#when it wags its kind of a swaying motion. i have thought about this a normal amount

[puppyeared]

learned something about myself lately

[alphi-writes]

Thank you for ur answer earlier! It's crystal clear owo)👌 then, may i request jack jamil and kalim with dancing+bonfire? Thank you in advance! Have a good day/night and don't forget to stay hydrated! 🌸

Of course! (*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡ I'm really sorry it took so long to get these posted, but I tried to make up for it by putting more effort into the writing. Make sure to get at least a bit of sunlight today if you can🧡

Characters: Jack, Jamil, Kalim

Items: Dancing, Bonfire

Jack Howl

Jack decided to join you tonight, since you invited him to the bonfire earlier in the day. It was almost seven thirty by the time you got the bonfire actually going, and you were beginning to think Jack wouldn't want to stay.

"Alrighty then, Jack-A-Boy, let's get to our late night gab session." You threw yourself into the chair sat next to Jack's, leaning over the edge expectantly.

His ears flattened, "Don't you have any activities planned? Usually you'd want to set off a fountain candle or two, and you didn't bring any snacks-"

You leaned over, tipping the chair on its side where the two left feet lifted above the ground. You pushed your index finger to his lips, shushing him.

"It is autumn, and we are going to be festive without fountain candles. This is what normal people do, Jackie, they sit and watch the fire- oh my gosh are we old people now?"

Honestly, Jack felt lost. Maybe he was overthinking things, but you didn't hang out one-on-one with him very often, and if you did, Grimm was always there. This time it was just the two of you.

You sat quietly for a few minutes, may ten, just enjoying the crackling heat in the cool of autumn. Every once in a while, you'd feel Jack's gaze on you, and finally, you caught him.

"Are you... nervous? Is the Jack Howl nervous to be alone out here with me? A magic-less human? HaH! I laugh in the face of your untimely jitters!" He watched as you laughed in your seat, a light heat washing over his face.

Of course he was nervous! He didn't show it often, but he really liked hanging out with you! He didn't want you to know that though because then he would lose his cool-guy bad-boy vibe.

He'd be reduced to a puppy dog if he let on that he enjoyed being around you. And not only that, but your personalities were vastly different.

Jack was ripped from his thoughts when you stood up and grabbed his hands in yours.

You pulled him from his seat and lead him closer to the fire.

"Come on, let's dance! I know this one dance that we did every year at the festivals back home." Jack tugged against you, albeit flustered from the contact.

"Uhm, no, I don't dance." His hand flew up to the back of his neck at his hairline, and you could see the embarrassment in his furrowed eyebrows.

You hummed quietly, nodding in understanding.

"Fine, I'll show you this dance tonight, and if you can't perform it perfectly byyy... tomorrow- I'll just have to find some collateral for payback." You were obviously joking, but he looked visibly distraught by your words.

You only dismissed his expression before starting your dance.

You weren't the smoothest at dancing, and you were stiffer than you should've been, but you knew this dance well.

Your movements were quick and deliberate, sweeping in directions like a gust of wind. Every so often, you'd catch a glimpse of Jack staring at you with large eyes.

His ears were straight up and his tail was wagging so quickly it was only a blur of grey.

You soon finished swaying around, pausing for a moment to catch your breath before grinning at Jack.

"Dancing is pretty cool, y'know, so I hope you'll dance with me some other time." You gazed down at Jack as he sat there quiet.

He didn't speak, and it caused your smile to falter.

"That was- wow, I've never seen anyone dance like that before." His face was burning and his tail had slowed to a wave.

Your smile returned. You laughed loudly, wiping the sweat from nerves and the heat off hour forehead.

"Phew, I thought you didn't like it for a moment there."

Jack jumped up, "No-!" He yelped, "it was great!"

His outburst startled you, and your eyes widened when his hands lightly grasped yours. He wasn't usually like this, and it made you chuckle.

"Could you teach me to dance like that?"

"Of course."

Jamil Viper

Jamil was suprised by the temperature of the air around your dorm.

"Is it usually this cold?"

"No," you threw a bundle of sticks on the formation of branches, "its autumn now so its beginning to cool down some. Its definitely colder than Scarabia though."

Jamil joined you tonight because you invited him to a good old fashioned autumn bonfire, which he's never been a part of.

You remember freaking out when he told you he'd never been to a bonfire before, and you knew that you'd have to invite him to on that exact night.

Sure you didn't plan on having one this night, but the absence of a bonfire in Jamil's memories just drove your determination.

"And it's just a large fire?"

"Yea, it's pretty cool. You'll see the appeal."

He nodded with his fist on his chin, scanning the surrounding area. He stood there awkwardly as you finally lit the brambles on fire, standing in front of the flames with your arms in the air.

"Hell yea, warmth."

You sat down on a fold-out chair you brought our earlier, patting the seat next to it for Jamil.

He sat down, staring at the fire. He was used to heat and fires like this one, but he'd never been in crisp air while a fire was going. It was a bit odd, but he liked the feeling of autumn. Maybe not more than the temperatures and winds of Scarabia or the Hot Sands, but he could see himself sitting here often.

"Oooh, Jamil, you dance, yes?"

He nodded, turning his head towards you.

When you met his eye, you began to think maybe you shouldn't ask him to dance. Your face began to tingle and you sunk in your chair.

"Why?"

You wrung your hands together, "ah, well, it's nothing, nevermind."

He sat quiet for a moment before standing up.

"I can dance for you, if that's what you want." He had a small smile on his face as he stood up and stretched his back muscles.

You panicked slightly, "No, you don't really have to Jamil-!"

"Do you not like my dancing?"

"Wh- no it's not that," you threw your hands up, "I just dont want you to feel like you have to dance for me."

He chuckled quietly at your panic.

"Its alright, I want to dance for you."

And he did.

He danced for what seemed like only a few moments, but was really about half an hour. Even in that time frame, he never once faltered, never once seemed tired or out of stamina.

He was so fluid, moving as if he were water in the wind. He was elegant, beautiful, gorgeous.

When he was finished, he swung to a stop, a large grin on his face. The largest smile you've ever seen him bare.

You were up in a second, glomping him in glee.

"Jamil, you were amazing! Oh my gosh, you were gorgeous!!" He chuckled while you peppered him with compliments.

When he brought his eyes back up to yours, his breathing hitched quietly.

The look in your eyes.

Not lust or hunger, not an emotion that was anything derogatory.

Just pure, utter, true love.

Your lips curved up and you chuckled quietly.

"Jeez, are you gorgeous." You whispered, gently bonking your head on his chest.

You felt his chest rise and fall steadily before his arms loosely wrapped around your back.

Kalim al Asim

"There you go, the last branch." You threw the last branch on and brushed the excess branch bits from your hands.

Kalim cheered happily, unfolding the chairs for the two of you.

Kalim was practically jumping in joy, "This is gonna be so fun!" He exclaimed.

You chuckled, "Yea."

He was always so exuberant and obnoxious, but it was just another part of his charms.

You were planning to have a bonfire by yourself, and when you mentioned it earlier today during lunch, Kalim jumped at the idea.

You couldn't just say 'nah you can't come to my bonfire in which I am the only attendee'. You weren't some monster.

So of course you invited him, and not begrudgingly, no, you were ecstatic to have him join you. He even helped build the bonfire.

"So you' ve never had a bonfire?"

"Not one like this!"

"What other kinds of bonfires are there..?"

You laughed it off, lighting the sticks ablaze.

"Burn baby, burn, said the pyromaniac!" You laughed as the flames grew.

Kalim grinned at you, moving closer to the fire to feel the heat.

"Its always hot in the Land of Hot Sands, so it's nice to feel heat while theres still the pinch of cold in the air."

It was quite relaxing. Although you liked the nip of cold, you loved the feeling of warmth just as much.

You weren't one for Scarabia heats, but a normal, balanced heat was the best for you.

Kalim swayed as he took in the heat, closing his eyes and grinning up at the night sky.

The way the light of the flames danced on his face made his dark skin light up with oranges and yellows. He looked so warm and peaceful. So happy.

When he opened his eyes and looked down at you, you averted your eyes quickly.

"I have a great idea! Lets dance!" He was already grabbing your hands before you could utter a word.

Now, before you even began to dance, you already knew Kalim was a solo dancer. Sure he would dance near others, but they were never dancing together.

He was attempting the common waltz, and although he was raised as royalty, you could tell that the fairy tale books weren't all factual.

Kalim often stepped on your feed, apologizing quickly. He bonked his head against yours a few times, and even accidentally tangled his leg with yours.

"Okay, let me lead, Kalim." You said through your laughter.

He nodded sheepishly, instead moving his hands to your shoulder and left hand. You intertwined your left hand with his, and rested your right on his waist.

You were close enough that your could feel his breath on your face.

"Okay, we'll start off slow so you can get the hang of the foot movements."

You looked down at his feet, motioning with your left foot for him to step backwards.

Your left foot went forward and his went back, then both of your right feet went outwards.

"This is the box step, the most basic form of waltz. Right foot forward."

You went around your imaginary boxes a few times before he actually began to understand the formation.

Left foot back, right foot out, right foot forward, left foot out. The dance was simple, and the box kept moving as you rotated around the bonfire in a circular motion.

He was a quick learner, and soon you found he could perform the steps without having to look at his feet.

"Y/N, I think I have a hang of it!"

You chuckled quietly, nodding, "I believe so!"

Although the box step wasn't usually performed around a bonfire, yours moved perfectly.

Now Kalim could go back to his dorm to tell Jamil about his partner dance.

"This is actually really fun." His voice had lowered to a whisper, and he was looking at you with a smile.

You smiled back, gently butting your forehead against his.

"Well yea, and it's simple too!"

The box step was a simple four-step rotation dance. Some would even call it boring if it drawled on for too long.

But the two if you continued on waltzing late into the night. You took this as time to share your thoughts and woes, held closely together, hands knitting to each other.

This was your time with Kalim. Just you, Kalim, and the autumn air.

[rohad93]

Worth the Fight

Medival Au, cause i am nothing if not predictable in what i like to write about. dont expect these updates as quickly as MM. im still working out the plot.

Trees, fields, and more, big surprise, more fields. Sometimes she spotted the occasional wild animal scampering through the grass, though that was the most interesting thing she’d seen so far.

”Are we there yet?” Luz asked for the third time in an hour as she and Eda trudged along the dirt road they had been following for two days as it wound through the fields and forests of the countryside.

“Do you see the city?” Eda asked as she glanced at her apprentice out of the corner of her eye.

“No…”

“Then we’re not there yet!” Eda threw up her arms. “Kid, relax, we’ll get there when we get there, I know you’re tired, I’m tired, hell, King is tired.” She gestured to the demonic dire wolf trotting along beside them, tongue lolling out of his mouth. His black fur shined in the sun but was near blinding against the white fur on the top of his head that created a distinct skull-like pattern across the top of his face.

“Poor baby…,” Luz cooed as she reached out and scratched the space between his horns, making his tail wag.

“He’ll live….” Eda rolled her eyes. “but you might not if you ask me if ‘we’re there yet’ one more time,” she grumbled, adjusting the light plate armor on her shoulders. It was the height of summer and as used to traveling in the stuff as she was, she was still baking under the sweltering midday sun.

Luz just pouted as they walked along. The leather of her boots was rubbing raw spots on the soles of her feet with each mile they walked.

Two days ago Eda had shaken her awake from where she and King had been lying curled up in a pile of hay. The seventeen-year-old had been half asleep and had missed most of what the older woman had been saying to her, just trying to keep her eyes open as Eda rambled on and shoved their meager belongings into an old rucksack.

What she managed to glean from the rapid-paced, one-sided conversation was something about a job, money, and leaving town, which did catch her attention.

They had been to a lot of towns over the years she had been training under Eda, and some were definitely better than others in terms of how the locals treated humans, but the one they had been staying in for the last year was probably the worst of them all. It got to the point that when Eda went to meet potential clients for jobs, Luz had to stay behind because they would take one look at Luz trailing behind her and decide that no matter the older woman’s reputation with a blade, they didn’t want the human girl around.

They’d see her rounded ears and sneer, glaring down their noses at her. Surely any self-respecting witch or sell-sword worth her salt wouldn’t be letting a human follow her around. Eda would say something snarky that almost always resulted in a near brawl and Luz would stick her tongue out at them as Eda stomped away, grumbling colorful words under her breath.

Eda was on her side, but it eventually boiled down to being able to eat and Luz decided it was best to just stay behind, even though it meant she wouldn’t get much in the way of training in swordsmanship or the combat magic that went along with it, not that she could actually do the same kind of combat magic that was natural to Witch’s anyway, being human.

As Eda had once explained it to her, witches had an extra organ, a bile sac, she wasn't entirely sure that's what it was actually called, she learned a long time ago that Eda had a tendency to make things up if she didn't know the answer. Supposedly it was an extra organ that allowed witches to absorb the natural magical energy of their world and use it to add powerful effects to items, especially weapons. Those that did were witch knights, the strongest and some of the most respected members of society, and Luz wanted so badly to be one, to prove that she was worth something, human or not, but without a bile sac, she was lacking the magical aspect, which left her at a distinct disadvantage. Heck, she didn’t even have a real sword, so she couldn’t even do the most basic jobs to help Eda feed the three of them, King alone ate like a horse, with Luz trailing behind him. She was a growing girl after all! Eda always said she’d get one when she thought she was ready, not before.

She’d usually just use the dull-practice blade Eda had given her to work on her stances and strikes, beating the living tar out of whatever trees she happened to come across in the woods while she waited for her to come back with King trailing along behind her.

To say she was glad to be out of that town though was an understatement, even if Eda still hadn’t told her where they were going, and as glad as she was to have left the dreary little town of Beldville, she was so tired of walking!

She pulled at the collar of her violet-colored tunic, sweat was making it stick to her clammy skin, but she knew better than to say anything, they were both hot and tired.

They continued the silent trudge beneath the sun, which thankfully was slowly, but surely sinking closer and closer toward the horizon, though it didn’t lessen the heat any. Eventually, the sun had moved to dip just below the horizon, nearly blinding her with its bright orange rays, as it sank and dark blues were starting to rise up over the horizon line in response to the waning light.

Luz shielded her eyes with a hand and glanced into the distance. The dark smudge in the distance was slowly growing into the silhouettes of buildings and she grinned.

“Is that it?” she pointed excitedly toward the end of the road.

"Nope," Eda said, popping the 'p'.

"Whadda ya mean 'nope'?" Luz whined. "That's a town!"

"It's a town, and we're going to spend the night there, but that's not where we're going," she informed her and Luz groaned, shoulder slumping.

"Where ARE we going?" she huffed.

"Patience, apprentice." Eda wagged a finger and grinned at her, making Luz grumble.

Eda always said that when she didn’t feel like explaining herself, which was often.

It was a small town, and although it was nearly dark there were still a number of people milling about the streets.

A few people glanced at her and Luz frowned, pulling up her hood to cover her distinctly rounded ears from view. There was no need to draw any unneeded trouble when they were only going to stay one night.

Eda noticed the motion but said nothing as she dug through a pouch on her belt.

"Here, Kid." She held her hand out to Luz, who held up her upturned palm as Eda dropped a handful of coins into it. "Go get yourself something to eat and I'll meet you back here at this inn." she hooked the thumb over her shoulder to the worn building behind her.

Luz broke out into a wide smile at the silver coins in her hand.

“Thanks, Eda!” She turned and dashed off down the road with King hot on her heels. Eda just smiled as she watched her disappear around the corner.

Luz trotted down the street, she didn’t know this place, but she knew most towns had pretty similar layouts and the market was always at the center of town, and sure enough, she soon found herself walking through the market with King at her side, most people gave the cloaked girl and the demonic creature a wide breadth, understandably. Usually, creatures like King were wild, bloodthirsty monsters that would just as soon rip off your arm, and she’d seen him do it the last time she’d been attacked by a villager with a human problem.

Luz had never feared him, he’s always just been Eda’s silent companion and her big baby ever since she’d started traveling with the gray-maned sell-sword.

She reached over and scratched that certain spot behind his right ear that made him let out a low growl that almost sounded like a happy hum to her.

“Hungry buddy?” she asked, smiling as they walked and he snorted.

There were days Luz was almost sure he understood every word she said. There was just a certain, almost intelligent look in his rusty, red-colored eyes when he looked at her.

“Let’s get some food then!”

She glanced around at the different shops and a few stalls before her eyes fell on a storefront and lit up.

‘Tomes and manuscripts’

“Book shop!” Luz whispered excitedly to herself and made a beeline for it. “Wait here, King.” She turned to the beast, who snorted and plopped himself onto the ground outside the shop. She pushed the door open and grinned as the smell of ink and old parchment filled her nose.

Luz loved books, though she rarely had access to them. Having to carry everything you owned with you at all times meant that you just couldn’t have some things, and books were heavy and took up space that could be put to better use, for food or supplies, that’s what Eda said anyway. Luz would reluctantly admit she was right, but she didn’t have to like it!

“Welcome!” a voice called from her left. She looked over at the old witch peering at her over his spectacles at her. “Can I help you find anything?”

“Uh, thank you, just looking.” she waved a hand.

He nodded and she walked down the many shelves packed with worn leather-bound tomes, grinning to herself as she ran her fingers over their spines, feeling the smooth, cool bindings beneath her fingertips. So many stories, knowledge, and wild adventures aplenty crammed between two hard leather covers. Luz adored books, a lifelong love affair lit aflame by her mother, who had taught her to read and write at a young age. Something uncommon among the lower classes of witches and unheard of for humans in the Empire of the Boiling Isles, who were the lowest class citizens of them all, but her mother hadn’t been from the Isles. She’d always told Luz about a beautiful place across the sea, with fine grain, white sand beaches, and tall trees very unlike the ones here, that dipped and swayed with the wind, their leaves long and few, but still perfect for blocking out the strong rays of sunlight on a clear day.

Luz sometimes wondered what it might actually be like to see it with her own eyes, she doubted she ever would, her mother had always told her it was far away and she’d left to escape a war, bringing only her native tongue and a sack of food.

Luz hummed to herself as she continued browsing up and down the dimly lit rows of books with rapt interest. She turned a corner and glimpsed a small table covered in old, worn books, and felt drawn to them.

They were all hefty tomes and she flipped through the first few on the stack, nothing of any real interest, some play scripts, and something about treaties on the great war. She set them aside and picked up the last one in the stack. It had a dark brown cover with gold inlay around the corners and spine. It’s worn leather bindings were pockmarked with scratches and divots, some worse than others. She flipped it open and found some of the pages were yellowed and crinkled in places as though they had gotten wet and been left out in the sun to dry at some point.

The pages were full of runic writing that she couldn’t even begin to guess at, but as she flipped through the pages she stopped on one with a drawing, a perfect circle with several lines that made up some kind of symbol.

There was very little text in the book that she understood but one set of runes did stand out, the symbols meaning ‘light’. She’d learned them years ago when her mother had told her that her name meant light.

She ran a finger over the crisp, inked lines of the glyph.

They glowed.

“Augh!” she nearly tossed the book across the room, it clattered across the floor with a heavy thump and she grimaced as it landed on the wooden floor. She held her arms up in defense, but the book only continued to lie there.

After a moment quickly scooped it up and gazed at its gold bindings before she flipped it back open to the page with the illustration. She hesitated a moment, hand hovering over the illustration before pressing her fingers over it, skin running across the rough parchment beneath.

The lines began to give off a pale light as she traced them, till eventually, the entire thing was awash in soft glimmering light.

Luz stared at the glowing drawing with open awe and wonder.

“Magic…,” she breathed.

She’d done magic, she wasn’t sure what kind or even what it was supposed to do, but for the first time in her life, magic!"

She needed to look through this, all of it.

"I'll be closing shop in a few minutes!" The shop keeps voice carried out through the store making Luz jerk.

A few minutes wasn't nearly enough time! Her mind raced with thoughts before finally deciding as she slapped the book closed and hurried to the front counter where the shopkeep was still standing.

“How many snails for this book?” she set it on the counter and he eyed it for a moment.

