  I could get you something to—wait.”  Seungwan narrowed her eyes suspiciously.  At second glance, the smile on Yerim’s face had turned more… smug than anything.  Like she was privy to a secret that Seungwan wasn’t. “How did you know?  Sooyoung told you something, didn’t she?”

“Ah.”  Yerim’s shoulders stiffened under her hold.  Before Seungwan could react to the obvious tell, she was already ducking out of her arm and booking it.  “Gotta jet!” she exclaimed.  “I’ll see you around, unnie!”

“Hey!” Seungwan yelled after her, but Yerim was already several meters ahead, breaking out into a full run.

Seungwan threw her hands in the air, shaking her fist at Yerim’s disappearing figure.  “Why does nobody tell me anything!”

-

Seungwan felt right at home as she stepped into Café Eureka, inhaling the aroma of freshly-made syrupy waffles and the woody scent of weathered books that lined the walls of the upper floor, sighing in relief when the cozy indoor heating soaked into her freezing thighs.

Café Eureka, like any other restaurant business at the edge of the city, wasn’t an overly fancy establishment, but it was her and Sooyoung’s favorite library café to frequent.  As a hybrid breakfast diner and quiet study place, with both sections split into two floor levels to separate the diners from the students, it was a boon for struggling undergrads who needed a break from schoolwork for a convenient quick fix or vice versa.  The food was good; the staff pleasant.  Overall, it was perfect aside from the drawback of being a trek from the main campus.

Once senior year had hit, she and Sooyoung had both become super stressed university students, constantly hunched over reading thick textbooks in dusty libraries through late nights, so it was nice just relaxing at a cute lowkey joint once in a while.  Not too unruly or greasy like fast food restaurants, not too hoity-toity like those hipster coffee shops with one too many bearded baristas wearing an offensive combination of torn jeans and smartwatches.  Café Eureka was nice in that way—just the right balance of homey and classy: comfort foods in the form of all-day breakfast meals, along with the refinement of an academic setting.

Although a bit cheesy, it was rumored that the owners had named it ‘Café Eureka’ to appeal to the student population.  A place where epiphanies were made, supposedly, from just spending time there and basking in the atmosphere.  Fresh food stimulating bright ideas, bright ideas paving way to brighter futures—that was something of its brand.  It was said so often by staff and clientele alike that Seungwan was surprised it wasn’t made into a slogan yet.

She found Sooyoung settled at the booth in the corner of the café—their usual spot that overlooked the park and waterfront outside.  The bright ambience really did help with keeping them alert during exam weeks—lots of tall glass windows, with each table partitioned by blue leather seats and tall mahogany posts framed by metal bars.  The seating arrangement was a bit reminiscent of a 1950s American diner, just without all the hustle and bustle.

From where Seungwan could see, Sooyoung was busy scrolling through her phone, eyebrows creased together in concentration.  An untouched plate of strawberry crepes lay on the table in front of her—the same thing she always ordered whenever they were together.  It wasn’t a surprise that she was still in her jogging outfit, but as a non-morning person Seungwan didn’t often get to see her wearing it.  She had to whistle at how modelesque Sooyoung managed to make it look, like she’d just walked right out of a high-profile athletic brand photoshoot: fingerless gloves, hair tied into a high ponytail, tight black leggings with mesh panels, a matching sports bra that gave a wide view of the well-defined abs on her stomach.  Even as a runner, she wasted no opportunity to show off the magnificent physique of her body.

Seungwan didn’t blame her.  The girl was chiseled like a Greek goddess, and she had every right to flaunt it.  Especially ever since the breakup from a few months ago, Sooyoung had doubled down on working out to take her mind off of things, to spend time taking care of herself.  The result was marvelous, of course: leaner arms, toner thighs.  Plumper, healthier gluts.  Even Seungwan herself was guilty of staring once in a while—but hey, it was a crime not to admire art, right?  Not that she’d ever make an obvious show of it.  Sooyoung would never let her live that down, with that ego of hers.

It was a good sign, though, that Sooyoung was out and about instead of moping around, as she was wont to do whenever a wave of bad moods struck her.  Like the week when she’d split up with Sungjae, or had gotten a C on her exam.  If she’d been feeling alright enough to go out for a jog, that had to mean whatever she had to tell her wasn’t terrible, at least.

“Hey,” Seungwan greeted, slipping into the seat across from Sooyoung.

“Unnie!”  Sooyoung lit up, placing her phone down as soon as Seungwan announced her arrival. “You came!”

Seungwan laughed.  Sooyoung reminded her of the puppies that she loved to take care of sometimes at the local animal rescue center—the bright eyes, excitable smiles.  One and the same.  “Yes, I did, you brat,” she said, though it wasn’t with as much bite as she’d wanted.  Then again, she couldn’t stay too mad if Sooyoung seemed happy.

“Brat?” Sooyoung echoed, placing a hand to her chest in mock offense.  “Excuse me—I’m anything but.”

“I think you demanding my time and attention before eight in the morning on a weekend constitutes as you being a brat.”

Sooyoung placed her hands on her hips and glared, bottom lip jutting out in the way that forecasted whenever she was about to summon her grossest baby-aegyo voice.  “Unnie.”

