#why do I always have way too many unfinished projects...? oi

[carewyncromwell]

“When you're all alone, far away from home, There's a gift the angels send When you're alone... Everyday must end, but the night's a friend -- Angels always send a star When you're alone... At night, when I'm alone, I lie awake and wonder --  Which of them belongs to me? Which one, I wonder...?”

~“When You’re Alone (cover)” by Jess Anderson

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previous part (with more context) here! // full tag here! // original concept of Duncan Ashe in this universe inspired by conversations with @ag907​

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Now, one must keep in mind, Merula was truly not a terrible person. She wasn’t even a terrible fairy. But what she ended up doing to Carewyn and by extension Orion was objectively pretty spiteful, so some context is necessary. And that context begins with the introduction of a new player in this tale -- the helmsman of the Jolly Roger, who was known by Neverland’s residents as the Pirate Without Pirate Eyes. The name he answered to was Ashe. 

Ashe was the second newest addition to the Jolly Roger’s crew. As such, he still remembered his home of London, or at least pieces of it. He remembered living with many other boys there and hating it quite a lot. He remembered a lot of locked doors and dead bodies being carried out. And he remembered first arriving in Neverland, as a young man -- of catching sight of the Jolly Roger’s outline in the clouds one night through his window and running out into the street so he could cry out to it in the black of night for it to take him away. (He was far more a young man than a mere boy at that time, but he had been very feverish, and his mind had not been clear enough for his common sense to put down such childish fancies.) And that was how Ashe was conscripted into a life of piracy aboard the Jolly Roger, beside the magical island of Neverland, where its residents never fell ill and never grew old. 

It was a pretty decent arrangement for Ashe, all things considered. And that arrangement improved when his employer, Captain Hook, brought another new crewmate aboard -- one exactly Ashe’s age, sixteen. This crewmate was called Jack, though in the beginning, he insisted there was more to that name. 

“My name is Jacob!” Jack had snarled at Hook, when he tried and failed to pull out of Blaise and Pearl’s combined hold. “Jacob Evan Cromwell! And I will never work for the likes of you!”

Jack was worn down soon enough, though. Hook was very good at pinpointing a person’s weaknesses and exploiting them, and soon enough the captain determined that Jack’s was fear -- not for himself, but for his loved ones. A certain loved one in particular usually kept Jack in line.

“Obey me,” Hook whispered in such an effortlessly icy tone, it was like he was Frost incarnate, “or I shall find sweet Winnie, and force her to obey instead.”

“Winnie.” Jack often called her simply “Wyn,” but Ashe had heard plenty about her second-hand through Hook and Jack. She was Jack’s little sister, and too good to be true, from the sound of it -- sweet, brave, and caring, with a voice like a cherub and a heart too big for her tiny frame to contain. Jack clearly thought the world of his little sister, and Hook -- whether to twist the knife in Jack further or out of pure sadism -- seemed to relish the thought of having her in his grip as well, to do with as he pleased. And that thought was something Jack dreaded -- dreaded so much that he actually fraternized with the enemy, Orion Amari.

When Ashe had woken up to find Jack sneaking off the Jolly Roger and covertly followed him, he came across his fellow pirate speaking to Orion in the woods. And what Ashe heard was like a club to the back of his head.

“...She’s younger than me – much younger, with ginger hair – small and sweet as a cherub. She’s brave and sharp and she sings like a bird...”

Ashe's eyebrows knit tightly over his eyes. Jack’s sister? Why would he tell Orion Amari about -- ?

“She’d fit right in with your sort – no one would have any idea she has anything to do with me. Just…spirit her away, like Hook did me. Take her with you, and keep her safe here, in Neverland. She doesn’t need to know I’m here, or even why you took her, just…just keep her away from Hook. Please.”

Ashe felt like all of the color had left his face.

“Keep her away from Hook?” No...no, Jack couldn’t be serious -- he couldn’t actually be trying to sabotage the Captain -- 

“And what will you give me in return?” Orion Amari’s boyish voice was very soft and calculating in his response. For however hard to read his overall affect was, he was clearly interested.

Part of Ashe wanted to just bolt from the trees at that very moment -- grab onto Jack and pull him back away from the Flying Boy, shout him down angrily, scold him fiercely -- stop him from making whatever deal with Devil he thought was so bloody important that he’d --

But Jack’s response made Ashe’s heart still just as much as he physically had, as he strained to listen. 

“Anything. Anything.”

The desperation of Jack’s voice in that moment flooded Ashe’s veins with an emotion he’d never known before. It chilled him from head to toe, while also lashing at his insides like some terrible poison. It made him hunch in on himself, staring at the ground, as Jack and Orion’s voices faded away into nothing but an indiscernible buzzing hum. 

Jack...would do anything, for his little sister. Anything to make sure she didn’t become a pirate the way Hook clearly wanted her to be -- anything to keep her away from him. Even if Jack himself was a pirate, even if Ashe was a pirate and liked being a pirate...the thought of his little sister being one was something Jack couldn’t bear. He saw his fate as so unbearable...that he was willing to do anything to make sure his little sister didn’t share it...

Ashe had known Jack had been taken to Neverland against his will -- of course he knew that. Jack had rebelled against Hook more than enough to make that clear. But Jack had started to forget the world outside Neverland, as everyone eventually does -- he’d resigned himself to the position he was now in, he’d accepted it. It had encouraged Ashe, that Jack had started to forget -- Jack always seemed happier, when he was able to forget...and really, he made for an excellent pirate! He was endlessly curious about things -- brilliant, dynamic -- excitable about seemingly tiny, insignificant things. It bewildered Ashe to no end, but it was also oddly endearing. He’d never known anyone like Jack before...he’d never felt for anyone, the way he had Jack. Even now he’d long forgotten or cared about who he was before, Ashe knew this, down to his bones. 

And yet...his sister, his “Wyn”...kept Jack tethered. She was the line that kept him from flying free, off into the atmosphere, free from grief and loss and sorrow and pain. She was someone...who he couldn’t forget.

Unable to handle the ball of jealousy, sorrow, and conflict rotating sickeningly inside of him, Ashe swiftly left, pushing roughly through the tall leaves and bushes out of the forest and back toward the Jolly Roger.

Ashe didn’t speak to Jack for about a week. He couldn’t. Jack had betrayed the pirate captain they both served, and yet Ashe couldn’t even fathom the idea of reporting what he’d done to Hook. Jack was the only person on the Jolly Roger who was Ashe’s age and, more important, the only person Ashe really liked. Pearl was the muscle and firepower, devoid of just about any compassion for anyone else, while Claire was the “yes-man” who probably had more water in her head than a brain...and the First Mate, Blaise, was just as manipulative as Hook in his “caring” for the crew, but with a hotter temper. For all of Jack’s own faults -- his own violent temper, when provoked, and how much of an airhead blabbermouth he could be -- he had this driving instinct to help more than hurt, to do more good than bad...to sacrifice...put himself in the line of fire, for those he felt something for...

Ashe spoke to Jack again after he’d had to pick him, Hook, Pearl, Blaise, and Claire from Marooner’s Rock. He’d scolded Jack for quite a while for putting so much strain on his broken leg. 

“For Pete’s sake,” he muttered irritably, “pain doesn’t even exist here in Neverland, unless you dwell on it -- ”

“You expect me to forget that Hook broke my leg?” said Jack. 

“You’ll heal faster if you just let Neverland’s magic do its work,” Ashe shot back.

