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echoes-of-the-clockwork · 4 years ago

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Book One: Gold (Prompto x Reader) Chapter III

Back at the chocobo outpost, (Y/n) waited patiently for the boys to finish talking with Wiz. She wandered over to the pens and immediately made eye contact with one of the birds. It had (f/c) feathers. It watched her every moment as she approached. A faint 'chirp' came from the chocobo as it wiggled its tail feathers excitedly.

The guardian smiled sweetly, reaching out to pet the bird. It lowered its head and allowed her to place her hand on its head. It closed its eyes, enjoying the feeling of her fingers stroke the top of its head.

(Y/n)'s hand gravitated toward the chocobo's neck, resulting in the bird to come closer. Its body bounced against the wooden railings of the pen, but that didn't stop it from snuggling into her embrace. With a giggle, the girl wrapped both arms around the chocobo's neck as it placed its head on her shoulder. It chirped lightly before nuzzling its beak into her (h/c) locks.

What surprised (Y/n) the most was the bird's lack of fear. Most animals were able to detect her aura and became frightened, but this chocobo seemed to find joy and comfort in her presence. A giggle fell from her lips at how affectionate the bird was. "You're really friendly, aren't you?"

The sound of a camera shutter grabbed her attention. Pulling away from the chocobo, she looked toward the sound and saw Prompto. A grin manifested on her face when she saw his cheeks turn slightly red from being caught. "Sneaking more pictures, huh?"

The boy lowered his camera, scuffing the tip of his shoe against the ground. "Wh-What can I say? A photographer never misses a perfect opportunity to take a picture."

(Y/n) then noticed he was alone. "Where're the others?"

"They're still talkin' with Wiz," he said, walking towards her. As he stood by her and waited for the others, he reached out and petted the chocobo. "So...exactly how're we supposed to explain this to them?"

"Leave it to me," she said. "This'll be easier than I thought it'd be."

"Why's that?"

"By Ignis' reaction earlier, it seems he already has a comprehension of what I am. With his assistance, I'm positive Noctis and Gladiolus will be able to understand." She lifted her left hand, clamping it over the gemstone located on her right arm.

A few minutes ticked by before Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis regrouped with (Y/n) and Prompto. The young girl directed them to a place on the chocobo ranch that was void of prying eyes before giving them her full attention and introducing herself. "My name is (Y/n). It's a pleasure to finally meet you all."

"So, uh..." Noctis rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks for the, y'know...help earlier."

She smiled gently at him. "No need to thank me. After all," she turned her gaze to the marksman. "It is my job to protect Prompto."

"If I'm not mistaken, you are a guardian, correct?" Ignis asked.

She nodded. "Indeed, I am. You knew the moment you spotted the gemstone what I was. I'm impressed by your analytical abilities, Ignis."

"Hold on," Gladio interrupted. "Guardians are from fairytales. There's no way they really exist."

"Far from it, Gladio," the advisor replied. "Guardians are no mere figment of one's imagination. You stand in the presence of one. (Y/n) demonstrated her abilities during our skirmish with the behemoth. There are a multitude of texts explaining the existence of spirits, or as we commonly refer to them as guardians."

The shield still wasn't convinced the fairytale story he was told when he was little wasn't fiction. "If you really are a guardian, how the hell do you know blondie?"

The golden-eyed girl glanced at Prompto for a brief second before looking back at the brute and explaining who and what spirits truly were. "I'm not sure what to say about the guardians you are referring to in fairytales, but a real life spirit is born from a fragment of one's soul. Not all humans are capable of manifesting a guardian. In fact, it is quite rare. A strong emotional tie to the world around you is necessary to birth a spirit. Just so happens, Prompto is one of those people who does has a strong connection."

It took a few minutes of silence after (Y/n)'s explanation for Noctis and Gladio to fully understand her words. Ignis, on the other hand, took no time at all for him to wrap his head around the truth behind guardians. While he needed no other evidence of the truth due to seeing all the proof he needed, Noctis and Gladio were still unable to swallow everything. Of course, the two displayed their uncertainty and (Y/n) was more than understanding.

After (Y/n) answered any and all questions they had, Prompto placed his hands together and begged. "Can (Y/n) come with us, please?"

"What're you talkin' about?" Noctis asked. "Hasn't she already been with us?"

"Well, yeah, but I mean can she travel with us outside the bracelet?" He clarified. "She could help us in battles! I mean, you guys saw how awesome she was earlier, right?"

"I don't see why not." The prince glanced at his shield and advisor. "What do you guys say?"

"A guardian would prove beneficial in battle," Ignis stated.

Gladio shrugged his shoulders. "Fine with me. She's already proved herself by taking Deadeye down."

Prompto pumped his fist into the air with a triumphant cry. "Yes!"

"Now we know why you've been demanding seconds at dinner," Ignis commented.

The blonde lowered his hand. "Oh, y-yeah. It was the only way I could think of getting something to eat for (Y/n) while we were camping."

"Now we don't have to worry about that," the spirit said. She then clapped her hands together, grabbing the boys' attentions. "So, where to next?"

"Lestallum," Gladio answered. "Gotta check on my sister."

"Well then, shall we?"

"Aw, yeah! Let's go!" Prompto cheered.

<-----------<<<<<

When the group reached Lestallum, (Y/n) materialized from Prompto's bracelet and excused herself from the group as they headed to the Leville to speak with Iris. She wandered over to the outlook and stared into the distance at the Disc of Cauthess before her eyes drifted upward to the sky. Her attention was drawn to the sound of footsteps approaching from behind.

Turning her head, she spotted a man with spiky black hair and piercing jade eyes. He wore a faded green jacket and a black t-shirt with matching combat pants and boots. The small jingling she heard as he walked was due to the dog tags he had hanging around his neck. By his attire, (Y/n) assumed he was a hunter. But what she didn't understand was why he was walking directly towards her. She wondered if he was just coming to take in the view instead of talking to her, but she was proven wrong when her golden eyes locked with his emerald ones and a smirk appeared on his face.

Sighing, the spirit turned her gaze back to the sky in an attempt to ignore the man. She prayed to the Astrals he would be able to tell how uninterested she was and simply walk away. Morosely, her prayer went unanswered as the stranger stood directly beside her and followed her line of sight. "Beautiful day, don't you agree?" He asked.

(Y/n)'s shoulders drooped as she sighed. Her eyes reverted back to gazing at the Disc. "You want something. That much is clear. Skip the sweet talk and get straight to the point. What do you want?"

The man chuckled at her snappy response. "A man can't talk to a beautiful woman without having a motive?"

"They can, but you're not one of those men. You clearly want something. What is it?"

He sighed, removing his hands from his pockets and sticking them up into the air. "You caught me red-handed. I was gonna ask if you could accompany me to the market and then I'd be able to convince you to join me for dinner."

(Y/n)'s eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms. "Of all the beautiful women walking around Lestallum, you chose me. You've horrible taste."

"Does that mean-?"

"No," she promptly interrupted him. "I wish you luck on your hunt for someone who will fall at your feet and follow you around like a lost puppy dog."

The man placed a hand over his chest and feigned a painful expression. "Ouch... You wound me, my lady. I'll need a potion to help heal my shattered heart."

(Y/n) uncrossed her arms and placed one of her hands on her hip. Turning her head, she glared at the stranger. "You really can't tell when you're not wanted, can you?"

He snickered and reached out to touch the guardian's arm. "Hey, listen, I'm-"

All of a sudden, the girl heard someone shout her name and felt an arm wrap around her waist. A faint gasp of shock fell from her lips as she was pulled into someone's side. Without having to look, she knew exactly who it was. "Prompto. When did you...?"

Prompto pressed his cheek against the side of the girl's head, his cheeks dusted with a light pink as he smiled widely. "Sorry I'm late, babe. Did I keep you waiting long?"

"B-Babe...?" The (h/c)-haired guardian murmured to herself, clearly confused as to why he used an affectionate nickname. After a few seconds, the pieces assembled in her head and her eyes widened. "O-Oh, not at all!" She wrapped both of her arms around his torso and hugged him tightly.

The man, who still had yet to properly introduce himself, glanced between the two. "Ah, I see. My apologies. I had no idea you were already spoken for." He smiled at the girl, which caused her to tense up slightly from the strange aura she detected from him. "I do hope we meet again, (Y/n). I would enjoy a proper conversation with you. You are a mystery I'd love to solve." He turned on his heels, waving over his shoulder as he strode off.

Once the nameless man was gone, Prompto loosened his arm around the girl's waist but kept his arm wound around it. "Who was that guy?"

"No idea," (Y/n) answered honestly. "He never told me his name. I'm glad you showed up when you did, Prom. He was starting to give me the creeps."

"You looked like you were about to toss him over the side of the outlook," the blonde chortled.

"You've no idea how close I was to turning him into a chew toy. By the way..." She kept her arms secured around his torso as she peered up at his face. "How'd it go at the Leville?"

"Good. We'll be spending the night here."

"Does this mean I'll get to sleep in an actual bed?" She asked, hope gleaming her golden-slitted eyes.

"You know it!" He smiled.

She smiled back, unwinding her arms from around his waist. When she tried to step away, Prompto's arm didn't budge. "Um, Prom? Could you let me go?"

"What?" He looked down and realized he was still latched on to her. "I-I, uh..." He quickly removed his arm and stepped away from her, flustered. "S-Sorry 'bout that, (Y/n)..."

"Don't apologize," she giggled. "I quite enjoyed it." She saw his cheeks turn an even brighter red all because of her. She knew exactly what to say and do to fluster the boy.

Just then, Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis wandered over. (Y/n) looked at the three, noticing the prince was staring at her. She tilted her head in confusion. "Everything all right, Your Highness?"

That was when Noctis realized he was staring at the spirit. "Uh, no, just...kinda freaked out by the eyes."

"Noct!" Prompto whined.

The (h/c)-haired girl snorted with laughter. "It's okay, Prom. I'm not offended." She offered them a smile. "Pushing that aside, did you three need something?"

"We were hoping you both would join us for dinner," Ignis said.

She blinked in surprise. "Me too?"

"What's with the look?" Noctis asked. "You think we would just leave you out?"

"Maybe just a little," she laughed nervously. "After all, I am a stranger to you. Shouldn't you three be more weary?"

"Nonsense, (Y/n)," Ignis replied. "Your origin and dedication to Prompto are proof enough to earn our trust."

Her eyes widened. She was expecting it would be more difficult to earn their trust. She then smiled happily. "Then let's get something to eat."

The group headed back to the main thoroughfare and made their way to Surgate's Beanmine. They sat down at one of the tables and ordered their meals. While waiting, Noctis was once again staring at the (h/c)-haired girl. Prompto was the first to notice and groaned, "Dude, you're staring..."

The prince blinked a few times before apologizing to (Y/n). "Sorry, it's just...I'm trying to figure something out."

"And what's that?" The marksman asked.

"How come I never saw (Y/n) when I came over to your apartment?"

The spirit laughed at the question. "You never checked the closet. That's where Prompto stuffed me whenever any of you came over."

Ignis sighed, shaking his head in disapproval. "What an awful way to treat a lady, Prompto."

"I-I know! I just...wasn't comfortable introducing (Y/n) to you guys," the sharpshooter explained.

"But still. The closet...?" Noctis muttered.

Gladio casted a smirk in Prompto's direction. "Why? You think one of us would've stolen her from you, blondie?"

Prompto hung his head. "Guess so..."

The shield was taken aback at his honesty. "Well, damn. Wasn't expecting that response."

(Y/n) saw how uncomfortable Prompto was and changed the subject. "So, what's your plan from here?" She looked around at the four faces around the table.

"Find the royal arms," Noctis said. "And something called the conduit."

"Conduit?" The girl muttered.

"Cor didn't really explain," he answered.

"I see..."

Just then, their meals arrived. Everyone ate in silence, enjoying the delicious food. Once they finished eating, they sat at the table a little longer. Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis were still curious about (Y/n) and asked her some questions about herself. She, of course, was more than happy to share a few things about her. In exchange, she learned a little about them.

As she chatted with the three, Prompto felt relieved and happy to see how well they all were getting along. He slumped back in his seat, listening to them converse.

After their chat ended, the group headed back to the Leville. They went to their room. The four boys gathered around the coffee table and pulled out a deck of cards. (Y/n) wandered across the room towards the open balcony door. She strolled outside, the cool air whipping through her (h/c) locks.

Casting her golden gaze to the sky, she watched as the sun set and gleaming stars filled the sky. Her eyes trailed across a certain cluster of stars-the Celestial Crescent. Ever since leaving Insomnia, she felt a strange presence from the cluster of stars and thought she heard someone trying to speak to her whenever she gazed upon them.

"(Y/n)?"

The guardian tore her gaze away from the sky and smiled as Prompto joined her on the balcony. "Hey, Prom. I thought you were playing cards with the others."

"You do realize you've been out here for a couple of hours, right?"

She blinked in surprise. "I...did not realize."

"Y'know, you look up at the sky more often than when we were in the city," he said. "It's almost like you're in some kinda trance."

(Y/n) leaned against the railing and looked back up at the night sky. "There's this cluster of stars only spirits can see. It's known as the Celestial Crescent. As the name states, it's a collection of stars shaped like a crescent."

Prompto looked up at the stars. "Is it pretty?"

"There're so many colors," she sighed contently. "I wish you could see it too."

Suddenly, Gladio poked his head out of the room and eyed the two. "Hey, you two comin' inside or staying out here all night?"

Prompto and (Y/n) went back inside. The blonde flopped down on the bed while the girl remained standing. She didn't know what to do with herself when seeing the other bed was occupied by Noctis and Ignis.

The shield noticed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You take the bed with blondie. I'll sleep on the couch."

"I couldn't do that," she retorted. "You take the bed. I'll return to the bracelet."

"Prompto already told us how stuffy and uncomfortable it is inside that gemstone of yours." He nudged her towards the bed. "A soft mattress sounds better than that bracelet. Besides, I can handle the couch."

"Well then, um... Thank you, Gladio." She climbed on to the bed, curling up into a ball. She stared at Prompto's back for a few minutes until he flipped over.

The blonde gasped when his cerulean eyes met gold-slitted ones. Realizing his face was a few inches from (Y/n)'s, he stumbled over his words as he tried to apologize. He scooted back to put some distance between them, but wound up falling off the bed with a shriek.

The girl crawled over to the edge of the bed and peered down at him. His arms and legs were sprawled out across the floor. "You okay, Prom?"

He nodded with a faint blush. "I-I'm okay..."

"If sleeping next to me makes you uncomfortable, I can-"

"No!" Prompto shot up and immediately crawled back onto the bed. "I-I'm not uncomfortable. I was just surprised to see you there instead of the big guy."

"So that means I can stay here, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Sorry for freaking out..."

"It's fine." (Y/n) laid back down on her side of the bed, making herself comfortable. "Good night, Prom."

Prompto laid down with his back facing the girl, cheeks still tinted a bright red. "'Night, (Y/n)."

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snowdice · 4 years ago

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Finding the Time to Study Fic 2 [Day 31]

Here is my starting post for today’s study break stories session. See this post for more details and feel free to send me asks to keep me going! It’s been a lot of fun so far! I will reblog this post with the story as I write them today. I’ll be constantly looking for ideas of times and places for Janus to have missions, so feel free to send in any you can think of at any point!

If you are a new follower or just don’t want all of these posts clogging your dash, please feel free to block the tag “study break stories” as all posts and voting about it will go there. You can still see the finished product of the story even if you are blocking that tag as I will not tag the edited chapters with “study break stories” but with the tag “folds in paper.” See edited chapters below. Chapters 3-8 and what I have of Chapter 9 are under the cut.

My Masterpost Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

I also have a playlist on youtube (because Spotify didn’t have one of the songs I wanted). It’s short, and not really for serious listening, but I had fun with it.

Still feeling unmotivated. I’ve got to get this presentation done though.

Chapter 9

Khalid immediately called everyone back to base.

“What happened?” asked Fred when he and Lena arrived. The tech people were already scrambling to get through to the TPI and get the time lock broken from the outside.

“Remus, Remy, and Khalid got played by Pat or whatever his name is. It certainly isn’t Nick. He was just setting up a joke,” Janus told him.

“Stop being smug,” Remy said. “It’s not a good look for you.”

“Pat is…?” Lena asked.

“They guy who fucked me over in 1923,” Janus said, “and is currently in the middle of fucking us all over because he stole the pin timepiece, and by extrapolation, probably the time bomb too.”

“It will be fine,” said Khalid, “because what he doesn’t know is that timepiece has a tracker on it. Wherever and whenever he went, we’ll have his coordinates.”

“Speaking of,” one of the techies said. “It’s about to break. You might want to hold onto something.” Janus grabbed for a support beam next to him as the techie put a device on the ground in the center of the base. It blinked once, twice, and on the third blink the ground rumbled. There were sounds of panicked yelps outside. The fail safe for the time lock was not nearly as gentle as ending it correctly.

Everything settled after a few moments, and they all straightened themselves out. Janus’s timepiece buzzed to indicate it was now functioning normally. Khalid had returned her usual timepiece to her wrist and now used it to open a display they could all see. “The pin timepiece’s closest time/space coordinates are…” she trailed off. “Right outside?” She frowned. “That’s strange. Why would he still be here?” She turned to march outside, following the coordinates to a trash can. She pulled the pin timepiece out and stared at it. “Fuck,” she said.

“What just happened?” Remy asked.

“He ticked us,” Janus said. “Again.”

“He was stuck in the time lock,” Khalid said. “That’s why he got our attention. He couldn’t leave with the time bomb unless he had the pin timepiece or we broke the time lock. Apparently, he’s smart enough to know that if he took the pin timepiece away from here, we’d probably be able to find him, but he knew we’d break the lock as soon as the pin went missing. So, he must have stashed his own timepiece and went back in time within the time lock to grab it while we were distracted with the past version of him. As soon as the time lock went down, I imagine he left.”