"This? Bah, ten snails, it has little value to any witch, merely theories on old magic.

"I'll take it!" She slapped half the money Eda had given her on the counter.

Only King would be eating tonight it seemed, but the chance at magic? Worth a hungry night.

He nodded and accepted the coins as he pushed the book back toward her, but as he did, got a glimpse under her hood and spotted her rounded ears.

Luz knew what happened the second it happened. His brows crinkled between his eyes and his once, disarming smile, curled into a sneer.

"A human, in my shop!?"

Luz snatched the book off the counter and bolted for the door.

"No take backs!" she squealed as she burst out the door, making King jump up as she did.

She dashed back the way they had come, the black beast loping along behind her with an excited, rumbling bark.

It didn't take long for them to get out of sight, turning the corner and ducking into an alley.

She pressed her back to the wall, clutching the book to her chest, and waited until it finally seemed like she wasn't being chased; she peeked her head out and found the street clear.

She turned back to look at the worn leather-bound book in her hands and grinned.

She couldn't wait to look at it better later.

King whined at her side, scratching at her with his paw.

"Ah, right, right. Let's get you some food, buddy." She smiled at him and snuck toward the other end of the market, spending the rest of the money Eda had given her to buy meat for the beast, who wolfed it down in record time, practically swallowing it whole before they made their way back to the Inn.

"Get some grub?" Eda asked from her place sitting in one of the beds when they walked into their rented room. King immediately trotting over to the empty bed and jumping up on it and curling up into a massive black ball of fur.

"Fed King, yea." She nodded, pulling off her cloak and kicking off her boots before she climbed into bed, shoving King over.

He growled at her but she just shoved harder till there was space for her to lay. He snorted in response but never lifted his head as she laid next to him, book in hand.

“What about you?” Eda narrowed her amber eyes at her, noticing how she only mentioned king. “And where’d you get the book?”

“Uh…” Luz stalled and Eda sighed.

You bought the book instead of eating, didn’t you?” It wasn’t really a question.

“Yeah…,” Luz mumbled and Eda sighed.

"Well, what was so much more important than eating? If it's another flowery love story, kid, I swear…," she trailed off, rolling her eyes.

"It's not!" she insisted. "It's a book about magic!" She flipped it open and opened to the diagram and ran her hands over it, creating the same glow as it had in the bookshop, which made Eda sit up.

"Well, look at that…" she tilted her head. "What's it do?" She looked back up at Luz.

"I'm… not sure yet…" She shrugged. “I need more time to read it." Eda hummed, looking at the glowing glyph on the paper before shrugging and plopping back down on her bed.

“Whatever kid, just don’t stay up all night looking at it,” she grumbled, rolling over and pulling the blanket up over her head.

“You go it, teach!” Luz promised as she snuggled back against King and flipped through the pages.

She really wished she could read any of the writing around it other than the runes for light. She flipped some more pages and found another diagram, a sketch of a sconce, or something similar with a circle drawn above it and little lines indicating rays of light. She hummed to herself.

She had only the basic knowledge of how Eda did magic. She could just kind of think about what kind of effect she wanted to apply to an object and would press her hand to the blade of her sword and it would glow for a second before taking effect, she’d made her show her enough times to know.

Luz pursed her lips and leaned over to her satchel sitting on the floor by her bed and dug out a piece of charcoal she liked to use to draw when they were on the road or she was waiting around on Eda, ignoring the angry rumbling of her empty stomach. She pulled her training sword out of its sheath and looked at the blunt, reflective weapon for a long minute before carefully drawing out the glyph across the flat of the blade.

she glanced back and forth between the book and her blade, humming to herself when the last line was completed. She hesitated a second before pressing a fingertip to it and the glyph glowed before the bright light spread across the entire length of the blade, lighting the room up.

Luz stared at it in awe, before a bright grin stretched across her face, empty stomach forgotten.

She’d done it.

She’d done magic!

[ericsonclan]

He Was a Skater Boy

Summary: Gabe skateboards over to Ericson High to have a pudding eating contest with his uncle when suddenly he meets someone he had never seen before.

Word Count: 2067

Read on AO3:

Gabe sprinted down the hallway of Delta High, his backpack whacking against his back as his sneakers squeaked against the tiled floor. “Shit, sorry, sorry,” Gabe dodged fellow students as he continued to run. His right hand clutched his skateboard tightly and he soon found himself outside of the school building.

Gabe tilted his head back and took a deep breath. That was it, the smell of freedom. His left hand sloppily readjusted his beanie and he set down his board to skate off to meet up with his uncle. Javi had told him that he had worked out a deal with a lunch lady at Ericson High to get them a mountain of pudding. It was finally time that they put their money where their mouths were. They were going to have the ultimate pudding eating contest.

Gabe had been sure to eat light at lunch to prepare in advance for this. His dad would be pissed if he knew that he had skimmed on lunch all in the name of a pudding eating contest. He would be furious if he knew it was to spend time with Javi. Gabe took a deep breath and shook off any negative thoughts. Placing his left foot on the skateboard he used his right to kick off and began the journey to Ericson High - the monster school.

Gabe zoomed forward and pulled his beanie down, turning his head to the side to avoid catching attention from Joey or Justin. Those two never let go of grudges and ever since Gabe had helped Violet they had always bugged him whenever they had the chance. Gabe skated forward and saw that he was reaching the staircase. As he hopped up, Gabe’s backpack lifted in the air before the board landed on the staircase bar. It screeched lightly as he slid down the bar; Gabe smiled to himself and hopped off to land with ease at the bottom of the stairs. Pushing his foot against the ground, he continued to skate forward.

Mariana was sure missing out today. It was just her luck that she got caught on a silly prank and her partner in crime had ratted her out. Usually Gabe would stay back for her and treat her to some popsicles but he really didn’t want to miss today. It was hard to find time to hang out with his uncle. Especially lately with how much his dad had grown to distrust monsters. Gabe turned his focus back on the joy of skateboarding. Today was supposed to be a fun day. He tilted his head back and let the breeze blow through his hair that stuck out of his beanie. Moments like this were when he felt truest to himself. School had always felt like an obligation and after seeing how cool Ericson High was Gabe had grown somewhat jealous of his friend Clementine. She got to go to such a cool place every day while Gabe had to deal with annoying bullies and uncaring teachers who sort of irked him.

But that was just him being jealous. He knew that monsters had to deal with way more shit from people outside of school and ever since Clementine had made it clear that she sided with the monsters she’d become a target too from some of the Delta assholes.

Gabe looked back at the sidewalk ahead of him and began to weave past the people going about their day to day lives. “Oops! Sorry!” He barely squeezed through a small opening and gave an apologetic smile back to the couple. “Have a nice day!” Gabe gave a short salute and felt his embarrassment grow as he skated on. That was really stupid. Shaking off the feeling, Gabe continued on until he saw the Ericson High building.

Monsters of all kinds were outside mingling after a long day of classes. A mummy was trying to impress her crush by showing how badass her bandages were but had got them caught up in a tree branch. It didn’t seem to make the invisible girl beside her think any less of the mummy though as she leaned forward and placed a kiss on the mummy’s cheek, leaving a large lipstick stain on her bandages. The mummy grew flustered before her joy overwhelmed her and she used the bandages that were dangling on the branches as a swing as she swung ecstatically.

Gabe smiled and continued to skate forward, doing a quick jump to spin around on his skateboard before continuing forward. His eyes scanned the area and he noticed Violet was leaning against the side of the school building with her hood up. Her wolf ears flicked this way and that as they popped out of the holes in her hood. Beside her was James who was excitedly talking about what sounded to be a double date. He held a pamphlet in his hand for an art museum. Violet nodded along and talked happily with her friend before another monster called her name.

“Violet!” Sophie crowed and waved around a stick. “Fetch!” Without warning the harpy let out a series of excited tweets and twitters as she threw the stick through the sky. Violet’s ears perked up while her tail wagged enthusiastically and she gave a hasty goodbye to the cyclops before scampering forward.

The werewolf sprinted past Mitch who was having a show of strength with Marlon. The two of them were completely lost in the arm wrestling competition but the minotaur seemed keen on showing off to a certain selkie who was busy talking with Ruby and another monster that Gabe had never seen before.

Her short black hair and warm brown eyes captivated his attention as he skated by. The pure white feathers that covered her arms enhanced her beauty and her laugh made Gabe’s heart flutter. He was completely lost in the moment as he watched the swan monster whisper happily with her friends while they watched the arm wrestling competition.

Suddenly Gabe rammed into something heavy, knocking the wind out of him and causing the skateboard to go flying out from under his feet. Gabe landed hard on his ass and hissed in pain.

“Look out!” a voice called out and Gabe’s eyes shot up to see Louis’ head falling right towards him. Gabe immediately held out his hands and caught the frankenstein’s head just in time. The two stared at each other for a moment before screaming. After an instant’s panic though, both settled down.

“Thanks, buddy! You were really thinking ahead there!” Louis grinned at his own joke and Gabe gave a small laugh.

“Yeah,” Gabe’s smile faltered for a moment as he rose to his feet. “Sorry about that - I wasn’t watching where I was skating and-” Gabe took a deep breath, letting his thoughts catch up with his words. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. Just gotta redirect my body towards my head,” Louis smiled brightly and tried to use his head to motion towards his body. The frankenstein’s body was failing miserably at retrieving Louis’ head as it blindly walked forward and fell faceless first into a trash can. Louis’ smile faded instantly. “Damn it, now I’m gonna smell bad in front of Clem.”

“I’m really-” Gabe was cut off when the monster he had been caught off guard by yelled something.

“Hey! Stay away from my friend!” The cygnus rushed forward and began to hiss and snort as she busked at Gabe. Her arms were outstretched and her white feathers ruffled as she tried to intimidate the human. “No Delta High bullies here!”

Gabe blinked in confusion then looked down at his letterman jacket. Shit. Of course she had thought he was trouble. Most kids at Delta High weren’t kind to monsters.

“No, Nurgul! He’s cool! He’s one of the good humans!” Louis reassured the cygnus who still seemed unsure as her chest heaved with emotion. She kept trying to have an intimidating aura but Gabe instead found the whole thing incredibly cute. Silently Gabe lifted up Louis’ head and placed it back on the frankenstein’s body. Louis’ body raised its hands to readjust his head into place. “See! A good one!” Louis exclaimed loudly.

“Yeah, I didn’t run into him on purpose or anything. My name’s Gab-” Gabe was distracted when a monster who hadn’t spotted his skateboard suddenly slipped on it. “Ooo!” Gabe winced in guilt. He had to grab that board.

Nurgul slowly lowered her arms. “If Louis says you're good you have to be. It's nice to meet you, Gaboo. My name’s Nurgul!” The swan monster smiled kindly over at the human.

“No, my name isn't Gabu, it's Gabe,” Gabe corrected and Nurgul gave an embarrassed honk at that mistake.

“I’m sorry! And I’m also sorry I thought you were a bully just because you’re a human. I actually made this mistake before with Renata, assuming she was dangerous as a huldra when she’d really a sweetheart,” Nurgul motioned over to the huldra who currently had a stick in her mouth and was shaking her butt in Violet’s general direction, flexing that she was still a better fetcher which made her a better friend. The werewolf growled lightly and seemed annoyed by Renata’s cockiness until Sophie intervened.

Nurgul didn’t look up at Gabe and instead focused on preening her feathers nervously in a mixture of embarrassment for her mistakes and nervousness at the fact that she thought Gabe looked hot. This was all too much.

Gabe glanced over her way and gave a soft smile. “It’s no big deal. It was all my fault for not paying attention to where I was going,” He awkwardly fidgeted with his beanie. He was about to continue talking with Nurgul when he suddenly heard his uncle’s voice.

“Gabe!” Javi’s tail wagged excitedly when he spotted his nephew and a happy smile pulled on the corners of his lips. Javi turned to say goodbye to Santiago who gave Javi’s hand a squeeze before stealing a quick kiss. The werewolf’s tail swayed back and forth wildly and he immediately returned the kiss which startled the mothman and made Santiago’s cheeks flush.

With a quick goodbye Santaigo walked off towards the library and Javi jogged over to greet his nephew. He immediately wrapped Gabe in a hug and his tail happily whacked against Gabe's legs. “I’m glad you made it! Ready to lose in a pudding eating contest?”

“Yeah, I can’t wait!” Gabe smiled up at his uncle then realized that Nurgul was still there and grew embarrassed. He had to get Javi away before his uncle had a chance to pick up on his little crush. Javi’s ears twitched this way and that and it seemed like it was inevitable that he would pick up on that fact when Gabe spoke up again. “Why are you stalling? Know you’re gonna lose?”

That seemed to divert the werewolf’s attention. Javi’s eyes shone with determination. “Those are big words coming from someone who’s lost the last two matches.”

“Well, I’m winning this one!” Gabe laughed as Javi swung an arm around his shoulder.

“Let's not wait then! Onward to Puddingland!” Javi’s tail wagged out of control at the thought of pudding. He began to lead the way towards the school with his nephew in tow.

“Bye, Gabe! It was nice meeting you! Sorry again!” Nurgul waved at the human who shyly waved back with a small smile.

“It's okay! Bye, Nurgul!” Gabe returned the wave.

Javi’s eyes traveled from his nephew’s face then to the cygnus then back at his nephew. A teasing smile pulled on the werewolf’s lips. “Looks like someone has a crush,”

Javi’s words received him a playful jab while Gabe tried to cover his ears which were turning red. The human guided them over to pick up his skateboard to ensure no one else slipped on it before he spoke up. “No, I don’t!”

Javi laughed and ruffled the top of Gabe’s head, causing his beanie to nearly fall off. “Good for you. Now how about you tell me all about it while I win this pudding contest?”

Gabe felt overwhelmed and tried to persuade his uncle to focus on something else but his mind was set. With a resigned sigh, Gabe prepared himself for the ultimate pudding contest which was now sure to be filled with plenty of teasing and questions.

[xnovamore]

Storming the Castle

@femslashfairies2020 Day 7 Prompt: Royalty. This is apart of my Home is Where They Are Erzajane series but can be read as a stand alone. All you need to know is that its set in a peaceful post-canon world where Erza is guildmaster and Mirajane is the unofficial co-guildmaster who runs also runs magic school out of the guild hall and they have 2 adopted non-magical children.

Read on Ao3

In a world where two esteemed S-class wizards, one the infamous Queen of Fairies and current leader of the Fairy Tail Guild and the other the beautiful but dangerous she-devil and unofficial co-guild leader, with a relationship history of rivalry and one-upping each other like there's, it’s no surprise that they’ve run into some arguments from time to time. Comprising was by far the biggest lesson the two had needed to learn in their 8 years together as a couple. Pride and the need to have the last word were left behind to make room for late night heart-to-hearts and early morning make-up sex. Over the years they learned to be patient with each other, to listen to the other’s point and find a way to meet in the middle without resulting to a screaming match or sparring in the middle of their living room.

But that all changed now that they’re parents to an 11-year old and a 4-year-old. Because instead of two strong willed women butting heads every once in a while, it’s now an entire household of stubbornness colliding with each other at the worst of times. Erza and Mira prided themselves on raising two strong independent children but there were moments like these that reminded them how hard parenting could be.

Today was Sunday and both Mirajane and Erza tried to make sure they could spend most of the day with their family, given that there were no world ending threats or fires at the guild that need to be put out. Sundays were a day for just the two of them and their little loves to go out on exploring together or stay in and cuddle up near the fire trading stories of their week over board games and coco. Taking a look at the strong wind and heavy rain outside, both women had agreed that staying in today was best and went about their morning routine. They would freshen up and shower together flirting in the bathroom and lingering in the shower until the water ran cold. Then Mirajane would head down the stairs of their little two-story cottage to gather breakfast in the kitchen while Erza walked down the hallway to wake their slumbering loves. Andre’s room was right next to their bedroom and waking him always took the most effort. But once he heard the promise of breakfast a day with his mothers and sister’s undivided attention he usually took off to the bathroom to get ready. Erza would then go knock on Rhea’s door to make sure she was awake, which she usually was, before helping Andre get pick clothes that at least semi-matched. Then the family of four would eat breakfast together chatting idly about what the plan of the day was.

This is where they ran into a problem. It’s been about two hours since they finished breakfast and yet they still haven’t reached an agreement on what they were going to do today.

Rhea wanted to play with the mega dollhouse Gajeel and Levy had gotten her for her last birthday and insisted it was big enough that the four of them could all play with the dolls together like they used too when she was younger

Andre wanted to go play wizard and ignored all talk of ‘bunny it’s raining outside’. He had the play sword Natsu gifted him perched on his side and waited impatiently by the door for them to join him on his world-saving quest

And Erza couldn’t say she disagreed with him. If not for the fear of the rainstorm turning into a thunderstorm (they all knew of Andre’s bad reaction to thunderstorms and it was their job as parents to protect him from these things) she would be pacing by the door with him. Erza loved running through the hills near the house with her children and wife pretending to search for treasure and fight invisible monsters. She was not able to have this kind of play where there were no actual stakes or real harm involved when she was younger. She felt extremely lucky to be able to do it now

Mirajane wasn’t sure what she wanted to do today. She just knew that neither of those suggestions sounded best. She sat thinking things over as the frustration in the room grew higher and higher.

Finally, Andre snapped.

He raised his play sword into the air and swung it around for good measure. “I gonna go sway drawons on my own then!” He crossed his arms in a huff glaring obviously trying to hide his hurt that they wouldn’t come on his quest with him.

Before his mothers could intervene Rhea moved towards him with her hand on her hips and a stern glare. “No, you’re not! You’re not allowed to leave this house Andre!”. This would be the time that two would intervene and calm things down but everything about Rhea’s posture and disapproving aura reminded Erza so much of a tiny upset Mirajane that she was momentary silenced. All Rhea was missing was that patronizing finger-wag and Erza could swear that she was seeing double. She glanced over at her wife wondering if she saw the mirroring as well, but it was clear that Mirajane was lost in thought. Her wife’s eyes were transfixed on Andre’s sword until she shouted, “Aha!” making the three around her jump.

Mirajane’s smile was wide as she ushered them upstairs. “Come on, I know how were going to spend the day.”

It took hours to make all the costumes, but they came out amazing. Rhea’s dress was sky-blue with Mirajane’s white pearls around her neck and a golden toy crown on top of her head. Mirajane had a dark blue dress with the shining sliver bracelet Erza had gotten her on their anniversary one year and a matching gold crown. Both of their hair were curled and flowed downward in waves. They looked amazing and Mirajane’s heart felt full as watched Rhea twirl around in her dress. Outside of the pillow fort they were hidden inside of they could hear Andre and Erza’s loud whispering of their plan to down the walls and get inside. The two were wearing matching armor that Erza was able to summon for them. Mirajane had her concerns about letting the four-year-old into a full body suit of armor but the twinkle in Andre’s eyes when he tried it on made it hard to say no. It took some getting used too but within a short time Andre was moving around in the heavy suit like second skin to him. With his sword poised and ready he listened to Commander Erza’s calls as they fought through armies of stuffed animals and dodged pillow land mines to reach the pillow fort hiding his mother and sister. They had fought their way from the top floor to the living room to rescue his mommy and sister and then it was going to be his and mama’s turn to dress up prettily and be rescued. Mama lifted her hand in forward motion and they both charged at the stuff animals in their path as mommy and Rhea called for them behind the pillow castle.

All in all, it was a good day.

[ghosthunthq]

Technical Difficulty, a short story

He’d done it. Noll finally convinced Martin to give him his first solo case – but there is still one valuable lesson he has yet to learn. (mild language)

For @atalieaoi​

From @eyeliner-vampire​

Hello! I couldn’t decide which genre I should write for you, so I did them all. I hope you enjoy my attempt to write fluff, family, angst, hurt/comfort, supernatural/mystery, and horror all in one short story. ENJOY!

Technical Difficulty, a short story

Call me if you need help.

