#yeah I’d follow him into the forest he looks trustworthy

[museofzero]

Pure self indulgence of fantasy au aka me putting dnd into every aspect of my fixations.

Fic idea where Optimus finds an alternate world by following the reader who is a mage with magical tattoos that allow them to use flight (motion tattoo’s, credit to @fillibusterfrog on Twitter for the idea with motion tattoo’s) by having wing tattoos. Ends up following them because “humans aren’t supposed to fly” and also because he witnessed them jump off a cliff in order to catch the updraft to help them take off. He accidentally ends up crossing the line of some invisible barrier and follows the reader into the forest, totally not suspicious that there is a random forest in Jasper fucking Nevada, especially one that is so lush and green. Reader kind of panics when they see some giant 35ft tall robot chasing after them. Reader keeps yelling for him to “stop omfg please st-“ and too late, he already crossed the barrier, which just changes him into a fantasy version of himself. Now he’s faced with two new issues a.) he can’t leave and b.) wtf just happen, why does he suddenly look like this. 

(Note; This is pure rambling so it probably doesn’t sound remotely like something he’d do. I’ll go back and probably edit this post later. This au is called “The Veil”)

Now for some ideas

Optimus is a warrior and probably a Goliath. OP still tall as hell, just not as tall as a building tall. I’d say a good 10ft-12ft probably.

Going through the veil changes him into being a human but his armor turns into actual armor around him so he still looks somewhat like himself.

finds a sword stuck in a the ground, and grabs it for the sake of protection because he doesn’t have his blasters anymore…and becomes the handler of a magical sword cause he can’t catch a break.

Reader is just standing there like “wtf?” Probably was trying to be sneaky and escape the town they were in for a breather. Didn’t mean to bring an outsider in, whoops

Reader is an mage. Their wings are motion tattoos that probably resemble those of a harpy Eagle, wing span is big because it has to be able to carry them. Maybe 25ft? Wing span? Feathers will probably match whatever hair color they have.

Time kind of freezes outside of the forest that leads to the fantasy realm. (Not really just passed extremely slowly). Or at least that’s what reader assures…yeah totally trustworthy.

Some concepts for the sword (as made by me during my history class, using sketchbook.) and a current sketch for the au, reader on their way to stop OP from listening to swords calling but it’s already too late.

[thelastspeecher]

Amphibious Tendencies - Chapter 8: Agalychnis callidryas

Chapter 1   Chapter 2   Chapter 3   Chapter 4   Chapter 5   Chapter 6   Chapter 7   Chapter 8   Chapter 9   Chapter 10   AO3

I wanted to get this chapter posted before the end of the year, ideally before the holidays, and I’m so glad I managed to get it done.  And don’t worry if you feel like this chapter has a distinct lack of McGucket content, there will be plenty in Chapter 9.  Enjoy.

— 

Summary: Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Wendy try to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding the Author, only to discover that someone they know has secrets of his own.

When going to sleep, the red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) will conceal its brightly colored sides and feet to better blend in with the foliage around it.

——————————————————————————————

             Dipper paced back and forth in front of the fake tree that had led him to the Journal.  The forest was still, the only sound being bird calls in the distance.

             “I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’ve gathered you here today,” he began.  Soos raised his hand.  Dipper stopped pacing.  “Yes, Soos?”

             “I thought Wendy would be joining us,” Soos said. Dipper sighed.

             “Unfortunately, it looks like she won’t make it,” he said. “She told me she might not be able to sneak away from her family.”

             “Aw, that sucks,” Mabel said.  She winked.  “Especially for you.”

             “What- not for-” Dipper stammered.  Mabel giggled.

             “Did you guys really think you’d go on another wild adventure without me?” a voice asked.  Dipper, Mabel, and Soos looked over.  Wendy was walking up to them, grinning.  A young man who looked like a lanky version of Manly Dan followed her.

             “Wendy!” Dipper said eagerly.  Too eagerly.  He hurriedly cleared his throat.  “Glad you could make it,” he said in a more subdued tone.

