#who just cannot help himself from calling out to lyra one last time

[willsilvertongue]

“Being cheerful starts now, Will thought as hard as he could, but it was like trying to hold a fighting wolf still in his arms when it wanted to claw at his face and tear out his throat; nevertheless, he did it, and he thought no one could see the effort it cost him.”

[marlmckitten]

Mr & Mrs Kitty (An Introduction)

A new Blackinnon series by MarlMcKitten and PadsMcfoot

As so many of you know I have trouble letting go of past plots. And I spent three years working on a beautiful Blackinnon one with a friend. Unfortunately that story has come to a close but to keep it alive I want to share it with all of you. But since I also have commitment issues with writing an entire story at once. This is going to be written differently. It is going to be a number of short or long snippets of their lives in no particular order. This first ‘chapter’ is going to be a short, point form introduction to the version of Blackinnon that I will be sharing with you and all the important side characters that come with it. (Mainly bc my new Blackinnon is sooo different and all my plots are gonna shift a little now.) Thank you!

Marlene McKinnon:

your 70′s bombshell

loud, outspoken, unpredictable, wild

she fell in love with Sirius the day he arrived at Hogwarts on a motorcycle, grown out hair, new tattoos and a brand new family (The Potters)

she didn’t admit it for a while though

eventually they fell in love

she didn’t die with her family

but she was devastated

and pregnant

Bellatrix used occlemency to make her believe that it was Sirius who was killing her family

that was what made Sirius go to Azkaban

Marlene ran away, she made her way because she had to, she was pregnant and that was now the last living member of her family and the McKinnon line

she worked in shops, she kept a low profile and she did not tell anyone who she was

she gave birth to a beautiful young boy and named him Lynx McKinnon

the boy looked so much like his father

she would cry watching over him, her mind so conflicted on how Sirius would do that for her when her heart knew he wouldn’t

it was years before she saw Sirius again, but one day she just had to talk to him so she went to Azkaban to visit him

he believed she was dead and she asked him how the hell he could do that to her and her family in her emotional rant she let it slip that she had his son

this prompted Sirius to break out of Azkaban, finding out that he had a child and that Marlene was raising him all alone

Eventually they met up again, and Marlene ended up believing him. She always knew in her heart it couldn’t be true.

This Marlene was so much more grown up, (being a single mother wil ldo that)

They went into hiding again, now at Grimmauld Place. Lynx was terrified of his dad. It broke Marlene’s heart and she did not know what to do.

Years later, the war ended, her family was back together. Sirius never died and she wanted to add to her family.

They had two more children. Halo and Aurora Black.

All Marlene ever wants is for her whole family to get along.

Sirius Black:

such a rebel

such a rebel

but he has a weakness

blondes named Marlene McKinnon

he’s infatuated

you think James is bad? You should see Sirius around Marlene.

he never thought he deserved a happy ending but he got it with her.

Well- for a while. Before she died and he was framed for the murder of her and her entire family.

What was the point of living after that?

He didn’t see one.

Years passed. Nothing mattered and then one day ... “Hey split ends.”

He has a son.

He would not be the same shit parent that his were to him. He has to get out.

And he does and he finds them. It doesn’t take much convincing. His Marlene always trusted him.

But Grimmauld Place and all those childhood nightmares are back. He cannot be a father or anything to Marlene.

So instead he drinks.

A lot.

Too much.

He feels Marlene getting distance. He can tell Lynx hates him but he can’t stop himself. And he hates himself for it.

He dies. Through the veil .

But miraculously he finds his way out. Just in time to save his Marlene and his son during the war.

Him and Marlene lead all the Slytherin children out of the castle, away safely. (Even Pansy Parkinson.)

Marlene never forgives McGonagall for locking her son in the dungeouns during a war, but Sirius knows she was doing her best.

Him and Lynx never get a great relationship.

They’re always rocky. But he gets another chance with Halo.

This pushes Lynx away even more but Sirius can’t help it.

He tries to make peace with it and then Aurora comes.

And oh Merlin how he loves Aurora.

They have a very special bond.

Sirius is a great father to Halo and to Aurora and he tries to be for Lynx too.

It takes so much time.

But he has his wife, his kids and Sirius gets the life he never knew he deserved.

Lynx McKinnon

Sirius lookalike

he hates it

he hates his father

but his mom is everything to him

She works a lot when he is a kid, so he tries to help her out.

One day he pleads her to go to the fair with him. It’s the last day, all the other kids have gone and she promised. He is only 7 at the time.

He meets a lonely little girl named Juliet.

They become instant best friends and for the rest of his life no one will ever matter to him quite like his Ma and Juliet do.

Then he is sent to Grimmauld Place, away from Juliet. And he is so scared.

His father terrifies him. The house terrifies him. He sleeps with his mom most night.

Hogwarts comes and he goes there, an escape. And there he finds Juliet also. She’s a muggle born witch and the world is restored!

He protects her when he is sorted into Slytherin and she is a Hufflepuff.

But he misses his mom dearly.

He befriends an ambitious and beautiful young girl named Valencia Mae.

They also become close. The three of them are happy with just each other.

One day he realizes that he is in love with Valencia and he asks her out.

She says yes.

She comes from a very rich family so he tries his hardest to impress her.

Lucky for him, she has some daddy issues.

He learns that he is a very talented artist.

When he decides to persue his dreams as an artist Valencia dumps him.

He is left devastated.

Lynx drops out of school, he leaves everything behind. He leaves his home.

He’s a little dramatic. (Don’t tell him that he gets that from his father.

But years, and years later, he is reunited with Valencia.

They’ll get a chance at their own happy ending.

Halo Black

such a mama’s boy

but so protective over his baby sister

loves his dad too

really a family guy

from a young age he wants to have his own family one day

he’s a little spoiled but doesn’t know it

doesn’t like Lynx much, doesn’t get why his brother doesn’t love his dad like he does

Lynx tries to tell him that growing up with a single mom then going through a war is much harder than growing up in a mansion with two happy parents and the Black family fortune

Halo doesn’t see it.

He has a lot of back problems.

He’s awkward and so clumsy it could put Tonks to shame

he looooves his (very much alive) Uncle Remus

He wears cardigans and he is a hopeless romantic, after a girl in his year who he idolizes in his head

they are doomed to always be in love but not have anything ever go their way

truly tragic but the love story Halo always wanted

Aurora Black

if Halo is too much of a mama’s boy he’s got nothing on how much of a daddys girl Aurora is

she can’t function without her father

and her brother

oh boy is she spoiled

and optimistic

naive

honestly just not that smart

but has the purest heart and the best intentions

she is always trying to get along with Lynx even though she doesn’t even meet him until she’s about 6 years old

she loves Lynx’s art

she messages him all the time, and never gets a response

she is bullied a lot for being air headed.

And it gets bad.

Some girls play a nasty trick on her.

She is turned into a werewolf.

It breaks Sirius’ heart the most.

She would have been killed if Halo hadn’t have saved her life.

She then keeps to herself more, believing that she is ugly and a monster.

Remus helps and Tonks helps but she thinks she will forever be alone.

After all Remus was until his late 30′s.

But she still manages to keep a smile on her face.

She really loves animas.

Her life ambition is to open a bakery with her father.

She never wants to leave her family

She can even melt Lynx’s heart when she really wants to

but man is she s t u b b o r n

and as sweet as she is she can piss anyone off with her stubbornness to always get her way and not see anyone else’s

Juliet Buchannan:

Lynx’s best friend

not the brightest, but very honest

she keeps Lynx from going too hard, he keeps her grounded

but they both really like getting high together

and talking about aliens

Lynx around Juliet is very different than regular Lynx

she happens to love Sirius, calls him Mr McKinnon and he loves it

Calls Lynx Kitty.

Calls Marlene Mrs Kitty.

She goes wherever the wind takes her

Carefree.

Despite her very lonely childhood.

Her father was abusive and neglectful.

She spent more of her time with Lynx and Marlene

They are her family.

Works in Disneyland when she is older as a face character.

She literally just wants to see everyone happy all the time.

But she makes a lot of bad decisions and always has the wildest travel stories

Valencia Mae:

the love of Lynx’s life

BDE

she gets what she wants

her family exploits muggles to make their fortune

hardcore business woman

loves fashion

never goes anywhere without her Louboutins

she really isn’t that into the wizarding world and hates Hogwarts

but still gets good grades

ambitious AF

dont mess with her

seriously don’t

she will also stand up for Juliet once she is forced to take her in

dating Lynx means dating Juliet as well

really not the jealous type though so she doesn’t care

just a bad bitch in fancy heels

wine

Lyra

the girl Halo is way too in love with

she is not easy to love

she is so troubles Halo just wants to fix her

they are on again, off again faster than anyone can keep track

she has a small thing for Lynx and also one for Sirius

she has serious abandonment issues

the bottom line is she just wants to be loved and accepted but doesn’t know how to be

she does not have a strong sense of self-identity

Sirius really takes a liking to her, and is kind to her, she misjudges that and develops her tiny crush

but it is always Halo she loves

she just doesn’t know how to

she’s there to create the drama without meaning to

Lynx hates her, but she’s good at art so he helps her with that

Valencia and her would kill each other if given the chance

Aurora adores Lyra

Marlene hates seeing a girl break her baby’s heart

Just so lonely.

[near-dareis-mai]

HDM Episode 1x07 recap

Recap of His Dark Materials Episode 1x07: The Fight to the Death

SO MUCH HAPPENS IN THIS EPISODE YOU GUYS

so we start with marisa standing alone in the ruins of the abadoned Bolvangar

obligatory Ruth Wilson Scream (TM)

marisa finds the handmaiden still hanging around, for some reason

then marisa goes absolutely apeshit on her for no real reason, bc that’s just how she be

the she calms down

then we turn to lyra, who’s miraculously unharmed after falling out of lee’s balloon

she hears growling in the distance, and thinks it might be iorek

but she’s so so wrong

then we get a glimpse of what is presumably the subtle knife in action, carving a gateway to will’s world

it’s B'Oréal of course

after that short scene (I told you a LOT gets covered in this episode), we’re back to Lyra, who’s being taken prisoner into Iofur’s fortress

there's blood on the steps to the fortress, and i have SO MANY QUESTIONS like how is the blood spilled so neatly without the snow being disturbed at all??? because no way could an actual fight or killing have taken place here without disturbing all those aesthetic snowdrifts

Anways Lyra gets locked up in the fortress. In true "child of asriel and marisa" fashion, she attempts to fight her way out of the cell

pan, who has braincells which i can only presume are inherited from stelmaria instead, suggests using the alethiomtere instead

at this point, the other prisoner in lyra's cell suddenly makes himself known

he introduces himself as jotham santelia, regius professor of cosmology at the university of gloucester

lyra finds out from the alethiometer that iorek is coming to save her, but he’ll most certainly be killed by iofur’s guards around the fortress

back in lyra's cell, jotham tells her that what iofur wants more than anything is to have a daemon like humans do

this gives lyra an idea and she wastes no time in putting it into action

back in “our” world, boreal is at it again

just like will in the last episode, he’s listening to one of john parry’s interviews

now, let me just stop here and say that we're 7 episodes in and I have still no fucking clue what Lord Boreal is really up to, but the actor puts so much nuance and thought into every expression that I somehow forget this everytime he's on screen

back to lyra, she's being led to iofur's throne room 

i know these bears are supposed to be scary and awe-inspiring but THEY'RE SO FWUFFY

lyra starts off her plan with such a breathtakingly blatant lie...

... which Iorek fully believes???

lyra convinces iofur that if he fights iorek in single combat, he'll win her as his daemon

to “prove” to iofur that she’s a daemon, lyra answers a question by him that only a daemon would know the answer to, using the help of her alethiometer

she gives the right answer to the question of who iofur’s first kill was, which was his own father

meanwhile, lord boreal is off to find john parry's letters, to see if he can find something about john's real goal in them

he forces his way into the house past will’s mom elaine, and i'm already like 🔪🔪🔪

boreal doesn’t waste time getting down to business

SHOUTOUT TO MRS. ELAINE PARRY WE STAN A QUEEN

ok if he wasn't such a snake i'd almost feel bad for boreal, he just CANNOT get ANYTHING done in our world... first he has to deal with parking tickets, then he gets his car clamped, then the people he's trying to threaten actually know their rights under the law... this man is so tired

then his snake daemon decides to make an appearance

anways he leaves elaine after that, and i really want him 🗡️🗡️🗡️ for trying to gaslight her like that

then boreal goes back to his car and asks his goons to get the letters from the parry house by any means necessary

back in lyra's world, iorek finally reaches her, and lyra lets him know of the single combat she's arranged between him and iofur

off we go to the fight, and it's a sign of how into this world i'm getting that i'm seeing a perfectly normal polar bear on my screen and i'm getting uNCOMFORTABLE

so the bears both take their armour off for the fight, which I do not remember happening in the books

At first, it looks like iofur defeats iorek pretty handily

Lyra mourns her fallen friend

iofur realizes that she was lying to him the whole time

then it turns out iorek was just faking his death, and he does a suprise attack on iofur and kills him, in a scene which mostly takes place off screen for some reason

back in our world, elaine is waiting for will when he gets out of school

back in lyra's world, iorek officially becomes king of the armoured bears

Iorek leads lyra to roger, who’ll be joining her to find and free asriel

lyra checks her alethiometer and finds out that her mother is coming after asriel too...

...and she makes a decision that i truly cannot understand

then we get a seemingly unencessary affirmation from Roger, and a lingering closeup on him, for NO REASON

back to marisa

we get an incredibly uncomfortable standoff between marisa and father macphail over her joining them to capture asriel, with what i'm quite sure are supposed to be sexual undertones to the dialogue

back in will's world, they realize their home has been broken into, so will leaves his mom with his boxing coach, and heads back to their home to investigate

shoutout to the coach for just taking all of this in stride

meanwhile, lin manuel scoresby did in fact make it out the crash alive, and is visited again by serafina pekkala

she gives him back his gun, and he agrees to basically be on call for whenever lyra needs him

then we get a really beautiful scene of lyra and roger riding on iorek towards lord asriel's lab

back to will, who's at home opening his letters from his father,when he's interrupted by boreal's goons

will tries to fight one of them, and the guy trips over moxie the cat, and falls over the stairs

meanwhile, marisa is getting ready to apprehend asriel with the magisterium, and we all know the magisterium are the bad guys, so of course lord asriel is the good guy, right?

...right?

we get a quick scene of will running away from his house without even saying goodbye to his mother. my poor son :(

lyra, roger and iorek finally reach lord asriel's lab

here it comes...

Oh.

then stelmaria alerts asriel to the fact that roger is also here

corporate has asked you to find the difference between these two pictures

(there is no difference. they are the same.)

And that’s what you missed last week on How To Traumatize Your Children In Eight Easy Episodes!

[irwinkitten]

hell over me | V

notes: this is not the last part of hell over me i promise there is a part six. i’ve been loving the responses to this series so far and just uGH i love you all  warnings: violence, death word count: 3.2k

part i, part ii, part iii, part iv

-

It was easy as Calum bellowed the chant out, wiping the sirens that launched at them, out.

He couldn’t help but stare in amazement at his hands before he felt a softer hand touch his shoulder.

“Who goes?” A voice called out, one of the cell doors to their left rattling lightly.

“Lyra?” The siren called softly as she stepped up to the door.

“Melody? Are you okay? Did they hurt you? Gods alive, they drove Serina and I mad, taunting us that you’d been killed for betrayal.” A hand reached through the bars and Melody felt her body tremble as she turned back to the group of four.

“You can’t let them die.” Her plea was quiet, but they all heard her.

Luke groaned before Michael shook his head to the vampire. And then he realised. It was likely going to be Michael and Calum’s mates.

“Calum?” Luke asked quietly, turning his attention to the blonde demon. “We can’t leave them behind.”

Another second and the door exploded outwards, pushing Melody into Ashton’s awaiting arms, earning a scowl from the red haired demon.

But then his focus vanished when the first siren stepped out and he felt his breath disappear. And his magic reacted, the bond snapping between her and the sisterhood, only to be replaced with one tied to him.

And he couldn’t find it in himself to care less as she threw herself at the siren she’d named Melody before turning to the group.

Michael was swift to meet the second siren, his anxious state settling as his fingers brushed her arm and the siren scowled.

“A fucking werewolf? Great.” She muttered and Melody laughed.

“Lyra and I are tied to demons, count your blessings Serina.” And Calum felt himself entirely lost for words as Luke finally snarled.

“All fucking dandy, but my own mate is still suffering.” He snapped and it seemed to move the group into action.

Every time they met a siren who was determined to get them, either Calum or Luke took them out. Now that they had the three that Michael had prophesied, there was no holding back for Luke.

And he was ruthless.

At first he just murdered them outright, but then he realised that to get to Carina, he needed them to tell him. He was surprised at the lack of sympathy that the other three held for their murdered sisters.

“They broke our trust with the sisterhood.” Serina simply intoned and none of them argued their words, especially when Luke wrapped his fingers around the throat of the next siren they saw, allowing Calum the pleasure to kill the other three with her.

“Where did they take the witch? If you give me the right answer, I might let you live.” His lips were curled up into a snarl and it was glaringly obvious that she was a younger siren.

What he hadn’t expected was for Lyra to give an encouraging nod to the siren in his grip.

“Sacrificial chamber. The centre cavern.” She gasped out and Luke smirked.

“First rule of coming across enemies. Never trust their word.” Her neck snapped in his grip and her body dropped to the floor as he turned to the three sirens they had.

“Where’s that chamber?”

“I can get you there. The other two will get burned.” Melody stepped forward. Luke went with him.

“We’ll stick with Calum and Lyra until one of you can give us word that we need to go.” Michael motioned to himself and Serina, and she didn’t argue with him, choosing to move closer to his side.

Luke followed after Melody and Ashton brought up the rear as they began to traverse through the winding caverns.

No words were shared as they hurried through and Luke could finally hear the chanting. He didn’t even break stride as he moved past Melody and broke into the chamber, his eyes wild and lip curled up into a snarl.

“The vampire gets to witness his mates doom, how sweet.” Sorrell’s sickly sweet voice set his body on edge, his eyes darting between the various sirens. It didn’t sit well with him that there was still so much distance between him and his mate, but then he spied Carina’s dagger in the sirens hands and he realised he had to tread carefully.

“The vampire broke three of your sisters from their slavery to you. I think I got the better end of the deal.” Luke commented nonchalantly as Melody slipped into the cavern followed by Ashton. Sorrell scoffed.

“That pathetic waste of skin? She was never one of us.” He watched as Melody’s resolve shifted and he smirked as she switched her direction towards Sorrell rather than Carina. He knew Ashton was moving to his mate, so he stayed put.

“Never one of you? I had the same as you, you insufferable bitch! I had the slender body, the looks to boot. But then you, the precious little princess decided I wasn’t worth a damn.” Melody snapped as she stalked forwards.

Sorrell watched in shock as the dagger ripped from her hand, straight into Melody’s.

“You were never one of us! You chose to waste away instead of helping us!” The stupor finally broke as Melody laughed and Luke silently prayed that he was immune to the magic of her voice.

“Better to waste away than put another siren through the hell you put me through.” With another snarl, the dagger was flung from Melody’s grip and lodged directly into Sorrell’s heart.

The look of smug satisfaction washed over Melody until the cavern began to tremble and her gaze turned from smug to frightened as she looked over to see Carina being freed into Ashton’s grip.

“Time to leave, little siren.” Luke muttered, trusting that Ashton would actually follow with his mate.

-

Calum watched as Michael pulled his mate away from the crumbling caverns.

“You can’t leave them!” Serina was pulling back towards Calum and Lyra. Lyra turned away from her sister, facing Calum completely.

“What do you need?” He couldn’t look at Michael, and he knew Ashton would have whisked Melody out with Luke and Carina.

Calum had never been sure what love was. He’d seen the aura, felt the familial love from the coven and his tribe. The brotherly affection he received from Ashton. But the way Lyra’s eyes looked up at him, so trusting and ready to help him stop the sisterhood, he felt his heart grow ten times in a span of seconds.

“I need you to focus your magic, I need you to direct it. Mine will overpower and guide yours when it gets close enough.” She nodded her head at his instructions, her foot stepping backwards to give him space, but Calum’s hand shot out, wrapping around her wrist.

Her eyes met his and he couldn’t stop the words that had been circling his mind.

“I know we’ve only just met, and I know this is going to sound so fucking stupid. But if I have to die today, I’m glad the universe gave me you, just so I knew what an all encompassing love felt like.” Her eyes widened at his words.

Before he could step away to turn and do his work, her arms went around his neck, her lips meeting his. And everything in his body began to sing, just for her.

“The universe allowed me this one moment peace with you, Calum. I cannot be mad at it, if we were to leave now.” Lyra whispered against his lips before pulling away.

He stood for a moment, dazed before he turned away, his hands raised as he began his chant. Calum could feel his magic meet hers, the force twisting together as he began to guide it.

The ground began to violently tremble, the earth protesting the use of her magic for something so destructive. But Calum held firm in his chant, unable to look away from the tops of the caverns as rocks began to crumble and fall.

Fear began to bubble in his chest, knowing that he was walking to his death. It terrified him.

A slender arm joined his, fingers wrapping around his as Lyra mirrored his stance, her body next to his, other arm raised up and the fear that had bubbled, began to shift into determination.

The second the chant ended, the ground cracked and Calum pulled Lyra into his hold, his eyes pressing tightly.

“I’ll love you for eternity, even in the afterlife.” He whispered as the world went black.

-

Michael was fighting with his mate, her struggled cries causing him grief as he felt the magic wrap around them and move them away from the caverns.

“How could you let them stay?” She snapped as she broke free from his arms her body turning away from him as she looked out to where the caves were. They were too far for her to go back on foot.

“Because Calum is the only one powerful enough to wipe out sirens. Our job was to keep you and your sisters safe.” He finally snapped and she pinned him with a glare that rivalled his own. She could see his eyes were shifting between amber and green and she knew that his wolf was dangerously close to the surface.

“Then why didn’t you let me save Lyra?”

“Because I know how it feels to lose your mate, and I wasn’t going to subject her to that pain so soon after finding him.” He snapped back, frustration bubbling to the surface. “Or did you forget that your sisters so loving murdered my last mate?” She stumbled back at the venom in his tone and she took in a shaky breath as a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Peace, Michael.” Carina’s voice was gentle, but she did not miss the way that Serina’s eyes landed on her hand, a look of confusion warring with a look of frustration.

Taking a step back, Serina’s body relaxed when Carina dropped her hand from Michael’s body.

Michael took a step forward to Serina this time, her eyes wary and he sighed.

“I didn’t mean to throw that in your face like that. My goddess gave me another, you. But you have to trust that there is a reason why we didn’t take Lyra with us. Melody will tell you what she said the moment she touched Ashton’s hand. I couldn’t let Lyra live with the false hope of him surviving or the crushing grief that would happen if he didn’t.” Serina’s bottom lip wobbled as she let out a choked sob, her body falling into Michael’s as it hit her.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered as a rumble ran through the earth and they turned to the caverns, watching in horror as the cliffs collapsed.

“Carina?” Luke prompted softly and she wiped a stray tear that had fallen.

“We have a day to find every body buried under the rubble before the humans will see the devastation.” She whispered and Luke nodded.

“The sirens bodies will need to be burned. Did you manage to contact Jade?”

“They should be here with reinforcements in the next few moments.” Carina whispered in return and sighed.

“We may as well move to the site before they arrive, so they know who is in charge of this clean up.” Melody murmured softly from Ashton’s side. He’d barely let her leave his side since they escaped and Serina sucked in a shuddering breath as she turned to Carina.

“I don’t want them touching Lyra or Calum’s bodies. We need to go now.”

It took two jumps, but Carina got them all as close as possible and she began to murmur spells, sand rising from the ground and solidifying into a table, her magic reaching out to give them a full view of what they were looking at.