Martin’s words filtered back to Noll’s brain. At the time they had felt like a safe haven, a back-up plan, but now it sounded like a taunt. Noll shook his head. He stuck by his decision. There was no need for a whole crew of people to take on such a simple case, they would just get in the way. All Noll need was Gene. Gene who was nowhere to be seen, Gene who had left Noll to setup the control room alone.

Noll sat on the pocked wooden floor, picking at the nest of tangled wires. The rest of the room was filled with boxes of equipment; cameras, microphones, EMF readers, everything an investigator would need – if only he could get the damn wires.

He yanked the AV cable he’d spent the last some-odd minutes detangling, and it came free. Finally. He rose to his feet, a slow process given his legs had fallen asleep. Every movement was pins and needles as he coaxed his legs to move.

Braving a few steps to the pile of sleek black cases, he pulled a camera free from its padding — and swore. On closer inspection, it wasn’t the AV cable at all, but a microphone adapter just pretending.

“Gene!” Noll snarled because he needed something to yell at, “Where are—"

“Tea?”

Noll spun on his heel. Gene was making his way around the metal skeleton that should have been shelving, balancing two steaming cups.

Noll wagged the cable at him, accusingly. “Where have you been?”

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’,” Gene said setting one cup precariously on a stack of boxes. “I thought you might want…”

The floor creaked. Both boys glanced sideways at the door. The sound had come from somewhere outside the room, but they were supposed alone in the manor.

“Did you hear—” He didn’t get to finished as the sound of wood slamming deafened him. Creaking wood, metal clanging, the manor felt as if it were trembling beneath them.

It was early for activity to be starting, but neither of them waited. Noll bolted for the kitchen and Gene for the foyer.

In the kitchen, cabinets were slamming open and shut of their own accord. Drawers were pulled from their places, silverware scattered over the floor. As Noll watched, the long wooden table trembled and shifted sideways as if pushed. Across the manor, the foyer was a cacophony of sound. It was a jarring mix of stomping and screeching, an argument in full force. Gene struggled to pick out individual words or meaning, and then it was over.

The cabinets stilled, the blinds rocked back and forth but they no longer flipped around as if controlled by some unseen force. In the foyer, the thundering of footsteps fell away.

“That was… unsettling.” Noll hummed to himself. What kind of spirit could do something like this? It was unlike anything Noll had seen on other cases. He ran a hand over one of the marble smooth counters. Images sprang to mind; a woman baking, a boy sitting, legs swinging, up on the counter. Noll dismissed them.

They met back in the hall where Gene described what he’d heard.

“It was like screaming, but more intelligible?” He questioned himself. “Definitely an argument.”

Not only was the activity strong, but it was in two places simultaneously? Noll motioned to the base. “We need to get the cameras up.”

And so they did. Together they set up two cameras, one in the foyer and one in the kitchen, and finally managed to untangle the cables. By the time they were finished it was nightfall.

“I don’t think that’s a job for two people,” Gene complained, fanning his sweaty face.

Noll didn’t answer. He was listening for any creaking or clanging or anything out of place, but the manor was quiet. And it remained quiet well into the night. It was as if they both imagined the chaos of only a few hours ago. In fact, if the silverware weren’t still scattered all over the kitchen floor, Noll would have seriously questioned himself.

Sometime in the early morning, when the sky was a pleasant pink color, Gene suggested one of them should sleep.

“You go,” Noll said. His eyes were beginning to hurt from looking at the screens all night, but he wasn’t quite ready to sleep yet.

“I slept on the ride out here,” Gene insisted, “you look like you’re about to pass out anyway and I’d rather you not anything knock over.”

In the end, Noll couldn’t refuse, especially once he started yawning. He draped himself over the love seat that was stuck in the back of the room with only his jacket for a blanket.

He had only just managed to fall asleep when Gene called his name.

“Noll? I think there’s something wrong with the cameras.”

Noll groaned. He rolled off the couch with as much elegance as a newborn deer and squinted at the screens. There was no reason to, there was nothing on them. He starred down at a completely black screen for a full minute before he said, “Did the power go out?”

“The lights are still on,”

Noll rubbed his eyes. “Is the night vision on?”

“They’re night vision cameras, Noll.”

Noll waved a hand. He wouldn’t have put it past his brother to forget. “Have you checked the battery?”

Gene snapped his fingers and bolted from the room. Noll padded after him, stumbling into the kitchen as Gene flicked on the light. Blinded, Noll could only listen to the click of plastic as Gene tried the camera’s power button.

“The battery’s dead.”

“You’re welcome,” Noll yawned. At least it wasn’t something worse.

“Were did you put the spares?”

“In the duffel…bag…” Noll closed his eyes, coaxing the answer from his tired mind. He could see the battery packs, sitting by the door of his office in a blue duffel bag. Forgotten. Damn it.

Call me if you need me. Noll pushed the words out of his mind so violently, his head ached.

Gene said, “We don’t have them, do we?”

Neither of the boys needed to point out that, without them, they had no case. They might just as well have been two teenagers sleeping overnight in a haunted manor. But Noll would be damned if he stopped here.

He turned and started down the hall. “We don’t need them,” he said, and for a moment, he wasn’t sure if he was talking about the batteries, or Martin.

.

.

Gene wasn’t an exorcist. He wasn’t any kind of religious figurehead with some uncanny ability to banish ghosts. He didn’t dress up, didn’t pray to the other side, and he certainly didn’t have a crystal ball, but he was still a medium, and sometimes that was all that was needed. Other times, it was all they had. This was one of those times.

Without any cameras, they had no means of continuing the investigation, but there was something they could do. Researching the spirits in a location and gathering evidence was only one of an investigator’s tasks. The other was making sure the residence was safe, which often meant getting rid of the spirit.

Gene stood in the center of the foyer, hands in his pockets and eyes closed. Noll stood by the front door, arms crossed, watching his brother carefully. They had already tried the kitchen to no avail. If they didn’t get anything now, Noll didn’t know what to do.

Gene sighed and shook his head. “I don’t hear anything. I don’t see anything.”

“I thought you were a medium.”

“And I thought you were an asshole.” Gene said, but his voice was different, deeper and heavily accented. He shrugged. “Guess we’re both right.”

Noll leaned forward. “Gene?”

Gene didn’t respond. Eyes still closed, he swayed dangerously. Then, voice normal again, he said, “You are no longer of this plane, spirit. Please cross over.”

A moment of silence passed, and Noll thought that was it. The spirit was gone. The morning sun shone golden through the windows, bright and light and it must have been over. Boy, was he wrong.

Noll’s knees buckled under him as the floor trembled. The air whipped and whistled around them, screeching higher and higher until they formed words Noll couldn’t understand. Gene clamped his hands over his ears, the floor rippling around him. What felt like hours but must have been only seconds later, it all stopped. Noll was bleeding from the elbow, having scrapped it across the floor when he fell. Gene was wide eyed and shaking.

“What the hell was that?” Noll whispered, afraid if he spoke any louder, the screaming would return.

Gene shook his head.

.

.

“What are we gonna do?”

Noll sighed. Back at base, he had managed to get the bleeding to stop, but his head still throbbed, and Gene was still pale. Rubbing his forehead with one hand, he dug in his pocket with the other. “We could call Martin… Lin probably has a hirogata somewhere. It would be the easiest way to…” he drifted off.

Call me if you need me, that’s what Martin had said. But what did that mean? Did he expect Noll to call him, or was it a test to see if they could make it on their own?

Gene leaned his elbows on his knees, weary. “We could…”

Noll flipped his phone open. “We should.”

“We should?” Gene mimicked. “Are you sure? You’re not giving up yet, are you?”

“I’m not giving up,” Noll was already dialing the familiar number. “But we can’t do this by ourselves.”

It wasn’t a test, meant to trick them. They were words of advice from an expert in the field and Noll realized that now. And he was going to take them.

The phone rang twice before the line connected in a burst of static.

“Martin?” Noll paused, waited for the static to clear. “We need help.”

“Oh?” On the other side, Martin chuckled, “Well it’s about time.”

[laurelsofhighever]

The Falcon and the Rose Ch. 38 - The Wind and the Summer Sea

Chapter 1 on AO3 This chapter on AO3 Masterpost here

--

Twenty-ninth day of Justinian, 9:32 Dragon

Consciousness came back to Alistair slowly. A haze of dim sound faded in and out of his awareness, some kind of scratching, and with it the sensation of his eyes roving beneath the lids. His head felt thick, his body heavy and too hot, and when he tried to move, he discovered through a general inventory of aches and pains that somebody had dressed him in his nightclothes. The noise stopped. He must have caught the attention of whoever had been making it.

A shadow blocked the light. As he turned towards it a cool hand smoothed against his forehead, and he squinted itchy eyes up at Rosslyn, no more than a dry blur through his exhaustion but one he would recognise anywhere.

“You’re awake.”

He made an indistinct noise and found out his throat had been rubbed with sandpaper.

“Hold on.”

She slipped away from him and without her face to ground him his eyes drifted shut again, content instead to follow her movements by listening as she glided about the room. He heard a door open, a muttered conversation, but his mind struggled to comprehend the words and floated instead, wavering between the current state of his body and flashes of the Swallow, the rising water, and the return to shore that he could barely remember. How long had he been lying here? Where was here? Just as he dared open his eyes again to check, blinking in the light, Rosslyn closed the door to whoever was outside and stepped lightly back towards the bed. His bed, he realised.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, brushing fingers along his cheek, apparently unaware that she had sat with her thigh pressing against his hip.

He groaned. “I’m still pretty at least, right?”

“Well there’s no blood this time,” she reasoned, with a ghost of her usual smirk. “And no broken bones. I’d call this a distinct improvement.”

“Hmm.”

In the silence, her gaze slid away from his, dipping instead to where her hand followed the line of his neck over his chest, to where his heart fluttered beneath his ribs. Unlike at West Roth, there was no hesitation in her touch, no recoil when his hand – almost of its own accord – unfolded from beneath the covers and settled at her waist. She barely seemed to notice. Dark circles bruised the hollows of her eyes, lending her skin a pallid sheen, and the hair usually so neatly braided frayed at the temples. But she was warm, and real, and leaning over him with a knotted frown hanging between her brows.

“I had a dream like this once,” he remembered, rubbing small circles onto her hip with his thumb.

“Mm?”

“Oh yes. I was tucked up in bed, and you were all worried about me... I can’t feel my legs.”

To his surprise, she laughed. “I can assure you they’re still there. Look.”

Cuno sprawled across the bottom half of his body, with his head pillowed on Alistair’s thigh and his paws splayed over the entire width of the bed. One bridle eyelid twitched as he snored.  

“His breath stinks.”

Rosslyn smiled fondly as she stroked her dog's ears. “You couldn’t possibly ask me to move him, not when he’s so peaceful.”

“No, I suppose not,” he huffed, still trying to work out how he had missed the presence of such a heavy animal on top of him.

“He was the best way we could think of to keep you warm. You were almost blue by the time we got you back.”

“How long was I asleep?”

“A day and a night.” The words were spoken calmly, but her frown deepened with the recollection. “The deepstalker venom kept your blood flowing against the cold, but then it gave you a fever and we had to bring it down.” She offered him a smile that didn’t quite lift the slump of her shoulders. “You got us our ships.”

He caught the hand still lying over his heart and brought the knuckles to his lips. “You look exhausted.”

Rosslyn opened her mouth to reply, perhaps to deny the observation, but her breath stalled and in the gap between her words the silence eddied like a dammed stream. One slight tug on her fingers and he could draw her down, coax her to rest against him, wrap her up in his arms and use her warmth to soothe away the despair the demons had clawed into his mind.

“What happened in that dream you mentioned?” she asked.

Heat itched on the back of his neck. “You, uh, spilled soup all over me.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes,” he replied. “The finest leek and potato – there was a public outcry and Cailan held a state funeral and everything. It was very moving.”

She shook her head, that lopsided smirk in place. “I don’t think I quite believe you. You’re blushing too much.”

“Curse my delicate complexion.” He smiled as he squeezed her hand. “It doesn’t really matter anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Because this is better.”

She tried to look exasperated, though the roll of her eyes was betrayed by the pull of her bottom lip, drawn between her teeth in a futile effort to remain demure. On an ordinary day, he might have teased her for such a reaction, but here in the quiet of his borrowed room, with his wounds aching under their bandages and the memory of the cold crawling along his spine, all he could do was look on, revel in the image before him, and marvel at the fact that she thought him worth all this effort. Her gaze flickered down to his mouth and his breath faltered. This time, he found the courage to tug on her fingers, beckoning with the same soft touch on her waist for her to tilt forwards, into his arms, into the kiss with which the demon had tried to tempt him in the cave. He remembered their promise to talk, but that could come later, after sleep and food and hopefully hours upon hours of having Rosslyn’s lips pressed against his own.

The door opened just as his hand cupped her jaw. They pulled apart in surprise, with the dog behind them snorting at the sudden rude interruption to his nap, and every muscle in Rosslyn’s body stiffened with defiance. In the doorway stood the Storm Giant, his arms folded over his chest, glowering under his bristling mane of white hair.

“So you’re back in the land o’ the living,” he growled, and turned to Rosslyn. “Away wi’ ye.”

She glared and stood, sliding to block the old man’s view like a wolf in front of the den. “You couldn’t give him an hour at least?”

“Hey,” Alistair tried, reaching for her hand.  

“You only just woke up,” she reminded him.

“And thanks to you, I’m absolutely fine. I’ll be alright.”

The Storm Giant cleared his throat when she opened her mouth to argue further. “There are matters te be discussed. In private.”

Still not quite ready to back down, cheeks hot with defiance, she glanced to Alistair with a final press of his hand and stalked over to the other side of the bed to the scrubbed wooden bench that served as a vanity.  

“A letter for the king,” she explained when she caught his questioning glance. “I finished it just before you woke up, and if I’m to be evicted, I might as well do something useful.”  

Unhurried, she folded the loose leaves of paper into an envelope and scrawled Cailan’s name across the front. The Storm Giant’s scowl only deepened as she turned the package over and closed it with a blob of blue wax from a crucible she had set to melt over a candle, but she remained guileless as she stamped it with Alistair’s own seal in place of the ring she had given to Ser Gideon. When the task was finished, she made a show of wafting the letter to cool the seal, and, though her expression remained bland, the rigid set of her shoulders as she stepped towards the door made even Alistair shiver.  

“Cuno,” she snapped, with her eyes fixed on her grandfather.  

The dog shifted, ears pricked and stubby tail wagging, waiting for the command.  

“Stay here.”

--

Up above the hold, the cliffs basked under the bright summer sky, the last of the previous day’s clouds chased across the horizon by a stiff northerly wind that coaxed white tips to the waves below and made the meadow grass ripple like silk. Out of the close atmosphere of the sickroom, and with Alistair’s recovery now certain, Rosslyn found space to breathe again. Her vantage point offered a view clear across Dunedyn and beyond the narrow strait to the neighbouring island, a sacred place forbidden to all but the augurs. Ships leapt through the stramash, one among them perhaps carrying the letter she had left with Brantis, and the others likely the clan lords’ vessels, going to take news of the moot to the rest of the Clayne.

News of Alistair’s success. She twisted the circle of flowers in her hands. Making crowns from the blooms that grew in the upland meadows had been a tradition she shared with her mother, who had taught her how to weave grass and stalk together without leaving loose ends to stick out and spoil the effect, and who had always giggled when her finished wreath was placed atop her husband’s head. The memory brought a smile to Rosslyn’s lips as she worked. She had started without quite meaning to, the action a reflexive motion to occupy her hands and keep her mind focussed on something other than the moment Alistair dragged himself out of the Swallow. It had played itself out again and again in the hours they had worked to save his life. Nerlina had come to her in the late hours of the evening, once he was out of danger, and apologised for her comments during the feast.

“I was just playing a little,” she had said. “If I had known...”

Rosslyn couldn’t remember her reply.

A bumblebee wobbled past and settled on the clover by her feet. Crickets buzzed in the grass nearby, larks high in the sky, and from the crest of the hill came the distant bleating of rams, carried by the wind that snagged her hair and sent it lashing about her shoulders. The day was wearing on, the pressures of the war looming behind the horizon with Tevinter ships and traitorous arls, but for now just distant enough that the pull of an easy walk along the cliffside held greater sway.

She sighed. “Not enough yellow, I think,” she muttered to the wreath, and brushed off her knees as she stood to scan the horizon for buttercups or frothy spikes of lady’s bedstraw.

A bark broke the silence. Turning, she was just in time to catch sight of Cuno through the grass, ears flopping and tongue lolling as he bounded towards her. Though he had tracked her this far, the strength of the wind scattered her scent so that he paused in confusion, craning his head above a spray of ox-eye daisies until she took pity on him and whistled to get his attention. The wide, doggy grin that broke over his face was enough to make her laugh, and she bent down with her arms spread wide to greet him and hopefully dissuade him from barrelling headlong into her legs.  

“Who’s a good boy?” she crooned when he met her, scratching his shoulder as he sneezed his delight and tried to lick her chin. “Who’s so clever for finding me? But I did tell you to stay with Alistair.”

Cuno chuffed and sat on her foot, then changed his mind and raced back the way he had come. Alistair was already cresting the hill when the dog reached him, his gait stilted and his shoulders hunched under a cloak he wouldn’t normally have needed, but he waved nonetheless and sent Cuno skipping ahead of him back down the path.  

“You should be in bed!” Rosslyn chided. In the daylight, the ashen pallor of his skin stood out more than it should.

“Nonsense.” He grinned at her. “Fresh air and sunshine, that’s what I need.”  

Unable to think of any real reply, she turned instead to fuss Cuno, who was delicately trying to steal the flower wreath from her fingers now that he had ceased to be the centre of attention. “No, this is not for eating. Here –” Dodging the investigations of a cold, wet nose, she knelt and placed the wreath on the dog’s head, tucking the sides under his ears to keep it in place.

“Very handsome,” she decided as she leaned back to survey her work.

Cuno only stared at Alistair, imploring.

“I don’t think he believes you.”

“Well, he can live with it.” Her knee cracked as she stood, her gaze on the ocean. “And so will all the disappointed young women I ran into on my way out of the broch. They were all so eager to offer their services and make sure you were alright.”

“It’s a shame I missed them,” Alistair answered with a shrug. “But then again, I was waiting for one young woman in particular, who was nowhere to be found.”

When she faced him, a flutter in her stomach, she found the gap between them closed to a bare few inches. “I would have come back eventually,” she teased. “For my dog if nothing else.”

His thumb brushed over the back of her hand. “Well, he’s very impatient.” His eyes dropped to her mouth. “I wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me?” She blinked, tilted her head back to see him properly, frowned as he pulled her dagger from his belt and offered it to her.

“You saved my life,” he murmured. “Again.”

On instinct, she reached up, but her hand curled away before she could touch the hardened leather scabbard. “No... I was forbidden to help you.” Her hand dropped to her side. “I didn’t do anything.”

For an instant, it looked like he would argue, but the words stalled on his tongue and he sighed them away as he scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Alright. Hypothetically, then. If you had helped me, and you’d been caught, what would have happened?”

The earnest look in those autumn eyes scalded. The view out over the cliffs was far safer, over the sea to where Howe sat in her father’s seat, and over Dunedyn and the realm of her mother’s people, the only family left to her, who were bound by law to shun any who dared defy the will of the sea.  

“Nothing that wasn’t worth the risk.” She pushed the dagger back towards him. “Keep it. I’m sure I’ll find another one. But that reminds me...”

He frowned as she fished under her collar, close enough now that his hands fell to her waist in a movement as natural as breathing. His surprise when she revealed his mother’s amulet, hanging from its silver chain around her neck – something swooped low in his belly, a kind of possessiveness that thrilled along the length of his limbs knowing she held onto something that was his, that it touched her skin where nobody else could see.

“I kept it safe,” she offered, when the silence stretched.

“Keep it,” he echoed.

“You’re sure?”

“It looks better on you, and it’s a fair trade. For a dagger. Don’t you think?”

“Alright.”  