"Hardly! Neverland’s magic is to make you forget, not undo anything...otherwise Hook’s hand would’ve just popped right back to life after getting eaten by the Croc, wouldn’t it have? So, by that logic, the most Neverland would do is just make me forget what happened and forget that it’s supposed to hurt -- no injury can just go poof into the ether, not without a proper splint and bandaging and -- ”

“Put a sock in it!” snapped Ashe. “Ugh -- just...stop overthinking everything!”

Despite his waspishness, Ashe still changed Jack’s bandages and tightly rebound his wound.

Fortunately within a few weeks, Jack had forgotten about Hook breaking his leg. Kind of hard not to, when the life of a pirate involved so much routine -- trimming the sails, swabbing the decks, sailing around the island, chasing Lost Kids, almost killing Orion Amari for the eightieth time -- that it was easy to forget little things like that. Within those few weeks, Jack even returned to the self Ashe had become accustomed to -- angry and rebellious toward Hook, sure, but delighted by Neverland and its beauty. At one point Ashe had even actually managed to capture a fairy, and Jack had spent an entire evening studying it and its wings with an almost reverent glee.

“Just look at the length of this forewing, Ashe!” he said, perfectly ignorant of how much the fairy struggled to try to get free. “Even if it’s so much like a butterfly’s, it’s so perfectly clear, like a dragonfly’s, and yet long and pointed, more like a cicada’s...and that sheen! Like it’s made of some sheer diamond! And the dust!”

He gave the fairy a little shake, so as to collect a handful of the dust that came up off the wings and grind it through his fingers like sand.

“It just dissolves away, into the skin! It evaporates -- like snow melting in your hand...”

Something flickered in his pirate-like blue eyes as he smiled.

“Snow...”

The flicker grew a little stronger as he stared at the dust slowly fading into his rubbing fingers. 

Ashe’s own dry smile faded.

“Jack?”

But Jack didn’t seem to hear him. Something melancholy seemed to pass over his face, peeling the boyish smile slowly from his face. 

“Think of Christmas...think of snow...think of sleigh bells...off you...go...”

His eyes grew a little wider, more aware. In an instant he’d released the fairy, and the frightened, furious little creature flapped away, back toward the mainland.

“Jack!” said Ashe, looking upset and irritated. He’d worked hard to catch that! 

But Jack didn’t seem to care. He’d clearly come back down to Earth -- and as he stared out at the island of Neverland, his pirate-like blue eyes rippled with anguish that he nonetheless fiercely tried to hold in. 

“...I forgot,” he murmured.

“Well, of course you did,” Ashe scolded him lightly. “Everyone forgets, Jack.”

But Jack didn’t answer. He instead kept his gaze on the mainland, his eyes drifting off into the high trees. 

Ashe frowned deeply. He looked from Jack’s shoulder to up at his face and back.

“Jack,” he said lowly, “maybe you should forget.”

“No,” said Jack stubbornly.

“Neverland is supposed to make you forget!” Ashe challenged him. “It’s supposed to be a place where you can forget the past -- forget the world of mortal men. It’s supposed to be a place where your wildest dreams come true...”

Steadying his courage, Ashe took hold of Jack’s shoulder. 

“You were happy until just a few seconds ago,” he said very lowly. “Is it so bad to just be happy?”

Jack pulled out of Ashe’s grip and walked over to the far railing. “You don’t understand.”

This response and withdrawal only served to make Ashe flush with anger. “You’re right, Jack, I don’t!”

Ashe pursued Jack across the deck, grabbing onto the railing as he came around to look at him better, even as Jack faced the sea and not him. 

“Jack, I know what this is about,” he said fiercely. “I know this is about ‘Wyn,’ your -- your saintly little bugger of a sister -- ”

An acidic lump formed in Ashe’s throat at the thought.

“ -- but she’s -- she’s lost to you! You’re never going to see her again, all right? You don’t want her here -- you don’t want her to be a pirate -- ”

Jack closed his eyes and turned away, but Ashe strutted harshly around, so as to look him in the face again. 

“So just -- just FORGET her!” Ashe implored him. “Forget her, and start over, here, in Neverland!”

Jack turned away again and didn’t answer. It made Ashe come around Jack a second time and hold his shoulders in place, trying even harder to get him to look at him. 

“Why would you even want to be anywhere else?” Ashe asked him, his lips turning up in a weak, beseeching smile. “Here, you’re free! You never have to worry or take anyone else’s burdens on as your own! You never have to care about what other people think of you, who you are or what you like – ”

Images of unfamiliar, disgusted, condescending faces -- of punches and distorted, swearing voices -- rippled over Ashe’s mind. He blinked them away at once. 

“-- you can just be you, fully you, and nobody else!”

Jack wordlessly pulled out of Ashe’s grip with seemingly little effort. Ashe chased him across the deck.

“You can go on grand adventures,” Ashe persisted, “explore things no one else has ever seen!”

He sped up, looping around in front of Jack to stop him from walking past him. 

“You never have to get sick, grow old, or die,” said Ashe, his eyes flashing with both aggravation and desperation. “You never have to grieve or feel pain again!”

He grabbed onto Jack’s arms, his hands squeezing tight. 

“You can live, Jack,” he said earnestly. 

Jack finally opened his eyes and looked up at Ashe. The pirate-like blue glinted with such melancholy, and yet there were some odd cinders of resilience there.

“…Is that living, Ashe?” he said very softly.

Pulling one arm free of Ashe’s hold, he brandished it widely toward Neverland, across the railing. 

“Is it freedom, to run around chasing and scaring children in some petty game of revenge? To mindlessly obey the whims of our Captain, and never ask why?”

Ashe’s grip on Jacob’s remaining arm faltered. Before he could speak, however, Jack pressed on more insistently. 

“To kidnap people and spirit them away to a land where they forget everything of who they were and who they loved, for no other reason than just to add more members to our ranks?”

Jack strode back up to the railing, swinging his arms out theatrically wide as he whirled around back toward Ashe. 

“Is this life?!” he demanded, his blue eyes shining with emotion the likes of which Captain Hook’s could never know. “Being stuck as we are forever, separated from the entire rest of the world – doomed to never be more than we are right now?”

“It could be,” Ashe said lowly. “If you stay.” 

With me.

Jack stared at Ashe for a very long moment. His blue eyes pulsed with remorse, as well as something softer, almost...beseeching. Then, closing his eyes again, he turned away. 

“I am staying, Ashe,” he murmured. “Even if I did remember where I was from before, I could never hope to fly back there...I’m far too old for that...”

He rested his crossed arms on the railing and bowed his head. 

“...Without Wyn...” his voice barely came out as a whisper, “there’s no reason for me to go back anyway...”

Ashe stiffened up sharply. 

Had Jack even realized what he’d just said? That he’d basically admitted that Wyn was no longer in the Other World -- that she was, in fact, here, in Neverland...with Orion Amari and his Lost Kids? 

No...it seemed to have just been him thinking out loud. It was made much more obvious by just how quiet Jack got afterwards -- like he’d momentarily forgotten anyone else, even Ashe, was still there. 

He’d forgotten her...and yet now, remembering the pain of being apart from her...he’d forgotten all of the happiness and enthusiasm he’d felt, just moments before...

Ashe’s lips came together tightly as he watched Jack at the railing.

He would never be truly happy, so long as they were apart. Ashe could see it clearly now. Jack would never be able to forget his life before, so long as he was without the one thing that made him remember it -- his “Wyn.”