“Probably with the time bomb,” Janus said.

“Probably with the time bomb,” she confirmed.

And everyone knew the only thing worse than a time bomb was a time bomb you didn’t know the location of.

They evacuated after that, of course, and time locked the location once they were out just in case they were wrong, but midnight 3000 struck without thousands of people dying in Brazil, so the time bomb had defiantly been removed from then.

The, they initiated a time travel lockdown for all nonessentials, not willing to let random history students get caught up in an explosion if Pat decided to set the thing off somewhere.

Then, it was a matter of figuring out everything they could about ‘Pat.’ First, they checked the tracker data as Khalid had tagged him with one of the Millennium Bird trackers. It wouldn’t work outside of the zone they’d set up that day, but the record would show his behavior during the time lock after he’d escaped with the pin timepiece.

There had been many little green dots on the map that day as Fred and Lena had actually been doing the job they’d set out to do, but most of those were running around in the south. There had been one green dot, however, that appeared suddenly in the game area about 10 minutes before the time bomb had been stolen.

They could see Janus’s yellow dot almost brush his when he’d been chasing the earlier Pat down, around when he’d lost him briefly. The earlier Pat must have all but handed it off to his future self.

“He doubled back,” Remus commented when they watched the recorded data. It was a ballsy move and one that most people balked at, because there were inherent dangers any time you interacted with yourself from a different point in the timestream. It was ripe for paradoxes. It made everyone at the agency even more worried, because if he was willing to risk that, then what else was he willing to do?

Because of the lockdown of all nonessential time travel, people working for the TPI were not allowed to go home for the night. They were allowed to pick up anyone or anything dependent on them for care like kids and pets if there wasn’t someone in their home time to care for them, but other than that, they were unfortunately all sleeping in their offices for the foreseeable future.

“You are the only tolerable one,” Janus told the cat who upon being let loose in the office by Remus, immediately jumped on Janus’s lap.

“I have literally done nothing to you,” Lena said, but then added. “Yet.”

“You exist. In my space.”

“Can’t we just all get along?” asked Fred. “It’s only been an hour past when we’d usually go home. I went and grabbed milk and I have my giant thing of different flavored hot chocolate under my desk. We can try them all and vote on which is better.”

“Fuck your hot chocolate, Fred,” Janus growled, having been one of the three who had chipped in to buy it for him on his last birthday.

“Don’t go after Fred, jackass,” Lena spat.

“He’s just testy because his boyfriend escaped,” Remus contributed.

Janus’s lips turned down into a frown and he cupped Diesel Fuel’s face. “We agree we’re eating him first, right?” he asked her.

She purred her agreement.

“I’d have it no other way,” Remus replied.

“There is plenty of food,” Fred said, sounding stressed. “In fact, I was thinking we should all chip in on ordering take-out soon. “What does everyone like on pizza?”

“This is not a slumber party, Fred,” Janus pointed out.

“Shut it,” Lena snapped and turned to Fred. “I’m fine with almost everything, except…”

“Bananas and tuna salad!” Remus interrupted.

“…whatever Remus is about to say.”

Janus rolled his eyes as that started a debate about whether or not fruit and/or fish belonged on pizza. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, which was when there was a knock on the door.

He froze when he heard the familiar voice. “Hello, hello,” said Emile, cheerfully. Janus looked up to see Emile standing at the open office door. Shit. Apparently, the man had decided to give up on sending lackeys to come fetch him and had decided to track him down himself when Janus couldn’t even escape without breaking a time lockdown. They met eyes briefly and Janus could see irritation if not anger in his eyes despite his otherwise cheerful expression and tone.

“Janus,” he said when he’d gotten their attention. “I’d like to have dinner with you.” The word choice told Janus everything he needed to know. Usually Emile was careful with how he said things to make sure people knew they had a choice. Typically he’d say something like, “I was wondering if you’d have time to have dinner with me tonight,” or “I’m about to go get food, would you like to come?” Today, there was no choice in the statement.

Janus still dried to dodge anyway. “Uh,” he said. “We were actually about to order pizza.”

“Go ahead,” said Fred kindly. Janus wanted to strangle him. “We can order pizza with olives if you’re not here.”

“I…” said Janus. “Guess, I’ll be going with you.”

“Great!” Emile said. “Let’s go.”

“Oh,” Janus said. “Uh, now?”

“Now,” Emile said a bit of uncharacteristic steel to his tone.

Well, Janus was screwed. He swallowed his nervousness and got to his feet, taking Diesel Fuel with him. He turned to hand her off to Remus with a plea in his eye, but he just got an eyebrow raise in return. Traitor.

Then, he followed Emile out of the office door. “What would you like to eat?” asked Emile.

“Uh,” Janus said. “I don’t know. You asked me to eat, don’t you have any ideas?”

“I don’t actually,” Emile replied. Right.

“…Noddle Bar?” Janus threw out the nearest restaurant he knew.

“The one noodle restaurant? Sure,” Emile answered simply. They walked side by side out of the front doors of the TPI building. Janus actually couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken these stairs. He usually used his timepiece to get in and out.

The noodle bar was only moderately busy at this time. They were quickly able to find a table near the back and Emile pulled his menu up in front of him. Emile hummed as he flipped through the different displays. “What are you having?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Janus said, only then pulling up the menu himself, but still not quite looking at it.

“What about the fortune noodles,” Emile suggested.

Janus shook his head. “I don’t like those,” he said.

Emile glanced at him through the menu displays. “You used to.” Fortune noodles were a bit cheekily named. They didn’t actually indicate anything about your future. They were just supposed to taste like what you wanted from your future. A grad student might experience a feeling like they’d just aced a paper. A child that they got to stay up an hour later that night. Janus had liked the experience when he was younger, but in recent years, he’d begun to taste the underlying chemicals in the dish until that’s all he could.

“Well,” Emile said lightly, eyes on his menu. “That makes me even more worried for your mental health than I already was because of the almost three years of you avoiding talking to me.”

“No small talk, huh?” Janus asked.

“Forgive me,” Emile said, eyes now focused on Janus, and tone much darker. “How has your life been since I last saw your face 5 months ago during a business meeting and you refused to look me in the eye? Anything interesting happen? Shave your head and let it all regrow? Develop an allergy to peanuts? Join a convent and take an oath of silence that you only just broke today?”

“No,” said Janus quietly into the table.

“Great,” Emile said clipped. “Small talk over. Order your food.” Janus reached up blindly to select the first thing that came up on the food and drink menu as Emile punched something into his own and both menu displays disappeared, meaning there was nothing between their faces anymore. “You know, I was willing to give you a year,” Emile said. “I was willing to let you deal with it on your own because I thought eventually, you’d come talk to me about it, but apparently I was mistaken. The next year, I thought maybe you thought I didn’t want to talk to you, so I subtly made myself available, and you never took me up on the offer. I thought maybe I was just not being clear, and I should make my desire to talk to you more explicit, but as you have been routinely, clearly avoiding me at every single turn, I’ve decided I’ve had enough. So, let’s lay it all on the table. Is it me or do you need help?”

Janus closed his eyes. “It’s not you.”

“Then you need help,” Emile concluded.

Janus shook his head.

“Yes,” Emile snapped. “Whatever this is has gone on far too long.”

Janus stood up and slammed his hand down on the table. “And it’s going to keep going on!” he said. The food popped up at that moment. It appeared Janus had ordered lasagna and bubble tea, and Emile had ordered something with spaghetti and a fizzy drink.

“So, you’re just planning to go on being miserable then?” Emile asked, and Janus wasn’t sure if it was worse or better that he didn’t sound angry anymore.

Janus slapped his hand down on the “To Go” button and his dinner was insta-wrapped by the table. “Yes,” he said.

“What exactly do you think you’re paying penance for, Janus?” Emile asked.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Janus said, paying for both of their meals with his fingerprint.

“That’s a cop out and you know it,” Emile said. “All you’d have to do is talk to me. Or even just talk to someone else. Please.”

“Just…” Janus said, grabbing his bag of food to avoid looking at him. “Just, leave me be.” He walked out of the noodle shop without another word.

Chapter 10

“And I thought Remus was going to be the most disgusting roommate in this equation,” Lena grumbled. Janus and Lena were apparently the earlier risers in the group as Fred was still curled up around a pillow and Remus was sprawled out under his desk.

Janus flipped her off.

“Protein infused Poptarts and caffeinated orange juice for breakfast?” she asked. “Just eat an energy bar and have a cup of coffee like a normal person.”

He took another pointed bite of his Poptart.

“You’re a horrible roommate. This is why they gave us different partners.”

“Yeah, well you snore, asshole,” Janus said after finishing off his meal.

“I’d tell you to go eat shit, but you already did that once this morning.”

A pillow flew across the room and somehow managed to hit the both of them. “S’op fighting,” Fred mumbled. “It’s sleep time.”

“It’s morning Fred,” Lena said.

“No,” Fred mumbled.

Janus ignored them, turning back to his integration port to continue to keep plugging in phrases of interest, but he kept getting nothing.

“What are you doing?” Lena asked after a few moments of him huffing at his screen reader.

“Trying to do anything that may change our current living arrangements.”

She puffed out an amused breath. “Can I help?”

“Can you see any connection between these words and phrases?” he asked, pulling away his screen reader and tapping at the words he’d typed out.

“Paranoid, tonight, I live to party, comeback, love Bug, BB good, Mandy, Macy Misa, I believe, cool, that’s just the way we roll, burnin’ up,” she said. “What are these?”

“They’re things Pat said when we interrogated that struck me funny,” Janus explained. “I feel like he was saying something more than what he said.”

“Hmm,” she said. “PTI for the first three?”

“Maybe,” Janus agreed, “but what about the rest of it? I feel like I’m missing something.”

15080

“Millennia,” Remus mumbled from under his desk. Janus hadn’t been aware he was awake. “He said something something about it being the only time he could see the change of the millennia.” He turned his head to look at Janus. “Considering he’s a time traveler, that’s definitely a weird thing to say.”

“Millennia,” Janus contemplated. “A different turn of the millennia. Oh no.”

“What?” Lena asked.

Janus sighed, and rubbed his temple. “I know someone who studied the 1700-2200s.”

“Isn’t that good?”

“No,” Janus groaned, “because now I have to go talk to him.” He stood with a sigh and then paused. “How do I even get to Silver Mountains University without my timepiece?”

Luckily Sliver Mountains ended up only being about an hour away from the TPI by time adherent travel, but considering Janus was used to his travel being instantaneous, it was an aggravating trip. He had to show ID and be buzzed up to the fourth floor since it was usually locked to everyone not traveling by timepiece or who worked in the office.

The receptionist was the same man as before. “I’m here to speak to Professor Eran,” Janus said.

The receptionist nodded. “He mentioned you asked to meet him but didn’t know when you’d arrive. He’ll be done teaching his class in about 5 minutes. You can wait over there.”

Janus nodded and sat, waiting for time to slowly tick by. Virgil arrived after a few minutes, lugging a giant bag with him. He caught sight of Janus and wordlessly jerked his head towards the hallway. Janus followed him.

“What’s in the bag?” Janus asked.

“Early 21st century cell phones,” Virgil said, dropping it on his desk. “I let my students mess around with them for their lab.”

“I see,” Janus said.

“What did you need?” Virgil asked. “You said it was official business.”

“You’ve heard about the lockdown, I presume,” Janus said.

“Yeah, it really screws up my research schedule for the summer,” Virgil said.

15412

“Do you know why the lockdown was instituted?” Janus asked. Virgil shook his head, so Janus explained briefly that they had been trying to find a timebomb on the eve of the year 3000, but it had been swiped by a free agent time traveler. “Some of the things seemed to be references to things that I couldn’t place, and I was wondering if you would recognize any.”

“Shoot,” Virgil requested, seeming intrigued by the prospect.

“Okay,” Janus said. “First, the alias he was using was Nick Jonas.” A weird expression crossed Virgil’s face immediately and Janus paused.

“You said the year 3000?” Virgil asked.

“Er. Yes.”

“Nick Jonas. Year 3000,” Virgil repeated with a snort. “Were Joe and Kevin a part of this too?”

Janus blinked. “Yes, how did you know that?”

“Yo-you’re going to have,” his sentence was broken by a giggle, and actual full-fledged giggle, “have to give me a minute.” With that, he sort of listed to the side and seemed to purposefully fall off his chair onto the floor under his desk.

Janus blinked and when he didn’t surface after a moment, he stood up to lean over the desk and look down at him. Virgil had his arm thrown over his beat red face, as he shook from what Janus thought was suppressed laughter.

“What?” Janus asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Just…” Virgil said, sobbing through his laughter. “Just tell me the things he said.”

“Er, mostly he just had weird inflections on words and phrases. There was ‘paranoid, tonight, I live to party, comeback…’”

“Wait, stop,” Virgil said. “Let me guess a few. That’s Just the Way We Roll, Burnin’ Up, Sucker.”

“The first two were, but not the last one.”

Virgil laughed. “Maybe the last one was just implied.”

Janus frowned down. “What are you talking about? What does this all mean?”

Virgil pulled himself out from under his desk and grabbed his bag of phones. He dug through it for a few seconds before pulling one out and handing it to Janus. “I have a lab for my students where they get preloaded phones from the early 21st century and are supposed to guess the demographics of the person who owns it. This one is an iPhone 3 meant to belong to a pre-teen to teenage girl from the year 2009. Look under music artists starting with the letter ‘J.’”

15810

Confused, Janus scrolled through the old style phone, finding the music app and opening it easily. Upon getting to the ‘J’s, he immediately paused on an artist called the ‘Jonas Brothers.’ He clicked on it and read a few of the song titles. They weren’t all there, but…

“That rat bastard,” Janus said.

“Scroll to the bottom,” Virgil said. Janus did and found a song titled ‘Year 3000.’

“You’re kidding me.”

“Click on it,” Virgil requested.

Janus did, listening to the fairly standard pop like intro from the time period. It wasn’t until he got to the lyrics saying, ‘He told me he built a time machine’ that he cursed, understanding exactly what Pat had been doing. When the singer a few lines latter proclaimed that his neighbor said ‘I’ve been to the year 3000’ he almost smashed the artifact to pieces right then and there.

“I have no idea who this guy is,” Virgil said, “but he’s a comedic genius.”

Chapter 11

Khalid caught him on his way back into the TPI building. “I heard you went to Silver Mountains to follow up on a lead,” she said.

“Yeah, but it was garbage,” he seethed. “All I learned was ‘Pat’ knows early 2000s popular culture and likes to fuck with us.”

She hummed. “I’d still like a report about whatever you found. Who knows what we might end up getting from seemingly inconsequential data.”

“Sure,” he said.

“Anyway,” she continued. “I have a mission for you.”

“We’re on lockdown,” Janus pointed out with a frown.

“For nonessentials,” she said. “This is essential.”

“What happened?” Janus asked.

“We picked up a small time distortion in France 2027. At the moment, it is small enough not to cause any disruptions, but it is slowly growing, and we don’t know what caused it. Usually we’d just send surveillance agents at this stage, but considering what’s going on, I think it would be best to send a field agent. And it would just be you, because we don’t want to send too many people out at once.”

“Is this related to the time bomb?” Janus asked.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “At the very least, it’s not it being set off as it was in 2999, but if it’s been altered for some other purpose…”

“I’ll go,” Janus said.

“I’ll send over the mission directive to everyone who needs it. You’ll go in around 3 hours.”

He nodded. “I’ll be ready,” he agreed.

In less then 3 hours, he was dressed for 2027 France and in decontamination. “Well,” he said out loud when he was given the all clear sign, “I hope I don’t explode.” He selected the coordinates on the timepiece and the next moment he was in a small alleyway in the city of Montpellier, France in 2027.

It was a little bit warm, but not stifling even in the mid-afternoon and he could faintly smell the sea on the breeze.

After a moment to get his bearings, Janus made his way out of the alleyway and onto a small street. The street was lined with restaurants and shops as people went about their daily lives. He carefully integrated himself into the crowd and began weaving his way through them. He needed to find the source of the distortion but doing a quick scan with his timepiece told him there wasn’t any sign of it yet. He’d have to wait for it to act up.

For now, he decided to get slightly away from people by heading towards the river. He found a park that had benches along water.

As he walked towards the river, he noticed a man on the bench, angled slightly away from Janus and looking out at the water. He immediately recognized the man. “You!” he exclaimed.

Pat’s head shot around to look at him, and he gave a slight head tilt. Then, he smiled, amused. “You are not the person I’m here for,” he said.

“Well, I am now,” Janus snapped. “Where’s the time bomb?”

“Time bomb?” Pat asked, eyebrows drawing together, but amusement on his lips. “Oh sweetie, the time bomb happened a long time ago for me.”

“What?” Janus asked.

“Oh, you’re just a baby,” Pat laughed. “Don’t you get it yet? The two of us are out of sync timeline wise. You’ve been apparently running around with a much younger version of me, but all of that happened quite a while ago for me. Don’t worry though, it gets better.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The time bomb has been long deactivated. Here,” he reached into his pocket and tossed him something. Janus caught it on instinct. “Proof. Don’t worry, we took all of the dangerous bits out years ago from my perspective.” It was the core of a time bomb, the time bomb Pat had stolen if he was to be believed. “You can tell your people it’s safe to remove the lockdown.”

Janus curled his fingers around it. “I don’t get it.”

Something on Pat’s wrist beeped and he looked at it curiously before he stood from the bench, “and I don’t have time to explain it.”

Janus jerked forward to grab his wrist. “Don’t you dare.”