It wasn’t much later that other witches began to arrive.

Ashton was frozen when Lucifer himself showed up with them, his eyes tired as he took in the protective stance that Ashton held over his mate.

“You cannot touch these two.” Michael stated firmly, stepping between Lucifer and Ashton. Luke felt either the wolf was very brave or very stupid.

“I’ve been instructed by my goddess that our mates will help bring about a new round of sirens, sirens that will obey our laws and will know better than what the last lot did.” His eyes flashed amber and Lucifer backed down instantly.

“I will not argue with your goddess.” He finally muttered. The other wolves that had arrived whispered between themselves before falling silent at Michael's look.

Carina stepped up then.

“Our task is to get every single body from the rubble before my spells wear off. I can only reapply the spell in twelve hours to give us another twelve hour protection. But that’s all we have.”

“There are two bodies that are not to be touched by anyone but our own hands.” Luke called out, his voice carrying. “A demon and his siren mate.” Lucifer gave off a silent snarl but Luke snarled loudly in return.

The King of hell wasn’t expecting that.

“King or not, you abide by our word. I already owe Leto my gratitude for helping me defy the fates to keep my mate alive. She gifted her wolf a second mate. Do you think she will not hesitate to make you obey?”

“I am a King, boy.” Lucifer snapped, clawed fingers wrapping around the vampires throat, lifting him off his feet.

“And I am a broken siren.” Melody stepped forward, her glare firm on the King of Hell. Ashton was both terrified and proud of his mate in that moment.

“So what? Your fucking race murdered my Queen. Why should I listen to the vampires threats?”

“Because King of Hell or not, you have our laws to follow. The sisterhood may have disregarded the laws, but I don’t. Put. Him. Down.” The claws retracted from Luke’s neck, dropping him to the sand.

Carina helped him up, her fingers tracing the marks the claws had left.

“And what will you do, broken siren, if I decided to take the body of one of my own away?” The taunt was a challenge, and any fool could see it. Raising her fist, she watched as his eyes became unfocused.

“I will rip you from every good thing. I will take your memories and taint them. I will drive you mad to the point that your own kind have to put you down like a rabid dog. Don’t. Test. Me.” Her fist dropped on the last word and Lucifer stumbled backwards, his glare less intense as he put distance between himself and Melody.

She returned to Ashton’s side and he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head as Carina took over.

“The only siren body we are after will be with the demon. Otherwise, we will create pyres and burn them at sunset.”

No one argued with them after the verbal smack down that Lucifer had received.

As they began to pull bodies from the wreckage, Luke visibly shivered as he came across Sorrell’s body, unable to even touch her. The dagger that was still lodged in her heart was a clear as daylight message.

Carina removed the dagger, sheathing it before continuing to help shift the rubble.

It took the better part of six hours, their bodies were weary as they got closer to the centre of the destruction.

Various species were trading off, but the original six held steadfast, determined to find the bodies of their fallen two.

It was Melody who found them first.

“Ashton.” Her voice was calm and they knew. They abandoned the areas they were all working at, scrabbling across the rocks to see it for themselves.

Luke helped Melody launch the piece of rubble as far as possible away from the entwined couple. Their hair covered in dust, faces covered in cuts and dark bruises.

Ashton knelt down first, his fingers pushing through his best friends’ hair, brushing it away from his face. Melody and Serina knelt together, their fingers gently brushing Lyra’s hair back before their first tears fell.

No noises could escape the two, they knew it would mean certain death for those that were now not protected. But even so, the mournful noise that escaped Ashton, followed by a baleful noise from Michael, who could feel every emotion from his mate, everyone paused.

Ashton carried Calum, silent tears falling as they moved through the rubble, following the path towards the set up. Creatures alike stopped as the procession passed them, Luke cradling Lyra’s body to him as the other four followed behind.

No words were spoken as the bodies were lain together, knowing that even in death, they deserved something so simple. It was all Ashton could do to stop himself from lighting them immediately, reminding himself to follow the traditions.

“One day and then we burn them.” He whispered to Melody who let out a choked noise, her face moving to hide in his face as she heaved noiseless sobs, her fingers clutching at Ashton’s shirt. Serina was in a similar position, allowing her mate to comfort her as her shoulders shook, tears dampening Michael’s shirt.

Carina wiped the few stray tears from her eyes, taking a hold of Luke’s hand.

“We’ll help finish up. You guys have done enough.” She finally whispered and before they could make noises of protest, she held up her hands.

“You’re about to witness your own species go up in flames, please. Let them comfort you and pull yourselves back. You’re the only ones who know the old ways for your species death. We need you both.”

They couldn’t argue with her logic, not when she was so sound in it.

They stayed, waited it out. Eventually, when all of the bodies were found, the various creatures began to step back, allowing Melody and Serina to step forward.

“Why aren’t we burning the other siren?” A call came from a latecomer and quick as a flash, Ashton had his whip out and around the person's throat, the magic pushing them into the air as the whip tightened around their throat.

“She was mated to a demon, to my best friend. Our laws dictate that we burn our dead a day after. Despite what the sisterhood did, we have to follow their laws with their bodies, but once they connected, she’s bound to my laws.” He snarled.

No one moved an inch before he dropped the newcomer unceremoniously on the floor.

Melody and Serina began their chants.

“We ask our goddess, she who tempted Odysseus, to take the sisterhood and grant the passage to where they will go. We do not ask for judgement, for their souls have been selected. Grant them that mercy with the fires of the dead.”

The pyres were lit up, and the sirens magic broke, the two remaining sirens collapsing into each other as the bond between them and the sisterhood snapped away completely.

Everyone was so focused on the two living ones, no one noticed when the supposedly dead siren’s hand curled around her mates.

-

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[omnivoroustree]

To Kill A God

I wrote Cat’s version of To Kill A God, the second last instance in PoF’s story. It’s 1503 words and mentions @cactuscommander’s Styran.

Catragna loved Elona. While their brother had no particular affiliation with any part of Tyria (aside from the Grove), Cat loved the desert sands, shifting around brand crystals, settlements, and spires as blue as the sky they reached towards.

They mounted their griffon and dived down until they could feel their leaves twisting and crackling in the wind as the ground flashed past; a stream of harsh sun-bleached colours and rich purple, all disappearing beneath golden feathers. This was really their home now. It had been years since they visited the Grove, and their bond was with the rest of the sylvari had grown weak. Earlier that had made them uneasy, but now it made them feel free.

The griffon, Lyra, pulled out of the dive and landed lightly on a cliffside, surveying the area. The Domain of Vabbi extended below them, marred by  brand crystal and swarming with Awakened and Forged. “Come on Styran…”

Their brother had been missing for a while now, leaving only a promise to ‘be back soon’ from a few months earlier, and a series of nonsense claims about an afterworld (not the Mists) and a café. The only cafés were in Lion’s Arch, or occasionally Divinity’s Reach, but Styran wasn’t anywhere in Tyria. Not even near the lesbian pride rug, which Cat had checked several times.

When the whispering melody of sylvari thoughts had become unpleasant, Cat had given up and returned to Elona, passing the time with a mixture of bounty hunting and half-hearted dragon hunting. And, of course, god hunting. Balthazar would be here, but Cat wanted Styran to be here too. That was seeming less and less likely with every second that passed.

Not enough time. Lyra glanced at Cat, who nodded, and she took to the air again, drifting over to a massive staircase and bounding up it. The war god was waiting for them. Cat dismounted, and raised Sohothin. “Let her go,” they said, advancing slowly. Balthazar sneered, beginning a speech that Cat didn’t bother to listen to, opting instead to slash at Aurene’s chains. They didn’t break.

“Well there goes my plan.”

Balthazar was powerful. Way too powerful. Cat swung Sohothin around blindly, but it turns out that a flaming sword is not the best thing for protecting oneself from fire. Balthazar easily knocked them off their feet, and they dropped Sohothin. It fell on Aurene’s chains, and this time they broke.

“Oh, nice! You can help me fight.” They gave Aurene a hug, then dodged a slash of Bathazar’s sword. Aurene chirruped happily, and Cat ran over to her, and they attacked the god at the same time.

“Why won’t you die and be done with it?”

Cat sheathed Sohothin and drew their staff, which they were still not accustomed to, but at least they were more used to it than the sword. “Why won’t you die and be done with it?” They retaliated, twirling their weapon around then furiously hitting his kneecaps.

Balthazar clearly decided that was not worth answering. A few Forged joined the fight, and Cat focused on them while Aurene continued to fight Balthazar. He yelled at her angrily, prompting Cat to deliver a particularly vicious blow to his shin before turning back to his minions.

Then something clicked. Cat leaped into the air to avoid Balthazar’s sword, stealthed, and swept the legs out from under a Forged soldier, whacking him repeatedly until he stood up, then they jumped again, spinning around and bringing their staff down on the soldiers head. He slumped to the ground, while Cat was in the air again.

It had taken a long time to learn staff fighting. They thought they had it earlier, but now they had actually figured it out. And it was fun. They continued to fight that way, in an acrobatic, almost elegant style that left them constantly out of breath and exhilarated. The last few Forged didn’t stand a chance.

Balthazar was insulting Aurene again, and Cat managed to reach his shoulder. Unfortunately, they didn’t expect that, and bounced off and began to roll down the stairs. They swore, trying to stop and clamber back up into the battle, but their staff couldn’t gain a purchase and their wrist twisted badly when they tried to grab onto a stair.

They hit something soft, but they were moving fast enough for it to leave them winded as well as dizzy. They blinked, waiting for the world to steady itself, and saw Lyra standing over them. She helped them to their feet and carried them back up to Balthazar, diving at him and doing some damage before flying off again.

Balthazar looked at the sylvari disdainfully, and they glared back. Aurene blasted him from behind with a barrage of iridescent flames, then gave the most adorable triumphant roar. “You cannot win,” the god hissed, ignoring Aurene and instead directing all his fury at Cat. “The gods have abandoned this world.” He readied his sword. “Abandoned you.”

He swung the blade into the ground where Cat was a moment earlier. “Actually, I think they abandoned you.” They dodged a second attack. “Aurene, over here!” Balthazar stumbled under the force of the duo’s onslaught, and Cat grinned. “You’re weakening. About time too.”

Then something unexpected happened. Their staff caught fire. They tried to blow it out, and when that failed they threw it on the ground and tried to stomp it out, but the staff had already turned into charcoal and ash, held together by a thin and fragile line of intact wood. It was Balthazar’s turn to grin.

“I am fire!” he cried, calling down a barrage of firestorms. “I am war! And what are you?”

“Still standing!” Cat called back as they were knocked into the ground for the third time. They drew Sohothin as they stumbled to their feet, but Balthazar hit them again, and the sword went skittering over the edge of the platform. They made a small, panicked sound.

Their wrist was throbbing, the adrenaline no longer enough to mask the pain. They could see Aurene growing tired too. They were going to lose again. And this time, the consequences were going to be much worse. “We were so close,” they said quietly.

Balthazar got ready to hit Aurene, and Cat saw her eyes widen. She wouldn’t be able to dodge that strike. Cat instinctively grabbed the nearest makeshift weapon, and lobbed it at the back of his head.

Their shoe bounced off his helmet and hit the floor pathetically.

Balthazar stopped. Turned around slowly, and laughed. Cat’s shoe began to smoulder. They tried throwing their second one, and it almost hit his elbow, instead joining Sohothin in the sand far below them. Balthazar’s sword met their chest, and while it didn’t get far through their armour, it left them lying on the floor, ready to either slowly bleed out or get cleaved in two just like their brother.

Balthazar walked over, Aurene frozen behind him, staring at the sylvari that had been with her since she hatched. “You did better this time,” Balthazar said, “You didn’t fall to your death before I could kill you. Congratulations.”

Cat stealthed, crawled across the ground. “Still fighting? How courageous of you. You might have been a good soldier if you were not so stubborn. And stupid.” Cat grabbed onto his foot. “Oh, are you begging? That won’t help either.”

“I’m not begging,” Cat insisted, then turned their attention back to their task. They were a thief. They should always be able to find something to fight with, and they should be able to steal from—

There was a satisfying click, and Cat tore Balthazar’s boot off and shadowstepped away.

“What?”

Cat hurled the shoe at his head, and there was an ominous sound, a combination of a crash and what might have been the crack of bone. The god fell. Blood pooled around him as he feebly cursed Dwayna, Melandru, Grenth…

“Don’t be a sore loser,” Cat told him, then the last bit of life left Balthazar’s body, and the magic was set free. Cat stumbled backwards, dazed, eyes open wide and unseeing. They cried out for Aurene, but they couldn’t hear, couldn’t feel, couldn’t sense. Even if the dragon did respond, they didn’t notice. They curled into a ball and rocked back and forth.

Sensations slowly started to come back.

The first one they noticed was pain. The cut on their torso was deeper than they thought, and caused sap to stream down their side. Their wrist had gotten worse, and the rest of their body was coated in bruises and burns. They opened their eyes.

Aurene was there, and they smiled, but then she flew off and they started to cry. They were alone. Even Kralkitorrik left after he had gorged himself on magic. They lay back, letting tears wash ash from their face.

Cat was unconscious by the time Dragon’s Watch found them, bandaged them up, and carried them back to Amnoon.

[hollenka99]

The Great War

Summary: Jackson Trinity continues to find more success, Jameson with it. However, a war rages on in Europe and it is inevitable that hearts will be broken by the end of it.

Warnings: Minor character death, World War One, references to infant/child mortality

July 29, 1914

Dear Mother,

I think I may have accidentally trained my son to call me Pops. He quite enjoys it when Siobhan and I sing 'Pop Goes The Weasel'. I think it may be his favourite tune. Siobhan will sing the song while I will pop to emphasize the last line by pulling my finger out of my mouth. He loves that. He has taken to following me around, attempting to do the same. Failing that, he tries to say the word.

So, I suppose I am 'Pops' now. I don't mind, especially with origins like these. Siobhan is still 'Momma'.

Yours, Jameson

August 5, 1914 Harvey,

I heard Great Britain declared war on Germany. I know exactly what that means for Canada. I also know what your intentions are. I disagree with them wholly. Enlisting is the wrong thing to do. You have three young daughters who rely on you, not to mention Edith. What would happen to them while you were away getting shot at?

I don't know whether you miss South Africa, the structure of the army or simply enjoy risking your safety. I cannot begin to imagine why you are so set on enlisting. I could tell you would be the type to come running at Hughes' beck and call. And to think, I counted myself lucky that the British had not yet announced their plans to get involved.

Yours, Jameson

August 21, 1914 Jameson,

For someone who is rarely verbal, you have surprising trouble knowing when to keep your mouth shut.

I am fully aware of the risks involved with warfare. Have you forgotten that I have military experience? I've already fought against those primitive Boers. The Europeans should be an actual fight worth being part of.

Furthermore, don't speak to me about leaving family behind. You make constant promises of visiting Saint John yet never deliver upon them. You are forever telling us you plan to see your nieces and nephews then never show. We wouldn't know what Anthony looks like if it were not for those meaningless photographs you send. When you stop turning your back on us so you can progress your career, perhaps then we can discuss familial commitment.

It's all glamorous for you, the beginnings of a life in the spotlight. Soon, you'll have it all. By the end of the decade, you'll be living in a large expensive home with an impressive array of influential acquaintances. One day, it will all come crashing down on you. Technology will advance further than you can cope and it will leave you irrelevant. Face it Jameson, moving pictures are going to have sound eventually. Where is that going to leave a mute such as yourself?

My daughters will grow up knowing their father served their country bravely, an ordinary hero like thousands of others. All Anthony will have to be proud of is a father who starred in the pictures before he became forgotten about.

Yours, Harvey

September 7, 1914 Harvey,

Don't try insult me.

When I inevitably have to hold our mother as she grieves, I'll remember how stubbornly arrogant you have been. You weren't there for over two years. There wasn't a day where she wouldn't worry endlessly for your safety. Then Father died. We had to watch her fall apart. He'd been ill during Christmastide and he barely saw the new year. She became a widow and all she would talk about was the goddamn telegram she swore she would receive any day. It was hell to see her like that. I may live on the other side of the continent, in whole other country, but I know where her head will go as soon as you leave Saint John. I'm not 13 any longer. I am not at home to ensure she is not fixated on very possible outcomes. The only one left in Saint John will be Mabel. God knows she pulled her weight and then some at the beginning of this century. Once again, you're tearing everything apart.

It is clear you have rendered yourself deaf to sense. So go. Go get yourself killed. Allow yourself to be shot at, far away from home and curse your family with bereavement. Make your daughters question what their absent father was like. I don't care if you find your life at the factory tedious. Your outlet should not be risking everything that matters. No brother of mine would turn his back on family.

Furthermore, I have been to Saint John with Anthony. You could have met him if you weren't celebrating Thanksgiving elsewhere. I know my career has a time limit. It is why I am so determined to succeed and give my son the best life possible. Far better than the life you could ever provide your children. I may have been happy to lend you some of my profits, if you weren't acting like an ass.

Yours, Jameson

October 19, 1914 Dear Jameson,

While I am tired of hearing about your argument with Harvey, I thought you have the right to be updated. He went to Quebec earlier this week to hear Sam Hughes' speak before being shipped across the Atlantic. The girls and I will be okay. Your mother has kindly offered to let us stay at her home should we ever need it.

I share a similar view to yours regarding all of this. I by no means wished for him to leave. He wholeheartedly believes this is what he should do. The government is bound to release propaganda to encourage enlistment eventually. I suppose, as his wife, I can't do anything but trust he will return.

All the best, Edith

November 11, 1914 Dear Mother,

Siobhan has been longing for a pet for several months now. We have made the commitment of owning a dog. It is a Dalmatian she has named Lyra. Anthony has immediately taken to her. My only concern is that he will treat her too roughly and she will defend herself aggressively. He doesn't know much better but we are trying to prevent anything from happening.

I have taken to helping train her in my spare time. It is refreshing to be obeyed by a creature of lesser intelligence. It may be too soon for results to show but it is a start. Perhaps you should get yourself a dog as well. I'm sure Harvey's girls would adore one. Mabel might be interested in introducing a pet into her family. That said, Walter (if he is indeed a boy as she insists) is going to be born any day now. Maybe she should wait until her sons are older.

Yours, Jameson

April 13, 1915 Dear Mother,

Have you seen Chaplin's latest? That Tramp character looks like he has promise. My Jolly Gentleman is selling well also. I am grateful people adore him. He is dear to me. Could you imagine a meeting between Chaplin's Tramp and my Gentleman? It would be quite the escapade.

Did Cliff tell you I've met the man? They are acquaintances from their respective times at Keystone. I met Cliff outside of the studios at the end of a day of filming. Chaplin was there too. Cliff introduced us so I did my best to strike a short conversation. He comes across as a good fellow. If I'm going to be honest, I find it difficult to imagine he and the Tramp share the same face. I doubt people have the same issue with me as my moustache is genuine.

Yours, Jameson

June 11, 1915 Dear all,

We're amazed by how successful 'Puppet Man' has become. To think, the idea came to me from a children's book. I bought a copy of Carlo Collodi's 'The Adventures of Pinocchio' last year. It is originally Italian but a woman named Mary Alice Murray translated it into English. It has illustrations and I generally thought Anthony would enjoy it. Instead, I found myself reading it.

It's about a carpenter who creates the eponymous puppet boy. Pinocchio is a compulsive lair and by the end he finds himself as real of a boy as any reading the story. The Christian message is blatant but overall, it is not a bad book. My only issue with it is the scene where bandits hang Pinocchio until they tire of waiting for him to suffocate. I am not sure whether I will include that part when reading it to Anthony.

I never plagiarized. 'Puppet Man' was merely inspired by the story. I could never use the elongating nose because that trait is unique to Pinocchio. Honestly, the only similarities between the two are that a puppet finds life by the finale.

Still, $300,000 is a lot of money. We've never made this much profit before. It's not our first feature film but this is Pearl's directorial debut. This may be the big break we've been hoping for. We have nothing to do but celebrate and plan how to proceed.

Yours, Jameson

Oliver Charles Jackson Male October 21, 1915 Los Angeles Siobhan O'Hara Jameson Jackson

October 30, 1915 Dear all,

It seems we have a jealous older brother on our hands. Yesterday, we found Anthony hiding Oliver in his toy box after he emptied it, saying it was all Oliver's fault. When he noticed we were watching, he cried. He says we stopped paying attention to him and that he's been replaced. I attempted to calmly explain to him why we don't bury baby brothers in our toys.

It may take time for him to get used to this new arrangement. Let us hope the two are on better terms eventually. As of now, it is clear he is the same Anthony he was a month ago. He later leaned over the cot and reminded 'Ollie' who was in control but was apologetic when caught. He's just attention-seeking now that his parents have to dedicate more time to the baby. I was similarly upset with Pearl, wasn't I?

Yours amusingly, Jameson

January 23, 1916 Dear Jameson,

It was delightful to see you reprising your role as best man at Cliff's wedding. Anthony made a good ring bearer, even if he was a little side-tracked by the amount of guests present. Furthermore, I loved meeting baby Oliver. Either he was on his best behaviour or Anthony is finally beginning to warm to his brother.

I was wrong about Loretta. She is a charming woman and I am glad she has now joined our family. You were right, his relationship with her is worlds away from what he had with Elizabeth. While I do wish them a happy life with children, I can't help but wonder what became of Clara and Daniel. They are still his children, even if none of us have laid eyes on them in years. Let's hope their future half-siblings will be raised with their father present.

Yours, Your mother

May 1, 1916 Dear all,

I have been following the recent rebellion in Ireland. I wasn't exactly supportive of the Unionists using violence to promote their views. Then a British soldier began using human shields and shot a child who was likely minding his own business. His superiors better take appropriate action after this. I'm not necessarily saying the man must hang but he should be punished accordingly. And no plea of insanity. If I hear he gets away with his despicable actions because he feigns insanity or the British turn a blind eye, I will be furious. I sincerely hope the Irish won't let this rebellion be forgotten. I don't endorse the fighting, especially as Europe has enough blood being shed as it is, but I do understand their struggle.

I wonder what Granny would make of all this. It's impossible to forget the passion with which she would insist it was never a famine but a starvation. She had every right to be feel strongly on the subject. I may have listened to her a little too intently as a child. Although, she was always right about the British making their way up the global hierarchy. The sun may never set on the British Empire but maybe it should, it would be easier to pretend blood didn't water the soil years ago.

I've learned two things over the past few years. I find myself somewhat impassioned when it comes to the British and pacifism. I prefer to stay slow to anger. I doubt I will ever cease reacting strongly to those subjects. I plan to stop so I do not carry on this narrow-minded attitude in my sons. Besides, Siobhan is the Irish one. She doesn't have as strong of an opinion on British rule.

I suspect the Irish will continue fighting for the Ireland they want during the remainder of this century. I can only hope the fatalities and casualties involved in this is kept to a minimum.

Yours, Jameson

June 23, 1916 Dear Mother,

The other day, Anthony must have been somewhat bored because he heaved his brother off the floor and made Ollie 'ride' Lyra. I'm not sure how she felt about the incident but she didn't react negatively. Oliver, however, wasn't too pleased to be handled in such a way. Eight months after meeting his brother, Anthony is still learning how to be gentle. I suppose there have been worse brothers. Didn't Cliff try to drag me into the sea at one point because I tripped on his blocks? I glad our relationship has matured and he isn't planning my murder anymore.

I managed to capture the moment. It is a little blurry but you can see well enough what Anthony is doing. I hope you enjoy the photograph.

Yours, Jameson

July 16, 1916 Dear Jameson,

Do you remember David Wynton? The two of you used to be such close friends. You seemed to lose touch with each other after you left for New York. I never really understood why that happened.

I am so sorry, Jameson. I ran into his mother at the market and we began to talk. She received a telegram earlier this month. I didn't know how to respond. I wish I didn't have to tell you about his death. You should at least know.