Gloom, resentment, and shame swirled through Ashe’s veins as he turned his back on Jack at last. As he walked away from Jack, right off the Jolly Roger, he tried to block out the sound of Jack’s melancholic, angelic Tenor voice dancing over the wind --

“And any star I choose watches over me,  So I know I'm not alone when I'm here on my own... Isn't that a wonder? When you're alone, you're not alone -- not really...alone...”

Meanwhile, on the mainland, the Lost Kids had finished unwrapping all of their “Christmas gifts.” Merula had as well, but she had left the proceedings a while ago -- a fact that nobody had really paid much mind to, at the time. 

At first everyone compared the pockets Carewyn had made for them -- then, at another point, they badgered Carewyn to tell them the story about Father Christmas (which ended up involving him befriending a penguin and facing off against an ice wizard at one point). Then mid-afternoon the Lost Kids set about playing with the new wooden crocodile Skye had made for Orion, pretending it was the real “Tick-Tock” crocodile and passing it to whomever was “It” in their game of tag. Orion at several points had to put a halt to the game whenever anyone got hurt, at which point Carewyn would wrap the injury up with some spare ribbon and the kid in question would completely forget about it and get back to playing. 

It was close to the evening when Carewyn was preparing everyone for bed that Bill reminded Carewyn and Orion of something very important.

“Leave all that stuff to me,” he told them with his arms crossed and his mouth spread into a proud smile. “You need to get ready to go out.”

Carewyn blinked. “Go out?”

Charlie’s eyes lit up as he realized what Bill was talking about. “Oh yeah! Mothers and Fathers always go out for a party on Christmas night, while Bill and I look after the others!”

“The others meaning us?” said Tonks brightly.

Bill frowned slightly. “...I guess so...”

Before he could think on this too deeply, though, Charlie interrupted him. “It’s always fun! We pretend to go to sleep and then wake back up and eat sweets while Mum and Dad aren’t home...”

Carewyn put her hands on her hips. “Charlie!”

“Hey, it’s all in good fun!” laughed Charlie. “We also make our beds and clean up the kitchen nicely, so Mum won’t be mad...”

Carewyn still looked faintly disapproving, but when she caught Orion’s eye, she saw him smiling wryly.

“Well, then, if that’s what’s meant to be done on a proper Christmas...Bill, you’re in charge, until your ‘Mother’ and I get back.”

Bill straightened up with a bright grin and saluted. “Aye, aye, sir.”

And so Erika and Face Paint Kid helped Carewyn “get ready” to go out by helping her put on the new breastplate and belt Bill and Charlie had given her and fixing the tiny forget-me-not flowers the centaurs had given her in her hair. They really were just the same color as her eyes. 

Once Carewyn was ready, Orion -- his mouth spread into a very white, amused smile -- extended an arm for her to take and floated with her to the worn little tunnel that led to the surface. 

“Now, children, behave yourself while we’re out,” Carewyn said in a rather good imitation of a plump, red-haired woman she only vaguely remembered. “I’ve left you some spare ribbon by the armchair if you need it, Bill. And Charlie, eat your sweets and then tidy up the kitchen. That way you won’t have to clean it twice.”

“Yes, Mum,” Charlie teased. 

Bill was grinning broadly too, clearly just as amused by the game as anyone. “Have fun, you two!”

His grin broadening further, Orion then swept up into the air, pulling Carewyn along behind him.

Orion flew with Carewyn through the trees for a long way. At several points, Carewyn asked where they were going, only for Orion to quiet her with a finger beside his lips. At long last, after what felt like a half-hour, they reached a glade near the far south end of the island -- the home of the legendary Pixie Hollow.

This Hollow was the home of all Neverland fairies. Every tree therein sparkled with fine lines of gold and rainbow dust, for these trees were nourished by fairy dust the same way trees in our world drink water. Even the dew excreted from their branches glittered like gems. And at the center of all of these trees was the grandest and most beautiful of all of them -- the Great Tree, where the Queen of the Fairies reigned. And on this very night, the Fairies and their Queen were hosting a grand ball, so as to celebrate their newest arrivals. It was a ball that was thrown quite regularly, actually, but given how short one’s memory really was in Neverland, it always felt like a remarkable event. 

It was here, therefore, that Orion took Carewyn...and as he’d hoped, she was enamored with the sight. As the fairies flitted out from the tree, dancing through the air and singing a song as high and tinkling as bells, Carewyn gasped, her free hand flying to her mouth.

“Oh, Orion!” she breathed in delight. 

She gave his arm a squeeze, unable to express how in awe she was. When she looked at him, the fairies’ light danced in her pirate-like blue eyes.

Orion’s eyes softened just seeing the pure, girlish happiness in her face. She even seemed lighter, just floating beside him.

With a playful smile, he gave her a light push. With a laugh, Carewyn soared backwards, up higher into the air. She swept through the crowds of tiny dancing fairies with as much grace as a swan, her arms outstretched and her eyes closed. Her flushed face was spread into a bright grin as her ginger hair flapped into her face and she laughed. 

Freedom. This was what it had to be like, wasn’t it? To be completely free, weightless as a bird, with no worries, no cares? Free to be yourself, and only yourself, and have that be enough? 

“Don’t you know what Neverland truly is, Carewyn?” 

Carewyn felt someone bringing their arms around her. She opened her eyes again, to see Orion beaming from ear to ear at her.

“Freedom,” Orion’s words came back to Carewyn again, and it made her start to giggle happily. 

His black eyes sparkling, Orion twirled her around, mirroring the dancing fairies around them. The two danced a mid-air waltz as fine as any fairy, and all the while, they laughed more fully and happily than either of them could remember. 

Playing pretend and doing silly things, all without care of anyone else or what they might think -- just enjoying time together, just the two of them, connecting and laughing and enjoying each other’s smiles...

This was fun. It was so much fun...

Little did Carewyn and Orion know they were being watched -- nor that the two sets of eyes were so close together. 

One set of eyes were tiny and pink and narrowed with suspicion as they darted from Carewyn and Orion to the owner of the other set of eyes, who she’d spotted leaving the Jolly Roger and promptly decided to follow. 

This second set of eyes were brown and sharp-lidded -- rather unusual for the likes of a pirate -- and were fixed squarely on Carewyn as she floated around Orion in mid-air.

Could that be her? Ashe thought to himself suspiciously.

His hand lingered on the pistol on his belt, but he remained hidden in the tall leaves. He had no idea if Orion had any reinforcements, aside from the fairies, who most certainly would all tag-team against him, if he attacked Orion in the middle of their Hollow. And truthfully, he had no interest in hurting Wyn, if this girl was her. 

Carewyn and Orion were still both laughing as they soared up higher above the Great Tree. Orion led Carewyn down onto one of the tall branches, “escorting” her down it before she gave another large leap, and they soared around in circles through the air. 

Finally the two had to catch their breath, slowing down to a more leisurely, dreamy rotation as the fairies likewise started to slow-dance.

“...Ha...ha...this is...” Carewyn giggled. 

“Fun?” finished Orion.

“Yes!” Carewyn said eagerly.

Orion’s face broke out into a smile so huge, his glittery black eyes had to crinkle up to make room for them. Carewyn beamed brightly -- then, abruptly, she’d thrown her arms around Orion in a hug. 

The gesture startled Orion noticeably. 