“No,” Seungwan said, looking away.

Protests never stopped Sooyoung, though.  In fact, they always seemed to encourage her.

“Why don’t you ever want to spend time with me anymore?” Sooyoung whined, voice rising in pitch with every word.  “I just wanted to see you.  You’re so mean!  Hmph!” She punctuated her harrumph with a shrill squawk, cheeks puffing out.

Seungwan’s mouth twisted into a scowl, cold shivers rolling down her body.  She couldn’t even stop the gagging noises that emerged from her throat.  Sooyoung broke character at that, cackling as she pointed at the disgust undoubtedly written all over her face.

“Well, you must be in high spirits if you’re out here doing this,” Seungwan scoffed.  “I’m guessing that ‘important news’ isn’t a bad thing this time?”

“I’ll get to that later,” Sooyoung wheezed out, still recovering from her laughing fit, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Later?”  Seungwan let out an exasperated sigh.  Of course. “What—”

Sooyoung clapped her hands together.  “First things first, unnie!” she exclaimed, peeking her head outside the booth and snapping her fingers.  At her cue, the waiter walked over to their booth, a platter full of food on his hands.

“Rainbow fruit yogurt parfait for Son Seungwan-ssi?” the waiter presented, a teasing lilt to his voice.

It was Jongdae—one of the regular morning employees who usually ended up serving them more often than not.  Being regulars at Café Eureka, he was long past just a familiar face in the establishment. He felt more like an older brother at times to the both of them, even going as far to preemptively serve them their usual orders before they could even formally request the food themselves.

He smiled as he placed the plate in front of her: an assortment of cleanly chopped fruit—watermelon, mandarins, pineapple, kiwis, and grapes—placed in neat rows, separated by yogurt and granola within a tall glass cup.  Her favorite.  She hadn’t bought it in a while, though, since she was on a budget and it was expensive to order on a daily basis.

“I guess you finally have enough money now to splurge, huh?” Jongdae quipped.

“Actually,” Sooyoung interjected.  “It’s my treat for her.”

Seungwan blinked, mouth falling into an ‘o’ shape.  She looked back at Sooyoung, who was already staring at her with a smug grin, elbow propped on the table as she rested her chin on her palm. Just sitting there, looking like she was so proud of herself.

“Whoa.”  Seungwan couldn’t say she wasn’t impressed by Sooyoung’s thoughtfulness.  Not that she had expected to come out completely drained after meeting up or anything, but it was nice to know that Sooyoung could still surprise her with small gestures like this.

“Are you bribing her, or something?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, nothing like that,” Sooyoung denied, though the smirk on her face made Seungwan feel a little unsettled.

Jongdae snickered.  “Well, I’ve got to go back to work now.  Enjoy, girls!” he said, bowing before he left.

“Thanks, oppa!” Seungwan called after him.

Sooyoung pushed the parfait closer to her, placing a spoon in her hand.  “Bone ape tit, unnie.”

“I think the phrase is ‘bon appétit’, but thanks.”

“Am I still a brat?” Sooyoung asked, batting her eyelashes.

Seungwan smiled despite herself.  Maybe it was worth going out after all.  “Aside from grossly butchering the French language?  You’re alright, I guess,” she conceded.

“Bon appétit, then,” Sooyoung said, slicing into the crepe with her fork, slathering a generous helping of cream over it.

It looked good.  Seungwan’s mouth watered at the sight of it.  “Hey, let me have a bite of that?” she requested, opening her mouth wide.

The fork halted before it reached Sooyoung’s mouth.  She shot her an incredulous look.  “Unnie, you have one whole parfait in front of you.  You’re really going to make me sully my fork with your cooties before I even try my own crepes?”

“Don’t be difficult.  You’re the one who pestered me to come see you.  Besides, I haven’t tried it in a while.”

“Are you sure you aren’t the brat?” Sooyoung laughed, extending the mouthful of food out to Seungwan.  “You should be honored.  I don’t spoon feed just anyone, princess.”

Seungwan’s eyes lit up as she bit into it.  “Mm!  No wonder why you love this so much,” she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

“Yep!  Well, glad to know it’s fantastic as usual.”

“It is.”

Spooning her own parfait, Seungwan took her first bite, humming contently as the taste of kiwis and creamy Greek yogurt melted on her tongue.  Ah, fresh fruit.  Definitely hit the spot.  Crepes were good, but nothing beat a helping of fresh fruit in a parfait.   “It’s delicious.  Thank you, Sooyoungie—you seriously ordered this for me?”

“Duh.  I wasn’t going to drag you out here from the freezing cold in the morning for nothing.”

“Why did you, then?”  

Sooyoung leaned forward across the table.  “So, listen…” she said, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, a sly smile tugging on her lips.  The hairs on Seungwan’s arms stood up.  A smile like that from Sooyoung spelled trouble—

“I’m thinking of hooking up with a girl.”

—and bad ideas.

Seungwan whipped her head up from the parfait, mouth stopping mid-chew.  Her eyes widened to saucers.  “What.”