With a steadying breath, she tucked the tiny silver disk out of sight again and adjusted her shirt to hide it, and batted impatiently at her wind-snaked hair when it caught on her nose and mouth. Alistair watched the quirk of her lips, the nimbleness of her fingers, the way her brows drew in over her grey eyes as she paused and once more let her gaze slip out to the horizon.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing,” she said, and startled when he brushed a thumb along her cheek. “It’s - it’s silly, really. My mind keeps going back there, to waiting – not being able to do anything – and imagining how much worse it must have been for you, with the water rising, I...” Her eyes closed. She leaned closer, wavering with her hands braced against his shoulders until the confession became too much and she tipped into the solace of a proper embrace. “I couldn’t have done it. I would have been too afraid.”

Alistair's arms closed tighter around her, his words bitten out through clenched teeth. “At the moot. You volunteered to do it anyway.”

“I panicked. I would have lost you.”

“You didn’t.” He pressed a kiss against her hair. “You didn’t. I’m here, and it’s thanks to you.”

This time, she didn’t protest, only buried herself deeper against his shoulder and fisted her hands in his shirt, and he was grateful for it. Right at the end, in complete darkness with his lungs burning and the current pulling at him and the demons screaming in his mind, he had thought he wouldn’t make it. His body had starved for air, but in the moment, his only thought had been to see her again, to hold her and inhale the jasmine of her scent as she kissed him. Nothing happened on Innse Gaillean that did not reach its lord’s ear; the Storm Giant knew what she had done, and before all other things he made sure Alistair knew it too, in its entirety, so he would understand.

“You went against the gods for me.”

Playing with the hem of his collar, she shook her head. “No. If I had, you would be dead. They gave me what I needed to help you, long before I even knew I would need it.”

They fell silent. The dog, having lost his flower crown, snapped after crickets through the grass.

“We’ve come such a long way, haven’t we?” Alistair asked. His fingertips traced idles shapes along the back of her neck. “We sort of… stumbled into each other. And here we are.”

She chuckled. “From what little I recall of the night we met, I fell on you.”

"Mmhm… you were bloody heavy.”

“I was barely conscious!”

“And yet you demanded to see Teagan anyway, with this haughty look on your face like blood loss and exhaustion were for lesser mortals.” He sighed at the memory. “But… you were so brave, so determined… would it be too much to say I thought you were the most beautiful person I’d ever met?”

“It doesn’t say much for your taste,” she pointed out. “Since I was covered in blood at the time.”  

"You remembered my name. I wasn’t expecting that.”

Something in his voice pulled her back from the embrace, a shiver that ran through her core and lodged in her chest like smoke. Had he really fallen for her so soon? Had he realised, or had that come later?

“You called me Andraste,” she recalled, the memory unbidden but no less powerful. “In the infirmary, after West Roth. It was so awful to see you lying there, knowing the last thing I said to you was an argument.”

He nodded. “I touched you on the arm.” And he mirrored the gesture, a cautious slide of fingertips up from the wrist, turned into a question.

“I... wanted to kiss you. It was terrifying – I’d never felt that before.”

The confession robbed Alistair of thought. She watched him go still, saw his eyes fix on her mouth as he leaned forward – hesitated.

“I thought I was fooling myself, hoping you might… come to care for me.”

How had it taken them so long to get here? “You weren’t.”

Hands at her waist, her fingers playing with his hair as a breathless puff of laughter ghosted across her lips, and after so much time, it felt like the easiest thing in the world to tilt her face up, to let her eyes fall closed.

“So I fooled you, did I?” he asked, impossibly close.

She paused, pulled back. “… What?”

“Yeah that – that made more sense in my head,” he admitted, wincing even as he leaned in again. Her giggle hummed against his lips.

“And you were doing so well.”

“Maybe we should just stop talking?”

“If you like.”

And then there was no space between them at all.

[pearlescent-words]

Try Tonight

A Tommy Shelby x Reader piece. 

Warnings: None

Words: 2,012

The song I used here, and which inspired this fic, was Lana Del Rey’s version of ‘Try Tonight’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking into the house, Tommy was greeted by the raucous laughter of his brothers and Arthurs booming voice desperately trying to rise above them, “I’m telling ya, she’s brilliant, stop laughing about it, she’s the best thing I ever heard!”

“Bloody hell, listen to this Tommy,” John burst as he noticed Tommy stride through the doorway “, Sounds like Arthur’s smitten!” He laughed, leaning back in his chair and swinging his glass of whisky towards Arthur, the amber liquid sloshing dangerously close to the rim of the tumbler.

Arthur, taking apparent offence to this, groans in frustration and storms towards the table john sits at, slamming his hand down and pointing into his face. In his fury, Arthurs' face screwed up and colour rose from his neck and he trembled with anger – so much so that no words could be forced out. John, leaning back from Arthurs wagging finger, continued to revel in his own mirth and looks around the room to Finn and Tommy, before bursting forth into laughter again.

A rare smile graced Tommy’s face as he moved into the room, arms spread to pull Arthur back and calm the situation, “Alright, alright, explain what’s happening Arthur.” He says with an amused tone, reaching for the whisky bottle John had on the table.

Arthur moved back to the front of the room, running his hands back over his hair and straightening out his suit. He looked around, sure no one would interrupt him now, with Tommy leaning on the front of the table, John still chuckling into his tumbler behind him and Finn sat to the side with a wide grin.

“Right. Yeah, okay.” Arthur straightened himself out again and stood tall, “There’s this girl, young pretty little thing, a right beauty.” At this John began to chuckle again and Tommy moved an arm behind him to motion at him to stop, though a smirk graced his face also. Arthur stumbled slightly over his words as a bashful look overtook him, “No it’s not like that alright. It’s her voice, Tommy right, it’s her voice.” Arthur leaned forwards with his words, enraptured in a memory of this woman’s voice, trying earnestly to make Tommy pay attention to what he was saying.

“Alright Arthur, she has a pretty voice,” Tommy says; John snorts into his tumbler in response and Arthur starts towards him again. Tommy’s arm swings out as he continues, “but what about it? What’s so important about this pretty girl with a pretty voice eh?”

Arthur turns back to Tommy, quick to act on Tommy’s interest while he still had it, despite the other brother’s continuous snickers behind him. Arthur moves closer to Tommy, desperate to make his point “It’s magic Tommy, and not like no gypsy magic either, it’s proper magic, the kind that just makes you forget everything bad that’s ever happened to you,” he pauses for a moment, hands raised as he searches for an accurate way to sum up the woman’s voice “- Her voice, it brings peace, Tommy.”

At this, Arthur steps back, a pleased smile pulling at his mouth as he nods lightly at his own words, running his hands over his hair again as a relieved breath leaves him, as though he couldn’t have shared any better news with his brothers. Although John still looked about the room and chuckled into his now empty whisky glass, he found that his remaining two brothers seemed rather more interested in Arthur’s words – and if the manner in which Johns own mirth trailed of, it would seem he too found stock in the tale of this girl.

Tommy takes a slow drink from his refilled glass of whisky and stares thoughtfully at Arthur before pushing himself off the kitchen table and clapping Arthur on the shoulder. “So, this girl with the magic voice, what’s her name Arthur?” At the question, Arthur breathes out in relieved excitement and turns hurriedly towards Tommy, who’d stood behind him, “its Y/N,” he pauses to look back around the room, eyes ablaze with excitement, “She’s down at the Garrison now, I’ve hired her to sing.” He looks about the room, looking somewhat downtrodden when no one leapt forward in excitement like he seemingly expected. John huffed out a chuckle and reached for the whisky bottle, while Tommy pulls out a cigarette with raised eyebrows, apparently quick to move on from any interest he had in Arthurs revelations of the girl, “Well that’s just lovely Arthur, isn’t it John.”

The comment only spurred John on further in his mirth, “Lovely Arthur, you can run into the sunset with your magic woman.” He laughs through the comment. Arthurs' face falls at the jab and he looks dejectedly around the room.

“Bloody fuck off alright! Just come down to the garrison tonight and you’ll see.” He moves to leave the home, pulling his cap on in his exit, caught somewhere between anger and embarrassment.

Tommy raises his eyebrows again at John as Arthur slams the door behind him, causing John to erupt into laughter and spill a majority of his whisky on the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time night had fallen, a chill had settled over small heath. The falling of the sun dragging in a fog that settled over the cobbled streets, as a bitter wind began to whistle down the lanes. By this point, John had already drunk himself into a staggering mess and Arthur had never returned home from earlier. Tommy however, had been quite stuck on this mystery girl that Arthur seemed so mystified by. While he would likely have headed to the Garrison tonight anyway, he found himself watching the clock and counting down until when it’d be appropriate to leave.

Tommy doubted she was truly some magical being come to soothe their problems with a sweet voice, but something about the way in which Arthur spoke of her, something about the breathlessness of his words and the calmed glint in his eye told Tommy there must be something more to her. Something he was eager to see for himself, regardless of Johns continued jokes about her throughout the day.

As the time ticked by, Tommy grew more and more restless, pacing about the house unable to settle on any one task for long, too preoccupied with thoughts of Y/N and her magical voice. Finally, he swigged down the last of his whisky and, slamming the glass against the table, Tommy rose from his seat, “right then, are you coming.” He gestured impatiently to John who started in confusion before leaping up also in a clumsy staggering state and following Tommy out the door as they each slung their coats and hats on.

Stepping onto the grubby streets of Small Heath, the brothers pulled their coats tighter around themselves against the chill of the night and set off towards the Garrison. The fog that had settled along the ground seemed to hum with energy as they neared the pub and the lights emitting from the building seemed to stretch further down the street and cast warmth to everything they touched. Only as they neared the pub did they notice the thrum of voices that echoed down the street, rising and falling in unison as the docile tones of the patrons became clear.

Pushing open the doors to the Garrison was like stepping into an entirely different world. The usually rowdy collection of men sat calmly and relaxed at the tables, some even along the floor as they nursed their drinks and looked towards the ends of the bar with gentle eyes and easy smiles, swaying to the tune of the songs, lulled into complete peace. Even Arthur stood leaning across the bar, staring earnestly towards the end at a young and beautiful woman who sat perched on the bar, legs dangling before her and arms braced beside her. She sat straight and proper, but sang in an easy and relaxed manner, coaxing her audience into a tranquil state.

The brothers paused in the doorway, immediately feeling as though they’d punctured the lull of the room in opening the door, but as soon as it swings closed behind them it was as though nothing had changed as this odd other world returned to its bubble in Small heath. John’s toothpick hung dangerously in his open mouth as he swayed lightly in place – partly form his drunken state and partly from the entrancing voice of this woman.

Tommy never moved, even as John headed to the bar to join Arthur, He stayed just as he was, lost in the melodies of this woman’s voice, enraptured in the elegant yet effortless flow of her song. Suddenly, he could understand all of Arthur’s excitement, all of his rambling, everything he had said was true. Listening to Y/N was like waking up on a sunny morning and watching the sunlight come streaming through the windows to greet you like an old friend after a harsh and unforgiving winter. She was like a light in the darkness; salvation amongst war.

He hadn’t even realised her song was coming to a close, not until the room erupted into cheers and calls for more. He was so enraptured with her voice it was as though the cheers were muted and everything around him was blurred save for the girl sitting on the bar, dipping her head down bashfully against the chorus of approval. She raised a dainty hand above her head and the crowd silenced at the simple gesture, “One more. Just one more; and a slow one to finish.”

A gentle murmuring filled the room at her words and Tommy found her voice just as entrancing and smooth as her singing. She chuckled slightly, as though she’d already said this many times in the night, and pulled herself up higher and began a new and softer melody to her previous.

“Can’t put my finger on it, but I know I want it, I’m willing to try another way, that is if I get by another day,”

As she began, Tommy could feel the tensions unravelling from his shoulders and it felt as though the room breathed a collective sigh of relief, people sinking lower and lower into their seats in their serene states. The lights in the room glowed brighter with each note and the men hummed gently under their breath as soothing warmth overtook the room.

Against his own meaning, Tommy had moved forward in the crowd as her voice swelled through the song,

“Cliché’s find a home inside of him, when he enters all of the light go dim,”

He was so lost in the serenity of her voice, in the calming lull of it, that he hadn’t resisted as he moved along the bar, past both John and Arthur, who themselves where to enraptured to notice his movement.

“He’s so sure he’s got a tragic lifestyle, and I’m so sure I can make that man smile,”

By this point, Tommy was close enough to reach out and capture her hair in his fingers, the only people who’d circled as close as him where the young lads who were sat around her feet, staring up In a youthful wonder that reflected on even the oldest and most hardened faces in the room.

Her eyes were closed gently against her own melodies, losing herself in the song and the delicate atmosphere of the room,

“And I’ll try tonight, just try tonight, a darkroom in the night time, is how he spends all his time,”

Tommy was sure he’d never felt so at peace in his life. Not since before the war, and not in any of his opium hazes or drunken stupors since. And he was sure; now that he’d found her, he’d never survive a day without her voice filling the air. And just as he reached out towards her, the final notes of her song rang through the air,

“He’ll try tonight, To not get high, he’ll try tonight, to not get high, but he will, he will, he will, yes, he will.”

[omoghouls-writes]

(Hhhhhhh I really liked this idea aaa- )

Also, these are the ghouls I'm thinking of (so like, OG-ish)

The water ghoul looked at the engraved door, he pressed his hand against the oak and let it slowly creak open. Rain took a deep breath as he stepped forward, back down the hall where he and Dewdrop had ran away from a short few days ago.

He couldn't let this instill so much fear into him, these were ghouls, just as he was. Maybe they were older and maybe their outfits cloaked them in the colour of purity, when they were far from such a notion. But, ghouls of his kind.

Rain felt his heart beat quicken the lower he traveled, eyes darting when even the smallest of noises echoed out.

"Welcome back." A voice calmly said.

"Little lamb are you lost? Has your wandering soul sent you astrew once more, young one?" The elder ghoul asked, fingers entwining through the metal of which the water ghoul's grucifix hung.

Rain sucked in a sharp breath from the sudden presents. He turned on his heels to face the white robed ghoul from before.

Rain's shoulders stiffened from the close proximity, his voice feeling as it was the thing lost.

"No, no I am not," the bassist began, "I, I am a ghoul too-"

"And you believe you are to be given access to these parts huh?"

Rain slowly nodded, keep his look to the masked other.

"Such a brave heart under that frazzled exterior." The other mused, unkempt claws trailing over the smaller one's face, if his face were free of its cloaking Rain could swear the ghoul was smirking.

"My, my. You know, my brethren would love to meet the ghoul I have spoken about, would you come along?" The ghoul asked, head pointing towards the absolute bowels of the church.

The water ghoul's tail wagged in curiosity, perhaps even a bit of excitement from the idea of being welcomed amongst the elders. Rain took hold of the other's hand as he was lead futher into the abyss.

--

The two ghouls stood at the door, soft noises of feet shuffling towards the door, causing it to swing open. Another ghoul, slightly taller looked at the water ghoul in curiosity before the one who stood with him spoke.

"This is, Rain." The ghoul warmly said, guiding him by the back into the courters. There were three others, dressed identically,all looking up in unison.

"Ah, so you are the ghoul who got us in trouble." The taller one said.

Rain paused in his steps, "Tr-trouble?" He squeaked out when the taller of the ghouls roamed over to him.

"Oh worry not, young one we aren't upset. Our Papa however," the ghoul paused to look to the others with a small nod before looking back to Rain, "He was less than pleased, believing that his ghouls were having accidents in the halls."

Rain quickly bowed his head, "I'm, I'm sorry to have you get in trouble." He apologized, brow cocking when he heard the soft, ghoulish chittering, it was the long since spoken dialect of the language.

"Young lamb, look up, we are not in need of an apology. You coming back has been our gift of apology." The hallway ghoul said, lifting the ghoul's chin up.

The water ghoul stood infront of the group, swaying slightly as he looked from expressionless face to the next. The horror stories he had heard from the clergy members and fellow ghouls.

Feral, unkempt, sadistic ghouls with no disregard for others, best to stay clear of them.

"You're not like how everyone says you are. You seem, nice." He thought aloud, face reddening as the words slipped out.

There was an eruption of laughter from the group, the tall one, who Rain assumed had been the pianist motioned for him to sit with them. The water ghoul shimmied and shifted into the small space between two of the white robed ghouls.

"There are many assumptions made of us, our Papa was, dedicated to the cause, in unlavish ways so, as were we." One ghoul began.

"Yes, unlike that of the second and third heir, we were, taught differently."

"Manners, manners and courtesy is what we were taught." Another chimed in, looking to the new ghoul.

"And it seems to us, you were taught them same, you are, so well behaved, more so than that fire ghoul you had been with the previous day." The elder crooned, scratching the under of Rain's chin.

Rain let out a soft purr as he leaned into the touch, "Dewdrop is just, well, he has a lot of energy." He explained. Reciving another wave of chuckles.

"So kind even when you know the truth of the matter." The pianist mused, letting his hands fall onto the ghoul's lap, looking to the others as to get permission to continue. There were a few silent nods.

The elder ghoul turned back to the water ghoul.

"Rain, there is perhaps one thing to be done to make up for the clean up we had needed to do so late into the night."

The bassist looked up and nodded. Curiosity filling his eyes when the standing ghoul stepped into a separate room, coming back with a small box.

"Now, these were given to us from our Papa," the ghoul began as he placed the package on the coffee table, "Of course they make sense, for those who need them," he added,using a claw the slice the tape away, the box opening.

Rain's heart dropped to his stomach when he saw what was inside.

"D-diapers?"

The ghoul nodded, "Yes, and we all know who the culprit was of the puddle. Would it be fair for one party of many to be taking blame for something one ghoul had caused?"

Rain shook his head, fiddling with his vestments, "I have to wear them?"

"Such a smart ghoul you are. Now it will not be forever, just until the package is finished. That way, Papa believes we had complied. " The ghoul explained as he pulled out one of the puffy undergarments, beginning to open it as he looked to the others.

"We will be keeping your secret if you keep ours. If Papa were to know such a young ghoul was down here, unsupervised, unable to control themselves? You would surely be sent back to the nursery and den-mother until these 'piddles' ocoursnces were to end."

"Come now, Rain, the floor is carpeted." The eldest softly said, patting the ground.

Rain took a deep breath before he slid to the ground, feeling a clawed hand gently pushing him to lay back as another pair worked on pulling his slacks and garments away.

The water ghoul was lifted onto the lap of one of the ghouls.

"There we are, now we do not have to worry of any more accidents now do we?"

The eldest nodded as he gently patted the front of the crinkling material, "And if an incident is to happen, as is common with young ones such as you, lamb, you will be safe." The ghoul stood up, ears perking up,walking over to the small counter space as the kettle boiled over.

"Why not stay for some tea hmm? I bet you have never had a brew such as this." The ghoul said as he walked back over, handing Rain the mug of steaming water.

The water ghoul sniffed it cautiously before thanking him as he took a sip, licking his lips and nodding contently from the pleasant taste.

--

The hours rolled on, the first era ghouls had filled the young ghoul in on the history of the church, their adventures when they were the ones on the stage, albeit a much smaller scale. Rain smiled and leaned into the ghoul he had been sitting on. He was excited to recount these lessons and stories to the others.

As he thought, the bassist absentmindedly began to wriggle, squirming and shifting around as the tea settled.

The white cloaked ghoul looked to him and smiled as he moved his hand to the taut lower abdomen of the young ghoul.

Rain froze from the touch, instinctively hiding his face into the nearest chest. The ghoul he was seated on chuckled, running his hand along Rain's spine.

"You had three cups of tea, you must need to go huh?"

The water ghoul sucked on his lower lip and nodded, slowly he tried to wriggle off the lap but, was held securely in place.

"No need to move."

Rain knew what they were insinuating, he felt a noise escape his lips as his bladder ached for relief, he tried to press a hand between his legs, whining as the material stopped him.

"You are a silly one arent you, young ghoul? Come now, we dont want you hurting yourself, little ones such as yourself can not hold it as long as elders can." The ghoul said, claws circling as he lifted Rain's shirt up.