“Thank you,” Carewyn said, grinning over his shoulder as she squeezed him tightly. “Thank you, for this -- it’s...it’s all so magical!”

When she pulled away, Orion looked at her with an oddly confused expression. Putting it together quickly, Carewyn immediately lost her smile and blushed a bit self-consciously.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I...just wanted to give you a hug, that’s all,” she said sheepishly. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable...”

Orion shook his head. 

“I was not uncomfortable,” he said at once, his voice almost mellowly stoic. “It’s just unfamiliar to me is all.”

Carewyn’s eyes softened. “...I thought so.”

Orion blinked.

“Well, it’s just...you said the Lost Kids were like us...that they didn’t have parents. ...That you don’t have parents.”

Carewyn looked up at Orion, her blue eyes warmer and more empathetic than Hook’s could ever be.

“So I thought...you must get pretty lonely sometimes too...even with the Lost Kids, and the mermaids, and the fairies and the centaurs keeping you company. I suppose that’s why Celestina said you’ve cried so much...”

Orion’s expression was very unreadable. Carewyn bit her lip, but she fixed him with a rather determined expression, before she threw her arms around him in another hug with such force that they floated through the crowds of dancing fairies again. 

“It’s not right, that you feel lonely,” Carewyn said as she clung onto Orion. “With how many people care about you...you should never have to cry alone.”

The two drifted in several leisurely circles in mid-air. Orion’s arms lingered awkwardly in mid-air on either side of her for a good chunk of the time -- then, slowly, as Carewyn made as if to pull back at last, he rested his hands on her shoulders, tilting his head so as to look at her from below curiously. 

“...It’s so interesting.”

Carewyn raised her eyebrows. “What?”

“How generous you are. You’ve given the mermaids your songs, the centaurs a blanket...the Lost Kids baubles and stories and pockets and warm milk. You’ve given me a handshake, and now not one, but two hugs.”

He smiled, his eyes crinkling up a bit more fondly. 

“...You give so much, and yet hardly take.”

And this from a girl with the eyes of a pirate. How unlike a pirate Carewyn Cromwell truly was!

Carewyn shrugged off this compliment as easily as she might’ve shrugged off a cool evening breeze. “Well, you give quite a lot too, you know.”

“Do I?” asked Orion. 

“Of course!” said Carewyn, as if it were obvious. “You look after everyone here in Neverland -- the Lost Kids, the centaurs, the mermaids, the fairies...you protect all of them from the pirates, and you don’t ever seem the least bit afraid.”

Orion cocked his eyebrows amusedly. “Fear is a thing that drags you down. No one could fly, locked in those chains...and I fly higher than all others.”

“Higher than my ‘standards,’ you mean?” said Carewyn with a laugh. 

“Sky high and further still,” Orion said proudly. 

Carewyn giggled harder. “To the stars, beyond the blue!”

As she laughed, though, something flittered to life behind her eyes.

“...Up you go with a height and ho...to the stars, beyond the blue...”

Her smile seemed to dim. 

“There’s a Neverland...waiting for you...”

Orion blinked, startled, down at her hands -- he could feel some weight through them. 

“Carewyn?” he said softly. 

“...Where all your happy dreams...come...”

She was falling now. A flash of concern shot through Orion as he brought his hands up as if to take hold of Carewyn’s shoulders. 

“Carewyn -- ”

He flinched back, however, seeing the tears that had overtaken her wide, bright blue eyes. For a second, they hovered over them like rippling diamond dew -- then they overflowed and streaked down her cheeks in multiple lines.

“I’ve...I’ve lost him,” she whispered.

Orion’s eyebrows furrowed. “Carewyn...”

“I’ve lost him,” Carewyn repeated again, her voice audibly distraught. “I’ve lost him -- his face, his name -- I’ve lost him!”

Orion’s eyes rippled with dismay as he watched Carewyn. She was crumpling in on herself as she drifted slowly back down to the ground.

“Come back -- come back, please -- ”

“Carewyn -- ”

Orion flew down after her, throwing out his arms as if to catch her. When he extended his arms, however, Carewyn clutched onto them tightly with her hands, clinging to Orion as she cried harder.

“I can’t -- ” she choked. “I can’t lose him again -- not my brother -- I can’t forget my brother -- I can’t!”

Orion didn’t know what to do, in the face of Carewyn’s tears. His arms lingered helplessly on either side of her, not knowing quite how to give her a hug the way she had moments ago.

“Carewyn...��� he whispered, as Carewyn only sobbed harder. “Carewyn...it’s okay...”

“No,” Carewyn moaned. “I forgot him -- I forgot -- how could I forget him!?”

“We all forget, Carewyn,” Orion said gently. 

Carewyn’s head shot up abruptly. Her tear-soaked eyes were very wide upon Orion’s face. 

“That’s part of what Neverland is,” he murmured. “It wants you to forget your pain -- leave behind your greatest sorrows, from that Other World. It wants you to be happy, and at peace...be young and free, forever.”

Carewyn stared at Orion. She stared and stared, even as her tears continued to fall and her feet met the ground. Orion himself even ended back on solid ground, bending down to be more on her level, as he tried to comfort her.

“There’s nothing back there for you, Carewyn,” he said softly. “Everything you’ve ever wanted and needed is here. Adventure, excitement -- freedom -- a family of children just as lost and alone as you...every dream you’ve ever known and many you’ve yet to know...”

Carewyn turned her wide, teary eyes down to her feet, unable to look at Orion. His black eyes grew a little smaller as he took a step closer to her.

“You belong here, Carewyn. With us. The Lost Kids. We’ll protect you. We’ll take care of you, forever -- and you can take care of us.” 

He hesitantly brought an arm up along her back and rested a hand in her hair, trying to give her a hug in return. 

“...Forget him, and be happy,” he said very quietly. 

Carewyn’s eyes flooded with fresh tears. All of a sudden, she’d pushed herself out of Orion’s arms. 

“NO!”

Orion was so startled he couldn’t summon any kind of verbal defense before Carewyn ripped into him. 

“I WON’T FORGET JACOB! I WON’T, I WON’T!”

Her blue eyes flared with righteous anger. It made Orion visibly falter.

“Carewyn...” he whispered.

“NO!” she screamed louder still. “YOU CANNOT MAKE ME!”

“It’s not me that’ll do it,” Orion said, and his voice in contrast became softer and softer. “Everyone forgets, Carewyn.”

“NEVER!” Carewyn shouted. “I’LL NEVER FORGET HIM! NEVER, NEVER!” 

Orion was at a loss. 

“Why?” he challenged her at last, in a very quiet, yet oddly hard voice. “Why won’t you? Why will you hurt yourself like this, when you’ll be happy, once you’ve forgotten? When Neverland itself wants you to forget and be content?”

“BECAUSE HE’S MY BROTHER!” Carewyn shrieked back. “Because when I was alone and friendless, he was there! Because when I was scared and lonely, he was there! Because when Mum died and we were cold and hungry, he was there, and he would smile, and I would press on, because I had to be there for HIM! I only know who I am and how much good I can do, because of him -- because of Mum -- because of them -- !”

Her tears were streaming down her face harder than ever. 

“I don’t care how much it hurts -- I don’t care how much happier I’d be, if I forgot them forever and never cried again -- if I forgot Mum and Jacob, if I ever forgot them...I’d forget why I’m still here!” 

Orion was lost for words. Carewyn’s tears seemed so blackened with despair now -- and yet, sparkling silver and gold, all the same...