             “Yeah, it was a bit tough to get outta the house,” Wendy drawled.  She jabbed her thumb behind her, at the man she had come with.  “Hope you don’t mind I brought my big brother.  He’s my ride.”  Wendy’s brother waved cheerfully.  He was even taller than Wendy and like her, wore a flannel and muddy boots, though his shirt was gray.  “Bro, this is Dipper and Mabel.  You already know Soos.”

             “I see the family resemblance,” Mabel said thoughtfully.  Wendy’s brother chuckled.

             “Thanks,” he said.  He had a deep voice but spoke gentler and softer than Manly Dan.

             “Why haven’t we met you yet?” Mabel asked.

             “Jonah works at our cousin’s logging camp upstate during the summer,” Wendy answered.  Her brother, Jonah, nodded.  “It’s a coupla hours away, so he can’t visit that often.”

             “Yeah, I figured I’d supervise you kids before I drop by the Shack to help with the repairs after that earthquake or whatever,” Jonah said.  He raised a thick, red eyebrow.  “Wendy said something about a book and the mysteries of Gravity Falls?”

             “What exactly did Wendy say?” Dipper said suspiciously.  Wendy rolled her eyes.

             “C’mon, dude, Jonah’s cool.”  When Dipper still seemed doubtful, Wendy tried another tactic. “If you can trust me, you can trust him.”  Wendy looked at Soos.  “Back me up, Soos.”

             “She’s right,” Soos said.  “Jonah’s trustworthy.  He even worked at the Shack for a while!”

             “All right,” Dipper said reluctantly.  “I’ll start from the beginning, then.”  He cleared his throat.  “Soon after Mabel and I came to Gravity Falls, I found this book in the woods.”  Dipper held up the Journal.  Jonah nodded thoughtfully.  “It contains all the secrets of this strange town, but the biggest mystery is who wrote it. Who was the Author?”  Jonah furrowed his brow.  “Thirty years ago, the Author vanished without a trace.  But according to a new clue, we may have found his secret hideout.”

             “What new clue?” Jonah asked, visibly invested in what Dipper was talking about.

             “The Author wrote a bunch of secret messages in invisible ink, which could only be seen under a black light.  Using this, I was able to determine that the Author had some sort of hiding place in this area.  I found the Journal around here, so it’s not that much of a surprise.”

             “Did you dig it up or something?” Jonah asked.

             “No, I opened a panel in this tree and found a switch that opened up a hole in the ground,” Dipper rattled off.  Jonah looked at Wendy, who was looking at the tree thoughtfully.

             “Whattaya think?”

             “I think that branch looks like a lever,” Wendy said.  Jonah grinned.

             “That’s what I thought.  Care to do the honors?”

             “You know it,” she said with a wink.

             “That does look like a lever,” Dipper muttered to himself.  He turned away from the tree, frowning thoughtfully.  “But how could we get up there?  Maybe a ladder?  Or ladder-shoes?  Or-”

             “Kid,” Jonah said gently.  Dipper looked up at him.  Jonah nodded at the tree.  “She’s got it under control.”  Dipper turned around to see Wendy, who had managed to climb up the tree while his back was turned.  He gaped. Wendy took an axe out of her belt and used it to hit the lever disguised as a branch.

             “Boosh,” she said casually.

             “Wow!” Mabel gasped.  Soos let out a low whoop.  Wendy shrugged.

             “Yeah, Dad made us do a buncha lumberjack games when we were younger.  Guess I kinda ruled at it.”  She grinned at Jonah.  “Unlike some people.”  Jonah rolled his eyes.  He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, the tree began to shake. Three birds perched in the upper branches cawed in distress and flew away.  “Whoa!”  Wendy fell out of the tree.

             “Wendy!”  Jonah rushed forward, just barely managing to catch Wendy in his arms.  He stumbled backward as the ground below his feet began to sink, along with the tree.  They all watched the tree lower into a massive hole.  Finally, the tree stopped sinking.  Wooden boards sprung from the sides of the hole, forming a circular staircase to the bottom.  The base of the tree, at the bottom of the hole, opened up, revealing a door.

             “This is it.  This is the Author’s secret bunker,” Dipper said excitedly.  Jonah grimaced.

             “I was not expecting something this intense.”