As the pianist did so, another swooped in, pressing gentle down.

"Such a good ghoul." He murmured when he heard the gentle hiss, the material growing and expanding between the water ghoul's thighs.

Rain closed his eyes tightly as the urine flooded, the warmth spreading to his backside as his bladder emptied itself.

"My, perhaps three cups was three too many." One mused as they watched a small stream escape the diaper.

Rain let out a shaky breath when he released he was leaking onto the others lap.

"Shh, shh, it's alright. We can not expect a kit such as yourself to know the right time to go." The standing one said, lifting the water ghoul up into his arms, pressing the wet material, "That is what this is for."

The water ghoul looked up with teary eyes, sniffling as he was laied back down on the floor. The tapes being torn away, the wet material quickly changed back into the dry variant.

"There we are, clean once more." The ghoul said as he help the bassist back on his feet, guiding his legs into his slacks.

"Now, it is getting late, we do not want to have your Cardinal fretting of your whereabouts."

"But-" Rain began, gesturing to the slightly protruding edges.

The pianist patted his shoulder as he guided him to the door, "Just a precautionary, we do not want our new friend to have yet another accident in the hall in the case of something frightens you." He explained, hand slipping to the water ghoul's backside before letting the ghoul start down the hall.

"Same time tomorrow, yes? We still have many stories to tell."

Rain nodded, giving a small wave before the door closed behind him. He glanced back before heading forward, back to the main level.

Once he was back, Rain was quick to scatter into his room, shutting his door and sighing as he glanced to his lower half.

He supposed, it was only fair for causing such an issue for them all. And, it was only for a few days. He could survive it.

[eclecticminded]

Making A Move

anonymous asked: 49. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.” I know it's a little sad but can you do one where the reader makes a move on rafael only to have him rebuff her advances?

My dude, I was more than happy to write this. I’m a sucker for happy endings however, so it isn’t all sad!

You get drunk and make a move on Rafael, it doesn’t go as planned.

Warnings: Alcohol.

Rafael Barba was your best friend. You'd met on a case you were a professional witness for and had been inseparable since. You had dinner at least three times a month and drinks more often than that.

Tonight he asked you to come over after a hard case to unwind. You showed up with his favorite scotch and he had food waiting. He was already in sweats and you felt over dressed having just come from work.

“Thanks for the scotch, I was out,” Rafael took the bottle to the kitchen to open it.

“I know. I was the one that finished off the last bottle,” you laughed and took your place on the sofa. Rafael came back with two glasses and handed you your container of food from the coffee table.

“You did owe me,” he chuckled and turned the tv to an old movie.

“Haven't seen this one in a long time,” you stuffed your face full of food and reached for your glass.

“Me either,” Rafael mumbled around his own big bite. You two watched the movie in silence except for laughs and grunts at ridiculous things said and done during the movie. You had a couple more glasses of scotch before you felt brave.

“Rafffffiiiiii,” you sung and poked his face.

“Yessssss y/n,”he swatted your hand away.

“We spend a lot of time together,” you slurred.

“Yes we do,” he made a concerned face and took your glass away.

“You're my best friend in the whole world,” you moved closer and bumped against him.

“You okay,” he put an arm on your shoulder to stop your swaying.

“Yeah,” you laughed and put your hand on his.

“You need to drink some water,” Rafael got up and came back with a bottle from his fridge.

“Thanks,” you drank it in one long gulp and turned back to him smiling, “Raffffiii.”

“Yessssss,” he playfully shoved you.

“I like you,” you booped his nose.

“I like you too,” he shook his head at your drunkenness.

“Rafi,” you purred and he turned to look fully at you. You leaned forward to kiss him but pulled away when he was frozen in place.

“Y/n,” he started.

“I'm so sorry, I-I-I,” you shook your head and pulled away, suddenly sober.

“I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression,” Rafael's eye darted all across the room.

“No no no, I was stupid. I thought you liked me. And I had too much to drink. It was silly to think you'd like me. I mean look at me,” you moved to get up.

“Wait stay, let me explain,” Rafael grabbed your hand and tugged you back to sit.

“It's okay. I know I'm not a catch,” you laughed and hid your face behind your hands, willing yourself not to cry.

“I'm gay,”  Rafael made a sweeping motion with his arms.

“Come again.”

“I am very gay,” he laughed and leaned back into the sofa, “but if I wasn't I would definitely be interested in you. You're smart and gorgeous, you're my best friend too.”

“Promise,” you peeked at him from behind your hands.

“Promise,” he took a deep breath, “I have a boyfriend. I should have told you sooner but we were keeping it quiet.”

“You have a boyfriend? And you didn't tell me, you ass” you reached out and smacked his arm.

“We haven't told anyone, guess the cat is out of the bag,” he laughed.

“Do I know him,” you teased.

“Yes....it's Carisi...”

“You call your boyfriend by his last name. Also Sonnyi!? Oh my god!! How long,” you reached for your food to eat more.

“Ten months. Only to other people. When its us, I call him Sonny. Everyone knows he's bi, no one knows I'm gay but you and him,” he stole a bite of your food.

“This explains why he's always the one that picks our drunk asses up,” you cackle.

“Yeah, he's good like that,” Rafael beamed.

“Can I stay the night, I'm really sloshed,” you swayed again as if to prove your point.

“He's gonna be here soon actually,” Rafael smiled weakly.

“I want to tell him I kissed you,” you blushed in embarrassment.

“Fine by me,” he shrugged.

“I'm sorry I kissed you,” you reached out and squeezed his hand.

“Nothing to worry about,” Rafael squeezed back and you both turned to the door as it opened.

“Babe, you still up,” Sonny called into the apartment .

“Yes Sonny, in here. With y/n,” he called back.

“You told her,” Sonny laughed after taking one look at you holding hands with Rafael.

“Yeah I kissed him, guess he it was time,” you smiled awkwardly, “I'm sorry Sonny. Please don't hate me.”

“Don't worry about it,” Sonny laughed, “He's irresistible.”

“He's my best friend you better be good to him,” you fake glared and shook your finger at him. 

“Yes, ma'am,” Sonny leaned down and kissed Rafael.

“You two are so fucking cute, I needed this cuteness in my life,” your eyes were practically heart shaped.

“Stop,” Rafael was turning bright red.

“I need someone to be cute with. You guys have anyone you can set me up with? Amanda maybe,” you tapped your fingers together like a villain thinking up an evil plan.

“She is tragically straight. But I know someone,” Rafael smiled.

“Carmen is pan like you,” Sonny snapped his fingers, “you'll love Carmen, doll.”

“Oh I'm doll now, we gonna be best friends now too Sonny,” you teased.

“We sure are,” Sonny took your food from you and dodged your attempt to smack him.

“I'll give Carmen your number. Unless you want a guy,” Rafael looked at you.

“I like guys. I like girls. If it doesn't work with Carmen we can try a guy next,” you shrugged.

“We can always have a threesome,” Sonny shoved a forkful of food into his mouth.

“Don't tease me Sonny,” you rolled your eyes and headed towards the guest room, “My clothes in there from last time?”

“Yeah,” Rafael called after you.

“No teasing, we've kind talked about it,” Sonny wagged his eyebrows at you.

“I'm not sober enough for this conversation,” you disappeared into the guest room.

“Why'd you tell her that,” Rafael hissed.

“It's the truth,” Sonny curled up next to Rafael.

“Let's go to bed hmmm,” Rafael nudged Sonny up and they disappeared to Rafael's room. Despite your drunken mishap, at the end of the day you still had your best friend, you'd even gained another, and that was what mattered.

[jade-qilin]

You Never Walk Alone | Mystic Messenger One-shot

Rating: T/PG

Universe: Mystic Messenger. Post V/Ray/Saeran’s Good Ending.

Notes: I wrote this some time ago and it hasn’t been edited. I still love MysMess with my whole heart and I’m not sorry lol. MC is using my name because that’s how I wrote it on Wattpad and Fanfic Amino. Hope you enjoy some Ray/Saeran fluff.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Mystic Messenger or any of its characters.

Tags: @cheritzteam

Reblog, don’t repost, please!

Also posted on my Wattpad @-HYDRUS- and Fanfic Amino @Shinrin-Yoku

☆•☆•☆

Thank you for the great party!"

"It was no problem at all! Thank you for attending, Mr. Cho." Ren replied with a smile, waving at the businessman.

Ren closed the door with a sigh, relief pumping through her veins as the last guest of the RFA party had finally left. Mr. Cho was a nice man, very polite and very optimistic, but after a long day of planning, preparing and speaking, all she wanted to do was sleep as if there was no tomorrow. Her thoughts halted when an arm came crashing down around her shoulders.

"Congratulations, Ren! That Trust-Fund-Kid and V both said that the party was a success, and it's all thanks to your hard work!" Zen grinned brightly. How could one resist such a bright smile? Ren patted the hand on her shoulder gently, sending a playful wink in return.

"Ahh, I can't take all the credit, Zen. You guys also worked so hard in recommending guests and the speeches and organization. You deserve just as much praise, if not more."

"He's correct, though." Jaehee intervened with a smile on her lips. Despite the busy afternoon, she looked as prim and proper from the moment she stepped into the building. Jaehee held a black book in one arm and brushed some stray pieces of brown hair from her eyes. "As always, you've done an amazing job! In fact, I think we've reached a new record in donations. Not that matters as much as being able to enjoy ourselves, of course."

"Aww, Jaehee..." Ren sniffled jokingly, pretending to wipe a stray tear from her dark coloured eyes. "That's it. We're gonna have a girl's night out, just you and me. I will demand Jumin to give you a day off!"

"No need, Ren." Jumin's baritone voice added. "Everyone has done exceptionally well and as a reward, I shall give Jaehee a paid vacation."

"She should've gotten one ever since she joined your company." Zen grumbled, red eyes tinted with annoyance. Ren chuckled lightly.

"What's important is that we all did amazing this afternoon! I say we go out for drinks and sushi to celebrate!"

Yoosung joined the group upon hearing this. "Uwah~! That sounds like a great idea, Ren! But, what about Ray, Seven and V?"

Ren looked around, trying to find the three faces mentioned. She frowned a bit when none of them were in sight, a pout evident on her face. God only knows where they ran off to.

"Jihyun said he had an eye check up. According to the doctors, he should be able to take off his sunglasses and stop using the eye drops. Madam Vanderwood came in earlier as Luciel had work to catch up on." Jumin informed the remaining RFA members. He crossed his arms, looking rather pleased at the thought of his close friend's recovery.

"That's amazing! For V, at least." Zen beamed. Smiles were exchanged between each of the members upon hearing this revelation. They were all delighted to hear that the head of the RFA was doing well after all the traumatic events that took place only a few days before.

Yoosung's smile quickly turned into a look of curiosity. His blond hair swayed with each motion of his head as Yoosung gazed around the now empty room. "Where's Ray? He was quick to leave."

Ren was quick to answer Yoosung's question. "Ah, he said he was tired so he went back to the house."

Ren and Ray shared a duplex once Ray decided to follow Ren from Mint Eye. All the other members were apprehended and were placed under investigation by a private team hired and managed by Jumin. Ren was really grateful to have a friend like him by her side. The duplex allowed privacy but it was also affordable and allowed Ray and Ren to visit each other often.

"It can't be helped. Our dear party coordinator requested drinks and sushi, and I think she deserves it." His hold tightened slightly in an attempt of a sideways embrace. "We can invite them all next time, as a celebration for V's recovery."

"Yes, I like that idea." Jaehee nodded. "What time tonight are we all available at?"

After some planning, and convincing on Jumin's part that Elizabeth the 3rd would be just fine without her weekly claw care, they all settled on meeting at 6 P.M at a sushi bar called Momoyama*. They agreed to put their money together, with Ren paying the least as it was a reward.

Yoosung offered to pay for Ren's taxi fare, as he felt bad for not being able to contribute to buying dinner and drinks with the rest. Being a college student and job-less had that kind of effect.

"You really don't need to apologize, Yoosung. Besides, once you start working for Jumin you'll be able to take me out sometime." Yoosung nodded nervously at the mention of his new job. "Thank you so much and see you soon, Yoosung!"

The car ride wasn't long and Ren soon arrived at her house. She thanked the driver and made her way to the door, pausing when she noticed the front balcony window open. Ren didn't remember opening it and the possibility of an intruder sent shivers down her spine. Softly and slowly she opened the front door, relaxing a bit when her Cocker Spaniel puppy Cannoli trotted her way, tail wagging from side to side. Ren picked up the small canine, scratching him by the ear and cooing about how much she missed him.

"You don't seem to be in any danger, eh? Let's go see who's here."

It was always better to be safe than sorry. Ren took hold of the metal cane near the door and slowly started walking up the stairs. Muffled rock music could be heard from behind her bedroom door along with the occasional feet shuffling against the floor. Tucking her cane underneath her arm, Ren opened the door slowly, just enough to allow her eyes to see who her unexpected guest was.

In her bedroom stood Ray in all his glory. He had changed out of his party clothes and back into the magenta suit he would always wear back in Mint Eye. Delicate hands fiddled with various colourful flowers in a black vase that stood on top of a nightstand beside her bed, and then to the bonsai tree on her window sill. His movements were slow and relaxed, as if there were no troubles in the world. If one listened carefully, they could hear Ray talking gently to each flower and plant in the room. Ren smiled at the sight and soon had an idea.

She put Cannoli down to the ground and pointed her finger toward Ray. Somehow understanding what his owner wanted, the Spaniel barked joyously before rushing towards Ray's leg. He stood on his to back paws, patting Ray's leg gently with his front ones. Cannoli panted happily and stared deep into Ray's eyes. Ray put down the cup of water and picked up the puppy. He went to sit on Ren's bed and cautiously started to pet the pooch once he settled into Ray's lap.

To Ren, this was a moment too good to pass up. She took out her phone from her skirt pocket and opened the camera app, zooming in and making sure she got a clear view of Ray. She clicked the camera button, resulting in her phone making a clicking sound. Ray and Cannoli's attention were both pulled towards the door, the latter jumping out of Ray's lap and barking, pushing the door open with his snout and jogging towards his owner. Ren quickly hid her phone as Ray soon followed. Both turned into a blushing mess when their eyes met.

"S-sorry, Ren. I got home early and then I figured you didn't eater your plants.... since you were so busy with the party. I came through the connected balcony." Ray shifted awkwardly. "W-welcome home."

"Haa, it's alright, Ray. Thank you. You could have texted me though."

"S-sorry."

Ren stood up, hiding her phone from Ray and dusting her knees. She took Ray's arm and led him down the stairs and into their shared garden. With permission from the landlord, they were able to take down the fence that divided the backyards and started to build a garden, just like the one back in Mint Eye. Cannoli had run off to chase an innocent butterfly while Ray and Ren took the time to venture around, soaking in each sound and smell provided by Mother Nature.

"The RFA is getting drinks and sushi later this evening. You're invited to come, of course." Ren said after a few moments of peaceful silence.

"Really?" Ray hummed, lips pursed in concentration. "Probably not today."

"Aww~ Luciel and Jihyun won't be joining us today either. Luciel has work to do and Jihyun had an eye appointment." Ren said, trying to convince Ray to go out with them.

"N-no. I'm just really tired. Sorry." Ray apologized with a small smile. Fatigue was evident in his eyes.

"Alright~" Ren said, grabbing hold of Ray's hands. She brought them to her chest, kissing each of them. "Rest well, then. I need to go shower and get ready. You can help yourself to whatever is in my kitchen."

At this all the life seemed to drain from Ray's eyes as he dead-panned. Ren was no worse than Luciel when it came to having food in the house, as she had as much instant ramen, lemon tea and mac-n-cheese boxes as Luciel had with Ph.D Pepper and Honey Buddah Chips. The only fruits and vegetables she had were peaches, cherries and baby carrots to be eaten with a dip. Ray, having learned how to cook once he moved in beside Ren, usually prepared food for the two, saying he "accidentally made too much". It was quite obvious what his true intentions were.

"T-thanks." he replied, a half-assed smile gracing his lips.

Oblivious, Ren smiled and kissed his hands one more time before heading back towards the house. "Don't forget Cannoli is out here too."

It took Ren roughly two hours to shower, dry and style her hair and do her makeup. She wasn't an expert when it came to dressing up, so it took her longer than expected. When she got down, Ren silently laughed at the sight in her living room.

On the large couch was Ray asleep, legs covering the whole surface of the furniture, with Cannoli on his stomach. She walked towards them, cooing internally at the sight before grabbing her wallet and purse. Ray opened an eye, seeing Ren there. Tired, he called out to her, gaining her attention. He sat up a bit, making sure not to disturb the puppy in his lap, and reached for a flower crown on the coffee table. Gingerly he placed it on Ren's head, making sure it was secure but not squished in the process. Once finished, Ray hummed in satisfaction.

"Have a good time." he said.

Ren smiled. "You too. My house is yours."

Ren left her house, immediately spotting a black limo at the end of the shared driveway. A tinted window at the back rolled down to reveal Yoosung smiling brightly.

"Ren-Ren! We were just about to text you! Jumin picked each of us up."

"Coming~"

The next few hours were filled with laughter and smiles. The food, the alcohol and the warm atmosphere of being surrounded by people she could call friends were the best medicine, in Ren's opinion. However being more of a lightweight compared to others, especially Yoosung, had its downfalls. After one margarita and two shots she was completely wasted. Zen and Jumin had started a drinking competition while Yoosung had already passed out. Jaehee, the only reliable and sober person at that point, made driving arrangements.

"Mr. Han, that's quite enough." she chastised, swiping the glass cup from Jumin's reach. "You have lots of work tomorrow and can not afford to be sick with a hangover. You too, Zen." Both men mumbled incoherent nothings while Ren giggled drunkenly from her spot.

With Jaehee's help, the tab was paid and rides were awaiting everyone. It was decided that Zen and Yoosung stay together for the night and Jumin would go home. Jaehee called for Luciel to pick up Zen and Yoosung while Jumin's chauffeur arrived. A bit hesitantly, the assistant was able to call Ray to pick Ren up, since they were neighbours. To Jaehee's relief, the boy accepted with no questions or complaints. Jaehee waited outside the restaurant with Ren on her shoulder.

"Ray is going to pick you up, alright, Ren?"

"Okay, Jaehee~ I wuv you!" Ren slurred, embracing Jaehee as hard as she could. The latter awkwardly patted Ren on the back, hoping she would be okay by tomorrow morning.

Not too long after, Ray appeared walking the small puppy. He silently thanked Jaehee and bid her goodnight, taking Ren in his arms as best he could while also holding the leash. Ren, still sober enough to balance herself on her own two feet, simply started humming various random tunes. She would occasionally try to say something to Ray only for it to come out a jumbled mess.

"Don't hurt yourself, Ren." he would say.

Once back at the duplex, Ray took off the leash from the dog with one hand, still holding Ren. He took off both their shoes and attempted to bring Ren upstairs to her bedroom when she pulled on his hair softly.

"No." she said firmly, pointing towards the door to the backyard. "Garden."

"No." Ray replied just as firmly, careful to untangle Ren's fingers from his hair. "You need to rest."

"No~"

Ray was so close to dragging Ren to her room when she gave him the stare; he was overwhelmed and his breath was taken away. Those dark yet warm eyes could lure him into doing anything for Ren. Those were the same eyes that made him fall for her back at Mint Eye. Those were the same eyes that caused him so much grief when choosing between his saviour and his first love. Even after pulling his gaze away, Ray just couldn't shake off the effects that Ren had on him.

Sighing, Ray brought Ren back down the stairs and towards the backyard, grabbing a beach towel on the way to sit on. He let it fall over Ren's head and shoulders while opening the door. Cannoli followed the couple and ventured off on his own. The yard was fenced so he couldn't escape from them. Ray placed the beach towel down, straightening the corners, and sat Ren down before making himself comfortable. The two sat in a comfortable silence for awhile before Ren spoke up.

"I wonder what it must've been like to be the only human on Earth."

"Hm?"