“I’m thinking of hooking up with a girl,” Sooyoung repeated, eyes twinkling in the way they always did whenever she took in Seungwan’s distraught expressions. Clearly, she was enjoying herself.

Seungwan set her spoon down slowly, swallowing her last bite before she irrevocably choked on it.  She’d been so absorbed in eating that she’d nearly forgotten that Sooyoung had dragged her out for a purpose.  Right. The ‘important news’.

Something actually important, or just a bait?

For once, Seungwan wasn’t sure which it was.

She didn’t even know Sooyoung was into girls in that way.  She’d been dating Sungjae for the majority of the time Seungwan had known her—a few months into their first year of school—so she could see why there wasn’t much opportunity for Sooyoung to express interest in the fairer sex.  Sure, Sooyoung had made a couple of comments about girls here and there that warranted a bit of eyebrow raising, but Seungwan thought that was just how she was.  No filters and unapologetically shameless.

Like when she’d half-jokingly considered bombing her organic chemistry exam just so she could get extra tutoring from the hot teacher’s aide, Bae Joohyun. Or when she’d gone slack-jawed watching Seulgi, their mutual friend from Yerim’s band, dance in a well-fitted suit and remarked I can see why they call her ‘oppa’.  Or when she’d said girl butts were more fun to look at than man butts—and oh god, Seungwan was an idiot.

Sooyoung liked girls.  How could she have missed it?

When she came to from her (extremely belated) revelation, Sooyoung was still staring at her expectantly.  Right, she hadn’t even answered her yet.

“Uh,” Seungwan said eloquently, licking her lips to catch a stray granola bit hanging off the edge of her mouth.

“Well?  Thoughts?” Sooyoung prompted.

What was even the proper response when your best friend simultaneously came out to you and announced she wanted to hook up with a girl—all in one breath?  “Congratulations?” she offered.

“‘Congratulations’ is damn right!” Sooyoung asserted, slamming a palm on the table, plates rattling with the force of the thump.  Seungwan winced, gripping her parfait glass to steady it.  “It’s been months since I’ve broken up with Sungjae. Can’t a girl treat herself?”

“Treat herself… to a hookup?”

Seungwan could already feel herself growing some white hairs.  This was all coming out of left field, honestly—Sooyoung liking girls, Sooyoung wanting flings with girls.  For all the years they’d known each other—ever since freshman orientation—Seungwan had never thought Sooyoung as the type do anything scandalous, like hitting the clubs in hopes of engaging in one-night stands.  Despite her outwardly flirty nature, she was a romantic at heart.  Someone who valued stability.  Softness. Not hedonistic passion.

“That’s right,” Sooyoung confirmed cheekily.

“And this is a good idea—how?  Why?” Seungwan rubbed her temple.  Having a bomb like this dropped on her definitely was not how she envisioned spending her Saturday morning.

Sooyoung picked up her fork, finally digging into her crepe.  She popped a strawberry into her mouth, chewing slowly as she looked out the window.  Seungwan followed her gaze, and outside she could see the couple she passed from before, still ambling near the lake.  She hadn’t noticed earlier, but they were both women.  Wow, she really was oblivious sometimes.  

“You know, I was always curious about how it’d feel like.  Being with a girl.  Even before I accepted that about myself.”

The tone of her voice sounded a bit more contemplative now.  Like she’d actually been mulling the idea over in her head, instead of tossing it out there just to throw Seungwan off balance. Maybe this was a serious matter after all.

“You never told me,” Seungwan said, hiding the frown that tugged at her lips behind another spoonful of yogurt.  The watermelon had turned mushy.  Great. “That you like girls, I mean.”

Sooyoung shrugged.  “Yeah, I’m bi.  I thought it was pretty obvious, unnie.  I just didn’t think it was necessary to talk about, with me dating Sungjae and all.”

Bi. Sooyoung was bi.  Seungwan felt her ears warming, hearing that out loud. She wasn’t embarrassed—just… caught off guard.  Yeah, that was it.  It was such a Sooyoung thing to do, confessing an important secret so casually. Flippantly, even.

“You could’ve told me,” Seungwan grumbled, pouting.  Did Sooyoung think she was homophobic?  She wasn’t!  Sooyoung knew that, too.  She had to, right?  When Yerim came out to them as a lesbian, neither of them had even batted an eyelash, accepting her with open arms.  Well, it wasn’t like she was entitled to know everything about Sooyoung, even if they were best friends, but still…

“I could’ve,” Sooyoung agreed, looking back at her, laughing when she saw her face.  “Why so grumpy?”

“Did you think I would judge you?” Seungwan blurted out without thinking. She couldn’t even keep the hurt from her voice.

Sooyoung frowned at that, sobering up instantly.  “No, that’s not it.”

“Then—”

“Hey,” Sooyoung said softly, reaching over to grasp Seungwan’s hand. “I know what you’re thinking when you have that look on your face—” Seungwan wrinkled her nose.  What look? “—but you know I would trust you with my life, right?”

The fact that Sooyoung could read her so easily was a bit terrifying.  Her shoulders slumped as she stared into her parfait instead of meeting Sooyoung’s gaze.  “Sorry,” she mumbled.  “I know it’s none of my business.”