             “Oh, this isn’t even half as intense as it usually gets,” Mabel said, waving a hand airily.  Jonah looked at her.

             “Really?”

             “Yep!”

             “That’s…not great.”

             “Whatever we find down there, we tell no one,” Dipper said solemnly.

             “Unless we find a dead body or something,” Jonah said. Mabel’s eyes widened.  “I’m not saying we will, but I’m also not saying we won’t.”

             “There’s a non-zero chance of finding a body anywhere,” Dipper said with a shrug.  Jonah blinked, bemused.  Dipper held up a lantern.  “Who wants to go first?”

-----

             They descended the spiral staircase, the lantern illuminating their way, light reflecting off of cobwebs that could have been decades old.  The stairs led them directly into a large room.  

             The room had clearly been prepared with some sort of apocalypse in mind.  A large metal cabinet in the back was helpfully labeled “Weapons”, a gas mask hung from a hook on the wall, and there was even a large metal sign proclaiming the room to be a fallout shelter. An uncomfortable-looking cot was shoved against the wall, like it had been pushed to the side to make room for more important things.  A calendar for 1982 hung above it.

             “This is stupid cool,” Wendy said, excitement coloring her voice.  Jonah made a non-committal noise.

             “It’s like a fallout shelter or something,” Dipper said, setting the lantern down on a wooden crate.  “It must’ve belonged to the Author.”  Jonah raised an eyebrow.  He looked over at the sign that read “Fallout Shelter” on the wall.

             “Uh, yeah, I think it’s a fallout shelter,” he said dryly.  Dipper ignored him, instead walking up to a wall with shelves reaching from the floor to the ceiling, each one filled with boxes.

             “This is going over my bed,” Wendy said cheerfully, taking the fallout shelter sign off the wall.  Jonah sighed and rolled his eyes.  “You’re not gonna get on my case for stealing or whatever, are you?”

             “No,” Jonah said.  “Clearly, whoever owned all this hasn’t been keeping track of it, so I guess it’s fair game.”

             “This is incredible!” Dipper gushed.  He stared up at the boxes.  Each was labeled with a year, the highest labeled “2070”.  “It’s like he was preparing for a disaster. But what kind of disaster would need supplies for over sixty years?”

             “Nuclear warfare comes to mind,” Jonah said. “This place is a fallout shelter, after all.”

             “Why would he be worried about nuclear warfare, though?” Dipper mused.  Jonah shrugged.  He looked over at Mabel.

             “Mabel, get your face out of the barrel.”

             “But there’s caterpillars in here,” Mabel protested.

             “Geez,” Jonah sighed.  His eyes landed on the weapons cabinet.  He stilled.  

             “Isn’t this insane, Jonah?” Wendy asked.  Jonah was silent.  “Bro?”

             “Huh?”  Jonah looked over.

             “You all right?”

             “Yeah, I’m…”  Jonah cleared his throat.  “It’s just…this all seems familiar.”

             “Familiar?” Soos repeated, holding the Smez dispenser he had found in the weapons cabinet.  “Why, dude?” Jonah shook his head.

             “No idea.”  He forced a smile at his younger sister.  “But, yes, Wendy, this is insane.”

             “Wait a minute…” Wendy said slowly.  She walked over to a map of Gravity Falls that had been taped to the wall.  She ripped it off, revealing a hatch that read “Caution Stay Out”.  The hatch slowly swung open.  Wendy grinned at the tunnel it had been covering.  “I think we’ve got some more bunker to explore.”

             “Whoa,” Dipper, Mabel, and Soos said together. Wendy looked over her shoulder at Jonah, who was still standing near the staircase.

             “Are you coming or what?” she teased.  Jonah managed a weary smile.

             “I have to keep an eye on you, don’t I?”  He walked over.  “As the one who found the tunnel, I think you should lead the way.” Wendy punched his arm playfully.

             “Don’t have to tell me twice!”

-----

             All five tumbled out of the rapidly shrinking room the tunnel had led them to.  They landed soundly on the floor of a new room, one that didn’t have walls closing in on them.

             “What a rush!” Wendy gushed.  She looked at Dipper.  “Dude, that was awesome!  The way you got us outta that in the nick of time?”  Dipper rubbed the back of his neck.