Pat reached up to pat his face. “Don’t worry honey, you’ll be seeing me later.” He twisted his wrist and a small electric current sparked between them. Janus jerked his hand away, and Pat smiled at him. “Or… earlier.” He winked, and then he was gone.

Janus cursed, but he didn’t have more than a moment to be angry because in the next second there was a yelp, and something landed on top of him. He was bowled over into a tangle of limbs and pained noises.

“Oh my god, we need to figure out the height thing,” a familiar voice groaned, just as Janus managed to pull himself away. Pat blinked up at him and his eyes narrowed. “You,” he hissed.

“…What?”

Pat jumped to his feet, leaving Janus on the ground in front of him. “What are you doing here?” he spat, his tone much different then the one he’d been using a moment earlier. His hair was longer than it had been before, and if Janus looked closely, he did seem like he was a couple of years younger suddenly. Out of sync timelines. I’ll see you earlier. Holy shit.

He was suddenly very glad he’d been forced to let the other Pat (the older Pat?) go, else they’d have a whole thing on their hands.

“What are you doing here?” was Janus’s retort as he stood up and dusted himself off.

“It’s none of your business,” Pat told him.

“It is my business,” Janus said, “because for all I know, you are the cause of the time distortions I’m after. Considering that I doubt you have a license for that,” he waved at the odd looking timepiece of Pat’s wrist, “it’s very possible.”

“What are you?” Pat asked, “the time police.”

“Yes.”

Pat dared to roll his eyes, but then he tilted his head slightly. “Time distortions?” he asked.

“Yes, that’s why I’m here.”

He still had a confused frown on his face. Did… did he not know what a time distortion was?

Just then there was a sudden flash of lightening through the sky despite the absolutely lack of clouds. He and Pat both looked up.

“Is that the time distortion?” Pat asked.

“It’s probably the beginning of it,” Janus said.

“That doesn’t look good,” Pat said as he squinted at the sky.

“Just wait,” Janus answered grimly. He looked at Pat. “Usually I’d arrest you on the spot,” he said, “but I’m alone for this one, and that is far more important at the moment. So, have a nice day doing whatever bullshit you are doing.” He glanced at his timepiece.

Janus turned to walk away from him.

“Wait!” Pat exclaimed, and Janus turned back to him to see that his eyes were wide. Janus raised an eyebrow. “So, this time distortion thing is dangerous, right?”

“Depending on the severity, it could cause time to fracture around this place and time, basically erasing it from existence and killing everyone in it.”

“Well, in that case, I should go with you. To help.”

Janus looked him up and down. “You… have no idea what’s happening, do you? You’re an amateur.”

“I’m not,” he claimed. “I just. Pooling resources. You know?”

Janus sighed. “Well, you going around mucking about this time period without knowing what you’re doing could just exasperate the situation, so fine, you can tag along.”

“I know what I’m doing,” he grumbled even as he rushed to Janus’s side at the permission.

“Sure,” Janus said with an eyeroll. He guessed he was a babysitter now. “I believe you.”

Chapter 12

There was something off about his readings. Clearly the time distortion was starting to pull at this place with the way the weather was flickering between storming and sunny, but he still couldn’t quite pinpoint the exact location of the source of it. He could, however, get that it must be somewhere on this side of the river more into the downtown area, so that’s the way he was walking, Pat close on his heels.

“What’s your name, by the way?” he asked.

Janus shot him a glare. “Elvis Presley,” he said.

Pat frowned, clearly knowing who that was. “There’s no reason to be mean.”

“You did it to me first.”

“…Introduced myself as a famous musician?” he asked. Janus didn’t respond, and after a moment, Pat laughed lightly. “You really don’t understand time travel, do you?”

“Oh, yeah,” Janus said. “Name the three types of time distortions.”

“Just because I don’t know the names of things doesn’t mean I don’t understand them.” He stuck out his tongue. Janus was dealing with an actual toddler. “Unlike you who has a bunch of fancy words, but just caused a time loop.”

Janus scoffed. “I did not just cause a time loop.”

“Maybe not a big one,” Pat agreed, “but you did.”

Janus raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never introduced myself to you with a musician’s name, but now you’ve told me that I will. So, at some point in the future I will have to, thereby making you think to say that now. Time loop.”

“That’s not… that doesn’t count.”

“Does too,” Pat claimed. “Like I have said once before and you may or may not have heard me say before, anything you do to me to get back at me for something I haven’t done yet, just causes whatever that is to happen in the first place.”

“But you’re still going to do it.”

“Then take it up with future me. I haven’t done anything to you.” Then he paused and sighed. “…Which I guess means you’ve done nothing to me.” He seemed to mull this concept over for a long moment. “Well you were a bit crabby about me not knowing what a time distortion was, but I can forgive you for that.”

“And I’m supposed to forgive you?”

“Like I said,” Pat said. “I haven’t done anything yet.”

“You also haven’t done anything to endear yourself to me either,” Janus grumbled.

“Hmm,” Pat said. “Fine.” He pulled something out of his pocket. “You’re obviously not having much luck finding whatever you’re looking for. Tell me what it is and I’ll help.”

Janus squinted at what was in his hand. “Is that… an iPhone 5?”

“No!” he said. “It’s super-secret time travel tech disguised as an iPhone 5!”

“We’re in 2027,” Janus said. “Not a great disguise. Those things have been obsolete for a decade.”

“Well I’ll keep in mind to have my tech disguised as phones from the right year next time,” Pat said, sticking out his tongue. “Now what are we looking for?”

“If my timepiece can’t find it, I’m certain yours can’t.”

Pat rolled his eyes and tapped on the device’s screen a couple of times. “I’m going to guess it’s that,” he said proudly.

Janus leaned over to look at the screen. “Are you using google maps?” he sputtered.

“It integrates time relevant data like traffic conditions and local weather warnings with time travel technology,” Pat explained. “Something seems to be going on in a museum a couple of blocks that way.”

“I…” Janus said. That was actually a really good idea, usually unnecessary with scouts observing that data beforehand, and Janus wasn’t sure how good the accuracy would be considering whatever was taking it into account was automated, but still a good idea. “Well, I guess since we have no other leads, we can check it out.”

Pat looked far too proud for having only used a piece of tech that hadn’t even been confirmed as accurate. “Then, let’s go,” he said right as a chilly wind started to pick up and a couple of snowflakes began to fall around them. “Before that gets worse…”

Janus let Pat lead with his iPhone. Janus’s timepiece still wasn’t picking up a clear signal for some reason, but it seemed to point in the same general direction as Pat’s. Strangely though, as they got closer to their destination, the signal started to get fuzzier. Pat’s tech seemed unaffected leading them closer to the museum.

When they got to the Musée Fabre museum, Janus stopped. “What?” Pat asked. He was shivering slightly in the cold and holding his arms around himself.

“My timepiece stopped working completely,” he said.

“I’m assuming that’s weird?” Pat said.

“It is,” Janus confirmed, turning to squint at him suspiciously. “How do I know you’re not the one doing it?”

“If I was doing it, wouldn’t I have just knocked it out from the get go?” Pat questioned.

Janus pursed his lips. “I don’t know,” he said. “Would you have? Maybe it’s a trick.”

Pat’s eyes narrowed a bit on him. “Think what you want, but I’m freezing. Come in with me if you want.”

He dithered from a few moments before following Pat inside. Pat had already struck up a conversation with the woman charging admission into art museum. She was looking at him, her brow knit as he spoke. Janus nudged him away from her getting a confused glance from him in return. He shot a smile at the woman.

“Two adult passes for the museum and the Hotel Sabatier d’Espevran, please,” he said, placing down 14 euro.

“Ah,” she said, still looking at Pat oddly. “Yes sir.” She gave them the passes and Janus quickly shuffled Pat away.

“What is wrong with your French?” he hissed once they were out of earshot.

“What?” he asked, bewildered.

“You sound like you’re reading Le Comte de Monte-Cristo. No one talks like that anymore.”

“I’m a little rusty,” Pat defended himself.

“Two centuries?” Janus asked. Pat stuck his tongue out like a child once again. “Is that your only way to respond to legitimate criticism?”

“What does it even matter anyway? No one ever expects time travel, at least not for something so silly.”

“It’s not silly,” Janus said. “It’s a legitimate issue. The wrong person who’s watched too much science fiction notices and you’re putting the timeline at risk. Not to mention if there are other time travelers around that aren’t as nice as me.”

“Are there a lot of time travelers around?” Pat asked, sounding intrigued.

“There are plenty, both legal and not.”

“Huh,” he said, “but what are the chances we’ll run into another one?”

“Considering the time distortion? There could be many. Opportunists wanting to capitalize off the chaos, people trying to stop it, like me, and not to mention the person who caused it.”

“Wait, someone made it happen?” Pat asked.

“These things don’t just happen naturally.”

“Huh. So, something like this has to be caused by a person?”

“Yes,” Janus said. “…Why?”

Pat smiled. “No reason. I think we should head upstairs. Whatever I’m picking up says it’s around here, but I don’t see anything. Maybe it’s a floor or two above us.”

“Which is why it’s ridiculous to use Google Maps.”

“Would you rather use yours?” he asked sweetly.

“I’m still not convinced it’s not your doing,” Janus growled. “Why does your tech still work when mine doesn’t?”

“Probably the same reason the ring did,” he muttered.

“What?”

“You may be the most aggravating being in the universe.”

Pat glanced at him with a bit of a smirk. “I can’t tell you,” he said. “It would be a much bigger risk to the timeline than me speaking in French from the 1830s. But, I’m pretty sure the reason mine still works is just a software difference.”

“What the hell do you mean a software difference?”

Pat opened his mouth, doubtlessly to supply him with yet another frustratingly cheeky and unhelpful answer. Yet, Pat did not have a chance to do so as, just as Janus stepped onto the second floor of the museum, the ground started to violently shake. Janus tried to turn to catch Pat as the other man’s foot slipped on the last step, but he couldn’t do so in time. Pat fell onto his hands and knees, sliding back a few steps and smacking his face into the stairs hard once and then a couple of times more after that as he slid.

Chapter 13

The room stopped shaking after a moment. “Ow,” Pat said. He seemed a bit stunned but was still moving at least. He carefully maneuvered himself into a seating position. “Ouch. Owie.” He reached up to poke his own nose. “Ow!” Janus slapped his hand away when he got there. A bit of blood was already trickling from his nose and there was a small cut over his eye, but it wasn’t bleeding too much.

Janus pushed him so he was leaning slightly forward and produced a pack of time appropriate tissues from his pocket. He pulled one out of the package and offered it to him.

He took it and pressed it up against his nose to try to stop the bleeding. He seemed mostly alright though Janus imagined he’d have plenty of bruises down the line. The power in the museum flickered and Janus looked up. Now that he was listening, he could hear people panicking in and out of the museum.

“We should probably get off of the stairs,” he suggested.

“Yeah,” Pat agreed. Janus helped him to his feet, and they climbed back up the steps. Janus looked around and found an employees only sign a few feet away. Usually he’d not risk that as it could get him into trouble he didn’t want to be in, but considering the earthquake that had just happened, he could probably play it off as panic.

He ushered Pat into a small room and found a chair and table. He had Pat sit in the chair and pulled out another one of the tissues to dab at the blood coming from the cut over his eyes. “Here,” he said. “Hold that there. I’m going to go see if there are any bandages about.”

Pat took the tissue with the hand not already holding one to his nose. “Thanks,” he said.

Janus nodded and got to his feet. The lights flickered once again but didn’t stay off for now. He didn’t know how long that would last.

He couldn’t see anything that might hold bandages in this room, but there was a second door. “I’ll be right back,” he told Pat, exiting through it.

The lights flickered once more as the door closed behind him and he cursed. When they came back up Janus’s eyes immediately fell on a man. They both froze.

“Remus!” Janus hissed the second their eyes met. “What are you doing here?”

Remus blinked at him for a moment. “Hi. Janus,” he said. “I… come to France for… tea sometimes?”

“There isn’t any tea back here.”

“So, there isn’t…” he said. There was a moment of silence. “Uh, so I actually cannot talk to you right now.”

“What do you mean?” Janus asked. Remus grimaced in a way Janus had never seen from him before. It immediately set off alarm bells in Janus’s head. “Oh my god,” Janus said. “Oh my god. You’re not from the same time as me.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Remus mumbled.

“Holy shit, you’re looping?!”

“It’s… not looping if I wasn’t here the first time.”

“Remus, we spend more than 12 hours a day together most of the time. The only thing worse than this is if I looped back to this time myself.”

“…Yeah. Anyway, I need to leave now.”

“Please do.”

He turned to go, but then stopped. “Oh, and,” he reached into his pocket and tossed something at Janus. Janus caught it.

It was Band-Aids.

“Oh, shit,” Janus spat at the clear use of foreknowledge. “I hate this. I hate you. I’m going to kill you the next time you see me.”

“Sure, Jan.”

“Go.”

He did, slipping into the next room while Janus took a deep breath and then turned back to the door behind him. He schooled his face before Pat looked up. “I found some Band-Aids.”

Pat nodded and Janus came over to squat next to him.

Janus opened the box and Pat looked down. His eyes lit up with sudden joy so intense that Janus felt like he’d just gotten a punch to the gut. “Kitty Band-Aids!” he exclaimed. Janus bothered to actually look at the design on the container, only to note the cartoon cats on the front. Pat was almost vibrating off his seat. “Look they’re all so cute!” He grabbed the container from him to inspect the different designs printed on the back with glee even as a bit of blood was still trickling from his nose.

Janus took the box back gently and guided the wad of bloody Kleenexes back to his nose.

“Which would you like?” Janus asked.

“Oh, they are all so cute,” Pat cooed. “Um, how about that one!” he pointed. “Or that one! Or that one!”

“Pat you only have one cut.”

“But they’re all so cute!” Pat said, tongue tucking into his cheek. He contemplated the box again. “Let’s do the black one,” he finally settled on.

Janus selected one of the Band-Aids with a black cat wrapped around a pink ball of yarn and staring back at them with wide green eyes. The think looked like it had partaken in one two many doses of catnip, but Janus didn’t mention that.

Instead, he just carefully unstuck the backing from the Band-Aid and motioned for Pat to remove the tissue from his forehead. He smiled at Janus as he drew back.

Janus cleared his throat. “How’s the nose.”

“It’s slowing down,” Pat replied. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Janus replied. They met eyes for a second before Pat looked away back at the box of Band-Aids.

“Oh,” Pat said. “There’s a grey one. I didn’t notice.” He pointed to it. “I should have used that one.”

“Do you like grey cats?” Janus asked.

“I like all kitties,” he said, “but one of my roommates loves grey cats. He had one when he was a kid and thinks of them as good omens. Seeing one always brightens up his day.”

“A friend of mine has a grey cat,” Janus said. “She’s much more tolerable than him.”

Pat laughed a bit. “Don’t be mean,” he said.

“Oh, he deserves it, don’t worry.” Janus considered him for a moment. “Here,” he said, pulling out one of the Band-Aids with the grey cat on it. It did, actually, look a lot like Diesel Fuel.

“But I don’t…”

Janus just shrugged and stuck it on his cheek where there was no wound. Pat giggled and touched it with a finger. Janus stood back up.

“Can I have another tissue?” Pat asked.

“Sure.” Janus handed a tissue over to him and he crumpled up the bloody ones in his hand.

“I think I’m good to keep going,” Pat said, putting the new tissue under his nose. “The nose will stop soon.”

Pat got out his iPhone and directed him back out of the room. They checked the second floor and didn’t find anything and so went to the third floor. The second they arrived in the room that Pat’s phone was directing them too, Janus knew that it must be right. There was a strange, distorted whirling sound and the entire room was shaking slightly like they were standing next to a railroad track.

“I’m guessing this is it,” Pat said.

Janus nodded and looked over his shoulder at the screen. They both cautiously walked towards where the little dot was on the phone.

“Is that it?” Pat asked, pointing at a small device on the center column in the room. Janus reached forward to flip the switch on it. The whirling stopped and the room settled. Janus’s time piece vibrated as it came back online. They waited for a few moments. “I assumed… time distortions would be more…”

“They are,” Janus said. “This one is artificial.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s a simulation,” Janus said. “It causes similar symptoms to a time distortion, but it’s not actually fracturing time at all.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Pat asked.

“I don’t know,” Janus said. He took the piece of tech of the wall and carefully stored it in his pocket, “but someone’s trying to get our attention.”

Chapter 14

Janus didn’t feel comfortable leaving France 2027 just yet, still weirded out by the strange turn of events. So, he and Pat ended up sticking around for a couple of hours. They looked through the art museum for a bit, but Janus was having trouble focusing on the pieces, and Pat eventually suggested they get some air. Janus agreed considering the museum would close for the night soon anyway.

They wandered around the downtown for a bit. The people seemed to jump back from the strange weather and earthquake that afternoon rather quickly, and there were plenty still about to blend into.

Pat was snapping photos every so often like a tourist which Janus shook his head at but allowed because even with the outdated phone it almost made them blend in even more. It also might stop any questions about Pat’s weird way of speaking French. They could just say he was an overeager tourist who watched too many old movies.

“Ooo!” Pat said. “We should get crepes.”

“Why?”

“You can’t go to France and not eat crepes.”

“I assure you, you can,” Janus said dryly.

Pat shot a pout at him and the next thing he knew he was in a small crepe shop.

For Janus, choosing something was easy. He just ordered the first thing he found on the menu which seemed to be a standard one with ham and eggs. Pat on the other hand seemed to be struggling greatly, and Janus had to gently push him to the side to let some other customers order first.

“What should I get!?” Pat asked. “They all look so good! I could do strawberry preserves or maple syrup or just sugar!”

“Or you could get one that is actually food,” Janus suggested mildly. “I don’t think you need any more sugar judging by how you are acting.”