"Y'know, the story of Adam? From the Bible? Before Eve was created? Imagine, being all alone. Must've been scary."

"Maybe." Ray hummed. "How do you know Adam was the first man created?"

"Faith, my dude~" Ren slurred, her head lolling from side-to-side. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply before continuing. "Personally, I can't find myself to believe that us humans are the results of a bunch of chemical shit combining by coincidence. Humans are too complex and awesome for evolution."

"I don't think so." Ray mumbled. It still managed to reach Ren's ears. She gave a lopsided smile.

"Eh, humans can be shit, but there are also amazing humans. Ya just gotta raise 'em right and show 'em love and all that sappy good crap."

"I suppose."

"But hey, in the end, God gave him another person. So I think God wouldn't ever really leave any one alone."

There was a comfortable silence between them when Ren spoke up again.

"Are you satisfied?" Ray raised a brow, confusion written all over his face. "With being alone? Like you were in Mint Eye."

"No..." Ray answered. He had his Saviour and the other worshippers during his time there, but to him, they didn't feel like companions. When Ren arrived, it was at that moment Ray knew that the loneliness he had been feeling since his brother abandoned him was gone. She made it all disappear.

"Yeah, me neither." Ray looked at Ren in confusion, who sighed in childish frustration. "Y'know why I moved here? To South Korea? From myth land Canada?"

Ray continued staring in confusion and shook his head. He was more confused to why the girl called Canada "myth land" than where the conversation was going to.

"I never felt like I was truly wanted. Like, I had my fam, sure. And some friends." Ren let out a hiccup. "But y'know, it never felt enough. I dunno, was I being selfish? Ahhhh~"

Ren yawned and nestled herself against Ray's shoulder. She stuck her hand out from the warmth of the towel to brush Ray's pink-white hair before settling down and closing her eyes.

"Sometimes I felt like I wasn't needed, y'know? I was just, there. I dunno. I'm just stupid LMAO." Despite the drunken laugh, the only thing Ray could hear was sadness.

"Did you just 'LMAO out loud?" a bewildered Ray asked, but received no answer.

Not too long after, she was snoring, mouth slightly open and susceptible to drooling. Tears threatened to fall from her closed eyes. Ray took a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe Ren's tears away.

Not wanting to leave her in the cold or have his clothes, accidentally, covered in drool, Ray got up, wrapped the towel around Ren and lifted her up bridal style. Cannoli ran towards them and waited patiently at the door. Ray let the puppy in before himself, careful not hit Ren against anything.

He locked the back door and headed towards Ren's room. He removed as much of Ren's clothes as possible, without leaving her completely nude. He removed her blazer and button-up dress shirt, leaving Ren in a camisole, and slipped on some pajama shorts underneath her skirt before removing that as well. She wore no stockings or socks since she hated wearing them.

Ray tucked his friend, crush and neighbour under the thick duvet and kissed her forehead. He made sure she was on her side so, if she puked from drinking, she wouldn't choke. Ray locked the rest of the doors and windows and returned to Ren's room, searching through her closet to find clothes he left behind (or that Ren had stolen to wear). He threw on a black sleeveless top and sweatpants Ren had borrowed awhile ago. His other clothes were set neatly in Ren's closet.

Ray crawled back into Ren's double bed, making sure not to disturb her. He secured his arms around her waist, acting as a big spoon, to ensure that she wouldn't roll on her back in the middle of the night. Cannoli trotted into the bedroom and nestled between their legs. Ray started to feel sleep entering his system and he closed his eyes, forhead resting against the crook of Ren's shoulder. A warmth settled over his body, one that was welcoming and comforting, not suffocating.

"Neither of us will ever walk alone again."

And another night passed where Ray did not feel alone.

[home-halone]

[10] Slap

“Ye’r a pretty lass, but I would’na make such a hasty purchase.”

Soft golden curls framed her face. She knew that the setting sun struck her just right, casting a warm glow around her.  For extra measure, she tossed her hair, and the pearls that adorned her horns swayed in a hypnotic motion, catching the glint of the sun at the height of their swing.

The Roegadyn had been mid-pivot when she called out to him.

“My good sir,” She smiled coyly. “You will not find pearls with a luster of this quality elsewhere. Not in Othard. Not in Eorzea.”

He spared her a glance. Azim was truly smiling down upon her.  

“One of a kind. They will clamor for you to sell it to them.”

To the wares displayed at her stall, she motioned to with a long sweeping gesture of the hands. Hands gloved in black to the elbows lent Dalanar a delicate, sophisticated look, but a closer look would have said that the material had been made of scales, not leather. Still, their appearance aided her in business.

He managed to uproot himself from where he stood, and begrudgingly made his way towards her. He seemed loathe to part with his gil, but the promise of profit outweighed his thrift. He had heard of these Far Eastern pearls, but he was no expert on the matter. For all he knew, the Suvdan woman was swindling him.

“An’ how come they’re so bloody expensive?” It was not an accusation. He was cautious, and armed himself with coarse words in hopes of intimidating her. He is sorely mistaken if he had thought she was unprepared.

“The secret? Every day, the maidens of my tribe dive into the waters no one else dares to swim.” She plucked one of the pearls carefully between her thumb and forefinger, holding it up for the merchant to see. True enough, the pearl had a distinct sheen reminiscent of satin. Its milky white surface shone-- glowed, even.

“A rock's a rock, missy. I'm a simple man, and I'm thinkin' those sapphires o'er th' markets are a wiser choice."

“A rock is not a just rock, when it has power. We have a superstition,” Glancing around, she beckoned him closer, leaning in to whisper into his ear. “They say if you looked into a Suvdan pearl at twilight, you would see which of your heart’s desires comes true… but at a cost.”

He was visibly tempted by the offer, and moments after, he reached out to touch it before Dalanar deftly swatted his hand.

Those were most definitely not gloves.

“Like I said, if you’re itching to see, then there’s a cost.” She beamed, tail wagging about in a serpentine motion.

[ericsonclan]

A Long Overdue Portrait

Summary: Violet asks Sophie to sketch Prisha.

Read on AO3:

“A sketch of Prisha?” Sophie poked her head out from behind her locker door at the werewolf.

“Yeah, I just thought it would be a nice gift,” Violet’s voice went down to a whisper in hopes that no one else would hear. “Since she’s a vampire and all she can never see her reflection,” The werewolf scratched the back of her neck. “Maybe its stupid, but I figured it would be nice for her to have a picture of herself.” Violet’s tail slowly wagged back and forth at a steady pace.

“I don’t think it’s stupid. I think it’s really sweet,” Sophie closed her locker and swung her backpack over her shoulder with a huge grin. “I’d be honored to do a sketch.”

Violet’s eyes grew large as her tail swayed back and forth excitedly.

“So,” Sophie started to stroll forward down the hallway, “I’m guessing you want this to be a surprise?”

“Yeah,” Violet jogged to keep up with Sophie before matching pace with her. “That won’t be a problem, will it?”

“Nah,” Sophie waved a hand dismissively. “In fact, I already have an idea.” An excited tweet escaped the harpy’s lips, a grin appearing on her face. “Are you free on Saturday and Sunday?”

“Yes, why?” Violet tilted her head to the side, her ears flopping over.

“It’s a secret.” Sophie gave a playful smile before jogging up ahead. ��I’ll see you then. Gotta find Prisha.” With that the harpy was off, leaving the werewolf alone with her thoughts. Sophie dashed outside, her backpack bouncing against her back and bristling her feathers on her arms. Her eyes darted left and right to try and find the vampire; she could’ve sworn she saw Prisha walk out here not too long again. The harpy’s eyes stopped when they noticed Prisha walking alongside Renata. It seemed like they were heading back to the dorms. Not letting another second pass, Sophie flew in the air and landed in front of the pair. “Hey!” Sophie stumbled on her feet, her talons digging into the ground to stabilize herself. “Prisha, I got a question for you.”

Prisha looked at the harpy with curiosity. “And what might that be?”

“Can you tutor Minnie this Saturday and Sunday in math?” Sophie’s question made the huldra’s eyes shine with excitement. Her teeth poked out as her tail curled around her leg.

“Can I come?”

“Nope,” Sophie shook her head. “You’ll just distract her.”

Renata wanted to object but she knew the harpy was right. “Fair, I am pretty sexy.”

“Anyway,” Prisha’s voice caused the pair of friends to look over at her, “I can do that.”

“Awesome!” Sophie was practically beaming at the news. This plan actually might work. “Alright, ummm, Marsh Park at noon. Both days work?”

“Yes,”

“Okay, well, see you later then. Bye!” Sophie gave a quick wave and was off before either of the monsters could say anything. The harpy strolled back into the building in search of her twin. She just needed this one final piece for the plan to work out. She found the harpy fairly quickly standing by a trash can with a paper in her hand. Sophie was about to speak up when an angry twitter escaped her twin’s lips. Crumpling up the paper, Minnie tossed it into the trash and turned sharply, causing her talons to scrape against the floor, only for her to be surprised to see Sophie standing there.

“Oh, hi, Soph,” Minnie mumbled.

“Hey, Minnie,” Sophie gave a sympathetic smile “Rough day?”

“Yeah,” Minnie stormed forward, her hands tugging on her backpack causing a few of her loose feathers to fall from her arms. “I got back my math test.”

“And?” Sophie kept pace with her sister as they walked outside the building and towards home.

“I got a 65 on it. I’m gonna fucking fail math,” Minnie’s head dropped. A sad chirp emitted behind her fallen face. “Which means Mom and Dad are gonna be mad and I can’t see Ren anymore.”

Sophie looked over at her twin and felt her pain. Luckily things were about to turn around. “Well, as luck would have it I got you a tutor for math.” Sophie nudged Minnie’s shoulder. “Prisha is gonna help you at noon on Saturday and Sunday.”

Minnie looked up with wide eyes. “Really?” Minnie paused for a moment “Wait, why? I only just told you I was failing math.”

“A sixth sense. The twin sense.” Sophie smiled over at her twin harpy.

“Really?” Minnie glanced over with skepticism.

“Nah, I saw the crumpled papers by your desk.” Sophie confessed. “But there was a second reason why. Vi commissioned me to sketch Prisha. So as Renata would say, two turds with one stone.”

“She only says that because she thinks she’d offend us with the original saying.” Minnie shook her head good-naturedly.

“Turds, birds, the saying still works,” Sophie shrugged. “Point is this way you can get some good tutoring and not worry about your grades harming your relationship with Renata, and I can help Violet and Prisha. So, deal?” Sophie extended her hand out which Minnie immediately took, shaking it firmly.

“Deal,” A relieved smile appeared on the harpy’s lips, glad that there was a chance that her shitty math skills wouldn’t mess things up.

The days flew by and before they knew it Saturday had rolled around. The twins had agreed to meet up with Violet at her house and walk over to Marsh Park together.

“I still don’t know why I have to show up,” Violet walked beside Sophie. “Isn’t that going to just look suspicious to Prisha?”

“Nah, not since you brought your homework with you,” Sophie motioned to the backpack on the werewolf’s back. “Everyone just follow my lead and it will be fine.” Sophie strode ahead while Minnie and Violet shared a worried look. Prisha was already there at the park at one of the benches in the corner of the patio area. With plenty of shade and few humans, it was a pleasant place for monsters to work. It had become an ideal place for Ericson students to meet up. Whether it be for studying or dates. “Hey, Prisha,” Sophie’s cheery voice drew the vampire’s attention who looked surprised to see Violet there.

“Hello,” Prisha stood up from her spot. “I thought I would just be meeting with Minnie today.”

“You are,” Minnie sat down at the bench and dropped her math textbook that landed with a hearty thud. “These two are just here to walk me over.

“And I’m helping Violet with some homework from Mr. Bailey’s class. We’re just gonna chill over there.” Sophie patted the werewolf’s back who looked slightly annoyed by the loose plan that her friend had conceived. Nevertheless her tail was still going wild when she looked over at Prisha.

“Well, alright. Then I guess I’ll get started.” Prisha took a seat across from Minnie who already had her notebook and textbook out.

“Must be nice being a vampire. Get to take classes where the information never changes.” Minnie spun the pencil in between her fingers.

“Actually, math has changed quite a bit over the two centuries I’ve been around.” Prisha’s statement made Minnie drop her pencil. “But that doesn’t mean I’m a bad tutor for the subject.”

“Well, best of luck, Minnie,” Sophie gave her sister a quick hug then moved over to the tree with Violet. The pair of friends sat down and Sophie immediately pulled out her sketch pad and pencil out of her bag. “Alrighty! Let’s capture what no other art form can.” Sophie spun the pencil on the side of her finger with a happy chirp then proceeded to start her sketch. “Oh, get out your homework to make it look more believable.” Sophie glanced over at the werewolf who nodded and tossed out her notebook.

“Still haven’t told me why it’s important that I’m here.” Violet mumbled while she started on her history assignment.

“Well, I may be a good artist, but I can’t capture the essence of the vampire before us without your help.” Sophie’s pencil scratched against the surface of the page. The beginnings of the sketch were slowly taking form. “So, why don’t you tell me about why you like Prisha.” A playful smile appeared on the harpy’s face. The statement made the werewolf blush harshly and her tail started wagging faster.

“This was all a setup.”

“Nope. Just an artist trying to capture a vampire’s image.”

“Whatever,” Violet leaned back against the tree. Her eyes wandered over to Prisha who was helping Minnie with an equation. Violet started to list some things about Prisha. How she thought she was the most beautiful girl she’d ever seen. How smart Prisha was and her drive for learning. How kind and considerate she was. “I like her eyes, how they shine when she gets excited about something. How she treats all monsters with respect, even if she doesn’t need to since she’s one of the higher up monster species, according to society and shit.” Violet’s voice became softer. “She takes me seriously even when I get flustered and she likes me for me.” Violet’s tail was fiercely wagging back and forth now. Her ears were perked and a warm smile was on her face.

Sophie glanced over at her friend for a second then back to her sketch. The harpy’s hand was jotting down something in the top corner of another page of her sketch pad. “That’s pretty special,” Sophie was truly happy that her best friend had found someone who made her feel like that.

“Prisha’s special,” Violet was shocked by her own words and hid her face behind her knees, causing the harpy to twitter with laughter. The werewolf’s tail was out of control now, hitting Sophie in the face constantly. After around two hours the tutoring session was over and Minnie made her way to the tree.

“So,” Sophie smiled up at her twin, “Are you a math genius now?”

“On my way to being one,” Minnie mirrored her twin’s smile when all of the sudden it faltered. “At least I hope so.”

“I know so,” Sophie closed her bag and swung it over her shoulders before swinging an arm around Minnie’s shoulders. “How about we grab some lunch? A reward for a day’s hard work.”

“I’d like that,”

Sophie’s smile grew at those words. “Prisha! I can bring the money tomorrow for tutoring!”

“Alright, that works for me.” The vampire rose from her spot and made her way over to the other three monsters.

“Awesome. Well, we’re gonna head out. You two have fun.” Sophie and Minnie walked away before Violet or Prisha could say anything.

The couple quickly decided to go on a short walk together back to their homes. Their fingers intertwined and a conversation started up, both of them looking at each other with warm smiles.

“So, how did the sketch go?” Minnie glanced over at Sophie who gave a victorious chuckle.

“Amazing! I should be done by Monday. When it’s finished it may just be my best work yet.” With that the twins walked away, ready to grab some food and unwind before coming back tomorrow for more tutoring.

The next day turned out to be similar to the first. Sophie refused to show any progress to Violet who was annoyed by that but from the look on her friend’s face she knew the harpy was putting her heart and soul into the portrait. Soon the tutoring was over and the group of friends split off once again. As soon as they had gotten home Sophie rushed through her homework, hoping she didn’t make too many mistakes before jumping back into her drawing. She wanted it to be perfect. The pencil moved towards the jawline, making it sharp and ensuring Prisha’s nose was the right shape. It took many long hours adding in excruciatingly small details but Sophie knew it would be worth it. She tried her best to capture the bright intelligence in the vampire’s eyes while keeping the softness of them. The pencil traveled down to the smile captured in the sketch. A kind smile that brought forth the warmth and goodness of the vampire’s heart.

“Sophie, it’s time for bed,” Minnie poked her head out from the pile of blankets that she had amassed on her bed, making it truly look like a nest.

“You can go to bed if you want. I’m gonna stay up a little longer.” Sophie mumbled, not taking her eyes off the drawing. Minnie didn’t seem to buy her twin’s words but she also knew that whenever Sophie got caught up in her art it was near impossible to pull her away. Leaving her sister to her sketch, Minnie turned in for the night. Just a little more, then I’ll turn in for the night, Sophie told herself as her pencil flew across the paper. I won’t pull an all nighter.

Sophie let out a huge yawn as she walked through the hallways, causing her feathers to stand on end and shake with the power of the yawn.

“I knew you’d pull an all nighter,” Minnie shook her head.

“I couldn’t help it,” Sophie frowned over at her sister. “I just got so caught up in the sketch. But,” Sophie dramatically displayed the sketchpad. “I’m sure it’s perfect!” the harpy crowed. “Now I just gotta find Vi and-” Sophie stopped in her tracks when she noticed the werewolf standing beside Ruby. An excited tweet escaped the harpy’s lips and before Minnie could say anything her twin was off like a shot. “Violet!” Sophie’s voice caused the werewolf’s ears to twitch and turn towards the sound. “It’s complete,” Sophie tore out the sketch and held it out.” And only two hundred years late!” Violet’s eyes grew wide when she saw the sketch.

“Holy shit,” Violet delicately held the drawing in her hands. “It’s amazing.”

“Heh, it’s the least I could do,” Sophie rubbed a finger under her nose with a proud grin on her face. “Anyway, I gotta go.”

“Golly, that’s quite the drawing,” Ruby leaned forward to sneak a look, causing Violet to glance back at her friend. “I’m sure Prisha’s gonna be just tickled pink when she sees that.”

Violet’s tail swayed back and forth, whacking the lockers beside her. “Yeah,” was all the werewolf said as she looked down at the sketch of her girlfriend. She couldn't wait to surprise Prisha at lunch. It seemed like the day was working against Violet. Each class felt overly long and dull, the minutes slowly ticking by. It felt like an eternity when finally the bell rang, signaling lunch.

Violet got up from her spot a bit too quickly and nearly slipped. Ignoring some chuckles and the odd look or two, the werewolf dashed over to her locker. Twisting and turning the lock, she threw open the locker and gently grabbed the sketch. Holding it protectively in her arms, she closed the locker and made her way outside. She couldn’t risk the one picture of Prisha in existence getting damaged. Violet got so caught up in the worry of damaging it that a small growl escaped the werewolf when a monster nearly ran into her. Violet continued to search outside for her girlfriend when she came across the vampire leaning against a tree reading a book. Her eyes read through the page as she held the book with one hand while sipping a blood pack with the other.

“Hey, Prisha,” Violet cleared her throat, scolding herself at the fact that her voice cracked slightly.

Prisha glanced up with a bright smile. “Hey, Vi,” Prisha scooted over to make room for her girlfriend.

“I got you something,” Violet mumbled.

“Oh?” Prisha placed down her book and blood pack, a curious excitement dancing in her eyes.

Without another word, Violet shot out her hands, holding out the portrait.

Prisha took the sketch silently, staring at in awe.

“I had Sophie draw a portrait of you since your reflection doesn’t show in pictures and shit,” Violet awkwardly grabbed the side of her arm. “I just want you to get the chance to have a picture of yourself to see how amazing you are.” Violet whispered, kicking the dirt with her foot.

Prisha remained quiet for a moment, causing nerves to rise within the werewolf’s heart. Maybe it wasn’t a good gift after all. A shaky breath escaped Prisha’s lips, causing Violet to look over to see Prisha wrapping her arms around the sketch. A warm, gentle smile was on her face.

“Thank you, Violet. For this beautiful gift. I’m truly touched.” Prisha’s words came out a bit rough from her emotions but soon that didn’t matter as the vampire wrapped her arms around Violet in a warm, loving hug. Violet was shocked by the gesture but quickly returned it, her tail wagging back and forth with joy. She was happy to see that her gift was a good idea that her girlfriend loved and that the portrait was able to capture Prisha’s beautiful smile.