“Like I said, it’s not like that.  I just thought it’d be more fun if you found out this way.”

Seungwan rolled her eyes, but she didn’t mind when Sooyoung interlaced their fingers together.  Her hand was warm.  “More fun for you, maybe,” she huffed.

“Yep!” Sooyoung chirped, leaning forward to poke her cheek.  “So don’t be such a baby, okay?”

The way Sooyoung’s finger dug into her dimple tickled, and it made her laugh as she withdrew her hand.  Sometimes Seungwan hated that she could be placated so easily.  “Well, I guess it was kind of funny,” she admitted, rubbing the back of her neck.  “And to be honest, I should’ve expected it.”

“Yeah, well, you heterolinis can be dumb sometimes.”

“Heterolinis?”  Seungwan frowned.  She was less offended at being called dumb than baffled at Sooyoung calling her a… a heterolini.  Where did she even come up with that?

“Yeah.  You know—straight people, with their straight lives, always viewing things through their straight lenses.”

Seungwan gaped.  She wasn’t that bad, was she?  “I’ve never even had a boyfriend.  Who knows if I’m straight?”  She furrowed her eyebrows, head tilting quizzically at the words that came out of her own mouth.  Why was she even arguing?  She’d barely even questioned her own sexuality before.

Sooyoung eyed her skeptically.  “Girl, the number of times I’ve caught you staring at Cha Eunwoo from the music department, though…”

Heat rose to Seungwan’s face.  “And what about it!” she protested, jabbing her spoon into the parfait and taking an angry bite out of it, munching loudly.  “He’s beautiful!”

“Yeah, so?” Sooyoung scoffed, crossing her arms.  “So am I, but you’re not attracted to me.”

Seungwan’s eyes widened.  Whoa. Sooyoung really went there. Abort, abort, abort.

“When did you even figure out that you were bi?” Seungwan asked instead, floundering for a change of topic.

Rather than replying, Sooyoung delicately placed her fork down on her plate, metal clacking against ceramic.  She clasped her hands together, looking out the window again.  Birds chirped outside. The front door of the café jingled with the arrival of new customers.

When Sooyoung went quiet a few seconds too long for comfort, Seungwan fidgeted in her seat, backpedaling.  “Sorry—was that too personal?”

“It’s fine.  I was just thinking.  I think I always kind of knew—but it probably only hit me a year ago or so?”

“Oh, wow.”  Seungwan’s eyebrows shot to her forehead as she took in the new information.  A year ago.  That had to mean…  “You were still dating Sungjae at the time?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that why you two broke up?”

“No,” Sooyoung answered immediately.  Her lips pursed into a thin line as she swept her fingers over her hair, pushing them away from her eyes.  “Well—not entirely.  Yes and no. We had our differences, but I can’t say it didn’t factor into it.  He didn’t know, though.  I never told him.”

“Ah.”

“Mhm.”

They fell into an uncomfortable silence as they went back to eating, the scrape of utensils the only noise filling the air.  Seungwan grimaced.  Sooyoung never went into the details of the breakup before, but Seungwan hadn’t expected that to be part of the reason.  She really had to be nosy and open up old wounds, didn’t she.

When it was clear Sooyoung wasn’t going to elaborate any further, Seungwan cleared her throat.  “Oh, yeah! So, anyway—about girls.  You wanted to try hookups?”  She cringed as the words left her mouth.  Hookups.  It sounded so crass.

Sooyoung perked up, a wide grin spreading on her face as though nothing had happened, and Seungwan was thankful it was that simple to dispel the awkward atmosphere between them.  “Yeah! I installed Tinder—I was just setting up my profile right before you showed up.”

“Tinder?” Seungwan repeated.  “Like, for local randos?  Not someone from our school?”

“That’s the point of hookups.”  Sooyoung rolled her eyes.  “I’m not supposed to see them again.”

Seungwan pressed her lips together as she regarded Sooyoung.  Sooyoung, who always cried at the climax of romantic comedy movies.  Sooyoung, who once dumped a boy she was seeing simply because her Maltese puppy, Haetnim, didn’t like him.  Sooyoung, who—despite having a reputation for being a flirtatious tease—valued the fine art of courtship.  Late-night candlelit dinners, picnics under a blanket of stars.

“This isn’t usually like you,” Seungwan pointed out.

“Yeah, maybe I just wanted to try something different.  Something uncomplicated, no strings attached.”

“Why not dating, though?”

“Because I’m probably not ready for a relationship right now?  And also, I’d really just like to kiss a girl.”

“Oh.”  Seungwan flushed at the mental image of Sooyoung doing just that.  Stupidly sexy Sooyoung, kissing a girl—not for the titillation of men but for herself.  “Wow.”

“What is it?” Sooyoung asked.  Seungwan didn’t like the look on her face—the annoyingly self-satisfied smirk that suggested she knew exactly what Seungwan was thinking.

“Nothing,” Seungwan said, shaking the idea from her head.  “Just getting used to you being bi.”

“Well…” Sooyoung began.  She slid out of her seat and into Seungwan’s side of the booth, a devilish sparkle in her eyes.  Her voice had turned husky.  “I think I have an idea of how to help you.”