Pat rolled his eyes. “You sound like Lo.”

Janus made a note of the name ‘Lo’ even though it surely was a nickname.

“But, since you’re insisting, I’ll get something healthy. I’ll have the strawberry one. That’s a fruit!”

“It comes with a cream cheese filling,” Janus pointed out.

“And it’s fruit!”

Janus shook his head and stepped up to the counter. “One ham and cheese and one strawberry preserve, please,” he said to the cashier as he was not allowing Pat to order in French and accidently say something stupid. He forked over some euros.

“You don’t have to pay for me,” Pat protested when he saw that.

Janus glanced back at him. “I was afraid you’d try to pay in francs,” he said dryly.

It looked like Pat was about to stick his tongue out at him, remembered that Janus had criticized him for that earlier, and then just scrunched up his face in displeasure as though that was any less childish.

They waited for their crepes to be finished and then went to eat them outside near a water fountain.

“I can pay you back for the crepe,” Pat said after they sat down. “I do actually have euros.”

Janus waved him off. “It wasn’t that expensive.”

Pat hummed. “Well, in that case. I insist on paying for a wish for you.” Janus raised an eyebrow. “In the fountain!” Pat clarified.

Pat set aside his crepe to dig in his pocket for a couple of coins. “Here!” he said handing one over.

Janus glanced over at the fountain. “No.”

“Oh, come on,” Pat beseeched. “You have to want something. I’ll even throw it in for you, but you have to make a wish first!”

“No.”

“Please!”

Janus sighed. “Fine.” He popped the rest of his crepe in his mouth. “I wish for a crepe,” he said after swallowing.

“You just had a crepe, silly.”

“But I liked it, so I want another one.”

“We can go back and get you another crepe.”

“Ah, but I’m not hungry anymore.”

Pat crossed his arms. “You’re just being difficult on purpose.”

“Not me,” Janus said putting hand over his heart. “I would never do something like that.”

Pat glared at him, but then snatched the coin out of his hand. “Fine!” he said. “One crepe wish coming right up.” He hopped up with the two coins and darted over to the water fountain. Janus turned to watch him go but then happened to catch sight of something out of the corner of his eyes.

Pat’s phone.

He didn’t pause in his movement, completing the turn, but as he watched Pat close his eyes, presumably to focus on his own wish, Janus snuck a hand out and grabbed the phone without looking. He slipped it into his own pocket.

Pat came back over after throwing both coins in the fountain and didn’t even seem to notice that his phone was missing, picking up his crepe to take another bite. Just to make sure, though Janus decided to distract him. “What do you think of your crepe?” Janus asked.

“I like it! It’s sweet, but not too sweet. There was a crepe place across the street from my apartment in college, but they always put a bit too much sugar in the dough, I think. I’d still eat them, but these are much better.”

Janus nodded and kept up the light conversation until Pat was finished.

21088

“Well,” he said then, getting to his feet. “It seems that nothing else is going to happen regarding the time distortion. I should be getting back.”

Pat hummed. “I should too. It’s movie night!”

“I probably should arrest you,” Janus noted.

“In the middle of all of these people?” Pat asked mildly.

“Touché,” Janus said.

Pat gasped and pointed at him. “Pun!” he said. Janus blinked at him. “Because we’re in France! That’s French!”

“…Goodbye Pat,” Janus said, turning to walk away from him.

“Goodbye… wait I still don’t know your name!”

Janus stopped to look back at him for a moment. “Like I said,” he replied. “Elvis.”

“Fine,” Pat said. “Au revoir, mon chéri.”

“You never stop, do you?” Janus asked.

Pat giggled. “Considering I don’t know what you mean, I imagine I’m just getting started.”

Janus actually left then, walking off towards the alley he’d first arrived in. In some ways, the mission had been a bust, but in others it had gone very well.

He felt for the weight of the phone in his pocket before pulling up the display screen on his timepiece to go back to the TPI.

It had gone very well indeed.

Chapter 15

The first thing Janus had done when he’d returned to the TPI was hand over the timebomb to Khalid who sent it to forensics. Within the hour, forensics got back to them that it was the same timebomb as 2999 and that it had never exploded, but simply been diffused. Which meant, blessings on blessings, everyone got to go home that night.

Not that Janus went home, no, he ended up falling asleep on his desk somewhere between 3 and 4am, but at least he wasn’t sharing his space with anyone. He’d been trying to hack the cell phone all night to see if it had anything he could use, but he honestly had no idea what he was doing. All it seemed he could do was play some annoying song over and over again about never giving someone up. At around 2am, he’d finally broken and sent off an email, though, he’d continued to try to mess with it after that.

He got woken up by Lena coming into the office at 7am, and noticed he already had an email response asking when Janus wanted to come in.

“Now?” he sent back.

“…Do you sleep?” was the immediate response. “And yes.”

His wrist buzzed as an appointment in 5 seconds downloaded to his timepiece. He selected the coordinates and landed at Cultural Outreach. The receptionist blinked up at him and then back down at the screen on his desk. “Oh!” he said. “I didn’t see this appointment. I think Professor Eran is in his office.”

He didn’t stand to escort Janus this time, so Janus went ahead and went down the hall to Virgil’s office himself.

He knocked on the door and while he was waiting for Virgil to open it, the infernal contraption once again started to play the same stupid song.

“I didn’t even touch you!” he spat, getting it out and tapping on the screen.

“Jonas Brothers dude again?” Virgil asked causally upon opening the door.

Janus shoved it at him. “Make it stop.”

Virgil took it and fiddled with it for a few moments before it stopped with the song. “Oh my gosh,” he said scrolling through something on the screen.

“What.”

“What maniac sets a custom alarm for every 30-60 minutes for a week that just plays ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’? Oh, and one ‘It’s Not Unusual’ on Saturday. He’s mixing memes at an alarming rate.”

“Can you. Just. Make it not happen. Anymore?”

Virgil smirked at him. “Maybe.” He turned around to go back into his office.

“Virgil,” Janus growled following him in.

Virgil just laughed. “What do you want to know about it?” he asked. “Just a fair warning… the song means he… likely was aware someone would steal it.”

“Of course, he was,” Janus groaned.

“But I’m sure we can still get something out of it.” Virgil started tapping at the screen again. “Okay, let’s see. It’s an iPhone 5, and someone jailbroke it.”

“What does that mean?”

“Tampered with it so they could install non-company approved software,” Virgil explained.

“Well I figured that since he was using Google Maps to track time distortions,” Janus grumbled.

“I think I have something,” Virgil said to himself while digging through his desk. “Ah ha!” He held up some sort of cord. “This will let me hook it up to my integrator.” He slotted the cord into the bottom of the iPhone and then crawled under his desk to fiddle around with some other things. “There we go,” Virgil said popping back up. “It might take a few minutes. Running the program any faster might overheat the phone.”

Janus nodded and sat back to wait. Virgil grabbed the phone and started to play around with it a bit even as it uploaded all of its information to his computer.

“Weird,” Virgil said after a moment.

“What?” Janus asked, sitting up straighter.

“There are exactly two contacts. Fewer than I’d anticipate for a regular phone from the 2010s. More than I would expect from one clearly not being used as a phone.

Virgil glanced to the side, and it must have finished the download because he unhooked it from the computer. “I have a 21st century phone network adapter,” Virgil said. “It transfers call back to whatever date the phone says. Do you want to try calling one?”

“It’s worth a shot,” Janus replied.

Virgil dug back into his desk for a small device that he plugged into the same port he’d plugged the earlier cord. “Okay, which contact do you want to try first?” he asked. “One has ‘Ro’ with a crown, red heart, and a gold star emoji. The other has “Lo” with a book, blue heart, and Milky Way emoji.”

“He mentioned a Lo,” Janus said. “So, try him first.”

Virgil nodded. “I’ll put it on speaker.” He pressed some buttons before setting the phone on the desk between them.

The phone rang three times before with a bit of a crackle, it was answered. “Salutations,” a voice said, voice sounding a bit scratchy as though he had only just gotten up.

Virgil motioned with his head for Janus to speak. “Are you ‘Lo’?” he asked.

The man hummed. “To some people.”

Janus… didn’t quite know what to say to that, or even what questions he should ask.

“I’m assuming you’re the man that stole my associate’s phone.”

“Your associate?” Janus fished.

The man made an amused hum. “I believe you were calling him ‘Pat’ on your last adventure.” Janus could hear something being placed down on the other end of the phone. Before Janus could respond, he heard what sounded like an old keyboard being typed on. “Now,” Lo said. “I have to admit, I am surprised you were willing to oblige me so thoroughly by plugging the phone into your system. Let’s see…”

The screen on Virgil’s lit up bright blue all of a sudden. “…shit,” said Virgil.

“Well,” Lo said, “it seems you were clever enough not to plug it into the TPI system, which is disappointing, but…”

There was more clicking on the other end. “Hmm, interesting music tastes for the 4000s,” he said.

“I’m an anthropologist,” Virgil spoke up.

“Ah, yes, I can see that,” Lo replied. “Virgil Eran, senior professor at Silver Mountain University, a vetted member of the Cultural Outreach program, and searched the phrase ‘How to eat sushi without making a cultural blunder and making everyone hate you and losing your job because what kind of shit anthropologist doesn’t know how to eat raw fish right’ which you then shortened to ‘How to eat sushi’ and proceeded to search 52 times in the last 48 hours.”

Virgil went a bit scarlet around the ears. “Dude, did you really have to out me like that?” he hissed at the phone.

“My apologies,” Lo responded. “From my personal experience, don’t dip the rice parts in soy sauce, and don’t add too much wasabi. Overall, most people will be understanding of mistakes, and you will certainly not be fired or ostracized for handling food incorrectly. As long as you are not acting intentionally disrespectful, and I image you will not be considering your clear anxiety over whatever outing you are planning to attend, you will be fine.”

“Okay,” Virgil said. “Good point, but counterpoint, what if you’re wrong and everyone hates me forever?”

“Is it the lunch meeting today at 11:30am?” Lo asked, “because I can see that a Professor Boris Laden has attended the event multiple years in a row. Considering he is a philosophy instructor, has no Japanese heritage that I can see, and I have found a photo of last year’s event wherein he has placed his chopsticks vertically in his rice, and he has yet to be fired or ostracized, I would postulate that your fears are unfounded.”

“Yeah but… okay, I really don’t have an argument for that one, except maybe I’m a piece of shit and everyone is looking for a reason to hate me.”

“Considering your many impressive accolades in your field, I would argue that ‘a piece of shit’ is not a good descriptor of you. Not to mention the fact that you are often a highly requested member for different committees in your department and outside of it.”

“Oh, but is that because people like me or because I’m an anxious mess and make sure events go off without a hitch?”

“From experience, disorder with people you enjoy the company of is far more tolerable than order with people you do not. Which explains my current living situation and the lack of finished dishes in my sink. Therefore, I would assume the former.”

22735

“A lot of assumptions,” Virgil commented, but he was smiling slightly.

“Assumptions based on data,” Lo argued back lightly.

“You really came in here, hacked into my computer and smacked my anxiety in the face, huh?”

“Glad to have helped.”

“Y-”

“Are the two of you finished?” Janus interrupted, finally getting sick of the two of them.

“Not nearly,” Lo said. “I have gained access to an entire network of a very large university and will be sorting through the data for a long time.”

“Ugh, right,” Virgil groaned, “and you got access through my integrator.”

“I doubt they’ll be able to trace it back to you if you don’t tell them.”

“Nice try,” Virgil said dryly, “but not likely. I’m telling them about you immediately so they can work to kick you out.”

Lo laughed. “Fair enough, but I’ve already gotten plenty of information at this point. Including the fact that you work with the TPI and scheduled an appointment with an Agent Janus Picani this morning set to start a few minutes before this phone call. So, hello Janus.”

“Bastard,” Janus shot back.

“And goodbye Professor Eran. It was a pleasure.” He hung up.

Virgil sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “This is going to be fun to explain to both of our bosses.”

Arc II What We Do to Each Other

Chapter 16:

As it would turn out, Janus and Virgil did not get in trouble for hooking up the old phone to Virgil’s integrator, mostly because it wasn’t really a mistake on their part. The phone cleared all virus checks that the tech people both from the university and the TPI ran on it. The phone should have been clean and should not have caused an issue.

In fact, they were still trying to pin down the code on the general university server. They could tell that something was mucking about on the system but what or how was a mystery. This also meant that there was no telling what information had been compromised and considering how many things Silver Mountain had its hands in, that was… a bit worrying.

Another worrying thing was there was suddenly more activity of late at the TPI. There were more time distortions popping up every day. Usually they would be few and far in between. There had been 3 total recorded the year before, but over 12 in the last week. Some of them were fake like the one Janus had investigated, but some of them were real. It painted a distressing picture and also was a drain on their resources. Khalid was actually looking to advertise positions to hire new recruits which was something she rarely did as she liked to keep appointments to the TPI in house.

They’d even loosed the number of field agents needed for each mission and Janus and Remus had been splitting up just to get everything done. Today, he and Remus had thankfully only two missions scheduled for the day.

“Are we going together or separate today?” Janus asked Remus.

“Think they’ll burn me at the stake for being a witch if I go alone to either of them?” Remus asked.

“I don’t know. Probably. I think we’re getting a bit late into the 1700s for that in Cuba, but I have no idea about Mesopotamia.”

“Let’s just go together. I did not like almost drowning yesterday because I was the only stranger in town when the weather was going wonky.”

“Surely it isn’t because you opened your mouth. Ever.” Janus said dryly.

“How was I supposed to know he was the local clergyman’s son?”

Janus rolled his eyes. “On second thought,” he said, pushing a button on his desk to choose Cuba as he next mission, and standing up. “I don’t want you coming with me.” Yet, he did not protest when Remus also signed up for the Cuba mission and he waited for him by the office door before going to talk to Rhi.

Rhi was a bit frazzled when which meant quite a bit as she was usually incredibly put together. Remus didn’t even seem inclined to tease her today.

“Okay,” she said once they’d closed the door behind them. She flipped through some documents on her desk. “Picani and Clockson. Camaguey Cuba 1755. Do you know Cuba?”

“Uh,” Janus said. “Yeah?”

“Like you’re reading the things, right? I don’t have to babysit you, right? You got it? The Seven Year War was happening, but it won’t affect you much as it hasn’t really hit Cuba. It’s the middle of the Camaguey Carnival. Everyone will be everywhere and there will be chaos so as long as you don’t really fuck up you should be fine. Um…apparent races.” She looked up at them and studied them each for a moment as thought looking at them for the first time despite having known them for years. “It’ll work. Go to costuming.”

“Shouldn’t we…” Janus said, “sign things?”

“…Yep,” she said, fiddling with her desktop and then sending documents over to their side to sign.

Janus and Remus both did before sending them back.

“Great. Good.” She stood and grabbed some things from behind her. “You can go.” She sat back down as they took their things and Janus noticed a message pop up on her desk. She looked up at Remus looking exhausted. “What?” she asked.

“Just open it,” Remus said.

Rhi tapped it and a photo opened.

“I got her a new mouse toy!” Remus said happily as Rhi looked at the picture of Diesel Fuel attacking a cloth mouse.

“That is… appreciated Agent Clockson,” Rhi said. “Now get out.”

They did, leaving to get their costumes on and checked. Costuming was just as busy and frazzled as Rhi had been and they actually had to wait for decon because there’d been a mix up with the agents leaving before them. They landed in Cuba without issue. Janus could already hear the festival in full swing outside the small building they’d were in. Remy was standing there with a very not time appropriate mug of coffee.

“Sue me,” Remy said when Janus raised an eyebrow at it. “Please just… get in and out without causing trouble. Seriously. I don’t want to have to deal with that on top of everything else.”

“We’ll do our best,” Janus assured.

Remy pulled his sunglasses down to look at him. He looked exhausted. “God please do more than your best.”

Janus nodded tightly. “We’ll be in and out,” he said, already glancing at his timepiece. It had been disguised as a golden bracelet which made it a bit harder to actually use, but wrist watches wouldn’t be invented for more than a century, so they’d have to make do. “The time distortion, if that’s what it is, should be in the middle of town. Let’s go.”

He and Remus exited the building onto the packed city street.

Janus was immediately bombarded with all types of sights, sounds, and smells. There were many colorful articles of clothing and costumes as people went every which way along the street talking to other members of their community, playing instruments, and dancing. There was the sound of people speaking Spanish, still mostly almost pure Castilian Spanish with perhaps a bit of influence from Taino as the Haitian revolution had yet to push the Creole language over to Cuba. People must have been hard at work cooking different dishes for the carnival as many different spices wafted through the air. It was sticky hot considering it was the middle of June in the tropics and Janus was immediately sweating despite the temperature appropriate clothing he’d been outfitted with.

He glanced around their immediate area, just scoping out the crowds. His eyes were immediately drawn to one person near them.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” he said out loud when he saw Pat. Remus looked in the direction Janus was.

Even if Janus didn’t recognize him the moment he laid eyes on him, he probably still would have ended up staring as he was the only person in the area who clearly did not know how to do the dance he was attempting.

Remus snorted and Janus shook his head in secondhand embarrassment. “Well, would you look whose boyfriend’s here,” he said to Janus. Make that firsthand embarrassment. “Has anyone told him the Mambo wasn’t invented until the 1900s and also that’s not how you do it?”

Chapter 17

Pat stopped dancing the moment he saw Janus approaching him, but he still bobbed cheerfully ( and unrhythmically) to the music. “Hi Janus,” he said pleasantly.

“You just have to rub it in, huh?”

There was a flash of confusion across his face, but then he smiled. “Well, I know where in our relationship you are. How was France?”

“You’re a bastard.”

“You stole the phone,” he laughed.

“You stole the bomb,” Janus countered, “and you wanted me to steal the phone. You booby trapped it.”