You have my sympathy, Your mother

August 1, 1916 Dear Mother,

Thank you for telling me the news. Although, I think you may be mistaken. David and I still talked to each other until last year. I'll admit it was at a decreased frequency than in our youth but we corresponded nonetheless. In fact, he was at the wedding. Do you not remember?

Anthony is excited for his fourth birthday next Monday. He is very confused as to why his Pops has suddenly decided to stop playing with him. I feel bad for subjecting him to this unexplained change in behaviour. I'm not sure whether he would even understand the concept of death. I found myself telling Oliver about David last night as I prepared him for bedtime. Nine month olds are not inclined to ask you questions throughout your story. In the end, I had to pass him to Siobhan.

Siobhan herself is very understanding. I am grateful for that, not that I ever expected her to be anything but supportive in times like these. There are boys she knew from Limerick who are never coming home too.

I wish this war would end already. In the very least, we still have Harvey. As against his decision as I am, I do miss him. If this is how affected I am by the death of a lifelong friend, I cannot bare the thought of losing a brother.

Tell his family I am thinking of them, Jameson

October 12, 1916 Dear Mother,

It was odd to be back in Saint John after the news earlier this year. Even stranger was visiting David's family for a moment to personally give my sympathies, only to discover he has a son. He'd told me he had a girlfriend but never mentioned she had been expecting when he left. Maybe he believed I'd think less of him because the boy is illegitimate. I never could judge him for that.

It is funny that his son is named Winston. David was always jokingly telling me he would have a son with that name. I would proceed to chuckle and encourage him to do so with jest. I am beginning to question whether he had been serious the whole time. I do find it humorous that there is a Winston Wynton out there in the world. That knowledge makes it easier to carry on without being able to properly bid farewell to his father.

If I were raising my sons in Saint John, I would like the three boys to be friends, preferably as close as their fathers were.

Yours, Jameson

November 27, 1916 Dear Mother,

If you hear anything about a lawsuit involving us, ignore it. It is complete nonsense. Keystone claim Cliff has performed mutiny, betrayed them, whatever drivel they are spouting this week. There is no case. There was no legal agreement that Cliff wouldn't return to Jackson Trinity during his contract with Keystone. Even so, he had little involvement with our productions during that time out of respect. His contract had been ceased for several months before any of these allegations began.

We have found ourselves a decent lawyer, simply for the security of it. It is best to prepare in case Keystone's legal team is persuasive. He agrees this is all hot air but understands why we are being cautious.

Yours, Jameson

April 6, 1917 Dear all,

Nearly three years into the war, the United States of America has declared war on Germany. I suppose the allies are glad for the extra help. God knows how long this conflict will last. I recall people insisting it would all be over by Christmas. Three years ago. There are hundreds of thousands of American men who are of the right age and fitness to enlist. With all those new recruits, perhaps this is the boost the allies need to win.

However long this war lasts, I am dreading the first glimpse of how affected the country is by the deaths of family members that will inevitably come. Let's pray it will be this Christmas that we can celebrate peacetime once more.

Yours, Jameson

July 21, 1917 Dear all,

The case has been won in our favour. The three of us are relieved. We will celebrate quietly then return to business as usual. This was simply an annoying blip.

Just thought I'd update you on our situation.

Yours, Jameson

October 14, 1917 Dear Jameson,

How are you doing? I am looking forward to seeing you again one day. It will be a good day. We can share a drink and you can live up to your name, Whiskey. With an Irish wife, I expect you to outdrink me with ease. I would kill for some alcohol now.

I wanted to apologize, Jem. We've had a tense relationship over these past few years and I've sensed the distance between us. I thought I knew full well how dangerous the battlefield can be. I know that far better than you, yet I was the one who chose to join regardless. I've since discovered France is nothing like South Africa.

You've constantly blamed me for abandoning my family. I can assure you that I love Edith and my daughters. All I wanted was for them to grow up with a favourable impression of me. Isn't that what we all wish for, our children wanting to follow in our example? You have no idea how desperately I'd love to see them right now. I want to be reunited with you all.

I want you to know I'm proud of you. While we can't exactly go to the pictures here, I have heard a fair amount of news about your success from Saint John. I know it is a team effort and the three of you are just as responsible for your rise as each other. That said, there would be no movie without a script. All the actors are doing are bringing your stories to life. You were always good with a pen. You're not bad with arithmancy but, trust me Jem, you would be wasted as an accountant.

I've also heard you've given Anthony a little brother. Make sure they don't end up like us. No one person can control the events of the world but you can raise your sons on knowledge of our mistakes. Teach them to be forgiving. Teach them time is not always their ally. Most importantly, teach them to treasure each other and never forsake the bond they were gifted. If they don't heed those words, then it all goes to waste.

I'm in the infirmary right now. Breathed in something I shouldn't have. It was unintentional but I am sitting here, resenting my foolishness. I hope you can forgive me for all our quarrels. I will be fine, don't you worry. We can shake hands the next time we meet.

Wishing you a long and happy life, Harvey

October 26, 1917 Dear Clifford, Jameson and Pearl,

I'm sure you are all hard at work. I am looking forward to watching your latest feature at the Imperial. However, I insist that you return home immediately. I received a telegram regarding Harvey. The worst has happened. We need to be together as a family.

Regrettably awaiting your arrival, Your mother

November 4, 1917 Dear Harvey,

Yes, you are a fool. But so am I. This is my fault. I've been so angry at the prospect of losing those dear to me I acted irrationally.

Dorothy, Alice and Minerva could never see you in a bad light. They only wish to have you home for good. You've missed three years of their lives but it can be rectified. I hear from Edith that next year, Dorothy and Minnie are beginning middle school and elementary school respectively. Be there for that. They are growing up faster than you'd like. I struggle to understand how Anthony and Ollie are already 5 and 2 years old.

I know you never cared for ancient texts but I am reminded of a moment during the Trojan War. There was a disagreement between Agamemnon and Achilles. After Achilles' good friend (some argued lover) dies protecting his honour, Agamemnon apologizes to Achilles. He says something along the lines of the gods stealing their common sense. I feel that applies to us.

God must have stolen both of our common sense. I am willing to let bygone be bygones so long as you

March 6, 1918 Dear Jameson,

We saw your latest film. We can't say we enjoyed the messages it conveyed.

I will warn you once and once only; do not let your works become political. This will get you nowhere and destroy the reputation you have earned. Especially when you come to your senses and remind yourself that the war in Europe is yet to reach its conclusion.

I understand Jem, I truly do. We are all doing our best to carry on without Harvey. Making a film about boys being raised to fight is not the right way to grieve. For the love of God, you used your sons! I hope you feel at least the slightest bit of shame. How Cliff or Pearl, let alone your wife, allowed you to use them is a mystery to me.

I remember the happy boy who would steal my candy when he thought I wasn't looking. I remember the brother who smiled whenever he was ill so we wouldn't fret too much. I remember the Jem who had his voice stolen as a child, his health forever compromised, but took it all in his stride.

I don't recall a man with an uncharacteristically dark mind.

You have so much to be happy about. Your third child is due in June, you have a successful career and business, your wife cares for you and you still have three other siblings who have always been there for you.

Please think things through, Mabel

Sophia Evelyn Jackson Female April 29, 1918 Los Angeles Siobhan O'Hara Jameson Jackson

May 8, 1918 Dear Mother,

Sophia arrived a week ago on the 29th. She is 5 weeks too early and I have been so consumed with anxiety that I forgot to even inform you of her birth. I apologize.

The boys haven't been able to properly meet their sister. Children are so susceptible to diseases. God forbid one of them develops a cold and interacts with Sophia. She is so unbearably fragile as of right now. All it takes is for her to be infected with a common illness, one that is relatively harmless, and she could be gone.

I fear that will be the thing to push me over the edge. Harvey's death is fresh and I can't bare to lose more of those I care for. Everything is out of my control and cruelly so. I know there were two between myself and Pearl. Siobhan had a number of older siblings she never got to meet. Was this how it was for you and her parents? I know Cliff and I had a habit of making a nuisance of ourselves. If we caused you distress while you suffered this way, I cannot begin to apologize enough.

I don't care if she is a sickly child. She can spend her whole life bedridden and I will care for her with everything I have. I will happily remain paranoid regarding her wellbeing for as long as I live. If she must be isolated for her own good, I will keep her company. So long as she is still here. There cannot be any other alternative.

Wishing I could have given you good news, Jameson

November 12, 1918 Dear all,

It's over! It's finally over. I may have shed a tear or two when I heard the news. I can't help but think of all the fortunate families who will be welcoming their fathers, husbands and brothers back home. I can't imagine how relieved they must be at the announcement. Then there are families such as ours who will find all of this bittersweet. I suppose the only comfort we can have is that no more will have to grieve like us because of the Great War.

They call it the war to end all wars and, as desperately hopeful as I am that will prove true, I know what Man is like. Give it a century or so. The survivors will pass war stories down to their sons and grandsons. One day, this war will be but a collection of stories and some fool will cause history to repeat itself.

I'll do what I can to make sure neither Anthony nor Oliver will end up that fool. I hated having to raise them during such a horrific conflict. I hope they won't remember this part of their life. Six and three years of age is too young to retain vivid memories, I think.

Thinking of you, Jameson

[sleeplesspensieve]

Remedy For Guilt - XXVI

Summary: The daughter of Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange is a Healer who finds herself not only haunted by her past but also questioning her choice in career. When Lyra Lestrange’s old headmaster offers her a position as Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher she finds herself thrown into an adventure involving a secret affair with a colleague, discovering the cure for a disease and dealing with students cursing themselves. Who knew that being a Hogwarts Professor was such a rollercoaster?

Set in the school year of 1990-1991 with the prospect of a sequel, or two, on the horizon.

Rated: E for graphic sex scenes in THIS and later chapters. Over 18′s only please.

Word Count: 4141

Multichapter Fic (Expected to be around 30-35 chapters with a planned sequel which will take place during the Harry Potter Books)

Chapter Twenty Six - A Deal

“All of you go,” Severus commanded as he glided down the stairs, “Except for you Weasley.”

The students left, whispering harshly to one another as they filed out,  looking over their shoulders back at Lyra. She could feel the judgement in their gazes, her stomach sinking and nausea overcoming her. She looked down at the boy, attempting to focus on him but instead admonishing herself for her negligence.

Severus was hovering over the boy, muttering incantations as George tightly held onto his brother’s hand. He noticed that as time passed the texture of his hand was changing; his skin was rough and his fingers grew long almost into talons. He looked down at his hand and pulled the sleeve up, feathers were starting to appear.

“What the fuck is happening?” he asked in a panicked voice.

“It seems like your brother is turning into a bird of some sort,” Severus responded.

“A bird?!” George repeated, “Is he going to be ok?”

“It won’t kill him,” Severus answered as he straightened up, “We best take him to the Hospital Wing.”

Lyra nodded before turning to her friend, “Anneli, you can go home.”

“Lyra, I’m so sorry,” the woman responded, “It was my fault, I should’ve put it away.”

Lyra shook her head, “It was my responsibility. Please, just go. I’ll let you know what happens, there’s nothing you can do.”

Anneli sighed, hesitating before taking her leave. Lyra placed the remainder of the artefact in the cabinet and ensured it was locked as Severus summoned a stretcher, levitating Fred Weasley onto it.

As the four of them made their way to the Hospital Wing, Severus cast muffliato to ensure that Lyra and himself could speak in private.

“I don’t think I can remove the curse without breaking the mask,” he said, “Even if I did, I’m not entirely sure Weasley will ever look the same. Poppy may be able to reverse the effects but it is Dark Magic, Lyra.”

“Merlin,” she exclaimed, “I’ve really fucked up.”

“The only other way I see out of this predicament is Lucius.”

“He’s going to fucking kill me, Sev.”

“Probably should’ve thought of that before you went pinching his prized possessions and leaving them out for children to play with.”

She let out an exasperated sigh.

“They are his artefacts,” he continued, “He will know how to counteract the curse.”

“Ah yes, that will go well,” she said, “Hey, Uncle Lucy, I stole one of your artefacts and whoops, it’s cursed one of the Weasley boys, you know that family of blood traitors you love so well, yep, great. Thanks, could you just come with me so we could reverse it so he doesn’t turn into a fucking bird.”

“I could go and speak to him.”

She laughed, “Oh yes, that’ll look well. I’ll send my secret boyfriend, the one he wants me to end my relationship with to his house so he can kill him. Or maybe you’ll be lucky Sev and he’ll just castrate you instead.”

“Look,” he said stopping and turning to face her, “Either you go and ask him or you come back with one of his priceless artefacts broken and possibly lose your job and Order of Merlin for endangering the Weasley’s life.”

She gritted her teeth, “Fine. I’ll go. Once we have him settled in.”

“Go now,” he demanded, “I’ll deal with everything here.”

Lyra let out a growl of resistance but surrendered, following Severus’ instruction and rushing out of Hogwarts, clear of the anti-apparation barrier.

She braced herself as she arrived at the gates of Malfoy Manor, apprehensive to engage with her Uncle given their last interaction but it was necessary. Quickly, she made her way down the path and into the Manor.

“Uncle Lucius,” she called sweetly as she entered.

“In here,” he answered, his voice carrying from the rear lounge room.

She took long strides towards the room and took a breath before pushing the door open. She smiled at the sight of him, “Uncle.”

With one hand he shut his book and peered over it, his eyes narrowed at his niece, suspicious of her intentions. “What brings you here in the middle of a school day?”

“Can’t I pop in unannounced on my favourite uncle?” she asked nervously.

“What have you done?” he asked.

She strained her neck and rubbed it sheepishly before continuing, “I may or may not have borrowed something of you that may or may not have been cursed and a student may or may not be in the Hospital Wing because he tried to wear it.”

Lucius’ eyes shut for a moment and he exhaled a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself but his jaw was very obviously still tense. He slammed his book down on the table and sucked in his lips, his hand clenched for a moment before he released it. Another deep breath was taken as he attempted to gather some patience for his niece before speaking. “What did you take?” he asked.

“Just a few things for class,” she answered, her shoulders rising slightly in a half shrug. “He’s wearing the feather mask, Anneli and I tried to remove it but it wouldn’t work.”

“What did you take?” he repeated with venom this time.

“The black ring, the bloodied cape, the idol, the necklace of strangulation and the dragon mask,” she listed.

His jaw tensed once more and he shook his head, picking his book up. “You’re on your own,” he said as he reopened the book.

“What?” she asked in shock as her stomach sunk once more.

“Yet again you find yourself in some sort of predicament and I have to be the one to dig you out of it,” he said, closing the book once more. He shrugged, “You have shown very little appreciation for what I have done for you, Lyra. I took you in, gave you a home and all I have done is protect you, yet you still disrespect my authority whether it be running off to be a teacher at Hogwarts when you have a career as a healer, fucking a mudblood instead of marrying someone pure and now to top it all off you’ve taken my things without permission.”

“Uncle,” she began.

“No,” he said, “I have given you endless chances and it is obvious that you do not want to be a part of this family.”

“I do,” she rebutted.

He shook his head, “You have shown no evidence of such.”

Lyra felt tears brimming, her rebellious nature was quelled and instead her need for approval was rife. Slowly, she walked towards her uncle and knelt, bowing her head. “I’m sorry.”

Her stomach was twisted as tears fell. Her voice was shaky as she continued to speak, “Uncle Lucius, I’m so sorry. Please help me.”

Lucius reached out, his hand finding her chin and gripping it lightly, lifting it so she would look at him. His other hand wiped away her tears. “Oh Lyra,” he said, “You know I only do this because I love you.” He stroked her cheek, “There are some things you need to learn the hard way.”

She swallowed hard and shut her eyes. She couldn’t stand looking into her uncle’s piercing grey eyes. As her lids batted shut another tear fell and inside her a war waged on; a fight between her two selves. One that craved the approval of her family members and one that longed for freedom. ‘I need to do this,’ she told herself, ‘I need to do whatever I can to make sure that Fred is safe.’

He let go of his niece’s face, “You know I am not all that cruel, Lyra.” A smirk grew on his face, “I tell you what, Lyra, I will come with you to Hogwarts and help you reverse the curse but I have a few conditions.”

Lyra’s jaw tensed and she swallowed once more.

“You can remain at Hogwarts until the end of the school year but at its conclusion you will quit and continue your career as a Healer,” he said. That was easy enough, she rationalised, it was something she had already been contemplating doing anyway. No one had expected her to last more than a year anyway so it was perfectly acceptable.

“You will also stop seeing Severus,” he continued, those words cutting her heart like a knife. She gritted her teeth and listened but she couldn’t help the fact that more tears were beginning to form. “Now, I’m not asking you to stop immediately, that would be mean and I know you love him Lyra, but you know you cannot be with him. You can indulge in it for the time being but I expect you to marry a pureblood and I want you to find someone suitable within the year otherwise you will marry someone of Narcissa’s choosing. Do we have a deal?”

She closed her eyes and felt the tears that had formed leak out and wet her cheeks. She could see the truth in her uncle’s words, that she had in fact been indulging herself and whittling away her talent, wasting it on a year of teaching and sleeping around with someone less than pure.

But it wasn’t just sleeping around. Lyra loved him. She could feel it in her heart. The prospect of losing him scared her but she knew it was inevitable.

‘You have a duty.’

‘We’ve all had to make sacrifices, my dear.’

Her aunt’s words rung true in her mind in that fleeting moment that passed and she knew what she had to do. With a staggered breath she nodded, accepting her fate. “Deal,” she said.

Lucius stood and offered a hand to Lyra. She took it and as she stood up she could feel the magic binding her to the verbal contract. Lucius smiled slyly, “Let’s go.”

~

The Weasley lay unconscious on a bed in the hospital wing with privacy shades staggered around the bed to hide the fact that he was completely unrecognisable. Blue feathers covered the length of his body, replacing even his iconic red hair. Where his nose once was, instead a hardened beak. He looked like an odd cross between a human and a bird.

Standing around him were Professors McGonagall and Snape, accompanied by his family members. His brothers had been pulled out of class for the day and Mrs. Weasley had rushed to Hogwarts as soon as she had heard with her two youngest children in tow. She was absolutely hysterical, the eldest child there was Charlie and he attempted to comfort her as they stood nearby waiting for something to happen.

Lyra burst through the doors of the Hospital Wing with Lucius following right behind her.

“You didn’t tell me it was a Weasley,” he hissed.

“Would you have come if I did?” she asked.

He gritted his teeth, “No.”

“This is who you brought to fix this?!” Molly Weasley shouted as she saw the two approach, “I refuse to have my son be touched by a Dark Wizard. If Arthur was here he would have a fit.”

“Good thing he isn’t,” Lucius retorted, “You seem to have bought the rest of your misfit family.”

“Lucius,” Lyra said in a warning tone.

“Where is Albus?” she asked, directing her question to Minerva, “Surely, he can’t allow this to happen.”

“Albus is out,” Minerva replied, “As acting headmistress I give Lyra permission to do what she sees fit to help aid your son as she was the one that got him into this mess.”

Molly looked over to Lyra who gave her an apprehensive smile. “She’s the teacher?!” Molly said, “Good heavens, she looks way too young to be teaching, did she only graduate last year? This is gross negligence.”

“Lyra was two years above Bill,” Charlie said, “In fact, I believe that they dated.”

“You dated Bill?” Molly asked.

Lyra cringed at the revelation, she could feel the heat of Lucius’ stare boring into her. “When we were like 15 for a month or two,” Lyra answered, “It was nothing.”

“Merlin’s beard,” the red headed witch exclaimed, “I cannot believe this.”

“Look,” Lyra said, “History aside, I assure you that we will get Fred back to normal.”

“So why is he here?” she asked with venom, pointing at Lucius.

“Because I know how to reverse the curse,” he replied.

“Of course, they were probably your artefacts to begin with,” Molly said.

“I borrowed them off of Borgin and Burkes,” Lyra interjected, “I had a lesson on curse breaking for our seventh years. I wanted it to be an immersive experience and I had an old friend come to teach them. Carelessly, we failed to pack them away when the lesson came to its conclusion. It was my responsibility and I admit fault but I have brought Lucius here to remedy the situation.”

“Then why are you just standing there?” she asked, “Do something.”

“It takes time,” Lucius responded, “We need to wait until he has fully transformed before attempting the spell otherwise he may permanently remain in this state and we don’t want that, do we now?” He gave a charming smile to Mrs. Weasley who merely scoffed.

“Just leave it to us,” Lyra told Molly, “We’ll have Fred back up to pranking in no time.”

“Come Molly,” Minerva said, “We can have some tea in my office.”

Lyra saw Molly begin to protest and spoke, “I promise we won’t harm him. You can trust me.”

The witch looked worriedly at the eldest boy and he nodded at his mum, wrapping an arm around her. As they began to move off towards the exit they were stopped in their tracks as they heard a rustle of sheets and long groan coming from the bed.

“Mum?” the feathered boy called out.

She spun on the spot, “Fred?” He smiled and sat up in bed. “Oh, Fred,” she said as she rushed to his side, “What the hell have you done to yourself?”

He held out his arms and observed the feathers that were covering his body. “Wicked,” he grinned.

“I see my help is no longer needed,” Lucius said, “I best be off.”

“No,” Lyra said pulling Lucius back, “You are holding up your end of the deal.”

He rolled his eyes, “He seems to want to stay that way.”

“You will fix him right this instant,” Molly demanded.

“I don’t take well to being ordered around by filth,” he sneered.

“Lucius, be civil,” Severus ordered, earning a glare from the wizard.

Lyra turned to Fred, “Do you really want to be an overgrown chicken for the rest of your life?”

“I mean, is it really that bad of a look?” he asked with a grin.

“At least we can tell the difference between you and George now,” Lyra joked earning a laugh from most of the Weasley boys.

“You are not staying this way,” Molly said, “Turn him back now. Please.”

Lyra looked to Lucius and he looked back with a bored expression. He tensed for a moment and sighed, “Fine. Lyra and Severus I need you to cast a spell of greater restoration with me.” The two nodded and drew their wands. “1, 2, 3,” he counted and on the third count the three of them all cast the spell.

Fred’s beak began to soften, receding back until it was a soft and pliable nose and mouth once more. The feathers shrunk and retreated back into his skin and as it did so the texture of his skin returned to normal, now flesh and pink. The mask that sat on his face lost all of its colour, the brilliant blue had vanished and it turned into a stone grey before falling into his lap.

Lucius summoned it towards him, plucking it easily out of the air. “I believe my job is complete,” he said, “I will be taking the rest of your artefacts back to Borgin and Burke’s.”

Lyra nodded and followed him out the door whilst the Weasley family crowded the bed.

“You failed to mention that you dated a Weasley,” he sneered.

“I failed to mention a lot of people I casually fucked in high school,” she retorted, “At least he was pure, to a degree.”

“Don’t you dare think that counts, Lyra,” he said as he glared at her, “I can’t believe you tricked me into coming here to help a Weasley. Be glad his father wasn’t here otherwise that boy would still be clucking around.”

Lyra laughed, “I’m thankful you came and helped me.”

“Lyra,” he said in a softer tone, “I would do anything for you as long as you don’t disappoint me. You shouldn’t have taken my things.”

“I apologise,” she said.

“Don’t think that lets you off the hook,” he replied, “I am holding you to your end of the deal too.”

She sighed and nodded, “I understand.”

~

The day came to its end, classes had finished and Lyra had found her way back to Severus’ quarters after Lucius had stripped her of his possessions.

“What a day,” she sighed as she slumped into the armchair that sat across from the fireplace.

“Indeed,” he replied, “Your life is always full of excitement.”

Lyra laughed, “What I would give for it to be calm and quiet for a while.”

“We can always head to bed early,” he suggested, “Unwind in a bath.”

She smirked, “I’d like that.”