Their hips bumped together as Sooyoung pushed her farther inside to make room for the both of them.  She pressed in so closely that Seungwan could catch a hint of the fruity floral perfume she always wore.  Plums and peonies.  Of course she had to smell intoxicatingly nice even after a jog.

Seungwan tensed, fingers gripping onto the hem of her shorts.  “Help me… get used to you being bi?”  Why did that sound so ominous?

“Yep.”

“How?”  Seungwan didn’t know if she liked where this was going.

Sooyoung gave her an impish, lopsided smile as she leaned in, maintaining eye contact with Seungwan the whole way even when the distance between their faces shortened to mere centimeters.  Seungwan’s neck craned back as she strained to put space between them, head bumping against the window, and she had to hold her breath so it wouldn’t mingle with Sooyoung’s.  Goosebumps rose on the surface of her arms at the heat radiating from the other girl’s body. It felt nice after walking in the cold for so long, but suddenly Seungwan found herself at a crossroads: uncertain if she wanted to pull her closer for warmth or push her away for her own sanity.

Finally, after what seemed like several excruciating seconds, Sooyoung spoke.

“I…”  Sooyoung licked her lips, moving in almost impossibly close—so much so that their noses almost touched, and it took all of Seungwan’s willpower not to scream.  “…am going to have you—”

She jabbed a finger onto Seungwan’s chest.  Oh, hell.

“—help me pick out a date!” she declared cheerfully.

Before Seungwan could even process what was happening, Sooyoung had already pulled away, slapping a couple of 10,000 won notes on the table to foot the bill, laughing and slipping out the booth with a jolly spring to her step.

Seungwan exhaled shakily once she actually had room to breathe again, feeling a cold draft of air in the absence of Sooyoung’s presence.  “Huh?”

What?

What?

“Come on, Seungwan-unnie!  Let’s go back to my apartment.  I want to shower already, and we can talk more about it there!”

Rooted in place, Seungwan stared after Sooyoung as she made her way to the front of the café, unable to shake how fast her heart was pounding.

What!!!

Once her brain kicked back into gear, Seungwan rushed to scarf down one final spoonful out of her parfait before chasing after Sooyoung—curse her and her long legs.  She noshed on the granola, savoring every munch and crunch as though it could smother the budding realization that threatened to slip out from the tip of her tongue.

She chanced a look back at her wristwatch.  It was only 9:17 a.m.

It was going to be a long, long day.

[ask-elementalhermitcraft]

Shot in the Dark

Genre: Another war fic

Characters: Stress, Ren, Impulse, Jevin

Summary: War is stressful and sometimes you just need a little break. The problem is that the other team is unlikely to agree.

The air was chill, colder than the nights before it. The moon was gone from the sky, stars taking its place on the new moon. The ground was covered in frost, reaching from its central point, a silent, seething figure on the sandy river shore.

The fight had started as a skirmish, another chance encounter. She had only been about fishing, something she used to calm her nerves during trying times such as a war. She heard the footsteps, felt the chill down her spine reach the dew covered grass and spread in tendrils. She watched the river freeze over, her fishing line stuck in place as she set down the fishing rod to her side.

The footsteps had stopped when she started to get up, the tendrils of frost reaching outward from where her hand touched the ground. Her observations had been as sharp as cracked ice, ready to strike like an icicle set into an awning.

She turned calmly, her face not one of anger but expectancy. She knew she should’ve done this by her own base, where the fish were sparse but the night was quiet. She was scared to fall too far from the G-Team base, though, worried that they may need her at a second’s notice. She wasn’t very surprised that she was the one that needed them.

Her brown eyes tinged blue met with two pairs in the unlit night. She could hear zombies groan and skeletons clatter in the distance, but none of the three humans made a noise.

There was Impulse, standing with his hands clasped behind his back and glowing brighter than normal. A yellow aura surrounded him, wavering with the heat that came off of his form. He was ready to summon his weapon from behind him at the drop of a hat, the smirk on his face threatening and cocky.

Behind him, a few meters back was Ren, in his prime. His eyes glowed slightly, a charged power inside him giving them a silver tinge. His lips curled up in excitement, teeth bared and legs ready to sprint. He carries a sword with one hand, the blade gleaming in Impulse’s bright aura.

“Hello boys,” Stress said sweetly, testing a smile. “Great night for fishing.”

They could all see the reaching tendrils of frost covering the ground. The wide break it had around Impulse wouldn’t go unnoticed either, though it was only some frost.

“Would only be better if it was raining,” Ren joked, Stress understood the implication.

Her hand, still next to her side, slid into her right back pocket. Inside sat a little button, one she pressed with a simple click. She kept her hand in her pocket, attempting to not look suspicious. It was a 1v2, the odds against her. She needed help, any that would come. She knew she would still have to stall.

“What have you come all the way out here for?” she asked, her voice as relaxed as she could force it.

“To send an ice queen out of commission for one, maybe two days,” Impulse said matter-of-factly. “Think you know anything about it?”

Stress licked her lips, sliding her foot to the side and widening her stance as she removed her hand from her pocket. “What’re you planning for tomorrow?” she played along.