“No,” Pat correct, putting a finger up. “We have security on my phone because in high school I once forgot it in the school locker room and long story short, the three of us ended up in a lake. So, then Lo made sure I always had some sort of tracker on it. When I started time traveling, he updated it and when I met you we updated it again in case there was ever an opportunity like that. Lo calls it using our weaknesses to our advantage.”

“He’s a bastard too,” Janus growled.

Pat just laughed.

“Is someone talking about me?” Remus asked, stepping over to them. Janus rolled his eyes.

“Oh,” Patton said, blinking at Janus’s partner for a moment. “Remus.” He hesitated slightly. “How are you doing?”

“Me?” Remus asked. “Uh, I’m doing good. A little stressed out with work, but fine.”

“Good,” Pat said with just a little too much heartfulness to it.

“What?” Janus asked, eyes narrowed at Pat. “What is that?”

“What is what?” Pat asked. He met Janus’s eyes briefly and it made panic surge up Janus’s spine because the look Pat was sending him wasn’t one that said he was playing dumb. It was a warning.

Oh, Janus did not like this. That look told Janus Pat had some foreknowledge that he absolutely could not tell Janus about without messing up the timeline spectacularly. This was why this mess the two of them were mixed up in was so bad, but it seemed Janus did not have much of a choice when it came to Pat.

Despite how bad of an idea he knew it was, he still wanted to push, because whatever Pat was hiding could be very, very bad and it had to do with Remus. There were so many reasons Pat could be acting like that around Remus, but the worst ones were definitely the ones on his mind. Death, injury, illness. They were all possible especially in their line of work and especially with how time was being screwed with right now. And Pat knew. He knew exactly what the answer was, and oh did Janus want to push.

Experience knowing what worse things could come out of having foreknowledge made Janus bite his tongue.

“So, what are you two doing here,” Pat asked, and Janus unhappily let him change the subject.

“Oh, like you don’t know,” Janus replied.

“I don’t know,” Pat said innocently.

“There’s another time distortion,” Janus said, “and while you didn’t know what it was the last time I saw you, I’m pretty sure you do now.”

“Oh, I didn’t know there was a time distortion here. I can help you if you like,” he offered sweetly.

“Oh, yeah, sure. Then why are you here?”

“I wanted to see if I could find the Flying Dutchman,” Patton told him.

“And so you went to Camaguey?”

“Uh huh.”

“One of the farthest places from the ocean in Cuba?”

“Is it?”

“I don’t trust you.”

Pat just shrugged. “Well, if you don’t want my help finding the time distortion, I’ll just be on my way then.”

“Wait,” he said when Pat went to turn away. Pat paused. Janus turned to Remus. “Remus, do you think he’s bullshitting me so I let him wander off and do whatever the hell he’s doing, or do you think he’s bullshitting me into letting him come with us.”

“Hmm,” Remus said, looking Pat up and down. Janus could immediately tell he wasn’t going to get any helpful answer. “Well, if we’re going with the how much do I get to see his, admittedly very sexy, ass criteria.” Janus pinched the bridge of his nose. “Letting him leave now means instant gratification and a nice full image when he turns away. However, letting him go with us means many more opportunities to get a glimpse, but they’d probably just be glimpses. So, yeah that’s a tough call.”

“You didn’t even bother to give me an actual hidden suggestion with that bullshit,” Janus groaned. He glanced at Pat only to see him hiding his very red face in his hands. Janus blinked. “Oh,” he said. “You got him, Remus.” Janus was surprised. He’d expected a bit more tenacity for someone with Pat’s personality. Of course, Janus was used to Remus, so that perhaps had some effect. Pat made a muffled distressed sound behind his hands and Janus raised an eyebrow. “You really got him.”

Pat flapped one hand around while still using the other to completely hide his face. “It’s just. His face. Saying that. Is weird.”

Janus could not say that he didn’t feel a slight spark of joy at seeing Pat flustered. After all, Pat’s weapon of choice had often been flirting with Janus in the past. However, he still smacked Remus on the shoulder when it looked like he was about to continue with something likely far more inappropriate. “We are here for a reason,” he reminded. He turned to consider Pat and squinted at him. “You’re coming with us, I’ve decided. I don’t want to let you out of my sights. Don’t,” he said empathically turning to Remus as the man opened his mouth once more.

Pat had mostly recovered, though his cheeks were just a bit pink still. “Yeah,” he said. “I’ll go with you. Where do we start?”

Janus glanced at his timepiece. “It’s not showing up on our trackers yet.”

“It messed with your tracker last time,” Pat pointed out.

“I know,” Janus said. “Which means it could be another fake one or whatever is causing it hasn’t started yet. If things start going wrong, but it still doesn’t show on our radar, it’s almost certainly a fake one, but some of the fake ones haven’t blocked our technology.”

“Here, I can check,” Pat said.

“Please don’t pull out an iPhone,” Janus begged.

Pat stuck out his tongue at him, and then smiled. He reached for the bracelet on his wrist and twisted it back and forth a few times before pressing his palms together. He glanced around them quickly to make sure no one around them was watching and then peeled apart his palms like he was miming reading a book.

“What the fuck is that, and how do I get one?” Remus asked immediately. It was innocuous, whatever it was. If someone from this time caught a glimpse of the display, they’d likely assume it was a trick of the light, but staring right at it, Janus could tell it was a map of the surrounding areas with a softly glowing blue light marking their current location. Janus could see no screen or origin of a hologram. It looked like the image was drawn onto the man’s palms, but as he watched, the image shifted to zoom out.

#study break stories #not writing

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loveafterthefact · 4 years ago

Text

Love After the Fact Chapter 53: Reminder: This is NOT a Vacation

Lance meets a particular primate, which is good. He's got more than one job right now, which is bad.

First Previous Next

Walking through the city is mostly Lance watching his spouse smile and stop to play with windchimes and catch flying lizards. He doesn’t mind. It gives him a chance to avoid the unfriendly gazes of the locals.

Some are hateful. Lance assumes that these are the soldiers, the ones who fought in the war. The rest are suspicious, fearful. They hurry their kits inside, peer out at him from from behind curtains and cloth doors. A few come back out with weapons.

The reaction seems to worsen once they actually set eyes on Keith, still dressed in Altean clothes, very clearly not an adult. Lance wishes Adam were with them as an extra set of eyes, but ordered his friend to go speak to Shiro about the current political climate on Daibazaal.

“He smells different right now,” Krolia whispers in Lance's ear. “He smells like he’s in the midst of a growth spurt.”

“Can they tell I haven’t slept with him?” he murmurs back.

“Yes. It was a great risk you took, bringing him out into the open like this. Why?”

“I won’t let my parents nor your emperor go unchecked by the people. Plus, a small mercy can go a long way toward earning respect. It seems it did for you, at any rate.”

“That is not a small mercy, Prince Lancel. A Galra is tied to their mate forever. They never take another. As such, the taking of a mate is something inherently precious. To force yourself upon another is punishable by death.”

“Then I suppose it is very fortunate that I made the choice that I did... I gave my father my word. I only have a phoeb.”

“What will he do if you betray him?” Krolia’s eyes follow her son as he stops to grab some food, a loaf of bread with the inside cut out and filled with stew, the leftover bread on the side. The kit chats with the people around the pot, smiling all the while. It’s so different from how he is on Altea.

“I’m not sure. Probably not anything. These days, I am more beloved by the people, but… They fear him. Alfor has a legacy soaked in blood, blood that I inherited. Still, I don’t wish to pass that legacy on to our children. As it is, I hate that I have passed it on to Keith.”

The youth in question returns, sidling up to Lance almost shyly, slipping his hand slowly into Lance’s larger one like he doesn’t want anyone to see. Lance, for his part, beams with delight, a light blush beneath his scales as he presses a sweet kiss to Keith’s cheek.

Krolia only follows in silence, eyes lingering on how every time they stop, Keith’s tail twists around his ankle, how he follows Lance with one ear the entire walk. Lance appears to have gotten used to these things. Krolia’s unsure that she ever will.

Keith’s den, which he shared with his mother before her appointment at the compound, is about a third of the way down the mountain, looming over much of the city below. It’s simple, cut from the same red stone as everything else, one large dome as a living space, a few more attached. The ceiling is only just high enough to accommodate a taller Galra, low enough that it won’t get too warm inside during sunny afternoons.

Lance is fascinated by how Galra use their electricity and resources. And how they don’t. Most electronic technology appears to be centered in public areas for anyone to use, and the compound, for use by the Blade of Marmora and other vetted members. Meanwhile, everyday life consists mainly of manual labor and visiting with neighbors. It’s a semi-agrarian community, and seemingly more by choice than by necessity.

He wonders about the glares that have followed him all the way there, whether those are by choice or by necessity.

He follows Keith into the den, pushing aside a purple cloth hung in the entryway. A creature shrieks from a branch wedged into the dome above. Lance takes a tick to wonder how many times Shiro’s walked into it.

“BleepBloop!” Keith holds his arms out, letting the primate leap into them. BleepBloop chitters, fingers and toes struggling to find a good purchase of his clothes, but Keith just smiles, embracing his childhood friend, supporting his little body.

The bottle-green primate snuggles against his chest, having missed Keith as much as Keith missed him. The kit gently strokes his old friend, whispers in his little round ear.

Lance leans over to Krolia. “That thing… BleepBloop? It’s coming back with us. What’s it eat?”

“Oh, he'll eat anything, as long as it’s made of meat and either alive or very recently alive.”

“Gotcha. He’ll like our garden. There’s a nice tree out there. And the canopy of our bed. And the loft. My resident engineer, Pidge, can come up with some climbing mechanisms for him, too.”

“Sounds good. It'll make them both very happy.” Krolia sighs. “I’d best return to the compound. I’ll come back here around nightfall, if that’s alright.”

“Of course. He’s your boy. You’re welcome to monopolize him while he’s here. I promise I won’t hold it against you, though I might take it personally.”

The woman chuckles, slips out after planting a kiss on top her son’s head, promising she’ll be back.

“It’s okay, buddy. I’m here. I’m- I’m home.” Keith turns, still stroking his pet. He sits down on the floor of the den, removing his vest with nimble, practiced fingers. Lance goes to sit beside him, rests his head on Keith’s shoulder. He feels oddly insecure, very much like he doesn’t belong. He comforts himself with the reminder that Keith’s felt like this for nearly a decaphoeb. It’s his turn.

“I raised him from a weanling,” Keith murmurs. “His mother, TreeTrunks, died with my father when Bleeps still slept in her pouch. We spent a long while just the two of us after that. I really hated leaving him behind.”

“Looks like he missed you, huh?” Lance closes his eyes against Keith’s nod. “Do you think he’ll like Altea?”

“He’ll love the forest. The wildlife might hate him though.” Keith sighs, rests his head on top of Lance’s head. “Fuck, I’m still tired. Stupid, shitty metabolism. Sorry if I’m putting you out. I’m sure you have diplomatic schemes or whatever.”

“That’s okay, beloved. Ass-kissing can wait.”

“You go. I can-”

“Uh-uh. Listen.” Lance draws back, tucks a finger under Keith’s chin to get him to meet his eyes. “This is very important, okay? Your health is very important-”

“Yes, so I can bear you children. Gods, you’d think it’s the only thing I can do.”

“No, so you can be healthy. I care about you, Keith. You’re important to me.” Lance tips their foreheads together, leans up to get closer to his ear. “Let’s go take a nap.”

In one of the siderooms, there’s a round bed suspended by a series of ropes from the ceiling, and a curved chest against the wall. Keith rummages around, pulls out two sets of clothes, dark pants and white shirts, both loose-fit. “Want something more comfortable?”

“Yeah, alright.” Lance accepts a set of clothes, forgets what he’s supposed to be doing as Keith just tugs off his long-sleeved shirt like it’s nothing at all to him. Keith gives him a hard look.

“What, is that really all it takes for you?”

“Sh- Shut up! You-” Lance tosses the clothes onto the weird bed, glaring at his unimpressed spouse. “You forget you’re one of the first Galra except Zarkon I ever saw in person. And you’re my spouse, and I’ve literally never seen you without all your clothes on.”

“That’s not true! There was that fitting for the Frost Ball-”

“My back was turned. Doesn’t count.”

“Well, fine! If it’s that big of a deal for you, here!” Keith holds out his arms, pouting. “Behold my naked chest.”

Lance snorts, tugs Keith close by his trim waist, running his eyes up a well-muscled torso to spare collarbones and broadening but still narrow shoulders. So similar, and yet so very, very different from himself. “Ancients, you’re adorable when you make that face.” He kisses that pout away. “Also, your fur is so soft.”

“Oh, I- Thank you.”

"Hey, Beloved. Don't be so shy." Tugging on the end of Keith’s braid, Lance turns away, stripping his own clothes, pulling on the shirt and pants. They don’t fit perfectly, but thanks to their loose design, they’ll work fine.

“I can see your scales through the shirt,” Keith whispers. “You have a lot of them.”

“Yes. I do.” Lance bites his lip. “Keith?”

“Hm?” Keith raises a dark eyebrow, violet eyes smiles.

“Was this -coming here- Was this a mistake?”

“A ‘get murdered in your sleep’ kind of mistake or a ‘commit diplomatic suicide’ kind of mistake?” Lance shrugs. Keith sighs, smiles, lifts his hands to brush his thumbs over Lance’s cheeks. It’s his turn. “Lance. You are wonderful at many things. Chief among them is to dance into a room with that charming smile and make everyone feel welcome. And I love that. So much. But… You’re not welcoming my people. They have to welcome you.”

“Okay… How do I- how do I do that?”

“I don’t know.” Keith steps forward, embraces his spouse, tucks his head beneath his chin. “But I know you’ll figure it out. It’s a people thing. You’re people. I’m… not.”

“Hey, you’re people. You’re people that was just a person for a long time, but you’re people. All those other people out there? They love you and were happy to see you happy and safe. And whether anybody here likes me or not, I’m happy to see you happy.”

Lance runs his hands up and down Keith’s back, listening as he starts to purr, soft and sweet. He’s not sure when he became able to make him purr so easily, but Lance considers it a good sign, a sign that he truly does make Keith happy. He settles somewhat cautiously into the odd hanging bed, not surprised when Keith wraps his arms and tail around him, tangles their legs together. Lance tugs a blanket over them, makes sure it’s snug around Keith’s shoulders.

“Let me know if you’re hurting again, okay?”

“Mhm.” Keith’s purring softens, sleepy and content.

“Keith?” No response. He’s already asleep. “Thanks, beloved. Rest well.”

BleepBloop hops up, sniffs Lance’s hand suspiciously. Lance slowly reaches out to rub the little creature’s head, smiling at how the primate’s red eyes close as he leans into the touch. Like master, like pet, adorable and deeply appreciative of affection.

Lance doesn’t mind in the slightest, but he can't fully indulge as he carefully maneuvers them so he's lying on his back. He pulls out the collapsible datapad he'd hidden in the waistband of his pants, set it on his chest so he can project a Daibazaani import manifest from Adam and Shiro in front of him. Something about the numbers isn't adding up.

There's a weight discrepancy that might total out to about four Unilu. Or any number of things really, but he'll break it apart piece by piece, inspect a three-dimensional map of the ship in question, and then he'll scroll through security footage and interviews until his eyes bleed while he searches for answers.

It's been a phoeb and a half, but he hasn't forgotten that someone wants him and his family dead.

#LoveAftertheFact #LAtF #klance #galtean au #altean lance #galra keith #adashi #altean adam #galra shiro #voltron legendary defender #vld

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ask-asmodeus-infernal-sib · 4 years ago

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just for a moment (full)

((In light of Ask-G-O Season 2 (yes I am calling it that), I wanted to post a sort of refresher of the last place we saw Az. The thread just for a moment with Lucifer. It may not have seemed like much at the time, or even now, but I promise you it is very important to the furthering of the plot. I suggest/request a quick reread for refresher. - Mod))

just for a moment

Asmodeus had gained a certain amount of freedom recently. His collar was still there, still as tight as the moment Lucifer had put it on, but the chain was gone. Of course, he knew that did not mean he could come and go as he pleased. But more of Hell was open to him than the small space around the Throne. Though he still kept himself there most of the time.

In fact, this was his first journey from the Throne Room on his own. It earned him stares–but no one dared speak to him. Dared get in his way. He was a dog, yes. But he was Lucifer’s dog. No one dared kick him without permission. He ignored them, they didn’t matter.

It was not a long walk to Lucifer’s office. For Asmodeus, it felt like he’d walked the length of the Earth. When he got there, he paused outside the door. Anxiety eating at him. But he steeled himself and knocked anyway.

The door did not open but Az found himself inside the office anyway. Lucifer looked up at him. “Hello, pet.”

The teleportation was not entirely unexpected, yet it still made Az suck in a sharp breath. It took him less than a second to recover, and he bowed deeply before approaching the desk. “Hello, Master,” He said quietly.

Stopping on the other side of the desk, Az ran his finger along it unconsciously. His tongue flicked out to wet his lips as he considered his words. “I…” he swallowed, shifting on his feet, “I have a request.”

“A request.” Lucifer echoed. Tilting his head, he considered Az. “I suppose you have been a very good boy recently.” Then he snapped his fingers and a chair appeared behind Az. “Sit.” He ordered.

There was no hesitation, Asmodeus sat immediately. His hands still fidgeted in his lap as he looked up at Lucifer. His green eyes meeting those red ones for just an instant before flicking away. He shifted in his seat a moment before taking a deep breath and stilling.