Silver for resilience...gold for courage...

“...Carewyn...”

Orion once again tried to give her a hug, but Carewyn was just unable to accept it. The sobbing little girl pushed out of Orion’s arms and ran right into the trees, leaving him alone in the shade of the glittering Great Tree. 

Ashe immediately set off after Carewyn -- Merula was about to chase after the pirate too, but the look on Orion’s face made her hesitate.

Orion stared after Carewyn for a long moment, his eyes darkening with displeasure -- almost something frustrated. 

This was not supposed to happen. She hadn’t been too old to fly, she had been able to fly -- she’d been able to fly as high as he did! She’d been happy, and free, and she’d loved it -- she’d been so happy, being free and flying, without a care in the world...she’d known that joy, she’d felt it, that joy he felt every time he flew amongst the fairies...

She’d...known what he felt...she’d known it! She’d known it in a way that none of his other Lost Kids did, that no one else had!

No one else...

Shadows of faces Orion had forgotten years, perhaps decades ago, flickered over his closed eyelids. Orion firmly closed his eyes, forcing back the emotions trying to leak through.

He thought...she’d understood...she said she thought he was lonely -- he thought she’d said that because she’d known what that was --

He thought...she’d stay...

The shadows of forgotten faces came back, rippling into the darkness of Orion’s eyelids, now moist with tears. Orion fiercely wiped them off on his glove, forcing them back.

Forget. Peace. Forget. 

In Orion’s abrupt movement to wipe the moisture from his eyes, the bauble that he’d tucked into his shirt the previous night came loose, rolling out through his sleeve and down onto the grass with a light flump. The contact with the group made the melancholic Tenor voice of Carewyn’s brother inside of it echo with fresh clarity -- 

“ -- mustn’t let them see me cry...I’m fine...I’m fine...”

Orion’s eyes shot open, flitting down to the silver-glinting bauble reflecting Jack’s pale face on the grass. Feeling a new wave of nausea and misery wash over him, Orion firmly turned his back on it and took off again, flying back toward Hangman’s Tree like some gloomy vulture. 

Rather than fly after Orion, however, Merula made that aforementioned spiteful choice. She picked up the bauble and flew off with it into the trees. 

Over the course of the next twenty minutes, Merula tapped the bauble several times, to make sure Jack’s voice sang the entire song multiple times. And sure enough, the song caught the ear of the still miserable and crying Carewyn -- as well as the ear of the pirate who Merula knew had been following her. And when Carewyn tried to get the bauble back from Merula, the fairy was able to lead her right into the Pirate Without Pirate Eyes’s path.

“Give that back, Merula -- give it -- !”

Carewyn froze, stock-still, at the sight of the pirate who she’d just about run into. Merula dropped the “bauble” at once right in front of Ashe, before darting off into the trees.

Ashe stared at Carewyn for little more than a few seconds. He’d long since determined who the girl was, but once he saw those eyes, he knew. They were Jack’s eyes -- Jack’s eyes, exactly. 

“You -- ”

Carewyn, for her part, wasn’t going to go without a fight. She immediately opened her mouth to scream -- when Ashe grabbed her covered her mouth, she bit down hard on his hand.

“OUCH!”

Carewyn then tried to kick him as hard as she could -- although she wasn’t particularly strong, her ability to fly had given her some height, which allowed her to wriggle enough to land a blow right to Ashe’s shin. The pirate winced, struggling to hold onto the little girl as he reached into his green suede coat.

“Sit still, will you!? Ugh -- !”

Finding what he’d been looking for, he snatched out a white handkerchief, which he then used to cover Carewyn’s nose and mouth. The little ginger girl screamed and writhed, trying frantically to get loose, but her mind was slowly dying -- her vision blackening --

“Sorry, lassie,” Ashe muttered in her ear. “You’ll thank me later...”

Carewyn kept lashing out desperately, her voice coming out as nothing more than a squeak as all of her strength dissipated and all consciousness left her. 

[artistrashofmine]

I’m projecting onto Bakugou again, fun.

No Pairing/General, Parental Aizawa & Bakugou Mitsuki’s Bad Parenting.

Rating: Teen and Up

W/C: 3157

 AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24817582

Katsuki was in the hospital. Something about teaching him a lesson, or so Aizawa said. That Recovery Girl wouldn’t always be there to cover your reckless asses and Katsuki was going to be example number one to what happens when she isn’t. He only got a few scratches, some bruises. It was a damn building collapse on his way from the mall to the dorms. He went in, because of fucking course, he had his hero licence, he wasn’t about to stand back and let people perish. And who knew, it could have been a villain attack. In the end, it was some stupid experiment or gadget gone wrong, the place was owned by some sort of testing or designing corporation. Something like that, he didn’t really pay attention.

Point is, this was bullshit. Why should he spend his weekend in a hospital room eating shitty hospital food? Which did more harm than good seeing as he hardly ate a bite of it. He was perfectly fine, apparently, the excuse was something to do with chemicals or some shit that could’ve been disturbed as the building fell. Though Katsuki’s pretty sure his teacher just hated him. At least he wasn’t hooked up to any shit, though he was forced into one of those shitty gowns. Like what the fuck? Maybe it was some kind of test for his patience.

And the staff, the staff was hell, serious hell. One nurse was just shitty, but they were the most tolerable out of the bunch. He hated that other one who kept coming around. A fucking bitch who didn’t listen to a word he said.

It was all “how are you feeling, dear?” or “do you need anything, darling?”. And it was pissing him off because she wouldn’t shut the fuck up with the stupid name-calling.  He had a fucking name, Bakugou Katsuki for god’s sake not fucking “honey”. The blond didn’t know this girl, and frankly didn’t want to, so she could stop treating him as if they were all buddy-buddy.

Fuck, were staff even allowed to treat a patient like this? They shouldn’t be. Seriously, that’s fucked up, as a hero you’re supposed to make people feel comfortable, even he knew that, and Katsuki was pretty sure being a decent fucking human being - or nurse for that matter - should be the same. This was far from comfortable for him.

Screw teaching Katsuki a lesson,  it was these fuckers who needed some sense beat into them. And now the blond’s pretty fucking sure Aizawa sent him here cause he’s a monster teacher from hell and has it out for the hot-headed teenager. It makes perfect fucking sense.

He didn’t bother batting an eye when he came in to check if the blond hadn’t bailed, and the nurse was sprouting out them bullshit pet names. Not that it surprised him, the teacher hardly took notice of shit that troubled him. Hell, he didn’t bat an eye when his fucking hag of a mother gave him the backhand during their meeting for setting up the dorm. Nor did All Might for that matter. And no one did shit when he was strapped down to one of Cemento’s blocks and muzzled for the world to see. All to force some shitty medal that he didn’t want around his neck, well, into his mouth, but close enough. He was beginning to think all heroes were fucking oblivious idiots who all could use a good beating some sense into. Preferably with Katsuki doing the beating.

Then there was his mother, his goddamn bitch of an excuse for a parent. She didn’t bat an eye when nurse bitch came out with her arsenal of pet names. No, she yelled at Katsuki for going off at the nurse, who fucking scurried away like a fucking pussy the second their voices started to rise.

Yeah, this hospital was doing so much more harm than good, he needed out of here, he needed out of here soon or better yet yesterday. He shouldn’t have been here in the first place, that’s what should have been. Then he wouldn’t have had to put up with any of this shit. He was losing sleep here for god’s sake.