“Nothing yet,” Ren replied.

She saw him start to move but she struggled to catch the movement. A trail of ice started to follow him, nipping at his heels as he sprinted circles around her. She knew better than to take her eyes off of Impulse, though. She saw that glow burn brighter, a red-hot light coming from behind his back.

Preparing her other hand, she glanced quickly to Ren. She immediately glanced back at Impulse, throwing her left hand up into the chilly night air. The frost that had surrounded him solidified and strengthened, shooting upwards in a series of tightly knit spikes that reached their peak mere feet above Impulse’s head. A jail cell of ice, layers upon layers keeping them solid to the ground. It would do little to cage one of the three fire elementals without a little help.

She pulled away the hand that chased Ren’s movement and clasped it with her other. They unclasped, slowly moving apart, matching the pace at which the layers of ice thickened, turning a crinkled blue with frost covering its edges.

With her attention drawn away, Ren changed direction sharply, pushing up grass in the pivot. He kicked off into a sprint again, shining iron sword extended as he held it ready in his right hand. Stress heard his approach, turned too late as she caught the gleam of the sword in her eye before it caught in her side. Iron as cold as ice sliced through her side. Blood soaked her cardigan, though the wound was ultimately superficial. She was still blown back, moving away from the blade and doubling over. She set a hand on the wound, her hand and clothes tacky with blood.

The frozen cage was melting, water flooding the ground as a hot yellow glow came from the inside and through the cracks. She heard the whip crackling and sizzling against the ice. Stress straightened up and faced Ren. She just had to buy some time.

Ren was now about fifteen feet away, blade out and dripping, held carefully in one hand. His stance was wide, one leg more bent than the other as he readied himself to sprint again. He wasn’t at his strongest, but just barely. The new moon only hindered him slightly, but he was still stronger than any of the rest of them.

His leg bent more, he was ready to sprint. As he kicked off, Stress flung her hand towards him, watching a sheet of ice cover the ground between her and Ren. He attempted to stop short but quickly felt the ground come out from under him and his stomach drop to his feet. His back hit the sheet of ice, sending a resounding smack echoing in the night air.

A louder crack came from Impulse’s direction. She snapped her head back to him in time to watch several of the spikes that the cage was made out of slide from their supports and shatter on the ground. Dull light came from Impulse’s form, sending Stress’s heart going ten times faster.

Rapid footsteps came from her left, Ren’s direction. His boots crunched the frost they walked on. She needed to focus on Impulse though. She stepped back, trying to create some more distance between him and her. She saw the light of the G-Team base glimmer in Ren’s sword again, a warning she appreciated but ignored. Her eyes were trained on Impulse. Out of panic or determination, she wasn’t actually sure.

Ren stopped short of Stress, yelling out in pain. He hit the ground, spun backward by his arm. Her eyes tore from Impulse. Ren was flat on the ground, groaning and holding his shoulder. He had let go of the sword so it was sitting at his side.

There were footsteps running rapidly from the G-Team base, armor clanging that reminded Stress that she had left the base without it. She didn’t have time to address them as Ren started to get up, propping himself up with the arm that wasn’t in intense pain.

Stress ran up to Ren and kicked the sword away by the handle. She knelt towards the ground, pressing her knee against his chest to keep him in place. She aimed her hands down at his wrists and shot, forming bolts of ice into restraints that would keep him much longer than they would Impulse. Speaking of… She heard the crackle of fire the clang of sword against iron. She pulled her attention away from Ren, confident that the restraints would hold.

Only one had joined her on the battlefield, at which she sighed in relief. The others needed their rest. Most had been injured in a recent battle. Although they were quick to recover, it wouldn’t be smart for any of their injured to run out onto the battlefield again. Instead, Jevin had joined her, swinging his sword with more force than was normally possible. Impulse was glued in place, feet stuck to the ground and unable to move his limbs with as much accuracy as he usually would have. He lobbed heavy blows of fire in Jevin’s direction, barely missing each hit as Jevin dodged out of the way.

Stress ran back to her fishing outpost and threw open a chest. Out of it, she yanked a quiver of arrows and a loosely strung bow, which she was quick to tighten. She shoved an arrow into the notch, brushing over the flinthead and feeling it chill and sharpen under her fingers, ice coating the tip. She let the arrow loose, watching it fly towards Impulse at top speed. As it entered the area around him, it dropped with the sudden change of gravity. She was lucky when hit his thigh. This time she aimed high, hitting him the right arm. A smile pulled at her lips, knowing they had the upper ground.

A flash of light to her left blinded her, and from the surprised noise, it seemed Jevin as well. There was a distant thump, a few feet away from where Impulse once stood. When Stress’ eyes readjusted, she saw Impulse thrown against a knoll, though with almost no physical side effects besides being thrown off for a second. He quickly recovered, pulling himself to his feet as Jevin continued to try to recover his vision.

Impulse sucked in a breath. Stress’ heartbeat skipped. He blew outward, holding a finger in front of his mouth like a whisper. The resulting flame carried outwards in a cone of fire, encompassing Jevin in the blast.