Severus got up and headed to the bathroom first, Lyra following shortly behind him. He had already disrobed and the bath was switched on. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and laid sweet kisses on his back before she too removed her clothes. Severus slipped in first and Lyra took her position between his legs with his arms wrapped around her.

“So, what deal did you make with Lucius?” he asked as he pressed his lips on her head.

She bit her lip and thought for a second before answering, “I said I’d quit at the end of the school year.” It was a partial truth, she didn’t think it was necessary for Severus to know the whole truth. She was just thankful that he couldn’t look directly into her eyes at that moment as she was sure her occlumency shields would be vulnerable.

“And that was enough?”

“To convince him to come?” she asked, “Yeah, if he knew it was Fred Weasley I’m sure he would’ve pushed for more.”

“So you’re quitting?”

Lyra tilted her head, shrugging her shoulders slightly. “I don’t know if I could stay,” she replied, “It’s been a crazy year and I’m ready to go back to healing.”

“What about us?”

“What about us?” she asked, turning her head and giving him a concerned look. She shuffled around and caressed his cheek, “Sev, I love you. I want to be with you and I won’t let anything stand in the way of that.”

She believed those words with every ounce of her being. She would find a way around the deal she had made. She needed to be with him.

Severus wanted to believe her, he allowed himself to but there was this little voice in his head that told him that she couldn’t be trusted. Perhaps Lucius’ presence had cast some doubt in his mind. He tried to shake it off, leaning in and kissing her.

He allowed himself to melt into her touch and the water to wash away his doubt. They remained in the bath and talked, Lyra diffusing about her day and Severus too sharing his thoughts. It took about twenty minutes until they were ready for bed, curling up to one another in between the soft satin sheets.

Severus held her close, spooning her from behind. Absentmindedly, his hands began to wander; a slight brush against her breast, a fluid caress of the curves of her body, an appreciative grope of her tight ass. He let out a deep groan as pushed back against his crotch, her bottom grinding gently against his member that was slowly coming to attention. He kissed her cheek, and then her neck before nipping at her shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and began to tease her nipple, rubbing it between his fingers and earning a moan of approval.

“Sev,” she whispered, her hips moving back and stimulating his cock further.

“Yes, my love,” he drawled between fevered kisses against her back.

“I want you,” she said.

“You want me?” he repeated in a teasing tone.

“Yes,” she hissed, “I want you.”

“Tell me how much you want me,” he demanded as he continued his assault on her breasts.

She could feel the arousal begin to pool between her legs as each tug and roll of her nipple flooded her body with heat, her hips continuing to grind back into him. “Sev, I need you,” she panted, “I want your cock in me. I want you to fuck me. I want you to fuck me. I need you to fill me.”

“You only need to ask, my love,” he teased, his hand wrapped around his erection and guided it towards Lyra’s heat. She held her cheeks open, allowing him to slide in slowly.

Once his cock was fully enveloped he held her close to him once more, his hands groped her breasts instead as he made small movements inside her, giving them both enough friction to satiate their need to be close but not enough to drive them to orgasm but in that moment it didn’t matter.

All he wanted was to be inside her, to be as close as he could physically be to her and she accepted that. She enjoyed the intimacy and laziness of their spoon-like fucking. He was close to her, he was around her and she was safe in his arms. He made her feel so small but so full, both of his cock and of his love.

He peppered kisses on every bit of exposed flesh that was near his head and she wrapped arm tighter around her body, interlocking their fingers. She attempted to thrust back into him and grind on his cock, allowing him deeper if possible.

They continued this for several minutes, focusing on the feeling of just being together and owning one another in that moment, each other’s bodies and hearts belonging to the other.

He felt Lyra’s pussy tighten around him and tease him, wanting to squeeze every drop of come out of him. He grew tired of the lack of friction eventually, tapping on the side of Lyra’s bottom and commanding, “Up. All fours.”

He slid out and watched Lyra move, her ass in the air begging for him to take her. He licked his lips in delight before positioning himself behind her. One quick thrust and he was deep inside her once more and he thrusted in and out of her with purpose.

Lyra collapsed into the bed a little, resting her head on the bed as she reached down between her legs to give her that extra bit of friction to get herself off. Her other hand gripped tightly onto the bed sheets as he pounded her in an attempt to keep herself up right.

Severus’ hands appreciated the suppleness of her ass, squeezing it and spreading it as he moved in and out of her pussy. As he did so he let go or her bottom and let a hand come down, slapping her hard. A shriek of surprise came from her and he trialed it again, this time earning a moan.

He smirked and continued to spank her as he fucked her from behind. He felt her pussy tightening, gripping hard as she neared her orgasm. One more slap was enough to make her fall off the edge and into the pool of bliss. She moaned as her pussy pulsed around him, she stopped stimulating her clit but he was relentless, continuing to thrust into her.

He was determined to make her come once more before he came. He caressed her now reddened cheeks and his hand found its way to her crack. A teasing thumb pressed on the puckered star that was her asshole and slowly he made his way in.

The pressure and stimulation was overwhelming for Lyra. To feel both of her holes filled was so satisfying yet maddening. She reached for her clit once more and quickly found herself coming around him once more.

His pace quickened at the feel of her quaking cunt and he reached a steady rhythm before he too came, deep inside her pussy. His thrusts slowed before he pulled out and Lyra collapsed onto the bed. Lazily, the two crawled back into bed and they fell asleep holding hands, both too sweaty to cuddle.

[creative-type]

Monster of the Salt Rock Hills VIII

First

Previous

AO3

AN: I had some very nice reviewers who helped inspire me to bust out this chapter sooner than intended. If anyone says that reader feedback isn’t helpful, tell them that they are full of lies. 

That being said, I don’t know when the next chapters will be up, as I know the ending but not exactly how I’ll get there. Doing this project has given me a newfound respect for mystery authors

Chapter Eight: The Case Against Isla Clark (and the Trouble with Remembering)

While it was easy enough to find the local jail, it quickly became apparent that getting inside would not be quite so simple. Rizaek barred the entrance, scrawny arms folded across a chest puffed out in a failed attempt to appear intimidating. His winged horse was nowhere to be seen, and without it he just seemed…young.

“Go avay,” he said in his thick Orcish accent. “You no belong here.”

“You know, that’s the second time you’ve said that in as many days,” Lyra said dangerously, strolling forward with a panther’s grace, and just as eager to pounce.

Rizaek frowned, shifting his weight uneasily. Thistle remembered that Rhys said he’d found him mucking stalls. It was only a guess, but she got the impression that out of Rhys’s team Rizaek was the most inexperienced. Perhaps that was something they could use to their advantage.

Thistle nudged Brent. “Tell him why we’re here.”

“What? Why me?” Brent asked.

“You’re the only one here that speaks his language,” Thistle said in a low tone. “The only way we’re going to figure this out is if we can actually talk to one another.”

“I don’t know that much Orcish,” Brent protested. “I’ll just screw things up.”

“Please—“

“Vat is it?” Rizaek snapped. “Vhy you talking?”

Brent looked like mouse that had been cornered by a hungry cat. Thistle offered him a smile that he couldn’t see, causing his cheeks to darken with embarrassment. He cleared his throat and said something in halting, broken Orcish, gesturing first to the shoes in Thistle’s hands, and then to the jailhouse.

Rizaek cocked his head as Brent spoke, listening carefully before giving a sharp, barking answer.

“Yeah, like you’re accent’s any better,” Brent growled. “Are you going to let us in or not?”

Rizaek snorted, lifting his head in challenge as he replied. Thistle thought she heard the word ‘berserk’, but Brent’s indignant reply was cut off as Rizaek drew himself up to full height. Even standing on the jailhouse stairs he barely reached eyelevel with Brent, but that didn’t keep him from launching into a vitriolic speech that quickly became too much for Brent’s limited linguistic skills.

“I have no idea what he’s talking about,” Brent said. “He asked if I was going to go into a rage if he didn’t let us in. That’s ridiculous.”

“True. It has been, like, three days since the last time you lost control,” Lyra said sardonically.

Brent’s entire face flushed scarlet, and Thistle couldn’t tell if he was more angry or embarrassed. “That was unkind,” she said.

“It was a joke,” Lyra said dismissively. “Now is this pipsqueak going to let us in, or are we going to have to start breaking things?”

Thistle felt her stomach twist into knots. Was she so incapable that she couldn’t get into a simple jail? There had to be a way out of this that didn’t end in violence, but everyone in the Salt Rock Hills was too busy being angry and defensive that no one would listen to anyone but themselves. She turned back to Brent.

“Could you understand anything else? Did he tell you why we can’t go in?”

“Not really,” Brent mumbled. “I think Rhys told him not to, but I didn’t catch a reason.”

“Can he do that? Legally, doesn’t Isla have the right for representation?” Thistle asked.

Lyra laughed, “Oh, so we’re her lawyers now? That’s rich.”

“I’m saying that there are limits to what Rhys can and cannot do,” Thistle said, her temper quickly fraying. “He’s a mercenary for goodness sake, just the same as we are! We’re not trying to interfere with their investigation, we’re trying to prevent an innocent person from being accused of something they didn’t do.”

There was a beat of silence. Brent scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I’m not going to be able to translate all that.”

“And to be honest, we kind of are trying to interfere,” Lyra added with a crooked smile. “You just want to do it the nice way.”

“Well, that’s better than hitting people in the face, and I’m not hearing any better ideas.”

Thistle regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep or the mounting frustrations of the past several days, but she wasn’t able to censure herself like she usually did. But once said, the words couldn’t be unspoken.

disgraceful. stupid, acting like a child who hasn’t got their way. what are you trying to do, convince them that you’re just another arrogant mage? dirty words from a dirty, filthy monster

“I’m sorry,” Thistle said, taking a small step backward for added protection against the inevitable blowback. “I…I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”

Rizaek, perhaps upset at being ignored, added one, final remark that made Brent spin around with his teeth bared. The pupils of his eyes dilated until there was only a sliver of hazel left, his jaw jutting out to accommodate expanding canines.

Rizaek stumbled backward, tripping on the top stair of the jailhouse and falling on his backside. He looked Brent in the eye and sneered, “Typical skotina.”

“I am not…!” Brent ground his teeth together, shaking with the effort to keep himself under control. “I’m not the one arresting people in the middle of the night! What kind of person drags someone out of their house without letting them put on their %&$# shoes? We’ve played along with your stupid games long enough, and if anyone around here’s acting like an animal it’s your %&#!@&# boss. We’re not the ones running around attacking people and we’re not the ones calling people dirty names. So before you go talking about things you don’t understand, you should ask yourself why you’re working for a jerk who doesn’t care for anything but his own big, fat head. ‘Cause if I were you, I’d be wondering how he’s gonna react when he finds out you let us through that door.”

Brent stomped over Rizaek’s prone body and threw open to door of the jailhouse. Thistle looked to Lyra worriedly, but the elf only shrugged. “Not exactly a masterclass in rhetoric, but if it works, it works.”

They followed the path that Brent had blazed, Thistle sparing half a glance as Rizaek struggled back to his feet. He muttered something under his breath, and she thought she saw the telltale golden shimmer of Mum’s magic.

Thistle hurried inside and shut the door behind her before placing the palm of her hand against the rough wood. She forced herself to take a deep breath, focusing her senses to their sharpest point. Suddenly Thistle could hear the rats scurrying under the floorboards and could make out every detail in the worm-eaten wood. The air smelt of dust and alcohol…but also of rot and bitterness and anger that had seeped into the very foundations of the building, and she could taste the claustrophobic feeling of confinement. Beneath her fingertips she felt law imposing its will over chaos and evil, but not always succeeding. Once this had been an important place, but lately it had been left empty save for the same few vagabonds and scoundrels that existed in every small town.

All magic existed in this space beyond the senses, and superimposed over the very essence of the jail Mum had laid his work, concealing his magic within the nooks and crannies of the metaphysical world. The same delicate webs that had made up the bug the day before crisscrossed in an intricate lattice, layering into a complex spell that Thistle had never seen outside of books.

A cold bead of sweat formed on Thistle’s forehead. She had known Mum was powerful, but it seemed like she had underestimated his technical skill. It was one thing to lay wards to prevent Isla from escaping, it was another to be able to hide them so thoroughly. It would take time to pick apart such a sophisticated spell, and Thistle wasn’t sure if there was any amount of raw power that would be able to overcome it.

If Mum had taken the time to lay such a complicated spell, it stood to reason he would have included some way to monitor it while he was away. Thistle had to assume that he could see and hear everything they were saying and doing.

The thought made her knees want to turn into jelly, but Thistle made herself join Lyra and Brent. Let Mum hear. There wasn’t any law that said they couldn’t talk to Isla about what had happened.

“You okay?” Lyra asked.

“I’m fine,” Thistle mumbled. “Just don’t touch the bars. It’ll make Rufilio’s mage kit feel like a tickle.”

Lyra’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was. And thank you for trying,” Thistle said to Brent. “I didn’t think he would go off on you like that.”

“Don’t thank me. I didn’t do anything except yell at a kid.”

Brent hung his head despondently, and Thistle wanted to say something, but this didn’t feel like the place or the time. Instead she turned her attention back to their mission at hand.

Despite being its only occupant, Isla Clark had been put in the jail’s smallest cell. It was bare save for a rough wooden bench that ran across the back of the ten by ten foot room and a bucket that served as her toilet. She sat in the farthest corner, half-hidden by shadow. Her short, greying hair was uncombed, and for the first time Thistle noticed how she’d let her bangs grow long, partially obscuring her vision. Dark circles from a sleepless night framed dead, unblinking eyes, and she was still wearing the loose-fitting shirt and trousers she used as pajamas.

“Isla, are you all right?” Thistle asked, before realizing that was a wholly inadequate question. Of course she wasn’t all right after everything that had happened. “Did Rhys do anything to you?”

Isla turned her head, as if seeing her three visitors for the first time. She made a noise that was almost a laugh. “You mean besides arrest me? Why are you here?”

“We, uh, brought your shoes,” Lyra said helpfully.

“Fat load of good they’ll do me here,” Isla said. “As soon as arrangements are made Rhys is going to have me Teleported to Crossroads. I don’t expect I’ll be allowed my own clothes in the prison there.”

“He’s going to take you all the way to Crossroads?” Thistle said.

“Don’t have the resources to keep and trail me here,” Isla said. She spoke with an eerie calmness that bordered on unsettling. “Shouldn’t you be on the road by now?”

“We were worried about you. Dr. Malady is worried about you,” Thistle said. Isla flinched at the name. “We’re trying to fix this, but we need your help. Please, can you tell us what happened the night you were attacked?”

“I told you and I told that elf, I don’t remember!” Isla said, burying her head in her hands. “Don’t you think I haven’t tried? If I knew what came out of the mines I wouldn’t be sitting in this cell. Those horses wouldn’t have been killed, and Marco and Lucian wouldn’t have died for nothing. I just…I can’t.”

“So you’re just going to sit there and let Rhys get away with this?” Lyra said.

Isla looked up at Lyra, utter defeat in her eyes. “I don’t know what else I can do but stand trial. When I didn’t confess Rhys threatened to bring in a truthseeker, but I refused.”

“Truthseeker?” Brent asked, looking towards Thistle for an explanation.

“A mage specially trained to look into a person’s memories,” Thistle said, a pit of unease growing in her stomach.

“If they can see your memories that would clear everything up, wouldn’t it?” Brent asked. “I mean, they could tell you’ve not gone out cutting up winged horses.”

Isla’s expression hardened. “It will be a cold day in hell before I let anyone in my head.”

“Truthseeking isn’t a very exact magic,” Thistle added. “They might have a hard time finding the memories they want, and if the subject fights back against them, even subconsciously, it could cause a lot of harm.”

“How much harm?” Lyra asked.

“People have died,” Thistle said, “others left in permanent vegetative states. There are laws against using mind magic against someone who hasn’t given their expressed permission.”

What Thistle didn’t say was that judges and investigators might assume the guilt of anyone who refused a truthseeker, especially if they didn’t understand the risks of the spell even under ideal conditions. Memory was a fickle thing, and there were some mages who questioned whether such evidence should be admitted into court at all.

Even when one ignored the technical flaws of truthseeking, there was the ethical question of whether anyone had the right to delve into the mind of another. Thistle certainly didn’t want anyone mucking about her memories, digging at things that were best left forgotten. She could understand why Isla might feel the same way.

“Okay, so truth magic bad,” Lyra said. “Why in the world does Rhys think you did it in the first place?”

Isla smiled, an automaton trying to replicate human emotion and not quite succeeding. Her demeanor had shifted from unsettling to almost scary. It was the look of someone who knew they had lost and didn’t care. Thistle found herself wishing that she would cry, or yell, or do something to prove there was still something left underneath her emotionless mask.

“It’s simple,” Isla said. “The horses were killed by a mage and I’m the only mage left in the Hills.”

“We didn’t see any proof that they were killed magically,” Brent said, brows furrowing together in confusion.

“You saw the cuts, didn’t you?” Isla said. “According to Mum they’re uniform. No jagged edges, each one perfectly clean. That includes the laceration to the sternum and that had to work through the breastbone. Either someone was able to wield a broadsword with surgical precision or magic was involved.”

Isla rested her head against the wall of her cell and sighed. “I thought he didn’t listen when I said there was something different about these most recent killings, but I guess I was wrong.”

“So you’re saying it wasn’t you?” Brent asked. He yelped when Lyra elbowed him sharply in the ribs. “What, I’m only asking! You have to admit it looks pretty bad.”

“I didn’t kill anything,” Isla said flatly, “but I can’t figure it out. All the horses I saw with Marco and Lucian had been torn to pieces, not cut. If the wings really are missing maybe someone is poaching them, but I can’t imagine how they’re catching the things. Winged horses are smart animals.”

Silence fell like a lead blanket over the jailhouse. They had more information, but the only thing they’d succeeded in doing was to further muddy the waters. Thistle drew her hand over her mouth, thinking hard. “You said whatever attacked you came from the abandoned mines. How do you know?”

“It’s around there where most of the horses were dying and the only thing we hadn’t explored,” Isla said. She closed her eyes as a pained expression passed over her features. “You’re not going to let this go, are you? I don’t understand why you’re still here. There’s nothing in it for you.”

“You said you didn’t do it. That’s reason enough for me,” Thistle said.

“Yeah, I’m not that nice, but someone’s got to make sure you get a fair shake,” Lyra said while Brent nodded in agreement.

Isla snorted, and for a moment something that was almost amusement twinkled in her eyes. It quickly faded. “Marco was the same way. He helped me out of a dark place, you know. Offered me a job, let me stay with him and his wife while I got my life pulled back together. He was newly certified when he hired me, and neither of us knew what we were doing. Made lots of mistakes, learned a lot along the way.” She picked absentmindedly at the hem of her shirt, preferring to look at a rust stain on the floor than meet their eyes.

“Lucian was newer. He’d been a life-long subcontractor, but left his old group after a disagreements split the party apart. I didn’t know him as well. He didn’t talk much about himself, but he added some much-needed experience to our group. This was our first big job together as a team. Marco could barely contain himself when we landed the contract. It felt like things were finally starting to go our way.

“Marco was an expert trapper, and after leaving the Academy I specialized in runic magic. Lucian was our heavy-hitter. It seemed like a good balance for a job like this, but every time a horse was killed we couldn’t find a single sign of what had done it. No footprints, no snapped branches, no bits of fur or blood…nothing.” Isla looked up at them, as if searching for something. “What kind of animal doesn’t leave behind a single trace of their presence?”

Unfortunately, they didn’t have an answer, and after a moment Isla continued her story.

“Anyway, the locals didn’t want us going into the mines, and Marco didn’t like the idea of chasing after something in its natural habitat when we didn’t even know what it was we were chasing. So he had me spell some spectacles for night vision, stuck each of us at different points around the mine’s opening, and set up a watch to see if we could identify the thing.”

Isla hugged herself tightly. “I don’t know how to describe what happened. Sometimes I think I imagined the whole thing, or that it was all a dream…I was unconscious for so long, I don’t know what’s real and what’s just in my head. Sometimes it feels like it’s right there, just out of reach. Sometimes I think I want to remember, but other times…I don’t know. What’s there now is bad enough. I’m not sure I could take any more.”

Thistle inched as close as Mum’s wards would allow. “I know it’s hard, but anything you could tell us would help. If it gets too painful we’ll understand.”

“There’s nothing you can do,” Isla said hollowly, as if she’d memorized the words by rote. “There’s nothing anyone can do to bring them back.”

“No, but if Rhys is right someone has been poaching the winged horses they died trying to protect.”

Slowly Isla nodded, and Thistle waited while she gathered herself once more. Thistle could almost feel Lyra and Brent’s impatience, but this wasn’t something that could be rushed. If Dr. Malady was anyone to go by, they were about to hear something that Isla had never said aloud, a loadstone that she’d carried for the long, lonely months since Marco and Lucian’s deaths.

“It was about midnight when I first felt it,” Isla said. “It came on me so slowly I didn’t notice until it was too late. I just knew. The monster was there, and it was going to kill me.”

“Did you see it?” Lyra asked.

“No, I felt it. I was being hunted.” Isla shook her head in frustration. “I’ve been a mercenary for almost five years, and nothing has ever scared me as bad as sitting out in those Hills did. I couldn’t see anything, couldn’t hear anything, but I swear it was there watching me. Waiting for the perfect time to strike. I…I panicked.”

She fell silent again. “It was when I started running that I heard the chains. The faster I ran the louder they got, until I couldn’t hear myself think. I used to think I knew what fear felt like, but until that night I’d only had a taste. I must have lost my spectacles, because I couldn’t see where I was going and tripped on a patch of loose stone. I knew it was going to attack me, so I kicked at it to protect myself. That’s when it got my foot.

“It had blue fire where its eyes should have been, and its body was made out of shadow darker than the moonless night. I wasn’t thinking when I tried to call light. I wasn’t thinking anything at all except that I was going to die.” Isla’s shoulders slumped, and she ran her fingers through her hair. “I must have done something, because it let go. I heard Marco…or maybe it was Lucian. The last thing I saw before passing out was Lucian jumping on its back.”

“With his sword drawn?” Brent asked.

“I think so, but sometimes I wonder if that’s just what I want to remember, or if I only remembered after being told Lucian’s sword was missing. I honestly don’t know.”

“But if you called light then you must have been able to see more than just the blue fire,” Lyra said.

“The only thing I saw was a shadow,” Isla insisted. “At first I thought it was a great hulking dog monster, but other times I remember wings like a bat. Mostly…mostly there was just shadow.” She shuddered. “I didn’t need to see it to know it was a monster.”

“Thank you for trusting us,” Thistle said. “I know it’s not easy.”

“It’s my fault Marco and Lucian died,” Isla said quietly. “If I’d kept a clear head…”

“Then it might have killed you anyway,” Brent said interrupted forcefully.

Isla laughed that same humorless, dead laugh. “Maybe. I can’t help but wonder, though, if maybe all this isn’t the gods evening the scales. Do whatever you want, but there’s no changing that they’re dead and I’m not when it should be the other way around.”

[magickdream-creations]

Chapter Six :: Explosions Are Necessary

“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth.” - Buddha

"Man, this sucks you guys have to blow this place up. This house is amazing!" Michelangelo had halfway expected for their hideout to be some kind of underground bunker or rundown warehouse at first. Not the massive two-story mansion in one of the ritzier neighborhoods of New York. It had all of the works for sure. Olympic-sized swimming pool, a complete room dedicated to all the latest in state of the art entertainment; totally his favorite room in the place. It did not take long for the youngest terrapin to fall in love with the place once the tour had ended. The packing had taken less time than their exploring did since the four deadly siblings traveled pretty moderately with their belongings. Which led to the impromptu tour that had finished in the club room that housed a full bar, blue velvet billiard table, entertainment center and a pretty good computer set up. They were just passing the time while April and Casey made their way with the van.