             “Th-thanks,” he stammered.  Jonah eyed his sister concernedly.

             “I’m glad you’re not traumatized by that booby trap, but I’m a bit worried that you seem to have actually enjoyed it,” he said. “You’re not an adrenaline junkie or something, are you?”  Wendy merely gave him a crooked grin.  Jonah sighed and got to his feet.

             “Whoa,” Dipper breathed.  The others uttered similar hushed exclamations of wonder as they stood.  The room they had fallen into was similar to the first one they had entered.  With one major exception.  One wall of the room was covered with screens, switches, and buttons.  Another wall was covered with shelves, which were themselves filled with empty lab glassware.

             “It’s like a weird surveillance room,” Wendy remarked.  

             “How are we gonna get out?” Jonah wondered, going back to now blocked off entrance they had fallen through.  “Oh, Dipper, your vest got stuck.”  Jonah tugged Dipper’s vest loose.  As he did so, a piece of paper fell from Dipper’s vest.

             “Um, I’ll get that,” Dipper said quickly. Before he could do anything, however, Jonah picked up the paper.  “No need to-” Dipper said, hurrying over.  Jonah looked down at him with a small smile.

             “It’s okay, kid,” he said softly.  He handed Dipper the vest and note.  “I’m not gonna read your little love confession.”

             “How- how did-”

             “I was your age once.  I know how these things go.”  Jonah looked over at Wendy, who was laughing at Soos messing with the glassware.  “You’re also not doing the best job hiding the enormous crush you’ve got on my sister.” Dipper turned red.

             “I’m not- you’re-”

             “Like I said, it’s okay,” Jonah said firmly. “But a word of advice.  Come clean to Wendy.”

             “But she’ll laugh at me.”

             “No, she won’t.”

             “Then…do you think she might…”  Dipper swallowed.  “Feel the same way?”

             “Not a chance.”

             “Then why would I-”

             “Because keeping this bottled up won’t help you,” Jonah said.  “You have to move on, and you can’t do that while you’re still stuck on her.”  Jonah crouched so that he was at Dipper’s eye-height. “It sucks, but it’s something you have to do.  Trust me, I know about growing and changing better than anyone.”  Jonah patted Dipper’s shoulder and straightened.

             “The Author was pretty crazy, huh?” Wendy said.

             “Yeah, he seems paranoid,” Jonah said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.  He looked around.  His eyes fell upon a note taped to the wall.  Dipper followed his gaze.

             “What’s that?” Dipper asked.

             “Dunno,” Jonah said with a shrug.  Mabel, who was closest to the note, took it off the wall.

             “Experiment #210, the Shapeshifter, has somehow escaped. Consult B for suggestions on tracking and capturing,” she read aloud.  Dipper’s eyes widened.

             “The Author made a reference to someone called B in the Journal,” he said.  He took the Journal out and began to flip through the pages.  “I think he might have said it when he was talking about-” Jonah stopped Dipper’s page turning. Dipper looked up at him.  “What?”

             “That’s…” Jonah croaked.  He had gone deathly pale.  Dipper looked at the page the book was open to.

             “It’s just the entry on about cryogenic tubes and-” Jonah took the Journal from Dipper. “Hey!”

             “Is that why this is so familiar?” Jonah whispered. Everyone else exchanged nervous looks.

             “Jonah, what’s going on in that head of yours?” Wendy asked.  “You’re acting way weird.”

             “Just gimme a second, okay?” Jonah said.  He looked around.  Upon spotting a door, he walked over to it and opened it.

             “That’s just a closet,” Wendy said.

             “No.  It’s not,” Jonah said.  He grabbed a cord hanging from the ceiling of the closet.  A gush of water from the ceiling soon followed, accompanied by a loud klaxon.  The back of the closet opened, revealing yet another room.  Jonah entered it.

             “Son of a-” Wendy muttered.  She went after her brother.  Dipper looked at Mabel and Soos, who both shrugged.  The three followed Wendy and Jonah deeper into the bunker.