Of course, Sunday came with a high pitched “good morning honey!”  

And that was about all he could take. Do you know how fucking annoying that is? To wake up and the first thing said to you, by a total stranger, in the most annoying fucking high pitched babying voice be good fucking morning honey. Yeah, good-fucking-morning, good-fucking-bye. Maybe it was payback for his own nicknames. How he hardly called anyone by their proper name, unless they earned it. Still, he didn’t call them cutesy pet names either that was normally shared between couples. And being an asshole was his thing, and they were his fucking peers, not patients.  

So he yelled at her, yelled as loud as he could, he let sparks dance across his fingers, and he fucking told her, “I swear to god, if you don’t stop calling me those fucking stupid ass, pussy names, I’m going to fucking MURDER you.”

He thinks she got the message this time. He scared her off, that was for sure, the frown evident on her face. Katsuki didn’t think she would be coming back around. He was right. Though, if he were being honest, her and the one she was replaced with, he could tell no fucking difference. Brown hair instead of blond, that was about it. Same babying voice, same damn names, over and over again. He swore to god, he’d never step foot in here again, even if he were bleeding out on the sidewalk right in front of this fucking building, half dead. Never again.

It wasn’t happening, he expressed that much to Aizawa who was picking him up to bring him back to the dorms on Sunday night, his mom present only cause she had to sign him out. Damn waste of time this shit was.

“Goodbye, sweetie.” And bitch number two thought she was sly.

“I’m not your fucking sweetie.” He didn’t hesitate to holler right back.

“Stop being a pain in the ass you damn brat!” Too bad his fucking hag’s screech was louder than his, he’s pretty fucking sure his explosions partially inherited her set of lungs. Least her hands were too busy at the fucking desk to reach over and whoop his fucking ass. Goddamn, they were made of steel or something, he swears. His dad said it was just because she used to play volleyball, but he was half-convinced it was a secret quirk or something.

“Bakugou,” Aizawa drawled from behind him, the blond turning to meet the tired gaze.

He held his head up in challenge, “what you got something to say about my shitty behaviour too?”

And unexpectedly, the other only starred back, silent. As if taking back whatever he had to say. The blond narrowed his red-eyes, what was the Caterpillar getting at?

“Oi, brat, the least you could do is say bye! I came all the way out here for your ass.” He turned to sneer at the hag.

“Tch, whatever, like you have anything better to do!”

“Hah?! You ungrateful little demon. I swear to fucking christ,” it really looked like she was holding back, maybe she did have enough brains not to hit him in the middle of a fucking hospital.

Though he seriously questioned if any of the workers would do something about it. Maybe they’d have the decency to look away while it happened, but that was honestly the best he could expect from them.

“Why do I put up with your ass again?!” She shook her head, “I’ll tell Masaru you said hi. And remember to fucking call!”

Her heels clicked against the tile as she made her exit, as loud as she fucking could. Grabbing the attention of the whole fucking room, as if she hadn’t with her screeching. Un-fucking-believable, that woman.

When he turned back to the UA teacher, he was speaking to the staff working at the desk. Probably to listen in on the, undoubtedly, numerous complaints of how bad of a patient he was, how disrespectful he was, how much of a scene he has caused. Katsuki was in a rotten mood, and wouldn’t appreciate the lecture he was about to get on the way back. He shuffled his way closer to the teacher in hopes to draw his attention, that they could get this over with as long as he got the hell out of this hellish building.

“-again, I’ll press charges.” What.

What the fuck did he just walk into? Aizawa was arguing with a man at the counter, possibly some higher up they called over to handle complaints. That’s what he just walked up to. The teacher kicked some poor souls ass, Katsuki wanted to laugh in the workers face. Though he wondered what the hell caterpillar was threatening to press charges for, he wasn’t paying attention for one second and now he doesn’t know what the fuck’s going on.

Did Aizawa have some unfinished business or something? Was that why he chose this hellish place, it would make sense that the workers fucked something up and the pro was involved, at least it did to Katsuki. He wouldn’t put anything off the table. The weekend alone took a fucking year off his life span, and seeing that he was training to become a hero and already found himself smack dab in the middle of multiple villain interactions, it didn’t look like he had many years to spare.

“I’ll make sure it won’t happen again sir, do you have the names of those involved?” The man was able to keep a calm facade, it kind of pissed Katsuki off, he got on the bad side of fucking Eraser Head for god’s sake, that wasn’t something to be calm about. Though, to be fair, the man didn’t have Aizawa as a homeroom teacher so he wouldn’t understand what the other was capable of, would he?

Man, Katsuki pitied the poor foul who got on the underground hero’s nerves and envied the one who the hero cared enough to get upset on behalf of. Did he have a kid or something? It didn’t look like it, and the blond was skeptical of his abilities to care for one. Though Aizawa seemed to do fine with his class so maybe he was capable after all. Not like he could be worse than Katsuki’s mother anyway.

“Bakugou,” their attention was on the approaching blond, “I know you never call anyone by their names but do you remember the nurses who took care of you?”

“The shitty ones that called me pet names? Hell no.” He wasn’t afraid to voice his distaste, that was about all he could do, he wouldn’t give it up.

Maybe everything else was out of his control, the faith and trust that others had in his words, their ability to care, to do something, but Katsuki could control himself, he could speak up as much as he wanted even if there was no one to listen.

He was surprised not to get a scolding in return, not even a sigh, the black-haired teacher simply turned back to man, “don’t you have them on file?”

“Why sure, but numerous nurses could have visited his room, they change every shift.” Wait, this had something to do with Bakugou?

That’s why Aizawa was going off. Did the hospital do something to him? Was it those shitty nurses? They could’ve held a grudge over his attitude, but they seemed too scared to do something about it. Was it the doctor, because he was taking up a bed for no fucking good reason? They didn’t have much of a chance to do anything, maybe when he was asleep. Though the blond slept lightly, you never knew when the next attack could come. Whether it was villains, or his fucking mother, she’s done it before, pulled him right out of bed at three in the morning just because the blond slammed the door and woke the witch from her “beauty” sleep after an early morning run the previous day.

By now he seemed to have a sixth sense for people touching him in his sleep or coming near him. He could guess it started around the Sports Festival. It wasn’t pleasant to wake up from a quirk-forced sleep only to find yourself getting manhandled, getting muzzled. So he’d be surprised to sleep through some petty bitches midnight meddling. It didn’t feel like anything was off either, he might be a bit more tired and annoyed, but there was a reason, a good reason, for that. Or what he believed to be a good reason, maybe he was wrong. Who fucking knew?

“One of them was the girl who was just here.” The one who escorted them out, bitch number two? She did something?

The man nodded along, “I will make a note of that.”

“There was another if I recall, am I correct, Bakugou?” Aizawa looked at him expectantly.

“Another what?” Bitch? Because yes, yes there was.

“Worker who has been using inappropriate names.” The blond blinked, Aizawa was filing a complaint because of the pet names, on Bakugou’s behalf.

Because he was listening to Bakugou’s complaints? Hearing that he didn’t like it? And he was doing something? He wasn’t turning an eye and he didn’t see anything wrong with it, that the blond was overreacting. He was respecting what the blond wanted.

“She was the one on the shift before that other girl.” Katsuki explained quietly, collecting himself.

He didn’t need to yell for Aizawa to hear him.