"The house belongs to Hisoka so there is at least a win in it for the good guys once we blow this joint. Besides, if we kept it for ourselves we would be under constant attacks day and night. Not that I'd complain but even that would get boring quickly." Arietta had been moving about the billiard table trying to line up her next shot. With a smirk, she leaned down with the pool stick positioned against the top of her middle finger while cradled by her index over it giving it a few slides to test out the angle before giving it a hard shove. The crack sounded and she stood triumphantly as the last stripe colored ball sank into the left side pocket. She gave Leonardo a playful wink and all he could do was roll his eyes as she moved around to line up for her winning shot.

“Lucky. That's all you are in this game is lucky, Arietta.”

“We warned you not to let her bait you into playing the first game, Leo. After that, it's all on you for how many times she gets to beat you.” Dorian had made shop behind the bar fiddling with a couple of the bombs he was building. He had a small glass of scotch on the rocks next to him to keep his nerves in check while he worked. Leo did not even point his glare toward the assassin knowing it would have been ignored at the moment anyway. The guy was just too focused on tinkering and Raphael was sitting on one of the stools in front of said bar watching in complete fascination.

"Come on! Can we at least take this one little entertainment center? This guy has some of the biggest TVs I've ever seen!" For about the tenth time since they got in the room, the hopeful teen stood in front of the 92-inch DLP television. The group could practically hear his drool hitting the floor with the dream of utilizing the big screen in the lair.

"I don't think it will fit in the van, Mikey." Calliope was playing the look out, her head against the wall as she peeked out the side of the black velvet drapes. She was not taking any chances of anyone other than their getaway van coming up the driveway. Being in a house own by the leader of the clan you went rogue from was not in her mind not a time to let her guard down.

“Wasted opportunity of some awesome equipment. Just sayin',” Mikey finally admitted defeat as he flopped himself down on the massive leather couch, going back to channel flipping once more. His words had elicited a small chuckle from Callie who looked toward him having an idea come to mind of what would cheer him up.

“I think we can find a compromise here. Hisoka has quite a collection of video games and movies in the entertainment room. It won't be that big of a deal if we take them since this place is going boom anyway.” She made her way to stand back behind the couch and half bent to look at his face which was now lit up with a wide hopeful stare. She did not even attempt to hide the smile seeing just how hopeful he was having his head tilted back to look at her.

“Are you kidding?” He could not really tell if she was messing with him or being sincere, since well he had not really known her long enough to experience the differences just yet. Calliope stood up and feigned a hurt look as she put her hand over her heart in a rather dramatic fashion.

"Michelangelo, I never kid around when it comes to a good movie or game collection. Come on, we'll go plunder all the shelves of their treasures." Callie let out a small giggle as Mikey quickly launched himself over the back of the couch and took her by the hand. The big smile plastered on Mikey's face made Lyra laugh as she watched the orange-clad turtle run off with her eldest sister. With a small shake of her head, she turned her dark gray eyes back to the screen before her determined to get her task done that she had begun the moment she sat down at one of the computers.

“That little brother of yours is so easily pleased, Donatello.”

"You have no idea," Donnie mused before he let out a small chuckle of his own as he checked the progress of the file transfers they were doing. He had made a completely secured link that was feeding every bit of information they could get their hands on to his system back at the lair. Mission reports, lab results, and profiles on all Black Lotus personnel were just a drop in the ocean of data they were gathering. He was definitely going to be one busy turtle for sure with everything he would have to look over and he was more than pleased that Dorian proved to be forthcoming with all the knowledge they would get this little adventure. His eyes shifted for a moment from the screen he was watching over to Lyra's work just to see what it was she had been working on so feverishly. He was quite shocked to see the majority of one bank account was being dumped in equal parts to four other ones that he deducted she created in the little time they had begun working. "Wiring money transfers? Won't you get caught when they trace all the paperwork?"

"Not by the time we get all of the said funds out and into whole new bank accounts in the morning. All of the paperwork leads here and to the compound that's located downtown. They'll be chasing their own tales trying to find us. Calliope and I will deal with all of themoney first thing early in the morning and then poof! We'll be set for years to come." Lyra put the final keystrokes in having been typing away even while explaining her plot to him and a grin played upon her lips when she saw the transfers confirmed a success. She looked to Donnie and held up her fingers in a peace sign before giving him a playful wink. He felt his cheeks heat up with her cute gesture at him but he gave a nod to her none the less admitting within his mind that she was actually not half bad with her computer skills. The groan from Leo was heard throughout the room which only meant he had lost another round of pool to Ari. Again.

“You know if we were playing for cash you'd be screwed, Blue.” Arietta grinned playfully at the poor sap and he gave her a pointed glare in return before simply setting his pool stick on the table in a defeated surrender.

“Good thing we weren't playing for actual money then and what's with calling me Blue?” He did give her a small shove on her shoulder and a smile to let her know he wasn't mad about losing to her. She gave a small chuckle and a light shrug to go with it as she led the way toward the bar.

“It just fits,” she answered gently before motioning to one of the empty bar stools. She then made her was behind the bar with only the thought of pestering her brother. Leo took the stool that would sit him directly across from Dorian and his eyes scanned over the various materials the guy had out. He did not even attempt to try and mess with the already finished bombs that were sitting to his right. That was when it began to click in the leader's mind. Each one of the assassins had a skill set that only they excelled at which made Leo's mind wonder to more questions.

"Dorian, you're the explosives expert right?" Leo watched the grin spread on the man's lips and as those silver eyes met his own sapphire ones he felt his whole body tense. That was certainly not a reaction he had expected out of himself but luckily the chuckle that issued from Dorian kept Leo's mind from delving down that rabbit hole of self-torture.

"Yeah, I'm the explosives guy. Calliope is our resident doctor since she has a more extensive knowledge of medicines and poisons. She'd make a damn good surgeon if we hadn't been raised to be killers." His tone sobered towards the end as he looked back down to the bomb he was currently working on. Tightening down the last screw he put the device gingerly next to the others that were ready to go. "Lyra over there may not seem like it with how giddy she usually is but, she's pretty damn smart. I actually heard her mention something about becoming a legit scientist for NASA but there again we are what we are. Can't really change that."

“You do have the ability to change it if that is what you want. The only one really stopping you is you.” Arietta gave her brother a rather serious look to emphasize she meant what she said. She kept eye contact with him for only a few seconds before she turned her attention to the bowl of cherries sitting on the bar top. Grabbing a few from the bowl she popped on into her mouth stem and all.

“She's got a point ya know.” Raph could not help but to side with Arietta on that one and Leo seemed to give a silent nod as a sign that he was on board with both of them.

"We can't just walk away now. Not until we've taken down the Black Lotus once and for all," Dorian muttered softly and took a drink from his scotch. A glare came to his eyes as he heard the sound of a tiny plop when he had pulled the glass from his lips. He could see the cherry stem now floating at the top and as per the usual, the thing was tied in a knot courtesy of his now grinning sister next to him. He fished it out of his drink and flicked it at her smiling when she protested.

"That was uncalled for!" She pulled the stem from out of her bangs and tossed it in the trashcan before popping another cherry in her mouth in the same fashion she had before.Raphael realized that she had once again put an entire cherry in her mouth, even the bits that normally would not be eaten.

“Why ya eat the stem too?”

“She's not eating it, she's tying them in knots in her mouth. It's a stupid game really and it's a wonder she hasn't tied the damn thing around her jewelry yet.” Dorian took another pull of his scotch his demeanor seemed a bit annoyed with what she was doing and continued even as he got back to work on the last bomb he needed to create.

"Jewelry?" both Leonardo and Raphael asked in unison to which Arietta laughed in complete amusement. She took the knotted stem from out of her mouth and tossed it in the trashcan before sticking her tongue out a little farther than she usually would. There resting on the center of her tongue was a silver ball glinting in the light. She pulled her tongue back into her mouth and gave the boys a playful wink.

“I pierced it myself actually,” she spoke in a rather proud manner and could not contain the laughter after the looks of shock and amusement crossed over Leo's and Raph's faces respectively. Dorian gave out an exasperated groan to go along with the roll of his eyes.

“After I explicitly told you not to. That kind of thing should be left in the hands of professionals, sister mine.”

“Your concern is duly noted by highly ignored, brother mine. I learned how to do it properly and you can damn sure bet it won't be the last time I pierce myself.” Arietta rewarded herself with another cherry but this time she tossed the stem instead of playing her little game with it.

“You've learned to hide it really well,” Leo muttered having got over his shock at learning the assassin had taken a needle to her own tongue. He opted at that point to focus on Dorian's work rather than look at her.

“I've had some practice at it. Now, since Mikey and Callie get to take home gifts I've got a Harley in the garage with my name on it.” This time she picked up the whole bowl of cherries before making her way around to the front of the bar.

“He's gotta bike stashed here?” Raphael had perked up quite a bit with the mention of a motorcycle to which Arietta smiled at him before giving a nod in confirmation.

“Want to come with me and listen to her purr?” She turned that smile into a mischievous grin that was only mirrored by Raph's as he got up from the bar stool he was sitting on. He motioned for her to lead the way so he could follow.

“You'd better take out the GPS if you're serious about taking that thing.” Dorian pointed the tip of his screwdriver at her but did not look up to further emphasize that he was being serious on the matter.

“Of course, wonder boy! I know the standard procedure.” She gave a small wave with her hand that was not holding onto the bowl of cherries as both her and Raphael left the room to get working on claiming her very own treasure.

Leonardo raised a brow watching the two leave before it finally came to light that Dorian had explained not only his own specialization as well as Calliope's and Lyra's but, he had left out one. Curiosity nagging at his mind now to find out he turned his attention from the door where he had watched his brother leave with the assassin female and he looked to the blonde male working diligently. Leo leaned his arms against the bar now determined to know a little more about these new siblings that dropped into their lives.

“Dorian you told of all your talents and of two of your sisters' talents but what about Arietta's? What's her role in all of this?” Leo watched Dorian's tinkering pause abruptly and he almost regretted that decision to pry when Dorian put down his screwdriver. The assassin finished off what was left in his glass before pouring more into it. Once the glass was full again silver eyes met sapphire as he capped the bottle of scotch and set it to the side before lifting up the glass again.

“Her role isn't defined by just one talent. She's an assassin through and through, simple as that,” Dorian spoke in a tone that was both stern and tinged with a slight warning. It did not frighten Leo in the least how he spoke, it only got him more curious as to the meaning of what he said. Dorian took a slow pull from the glass not once taking his eyes from Leo's before he readied himself to continue in a more in depth explanation. “As she was growing up Arietta would constantly get herself in trouble because of how stubborn she is despite us trying to remind her to behave herself. That behavior was rewarded by rigorous training and punishment that would break damn near anybody, I know I would have cracked under that kind of pressure. It never broke her wild spirit though and only proved to hone her into a more precise and deadly weapon. She dabbles in a bit of everything we do and excels at them but, she does allow us the reigns in what we're specialized in. The question you should be asking here is what is her weakness?”

Dorian set his beverage down again and began the task of tucking in the wires carefully so he could get the casing on the last bomb. The way the eldest Quintus sibling spoke had a sort of hidden fear in his tone that was also laced with a bit of regret for how all of their lives played out. Almost as if that last particular question of what weakened his sister should never be asked nor the answer revealed. Leonardo swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat as the click of the panels sounded in the seconds of silence. Screws were being tightened down and only when Dorian had finished did the blue-clad leader finally steel himself for the answer he was going to hear.

“What is her weakness?” Dorian snapped his eyes up to Leo's in less than a second and kept their gazes locked. Just as the assassin had opened his mouth to give the ninja the answer he was asking for the sound of a call came from the direction Lyra and Donnie were in. The two leaders looked over toward the computers just as Donatello answered the call.

"Hey, April did you guys find the place okay?"

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

April was still not sure what to make of the whole ordeal once it had been explained to both herself and Casey. She did trust the four brothers and Master Splinter fully with this abrupt judgment call but that did not mean she would be able to fully trust in the four newest additions to the group just yet. They were assassins that, whether they were testing or not, attempted to kill the four turtles she called family. It was going to take a lot more convincing to fully say whether or not she would put any faith in them being on their side.

"I get why you guys are helping them Don but, do you think it's really a good idea to just jump into all of this so fast? You guys just met them. Just. Met them. Tonight." April was definitely not going to let her concerns go unheard and she was pretty prepared to ask any and all questions she could. The bags were already loaded as they waited for Dorian and Leo to finish rigging up the staged gas leak accident. Her eyes glance up to Donatello who at the moment stood next to her and Casey against the van.

“I know you're worried April. I was able to get a whole lot of data from the systems that I'll be sifting through for a while. Whatever we want to know about them that information will tell us, trust me. I think we'll be more prepared than we ever had been.” He gave his dear friend a smile that he hoped conveyed his confidence and she gave him a gentle smile right back that had a slight deviant intent to it.

“Oh really? If you're so prepared then tell me something. Where are they going to be sleeping?” She and Casey both let out a laugh seeing how wide-eyed the turtle became and his flustered manner did not sedate the laughter either.

“None of you thought about that did you?” Casey smirked from the glare he received from Donnie before he looked toward the front door as it opened. Calliope and Lyra both carried one large box each in their hands while Michelangelo followed behind them carrying out two of the same size. The guy looked to April with a raised brow since he thought they had grabbed everything already. When a shrug was all he would get out of her he opened the back of the van for them again.

“Don't you think this is a bit excessive, Mikey? You've got enough games and movies here to open a rental store.” Donnie had quickly moved over to the girls taking the boxes they carried from them before finding a spot in the van to set them.

“Move marathons for days, bro! Endless hours of pure entertainment!” Mikey grinned as he slid the boxes he held in the van making sure none of his new collection of treasures would shift around.

“Tell me ya didn't let Mikey pick out all of them.” Raphael walked toward the back of the van having lead Arietta out of the garage. He was holding a helmet as she was walking the motorcycle closer to the van letting the kick stand down.

“He got to pick out the majority but I did grab quite a few that everyone else may find entertaining. Same for the games.” Calliope moved over to Arietta and took a closer look at the bike before shaking her head giving her sister an amused smirk. “Why?”

"This is a practically new Harley-Davidson Street 750 Velocity. It would be a crime against my fellow motorcycle enthusiasts to let this baby get blown to pieces!" Arietta crossed her arms a little insulted that her sister seemed to have forgotten her love of motorcycles.

“You've always wanted one I suppose.”

“Damn straight but I've made a deal that I have to share custody.” Arietta gave a grin as she zipped up the leather jacket over her black spaghetti strap. Calliope raised a brow at that response since it was odd to her that her sister would share anything with anyone.

“Oh yeah? Who's lucky enough to get to ride it when you aren't?” Lyra decided at that moment to take the opportunity to sit herself down on the motorcycle for a moment. She let out a small squeak of surprise when the helmet was set on top of her head just seconds after she had grabbed a hold of the handle bars.

"That'd be me, shorty." Raph gave a chuckle as Lyra took the helmet from off of her head and sat it on the gas tank. She gave him a small glare in retort to his statement but never the less she let it slide as she looked to Arietta.

”Can I have the first ride? Please please please?” Lyra continued the string of begging as Arietta simply stuck her fingers in her ears to try and drown out her sister's voice. A swift smack to the back of her head made her yell out in protest before she gave her older brother a glare. His timing was always impeccable for her.

“Just do it or she won't shut up.” He gave Arietta a glare as Lyra was still repeatedly pleading even now. Arietta clenched her fists and gave a small growl knowing she did not want to deal with a pouting Lyra if she refused.

“Fine!”

“Yay!” Lyra threw her hands up in the air in triumph and got herself situated properly on the seat so Arietta would be able to drive. The small moment made both Casey and April laugh with the almost uncanny resemblance to the banter between some of the turtles.

"So are we good to go now?" Casey had directed his question to the two leaders as Leo had come out of the front door making sure to close it behind him. Dorian had looked at Leo who only gave a nod before he turned his attention back to the guy that had inquired.

“Yeah, Callie and I just have to load up in the van and we should be set to go. We've got about ten minutes to clear out of here.” Dorian helped his sister get in the back of the van before he hopped in himself right after her. April loaded herself in the passenger seat as Leo gave Casey a hand with the van doors.

“Alright Casey, you know the entrance to take. We'll follow along on the high ground just to make sure no one shows up or tries to follow.” Leo looked over seeing Arietta putting the only helmet on to Lyra making sure it was fitting right. Raphael and Michelangelo were making their way off the estate grounds in a hurried pace since the clock was ticking.

"Sounds like a plan. Make sure miss biker chick doesn't get let herself get left behind." Casey smacked Leo lightly on the shoulder before he went to the front of the van to put himself back in the driver's seat. The leader in blue went over toward the two on the Harley just as the two-wheeler was started up. He put his hand on Arietta's shoulder to get her attention but kept his expression very stern.

"Stay close to the van. No going off for a joy ride, Arietta." He was for sure going to adhere to Master Splinter's words of them getting back quickly.

"Don't go getting your mask in a knot, Blue. I'll stay with the group," she retorted in a small bit of annoyance as she made sure Lyra was ready to go. Leo took a step back hearing the van's engine starting up but to his surprise, Donnie was making his way over to them. He had taken off his communications device and was now carefully putting it on to Arietta. Leo wasn't sure whether to be shocked that she was actually co-operating or that Donnie had been quick to realize the two on the motorcycle were lacking a way to get a hold of any of them.

"I don't think anything is going to happen on the way back but just in case anything does, hold down this button right here. It will give any of my brothers a call within seconds. April and Casey already have cell phones but since you two aren't riding with them I figured you needed something that would be quicker and safer to use. You know, hands-free instead of either of you trying to use your own cell phones." He gave Arietta a small smile before double checking that Lyra's helmet was secure.

“Good lookin' out, Professor Plum.” Arietta lightly punched the top of Donnie's shoulder before she guided Lyra's arms around her waist. The van was moving and she was going to keep true to her word as she released the kickstand so she could take off. Donnie looked toward Leo as the bike followed behind the van a very confused expression on his features.

“Why is she coming up with color nicknames? I mean, Professor Plum? Really?”

“Sometimes it's just better to go with it, Donnie,” Leo mused having already questioned her about it earlier. The two eldest raced to catch up with Raph and Mikey who waited for them just outside of the walls to the estate. The brothers made sure to keep themselves scarce as they followed the vehicles closely. They had been able to make a huge dent in distance and felt only a slight rumble from the explosion that went off. Casey let out a small whistle seeing the mass of fire in the side view mirror.

“Definitely looks like someone forgot the gas stove was on.” He smirked hearing the man in the back of the van let out a chuckle.

“What can I say? When you're good, you're good.”

“I can hear your ego inflating from up here,” April mused as she smirked back to the male assassin before looking toward the front again. The worry and uneasiness that settled on to the young reporter's face did not go unnoticed by Calliope. That was usually the same look she had when her siblings had the potential of being in danger or losing their lives.

“April I swear on my life that we will not harm your family. We will not ever lay a hand on them with malice or ill-will in our hearts. This I vow to you.” Dark violet eyes were met with green and somehow April knew that this woman's words rang true. She gave the assassin a single nod to show her acceptance of the promise before she turned her gaze to the roads again.

As both vehicles turned heading more into the city the four brothers were able to finally scale up to the high rooftops. Their movement was swift and fluid as they made sure not to lose sight of neither the van or the motorcycle. They had not seen the figure following them, keeping himself hidden in shadows and several paces back from the group as not to alarm them of his presence. Moving to the ledge of the building the light illuminated the armor that had similar fashion to Dorian's own assassin armor. The coloring of black and indigo the only variation in the one that trailed them. His mask colored in white and indigo was shaped to look like a crow and served to hide his face well. The figure stopped his pursuit, ice blue eyes narrowing as he tilted his head to the side watching the group vanish into the distance.

"Master Hisoka, they have left the estate and are heading back to their lair. I regret to inform you as well that your manor may have been blown to bits." He winced hearing the string of curses being bellowed into the earpiece and he quickly reached up to end the call. His eyes closed as he began chuckling to himself in amusement before disappearing again into the darkness.

[vwritesthingssometimes]

The Star Beasts

A land ravaged by beasts of midnight gives rise to four unconventional heroes.

Once there were more of them. A pack so large their bodies blended like the night sky. 

The stars glittered from their pelts, a sea of beasts the colour of the midnight sky. Their eyes were moons, silver crescents circled by black, their fangs asteroids so sharp they could cut through the very fabric of the universe.

The Star people lived in fear of them, what they called the Star Beasts. They fled indoors, sealing their homes with spells when the Star Beasts came to roam.

The Star Beasts killed and ravaged. They overturned gardens, devastated the harvest and killed the livestock, the precious sunbeam sheep gifted to the Star People by the sun god and the red cattle by the blacksmith god.

Until one day, the Star People had enough. They called upon their fiercest warriors, armed them with weapons blessed by the silver moon, sprinkled with water from the underworld and set them upon the Beasts.

The Warriors were four.

Castor, born in a windstorm that rattled even their steadiest tower, he who could wield the wind as a result. Orion, who had played with the venomous Ursa scorpions since he was a child and Vela, who sang the sweetest songs to tame the violent Cygnets and commanded the Arion, a herd of four fire-breathing horses. The last was Lyra, the daughter of a blacksmith with the cleverest hands in the village.

They set off on a stormy night when the moon was waxing, where the clouds covered the sun such that the stars in the Star Beasts’ pelt would shine the brightest, each thinking they were superior to the others.

Castor strayed first, splitting from the group to climb the Lupine mountains, where he would have the clearest view. He scorned the mere thought of staying in a group, trusting in only himself and his winds to save them all.

I have no need of them, he thought to himself, his heart as wild as the winds he wielded.

Vela concealed herself within the Borealis, the forest of which the Star Beasts made their home. She was wary of her party, more trusting of her creatures than people.

My creatures will protect me far better, she justified, riding away with her Arion at her heels.

Lyra did the same, but at the other corner of the forest, with her runed sword and mirror shield. Her pride kept her from staying, though the girl with the golden hair intrigued her.

I can beat them all. I am skilled in the arts of both combat and creation. I can make Father proud.

Orion stayed on the outskirts of the village, where his scorpions made their dens. He was quiet, and people unnerved him.

I have my scorpions. What would I do with everyone else?

Being high above everyone else, Castor spotted the beasts first, their star-speckled pelts shining beneath the stormy sky.

He withheld the information, choosing to swoop down silently on the winds he wielded, like an eagle on the hunt.

The winds changed, turning into knife-like blades, invisible to the eye and the Star Beasts howled as he slashed through them, blood as dark as night spurting into the air.

But soon his strength waned and his winds failed him.

He landed in the Borealis and the Star Beasts lunged at him, great maws bared, angered by the fall of their comrades.

Vela and Lyra found the Star Beasts soon after, following the trail of dark blood and glittering star pelts.

Atop Corona, the first horse of the Arion herd, Vela shot arrows of blessed silver, each one felling a beast where they struck.

But when one fell, another took its place, even as the Arion spread their flames. Vela called upon her Cygnets, pure white swans with beaks of crystal and razor talons. They attacked from above, plucking up Star Beasts from their pack, their ugly screeches grating on the ears.

The Star Beasts screamed back, defiant and flexed their claws, adamant claws that ripped the Cygnets’ throats and shredded their feathers.

Vela wept for the loss, and sang her Cygnets back, retreating to the hollow tree from where she had been hidden.

Lyra was the bravest, her mirror shield bouncing the light from the Star Beasts’ pelts, blinding as she slashed through them with her sword of silver.

But the Star Beasts were relentless and soon she was forced to flee, clutching her hand to her wounded side, sky blue blood dripping down the gashes in her leg.

Orion sent out his Ursa scorpions, the tiny arachnids scuttling out to hide beneath the leaf litter, only appearing to pierce a passing Star Beast with their venomous stingers.