[infinitum-imaginaerum]

Twice // Lee Kiseop // 1

One/ Stripper!Kiseop

When you were at the club, you knew you hated yourself a little bit more than normal that day.

When you were at the strip club, you either hated yourself a lot more that day, or couldn’t decide if you were hungry or not.  Or it was the rare occasion a group of your friends would drag you down there because why the fuck not. Half of them had just gotten out of bad relationships anyway and you’d been single long enough so what could it hurt?

A lot, apparently. But you wouldn’t know that until much, much later.

It was just another time you’d gone along for the ride because they were all in a particularly throw-money-around mood and you got a free lap dance. Plus all the alcohol you could drink, all the fried food you could eat—who wouldn’t go?

Your friends were already giddy and joking around by the time the first dance was over, meanwhile you were already on your third drink—some of the men up there in the background who weren’t usually your speed were already looking pretty fine, and that was a sure sign that you needed to slow down before you got black out drunk and got left behind.

Mesmerized and becoming exceedingly turned on, you’d slouched deep into the couch by now, watching everything going on in front of you—various men making their way through the crowds and picking whoever pleased them most. Your friends had finally quieted down for the most part, only the occasional, “over here!” and “what a hunk of a man,” and other exaggerated sighs alongside noticeable fawning of untouchable men.

You bit your lip as a taller man approached you, his red hair striking even in the dark room and his attire was slightly different from most. Most of the other men wore strappy leathery things, things you could hardly even call clothes but this man, well, he was fully clothed and looking sharp, too sharp, like he shouldn’t even be working here much less be a stripper sharp.

It wasn’t enough to distract you, though. You thoroughly eyed him from top to bottom and then to top again, hardly taking time to notice he wouldn’t even look at you. His body moved slowly, fluidly to the beat, his feet dancing precisely around yours which were only fully on the floor to give you some grounding after your head began swirling. His nimble fingers toyed with the button of his pressed black suit jacket, popping them open as his hips swayed essentially right in front of your eyes.

His head rolled back as the jacket slipped from his shoulders, opening up his torso to you just before throwing that jacket onto the couch next to you as his knees hit the floor in front of you. His flat palms trailed up your legs, over the top of your thighs which he used to help himself back up and your eyes met his for a second only to trail to his lips, a quiet hiss leaving yours.

You glanced to the side for a fraction of a second, noting the wide eyes of your girlfriend’s in jealousy as they watched the man in front of you. But that attention was short lived as soft, long, slender fingers cupped around your chin to bring your attention back to him. You watched intently, his hips swaying in a way you weren’t even sure was possible for a man, but you were quickly distracted by a hand running up his torso, catching the hem of his shirt with his pinky to drag it up, giving you a sneak peak of the waistband of his underwear as well as the solid muscle that protruded from the skin of his midsection.  

His beckoning finger invited you to touch, but when you reached out he dodged your fingers, placing a knee up on the couch aside your hip to grind on the thin sheet of air that separated you from him. It took everything in you to not reach out and grab those sinfully gyrating hips, but a wag of his finger somehow convinced you.

“No touching yet,” he told you in a voice that made your eyes want to roll back into your head. He gave you a wink and a sly grin and bucked his hips forward just enough for you to feel him on your midsection for a teasing second. He dismounted your leg for only a moment to pull you further on the couch, sitting you on the edge of it before straddling both your legs. He was so close, when he gave a solid body roll his diaphragm would have touched your nose if you weren’t careful.

He toyed with your hair, pulling it away from your neck, scrunching it in his hand when he cupped your jaw, making sure all of your attention was on him which wasn’t too difficult considering how captivated you were. You watched his jaw clench and unclench, watched his teeth entertain his lips now and again, watched his eyes half-lidded and misty stare right at you and listened to the soft groans, hisses and purrs that escaped those lips to just push you even more.

With more chest pops and hip thrusts than you could count, teasing previews of his built body, sultry eyes and lip-bites, the more the seconds ticked by, the more you could feel the heat between your legs. You couldn’t describe the thoughts going through your head at the sight of his own hands touching his body, running across his torso, through his hair, over his own strong thighs.

Then his face was in yours, his lips brushing your left cheek teasingly, his hand stroking the other cheek. What little sanity you had left was gone now, especially as his teeth took your pouty bottom lip to tug on it. It slipped from between his teeth, springing back to its original spot and he gave you a grin you could only describe as dirty in a way that implied a few things.

“Do you want me?” he asked you, his lips brushing on yours as he spoke. His head nodded with yours, his still half-lidded sultry eyes staring into yours. “Yeah, I thought so,” he smiled, a more genuine smile than those other nasty grins and pompous smirks.

While his hips gyrated over your lap, he continued to tease you with his shirt, tugging it up definitely not enough for your eyes to drink him up. He flicked his head side to side with the beat, sinking to your lap to give you a good grind, taking your hand to run it down his clothed chest.

You caught your eyes following his hands more than looking at his face. But that was normal, right? He was there for your viewing pleasure and you were at liberty to look wherever you wanted, which you took full advantage of.  When his head would roll back as though you were ravishing him (which you were, with your eyes) you couldn’t help but think about what you would do if you could just get your lips on that slender neck of his.

With the neediest eyes, he looked at you when a quiet moan escaped your throat, your own thoughts along with his ministrations driving you dangerously close to your restrained limits. His eyes were already misty, they didn’t need the help of his drawn brow, his bottom lip pinned between his teeth before he finally couldn’t handle being on your lap anymore.

This time, when he pulled away, he took your hand with him, lifting you up off the couch which elicited some hooting and hollering from patrons nearby, especially the girls you came with, yelling playful profanities and statements of jealousy at you as he took your hands and guided them to his chest, his body still moving to the beat almost encouraging you to dance with him.

On the sign by the front door it strictly prohibited touching of the performers at any time, so you were wary; but the way his hands cupped over yours and guided them downwards to the hem of his shirt to beg you to pull it off him, the rules were the least of your worries. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t guided you to touch him already, anyway.

Your hands had a mind of their own now, slipping under the hem of his shirt as you began moving with his body, your fingers sliding in the grooves of his muscles, inviting goosebumps to rise to his skin as you took half a step closer, lifting his shirt higher and higher until he helped you take it off him. He tossed it to the couch with his jacket.

With a smirk, he watched you move with him as he began to move around you, his chest brushing against your bare arm only to drop to the floor again. His hands were on your smooth, bare legs exposed by your cocktail dress. Not only his hands, but soon his lips, too. You could feel them brush your skin, teasing, tantalizing, totally unfair. You cupped a hand over your mouth, drowning a quiet gasp. It wasn’t as if your underwear wasn’t already trash, but he was going to make sure he totally opened the floodgates.

Rising again behind you, his hands found your hips. You could almost feel him grinding against you, one hand leaving your hip to pull your hair away from your neck again so you could feel his hot breath on your skin.

“You’re panting,” he grinned in your ear, the front of his body making full contact with the back of yours as he guided your hips to his rhythm.

Your hands grabbed over the top of his, replying with praise of the job he was doing, but it only caused his cheek to press tighter against your head, getting his lips a close to your ear as he could. The alcohol was clouding your judgement too much to determine if he was pressing into you more than required, but you weren’t about to complain until he pulled away, his slim fingers traveled up your spine to cause you to arch so deep away from him, it was easy to swing around to your front for his rear to press into your hips for just a moment before it was his front, one of his legs sliding in between yours to grind with you.

He tugged at the small of your back, pulling you closer to him for just a little bit, not nearly long enough to be any kind of satisfying. He stepped away from you to take a small bow to you, and the people around you. There was already a large bill in your hand that you pressed to your lips then motioned for him to turn around, which he did after gathering his clothes. You stuck the bill in his back pocket, following it up with a gentle slap to send him on his way and he peered over his shoulder at you with a satisfied grin.

You plopped back down on the couch, legs wobbly just to be bombarded with questions that you weren’t sure your swimming mind could answer. “He danced with you like he knew you! Like he’d done it before!” one of the girls hollered in your ear. Your eyes never left his naked back as he walked away, though.

“What’s this?” another girl commented, reaching over to the strap of your dress to rip out a slip of paper. You were so enraptured by the whole performance; you couldn’t even remember when that got slipped to you.

“He gave you his number!”

All the squealing following that was drowned out by another drink, and another following that—unsure if you were trying to forget the experience because it brought back painful memories, or because you didn’t want to feel anything else but that bliss.

But the bliss didn’t follow you into the next day. You weren’t sure if you had a raging headache from the amount of alcohol you consumed, or if it was how harshly you’d been turned on without anything following it. You went to bed incredibly frustrated and stayed in bed a majority of the day, trying to catch up on sleep you felt like you severely missed out on, despite having slept all night after returning home.

Another night out really wasn’t what you needed or wanted, but when they showed up to your home ready to drag you with someone on each of your limbs, you figured it was better to just comply willingly rather than have them indeed carry you out as if you were about to be quartered.

You dressed up nice, again, even going as far as to put on a nice scent. Maybe your intention was to go out there and get someone to satisfy your needs even if it was just for the night, but deep in your mind you weren’t sure anyone could satisfy you but him.  Regardless, there you were, in the middle of the club with another drink in your hand, dancing around on the floor.

It’d be a lie to say you weren’t having a good time, but your mind wouldn’t let you get away from last night. You found yourself fantasizing in the middle of the crowded dance floor and suddenly being bumped around and knocked off balance until a pair of strong hands grabbed your hips from behind to steady you. You glanced over your shoulder, that same head of striking red hair. You had to blink hard, there was no way he was there, you had to be hallucinating.

[alien-memes]

In ancient times, the Earth had visitors.

They are benign, filled with enough curiosity to motivate them to travel halfway across the galaxy to visit the first new lifeforms they had discovered in over 10,000 years. In their excitement, they forget to calculate variables; important variables that are a matter of life and death. Sometimes in the pursuit of science, one’s own mortality is not first on the priority list, you see. But these creatures are clever, and live by their spontaneity, and have developed multiple travel available failsafes.

Their spacecrafts are moveable laboratories, filled with more technological advancement than the human mind could ever hope to fathom. And on their way to Earth, a planet that to them is simply X-79 (a fantastic coordinate), they point their computers toward it, analyzing it for things like atmospheric chemicals, soil density, and water presence. 

While their machines do the work, the explorers on board (three in total) pour over the initial data: a simple picture of a scruffy bipedal creature in a field. There’s hope that there’s more than one. Many times they had gone on these long missions, only to find that the last of the species had died out before they got there. An average travel time of twenty years could do that sometimes.

A plus is if they’re sentient. It’s not important, though. These creatures are simply fascinated by the idea of /life/. Even after the hundredth time, it feels like the first - over a billion years ago - when they encountered their first otherworldly being. And even though they were now part of a thriving trade network with millions of other star systems, it was starting to feel incredibly lonely, thinking that the Universe had met its finite state and there was nothing else of interest. But the Universe was full of wonders, one of which was its ability to hide wonderful things deep inside its belly.

They go over the new data daily, gleefully filing away tidbits of information for trivial purposes. When the days comes, when they finally break atmosphere, they know enough about the planet to know that they don’t need space suits, for once. Their scaly skin dries up on most planets, but this sun seems especially kind toward reptiles. 

As they bask in the novelty of sunning on a foreign planet, their skin turn a litany of colors, starting with red and ending with ones not on the visible spectrum. Their tails wags, and their large eyes dart around the plant life swaying between their toes and above their heads. Of course, they knew about all this before they landed, but there’s something incredibly enchanting about experiencing something in the flesh.

Eventually, a drone reminds them of their task at hand, it’s quiet beeping reminding them that there’s much more for this planet to offer. The drone continues on its task; primitive in its own way, not really capable of speech nor intelligent thought, but two thirds of the party can still register cool annoyance from it.

“Always business with this one,” snickers the youngest member, Yon, one who isn’t used to the non-sentient drones and had a soft spot for this one in particular. The drone makes sweeping motions with its stunted arms, cataloging all the creatures captured in its red stare. It’s technically only looking for one in particular, but it’s still good information to have.

“Well, I guess that’s why he’s the best the Council could grant us,” says the most experienced explorer, Drita. It's true, the little drone is the best ever made, mainly because of its simplicity.

They walk for a stretch of time, the sun moving slowly through the sky. It’s off for them to see only one star, and if it wasn’t for their careful research, they would be tempted to risk retinal damage to search for another. It’s nearly gone by the time they stumble on an outcropping, in which the excited beeping of their drone goes erratic, flashing a blinding blue light in rapid succession that frightens their new discovery.

As the creatures huddle together, sharp objects poised in their hands, the lead scientist, Vilk, makes her way to the drone to dismiss it. A readout prints from the thin line that mimics a mouth. She takes it, but doesn’t read it, too busy making placating gestures with her hands. The drone makes a clicking noise, it’s eyes returning to it’s standby green before heeling next to the youngest. 

“Sorry about that, we didn’t mean to startle you.” The creatures don’t seem placated, but instead one of them tries to swipe at her. It’s only her forcefield that protects her from taking damage. She recoils regardless, and regroups a few steps back with the others. 

Drita is non-plussed. She takes the readings from Vilk’s lax hand, scanning them lightly. The basics she knows. The graph that shows the possible growth patterns, the pie chart that details their diet, and the oddest little chart she had ever seen at the very bottom. Yon leans over her shoulder, brow furrowing as he reads them over, only able to get the gist of what it says.

Drita wants to ask Vilk what this means, but the creatures have started screaming and Vilk seems shaken for some reason. This is neither of them’s first time, and attacking creatures was not exactly something novel. Perhaps such a long time away from new discoveries has softened Vilk. She gestures for them to retreat, if only to not stress the creatures even more. 

“Primitive,” Yon comments on their way back to their ship. “But their use of tools has to denote some sort of intelligence, right?”

Vilk manages to shake off her stupor enough to nod her head. “Yes, and they’re obviously social. I saw some young ones with them. Possibly even some sort of writing on the walls.”

She reaches for the paper, which confirms most of what she already figured out, but her eyes light up upon reaching the bottom. “Do you know what this is?”

“Not really,” says Drita. “Must be a recent update. Wasn’t around the last time I went on a mission.”

Yon shrugs. “Hey, this is my first time on a real outing.”

“This is meant to project their potential. It’s based on everything; evolutionary patterns, environmental factors, current progress, everything! See these bars?” She points to the six individual bars lining the bottom of the chart. “These represent progress in a hundred year intervals. According to this, there’s some pretty considerable growth expected each century.”

Drita took the scan back, taking a closer look at the extending bars, noting the significant jumps in scale between each one. “This seems like a pretty young species too. Looks like we’re witnessing the birth of an intelligent life form, my friends.”

“That’s never been heard of!” Yon took the paper excitedly, gleefully reading the data. “This is amazing! Just think of what this will mean for everyone back home.”

[returnerofthewrites]

Alani Days: Ch2

"Alright... think that's all I've got in me tonight. Thanks, everyone. Alani's a pretty cool place."

With one last strum of his guitar, K.K. Slider hopped down from his seat and carefully slung the instrument over his shoulder, his white fur ruffling as a late-evening breeze swept throughout the plaza. Isabelle felt her droopy ears twitch when a multitude of cheers rent the air, from Anabelle's enthusiastic squeals to Rudy and Hazel's repeated hollers, and her muzzle curled into a beaming smile as everybody began to clap, herself included. As K.K wandered over to Tom Nook – who was practically glowing as he shook the musician's paw – she took a deep breath, her fluffy tail swishing behind her.

"Isabelle! Hey, Isabelle!" Above the clamor, however, she heard someone call her name, and she cocked her head, then perked up when she saw a brown-haired human sidle out from the crowd, his clothes wrinkled and expression bright.

"Hi, Skylar!" The shih-tzu said excitedly, still clapping even as Alani's sole human resident strolled over to her. He looked just as pumped as she was, but given how much he had helped get K.K to hold a show here in the first place, she wasn't surprised. "How're you doing?"

"Great! Never thought I'd actually see a K.K. concert live!" Skylar replied, combing a hand through his windswept hair as he slowed to a stop next to her, grinning hard enough to leave dimples in his freckled cheeks. Isabelle giggled at his remark – briefly flashing back to K.K. moonlighting as a DJ back in Club LOL – only to snap back to reality when he continued. "How about you?"

"M-Me?" She stuttered, finally dropping her arms back down to her sides when she felt a jolt of exhaustion shoot through them. When Skylar nodded, she smiled gratefully, tapping her footpaws to the beat in her head. "I'm doing great! I'm glad that K.K.'s concert went so well... spending all day working on the paperwork and prep was worth it!"

Skylar's mouth drooped slightly at that, and his eyebrows quirked up in concern. "Wait... it took all day for you and Nook to get things ready?"

This time Isabelle was the one who nodded... but when she saw Skylar's bright blue eyes widen, her cheeks went faintly pink, and she hastily raised her paws to try and reassure him. "O-Oh! You don't need to worry about me, though. I've done this sort of thing before-!"

Unfortunately, her backtrack was interrupted by a very loud, and very obvious, rumble from her stomach. She froze, slowly glancing down at her aloha shirt, then raising her head back up to check on Skylar... who had certainly, definitely, absolutely heard it, judging from how he had brought a hand up to keep himself from chuckling.

"U-U-Um..." Isabelle stammered, feeling her face grow warmer and warmer. "Though I... guess I might have forgotten to have lunch?"

Skylar gave her a sympathetic look... then snapped his fingers, his expression lighting up like a lightbulb had just gone off in his head. "Hey, do you want to come over to my place, then? I could heat up some leftovers and we could catch up a bit. Nook wouldn't want you working on an empty stomach anyway, right?"

Isabelle paused, brushing her droopy ears back behind her shoulders as Skylar's suggestion sank in. It was a tempting offer, not in the least because of the growing realization that she was, in fact, very, very hungry. But... she looked back towards the plaza, watching as Nook and K.K. continued to discuss something, the latter gesturing around the place with a wave of his paw, while the former had somehow scrounged a scrap of paper and was feverishly writing on it. Then, she turned back towards Skylar, who grinned and tilted his head, patiently waiting for her answer.

Then, her stomach rumbled again, and she smiled bashfully, clasping her paws behind her back. "I should let him know first, but... sure!"

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

Alani Island – Early April

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

"Here we go..." Skylar murmured under his breath, scooping a ladle of curry out of the pot and onto a plate, the thick stew smothering a bed of steaming rice. "Sorry it took a little while to warm this up, but I'm, uh, not exactly rocking a microwave at the moment, eheh."

"That's okay!" Isabelle replied, licking her lips as she watched the human pick up her plate, walk across the room and over to the table, and set it down right next to her glass of water. "There isn't one over in Resident Services either, so..."

A savory scent wafted up past her nose, making it twitch in anticipation, but she restrained her urge to dig right in, instead taking another look around Skylar's house as he went back to serve himself. The room was cozy, if sparsely decorated. In one corner, there was the fridge, stove, and sink that made up the kitchenette. In another, there was a sofa, coffee table, and, oddly enough, a Nintendo Switch that was playing soft, jazzy music. And then, of course, there was the dining table she had seated herself at, a green-checkered tablecloth draped over its dark wooden surface.

That last one made her smile, and she ran her paw over the soft fabric, tracing over the squares with her pawpads. The color was earthier, meant more to match the furniture, but it reminded her of her old work outfit all the same.

"Hey, you don't need to wait for me! You sounded hungry, so go ahead, I don't mind."

Skylar's sudden remark pulled Isabelle out of her thoughts, her face flushing slightly when she noticed him looking over his shoulder at her. She nodded, then picked up her fork and jabbed it into the curry, scooping up a decent amount of rice, meat and vegetables and popping it into her mouth.

"Mmmm...!" She perked up almost immediately, an approving hum rumbling in the back of her throat as the mixture of sweet, spicy and umami rushed over her tongue. The sheer flavor packed into it was exactly what she needed, and she smacked her lips a couple of times before gulping the bite down, a shudder of relief running all the way from her head to her tail.