When he looked up again, there was a quiet certainty in his eyes. “I know you don’t love me. I know that I’m nothing to you. I’m under no illusions about that. I haven’t been in a very long time,” He said, his voice calm, betraying none of the heartbreak he felt at uttering the words aloud, “I still love you, you know that. I don’t….I don’t expect anything from you. But…”

Az took another steadying breath. “My request is for you to pretend. Just for a little bit. Like it used to be in Heaven. Pretend I mean something to you. Even if just for a moment.”

Lucifer listened to all of this, which peaked his interest. He tilted his head with a little smile. “If you truly meant nothing to me at all, you wouldn’t be here. You are my pet, after all.” He informed Az. “But you are right about a lot of that, dear.” He leaned back in his chair. “You want me to pretend for you, pet?”

A pang of pain stabbed Az’s heart at those words. He almost argued, but held his tongue. Lucifer didn’t really understand what he meant when he said ‘I mean nothing to you’. But then, he couldn’t. That level of personal attachment was beyond him. It always had been. There was no point arguing about it.

Instead, he just nodded. “Please,” he said softly, looking into Lucifer’s eyes, “Just, for a little while.”

Lucifer hummed. Eyes seeming to soften just a bit. “Alright, dear.” He snapped his fingers, and the desk vanished. Replaced by a couch the two were suddenly sitting on. “Come here.” He requested, in a gentler tone of voice.

Heart fluttering in his chest, Az’s breath caught as they were suddenly on a couch. The gentle words washed through him, and he found himself smiling slightly. Doing as he was bade, he moved closer to Lucifer. Putting himself in the other man’s arms.

“Thank you,” he said softly, unable to keep the entire depth of emotion from his voice as he did.

Lucifer pulled him close, but his hand went to Azzys collar and removed it. Tossing it aside for now. “No need to thank me, dearest. You earned this.”

The removal of the collar widened Az’s eyes almost comically. There was a red ring around his neck from where it had been. He resisted the urge to reach up and rub the irritated skin. Instead, he looked up at Lucifer with round, almost watery eyes.

For the moment, Asmodeus let himself pretend. Let himself believe that Lucifer loved him, cared for him. Chest tight he pressed his face into the man’s neck. Breathing him in deeply. “I love you,” he spoke in barely a whisper, “So much.”

Lucifer cradled his head to his chest, gently petting his hair. “Oh, love.” He murmured, tracing the irritated skin of his neck very gently. As if Asmodeus had somehow independently done that to himself and it hadn’t been Lucifer’s collar. “Poor thing. Been a bit harsh on you, haven’t I?”

Throat tightening, Asmodeus shook his head. Even in this moment, refusing to admit that he hadn’t deserved everything Lucifer had done to him. “Anything for you,” he answered, pulling back enough he could look up at the other man.

In the moment, he dared to reach up and cup Lucifer’s face gently. His thumb brushing the man’s cheek. “So beautiful,” he said softly, almost as if to himself, “Always, so beautiful.” The Archangel had stolen his heart from the first moment. He’d never stood a chance. Even now, with his red eyes, all the things he’d done, he was still so beautiful.

Lucifer smiled, eyes still softened as his hand went over Azs, squeezing it lightly. But there was a hint of almost impossible to tell tenseness there. Lucifer was still on guard even now but it was very nearly impossible to tell. “You’re a sweetheart.” He murmured.

Asmodeus saw it. Of course he did. He saw everything. Lucifer never knew, had never realized, though it was right in front of his face. Az knew him like no one else in existence ever had. Ever would. Since the very beginning he had been there, at his side. Watching him. Loving him. In some ways, Asmodeus knew Lucifer better than the demon knew himself.

But for the moment, he ignored that guardedness. He had expected it, and it didn’t matter. This was a selfish moment. A fantasy he wanted to live in as much as he could.

Leaning up, he placed a gentle kiss on Lucifer’s lips. Letting flow all the love he felt. All the love that Lucifer would never understand. And if there was some small part of him, that still hoped to reach this man. For him to finally understand, it was just a small part.

Lucifer returned the kiss, and it was sweet. But there was no love, never love. Though Lucifer could feel Azs love, and it was amusing in a fond way, but there was no other sentiment there.

Heart aching, Az drew out the kiss for several minutes. Pretending, trucking himself, into feeling love from Lucifer he knew was not there. When it finally ended, he placed several gentle kisses along his cheeks and neck.

Then he sighed and snuggled closer to him. Pressing himself close. "I wish you would hold me like this forever," he admitted quietly.

“Forever is a long time, darling.” Lucifer did pull him closer though, cradling again. “But the sentiment is shared, I suppose. It would be nice to have more down time, wouldn’t it?”

“Mmmm,” Az hummed, nuzzling into his chest, “It would.” He almost said how much he wished Lucifer would pay more attention to him. That he was always busy with other things. But he kept his mouth shut. He’d already been given a lot here with this moment. He knew better than to ask more.

Unconsciously, however, his fingers tightened on Ljcifer’s shirt. His feelings coming out despite himself.

Lucifer hummed and kissed the top of his head. “Precious. Don’t worry dear. Soon we’ll have all the time in the world.”

“Mmm,” Az agreed, kissing Lucifer’s chest, “Soon.” He traced a finger over his chest through his shirt. Daydreaming of when all of this was over. It would be soon, hopefully. There were not many places left for OASIS to go. Not long before Lucifer had everything he wanted. The clock was ticking down–and he was more aware of it than most.

But that wasn’t what he wanted to think about just then. Making a soft noise, he buried his face against Lucifer’s chest.

“Something wrong?” Lucifer asked, tracing circles on his back.

“I’m scared,” Az answered honestly, his voice a bit muffled from where it was pressed against Lucifer, “Of what’s to come.”

“You don’t have to be afraid, dear, it’ll be fine. There’s not many more places for that roach to hide.” Lucifer’s grip temporarily tightened before it loosened again and he rubbed his back. “Perhaps your siblings will even see sense. Join our side.”

Asmodeus tensed for a moment, when Lucifer’s grip tightened. It took a conceited effort to relax again. When he did, he sighed. “Maybe,” he admitted, then shook his head, “I doubt it.”

“I don’t want to think about that,” He said, almost pleading, “I want a distraction.”

“Alright, alright. Calm doawn.” Lucifer rolled his eyes at what he perceived to be dramatics. Rubbing his back a bit more, and shifting to hold Az a little closer- just how he knew Az needed to be held to calm down a bit.

Az didn’t see the eye roll, but he didn’t need to. Not to know it was there. Still, he got the hold he wanted, and nuzzled closer. Still breathing Lucifer’s scent in. Odd how it at once comforted him, and brought out the worst of memories for him. Then again, it wasn’t so odd. That was how things had been with this man since the beginning. He brought out the very best, and the very worst for Az.

Another soft sigh and he relaxed fully. In fact, he found himself relaxing more than he had in a very long time. Sleep beginning to tug at him.

“Tired?” Lucifer asked gently. Playing with his hair gently. Kissing the top of his head.

Smiling softly, Az actually flushed a little. “Mmm, a little,” he mumbled, wiggling into a slightly more comfortable position. Practically lying on top of Lucifer. Nuzzling against the opening of his shirt until his cheek was against bare skin.

Lucifer shifted so Az could get comfortable. “You go on and sleep, love, I won’t go anywhere.”

“Better not,” Az mumbled in an unguarded moment. He was already half asleep as he placed a kiss against Lucifer’s chest. In a moment, he was fully asleep. A small smile on his face.

Lucifer allowed it with a little eye roll. Petting his hair as he fell asleep.

“Pretty little thing.” He mumbled. “Pretty. But dumb.”

Lucifer did not sleep. But he let his eyes slip closed as if in sleep. Of course he’d only stay there for a few hours, and then get bored and go.

#ask-g-o season 2 #refresher #just for a moment (full)#just for a moment #breaking point #broken promises #wooo this is gonna be fun #we got a lot going on here people #asmodeus #lucibitch #longpost #rp

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yastaghr · 4 years ago

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Nightmare’s Gang of Wranglers 2

Sorry for the long wait! I've been dealing with some crippling back pain and only just found a medicine that helps with it without making me loopy. I'm going to get imaging sometime in the next two weeks to see what the hell is wrong with me this time. Then I see my new doctor again! In the meantime, enjoy this long-awaited chapter 2!

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24341953/chapters/63698353

Dream made that final turn into the driveway to the ranch and sighed. It looked absolutely perfect. There were fields of hay blowing in the wind and huge tracts of grass dotted with horses. All of the horses looked happy, not too thin and not too fat. There were old ones, too, who clearly were getting to enjoy their retirement. Dream had to resist the urge to go and pet them. They wouldn’t take kindly to a stranger trying to touch them, even if he did have treats.

A little bit further up the road Dream came to the main house. It was huge, practically a castle, with so many windows and doors that Dream lost count. In front of the house were three giant trailers on the back of three king cab trucks. Dream could see horse noses poking out of the windows, and it brought a smile to his face. He couldn’t wait to cuddle one. He loved the smell of horses more than anything. There was something about that smell that soothed him like nothing else could.

Standing in front of the trailers in a loose line were the wranglers, but Dream had eyes for only one. His brother was standing there, tentacles waving in the wind, with his hands in his pockets and a slight frown on his face. He looked good, even after all these years. Something inside of Dream relaxed when he saw his twin. He was okay.

Dream parked the car and jumped out of the Jeep, tucking the keys into his jean’s pocket. Blue and Ink jumped out after him, Blue in old jeans, Ink in a pair that was brand new. They lined up with Dream as he stared at his brother; Nightmare and his gang of wranglers facing off against Dream and the Star Sanses. It was one of Nightmare’s group, a black-boned skeleton that was somehow even more glitchy than Geno, who broke the silence.

“Well, I don’t know about you lot, but I’d like to get out on the trail before it gets dark. Why don’t you go get your bags and we’ll load them up?”

Dream blinked at him. His brain was lagging a little bit behind. When he got it, he smiled and ran for the back of the car. “Oh! Before we head out, I have a little treat for all of you. I have some for the horses, too, but they can wait until we hit camp.”

All eyes were on him as Dream pulled out the box full of treats. It was huge! He grabbed a container out of it and held it out to the wranglers. “I know you’ll like these, brother, but I hope everyone else does, too!”

Nightmare visibly hesitated in front of Dream. Then, from one second to the next, he went from being empty handed to holding a little homemade candy bar in his hands. He stared at it for nearly a minute before he said, in a voice that had haunted Dream for years, “Is this… one of our Mom’s apple pie candy bars?”

Dream nodded. His voice hardly shook at all when he said, “Yep! I brought enough for everybody to have one every day if they want. She always did say to take care of the people who help you, so I do! Um… is that okay with you?”

Everyone pounced on the package of treats as Nightmare nodded slowly as he stared at the treat in his hand. Then he turned his attention to the treat box. “That’s more than enough for two weeks, Dream. Unless you brought extra?”

Dream waved his hand dismissively. “The rest of the box is full of treats for the horses. I made your salty oat treat for them. I’ve never met a horse that didn’t love them. Or a mule, for that matter. Don’t worry, I wrapped them in wax paper so the horses can’t smell them in the packs.”

Dream was too wrapped up in watching his twin to register the expressions of the rest of his gang, but they all had grins that were growing by the second. And here they’d been worried that this monster had forgotten everything he ever knew about horses. Two minds in particular were thinking something else. Cross and Killer saw the way Nightmare was standing and reacting, saw the way Dream was focusing on him, and came to the obvious conclusion; i.e., that they needed to set the twins up on a date as soon as possible. Dream was definitely worth keeping.

Killer looked around to take in the reactions of the rest of their crew, since it was obvious that Nightmare was too busy to do it. Those reactions had him raising an eyebrow. Not all of them; Dust, Horror, and Sugar all seemed to be confused more than anything else. It was the other two that had him wondering.

Cross seemed more than a little pissed at the stranger with the paint vials. The feeling didn’t seem to be mutual. The other (and what kind of a monster carried around paint vials like bullets?) had interesting eye lights. At first, while he was looking at the horses in the trailer, they were a blue horseshoe and a yellow star. Then he caught sight of Cross. His eye lights changed into a question mark and an orange square. Then, between one blink and the next, they changed into a red exclamation point and a green four-leaf clover. Killer had no idea what those symbols meant. He hoped he could learn soon.

Error’s reaction was even more interesting. He seemed embarrassed when he looked at the short skeleton dressed all in blue. The other just seemed happy to see him. He was waving at him like he’d just seen a long-lost friend. Error quickly looked away and pretended not to see him. Very interesting.

It was Killer this time who broke the silence with his silver tongue. He bowed to the Star Sanses and gestured to their car. “Well, cuties, these treats are perfect to warm our bellies. Why don’t you set your bags into their own piles? We’ll be happy to get this packing business started.”

Dream and Nightmare blinked at him, even as Nightmare absentmindedly stuck his treat in his mouth. His face was never the best for showing his positive emotions, but it radiated pleasure today. Killer could tell that he’d missed those treats. He also knew that he would refuse to admit, even to himself, that he’d missed his brother, but it was obvious that he had. He hadn’t missed the creature he had thought Dream had turned into, but this Dream, the real one, didn’t seem like that at all. Looks could be deceiving, though, as Killer well knew. He’d reserve judgement for later.

The Star Sanses didn’t have much luggage, just five boxes. There was the treat box, one suitcase each for the blue-clad one and Dream, and two suitcases for the paint guy. That’s okay. They’d allowed for two each, given that it was a two week trip and these were city slickers. What they hadn’t allowed for was the contents of the suitcases. Three of the suitcases were filled with clothes. The last suitcase, one of the paint guy’s, was filled with jugs of paint.

Killer could feel the energy radiating off of Nightmare, and it was anything but positive. Most of the rest of the crew was almost laughing out loud. Paint guy couldn’t have picked a worse thing to pack.

“What. Is. This?” Nightmare asked, barely able to keep the fury out of his voice.

Paint guy didn’t seem to notice it. He laughed and waved a hand. “Oh, that’s just my paint. I need it to feel emotions since I don’t have a soul. Weird, right? I’m pretty sure that’ll be enough for two weeks plus a few days extra in case of a big event.”

Everyone was stunned for a moment. At least, everyone from Nightmare’s gang. Dream actually burst out laughing, and his laugh was sweet and clear. Killer wouldn’t mind hearing it again. And again. And again. He definitely wanted to keep Dream around, not only for Nightmare’s sake, but also for his own selfish pleasure. He was already plotting his next move, and at least the next half dozen after that. Killer was a planner. At least, he was when he wasn’t actually fighting someone. Then he just let his instincts carry him through.

Dream recovered from his burst of laughter and wiped his eyes. “Ink, we’ve talked about you just saying that. You’re supposed to be more gentle, remember? Gradual introductions are key.”

Ink’s eyelights changed into a blue question mark and a yellow hourglass. “Um… No? I don’t remember that. Did I write it down on my scarf? Should I have checked my scarf before I said that?”

Dream nodded. “It’s near the first quarter mark, Ink. In the green pen.”

The scarf was removed quickly, then folded and scanned. Killer noticed the hundreds of scribbles in different colors along its length. Were all of those notes? He wasn’t quite sure he believed that there could be a monster who was that forgetful, but the scarf said differently. Killer was pretty sure that a notebook would have been a better choice.

“Oh! Yeah, sorry, my bad. My memory is horrible. Souls do more than give you emotions, they give you a big memory, too,” Ink explained.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but Error cut him off. Error looked ticked off, which didn’t surprise Killer. Error’s default state was angry. It was part of his charm. “How the hell are you alive without a soul? That’s what gives us monsters our lives, not to mention our magic and our personalities. Without a working soul you die! Everybody knows that!”

Ink shrugged in an extremely unhelpful manner. “No one’s really sure. Lots of doctors have tried to figure it out. They haven’t figured out how to give me a soul, either. Right, Blue?”

The third of their guests jumped. He seemed nervous, and Killer instantly picked up on it. He couldn’t figure out why, though. They hadn’t even done anything threatening yet, not that they would. They had money to earn, after all. Killer had even put his trusty knife into its sheath and hidden it under his jacket. No one who didn’t know him would be able to tell that he was wearing it. Dust’s and Cross’s magic knives were both not summoned. Horror’s butcher knife was hidden in his packs. So why was Blue nervous? Did they really look that threatening?

“Y-yeah, Ink. None of them have been able to figure it out, and you won’t let them run any more tests,” Blue accused, “despite the fact that there are several promising new ones that might show them how to help you.”

Cross, unexpectedly, laughed. Killer’s skull whipped around to face him, but his other mate was already waving him away. Killer’s eye sockets narrowed. Oh, did he want to fuck the answers to all this mystery out of him. Well, that could happen later. Right now they really should be getting packed and then out on the trail.

“Okay!” Killer said brightly, “Since it’s pretty clear that you need these paints to show us your wonderful personality, I’ll pack them for you while the rest of our gang gets everything else squared away.”

Everyone turned to blink at him. Then they got to work quietly… except for Ink. He seemed to be unable to stop himself from talking. Killer could see the way that Nightmare’s tentacles were waving, and he decided then and there that he would put the chatterbox towards one end of the line so Nightmare had to deal with him as little as possible.

Time passed. Nightmare surveyed the lineup of their little caravan one last time before they started out on the trail. Everyone was mounted on their horses or mules. Nightmare was on Razz, already ready to ride sweep.

Riding at the head of their troop was Killer on Slim. Nightmare trusted them to lead them safely along any trail in the mountains.

Second in line was Ink. Ink was quickly becoming Nightmare’s worst nightmare (heh). He never stopped talking, he had those stupid paints, he had never even seen a horse before, his jeans were stiff; every little thing about him quickly got on his nerves. At least Rustle seemed to be able to stand him. That horse would put up with anything or anyone.

Error followed after, mounted on Shadow. There was no way Nightmare was putting anyone else next to that chatterbox. Error would just have to suck it.