The Star Beasts fell, floundering as they howled and screamed, in search of the creatures that were killing their comrades.

But there were too many and the scorpions were only few, many crushed beneath the paws of retreating Beasts.

Orion called them back, cursing and swearing as they burrowed deep beneath the earth for refuge.

All four had worked their strengths but the Star Beasts prevailed.

By the next full moon, they were nearly whole again, tearing through the village of the Star People even as they fled into their homes.

As if hellbent on vengeance, the Star Beasts wrecked the village, killing almost every sunbeam sheep they could get their claws on and scattering the red cattle so far apart that they could not return home.

In this time, the defeated heroes were quietly licking their wounds, nursing their wounded pride.

Vela found Lyra first, hidden beneath the branches of a Juniper tree, half-conscious and bleeding.

She took the semi-conscious girl, swathed her in the feathers of her living Cygnets and retreated to the Serpens lake, where willow trees grew.

While her horses grazed, Vela called to the serpent that lived within the lake, her melody so sweet that the monstrous snake came at her call.

“Tell me how I should save her,” she asked, for she was not learned in the arts of healing. The serpent lashed its tail, gnashing its teeth as it gazed at the girl lying at the roots of the willow tree.

“Take the caelia flowers that grow on this bank and the bark of the willow tree,” said it, lake water splashing upon the girl’s face, “the petals crushed with the willow tree’s bark and applied will heal her wounds.”

Satisfied, Vela let the serpent go, and it went, deep deep down to the bottom of the lake, humming her melody to itself.

She plucked the purple flowers that grew on the banks and with a sharp knife, stripped the bark from the willow tree.

With two flat rocks, she crushed the flowers with the bark, as the serpent had directed and applied the paste, lumpy and sticky, onto the wounds still dripping blue blood.

The blade she had taken with the girl was dark with Star Beast blood and the mirrored shield was cracked, having lost its shine.

She dipped the weapons into the lake, washing off the putrid blood just as the girl stirred.

“Where am I?” Her voice was rough and hoarse and Vela turned, her Cygnets’ fluttering having alerted her.

“By Serpens Lake,” she replied, not turning from her task. She heard the blacksmith’s daughter curse and winced, for her ears were unused to hearing such rough words.

“What of the Star Beasts? Have I bested them?” The pride in the girl’s voice made her stomach turn and Vela could not help the laugh that escaped her lips.

“Bested them? We have killed but a small number of their pack. They will return, fear not. Perhaps you could try to best them again, at the expense of your life.”

The scorn in her tone made Lyra shake. How dare she? The one who spoke only to creatures and never to humans.

She tried to rise but her strength failed her. The Star Beasts had torn her leg apart and her right side burned as if it were aflame. But the blue blood had stopped dripping and she was alive.

“Where are the others?”

Orion was the one to find Castor, torn up and in agony, barely breathing. His scorpions had found him by the river and led him to the injured boy. His blood had stained the riverbank blue.

He murmured a quick prayer under his breath, before dropping to his knees.

The wind child barely stirred when he turned him over, his breath catching at the sight of long claw marks across one side of his face.

One of his eyes was gone.

Orion called for his scorpions quickly. With haste, he milked the venom from the closest one, mixing it with river water.

The river was called Voitheia and he was lucky that he had found him there, for when mixed with Ursa venom, it was a very potent healing elixir.

Potent as it was, it would never erase the scars that Castor had sustained, nor would it bring back the eye that he lost.

Cradling the injured boy, he made a bed by the river bank.

It would be long before he would wake again.

The crashing through the undergrowth startled him and he whipped out his long knife, ready to fight for he could not flee. Not with an injured boy lying defenceless by the river.

Orion might scorn humans for his scorpions but he was not quite so heartless enough to leave someone to die.

His blade was not needed, fortunately, as two girls came stumbling through the trees, the darker haired one leaning heavily on the other.

“The Star Beasts will rise again. They have already risen once,” Vela panted as Lyra collapsed onto the riverbank, her breaths coming out in stuttered gasps.

Orion’s eyes clouded immediately with concern. The Star Beasts rose every three phases of the moon and the full moon had only just passed them by.

“We cannot defeat them alone,” he replied somberly.

Those were words none of them wished to hear, for they were all so convinced in their own power that they had grown complacent.

There was proof of it in Castor’s missing eye, Lyra’s permanent limp and the reduced flock and nest of Cygnets and scorpions.

“What shall we do then? We cannot return to the town in failure,” Vela asked.

“Together,” the word was spat as if it was poison in his mouth and they turned to see Castor awake, in his wretched state.

He dragged himself upright, wincing as Orion knelt to hold him.

“The Star Beasts are strong because they are a pack. They move as one. When one falls another takes its place. No one person can penetrate such a pack.”

His lips were twisted in disgust even as he said his next words carefully.

“We must work as one, if we are to defeat the beasts.”

There was silence as the others mulled over his words, strange ones coming from one with a heart as wild as his.

“I can make a web,” Lyra began hesitantly, her fingers twitching. “A web when sprung, large enough to contain the pack.”

“If they were contained, bound into one place against each other,” Vela mused.

“My scorpions could sting them quickly, with less risk of being crushed,” Orion continued, his eyes brightening.

“My winds could cut through more of them, far more efficiently,” Castor put in.

“But the town is in ruins,” Vela said quickly. She shuddered at the memory.

They had passed the village in their haste to reach their party and the Star Beasts had laid waste to it, with their asteroid fangs and adamant claws.

“Better to leave it in ruins now than to rebuild it twice,” Orion muttered.

“But the sheep-,” Vela protested and Lyra’s face hardened.

“And the cattle.”

“The gods will be angry with us,” Castor murmured as he turned his face to the heavens. The dim light of the moon filtering through the trees struck his one remaining grey eye and he murmured a prayer to the wind god who had given him his powers.

“Salvage the cattle, a ruined town will give the Star Beasts no temptation,” Vela said, for she hated to see any creature in distress.

“I can guide them with my winds.”

“Let the elixir run its course,” Orion reasoned when Castor made to rise, as if anxious to get moving. His fingers were warm upon his shoulder when he pushed him back down.

“We will make for the blacksmith’s forge, for my tools and Vela’s creatures can herd the cattle back,” Lyra shot Orion a sly look, “you will watch over the wind boy and ensure that he lives to aid us.”

They were gone before Orion could protest, Lyra leaning heavily against Vela’s shoulders.

Orion sat back down, gathering the first scorpion that scuttled up to him. He watched as Castor traced a symbol into the dirt, his lips moving silently as if he were chanting.

He leaned back against a tree, content to watch the wind child speak his prayers.

The blacksmith lived, as they discovered when they returned to the village. His roaring fires had kept the Star Beasts at bay and the forge was relatively untouched by adamant claws.

He could have wept for relief when he saw his daughter limping towards him, her leg crusted with blue blood, leaning heavily on the shoulders of the girl who spoke to creatures.

They wasted no time on pleasantries however, Lyra determined to begin her web immediately.

While they hammered away in the forge, Vela took her Arion to the scattered cattle.

Riding atop Corona, she sang a song that carried on a soft breeze that Castor called, his prayer to the wind god answered.

The cattle returned in hordes, their brilliant red hides glimmering beneath the waning moon.

Vela led them back, where the townsfolk welcomed them with relief and they were shut up immediately, in reinforced pens that the blacksmith had built.

Back in the blacksmith’s forge, Lyra hammered and wove, her clever fingers working as quickly as she could to build a metal trap so fine that its mesh could barely be seen, but so strong it could have held a thousand Star Beasts and more.

With Orion’s help, Castor concealed them both within the Borealis, folding the wind about them like an invisibility cloak. Orion’s scorpions gathered in their largest numbers, massive nests of Ursa scorpions burrowing deep into the earth beneath the Borealis to await the Star Beasts.

At last, when the web was finished, Lyra laid it at the mouth of the village, where the tree-line met hard stone. She carried her sword of silver, newly runed at her hip and her mirror shield.

Vela’s Cygnets took to the sky to be her eyes, the girl herself riding into the forest at the head of her Arion.

The sky itself shook the night of the waning crescent, Star Beasts pouring forth from the Borealis in waves, their star flecked pelts shining.

Their adamant claws left marks in the dirt as they stalked towards the newly rebuilt village, intent on taking more.

Wind whistled through the trees and the Arion loosed their flames, a wall of fire snapping up between the Star Beasts and the village.

The trap was sprung and the Star Beasts railed in panic, their bodies undulating when they found no way out. Stars flashed from their pelts as they howled and snarled, thrashing within the constraints of their very pack.

Orion released his scorpions, hundreds upon hundreds of venomous Ursa scorpions boiling to the surface of the Borealis forest.

Their stingers felled hundreds and where they could not reach, blades of wind sliced down the rest.

The Cygnets plunged from their perches, snatching up Star Beasts in their talons and tossing them like rag dolls to be claimed by the wind.

Lyra leapt into the fray, atop the second horse Corvus. His hooves left flames in the Star Beasts’ pelts as she slashed through them with her runed sword, her mirrored shield blinding them as it reflected the stars from their pelts. Her sword brushed up against the tiniest sliver of mesh once, when a Star Beast fell dead at her feet, black blood staining the blade, but she thought nothing of it.

It was made of silver strands dipped in moonlight, it could hold anything.

Silver arrows sprouted from the backs of the writhing Star Beasts, felling the beasts with the touch of blessed silver.

Even Orion joined the fight, slashing through the beasts with his long knife, dark hair wild in the wind.

Black blood pooled on the earth of the Borealis as more and more Star Beasts fell, the wind whipping through air like knives.

The Star Beasts roiled as their numbers grew smaller, shrinking to the centre to protect themselves but the warriors were relentless.

They cut them down until there were only two left, a mated pair.

Castor would have cut them down, had Orion not caught his wrist, forcing his blade of wind away.

“Enough,” said he, for he had sympathy in his heart for such things. Castor bristled but laid down his weapon.

Vela emerged, clutching her silver bow and empty quiver. She surveyed the two remaining Star Beasts, cowering in their trap.

The male was trembling beneath the much larger female, crescent eyes filled with fear.

“We should kill them all,” Lyra growled, her right leg aching at the mere memory of those adamant claws in her flesh.

Castor nodded his agreement, though Orion’s hand on his wrist kept his blade down. His single grey eye flashed with vengeance.

“No,” Vela said, gazing at the remaining Star Beasts.

“Let them live, and remember this night where we prevailed.”

“They took my eye,” Castor snarled and Lyra nodded, gesturing wildly to her leg.

“They made me crippled.”

Vela bit down on her lip.

They had killed so many, it seemed almost a shame to eradicate them.

“They are the only living pair,” she said and Castor sneered at her softness.

“They will make more. Perhaps you should like to best them again?”

Vela bristled at his scorn, her fingers tightening around her silver bow.

“If you had sounded the alarm when you first soared the air, perhaps we would not have needed to best them again,” she snarled.

In the heat of their argument, no one noticed the tiny slip of the net, just a single filament torn by Lyra’s silver sword.

The male twisted and the net gave, the creature quickly slipping through.

By the time the fight was abolished and the warriors had an agreement, the Star Beasts were long gone, never to be seen again.

The Warriors blamed each other of course, no one willing to admit fault, but they were hailed as heroes when they returned, covered in black blood and scars.

Vela returned to her creatures, tending to the Arion, her fire-breathing herd but now she had a companion.

Even with her crippled leg, Lyra worked the forge, occasionally slipping out to visit the girl who spoke to creatures.

Castor remained as wild as he used to be, flying with reckless abandon, but he came down now, out of the sky, to keep the company of the scorpion speaker.

Once, there were more of them. A pack so large their bodies blended together like the night sky, stars glittering from their pelts.

But now, thanks to the Warriors Four, there were only two, left to wander the ends of the earth on their own, for all of eternity.

[ninjagoat]

Notes on Supergirl 3x09

There's a good chance I might end up being facetious this episode. See if you can guess where.

So, it's the next day after Wake Up? When did Crisis happen?

We talk about bad writing on the show a lot (and believe me, we WILL be discussing it a lot today), but I want to talk about how Mon-El describes the future:

"Technology has developed beyond imagining; but at the end of the day, it's still in service of communicating with each other, and entertaining each other, and also killing each other. In this day, or in a thousand years, conflict is constant. But so is strength." The repetition, the cadence; this is a man who has given so many rousing speeches as a leader that they invade his regular conversation. It's so different from how he used to speak, and it's a lovely piece of work.

Kara's Best Friend Winn - who spent two days with a police scanner and a sewing machine helping her become a superhero, when even Alex didn't want her to be one - being tickled pink by Imra not knowing what phones are is nice.

Amy Jackson is from the Isle of Man, if you were wondering what that accent is. It's its own thing, but the Youtube videos aren't usually this... breathy.

Mon-El was basically the 31st Century Apostle of Supergirl. I'm here for it.

And for Imra's hero worship.

It's a good thing he turned down your invitation, Kara. Things might have gotten awkward, what with Lena being there and all. Or perhaps not. Who can say?

Can we have a ship war between Kara/Food and Alex/Booze soon? I think we're due a ship war that makes sense.

"Crone Buddies"? What happened to the realisation there must be someone else for you Alex? It was just last week/yesterday/possibly an alternate time-line.

I'm getting bored with Danvers Sisters time, to be quite honest. Yes, you're going to support each other through this. We know. Talk it through with someone else, Kara. Perhaps your Best Friend, Winn (who one time requisitioned an entire Catco office and server just so you would have a base of operations at work)?

Look, relationships are the only thing James Olsen has ever been shown to be bad at, so can you two hurry up? I wanna know how he's going to screw up a good thing this time.

I want to love this scene with J'onn/M'yrnn/Kara's Best Friend Winn - who once served as a buffer between Alex and Eliza at Thanksgiving while Kara basically ignored him in favour of her not-boyfriend, who called her from a romantic getaway with his actual girlfriend - but I know it's all a ploy to keep him away from Lena, and thus avoid pesky questions like, "So, how do you know the analyst from the clandestine government agency that helped me out with those things those times?"

Unpopular opinion: American Christmas songs are almost universally shite.

I should also point out that, since Lena knows he is DEO, Kara's Best Friend Winn - who once committed treason on Alex and Kara's behalf after Kara invoked his difficult relationship with his father - is the only person currently in this room that is not concealing a secret identity from her.

I'm just gonna stop having headcanons. I keep thinking of ways the show could mine conflict from the scenarios they've created, and the show doesn't then do it badly, so much as ignore it entirely. I actually burst into tears once because I thought up a thing where Kara tells Winn he can't come to the Christmas party because Lena knows he's DEO and it would raise too many questions. I would actually prefer that to this version. At least it would be a story point then.

Wait. Hang on. Are they trying to tell us that Wake Up happened on Dec. 22nd? Because... seriously, what?

Alex, you can't just steal a child, even if you are great with her; so stop thinking about it. Who said this 'wanting to be a mother' thing was out of character?

I like the choice that Lena would make weak excuses for why she can't just go for it with James. Putting your last boyfriend out of his misery by deactivating the nano-bot swarm he's comprised of must be a tough act to follow.

A funny thing about chemistry that's "off the charts"? It can't be measured.

A rhyming scene of James and Winn on the other side of the room having *their* version of this conversation would have gone a long way.

This is literally the fourth episode of eight you've spent time with Sam, Kara. It's not like she's one of the Barton Bellas.

"I've always had Alex, and she has my back, but-" Sorry, NOW TV keeps cutting the sound there, so I don't know how the sentence ends. I'll presume it's something along the lines of, "If you don't want to date someone who works for you, do you remember my Best Friend, Winn? Really smart, you saved the world together that one time? And at your party? Hates your mom? Remember? Look, he's rocking that Christmas sweater!"

(And he's clearly single, since his girlfriend of 44 weeks isn't here)

I cannot imagine how difficult blocking this scene was, if J'onn has to come up to Kara in front of the friends that don't know she's Supergirl and say she has to leave her own party on Dec. 23rd. I'll assume this scene was written by the Buffoon.

VASQUEZ! You have returned to us! From where-ever it was!

The Symbol is Kryptonian? What were the odds?

I get the feeling that 'if we don't know it, it can't be known' is a common attitude from Krypton. Kinda... snobby, wouldn't you say?

And since we, the audience, already know the Symbol is Kryptonian, why are we sending James and Lena on this wild goose chase?

Speaking of which, why would Morgan Edge burn a symbol into your corn-field, Lena? Explain the logic. While you're at it, why would you go see him about it? What is he going to tell you?

And by saying "I will go with you," as opposed to "This plan is stupid," we've got a solid idea of why there were no 'James helps mentor Kara as a reporter' stories last season.

A two minute scene solely to remind us that Morgan Edge exists. Yay.

Get Prince's name out of your filthy mouth.

"I'm here just to make sure you remain civil." You know what else would have achieved that James? Not going at all.

Here's the thing. It's Reign. We know it's Reign. There is no mystery here. THIS IS NOT HOW MYSTERIES WORK.

THE ALIEN BAR! Still lacking in visibly alien aliens. Bloody gentrification.

Dude, just put lobsters down on the floor if you're gonna do this ribs shit (given the platform, this is probably a one-percenter joke).

Look! Kara's Best Friend Winn - who quit his good job at a global media empire so he could help Kara with superheroing full-time (you know, right before Kara considered moving to Metropolis) - distracting Imra so Kara and Mon-El can talk! What a great Best Friend he is!

I'm gonna say this now: not on board with SaturnNerd, unless it's rounding out Winn's doomed trip through Nerd Fantasy Romance Tropes (the list so far: Kara - Girl Next Door; Siobhan - Mean Girl (To Reform Through Kindness); Lyra - Manic Dream Pixie Girl; Imra - Sexy/Naive Foreign Exchange Student).

You're not at the jokey we-had-fun-didn't-we stage yet, mister.

Creepy Preacher Dude! You're back! And still creepy!

Fort Rozz!

Right, they are clearly establishing Sam as Reign, and Reign as the World-Killer. THERE IS NO MYSTERY HERE.

Sam. Have you never seen a Christmas film before? You know what happens if you work Christmas Eve.

The Christmas story is nice, though. Sam & Ruby are a nice addition to the show.

El Mayarah, brothers and sisters.

'Cip'. Imra's WAAAAAY overplaying this 'foreigner' stuff.

Yep. Break her heart more, Imra. Solid plan.

Sigh. What are you doing going to other hackers, Lena? We know they're gonna be sub-par. Or James should, at least.

For newer, confused viewers, James is a superhero, who has a shield. Winn built it for him. You may not have known this.

This Reign fight is one of the best vampire attack scenes I've ever seen.

Sooooo, we needed Lena and James to visit Edge, so Edge would pick tonight to hire an assassin to kill Lena, so Reign will then target Edge. 'Kay. Oh, and Edge is apparently using Reign as a cover for Lena's 'death'. Except it happens before Reign goes on the rampage. So circular, this logic.

No love in his eyes? Admittedly, Kara's never been good at this.

Edge has a lead-lined panic room. This is the smartest thing he's done yet. Ineffectual mustache twirler.

This week's Jeremy Jordan Award For Doing So Much With So Little goes, unsurprisingly, to Jeremy Jordan; for seamlessly transitioning from sarcasm to serious through repeated use of the word 'No.'

And kudos for Kara's Best Friend, Winn - who once got up in his best clothes and went to a posh party solely to humiliate himself in front of the hostess (the hostess being Lena, who is of course not Kara's best friend, because Winn is Kara's Best Friend) because Kara had gotten herself in a jam - for emphasising that an attempt on Edge's life is only 'objectively' bad. Sticking up for his Sister in Science.

Okay, how late is it on Christmas Eve? Everyone's still at Catco. IT'S A SUNDAY. WHY IS EVERYONE HERE? GO HOME.

I'm not against GuardianCorp, there's a lot of story to mine there in terms of the relationship between Journalism and its Corporate Masters (it's not a marriage made in heaven, nor should it be); but like many things, it depends on execution. With that in mind, there's a few tangible details I want to highlight here:

Firstly, with the exception of letting her call him Jimmy, which is only relevant to a specific section of the audience (casual viewers won't remember why that's a big deal, and longer term fans of the character consider it the default); the nicest thing we've ever seen him say to or about her is that he doesn't see her as an extension of her brother. That seems like a low bar to cross. In fact, I have no idea how James feels about this particular development at all.

Secondly, James hasn't been challenged yet; or at least, it doesn't *feel* like he's been challenged yet. In my notes for 3x02, I wrote of GuardianCorp, "This isn’t a thing that’ll be resolved by him doing nothing until someone else makes the decision for him," but he hasn't actually made any decisions. This story isn't a James story (yet). It's a Lena story, about her taking a chance on him.

(ASIDE: At some point, someone decided that Lena's main flaw would be 'self-doubt' instead of 'hubris', as was previously established in 2x05. I take small comfort in the fact that person is likely no longer employed)

Thirdly (and this last one's much more open to interpretation, so YMMV), Mr. Brooks isn't really pulling his weight here. Ms. McGrath is doing *all* the heavy lifting: she's standing there, giving him full heart-eyes, and he barely seems to notice that it's happening. James could be playing it cool, I suppose; but that's just another way in which I can't relate to James as a character (because HOW? How do you play it cool when she's looking at you like THAT?).

(FURTHER ASIDE: You know who would have been a challenge for James? LYRA. Or, at least, a visibly alien alien. That story would be about James and his perception of himself; having been friends and love interests for 'passing' aliens over the years, why is an ALIEN alien a sticking point for him? Played by a trans actress, preferably, to hammer the metaphor home. It would also have given him a cause to champion at CatCo)

At some point, I should stop doing notes, and just write a damn review. It'd probably be shorter.

Why are all these Christmas parties happening on Christmas Eve?

You know when would have been a great time to do a Christmas episode? Last season, when it was all about the immigration metaphor, and your three non-human characters can all express how they feel about this religious festival they don't belong to.

Love the tone of this office fight (the song still sucks)

Kara's getting the beat-down of her life, and she's still trying to protect others. I love her.

That block and swing is fucking incredible.

AND THEN THE FLAMING DOOR!

Where the hell is this fight happening that James, Lena, AND Edge can be witnesses?

Impressed at how objective Alex is being here. Would like more detailed reaction shots though. Particularly from Kara's Best Friend, Winn.

Imra's very confident about Kara being okay.

Episodes since Winn and Lyra have had a scene together: 13. THIRTEEN. These counts were supposed to be a joke, show. Not a running commentary of despair. Speaking of which...

Episodes since Winn and Lena have had a scene together: 9 (Record high: 16). No, I'm not counting this one. Being in the same location does not a scene make. We'll just have to live with my pain extending to double digits in January.

[mcgrillzdumpinc]

Stronger

A fic for @onemerryjester as part of the @vldlunarladies exchange!  I am so sincerely sorry for how late this is!  I hope you like it, anyway!

Request: Okay, so since I’m leaning towards Zarkon and Honerva a lot, I was thinking of an angsty/bittersweet prompt like Zarkon kissing his son Lotor (who is sick) and wife goodbye before a mission

Author’s Note: The first two scenes take place before the rift opened, while the rest takes place after.  Also, I use the alien measurement of time, so for those who haven’t memorized the conversion, quintant = a day, while phoebe = a month.

ao3 link

It was a momentous occasion, the day she told him.

           There was to be an heir to the throne.  An everlasting symbol of peace and unity between Altea and the Galra race of Daibazaal.  A child.

           Honerva laughed so brightly, with more joy than he had heard from her in years, when Zarkon picked her up in a hug, cheering for life she carried within her.

           “Don’t hold me so tight, darling,” Honerva said, a chuckle in her voice.  She kissed the top of his head, her warmth breaching his helmet.  “You’re stronger than you realize.”

           Zarkon guffawed.  “I can say the same to you, my love.”