Jevin yelled out in agony. Stress could hear bubbles pop sickenly, making her stomach churn. When the fire cleared, Impulse having run out of breath, she saw the slime that made up Jevin’s form bubble and steam, boiling in the intense heat. He was grimacing in pain, kneeling down with a sword in one hand and the other on the ground as he pushed himself up. Impulse looked cocky for a few seconds before Jevin made a sharp nod upwards.

Impulse flew into the air, turning upside down at first in surprise before gaining control over his position again. He looked down to see the ground far, far below him. If he fell now then he would be fine, but if Jevin used his power further…

He sucked in another breath subtly, watching Jevin get up and look away temporarily. He was weak, it was clear.

“Doing alright Stress?” Jevin asked, though from the grimace he still held and the fact his form still bubbled and steamed it would be smart to worry for himself.

“Yeah, I’m-” she started, her brow knitted in concern.

A yellow-hot light caught her eye. She pushed off from her standing position, sprinting towards Jevin. The ground under her turned to ice, spreading out like vines with each step, reaching the river in her speed and power. Heat drew closer, making her sweat profusely, her head started to get light. Her breathing was quick and she barely worked up the energy to keep sprinting.

She jumped, the step where she took off spreading ice that quickly shot up into sharp spikes to follow her feet. She felt her hands connect with Jevin’s shoulder and push off, sending him sprawling against the ground and barely out of the range of the cone of fire that was quickly incoming.

> StressMonster101 went up in flames

> ImpulseSV experienced kinetic energy

[paul-s-walks-uk-blog]

Walk 4: Broad Falls to Buckfastleigh

 “The Road goes ever on and on Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, And I must follow, if I can, Pursuing it with eager feet, Until it joins some larger way Where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say” 

J R R Tolkien

This walk description is from my Tumblr blog ‘Dartmoor (and other) walks’, where you will also find guides some of my other walks, and (eventually) hints, tips, for successful hiking and descriptions of some of my favorite places

The walk described in this blog is the return journey from the one described in walk 3

Homeward bound from a camping trip is as much pleasure as going. There is no pressure to keep to a schedule and one can take the time to go slowly and poke around. After all, it doesn’t matter too much if you get drenched, or do too many miles and get sore feet: Home is at the end, with a shower and dinner and warmth-not the possibility of a damp night in a sleeping bag with aching legs. Thus the walk back from Broad falls (walk 3) was a deviation from my plan. I decided that instead of returning the way I went to South Brent, I would take a nice  amble over Hickaton Hill and dawdle down some country roads and head for Buckfastleigh. If I had to wait for a bus, no matter,  there are places to get a coffee and read a book while waiting.

Click here for pictures from this walk

Walk data

Distance: Approximately 7 miles (11 km). Plus another mile to Buckfast!

Grade:Moderate

Start point: Western bank of the Rivr Avon, near Broad Falls, approximately SX652670

End Point :  Buckfastleigh

Facilities: None at the start, until you are off the moors. Buckfastleigh has shops, cafes, a good chip shop, pubs and toilets. A look at the map will show that a little detour from the route will take you to Scorriton, where the Tradesman’s Arms does good food .

Transport: There are buses on weekdays and Saturdays from Buckfastleigh to Exeter, Plymouth and Totnes. For details check Traveline South West. On Sundays, there are buses to Plymouth and Exeter, but they are not very frequent. You cannot get directly to Totnes on a Sunday. If you are driving from Plymouth take the A38 in the Exeter direction. From Exeter take the A38 in the Plymouth direction, and turn off when Buckfastleigh is reached. Both routes are about 24 miles.

Map : Ordinance Survey Explorer OL28. Compass needed across Hickaton Hill if visibility is bad

Walk overview

The walk starts along moorland river banks, then a shortish tract of open moor. From Lud Gate it is road walking all the way, except for a a detour on public footpaths through some rarely visited woods.

Route Map

Click here to see the route maps for this walk

stage 1: Broad Falls to Lud Gate

It had been a dry night and there was no dew, so my tent was dry, and I could get an early start. I munched a bowl of muesli, had a mug of tea, packed up and set off. It was perfect walking weather for someone with a rucksack-a little chilly, but dry. The sky was a single sheet of bluish grey. The was no sign of the sun.

The first part of this walk was along the right bank of the Avon as it heads in a south-easterly direction, The river bank itself is marshy and difficult, and there are wide areas of tussock on the side of the hill, but between them runs a fairly dry path, used occasionally by people, but more often by sheep. The path climbs up and down a little and then follows the river as it changes course and bears left.

The Avon on it’s way to Avon Dam

Shortly after this turn you will see the Avon clapper bridge crossing the stream.(approx. SX656661 )(see picture below). There are (apparently) about 200 clapper bridges on the moor. Most of them are medieval, being on the routes that the shepherds drove the giant flocks belonging to the abbeys. A clapper bridge is a simple affair: One or more granite slabs used as a bridge. The work in pre-machine times to construct these must have been immense. The average granite slab in such a bridge is about 6 foot (1.8 m) long, 3 feet (0.9 m) wide and about 6 inches (15 cm) thick, making 9 cubic feet (0.25 cubic meters). Granite weighs 20 pound per cubic foot, so the average slab is about 180 pounds (about 36 kg). These would have been hauled into position from wherever they were found, then levered over the water. The bridge here consists of 2 slabs supported in the middle by a pile of smaller blocks. 