             “Okay, this is just being stereotypical,” Mabel said, her hands on her hips.  The room they were now in was a clearly abandoned laboratory, filled with strange machinery.  “Would it kill the Author to make his mad scientist lair be sparkly or pink or something? Maybe put a sticker here and there?” She gestured to the corner. “There’s even a cage that something must’ve broken out of!  Really, where’s the creativity?”

             “Whoa,” Dipper murmured, staring at the cage in the corner.  Sure enough, the metal bars had been brutally ripped apart.

             “I can’t believe it,” Jonah whispered.  All eyes focused on him.  He stood before a large cryogenic tube in the middle of the room. “This is what he was going to do to me?” he said quietly.  Wendy crossed her arms.

             “Okay, that’s enough.”  She marched over to Jonah.  “Dude, what’s going on?” she demanded.  Jonah sighed.

             “Wendy, I never told you this, but…”  He met Wendy’s eyes.  “I’m adopted.”

             “No way!” Soos gasped.  Wendy furrowed her brow.

             “That makes zero sense.  You look just like Dad!  And you act just like Mom!”

             “The personality happened accidentally,” Jonah said. “You tend to pick things up from the people who raised you.  But my appearance was on purpose.”  He looked at the others.  “None of you freak out, okay?  Or-” Jonah grimaced.  “-put me in a cryogenic tube.”

             Before their very eyes, Jonah’s form changed from human to something very different.  His skin was white and slimy, he had four legs that resembled a spider’s, and his head was roughly the same shape as a horse’s.  Four fangs stuck outside of his mouth, and each hand had three clawed fingers.  He looked at them with baleful red eyes.

             “The- the-” Dipper stammered.

             “You’re the Shapeshifter?” Mabel said.  Jonah’s flesh shifted and changed until he was back to looking like a younger, slender Manly Dan.

             “Yeah.  I am.”

             “That’s why you were acting so weird,” Wendy said. “Why you kept saying all this junk was familiar.”  Jonah nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

             “Kids can’t always be trusted with big secrets like that,” Jonah said gently.  Wendy rolled her eyes.

             “I think I’m old enough to know how to keep stuff under wraps.”  To demonstrate, she made a motion as though she was zipping her mouth shut.

             “No, I agree.  But after Mom…”  Jonah trailed off.  He cleared his throat.  “Dad wanted to wait a while longer, since you and our brothers were already dealing with so much.  You didn’t need to deal with this, too.”  A silence fell.

             “How’d you wind up being Wendy’s brother?” Mabel finally asked.  “Also, how’d you escape from the Author?”  Jonah managed a weak grin.

             “I don’t know the answer to the second question, but I know the answer to the first.  Angie found me in the forest.”

             “Wait, wait, wait,” Dipper said, holding up his hands. “Grauntie Angie found you?”

             “Yep.”

             “I’m not surprised by that,” Wendy said.  “Dr. Angie brings a lotta things home from her hikes.  I’ve heard Mr. Pines complain about it.”  Jonah chuckled.

             “Yeah, she actually wanted to keep me.  But she and Stan had their hands full with Junior at the time.  So they brought me to Mom and Dad instead.”  Dipper stared at Jonah.

             “Hang on, did you say that Grunkle Stan knows you’re…”

             “An alien?  Yeah, he knows.”  Jonah’s smile became more genuine.  “And he never treated me any different for it.  He’s a tough one, but he’s a good guy deep down.”

             “Back up, back up,” Wendy said.  “You’re an alien?”

             “You guys keep wanting me to go back to something I just said,” Jonah commented, amused.

             “It’s a lot to take in,” Wendy pointed out. Jonah shrugged.

             “Fair enough.  Yeah, I’m an alien.  According to Angie, at least.”

             “How could Grauntie Angie know that?” Dipper asked.

             “I mean, she is a biologist.”

             “Or…”  Dipper began to pace back and forth.  “The Author told her.”

             “Are you suggesting Dr. Angie was in cahoots with the Author?” Soos asked.  Dipper frowned, still pacing.

             “I wasn’t, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was. She’s a researcher herself, after all. She could have worked with the Author while he studied the magical creatures of Gravity Falls.  It would explain how she knows so much about the weird things around here.”