“I would like to be made aware of your plans on how to handle this situation,” he turned back to the man, “I’ll be in contact, here’s my card.”

The other took it from the teacher's hand, “of course, sorry for the inconvenience.”

“I’m not who you should be apologizing to.” He turned away, “ready Bakugou?”

“Yeah,” the word was difficult to get out, he didn’t know why.

“Bakugou-san, on behalf of the hospital I’d like to apologize for the staff’s behaviour.” The man interrupted.

He stared at him with a scowl, “whatever.”

Like it mattered anyway, it wasn’t like Katsuki was ever going to come back. He already made up his mind on that, and when he comes to a decision, he sticks to it. The blond didn’t wait up, turning to march his way out of the godforsaken place, his exit was long overdue.

Aizawa was silent on the way out, silent as they got in his car and started driving. It wasn’t until they were well down the street, stuck at a light that he began to speak.

“I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention for your time here to be that… substandard.” He started, “if something like this happens again I want you to come to me, I know I won’t be able to catch it, not all the time.”

There were already things the teacher missed , Katsuki thought bitterly. Though to be fair, All Might didn’t do anything either, actually, he played a good role in delivering Bakugou’s medal of failure. Aizawa was all bandaged up, in the booth with Mic, he hasn't said much, not until after. Katsuki was still wearing the gloves in class during the debriefing of the festival, he stayed back, was told to, he needed them off. They needed Aizawa's quirk to neutralize the sweat that poured into the gloves, otherwise, they were going to have a lotta collateral damage on their hands.

He remembers the teacher stating a grim “I don’t agree with what had happened.” before the principal had entered the classroom with the key, starting the process of removing the shit on his hands and safely disposing of the nitroglycerin-like sweat. He thought Aizawa was talking about Katsuki’s actions, how he chased after Half-and-Half, how he needed to be restrained in front of the crowd, how he acted like a petty brat who didn’t get the toy they wanted. He thought the grim expression was the teacher's disappointment. Like his mom’s when the blond had gotten home.

Now he wondered, was it Katsuki’s attitude that Aizawa was referring to? Did he miss Katsuki’s confusion? Did he miss the frustration in his eyes? The fact that he didn’t have a choice. That he didn’t want that? He vaguely remembers the conference televised during his kidnapping, how Aizawa bowed, took responsibility for Bakugou and how the blond was presented in the media’s eyes. Was that his way of apologizing? He didn’t think that deep into it, there was a lot going on during the time.

“I have another concern,” he continued, “your mother.”

The old hag, “what about her.”

“Bakugou, what’s your home life like?”

The blond's face drew up into a sneer, “nothing I can’t handle,  besides we live in the fucking dorms not like I see the old hag that often anyway, she’s a bitch.”

“And your father?” he continued, seemingly taking every word seriously, more serious then the blond intended.

“He keeps her on a leash but makes shitty excuses for her tantrums.” He mumbled, he knew their family was dysfunctional, not your average loving household or whatever, but they managed.  He was used to it.

Katsuki liked his independence anyways, so staying the fuck away from them wasn’t a problem. And they didn’t seem to mind either, for the most part. At least his father didn’t, his mother was a fucking bitch, all ‘don’t forget to call brat!’.

“Let’s grab something to eat before we go back to the dorms.” He proposed, pausing his investigation for now, “I want to discuss some things with you, involving you.”

“...Sure.” The blond was tired of hospital food, and it would be nice not having to cook for once, though he wasn’t looking forward to any more serious conversations, but it was better to get it over with. And maybe… maybe Aizawa would listen some more.

“Despite being a teacher, I’m not good with speaking, and I don’t like it,” that’s something they had in common, Katsuki had a feeling the other knew it too, “I remain a part-time hero with night shifts and have two cats.”

Well, that explained why he slept through the classes, but it didn’t excuse him from the gross, yellow sleeping bag, it still explained the hair all over it.

“I’m a light sleeper,” the blond admitted, “and I’ve never had a fucking cat, animals don’t like me.”

He could make out the slight, upward tilt to Aizawa’s mouth.

A month later he met Aizawa’s cats for the first time, they were clingy as fuck.

Another week later he was staying for a long weekend.

By the end of the school year he had his own room.

[indigomasquerade97]

Brothers Abducted

@brothersapart

Chapter 3 - Pursued

Sam ran, skidding against the carpet to hide underneath the shadows of the dresser. He placed a hand on his racing heart, trying to slow down his breathing. He could see his exit into the walls ahead, behind the bed only a few feet away. Not that far.

Of course, to someone only four inches tall, it was still quite a trek.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

‘I know you’re in here…’

He huffed, slowly peeking out across the floor. His pursuer casually walked out in the middle of the room, slowly pivoting in his search. Boots the size of cars ground into the carpet. Sam repressed a shiver at imagining himself under it. There would be nothing left of him if he found himself unlucky enough to be caught there. He had to get out of there.

He slowly crept closer to the edge, hiding himself behind one of the legs. He watched as the giant turned from him, searching on the other side of the room. Sam could only see up to the giant’s stomach, so he couldn’t know where the giant was looking. If he was to successfully escape, he’d need to time this right.

He wrapped his dull green cloak closer around himself, slowly edging out along the wall. He kept his face pointed to the floor, the hood hiding his pale features. Sam kept eyeing his side, keeping the giant in his peripheral as he slowly, so slowly, stalked towards his target. He’d freeze when he felt a familiar burn at his neck. Once the giant’s gaze moved off from him, he’d continue the trek. Trust the cloak, he reminded himself. The vent was less than a foot away now.

The giant huffed in frustration, swinging around. The swift movement caused something to fall from the nearby table, crashing against the ground. Sam flinched at the sound.

He froze again. That had been too loud to his ears. The burning returned with increased intensity. He prayed that the giant hadn’t-

‘There you are.’ The giant purred.

Sam groaned, abandoning all stealth and began to sprint. He was so close! The earth shook as the giant sprang forward, but Sam didn’t look back. He kept his eyes on his only escape, not willing to give up yet. He could still make it!

Until one of those boots landed in front of him. He didn’t even have enough time to slow down before slamming into it. He gasped as the breath left his lungs, trying to push himself off the cold leather and continue his run. But already something had begun wrapping around him. Before he could properly get his bearings, fingers bigger than he was tall knocked him back and pinned him to a broad palm.

Sam yelped as he began soaring straight up. Even as the world blurred from the fast movement, he didn’t stop fighting. He wriggled in the giant’s fist, reaching for the silver blade tucked inside his vest. He managed to get a hold of it and slashed at the soft skin between the thumb and forefinger. The giant hadn’t stood back up yet, so Sam would survive the fall. Probably.

The giant hissed, flinching at the sudden pain. Sam slipped through those giant fingers, but the giants reflexes were well attuned. Two fingers of his opposite hand managed to snag one of Sam’s legs, leaving the young man dangling upside down. Sam thrashed out as he saw the wounded hand reaching out to him.

‘Don’t you dare!’ He shouted, slashing at the invading digits. They paused for a moment, then snapped out and clamped over the blade. Sam grunted as the giant began to twist and pull, and his silver blade was ripped from his hands.

The giant chuckled, tossing Sam in the air and catching him in his palm. Fingers wrapped around him, securely pinning Sam’s arms to his side. Sam grunted, twisting to try and escape the hold. But he was outmatched, with no weapon.

There was no escaping this.

The giant grinned down at him, chuckling as Sam continued to fight, even though he had already lost.