The Avon Clapper

The trail descends to the clapper, slightly passing it before it does so. Don’t be tempted to cut this corner off. The Two Moors Way National Trail joins our path here. It is very popular, and the passing of many booted feet has turned the area around the bridge into a slippery mush. The path takes the least squishy approach.

After crossing the bridge, and standing to watch the waters gurgling under its piles, our track follows the path of the river eastward. The path is well trodden, but there are lots of alternatives as people have tried to avoid the watery parts. Take your pick, and good luck. Keep higher if possible is the only vaguely practical advice. To your left rises Huntingdon Hill. On the is hill is the remains of Huntingdon Warren. The rabbit farm on the hill was running until 1956.

The path crosses over a style at the end of a wall that goes down to the riverside. By the wall stands Huntingdon Cross. This is a medieval cross and has stood here for at least 600 hundred years. The path then Crosses the Western Wella Brook, a tributary of the Avon. The stream divides into two and the crossing places are very muddy. Until recently this was the place where a walker was most likely to get wet feet-but a new clapper bridge has been put over the wider stream and stones (with a pipe) have been put over the smaller stream, so I got across without having to hop gingerly over loose rocks. This (very welcome) new bridge was made by Dartmoor National Park Authority, with funding from the Totnes and the Devon Ramblers, who have earned, at least my, undying gratitude. Of course the bridge was not made as it was in the middle ages! A video can be seen here of it’s construction. They clearly picked a day of bad weather for it.

The new clapper bridge. The two DALEKS beyond are the remains of a water pipe system across the river

Looking north east from Huntingdon Cross you can see a rounded hill. This is Hickaton Hill. It is easy to identify because of the large, almost circular shape on it’s side.This is the site of a neolithic settlement. Four thousand years ago, the climate on the moors was more hospitable, and they were well populated. There are the relics of settlements, hut circles, stone rows and circles spread over most of the moor.

The track now leads up Hickaton Hill. It can be seen (usually) from the cross. It is well trodden, because it is part of two trails, the Two Moors way and the Abbot’s way. In summer is can be relatively busy.

Follow the track up the hill, and take time to poke around the settlement. The map show distinct hut circle shapes. These may be obvious from the air, but at ground level the settlement ring seems to contains random piles and patches of stone. You can sit here and imagine the bustle, smells and noise of all those years ago.

The ancient settlement on Hickaton Hill

Follow the Two moors Way up the hill. It levels out and then climbs again, and soon you come to a place where the trail you are on is crossed by another (this was once the road to Huntingdon Warren). This is close to the edge of the open moors. Ahead and to your left you can see fields and patches of woodland. There are now wiry and twisted blackthorn trees amid the granite boulders.

view of fields from Hickaton Hill

We are heading towards Lud gate ( SX683673). Shortly after passing the crossroads you will notice that the track diverges. The path straight on is the Two Moors Way and bearing slightly to the right, the track to Lud Gate. You can see your destination as a small copse of fir trees to the north east. Lud gate lies in a small kink in the moor boundary between these and a little wood of deciduous trees,The path is clear and gravelly.Around you are bushes of gorse. It always seems so lush, this small patch of heath after the grassy expanses of the moor.

Stage 2 : Lud Gate to Buckfastleigh

Lud Gate

At the gate ignore the finger post pointing to the left, and pass through the gate into a long lane with dry-stone walls and cut-and-laid hedges on either side. Trees arch overhead. In summer it is a delightful canopy of leaves, alive with birds. In winter it is a fascinating network of twisted branches.

After about ten minutes walk the lane becomes a proper road, which eventually comes to a crossroads called Cross Furzes. Pass this junction and turn left at a T junction a little further on.The road we are following is it is to Buckfast and Ashburton. (picture at top of this post). There is another mile or so of road-walking, past farms and fields, until you come to a farm called Button. There is a footpath through the farm. It is rarely used as the footpath signpost is beyond the farm gate, and almost hidden in a bush of holly.

Pass the (very well kept) farmhouse, and on crossing a style keep the hedge to your left and enter Bilberry Copse, which is a small part of Kings wood. Because the path is not busy, the leaves were still dry underfoot and the forest was decked still in autumn colours.

After the woods the trail passes through a few fields which often have sheep and horses in. The track comes to a road, at which we turn left and cross a small bridge over the River Mardle, shown below, then through Bilberry woods. There is no reason to do this, as the path through the woods merely loops in an arc and joins the road again.

footbridge into Bilberry Woods

Bilberry Hill Woods

On joining the road turn left and in just over ten minutes you will arrive in Buckfastleigh

Buckfastleigh is a small, busy town. 

For some reason, they have changed the bus timetables so that there are no longer buses to Totnes on a Sunday. I walked another mile to Buckfast, where I have frequently caught a Sunday bus home, It was the same-no service. So I had to ring my wife and ask her to come a get me, like a lost schoolboy. And, it being Sunday, the chip shop was closed!

Fish and chips in Buckfastleigh