             “She also could have figured it out on her own,” Wendy said firmly.  “You guys haven’t had a chance to see her in action, but she’s crazy smart.”

             “But-”

             “I just don’t think Dr. Angie would ever work with someone who would cage up Jonah,” Wendy said.  “I’ve seen her talk to the gnomes and stuff, and she’s always very respectful.”  Soos nodded. Dipper stopped pacing.

             “Well, then…”  He looked over at the cryogenic tubes.  “Maybe she knew the Author well enough to get in here and rescue Jonah.”

             “No,” Jonah said, shaking his head.  “It’s- things are coming back to me a bit.  I remember someone green taking me out of the cage.”

             “Green?” Mabel asked, cocking her head.  “Like, wearing green?”

             “No.  I…” Jonah’s forehead wrinkled.  “I remember green hands picking me up and putting me in a box or something.”

             “Anything else?” Dipper pried.

             “Um.”  Jonah looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.  “Yes.  Angie took me out of the box.  But that’s it.”

             “You really don’t remember anything about the Author?” Soos asked.  Jonah shook his head.

             “No.  I don’t. If I do, I’ll let you know.”

             “So, Dr. Angie did lie a bit,” Wendy said slowly. “She didn’t find you in the woods.”

             “I guess not.”

             “I bet she set up some sort of arrangement where someone rescued you and then handed you over to her.”

             “Maybe?” Jonah said, but he sounded doubtful. “Look, we need to stop jumping to conclusions.  That’s a dangerous thing to do in Gravity Falls.  You can never assume anything around here.  Just ask Angie when she gets back from her trip.”  He put a hand on Dipper’s shoulder.  “But be careful when you ask your questions, kid.  You might find out something you didn’t want to know.”

             “What does that mean?” Dipper asked.

             “Nothing, really,” Jonah said with a shrug.  He checked his watch.  “Aw, shi- shoot.  I need to get to the Shack.  I promised I’d help Stan out with the repairs.”  He headed for the entrance to the surveillance room.  “And I’ve never needed to hit something with a hammer more than I do right now.”

-----

             They emerged from the bunker, blinking in the sudden light.  Once the bunker entrance was hidden again, Jonah turned to Wendy.

             “I’ve really gotta get to the Shack.  Whatever happened to it, Stan needs a lotta help fixing it.”

             “It was zombies,” Mabel provided helpfully. Jonah stared at her.  “We defeated them with the power of music!”

             “I…”  Jonah shook his head.  “This town, I swear.”

             “You’re an alien,” Soos pointed out.

             “Yeah, but even I can only handle so much weirdness before I need a break,” Jonah retorted.  “Wendy, think you can find your way home?”

             “Who do you think you’re talking to?” Wendy asked. “I’ve got feet, I can walk.” Jonah kissed her forehead. “Gross, dude!”

             “Nah.”  Jonah waved at Dipper and Mabel.  “It was…” He paused.  “…nice meeting you two.  See you later, Soos.”

             “Later, dude!” Soos called.  Jonah walked away, muttering something under his breath. Mabel sighed loudly.

             “I think we could use some food after all these…” She waved her arms around animatedly. “Revelations.”

             “I think there’s still leftovers from the breakfast Emily made yesterday,” Soos said thoughtfully.  Mabel let out a whoop.

             “Yes!  She doesn’t skimp on the sugar!” she enthused.  Soos scooped her up and placed her on his shoulders.  He marched away, both of them chanting about syrup.

             Dipper looked up at Wendy, who was still staring off in the direction Jonah had gone.

             It’s now or never.

             “Wendy,” he croaked.  Wendy looked over.

             “Yeah?”

             “I…I’ve got something to tell you.”

             “Shoot.”

             “I-”  Dipper squeezed his eyes shut.  “I’m- I’ve got-”  He took a deep breath.  “I think I’m in love with you.”  Silence. Dipper cautiously opened his eyes. Wendy smiled at him reassuringly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean it, can we pretend I never-” Dipper said in a rush.  Wendy put a hand on Dipper’s shoulder.

             “Dude, dude, calm down.  It’s okay.”  She shrugged. “I always kinda knew.”

             “Wait, really?”