Dream came next. He’d actually been the last to mount; not because he had forgotten how to ride. No, his mounting was too smooth for that. It was because Nightmare had almost literally had to pry him and Classy apart. Nightmare had forgotten how much Dream loved to just snuggle with the horses. He was addicted to the way they smelled.

Cross was next, on Honey. Killer had insisted that he be in front of Blue. Cross was gentle company, and Killer had told Nightmare in a moment of privacy about Blue’s skittishness. Nightmare hadn’t argued with him. He trusted his mates implicitly.

Next was Blue on Berry. Nightmare had learned that he was once an accomplished horseman, but some kind of an accident had led to Blue getting bucked off. He needed Berry’s steadiness to build his confidence back up. Nightmare could respect that. Besides, he was the shortest out of the entire group.

Ghost carried Dust next. He always rode in front of the pack mules, so that was where he was. If Blue could handle Ink’s nonstop talking he could handle it from Dust.

Crown, Regal, Cherry, and Boss followed one after the other. They were good mules (except for Cherry, who was a good horse). They wouldn’t cause any fuss or problems. They knew better by now than to do that. Besides, they had ridden this route before. Bar something unexpected it was highly unlikely that these solid pieces of horseflesh would so much as bat an eye.

The final two mules were Pumpkin, carrying Blood, and Shanks, carrying Sugar. Those lovebirds always rode tail. Nightmare was never sure how the guests would react if they found out about the two brothers’... arrangement. He hoped it never came up.

That was everyone, and every cinch strap and tie was perfectly in place. Nightmare couldn’t really get away with keeping them here any longer, so he didn’t. “Alright, everyone. Remember what I said - yes, that means you, Ink - and try not to get yourself or anyone else hurt. Understood? Good. Then it’s time to move out.”

Slowly, one horse at a time, they headed out on the path that would lead them into the mountains… and their future.

#KillerCreamMare #errorink #Dustberry #Horrorcest #nightmare's gang #star sanses #nightmare's gang of wranglers fic #wranglers au #modern cowboy au #yastaghr

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dailypet22021 · 3 years ago

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Basic Dog Commands - Training a Puppy

All things in life need to grow and develop. This applies to our relationships as well. This also applies to our relationships with our dogs. Whether you just got your furry best friend and want to plant the seeds of a harmonious long-term friendship, or you have been living together for a while, and want to take your relationship to the next level, we all need guidance sometimes. And just like you would go to a specialist if you wanted more out of your relationship with your partner, you would go to a... dog training school if you needed to work on your relationship with your dog.

The question is, how do you find a good specialist? Now, if you were just feeling under the weather, you would probably go to a general practitioner. But what if you had a toothache? I bet you would go to a dentist instead! Same with dog training. First, you need to decide whether you want to work on general obedience, aggression, separation anxiety, or maybe you want to take on therapy dog training or a protection dog training course. And then you got to read on because we created a list of local hidden gems in San Diego area that specialize in exactly the kind of dog training classes you want!

Now, what types of dog training schools are we going to look at exactly?

Dog Obedience Training

Aggressive Dog Training

Protection Dog Training or Guard Dog Training

Behavior Modification Dog Training - Dog Separation Anxiety Training

Therapy Dog Training

Service Dog Training

We will also take a look at such training types as a dog training camp, group classes, in home dog training and online dog training.

All of these gems have 5-star ratings on Yelp, tons of happy clients and they are local, oftentimes family-owned businesses, so you can make great friends among your neighbors while doing some training as well!

First things first, there are plenty of options out there in regards to dog training. How do you know which one is good for you? Here are 6 tips.

6 Tips For Picking the Right Dog Training School

1. Know That the Dog Training Industry is Unregulated

That means that virtually anyone could call him or herself a trainer, sadly. However, there are certifications and organizations that can help you identify those who actually have the right designations and experience. Always check to see if the trainer has some of the following certifications: The Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), The Academy for Dog Trainers (ADT), the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT KA), the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior (KPAATB), or the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. Being the primary educational organization for trainers, APDT has a very useful resource called Trainer Search that allows you to find trainers in your area based on your city or zip code. Great tool! Note that if a trainer is certified by the APDT it does not necessarily imply that he or she uses a specific training method, which brings us to the next tip.

2. Know the Training Methods Used

Now, all trainers have different training methods, but here are a few basic things that would help you swim confidently in the sea of trainer jargon. There are currently 4 basic methods of training that stem from behavioral psychology: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment and negative punishment. Now, the words positive and negative aren't representing the concept of "good and evil" here, they function more like they would in math, with positive meaning addition and negative meaning subtraction of something. It will become clearer in a second.

Positive Reinforcement

This is the most popular method today, and, sure enough, you are all familiar with it. Positive reinforcement has, at its core, rewarding a dog for desired behavior usually with a treat, a toy or play time, depending on what motivates your dog the most. The trick is to pick the right timing: just as your dog does the desired behavior, reward him or her right away, and supplement the treat with a high-pitched "good dog", to make sure your pet realizes how pleased you are with this behavior. See how a treat is added here? This is the positive part, the addition.

Negative Reinforcement

This technique involves taking something unpleasant away to reinforce the desired behavior. That is how electric fences work, for example. When a dog gets too close to the perimeter, it gets a shock, but the shock disappears the moment the dog moves away from the boundary. This way, the dog learns to stay away from the perimeter. See the subtraction here - the unpleasant sensations are taken away to reinforce a behavior, this is negative reinforcement.

Positive Punishment

With punishment techniques, the trainer is trying to make a particular behavior happen less often. With positive punishment, the trainer adds some unpleasant stimuli to discourage a behavior. With excessive barking, for example, a trainer can add a spray bark collar to the training, so that every time a dog barks, it gets sprayed. The dog will associate nuisance barking with being sprayed, and this will discourage him or her from barking all night long again. Did you see how with this technique a trainer would add (=positive) something to discourage a behavior (=punishment).

Negative Punishment

This technique implies taking something away (=negative) in order to discourage a behavior (=punishment). A good example would be if a trainer turns away from a dog that is jumping on him or other people to get attention. He takes the attention away from the dog to discourage undesired behavior. This method is often used together with positive reinforcement to reduce the unwanted behavior and reinforce the desired behavior.

Ah, that was quite a bit of information, right? Did it become somewhat clearer what the different training methods do? Great. There is still much debate around the best training methods in the trainers' world, but what you choose remains up to you.

Now that you've learnt more about the behavioral psychology, do you start seeing some similarities between how we train dogs and how the government trains us? On to the next tip.

3. Choose the Training Type

Group Classes, Boot Camps, In House Training or even Skype chats - there is every type of dog training you might need under the sun. Consider the benefits and drawbacks. With in house dog training the obvious advantage is that you will get more personal attention. If your dog has some socialization issues, in home training won't be as effective as group dog training classes, where both you and your fido can learn to be around other dogs and work around so many tempting distractions. If you want your dog to get the experience of a full immersion, then a dog training camp will be the best option. Whereas, if your budget is tight, online dog training might be the solution you are looking for. Deciding on the type of training you need will make the task of finding a good dog training school way easier.

4. Watch a Class Before You Sign Up

Once you picked a class or a training school, take some time to come to one of the training sessions and just observe. Pay attention to the following:

How big is the class size and whether you will be getting enough attention,

If puppies and adult dogs are trained separately,

How many levels do the classes have (basic, intermediate, advanced),

How the trainer interacts with the dogs,

How dogs react to the training,

Whether everyone seems to be having fun and enjoying the process.

If you ticked all the checkboxes here, and are comfortable with the environment, you have found a good candidate.

5. Don't Forget About Vaccinations

Safety first! Make sure your dog is properly vaccinated before you start any dog training and get the green light from your vet. Next, ensure that the training school requires every dog to be vaccinated and is asking for a proof. This way you can rest assured that the safety aspect of your training is covered.

6. Ask About the Follow Up

Now, what happens after you have completed the course? Do you get a lifetime membership and can come any time for future "tune ups", or are follow up visits limited? Maybe there are no follow up visits in case a problem does arise. Make sure to ask the school or the trainer about what happens once you are done with their program.

Great, you are all set for the dog training school of your dreams. Now, we are introducing you to the 10 hidden gem schools with 5-star Yelp ratings that specialize in the type of dog training you are looking for. Go ahead and find the one for you!

Specialty Dog Training offers plenty of packages, they also have a Boot Camp Special for the month of March, with 25% off all dog training camps. The price varies between $1575 (with the discount) for a 2-week program with 2 private sessions, to $5400 for an 8-week program with 2 private lessons.

k9 Doodie Patrol is the #1 pet dog waste removal company in New Jersey that provides the professional pooper scooper service also for communities & Parks. For more information visit us here: https://www.k9doodiepatrol.com/

#puppy training #pooper service #puppy

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swiftgreenfilters · 4 years ago

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What Are The Benefits Of Using A Filter In Every Home?

WHY DO WE NEED WATER FILTERS AT HOME?

There are so many people around the world that have the same question "Why do we need water filters at home?". Here Swift Green Filters explains comprehensively why we need water filters at home. Water that comes direct from the tap can hold dirt, minerals, chemicals and other impurities and cause your drinking water to smell and taste bad. Some of these contaminants can be so harmful that your health can be at risk. Microbes and bacteria in your drinking water can cause serious illness such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio. Such Water can be made pure and potable by using water filters. Water filter not only removes pollutants from it but also improves its taste. Let's know more in detail why we should use water filters at home.

Residue Removal

Mechanical filters are used to eliminate leaves and other wreckages from water, along with dirt, sediment, and clay particles in water. Mechanical filters are made up of ceramic, metal screens, fabric, or paper. These filths, called sediment, can cause a nasty taste but aren't usually a health hazard. Most home water filtration units use disposable paper filters that screen out fine residue.

Reducing Minerals

Iron and other minerals, like manganese and calcium, are not dangerous to human health, but they can cause drinking water to taste metallic or just nasty. Iron or manganese can cause clothing tints when wash water contains these components, and they can even discolor ceramic and other dishes washed in the mineral-rich water. These minerals can form up in water pipes, slowly blockage them and reduce water pressure, possibly causing sanitation problems.

Pathogen Elimination

Filtering water is vital to keep injurious bacteria and parasites from drinking water. Giardiasis is a kind of infection that causes diarrhea and can last as long as six weeks. The microscopic organism that causes the illness is Giardia intestinal, an entity that can endure in the environment for many months. It can be consumed from water that has become contaminated with animal or human feces. Another organism that can cause similar signs is cryptosporidium. Cryptosporidium is impervious to chlorine and must be sieved out with mechanical filters. These pathogens are efficiently eliminated by passing water through filters listed as ultra, micro, and nano-filters.

Dropping Chlorine

Most municipal water efficiency companies use chlorine to treat drinking water because it's low-cost, easy to use, and highly active at killing many of the bacteria found in water. It can also remove some viruses. While it's a good antiseptic, chlorine can make drinking water smell and taste unkind, and it can also react with some metals to make dangerous complexes. Astimulated carbon filter eliminates the chlorine odor and taste from water.

Pesticide and Chemical Elimination

Before the 1940s most common insecticides contained heavy metals that did not dissolve in water. But today insect killer deposits in drinking water may be on the growth because current organic insecticides dissolve in water and can simply get into the water supply. Activated carbon filters can eliminate insecticides and unstable organic complexes from drinking water.

Why do I need air filters at home?

Relieves Indications of Asthma

Many kinds of dogs and cats are shed throughout the year. When these pets scrape themselves they spread a lot of hair which keeps mixing in the air. Even if you don’t have pets, there are other activating issues for asthma such as pollen and dust ticks. Pollen bits flow in with the breeze through open windows or they stick to your clothes when you are outdoors. Dust ticks are the most common indoor allergens, flourishing in a humid environment. Lack of fresh air upsurges indoor humidity levels, providing the flawless breeding ground for dust ticks. They suckle on dead skin cells and grow quickly in your carpet, bed, and other stuffed furniture.

Removes Injurious Chemicals from Indoor Environments

Closing the doors and windows of our house does not mean we can’t get outdoor contaminants such as nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. These gases are usually found in zones of high motor automobile traffic and may get inside your homes. Even if you don’t live in big cities with high vehicular traffic, your home air could still be contaminated with pollutants from several cleaning means. Many regular household domestics consist of toxic chemicals like chlorine, ammonia, and phthalates. Contact to these chemicals in small amounts may be harmless, but repetitive contact can lead to severe health issues like cancer, tumor, cardiovascular, or neurological disorders. Air purifiers with simulated carbon can clean these chemical pollutants, evading the hazard of several health issues.

Decreases the Probabilities of Airborne Diseases

Airborne diseases like the common flu and cold are spread through little pathogens fluctuating around. When one family member catches the flu, it’s not unusual for the other members of the family to get ill as well. It happens because everyone is breathing the same air that’s contaminated with bacteria and viruses. Air purifiers with HEPA filters detent these bacteria and viruses. When you eliminate the cause of airborne diseases, you defend yourself and your family from them. If you live with aging people, children, or anyone with an enfeebled immune system, air purifiers are a must.

Improves Sleep

Internal allergens such as fungi, bacteria, and dust ticks can activate allergies or hay fever. A runny nose can be caused by hay fever and it can last up to numerous weeks. Repeated coughing, sneezing, watery eyes, nose congestion, or sore throat are some usual allergic indications, disturbing your sleep. Deficiency of sufficient sleep causes daytime lethargy, disturbing your output the next morning. To evade these sleep interruptions, it’s best to use HEPA air purifiers because they filter out most allergens from your room.

Now you must have learned something about why we need water filters & air filters at home.

Above all, you can get a refrigerator water filter, commercial water filter, pitcher water filter or air filter through coupon code on coupon upto or Find your Filter here. You will get those things with a great deal with a moderate discount on every product. Stay tuned and get the things of your choice.

Reference: https://swiftgreenfilters.com/blogs/refrigerator-filters/what-are-the-benefits-of-using-a-filter-in-every-home

#Benifits of Water Filter #refrigerator water filter

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brokestminimalist · 7 years ago

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Your dog isn’t a minimalist

Let’s get something straight. Your dog isn’t a minimalist. Neither is he a vegan or a vegetarian or a human. He is a dog. He has needs, and if you are not prepared to proved for those needs then you need to not acquire a pet. You can care for your pet in a minimalist style, however you can not deny your pet the things he needs in the name of minimalism. Do not throw away all your cat’s toy mice because you’re becoming a minimalist.

Let’s also address the fact that some people think minimalists shouldn’t have pets. It’s true that pets come with a lot of expense and paraphernalia, but if pets are part of your lifestyle then that’s perfectly fine. We are allowed hobbies. The way we see it, the goal of minimalism is to remove the extra crap we don’t love to make way for the things we do love. We love our dogs and our cats. We don’t love roomfuls of clutter and a thousand tupperware containers. So we get rid of the latter in order to focus more on the former, and that’s the goal. Minimalism is a tool. Tailor it to your own personal goals.

So let’s go over some ways to reduce costs and hassle without reducing your pet’s quality of life.

BASIC NEEDS

Food: For most dogs and cats, regular Purina chow is fine. You can get fancier, but don’t go below that standard. Why? Poor nutrition results in health problems, which results in vet bills. We know you’re broke, but pay a few extra dollars for decent food and you’ll be better off. You can go fancier, of course, but most house pets do not need grain free or high protein food. There is a lot of hype surrounding those these days, but they were designed for working dogs such as those that herd sheep or patrol farmland and not for your couch dog who patrols the living room. PS, there is no shame in giving your pet kibble. Trying to make homemade dog food is risky for your dog’s health, expensive, and time consuming. Not what we’d call minimalist. PPS, canned food is for sick pets and special occasions, not for every day. It’s too much trouble and dry food is cheaper per unit anyway due to the water content in wet food.

Water: Your pet needs fresh water available 24/7 whether it lives outdoors or indoors. The best solution for this is a gravity water tank. Don’t add anything to it. Just water. Do not give your pet booze or soda or tea or anything but clean, cool agua. Keep it clean; if Animal Control drives by and sees green algae in your dog’s bucket you’re probably going to get a ticket.

Shelter: Just because your Husky has a fur coat does not mean he can’t feel the cold. Dogs (and cats! and bunnies! and pigs! and all pets!) need a sturdy four sided shelter with appropriate insulation and a door to keep out the rain and wind. In summer the house needs to be shaded because direct sunlight will turn it into an oven. You can purchase small dog houses that are a good size for cats, however we advocate for not letting cats outside. Your pet will also need a little spot of its own indoors, whether it’s a cozy crate or bed or cat tree. Most of our dogs stay inside, and that’s perfectly valid.

Litter: For cats and small animals you’ll need litter. We are of two minds on this. On the one hand, we are inclined to buy the cheapest because you are literally just buying it for them to shit in. On the other, cheap litter can make your house smell. If you don’t want to smell piss all the time, get the good kind and scoop, scoop, scoop. Tidy Cats Scoop is great for cats. We like Kaytee brands for small animals. (We are a non-sponsored blog and do not get paid to push any products, but we want our readers to benefit from our experience. Get the Tidy Cats.)

Attention: Your pet needs to spend time with you. Whether that’s walking, watching tv, playing catch, or purring on your lap while you read a book. This benefits you too; lots of studies have proven that spending time with a pet is good for blood pressure and can relive depression and anxiety. So snuggle your pet for a few minutes to improve both your lives!

Spay/Neuter: Yes, even your indoor pet needs to be altered. No, you aren’t going to ruin its personality or kill its spirit or anything of the sort. Get your dog fixed. Unless you are a professional breeder it is irresponsible to do otherwise. Not only will it reduce aggression and the desire to roam, you’ll eliminate the risk of reproductive cancers. Many counties have programs that will help out broke folks with this.