           A few quintants after the discovery, Honerva finally took time away from her studies.  A number of rites had to be performed, after all, to celebrate her impregnation.  In the many years he had known her, Honerva’s craving for knowledge was equaled only by a strict adherence to her culture’s customs.  Zarkon would be jealous if it weren’t for how much he loved her for those very quirks.  He even found himself chuckling whenever he caught her working when she should be resting.

           Yet something wasn’t right.  In the last two phoebs before the delivery, Honerva lay in the birthing chambers, her back resting against Zarkon’s chest, her head on his shoulder.  Following Altean tradition, a farseer from her planet was to tell the expecting parents about their child’s future.  The gender, where the child would succeed in, even what major problems the child may face. Zarkon made sure to request knowledge of his offspring’s future conquests, as was the right and duty of the Galran race to conquer for the sake of their people.  Honerva playfully slapped him for asking, a laugh on her lips.

           But as the farseer’s hand hovered over Honevera, his pupils shrank.  His mouth moved, and though it was hard to hear, Zarkon was sure the word usurper escaped.

           “What’s this now?” Zarkon questioned, careful to reign in his fury.

           The farseer looked up at him, then to Honerva, then to his divination tools.  “Forgive me, Lord Zarkon.  I must have brought the wrong instruments—”

           “What did you see?” Honerva demanded, an unfamiliar iciness coating her voice.

           “Well…” the farseer began, “It is strange.  I see two prophecies, both of which contradict the other. One sees your son, grown and beautiful, yet vying for the throne in Lord Zarkon’s absence.  While the other…” A shuttering inhale, an equally shaky exhale, “…the other sees your son dead, merely an infant.”

           The birthing chambers had to be repaired after Zarkon’s ensuing outburst.

           Zarkon cordoned himself to his bedroom after that. Honerva joined him some time later, for the midwife insisted she take a medicinal bath first, “to ensure the lying prophecy does not come true.”

           Honerva sat by him when she returned from the waters. Despite their proximity, they did not touch.

           “Tell nobody,” Honerva said.  “Anyone who knows about my pregnancy must be sworn to secrecy.”

           Zarkon rubbed the backside of his fist.  “Why?”

           “I don’t want a celebration for a death,” Honerva simply answered.  She reached over and grabbed his hand, entangling her fingers with his.  He looked at her and saw a smile too fragile for her to possess.  “After all, it was not long ago that Daibazaal was shaken by those creatures from the rift.  Giving false hope to terrified citizens would be cruel.  We should prepare in secret.  Once we are certain our son will live, then we can tell everyone.  I’m sure they’ll forgive us.”  She put on a stronger, yet obviously falser, smile for him. “It’ll be wonderful.”

           Lotor was born with a cough.

           It was such a small sound.  Should have been nothing.  The Galran race was known for its resiliency, a quality often passed on even to half-Galrans.  Likewise, there was the Altean life force, so powerful it could be transferred to objects. Lotor should have been fine, prophecy be damned.

           But that damned cough would not go.

           “You should sleep, darling,” Honerva said to him, late one night, as he walked around his palace, Lotor in his arms.  She didn’t spare him a glance.

           “I can say the same to you,” Zarkon replied mordantly, watching Honerva work on the quintessence.  “My love,” he whispered, stroking back Lotor’s hair.  His son coughed with the touch.

           He heard a banging sound.  Turning to his wife, he saw Honerva’s fist against her workbench, shoulders tense and shaking.  “Must you bring him in here?!”

           “My love—” Zarkon began, reaching out to her, only to be interrupted.

           “First Kova, now my son!” Honerva wailed.  She fell to her knees, a broken sob escaping.  “Why must this happen?” she asked as she wrapped her arms around her frame.  “Medicine is keeping Kova alive, but nothing is working to make that cough stop!  Did you bring him here to taunt me, Zarkon?”

           He kneeled next to her, a hand on her shoulder. “You know I would never do that to you, Honerva.  I… just couldn’t sleep, and I ended up here.  I’m sorry.”

           She turned to him, meeting his eyes for a split tick before burying her face in the crook of his neck, one hand on their infant son. “No, I should be the one apologizing. I’m… so terrified.  He’s dying, Zarkon.”  The shaking in her shoulders was worsening, as was the tremble in her voice. “He’s—”

           And then a damn attendant entered the room.

           “Ah!” the attendant exclaimed, stumbling back.  “I’m—I’m so sorry, your majesties.  I-I-I was looking for Lord Zarkon, and, oh no, I will go, the message is not that urgent–!” Frantically, they turned around, about to leave through the same door they entered from.

           “Wait,” Zarkon called after them.  He passed Lotor to his wife, stroking her face for a brief moment before standing.  “You say there is a message for me.  Who is it from?”

           The attendant turned around again, eyes kept to the ground as they held out a communicator.  “Trigel, milord.  She says there is need for Voltron.”

           Zarkon bit back his fury and walked to the attendant. “Understood,” he said as he took the communicator.  “You may go.”

           A few hasty words were uttered and the attendant finally left.  Zarkon stared at the communicator, before deciding to put it down.  Voltron could wait—

           “You should go,” Honerva spoke up.  Without looking up from her son, she said, “Voltron cannot wait for a secret child.  We will be fine.”

           Zarkon returned to her side.  “I’m sure it is nothing serious.  I should be here for you.”

           Honerva shook her head and looked up at her husband. Her beautiful complexion was unkindly marred by tear streaks.  “I promise you, I will find a solution for our son while you are gone.”  She offered him an honest smile.  “I’m stronger than you realize.”

           Zarkon kissed her.  “You certainly are,” he said when he pulled back.  He put a hand on his son’s head, combing back the tufts of his hair. “I’m sure you are, too, Lotor,” he whispered before placing a peck upon the infant’s forehead.

           The planet of Lyra was in deeper trouble than Trigel had realized.  It took quintants upon quintants to resolve every last conflict caused by the natives of the Abell planet, who had been attempting a coup d’état so they could drain Lyra of its natural resources.  Zarkon received regular updates from a trusted subordinate back on Daibazaal, but it was not long before he came to dread any transmission.  Lotor was only getting worse.  Blood had been found on the inside of his clothes.  Honerva was not sleeping.  She screamed whenever someone approached her.

           Only one piece of good news came during his time on Lyra.  Kova was livelier.  The poor cat had fallen ill after the creatures from the rift had escaped. But, by some kind of miracle, she was walking again, eating regularly, and causing all sorts of trouble as she once had.  Blaytz had bullied him for smiling that quintant.

           During their last week on Lyra, Zarkon received a transmission directly from Honerva.  In his bunker, he opened his communicator, and he nearly mistook her for a mirage, a mere hallucination from the distant past.  She was smiling so jovially, an enthusiastic glint in her eyes that he had barely seen since the quintant he had met her.

           “My love, are you alright…?” he couldn’t help but ask.

           “Of course I am, silly!” Honerva replied, laughing. “You’ll never believe what I’ve discovered!”

           “Tell me more.”

           Honerva hummed, pleased.  “Well… first, let me tell you some good news!”  She reached for something off screen and pulled in Lotor, fast asleep.  Zarkon blinked.  He knew the boy on screen was his son, but something was…off, somehow.  Maybe it was the color of his skin, or the shade of his hair, but the infant he saw was not the same one he had seen weeks ago.

           “Honerva, what is wr—”

           “Lotor stopped coughing!” Honerva interrupted.  “He and Kova both are doing so much better.” She cradled Lotor in her arm, stroking his face with her free hand.  As she looked down at their son, her expression was that of pure adoration.  “Do you want to know how I cured them?”

           “O-of course I do!” Zarkon nearly shouted, unable to hold back his excitement.

           “I fed them quintessence.”  Honerva met his eyes through the screen, a demure smile on her lips. “You’d be amazed how strong they became from just a drop.  Imagine what continued supplements could do for them.  I’ll tell you all about it when you come home.”

           A wave of cold relief came over him.  “I cannot wait, my love,” he replied, honest with every word.  “You are so brilliant.  I love you.”

           “I love you too, Zarkon.”

Author’s note: Comments and critiques are deeply appreciated!

[japsody]

Half galaxy for children.

Created for Friday challenge Surprise! (The fitzsimmons are rabbits! lol) @thefitzsimmonsnetwork @teambiochem

Fitz climbs the Hospital entrance’s stairs by to two steps in two, he gasps and sweats a lot when he arrives upstairs but he has been running blocks, from where he left Shield’s tactical van and he has just finished a secret mission of five days and traveled from the other part of world to Scotland in record time.

He has right to sweat.

Once inside the building, he walks across intricate corridors acting a little too anxious. Conscious of his appearance, his crumpled suit, unbuttoned tie, and bruised cheek, he almost feels hesitation for cross the double doors at the corridor end.

“Surprise!” Lyra’s super-excited, high-pitched voice appears from nowhere and suddenly her six-year-old daughter, toothless and disorderly blond braids, throws herself into his arms. By reflection, Fitz raises her up like The Rocket Style and then holds her against him by her legs, making her laugh.

“Daddy” She squirms, excited to see him for the first time days. Fitz kisses her nose.

“What are you doing here? Are you alone? How are you? "He starts to ask but is interrupted by a loud metallic clash, followed by the sound of soda cans pounding the ground and a few confused screams.

In his mind, Fitz counts to ten before placing Lyra on the floor and turn slowly to meet face to face with Etta and Carinne, his eight-year-old twins in the middle of chaos of drinks being released from the vending machine.

"Daddy,” Etta, the older one, smiles hiding behind her a soda can.

Carinne, always the quickest to react, comes out from the vending machine back and she throws against her dad to distract him.

“You’re back!” She pretends laugh as she twins his body with her, turning Fitz away of the chaos. Etta, capturing her sister’s intentions, joins to the party while Lyra skillfully picks a Coke can from the floor and opens it before her dad can say anything about it.

But Fitz, knowing his daughters as well as he does, stops them. Placing his hands on both sides of his hips, trying to look firm.

“We just wanted …” explains Etta.

“Some water,” Carinne says, blinking rapidly.

“And the machine only unpredictably suddenly reconfigured itself” Etta says.

While Fitz is the first to recognize that his daughters are angels with blue eyes and golden curls, he is also the first in accept that they are camouflaged devils.

And that things never break down ‘just by mistake’ when one of them are close.

His daughters love opened machinery to observing operations and although Fitz has tried to explain to them how dangerous it’s to do it when they do not have the right equipment, he has not had the heart to punish them for it. At the end, he used to do it when he was a child, too.

“They’ll have to fix it.” Fitz tries to mimic his wife’s ‘uncontracted’ tone and seems to have an effect when the three girls lower their heads before committing to fix the destroyed machine.

After that, Fitz cannot help himself of being a father with three daughters drinking sinister amounts of caffeine and fighting to take his hand.

“Is Grannie Simmons with you?” He asks when they walk through the white doors, in direction of the waiting room.

“Nop, she’s inside with Mom” Carinne explains.

“May as well.”

“Yes! May is with Mom too!” Lyra nods excitedly.

“But how…”

“Nana May came just a little before you, dad” Etta reads her mind.

“And Gran Fitz is also inside.”

“And who is in charge of you?” Asks Fitz, because the only people left – and who are able to do it - are still in Romania, ending the mission.

“Surprise!” A strong arm grabs his neck and loses his daughters’ grasp, trying to get out of his friend’s annoying greeting.

“Hunter! Enough!”

“Okay, okay great man,” Hunter lets him go “don’t unload your frustrations on me.”

“No one is downloading frustrations or anything,” snarls Fitz, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well then, sorry for misunderstanding your acid humor! After all, I’m the one who saw your kiddo be born and you did not so…”

“Uncle Hunter, you cannot tell lies!” Informs Lyra “Daddy, tell Uncle Hunter that it is not good say lies. Hive can return from the infinite space and eat you. Tell him Daddy! ”

“Yes, Hunter, you heard my daughter.” A satisfied smile pops into Fitz’s mouth even though in his mind, he still does not understand how his daughters lie openly about ‘mechanical defects’ in computers or ‘electrical faults’ inside refrigerators without fearing Hive’s wrath.

Hunter folds his arms, smiling at a group of old women in hospital gowns, before saying,

“What a nice way to thank me for saving your baby and wife, mate!”

“Hunter!” Fitz stops him, watching the girls to make sure they have not picked up the last part.

Jemma had been great during this pregnancy, no bad mornings or strange moods… until frequent Braxton-hicks had appeared during the last month, followed by a small bleed so her doctor had prescribed Jemma, maintain absolute rest until her desirable  delivery date. When Daisy called for Fitz’s experience in engineering, he agreed go to the field mission only after he was promised that it would not take more than two days to complete it and that he would have a free pass to leave his deck, any time that Jemma needed him.

It had been five days instead of two, and Jemma was still away for three weeks from her delivery date, resting in their bed in Pethshire with his mother to help her. Fitz had not expected receive the urgent call of her doctor at 5am or find out that Simmons had broken bag hours before going to the hospital but that she had not wanted to approach the hospital for fear of delivering this baby without Fitz.

“I’m kidding!” Hunter apologizes. “Bobbi and I had just set out on a road trip across the sky to make our favorite family a surprise visit when Daisy contacted us to let us know about Jemma. We were in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and I think I’ve never seen to Bobbi fly like that and now that I think about it, I never seen drive a hybrid car so fast! And we were fugitives for years …”

Luckily everything had gone well, his mother had phoned Fitz an hour ago to explain how great it had turned out be the birth of this little healthy baby,

"Thank you, mate” says Fitz, he really appreciates that they were there for his wife.

“Thank Bobbi, man. She handle Jemma perfectly, and she keep restrained to your daughters’ hell …” Hunter pauses to think and then, smacking Fitz shoulder, says “You should think about Black Widow military training style for them. They would be perfect! I’ve been watching them for two hours and it’s been like playing with hungry tigers zombies.”

Fitz was proud of that.

“Daddy, daddy, look!” Lyra carries an electrocardiogram - who know where she got it - unarmed, with wires coming out of inside like guts and she lifting it towards Fitz with simplicity.

“I understand now why Simmons’ father was so insistent about staying in home taking care of your fish”

Knowing that the best way to snag something electronic from his daughters is by distracting them with hugs, he wraps Lyra in a bear hug, making her laugh and forget the object in her hands before manages to hide it on a window frame with skill.

“Okay Fitz, I’ll take care of them now” informs Hunter “Go meet your new kiddo!”

Fitz walks away, seeing as despite his harsh words was, Hunter manages to hang Lyra from his forearm like a monkey while Etta and Carinne sitting in their respective places are distracted by his follies.

When Fitz arrives at the door with the name “Jemma Fitzsimmons” written on a pink paper and raises his head to clear the pain in his bruised cheek, he sees beyond and notices the small Marion, of four years old, sitting calmly on the banks, coloring on her favorite insect’s book.

Fitz sighs, pushing away the anxiety of seeing his wife. He walks slowly to his little daughter and sits down beside her.

It is only at that moment, when the weight of his body sitting moves Marion’s chair that his daughter notices him. She looks up, a few strands of brown hair tickle her cheeks, and then her big brown eyes light up at the sight.

Fitz loves the way all his daughters smile, wrinkle noses or showing teeth, but this one … when this little brat smiles, she does it with her eyes.

“Hi Dada” she throws herself on the railing of chairs and half hugs him with one hand, adjusting herself to not let drop her book.

Fitz kisses Marion’s head and the, clutters her little chocolate pigtails with affection.

She chuckles at the gesture “Stop it dada, stop.”

Still reluctant to let her go, Fitz frees her enough to see her perfect strokes of color that she has made in her drawing book. She has four and she does not get out of the borders, he cannot be more proud.

“What are you doing, monkey?”

“A Titanus giganteus,” she says but it sounds something like Titans gigants “is for the baby. Do you think she’ll like it, Dada? ”

“I think she’ll love it.”

“I made it pink but I have not painted their horns because it can be dangerous and it’s better that the baby does not touch them, right daddy?”

“You’re absolutely right, and you’re being a good older sister worrying about her.”

Marion writhes a little in his arms until he gets rid of Fitz to sit in her own seat. Then she takes his dada’s hand while she struggles to save the crayons with one hand into her little pink handbag.

Fitz watches her, half amused. Feeling so much love for her. He loves each of his daughters with his life but this little one, has taken him by his hand since she was born, since he and Jemma thought she would be the last and since she opened her eyes to him and showed him her chocolate eyes. This particular girl is his because she is the closest to the woman that Fitz loves, with her appearance, her mood, her strange tics of order and love for insects, animals and birds.

But Marion doesn’t raise her head from the drawing, all the time.

“What’s wrong, monkey?”

“Grannies” Marion points towards the door with her free hand “and Nana May and Aunt Bobbi are with the baby”

“Yes, your sister is having a great welcome right now”

“I…and I” Marion sucks from her nose “Do you think grandmothers, grandparents, Aunt Bobbi, Aunt Daisy and Aunt Yoyo will continue love me?

Ahh, that’s what bothered her. But luckily for his pride as a father, Fitz have plenty experience to have this conversation.

"Are you telling me that Melinda does not love Etta and Carinne because Lyra and you were born?”

Marion deciphers for a time the complicated question of her father and then, emphatically shakes her head.

“No, May always says she loves us all.”

“All right. So, do you think the grannies loves Lyra more than you? ”

“No!”

“And you think Mama loves someone more deeply than your sisters and you?”

“No, she don’t”

“Well then you do not have to worry. No one will stop loving you as much as they love you. You are, and always will be, part of this family and a new baby will not change that. There will be changes, but when the baby stops being small, you will have a new friend to play. And it will be a great new task show this baby new things, is not that cool? ”

The mention of task list ignites the fire in Fitz daughter’s eyes.

“I can teach her about science”

“Yes, she will love that.”

Marion stands up nimbly from the seat and adjusts her amphibious t-shirt -which Coulson gave her for Christmas.

“You’re right Dada, I have a lot to show this baby.”

“And much love to give her.”

“Also that. Now I’ll go tell my sisters.”

“Tell them what …?”

“That this will be our baby to teach things.”

“But it will be mommy’s baby first and she’s still very small…” Fitz tries to explain but Marion small legs run off at full speed, swinging her pigtails as she walks away.

Fitz scratches his neck, watching all his daughters interact with each other in the hallway. Etta protectively wraps an arm around Marion when she reaches them, Carinne is laughing at Hunter’s expense and Lyra jumps emphatically into an invisible puddle mud around Etta and Marion.

He is happy. Most nights after begging their older daughters to wash their teeth and fix the electronic flaws they have generated around the house, after scattering the monsters for Lyra and telling a special tale of scientific princess for Marion, Fitz feels the weight of years hit him when his head touches the pillow but every morning when his daughters wake him up for breakfast or for play tea time with pink cups or when Jemma kisses him on the lips and gives him tired smiles full of love , Fitz knows he have everything. And he must be grateful.

A nurse emerges from Jemma’s room, closing the door behind her and steers Fitz away from his thoughts.

“Are you Mrs. Fitzsimmons husband?”

“Yes I am.” Fitz stutters and stands up, smoothing his crumpled suit and trying to control his disheveled hair. “How am I?”

“Honestly, fatal. And I do not want to know the reasons but I think you should spend later and being treated for that bruise on your left eye and that blood stain on your head but your baby has waited all the time since birth to meet you and we cannot make this baby wait longer, do not you think? ”

“No, we can’t.”

Upon entering the bright and cozy room, Fitz feels all eyes fall on him. Bobbi and Jemma’s mother are holding identical smiles at each side of the couch, and his mother, next to Jemma’s bed, is holding her cell phone up, greeting him with a silent gesture from her hand.

Fitz nods in the direction of all the intimidating women in his life before focusing on his wife. Jemma is wearing a moss-colored robe, her hair tied in a high ponytail, and she is flushed. She looks radiant.

Fitz walks over the bed, leans over to his wife and kisses her cheek with his nose.

“Sorry for not getting flowers and balloons this time, it was a bit busy the way to here.”

Jemma wrinkles her nose.

“Thank heavens our baby has a lot of people that fulfill their duty to bring a balloon,” she jokes, pointing out the piles of pink gifts already installed near the window.

“And I’m sorry for not being with you.”

“It’s fine, it was a quick job, this baby.”

Behind them, he hears Bobbi mutter “So fast that she almost got it out inside the car.”

“So this new one was easy?” Fitz looks up from Jemma, looking in the room for the sign of his new daughter.

“Oh yes, but no matter how fast things have behaved now, this will be our last.” Jemma sighs holding her stomach over the blankets. Fitz wants to roll his eyes, she always end up saying that after a new daughter and at the end, he always gets another baby.

“We already talked about it” Jemma looks at him, reading his mind and he nods imperceptibly. It is better to leave the subject for another occasion, they are not so old yet…

Jemma looks amused when Melinda appears on the other side of the bed, holding a tiny white bulk in her arms. Fitz immediately shakes his arms.

“But you see, husband” she hides her smile “We’ll have to think of a better name for this baby …”

Fitz takes his eyes off a second of May’s arms to stare at Jemma with mockery and then begins to circle the bed.

“… Because I do not think Calliste, Portia or Venus suits” sighed dramatically.

Fitz wrinkles his nose “Of course not, but you and your obsession with stars has us with almost half galaxy for children.”

The women laugh.

“We can deal with Christian names, for a change” Fitz seeks assent in Bobbi and Melinda “Or maybe scientific or …”

“She does not mean that” is his mother who laughs between teeth, still holding her cell phone on top, pointing Fitz with it.

“We could go with Nova, if you really like it” Fitz does not know why all women are looking at him in such a way and because May does not allow the last steps to approach his baby. “Or maybe the name of a periodic table’ element?”

“Try more on search a boy’s name,” says Jemma and in this moment, Melinda uncovers the small bundle on her hands, revealing a small baby blue dressed.

Fitz screams, more for impact and emotion than for something else.

He looks back, all the women smiling at him and then looks back, at the baby and then at Jemma. And again to their baby.

“Are you sure?” Her voice is strangled.

Jemma laughs, “Surprise?”

Fitz jumps and punches his fist in the air “YES!”

Bobbi jokes, “Anyone might think you’re not happy with your daughters.”

“You’re wrong,” Fitz shouts, circling the bed again, this time to kiss Jemma correctly on her lips “I love each of our daughters but women have outnumbered me"

The women laugh.

“Thank you,” he murmurs, lightly kissing Jemma’s mouth again and again. “Thank you, thank you and thank you” Then he kisses Jemma forehead before running to support his son for first time.

“Did you know?” Fitz asks Jemma when the baby is deposited in his arms.

“Nooo” She denies with her head “it was a big shock for me too, we always thought she would be a girl, she showed up like one on the exams and given our record, never crossed my mind another possibility”

“Our son defied the odds, eh?” Fitz smiles victoriously toward Jemma, rocking the baby. “Like a sort of Murphy …”

Jemma shakes her head, still showing her huge smile “Our poor Finagle Corollary will have to dress as a girl, all the time until we get right things for him”

“Do you think Pollux, Castor or Leo combine with this baby, Jemma? They are known constellations” his mother jokes from the other side of the room.

Melinda joins the joke, adding strange star names and soon the whole room is laughing and Fitz can't stop looking from Jemma to the baby and back.

He’s so small and strong, with Jemma’s hair fluff and Fitz's nose. He can't hide his pride. A boy! A peaceful and calm boy, obedient and extremely quiet child who…

"Oh God” he stomach falls.

“What, what is wrong?” Jemma reacts quickly, sitting up in bed before looking in all directions, trying to identify the danger.

Fitz moves away from Melinda to sit carefully on Jemma’s bed and say, with honest panic in his voice:

“They have been waiting a sister for months! Our daughters are going to kill us!”