             “Yeah, man, you’re always like, muttering stuff under your breath,” Wendy said with a slight chuckle.  Dipper groaned loudly.  He sat down heavily upon a nearby log.  Wendy sat down next to him.  “Look, I’m like, flattered or whatever, but…I’m too old for you.  You know that, right?”

             “…Yeah,” Dipper muttered.  He put his head in his hands.  “Jonah said I needed to tell you in order to move on.”

             “Do you think you can?” Wendy asked after a moment.

             “I don’t know how to tell that.”

             “It’s something you feel.  Like a weight being lifted off your shoulders, that kinda thing.”

             “I just sorta feel…itchy,” Dipper said, idly scratching his latest misspelled mosquito bite warning.

             “Aw, don’t feel itchy!”  Wendy elbowed him.  “Look, man, my summer was boring as heck before you showed up.  I have more fun with you than practically anybody else!”

             “Really?”

             “We fought ghosts together!” Wendy said firmly. Dipper managed a slight chuckle. “If you stopped being my friend, I’d track down that nixie and get it to turn me into a frog, too.”

             “Heh.”  Dipper stared down at his shoes.  “Did I…did I just ruin things between us?”

             “What?  No!”

             “But things will be awkward-”

             “Dude, I just found out my big brother is an alien. That’s awkward.  This is nothing.”  Wendy smiled at him.  “After all the stuff you’ve done this summer, I think you can handle a little awkwardness.” Dipper returned her smile.

             “Friends?”

             “Yeah, dude!  That’s what I’ve been saying!”  Wendy playfully shoved him off the log.  Dipper laughed.  Wendy pulled him back up.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

             “Okay,” Dipper said with a nod.  Wendy got up from the log and walked away.  Dipper watched her vanish into the forest, something heavy settling in his chest.

             Abruptly, Mabel popped out of the bushes, startling him.

             “And?” she asked.  Dipper frowned at her.

             “What did you hear?”

             “Everything, all the time!”  Mabel joined him on the log.  “So…I was right!  You’ve got a crush on Wendy!”

             “Yeah,” Dipper said, too weary to respond to Mabel’s knowing tone.  “Jonah told me to tell her.”

             “He’s smart,” Soos’s voice said from behind them. “Um.  I mean.  I’m not here?”  Dipper groaned loudly.  He put his head in his hands.

             “Mabel, how can things be amazing and terrible at the same time?”

             “I’m sorry, Dipper,” Mabel said, patting him on the back.  “Sometimes, crushes don’t work out.  I mean, look at me.  I’ll never be with the guy from the twenty-dollar bill.”  She grinned.  “But if it makes you feel better, I’ve already got five potential bachelorettes lined up for you.”  Dipper chuckled.

             “Thanks,” he said.  Soos sat on the log with them.  “I can’t believe we ran into another dead end.  There wasn’t actually that much in the bunker, and if Jonah doesn’t know anything…”

             “Yeah, the Author’s doing a good job hiding his secrets,” Soos said.  “At least I got his sciencey coat and briefcase.”  He held up the aforementioned briefcase, which he had grabbed, along with a lab coat, from the surveillance room.  The briefcase popped open, revealing a computer screen and keyboard. Dipper gaped.

             “Soos, that’s not a briefcase, it’s a lapop!”

             “And a really busted up one, too,” Mabel said, wrinkling her nose.  Soos inspected the laptop carefully.

             “I bet I could get this fixed up in a few days,” he said.  “Gonna need a lotta duct tape,” he muttered to himself.

             “This could be our next clue!” Dipper enthused. He took the Journal out of his vest. “Well, one of them, anyways.  I think we need to figure out who ‘B’ is.”

             “From the note in the bunker?” Mabel asked.

             “B’s also mentioned in the Journal.  Clearly, whoever B is, they were someone the Author knew well.  Maybe he even trusted them.”

             “I dunno.  Didn’t he say to trust no one?” Mabel said doubtfully.

             “That’s why I said ‘maybe’.”  Dipper began to flip through the Journal.  “If only I could remember where the Author mentions B…” He stopped at the page on nixies. “Can’t believe my nixie trap hasn’t been working,” he griped.  Mabel leaned over.  She pointed at the page.  Dipper slapped his forehead.  “Duh! The Author mentioned B when he was writing about nixies!”