Veterinary Care: Your pet needs an annual exam and shots. It needs vet care if it is sick, injured or geriatric. Denying this care is cruel and in most states, straight up illegal. Find the money and get this routine stuff done. It’ll prevent problems down the road and save you money. Keep flea, tick and heartworm prevention in mind. These are not optional! The problem we see the most is that people can afford what they want to afford. We see people drive up in fancy convertibles and then complain about the cost of spaying their cat. We know if you’re reading this then you’re probably not driving a fancy car, but do get your priorities in order. If you say you love your cat but aren’t willing to sacrifice a month of Netflix or a pizza night for a rabies shot, you need to rethink what kind of person you are. If you can’t afford the vet, you can’t afford the pet.

Toys: Believe it or not, toys are a necessity not a want. Pets need mental stimulation and toys provide that. Pets that don’t play can become withdrawn and aggressive. Now, you don’t have to clear out PetCo to get your dog something it will play with. Some tennis balls and sticks are perfect for fetching. Cheap stuffed animals are great for shredding, just keep an eye out because some dogs will eat the stuffing. For cats a wad of aluminum foil or paper are great toys. You don’t have to spend serious money here, just be creative and keep safety in mind.

Exercise: Cats will normally get exercise by running around like wackos in the middle of the night, but dogs need to be walked. Rabbits need to get out of their cage and stretch their muscles. Piggies need to get some cardio. You can walk a pig on a leash! Get them some exercise every day. It’s good for them, good for you, and will help you sleep at night. A tired dog is a good dog!

EXTRAS

Treats: People food is not a treat. Do NOT feed your pet people food unless it’s raw vegetables (and not poisonous ones like onion or garlic). Bones are not treats. DO NOT FEED YOUR DOG BONES. Just today we assisted in a procedure to remove a beef bone impacted in a dog’s intestine. This dog hadn’t shat in over a week. It was incredibly traumatic to the dog’s asshole and to our sense of smell. This dog’s owner is probably going to pay upwards of five hundred dollars for this procedure. Because. of. a. bone. Buy your pets species appropriate treats from the store. Yes, we know pet stores sell bones. Do not feed them to your dog.

Leash/collar: In some areas dogs can be allowed off leash, but many jurisdictions require them . In this case your dog needs a leash and collar with a nametag that includes his name, your phone number and address, and any meds he needs to take. We don’t put collars on our cats, but you can. PS, a collar with a bell isn’t going to stop your cat from killing wildlife if you let it outside. Don’t bother. Just accept that if your cat gets out you are going to be responsible for the death of a few birds and squirrels. You do not need fifty different ones or a different color for each day of the week. Just one.

Microchips: These are little RFID chips that are implanted in your pet’s back to identify it in case it ever gets picked up by the shelter or a good samaritan after being lost. It is not a GPS tracker. No, the government won’t be watching you. It’s great for proving that your pet is yours, especially if it’s of a species or breed that’s difficult to tell one from the other. They are relatively cheap; you can usually have this done at your vet for under $50.

Clothes: This is 99% a waste of money. Unless your pet is very old or sick, it probably does not need to wear a sweater.

Grooming: For some breeds this amounts to a bath every few months, and even then it’s optional. For other this is a weekly or even daily task. Don’t forget about cleaning ears, trimming nails, and brushing teeth. You may need some tools for this, but don’t have fifteen nail clippers or ten different shampoos sitting around. One of each will suffice. Also froo-froo haircuts are stupid. Your cat does not want a lion cut. Do not spend money on one.

Hair dye/nail polish: This is stupid and you shouldn’t spend money on it.

Hair bows: Like, why?

FitBark: No.

No-pull harness: There are a variety of these available and different dogs react differently to different ones. If you have a pulling problem try different ones until you find one that works.

Training devices: Clickers are great and super effective. Choke and prong collars can be used effectively as a last resort by your average intelligent dog owner. However, if you feel that your pet needs correction with a shock collar you need to contact a behaviorist and have them teach you how to use it. Improper use of a shock collar can make the behavior worse or create new unwanted behaviors. We know they sell them to anyone, but do not use them without the supervision of a professional.

Homeopathic/herbal remedies: No. If your dog has a medical or behavioral problem, you need to see a veterinarian or a behaviorist. If your dog has anxiety it needs real medicine and CBT, not some damn chamomile.

Jewelry/butthole charms: Lawl, no.

Sunglasses: No.

There are lots of stupid accessories and products out there that you could buy for your pet, and you’d be wasting time and money. However, there are many useful items that you’ll need in order to care for your pet properly. Most of all your pet needs your love and companionship, and those are free.

Links: Minimalist Living with Pets, Cool Dog Toys, Best Cat Litters

#pets #minimalistpets #minimalistliving

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calorieworkouts · 7 years ago

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30 Convincing Reasons to Start Running Now

What assures a much healthier body, a sunnier expectation, and the perfect opportunity to catch up? This is no commercial. Running is just one of the most effective butt-kicking, calorie-blasting exercises around. Still not persuaded? Below are 30 majorly factors to hit the ground running.

The Run-Down-- Your Action Plan

1. Do it anywhere

Run, that is. Whether on the treadmill or in the park, it's very easy to rack up miles. Even better: Attempt lacing up the sneakers on that particular following holiday to check out a brand-new place.

2. Make new friends

Tired of meeting duds at bench? Take a look at neighborhood running teams or internet sites like meetup.com to hit the trail with other health-minded individuals. "Twenty concerns" is equally as great over a run (boozy brunches optional).

3. Save some cash

Forget fancy tools or a costly fitness center membership. When it comes to running, all you have to get begun is the ideal shoes. (Don't stress, running spandex is optional.)

4. Visit the doctor less

It's not only apples that could maintain the doctor away. Energetic people are much less most likely to develop colon cancer. And also girls, females who regularly participate in extreme exercises like running can reduce their risk of breast cancer by as much as 30 percent.

5. Eat more carbs

Who doesn't enjoy a pasta dinner? Currently there's a reason to drink up a lot more pastas. During intense training like preparing for a race (sorry, stations searching doesn't matter) boosting carb consumption may help running performance and boost mood during harder runs Higher dietary carbohydrate material during escalated running training lead to better upkeep of efficiency and state of mind state. Achten, J, Halson, SL, Moseley, L, et al. Human Perfromance Laboratory, School of Sport and Workout Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TT Birmingham, United Kingdom. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2004 Apr,96(4):1331 -40. Epub 2003 Dec 5. .

6. Keep it interesting

Forget boring laps around a track. Interval training assists increase metabolic rate as well as rev cardiovascular physical fitness. Incentive: Studio reveals runners that do intervals have more enjoyable while running (actually!) and might be more most likely to keep it up High-intensity period running is viewed to be more enjoyable compared to moderate-intensity continuous exercise: effects for exercise adherence. Bartlett, JD, Close, GL, MacLaren, DP, et al. Studio Institute for Sport and also Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores College, Liverpool, UK. Journal of Sports Sciences, 2011 Mar,29(6):547 -53. .

7. Live longer

Who doesn't wish to live forever? Not only do runners have fewer specials needs and also remain energetic longer compared to their sedentary equivalents, they in fact live longer. Or even as weekly running times lower with age, the healthy benefits continue ticking Reduced impairment and also death among aging runners: a 21-year longitudinal research study. Chakravarty, EF, Hubert, HB, Lingala, VB, et al. Department of Immunology and also Rheumatology, Stanford College School of Medication, Stanford, California, UNITED STATE. Archives of Inner Medicine, 2008 Aug 11,168(15):1638 -46. .

8. Get primal

Turns out Bruce Springsteen was right besides: Child, we were birthed to run. It's what transformed us from apes to human beings and also was used by our forefathers to outrun prey over long distances.

9. Slip into skinny jeans

Running is among the most effective calorie heating elements around. For a 160-lb person it could burn even more than 850 calories a hr. Not like we're counting or anything.

10. Bring sexy back

Not only can having a rockin' jogger's bod boost confidence in bed, routine workout will aid adaptability in between the sheets-- and also obtain you in the state of mind much more often.

11. Boost memory

Exercise has actually been revealed to aid keep the mind sharp as well as could possibly even lower signs and symptoms of dementia. Striking the track might likewise secure the brain against Alzheimer's, even amongst those with a household history of it Physical workout protects against Alzheimer's condition in 3xTg-AD computer mice. García-Mesa, Y, López-Ramos, JC, Giménez-Llort, L, et al. Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB), CSIC-IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain. Journal of Alzheimer's Illness, 2011,24(3):421 -54. Cognitive feature in elderly marathon runners: cross-sectional data from the marathon trial (APSOEM). Winker, R, Lukas, I, Perkmann, T, et al. Unit of Occupational Medication, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. Wien Klin Wochenschr, 2010 Dec,122(23-24):704 -16. Epub 2010 Nov 15. .

12. See the sunny side

Active people see the glass as fifty percent full not just while they work out, yet for around twice as long after disconnecting their kicks than their less mobile counterparts Long-term results of cardio workout on emotional outcomes. DiLorenzo, TM, Bargman, EP, Stucky-Ropp, R, et al. Department of Psychology, College of Missouri-Columbia. Columbia, MO. Preventive Medicine, 1999 Jan,28(1):75 -85. Exercisers achieve greater intense exercise-induced mood enhancement than nonexercisers. Hoffman, MD, Hoffman, DR. Department of Physical Medication & Recovery, Sacramento VA Medical Facility, Mather, CA. Archives of Physical Medicine and also Recovery, 2008 Feb,89(2):358 -63. . Discuss "Pleased Feet!"

13. Get a natural glow

Believe it or otherwise, functioning up a sweat can free the face of substances that obstructs pores and leads to outbreaks. A solid sweat session can also improve all-natural oils, keeping things fresh and also healthy and balanced. (Simply remember to remove makeup pre-workout and also clean delicately subsequently to avoid outbreaks.)

14. Improve self-esteem

Need another reason to go green? Joggers that ran outdoors and got an excellent view of nature showed enhanced self-confidence post-workout than those that had just undesirable scenes to gaze at The psychological and bodily wellness results of environment-friendly workout. Pretty, J, Peacock, J, Sellens, M, et al. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK. International Journal of Environmental Health and wellness Research study, 2005 Oct,15(5):319 -37. .

15. Stay steady

Older runners could maintain their equilibrium far better compared to non-runners, securing their knees as well as ligaments at the same time. Take that, yoga! Take care not to overdo it, though: Also much workout can result in anxiety injuries and also bone loss Age-related deterioration in leg-extensor muscle-tendon systems reduces recovery performance after a forward fall: settlement with running encounter. Karamanidis, K, Arampatzis, A. Institute of Biomechanics as well as Orthopaedics, German Sporting activity University of Cologne, Carl-Diem-Weg 6, 50933 Fragrance, Germany. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2007 Jan,99(1):73 -85. Epub 2006 Oct 25. .

16. Turn down the pressure

Running is an all-natural means to keep hypertension away-- as well as quick. Amping up exercises can assist lower blood stress in just a few weeks.

17. Build stronger bones

Resistance training is awesome, but word on the road is that running might aid create also more powerful bones compared to cranking out reps. As an impact workout, running assists develop the muscular tissue that lower-impact exercises neglect, keeping bones healthier also as they age.

18. Get an energy boost

Feeling slow? Try going for a run instead. Simply one running sesh could increase power and also try fatigue Exercisers attain better severe exercise-induced state of mind improvement than nonexercisers. Hoffman, MD, Hoffman, DR. Division of Physical Medication & Rehabilitation, Sacramento VA Medical Center, Mather, CA. Archives of Bodily Medication and also Rehabilitation, 2008 Feb,89(2):358 -63. .

19. Bring the furry friends

Dogs are man's friend for a reason-- but they can likewise be man's finest workout partner, also. When it's time to take off, grab a chain to offer your family pet a brand-new type of treat.

20. Carve that core

A solid core improves stance, enhances arm or legs, as well as assists make daily activities a wind. As well as whether we feel it or not, running engages that stomach, enhancing those critical muscles. Bonus offer: A solid core in runners could boost efficiency, too.

21. Sleep better

Runners have the tendency to adapt to set sleeping programs in order to maintain running efficiency high. Even a lot better: Operating additionally motivates greater quality sleep, which translates into far better Zzz's all evening long.

22. Do it year-round

Rack up those miles no matter exactly what the weatherman says (dress suitably, though!). Temperatures still not just right? Jazz up the ol' treadmill run to obtain the same health benefits inside.

23. Jam out, speed up

Pop in headsets when running to enhance speed and get a little music boost. We won't judge your playlist.

24. Check off those goals

Studies suggest that individuals who establish and also fulfill (or surpass) long-term physical fitness objectives (like registering for a half-marathon!) are a lot more dedicated as well as completely satisfied with their workout routines than those who trudge along aimlessly Dose relationships between personal goal setting, theory-based correlates of setting goal and also increases in exercise throughout a workplace trial. Dishman, RK, Vandenber, RJ, Moti, RW, et al. Department of Kinesiology, Ramsey Student Facility, The College of Georgia, Athens, GA. Wellness Education Study, 2010 Aug,25(4):620 -31. Epub 2009 Aug 4. . As well as who doesn't feel great regarding crossing products off their pail list?

25. Show your heart some loving

Running for merely a hr a week can decrease the danger of heart disease by almost half compared to non-runners Exercise kind as well as strength in connection with coronary heart condition in men. Tanasescu, M, Leitzmann, MF, Rimm, EB, et al. Division of Nourishment, Harvard School of Public Health, U.S.A. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Organization, 2002 Oct 23-30,288(16):1994 -2000. Reductions in occurrence coronary heart condition risk above guideline exercising levels in guys. Williams, PT. Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Donner Lab, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA. Atherosclerosis, 2010 Apr,209(2):524 -7. Epub 2009 Sep 16. . And for those already striking the advised exercise standards, an added surge of exercise could decrease the dangers of cardiovascular disease much more. (Just be mindful not to exaggerate it and also trigger more damage than great.)

26. Run stress away

Ready to pull your hair out? Rather than tuning into a truth TV marathon, attempt running an actual one. Not just does running boost the mind's serotonin levels, routine exercise could in fact redesign the brain, making it calmer and even more anxiety resistant The Tranquility Computer mouse: An Animal Design of Anxiety Reduction. Gurfein, BT, Stamm, AW, Bacchetti, P, et al. Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, UNITED STATE Department of Speculative Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA. Molecular Medicine, 2012 Feb 29. doi: 10.2119/ molmed.2012.00053. .

27. Be one with nature

Want to really feel the lawn please your toes? Try minimalist sneakers or nothing at all! Just make sure to ease right into this kind of running to stay clear of injuries.

28. Increase stamina

Running consistently will boost endurance, making workouts more enjoyable as well as productive. And allow's not forget that long lasting longer isn't really restricted to the track-- it works in ... other locations as well.

29. Get there faster

Instead of a leisurely night stroll, try a jog around the community rather. It'll shed more calories in the very same amount of time.

30. Sound like a pro

We've got the running terminology to get you in the understand. Ready, established, go!

#exercise #fitness #fitness center #fitness women #health #health and wellness #wellness #work out #workout #workout routines

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snowdice · 4 years ago

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Finding the Time to Study Fic 2 [Day 30]

My Masterpost Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

I also have a playlist on youtube (because Spotify didn’t have one of the songs I wanted). It’s short, and not really for serious listening, but I had fun with it.

Feeling very unmotivated, so let’s see if this can get me out of my funk or if it’ll stop after two rounds.

Chapter 9

Khalid immediately called everyone back to base.

“What happened?” asked Fred when he and Lena arrived. The tech people were already scrambling to get through to the TPI and get the time lock broken from the outside.

“Remus, Remy, and Khalid got played by Pat or whatever his name is. It certainly isn’t Nick. He was just setting up a joke,” Janus told him.

“Stop being smug,” Remy said. “It’s not a good look for you.”

“Pat is…?” Lena asked.

“It will be fine,” said Khalid, “because what he doesn’t know is that timepiece has a tracker on it. Wherever and whenever he went, we’ll have his coordinates.”

“What just happened?” Remy asked.

“He ticked us,” Janus said. “Again.”

“Probably with the time bomb,” Janus said.

“Probably with the time bomb,” she confirmed.

And everyone knew the only thing worse than a time bomb was a time bomb you didn’t know the location of.

The, they initiated a time travel lockdown for all nonessentials, not willing to let random history students get caught up in an explosion if Pat decided to set the thing off somewhere.

“You are the only tolerable one,” Janus told the cat who upon being let loose in the office by Remus, immediately jumped on Janus’s lap.

“I have literally done nothing to you,” Lena said, but then added. “Yet.”

“You exist. In my space.”

“Fuck your hot chocolate, Fred,” Janus growled, having been one of the three who had chipped in to buy it for him on his last birthday.

“Don’t go after Fred, jackass,” Lena spat.

“He’s just testy because his boyfriend escaped,” Remus contributed.

Janus’s lips turned down into a frown and he cupped Diesel Fuel’s face. “We agree we’re eating him first, right?” he asked her.

She purred her agreement.

“I’d have it no other way,” Remus replied.

“There is plenty of food,” Fred said, sounding stressed. “In fact, I was thinking we should all chip in on ordering take-out soon. “What does everyone like on pizza?”

“This is not a slumber party, Fred,” Janus pointed out.

“Shut it,” Lena snapped and turned to Fred. “I’m fine with almost everything, except…”

“Bananas and tuna salad!” Remus interrupted.

“…whatever Remus is about to say.”

Janus rolled his eyes as that started a debate about whether or not fruit and/or fish belonged on pizza. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, which was when there was a knock on the door.

Janus still dried to dodge anyway. “Uh,” he said. “We were actually about to order pizza.”

“Go ahead,” said Fred kindly. Janus wanted to strangle him. “We can order pizza with olives if you��re not here.”