[chaied]

jyn & her father !

send me a topic to write a meta post on …  ( accepting )

                    so for this meta …  instead of trying to conquer their entire relationship, i thought i’d dissect one of my fav scenes.   a.k.a.  the message scene.   *samuel l. jackson voice*  hold on to your butts …      

saw, if you are watching this, then perhaps there’s a chance to save the alliance. perhaps there’s a chance to explain myself …

alright, so right off the bat, we know that something is UP. he recognizes the huuuuge threat that the completion of the death star will pose to the alliance, which is, in his mind, the last hope for the galaxy. he’s seen what the empire is capable of & he’s helped the empire get to a point where they can commit atrocities on an even grander scale. he wants to explain. this message is not only a “here’s how to blow up the death star”  … it’s a confession. & who is he confessing to ?? well the message is to saw … but actually, he’s confessing to his daughter. jyn is the only person in the entire universe that he would confess to. she is the only person who can grant him absolution. 

… and, though i don’t dare hope for too much,  a chance for jyn, if she’s alive … if you can possibly find her … to let her know that my love for her has never faded and how desperately i’ve missed her.

see, before he even moves on to the death star stuff, he’s asking for jyn. he has faith that she will see this message.      his love for her has never faded. fifteen years, & she’s all he thinks about. she is the reason he gets up in the morning, because somewhere, maybe, his daughter is still breathing. his daughter, whom he loves more than life itself. his daughter, whom he sacrificed everything for. 

jyn, my stardust, i can’t imagine what you think of me.

now we move to the part exclusively addressed to jyn. he begins with this:   i can’t imagine what you think of me.   because not only is he an imperial collaborator, not only is he helping design & perfect the most destructive weapon in the history of … ever …. NOT ONLY IS HE BETRAYING HIS IDEALS, HIS PACIFISM, HIS ABHORRENCE OF VIOLENCE,   he couldn’t save her. he couldn’t save his daughter.   remember that first scene, where he says to her,  “whatever i do, i do it to protect you”  ??    yeah. YEAH.  i mean, okay, the whole movie is him living up to this promise. but in his mind, he failed exquisitely when he was taken & she was left without a mother, without her family. he cannot imagine what she thinks of him. he assumes she hates him. he assumes she can’t stand the fact that she is related to someone who abandon his child & work with the empire. 

when i was taken, i faced some bitter truths. i was told that soon enough, krennic would have you as well. as time went by, i knew you were either dead or so well hidden that he would never find you.

okay so maybe abandon isn’t quite the right word, since that implies some sort of choice in the matter. he was taken & krennic  ( scumbag that he is )   insisted that jyn would be found swiftly. galen dreaded it & prayed for it. he wanted jyn far, far away, & he wanted her by his side. but she never turned up. krennic couldn’t find her. so he was faced with two options:  1) she’s dead, like lyra,   or 2) she got away.    he chooses to live in hope that she is alive, somewhere, growing, learning, becoming. 

i knew if i had refused to work, if i took my own life it would only be a matter of time before krennic realized he no longer needed me to complete the project. so i did the one thing nobody expected. i lied. i learned to lie. i played the part of a beaten man resigned to the sanctuary of his work. i made myself indispensable, and all the while, i laid the groundwork of my revenge.

okay a few things from this section.  he is suicidal for a loooong time. actually, still is, on bad days. the guilt eats him up every day. those first few years it’s a constant struggle of   i won’t work  or   i’ll take myself out of the picture …    but then, what keeps him going is that hope that jyn is still out there. & if she’s still out there, then there’s someone he needs to protect  ( remember that promise he made? )   & if there’s someone he needs to protect, then he’s got to make sure that this death star fails. so he comes up with a plan, to transform himself into something he never was before. a liar.    it’s very often in the book catalyst that galen or someone close to him comments on how he is truthful, even to the point of being abrasive. he doesn’t lie. he’s not good at it. he doesn’t want to be good at it. he’s straightforward. krennic knows this. so galen decides to become a liar, & to lie well, so well that he can sabotage the death star.      WHAT GETS ME IS THAT   they didn’t even really need him after a certain point, but he made them think they did. 

we call it the death star. there is no better name. and the day is coming soon when it will be unleashed. i’ve placed a weakness deep within the system … a flaw so small and powerful they will never find it. 

this part is self explanatory, but … honestly. cannot stress enough. he helped design the death star, he was one of the leading minds behind the weapon that could vaporize an entire planet. that’s a lot to live with, even if you’re someone who is somehow … okay with it??? which he isn’t. he’s horrified. talk about self loathing. 

but, jyn, jyn, if you are listening, my beloved, so much of my life has been wasted.

IF YOU ARE LISTENING. MY BELOVED.   let’s just stop & think about that for a moment. okay.     so much of my life has been wasted.    he counts all his achievements, all his awards, all his research, all his work,  a waste.  ALL A WASTE. because he could not protect his family. because he was forced to create a weapon of mass destruction. because he does not have his beloved daughter by his side. because he did not get to watch her grow up. because he spent fifteen years without holding her hand, or kissing her forehead, or making her laugh, or do any number of things a father should do. his life of science & accolades was wasted, because that does not matter to him as much as being a husband & a father does. 

i try to think of you only in the moments when i’m strong, because the pain of not having you with me … your mother, our family. the pain of that loss is so overwhelming i risk failing even now. it’s just so hard not to think of you. think of where you are … my stardust. 

look, he thinks about her all the time.   she makes him strong. when he isn’t thinking about her, he’s weak.    it’s like … thoughts of her give him strength to do what is necessary. he does EVERYTHING, ALL OF THIS, HIS REVENGE, THE FLAW IN DEATH STAR, THE UNSTABLE REACTOR MODULE, EVERYTHING !! BECAUSE !! HE LOVES !! HIS DAUGHTER !!    he wants to be worthy of her. he wants to atone for his sins. he wants to be someone she could be proud of. he wants to protect her from the empire. he wants to give her the chance to have a good life. he wants everything for her except what she received. he loves her more than his own life, he loves her more than his work & his intelligence, he loves her more than anything in the entire universe.   the loss of lyra, & of jyn, broke him. but it also forged him into a weapon of the rebellion.   he hopes for a better life, he envisions a galaxy where he could have had a life with his family. he does whatever he can to make that happen for everyone else, since it was denied him.      whatever i do, i do it to protect you.  the promise still stands. 

and then he explains how to destroy it & where to get the plans scarif death star reactor module blow it up etc etc etc gets cut off jyn falls to the ground we’re all sobbing a normal day in the star wars universe …… 

[friendlyneighborhoodwhateve-blog]

The Hogwarts Revolution // A next gen story

For my awesome friends @always-blame-jefferson​ and @hannahbakcr​, thank you so much for exisisting!

Also, Soph ( @allthebrighteststars ), you’re super cool.

Word count: 1256

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6

Part 7/ ?

Cast / Masterlist

AN: So, this chapter took a lot longer than I expected it to, college happened the it was writer’s block but I promise the next one will be out sooner! That beeing said, now the chapters will be closer in time, because the “story” has begun!

-

The one with the sorting

“Why does the toaster have wings?”

“Well, it’s alive of course. It’s flying, that and it looks cool as hell.”

Lyra went downstairs on the morning of September first to see Teddy and Albus chasing down the toaster, with a muttered spell, she managed to turn the toaster back to normal and finished making breakfast.  This was going to be a great year at Hogwarts, they could all feel it, and there was a lingering sense of adventure in the air that kept everyone on their toes. Today George was going to take the kids to King’s Cross because their parents hadn’t been able to make it back from their vacation due to bad weather.

As per tradition, Lyra, Lorcan and Lysander had their friends over for the last week of summer and to make it even more exciting two of their younger friends, Rose and Albus, were beginning school this year. Molly Weasley, the eldest Weasley, shared the same year and house as Teddy, the girl was definitely the mother of their not so little group, waking people up so they got ready in time, making sure everyone was ready.

Without her, they’d never have gotten ready in time.

“Okay children.” Said George, Angelina walked in front of them, tidying up their appearances. “Keep your grades up and don’t get caught if you cause trouble.”

Teddy was in some far off compartment, tending to his head boy duties; the Scamander triplets had all become prefects to their respective houses which made everything a whole lot easier. This year they decided to put their plans in motion, so their new positions certainly helped with everything.

As Lyra entered the compartment she had left Rose and Albus in, she found out that a third person had joined the pair, a lanky, almost white haired boy talked quietly to them.

“Hello, who are you?” She said, directing a kind smile to the boy.

“I’m Scorpius.” The Malfoy kid.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you darling, now it’s time to get into your robes and ready to leave. The train is almost there.”

While the older ones went to the castle in their usual carriages, the younger trio took the boats. It was one of the best feelings in the world, but it soon ended for Albus when the sorting began.

Scorpius, his new friend, had been sorted into Slytherin. He smiled when he saw Lyra, Dominique and Michelle cheering for him, he knew that Lyra would treat him like a brother, that’s just who she was. As he watched the boy walk to the table, he wanted nothing more than to join them but it meant being sorted into Slytherin.

Sure his father had reassured him through the many letters they had exchanged during the summer that the house he was sorted into didn’t matter but he saw the way James treated Lyra just because she was a Slytherin and he knew how much it hurt her, he didn’t want to have his own brother treat him like that. At the same time, he wanted to be more. More than whatever house he was sorted into, more than what his parents were, more than whatever labels he received. So when Professor Longbottom called his name, he decided to make the most of his time at Hogwarts, no matter what the hat decided.

“Another Potter, I see. Most of your cousins and your brother are in Gryffindor but you’re not quite like them are you?”  

First his eyes went to the Gryffindor table, where most of the people were related to him somehow, his brother watched him anxiously, waiting for the hat’s decision. Then his gaze flew to the Hufflepuff table, where Teddy was looking at him with an encouraging smile that seemed to tell him that everything would be alright, sometimes he acted like more of a brother than James did.

“I see where you wish to be, and that is truly the best place for you.”

Slytherin, the one word that changed his life.

For a minute the hall was dead silent, then James got up hastily and left, Fred going after him. Lyra got up to hug Albus, trying to show him he was not alone. Since she was a prefect, it was one of her duties to show the first years their dorms and common room.

“You have made it into Slytherin, congratulations! My name is Lyra and along with Clint." The tall boy in the end of the group waved. "I'll be guiding you in your first year at Hogwarts."

Albus walked with Scorpius as Lyra explained as many things as she could in the short time they had. She explained the moving staircases and the vanishing steps, how to reach their classes.

Clint and her even went as far as making a map for each of the first year, the map was enchanted to show the fastest way to get where you need to be.

The next morning, Lyra went about her usual routine. First stop at the Gryffindor table to greet her brother and her many friends, naturally Albus had stayed glued to her side, not that she blamed him, the poor boy must be frightened, that meant Scorpius remained close as well; Carter got up to congratulate the younger boy while the girl hugged her brother.

"Where's James?" Lorcan's smile vanished.

"He said something about getting to class early but we both know it's because of Al."

The news of the younger Potter being sorted into Slytherin travelled fast, making eyes follow then through the entire hall.

That week a pattern emerged, the trio (made up of Lyra, Albus and Scorpius, sometimes Dominique joined them though.) greeted everyone they knew and while the younger usually stayed at Ravenclaw table where Lysander, Rose and Victoria were, Lyra sat at the Hufflepuff table discussing the few classes she shared with Teddy. Due to the extraordinary talent the triplets had, they were all taking seventh year level Charms and Transfiguration, while Lyra went a notch further and took seventh year Potions as well. So by Sunday, they were all drowning in homework but Lyra managed to find time to answer the letter she received Saturday before going to join her friends for their usual lunch.

Dear Mister Potter,

I am doing very well, thank you. What about you, sir?

As for your concern about Albus, I do believe that Slytherin is the best place for him, you cannot wish to change the place he is at and make him unhappy in the process. For the first time, I have seen him smile for real and make friends.

So what if his best friend so far is a Malfoy? Don't you believe in second chances? And between us, I'd much rather sped time with Scorpius than James. Which brings us to your next question: how is he? I wouldn't be able to answer because a you well know, we haven't talked much in the past couple of years, specially this past week he has been avoiding Albus and I like the plague.

All that being said, I believe that Slytherin will do Albus wonders, he's a brilliant wizard and our house will help him with whatever he need to be a wizard as great as Merlin himself, who was also a Slytherin, mind you.

Hope I could help ease your mind.

Lyra Scamander.

After sending it, she wondered if Harry would be able to sense her anger through her words.

[a-nerds-ponderings-blog]

SuperHero Low-Down

March 19 – April 16

 SUPERGIRL

Season 2: Episode 16 – Star-Crossed (Part 1)

A new villain comes to National City, putting Supergirl on high alert. Meanwhile, Winn's girlfriend, Lyra, gets Winn in trouble with the law. Maggie attempts to help Winn but old loyalties get in the way. The Music Meister attacks Supergirl.

What is the rule that is always broken in television? Do not keep secrets, do not lie… they always come out in the end. This episode is based around Kara’s discovery of who Mon-El really is, and her reaction to it all. Of course she is upset about his true identity and finds she cannot handle the truth. In his defense though, would she have given him half a chance to prove himself or change had he told her who he was in the beginning? It is somewhat a catch 22 in this situation. If he had told her in the beginning, her hatred for his planet and his race would have influenced her decision. But now that she knows of his identity and that he lied, she is even angrier. He was doomed from the start no matter his decision. The ending scene was very interesting and made the audience excited for the musical crossover with The Flash. That was certainly a treat.

Season 2: Episode 17 – Distant Sun

A large bounty is put out on Supergirl and aliens from far and near attack National City intent on taking out the woman of steel. Alex and Maggie run into Maggie’s ex-girlfriend, Emily, who is in town for a week. Hank gets an interesting order from President Marsdin.

First of all, the sub-plot with Alex and Maggie and Maggie’s ex, did not have to be in this episode. Yes t is good to ad personal plots to a story, but there was so much going on this episode, that it did not need to be put in. But having said that, it was interesting how Alex shrugged off Maggie’s past and said that she loved that Maggie wasn’t so perfect after all. That shows signs of a really lasting relationship. Having said that… this was a great episode. We see Mon-El actually making a decision regarding Kara, and we also see that she believes in him more than she thought she did. This brings them closer together and we see just how different Mon-El is from his parents after all. It will be interesting to see just what the consequences Hank will face for defying the President’s orders, and it was also interesting to see the final reveal of the episode. This should lead up to a really great season ending when the show comes back. All in all, this was a good episode, it touched on personal feelings, personal relationships, and for the most part had happy endings. But it also gave us some foreshadow for the future.

NEXT WEEK (2 week Break)

Season 2: Episode 18 – Ace Reporter

Lena’s ex-boyfriend, Jack Spheer, comes to National City to unveil his big breakthrough in nano-technology, which has the potential to eradicate all diseases. Lena asks Kara to attend Jack’s conference with her for support. When Kara sees Snapper in attendance she’s inspired to tap back into her reporter skills and questions Jack on his discovery, which ultimately leads to a bigger investigation that puts everyone in danger.

 THE FLASH

Season 3: Episode 17 – Duet (Part 2)

Barry and team are surprised when Mon-El and Hank Henshaw arrive on their Earth carrying a comatose Supergirl who was whammied by the Music Meister. Unable to wake her up, they turn to Team Flash to save her. However, the Music Meister surprises The Flash and puts him in a similar coma, one that Team Flash can't cure. Kara and Barry wake up without their powers in an alternate reality where life is like a musical and the only way to escape is by following the script, complete with singing and dancing, to the end. This episode began in Supergirl S02E16.

What a cute crossover. This episode really fit well with Barry and Kara. It would not have worked for the Legends or for Oliver. Though we got some musical cameos from Malcolm Merlin and from Professor Stein. It really was just a fun way to cross over the two shows, but it gave us some depth. It helped to fix relationship problems in both shows that needed a quick fix as opposed to drawing things out completely. And as they said a few times in the episode “things are much easier in a musical” The troubles they had in the musical were compelling and interesting to see Iris and Mon-El as a couple. There was also an odd call back to early seasons of Arrow, as Mon-El was Merlin’s son, and his name was Tommy. It was an interesting wink to the past, and could it also be a hint for the future? That could be interesting. And as much as all the songs were catchy, who else was humming “I’m your Super friend” for a few hours after the episode was over. This was a really fun episode, and we got to see a lot of the cast from both shows exercise their musical talents… who knew Cisco could sing like that. It is odd to look at this week’s episode of Supergirl and the Flash, and then the heavy episode of Arrow. It would be interesting to see if this was done purposely, so the entire week was not heavy.

Season 3: Episode 18 – Abra Kadabra

The Flash battles Abra Kadabra, a villain from Earth-19, who makes him a tempting offer – release him and Abra Kadara will reveal Savitar’s true identity. Desperate to save Iris, Barry considers taking the deal but Gypsy breaches in to capture the villain for her own reasons and during the melee, Abra Kadabra manages to escape. Barry is furious that Gypsy interfered but Gypsy refuses to back down, forcing Cisco to take sides. Julian is still a bit cold towards Caitlin but when she is severely injured in a battle with Gypsy, he rushes to her side.

Talk about heartless. Abra Kadabra not only gives Barry an offer that he could not take without suffering heavy guilt, but the speech about “now I get to kill her too” at the end was horrible. It really made you nod when Gypsy took him away for his execution. Poor Cisco, he can never catch a break when it comes to women. He was really into Gypsy, but we know his loyalties must lie with his friends, and the way she reacted, that was too much for him. The way that Julian and Caitlin were cold towards each other, we knew something was going to happen. And then when they started to rekindle their relationship, we knew the reveal was just waiting around the corner. The minute she said “I would rather die than take off my necklace” we all knew that Julian would not let her die, and that things would get a little “frosty” by the end of the episode. So now we have the impending doom of Iris on our hands, and Killer Frost’s return. It will be interesting to see what will come of all of this in the weeks to come.

NEXT WEEK (2 week break)

Season 3: Episode 19 – The Once and Future Flash

Barry travels to the future to find out Savitar’s still unknown identity in the hopes of saving Iris. Upon his arrival in 2024, Barry encounters future versions of his Team Flash friends, who, following the death of Iris, have become very different people, profoundly impacted by their showdown with Savitar. It will be up to Barry to infuse a sense of hope back into the team, as he proves to be hero his future friends have been waiting for. Meanwhile, back in 2017, the hunt for Killer Frost continues.

 LEGENDS OF TOMORROW

Season 2: Episode 15 – Fellowship of the Spear

The Legends must devise a plan to retrieve the last remaining fragments of the Spear of Destiny from the Legion of Doom. They find themselves in France at the height of World War I faced with the knowledge that they must destroy the mystical object. They enlist the help of a soldier by the name of John Ronald Reuel Tolkin and find that the Spear is leading them into the heart of the war. Meanwhile, the team must all resist the temptation of the Spear, and the return of a former teammate.

Is this show trying to say that J.R.R. Tolkin got the idea for Lord of the Rings from the Legends? That was completely brilliant. The Ring Easter eggs were far too many to remember. One being that Rory’s heat blast was able to reveal writing on the spear, or that it had a lure to everyone to use it. It would have been perfect if someone like Ray called the spear “my precious” but it would have been too on the nose. This episode was not only entertaining for the Tolkin moments, but we also see that the Legends are not heroes, as they let the spear of destiny slip into the hands of the Legion of Doom. As the credits roll the audience gets a bad feeling for the following week’s episode, and we wonder how the Legends will come out of this situation.

Season 2: Episode 16 – Doomworld

After obtaining the Spear of Destiny, the Legion of Doom rewrites reality, leaving the Legends changed, perhaps forever. Frightfully, the Legends’ and the world’s hopes rest with Rory, but being the “hero” is not easy for him. Meanwhile, there is tension within the Legion of Doom and the reason why the Spear of Destiny needs to be destroyed is revealed.

And everything has gone to hell. It was interesting to see how the Legion of Doom had changed things. Luckily hey were not that different from the ‘normal’ world, except for no one knowing who they were. It was a little nerve wracking that it was up to Rory to save everyone. It made things difficult though, as he was the one who betrayed them in the first place. It makes things challenging, such as trusting Rory, considering he was the reason the Legion got the spear in the first place. It was ironic that out of all the Legends, Stein was the one who put up the most resistance to the memory retrieval. Though it was entertaining to see him as a lackie for the Legion, we were almost heartbroken to see him trying to thwart the Legends. This seems like the first half of the 2-part season finale, and you start to wonder how they are going to get out of this. Also, Rip making cakes was very entertaining, but really what do you do when you’ve given up hope? Luckily Gideon was there to slap him across the face.

Season 2: Episode 17 – Aruba

As the Legends are about to take off for their next destination, a massive timequake rocks the ship. In order to try and fix what has happened, they are forced to break the one cardinal rule of time travel. But if they are able to destroy the spear, they will face the ultimate consequence.

Every time travel show talks about the cardinal rule… do not go back in your own timeline. Each mythology has its own consequences and reasons why, but the main point is… don’t do it. In Legends of Tomorrow, we have something called a time quake, and they cause some major damage. In this season finale we see the Legends go back to World War 1 and try to intervene with their other selves and destroy the spear before the Legion gets it. But they are trying to do it without interacting with their other selves. But… in true Legends fashion, they fail miserably. Although technically they are aboritions, it was heartbreaking when tragedy struck part of the team. And all Rory wanted to do was go to Aruba for some drinks. It was interesting that when the two teams of Legends meet up, the former version assumed that the current versions were the Legion in disguise. Sara’s line of “ok, who’s wearing me” was certainly chuckle-worthy. This season finale was really well-done, well-paced, and well-written. It makes you beg for the next season to come back very soon.

 ARROW

Season 5: Episode 17 – Kapiushon

Prometheus goes to great lengths to break Oliver. Meanwhile, in the flashbacks, Anatoly becomes worried about Oliver’s increasingly violent tendencies, which come to a head in a brutal confrontation.

This episode did a great job tying together the past and the present, with one final message to Oliver. It is the confession we waited the whole episode for him to give to Chase, and to admit to himself. How heartbreaking was it when he came back to the team and just looked completely defeated. It is difficult to see a hero fall, but one as strong as Oliver, defeated by his own truth… that was very difficult to see. It was also interesting to see that this episode was solely surrounded around Oliver, not the Green Arrow, not the team, but Oliver himself. It was a way to show who and what he really is. Or at least according to Chase. It was so heart-wrenching to see him broken and defeated. It really was a change of pace from the Supergirl / Flash crossover this week. It almost balanced out the silliness of the other shows with the seriousness and tragedy of this episode.

Season 5: Episode 18 – Disbanded

Diggle and Felicity are shocked by Oliver’s decision to call on the Bratva to help take down Prometheus. Concerned the Bratva may overstep, Diggle has a hard conversation with Oliver about what happens if things go south. Meanwhile, Felicity learns something shocking at Helix.

Could you imagine staring at your enemy in the eye and having to be polite to him, even though he just finished torturing you for six days? It showed strength, but also defeat in Oliver to have to do this with Chase. We have seen him beaten before, we have seen him injured and mutilated before. But this was the first time we saw Oliver mentally defeated. He wanted to end everything, disband the team and let Chase get away with his torture, all because he took the burden of it all on himself. Luckily for Oliver, Diggle is not ready to step aside, and neither is Felicity. This episode was really well-done, tying the past and the present together, also showing the more human side of Oliver… showing that he can have flaws too. It also reminded us that Diggle has been there with Oliver right from the start, he’s been around since Oliver started the crusade, and is not willing to give up without a fight. In the end Oliver sees reason. Though, it is thanks to Felicity who “discovers” the video footage of Chase as Prometheus. It looks as though we have a happy ending coming, but we all know this is Arrow, and we’re not happy unless something is going wrong. Only time will tell.

NEXT WEEK (2 week break)

Season 5: Episode 19 – Dangerous Liaisons

Oliver, Team Arrow, ARGUS and the SCPD kick off a citywide manhunt for Adrian Chase. Helix tells Felicity they have a way to find Chase but they will need something big, and illegal, from her in return.

Until Next time...

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