‘Got’cha.’ He gloated.

With a huff, Sam finally went limp in the hand, sending a massive bitchface at his captor.

‘Ha, ha. Very funny,’ He jabbed, sharply twisting in discomfort, ‘Come on, Jason, let me up.’

Jason chuckled good-naturedly, removing his fingers. Sam was left sprawled on his palm, shaking his head as he tried to clear his vertigo.

Jason slowly stood up, holding out his other hand. Sam grumbled as he took back his knife, quickly checking that it hadn’t been damaged in the skirmish. He knew that Jason was always careful with the tiny blade, but he still couldn’t help but fuss over it. It was one his only possessions from before he had been stranded, after all.

‘You weren’t doing too bad today.’ Jason commented, glancing down to look under the bed, where he could just make out the vent.

‘I almost made it.’ Sam defended. Jason tutted, shaking his head.

‘Almost isn’t enough, Sam,’ He said, raising an eyebrow, ‘You didn’t remember your lessons, did ya?’

Sam huffed, fidgeting with the end of his cloak. Trust the cloak, Jason always said. It was a mirror of Jason’s own cloak, the fabric specially designed to conceal the wearer. The drab colours of grey and green splotches were designed to break up an individual’s form against their background. It was by no means an invisibility cloak, but with the right training and skills, it was a useful tool. An enemy could be standing two feet away and not see him.

‘You had already seen me. There was no point in hiding.’ Sam countered. Jason rolled his eyes, slowly transferring Sam to his shoulder.

‘I didn’t see you. I only saw you once you panicked and ran.’ He said, not unkindly.

Sam groaned, slouching against the giant’s neck. He grabbed a fistful of fabric, slapping at the man’s neck to show he was ready. Jason began walking, his gait easy, so not to jostle his small passenger. With a snap of his fingers, the entire room fell away, colours bleeding out until all that remained was a padded room, almost like an isolation room. A single black door appeared on a wall.

Jason opened the door, stepping out of his personal training room and into the broader apartment.

Takota was hammering away on the shelf in the corner. The entire corner had been converted into a fully functioning dollhouse, so to speak, with other sections to cater to both Sam and Takota’s interests. Takota was currently in his forge, working on… something. Could have been one of his many unfinished projects, or a new one altogether.

Jason stopped beside the small section, placing his hand down on the surface. Sam quickly darted down the length of his arm with practiced ease.

‘How’s it goin, Mouse?’ Jason asked, even as he moved towards the kitchen to find some breakfast.

'I’m doing good,’ Takota answered, then poked his head out, 'So, Sam. How did it go?’

Sam grumbled, scuffing his boot as he pulled his hood back.

'Made a mistake.’ He confessed bitterly. Takota chuckled, stepping out of his forge. He wiped the sweat from his brow, ending up with a smudge of coal above his right eye. He clapped Sam on the shoulder, smiling reassuringly.

'Don’t worry. You’ll best him someday.’ He assured.

'He’s gotta long way ta go, though!’ Jason called from the fridge.

A small alarm sounded off from Sam’s watch. Sam cursed. He hadn’t realized their training had gone on for so long.

'Shit. Gotta go!’ He called even as he ran into the house, grabbing the strap of his bag before darting back out again.

'Oi. Where are ya going in such a hurry?’ Jason asked, closing the fridge once he found nothing of interest.

'School,’ Sam answered, sending a smile over his shoulder, 'Not all of us can lounge around all day!’ Jason chuckled, waving him off as he finally selected an appleite from the fruit bowl. It was a native plant, which looked and felt like a blue crystal in the shape on an apple. Just one would keep a Shifter fed and energized for a solid twenty-four hours, or three days, for a human.

‘Stay safe!’ Takota called before disappearing back inside his forge.

The white walls of the apartment were crossed with small tubes that stood at about an average Shifters chest, although to Jason, they only reached his head. They were small, but made large enough for even the tallest small folk to easily walk through. Each one was connected to different surfaces around the apartment, that way the two smaller residents had better access to the room without the easy transport offered by their resident giant. Sam ducked inside, sprinting up the stairs to reach the door that lead outside. A motorized bike was parked by his door, and he quickly hoped on, riding through the secure pathways that were created for the smaller folks’ ease.

It had been over ten years since Sam had found himself in this new world. He’d spent most of his time at the Mandimal HQ, where he’d quickly gotten used to a fairly stable – at least, as stable as a Winchester could get – life. He’d gone to school, gotten an education, with a steady stream of friends and social connections he’d been denied when travelling with his father. Jason and Takota had offered to house him while he’d been there. They were both attentive, caring, and supportive of his choices and interests.

They also kept the promise they’d given to him when Sam had first met them. They had done everything in their power to help him find his lost family. There was not a lot they could do, considering the circumstances, but they always helped him in his search for his lost world. He’d only ever been off-world five times, when Jason had gotten updates to his search. But they had been unsuccessful, thus far.

Ten years of waiting for news about discovering his lost home. Ten years of raised hopes, only to have them quickly dashed.

Ten years, wondering if his brother had even survived that fateful night Sam had been spirited away.

Sam was glad for Jason’s apparent need to train him, though, he still hadn’t discovered why the man went through such pains to train both Sam and Takota. He also didn’t always understand the man’s reasoning for some lessons – like the time Sam was taught the secrets of an apothecary – but the training gave him structure in his first few years of being stranded. It reminded him of Dean, and how his brother would teach him new ways to defend himself against what their father hunted.

It made transitioning into the Shifter community much easier, at least.

He sighed once he made it to his destination. Once the bike was secure, he quickly stepped down the stairs into the busy room. The class was for the criminology course that the schooling system funded. The class was filled mostly with humans, with a handful of actual Shifters.

Sam was the only small individual. While the smaller races had made great bounds in their trust and integration into the Shifter culture, it was still intimidating, being around such larger beings.

Sam rubbed the back of his neck as some of his classmates noticed his presence, giving him polite nods. Sam smiled back, sitting himself down at his desk. The slight itching went away after a moment, and Sam relaxed. Maybe class would actually go well for a change.

[carewyncromwell]

For the attractive MC ask, mine has to be nothing more than our sweet vampy baby Bat! I absolutely love his blossoming friendship with Atticus and the uncle-nephew bond he has with my boy Danny! Danny really adores Bat and Atticus, and he always looks up to them at Hogwarts! Also, I'd like to give a shout out to Carey-bear! We've never talked much about her friendship with Cato, but we know they love to bake together, especially when they made cookies in secret for Christmas in their fifth year!🥺💙💚

So much Bat love, my heart!! <3 Ahem, but yes, Batticus brings me way too much joy -- I know Atticus’s mun @cursebreakerfarrier feels similarly. Goddamn it, why do these two make me want to draw so much when I have so many other unfinished projects already on my plate?! And GAH, DANNY! I swear, I already love that Uncle Bat not only has another unofficial family member (*eyes Adelia, Teddy, and the Selwyn-Ellisons out the side of her eye*), but that surrogate nephew being one as sweet as Danny who both is on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team like Bat was back in the day and ends up eventually replacing his pal Grim when he retires?? Just...my heart! 💙

And awww, some love for my OG girl Carewyn! Carey-bear is touched! And also tapping her foot impatiently in my direction because I still need to finish her Good!Rakepick AU fic, oi. I do look forward to plotting more with Cato and Carey in the future...though of course yes, I love them as baking buddies! ^.^