"Heh, sounds like you approve!" Looking up from her food, Isabelle smiled as Skylar sat down across from her, an equally-generous portion of curry sitting on his plate. "You must have had a ton of paperwork for you to be that hungry."

A couple strands of her bangs fell down her forehead, and she reached up to brush the blonde locks back into place, her bell-hairband jingling from the motion. "Don't worry! I told you, it's nothing I haven't done before."

"You mean the tons of paperwork? Or the forgetting to have lunch?" Skylar replied, giving her a warm grin that softened the otherwise-pointed question.

"Well, u-um..." She said, unable to keep the awkwardness out of her voice as a shy smile curled onto her muzzle. Was she really that easy to read? "Both?"

His grin widened, though his bright blue eyes gleamed with visible friendliness, and he picked up his fork, playfully wagging it at her plate before digging into his own portion of curry. "Well then, I get to be extra glad I invited you over tonight. Sounds like you really needed a break!"

As Skylar started to eat, Isabelle followed his lead, taking another bite of food and humming in response. The hearty meal was already helping to settle her rumbly tummy, which in turn helped her to relax, and she leaned back in her chair, idly tapping her footpaws against the floorboards. Still chewing, the shih-tzu's eyes wandered over to the window, and she peered at the cherry blossoms as they swayed against the sunset, pale pink silhouetted by brilliant orange.

"It is kinda nice to get out of Resident Services every once in a while." Gulping the curry down, she thought aloud, watching as the wind shook a few stray petals off of the flowering branches.

"To be honest, that's the other reason I invited you over," Skylar replied, and she cocked her head, one of her ears grazing against the collar of her shirt. The human scratched at the back of his neck before continuing, his expression a tad sheepish. "It's already been a couple weeks since you got here, but I feel like I haven't talked to you at all outside of work, y'know?"

Isabelle blinked, them smiled in realization. It was a fair point, given how much they needed to do to get K.K. to visit the island, but the thought that he really wanted to get to know her was enough to make her tail wag. And wag it did, swishing hard enough that it bumped against the sides of her seat. "I guess we have been pretty busy with Project K, huh?"

"Yeah, that's the Nookster for you-" Skylar brought his fork up to take another bite, then paused halfway, his eyes furtively flicking towards her. "Uh, though, don't tell him I call him that."

The urge to burst into laughter quickly surged through her nerves, and so she busied herself with her dinner, allowing only a slight giggle to slip out of her mouth. "Your secret's safe with me!"

"Thanks." He grinned in return, sitting back and running a hand down his shirt, smoothing out a few wrinkles that lingered on the the blue-pineapple pattern. "So, how's things been for you so far? The deserted island life treating you okay?"

Isabelle nodded, chewing through a particularly carrot-y mouthful of curry before taking a swig of water and swallowing. "Mmhm, it's been great! I was kind of nervous when I heard I'd be moving so far from the mainland, but now I'm really enjoying myself."

"Yeaaah, I was pretty antsy when I was on the way to the airport." Skylar tilted his head as he spoke, his expression one of obvious curiosity. "Where're you from, by the way?"

His first remark made Isabelle's face fall, if only a little, as the thought of her own dreary trip to the airport briefly flitted through her mind. She curled her paw a little tighter around her fork and took another bite of food, and that, along with Skylar's next question, helped her bounce back. "Oh, I'm from Greenoak! Four or five years ago, my brother Digby and I moved there for work. Mr. Nook was a real-estate agent there at the time, that's how I first met him."

"Oh, cool!" Skylar said, nodding in understanding as he listened to her explanation, smearing a glob of rice through his curry all the while. "I didn't realize you'd worked for him before."

"Huh? Oh no, I was..." Isabelle hastily corrected herself – and then trailed off when a prickle of nostalgia suddenly flared up deep within her, the same nostalgia she'd felt when she was reminiscing on her first day.

Her fluffy tail slowed to a stop, hanging limply through the gap in her chair, and she set her fork down on her plate with a gentle clink, staring at the tablecloth afterward. On the one paw, it was hard not to feel frustrated with how anxious she felt. She had brought up Greenoak without a care in the world, and yet the mere mention of her old job was enough to make her get all hesitant. And yet, on the other paw...

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

"Are you sure about this, sis?" Digby said, his arms folded against his red suitcoat as he looked over from the other side of the room. He sported a slight smile on his muzzle, but between his stiff pose and the lack of wag to his tail, it was plainly obvious how worried he was. "I know things in Greenoak haven't been the best for you recently, but moving all the way to an island in the middle of nowhere? I thought that Nook was crazy when he first called about it!"

"Digby..." Isabelle looked back at her brother, gently resting a paw on the handle of her suitcase and smiling as best she could. "I know you had to pull some strings so I could help you out with the camp expansions, and I really do appreciate it. But... you know that sort of thing wasn't what I wanted to do with my life. It just isn't the same as..."

She trailed off, unable to maintain eye contact when the thought of the town hall drifted through her head. Sure, Goldie had really stepped up to the task, and everyone else had pitched in to help keep the town as well and thriving as it ever was. It was just... taking a deep breath, she let out a shuddering sigh, trying her absolute hardest to keep her composure.

"It's just not the same." She repeated, her bell-hairband ringing as she raised her head back up. "Besides, maybe... maybe putting some distance between me and Greenoak will be a good thing."

There was a brief pause, her statement hanging heavily in the air. Isabelle gazed at Digby, who bored right back into her with an intent look on his muzzle. She'd seen him use this stare when he was working with particularly picky clients, but now that she was on the receiving end, she had to admit, it was kind of intimidating. It wasn't what she ever expected to think about her twin brother.

"Isabelle..." When Digby finally spoke, he let his shoulders slump, a note of resignation in his voice. Slowly, he padded over to her... and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. "I knew after we got that last letter that things were going to be tough on you, but I... I guess I didn't think you'd actually decide to leave."

Isabelle relaxed, letting go of her luggage and returning her brother's hug, feeling their droopy ears brush together. She could feel Digby shaking, ever-so-slightly, and she gave him a light pat on his back to try and help him keep his chin up. "It's not like I'm gonna be gone forever, you know. You have my phone number, and once I get there, I can text you the address if you want to send some mail."

This time Digby was the one who sighed, and her tail wagged a couple times when she felt him pat her back in return. "I know, I know. Just... take care of yourself out there, okay, Isabelle?"

She nodded, and eventually her brother pulled away, hastily wiping his face on his sleeve for a moment. When he let his arm fall, he looked back at her with a sad smile, one that she matched in turn. "C'mon, baby brother. You've got work to get to, and I've got a plane to catch."

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

Well... on the other paw, she had taken Nook up on his offer for a reason.

"Isabelle?" Once again, Skylar's voice pulled her out of her thoughts, and she raised her head to look at him, her droopy ears slipping in front of her shoulders. "You okay?"

Her nerves fluttered when she saw the concerned look on his face, his curly brown hair framing his face in a way that only accentuated his freckles and bright blue eyes. Combined with the soft music drifting over from the other side of the room, and the fragrant scent of reheated curry, she suddenly felt at ease. It was hard to tell if it was because she actually had some food in her belly, or if it was because of Skylar's earnestness, or if it was because of how nice it felt to have a home-cooked meal for the first time in two whole weeks.

Then she realized that she had been sitting there in silence for at least a full minute. Maybe even longer. It was a bit hard to tell.

"O-Oops-!" Isabelle jolted in her seat, quickly bringing her paws up to cheeks in a vain attempt to hide the blush that was rising onto them for the umpteenth time that evening. "S-Sorry, Skylar! I was just... um, thinking."

She winced as soon as the words left her mouth; it was the truth, but it didn't sound convincing in the slightest. If Skylar wasn't convinced, though, he didn't let it show, instead smiling reassuringly at her. Inwardly, she thanked him for being so polite, despite the scatterbrained turn their talk had taken.

"I..." She began, taking a deep breath before scooping up some more rice and sauce, trying her best to smile back at Skylar as she did. To her surprise, it wasn't nearly as hard as she expected it to be, and soon a small, genuine smile had curled onto her muzzle. "I, um, wasn't part of Nook Inc. back then. I actually worked with Greenoak's mayor, as his secretary."

"Wait, really?" Skylar quickly looked up at her, surprise written all over his face. It was enough to make her giggle again, and soon he started chuckling as well, her droopy ears twitching at the sound. "Woah. What was that like?"

"Busy." She leaned back against her chair, the answer coming without a second thought. "I was doing the same sort of thing I do here, handling the quality-of-life of the town and that sort of thing, but I was also in charge of the stuff that Nook has you help him with. Getting land ready to build bridges or new buildings, putting down plots for new houses, signing ordinances or drafting up other public works projects... I helped the mayor with all of that stuff."

"Huh... no wonder you said you've done so much paperwork before," Skylar said thoughtfully, picking up his glass of water and taking a long swig.

"Well, that wasn't just because of the job! When I started, the mayor was an old tortoise. He had been mayor for years, and nobody'd ever really stepped up to replace him," Isabelle explained, reaching up to adjust her bun of blonde hair even as she spoke. "Then a couple months in, he decided it was time to retire, and I had to help train a brand-new mayor who was as new to the job as I was!"

"Wh-What!?" Skylar sputtered into his drink, coughing a couple times before wiping his face on his sleeve, giving Isabelle an incredulous look. "No way! So he just packed his bags and went off to who-knows-where...? Talk about a raw deal!"

Something about the genuine reactions Skylar was having made Isabelle smile, the corners of her muzzle higher and higher. Maybe all she needed was someone new to tell the story to? In the back of her mind, she realized her nervousness was mostly gone, replaced by the happiest memories she had of her old hometown. Glancing out the window, she let her chin rest on her paw again, watching as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon.

"It wasn't that bad, really. If anything, it was the best thing that could have happened to the town at the time," The shih-tzu thought aloud, unable to keep a wistful tone from entering her voice. "I think that's part of why I got used to living and working here so quickly, too... It's nice to be doing something familiar again, after how monotonous the past year or so was..."

"Huh?" Skylar grunted, and she looked at him out of the corner of her eyes – then blinked when she noticed how confused he looked. "What do you mean?"

For the briefest of moments, Isabelle re-ran everything she'd said in her head, from moving to Greenoak to her secretary days to just this past year-

"U-Um! I-It's nothing, no big deal!" She replied, practically shoving the thought of the past year out of her head as she sat up a bit straighter in her chair, her bell-hairband jingling in the meantime. Her mind raced as she tried to think of something else to say, and she gazed up and down at a still-confused Skylar, then blurted out the first thing that came to her. "How about you, though!"

He cocked his head, locks of his curly hair falling down his forehead, and Isabelle took a deep breath, then sighed awkwardly, feeling her brief bout of antsiness fizzle out. Once she had relaxed, she took her water with both paws and sipped at it, tongue lapping against the glass.

"I mean... how about you, Skylar?" She said, her own curiosity quickly mounting as she smiled at the human sitting across from her. Pressing her footpaws against the floorboards, she scooted her seat forward a bit and picked her fork up again. "Where are you from?"

"Ohh. Well, my life isn't as exciting as yours sounded." Skylar grinned sheepishly and shrugged, but continued all the same. "Had a bit of a rough patch after finishing high school, so I ended up working in retail for a few years. Eventually went and got my degree, and then I saw an ad for Nook Inc. and the whole deserted island deal. And, well, now I'm here!"

"Oh! Congratulations, Skylar!" Isabelle exclaimed, giving him a bright, approving smile before turning her attention to the remaining curry on her plate. "What were you majoring in?"

"Uh... liberal arts," He replied, a hint of awkwardness slipping into his otherwise-casual voice, as if he was admitting something he shouldn't. "Not to fulfill a stereotype or anything, but even before I went back, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Don't get me wrong, I learned a lot, and my classmates were nice, but..."

When his voice went quiet, Isabelle looked up at him... and felt her eyebrows rise a little bit. He was looking out the window, like she had been doing moments earlier, and a strangely distant look had crossed onto his face. Even his bright blue eyes seemed to be a little duller than usual. For the first time since she'd met him, she could sense a nervousness slipping through his otherwise-cheery exterior, and along with the soft music still playing from his Switch, the atmosphere of the house had gone gloomy.

"I guess that's why your design for Alani's flag was so good, huh?" She said, speaking as gently as she could, trying her best to cheer him up. After all, he'd rolled with her sudden change in subject. It was only fair.

Thankfully, the remark did just that, energy visibly returning to Skylar's face as he glanced over at her. Slowly, but surely, he grinned his usual easygoing grin and leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, that's probably part of it, eheh."

Isabelle giggled to herself, the tension in the room quickly dissipating, and she idly tapped her footpaws together, ready and willing to engage her curiosity again. "So, what made you want to fly out here? Moving out on your own right after college seems like a bit of a jump!"

"Better than trying to scrape by back in the city!" Skylar shot back with a shake of his head, and then he folded his arms against his shirt, crossed his legs, and looked up at the ceiling. "But I... dunno, I guess. I was just watching a video on YouTube, saw the ad at the end, and I just had a gut feeling that it was what I needed to do. An impulse somewhere deep down, y'know?"

The shih-tzu scraped the last of her curry off of her plate, a satisfied hum rumbling in the back of her throat as she popped the lingering rice and sauce into her mouth and gulped it down. She set her fork down afterward, cocking her head as she replied. "You just decided to move to this deserted island on a whim? Weren't your parents worried?"

"I prefer to call it 'following my heart'. That's probably why they let me go!" Skylar replied with a chuckle, reaching up and gesturing around the room with a wave of his hand. "Besides, it's been great so far. The island's getting more and more built up, I've got a house, and I've made a lot of friends along the way. Like you!"

A smile quickly spread across Isabelle's muzzle, a bubbly sense of happiness flooding through her at Skylar's compliment. She knew he considered her a friend as soon as she met him, but there was something nice about hearing him say it out loud. "Skylar... thank you. I'm glad we're friends, too!"

Skylar beamed right back at her, dimples forming in his cheeks once again – and then a muffled chime played, a repetitive beeping that made them both bounce in their seats in surprise. Skylar glanced down at his pants, leaning from side to side as he tried to figure out where the sound was coming from, and Isabelle's eyes widened in realization when she felt something vibrating in her pocket.

"A-Ah-!" She gasped, reaching into her skirt and digging her Nookphone out, feeling the hard plastic case rattle against her pawpads. Poking the green call button, she brought the device up to an ear and looked out the window at the sky, which was now dark and filled with countless stars. "Hello? Mr. Nook?"

"Isabelle?" Out of the speaker came the familiar voice of Tom Nook, along with the distant sound of a printer, and the even-more-distant sound of the coffee maker. "Sorry to interrupt, but could you come back to Resident Services soon? There's a lot of work left to do and it's getting late, yes yes!"

"Of course, Mr. Nook!" She replied with a nod, running a paw down her stomach as she spoke, feeling more than satisfied with her meal. "We just finished eating, so I'll be right over!"

"Good! It seems that K.K.'s taken quite the interest in our little island, oho!" Nook chortled, and with a click, he ended the call.

Letting her arm drop back to her side, she tucked her phone away again, looking back at Skylar with an apologetic smile. The human shrugged knowingly, scooting back and swinging his legs around to stand up.

"Sorry, Skylar," She said, daintily getting up from the table and smoothing out her aloha shirt and skirt, her footpaws padding softly against the floor. "Time for me to get back to work."

"No worries! I didn't realize how late it was anyway, I bet the Nookster's all in a lather," He said with a smile, reaching out to gather up the dirty dishes. Isabelle bashfully fluffed her ear all the while, a bit embarrassed that he was going to have to clean up after her.

As Skylar stepped over to the sink, Isabelle took one more look around, her gaze going from the table, to the little living nook, back to the human who lived in it all. Closing her eyes, she inhaled... and exhaled... trying to get herself back in the mindset for work. After a second or two, she ambled towards the door, fluffy tail still swishing back and forth.

"Oh, and, uh, Isabelle?" She stopped in her tracks when Skylar said her name, and she glanced expectantly at him. He set the plates and forks into the sink before looking over at her with a smile, his expression bright. "Thanks for coming over!"

She stood up a bit taller and smiled back, her bun of blonde hair shaking and her bell-hairband jingling as she bowed her head in thanks. "Thank you for having me over, Skylar. G'night!"

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

The town hall was abuzz with activity. Isabelle darted here and there, her bell-hairband stuck in a constant state of ringing as she ran through her various duties, mentally checking them off one by one.

Watering the sunflowers? Check. Making sure that all the paperwork and files around the office were neat and tidy? Check. Putting any stray books back in their proper spots in the bookcase? Check. Sending a quick email to the construction company about those new wind turbines? Check. So much to do, so little time... and yet somehow, before she even realized it, she was almost finished with each and every task!

"Phew..." The shih-tzu panted heavily, stretching her arms up above her head and catching her breath. Her fluffy tail betrayed how much energy she still had left in her, however, waving from side to side as she took a look around. "Just a little bit more and I'll be aaaaall done...!"

The sound of squeaking hinges made her ears twitch, and she sprang to attention, hastily giving herself a once-over to get herself ready to greet whoever stepped through the door. Smoothing out her bun of blonde hair and brushing her paws over her green-gingham vest, she turned her gaze towards the front of the building, perking up at the familiar clicking of formal shoes...

"Good morn... ing... M-Mayor?" A distinctly human shape stood in the doorframe, though their details were masked by the bright glare of the sun as it shined directly into Isabelle's eyes. She winced, ducking her head to try and shield herself – and then felt her heart plummet into the pit of her stomach when the shadowy figure turned away from her-

-and then the town hall exploded.

Isabelle's voice caught in her throat as the floor was suddenly ripped out from under her, a long platform bursting through the floorboards and crashing straight through the roof with a bang. She and the mayor-like phantom were both carried away, the houses becoming pinpricks as they got higher and higher above the town. Soon enough, they were up among the clouds, thin and wispy, and the shih-tzu shivered as a chill went down her spine.

"Mayor?" She finally managed to gasp out, her vision starting to blur as the high-altitude wind whipped at her face, and she watched as, of all things, a smaller platform floated right along past her head. The figure was still wreathed in shadow, despite the fact that they were in broad daylight, and as the platform got close, he suddenly jumped up and onto it, as if in low-gravity. "Wait! Mayor-!?"

Digging her footpaws in, Isabelle tried to push herself to jump on with him, her heart pounding in her chest, but all she did was tumble forward, falling flat on her face with a pained thud. There was a strange, uncomfortable heaviness surrounding her, blanketing her, weighing her down, and a puppy-like whine slipped out of her muzzle when the mayor shook his head disapprovingly.

"Mayor, wait! Wait for me!" She cried out. Or at least she tried to, because when she opened her mouth again, nothing came out. And yet, the words echoed all around her, even as the platform with the mayor on it began moving further and further away. Feebly, she tried to reach a paw out to him, only to claw at the platform she was trapped on instead. "Please...!"

And then, all of a sudden, she was falling, both the mayor's and her platforms disappearing just as quickly as they'd come. The silhouette of the mayor went with it, and all Isabelle could do was stare at the earth as she dropped towards it, watching as Greenoak rapidly approached – and then Greenoak suddenly wasn't Greenoak at all, but the sea – and Isabelle scrunched her eyes shut, bracing herself for impact-

-and then her eyes shot open.

Groaning softly, Isabelle lay still for a while, staring into the darkness as her vision adjusted to the lack of light. The shock of the nightmare wore off fast, replaced by an uncomfortable bleariness that prompted her to roll over, bend her knees, and curl up into a small ball, the covers brushing against her frizzy coat of yellow fur. Nuzzling into her pillow, she felt a deep tiredness course through her nerves, a tiredness that made everything blur together. As soon as her eyelids slowly fluttered closed, the shih-tzu felt her mind drifting, what was real and what wasn't melding together.

A second later, she made it back to sleep, and when she woke up the next morning, she had the strangest feeling that she'd had a dream of some kind. But for the life of her, she couldn't remember it at all.