             “It looks like B is Mr. Ponds’ wife?” Mabel said. “That’s what mate means, right?”

             “In this context, yes, I think so.”  Dipper closed the Journal, his mind racing. “The Author actually worked with a magical creature.  And presumably, he worked with her more than the two times we know of.  We need to track her down.”

             “Or track down Mr. Ponds,” Soos said.

             “Yes.  But I don’t know how successful we’ll be.  Like I said, my nixie trap isn’t working.”

             “Maybe you should ask Dr. Angie for help.  Mr. Pines told me once that she knows how to hunt. Add that to her being a frog scientist, and I think you get the best person for the job.”

             “We can’t wait for her to get back before we make our next move,” Dipper said.

             “We could ask Emily to help,” Mabel said. “Or even Grunkle Stan.”  Dipper frowned at her.  “Jonah said Grunkle Stan knows about the weirdness in Gravity Falls. Maybe he’d help us if we told him it would keep the weirdness away?”

             “I don’t think that would be a very effective argument.”  Dipper shook his head.  He closed the Journal.  “We’ll figure out our next step after the laptop gets fixed.”  Soos saluted.

             “I’m on it, dudes!”

             “Good, now that’s all figured out,” Mabel said, jumping to her feet, “let’s get back before Grunkle Stan eats up all the good leftovers.”

[fromtheplanethexagon]

the robot problem: a critical look at tobecky, 5 years late

hello wordgirl fandom i am back :) and i have a lot of thoughts that i never got around to expressing before i moved on from the show. so be aware that everything i'm saying is based on my experiences during the 2012-2016 era of the fandom & state of tumblr in general, and i am not familiar with more recent fan content.

it's been over five years since the show ended, and @ifbrd​ reminded me (along with some great analysis) that while tobecky was super popular since before the show technically started (thanks to the play date shorts), it's pretty unhealthy in a lot of ways that tend to be excused or flat out ignored in fanworks. i'd like to reflect on that a bit (a lot); specifically, how both the show and the fandom approached this enemies-to-lovers ship, and how easily this ship can slip into uncomfortable territory if we're careless about how we interpret the ship and create fan content of it.

i will admit, i'm mostly writing this as a response to past me and my old creations - though i moved on from the show as a whole years ago, i do like taking the time to reflect on old interests once in a while, and reevaluating my thoughts on them. and this ship is probably the biggest one that still lurks in the corners of my mind once in a while, so let's go.

cherish is the word: a short positive note before a much longer negative one

i wanted to start this essay off with some positivity, because i am going to be very negative after this. tobecky was, in some ways, cute. it's obvious from the very beginning that these two characters are on pretty equal ground, even if one of them isn't aware of it. and that's part of the fun - the irony of how unaware tobey is that his nemesis/crush/person that pretty much always wins against him is someone that he completely dismisses as incompetent. i want to point this out because honestly, in general i don't like enemies-to-lovers because a lot of them use a power imbalance within the dynamic, and i hate power imbalances, especially when it comes to actual life-or-death scenarios (at least, as much as cartoons can do that). in most episodes, becky is never actually forced to go along with his wishes. she's not held in a 'date' against her will, nor is she ever really outwitted by him. i bring this up because there is one huge, uncomfortable exception, which i will get to later.

another big plus to the ship is the fact that they just... get along? even when fighting? of course we get brief moments where they just hang out and talk about paintings or whatever, but i'm talking about how much they get each other, even if they don't realize it. like the word banter, for example. been there since day one. becky loves words, and while most other people in her life don't really care (ranging from 'eh, that's cool i guess' to her brother calling it annoying), tobey gives her a chance to show off and thus treats her as a worthy adversary as herself, not because of her more generic superpowers - something that we've seen in canon that she feels self-conscious about (see: her motivation in patch game). one of the less noticed examples, to me, is "it's your party and i'll cry if I want to", because it's just - okay. they both are excluded from a social event, and while it's obvious that tobey deals with it by destroying the city, it's also pretty obvious that becky also deals with her frustration by fighting in that battle. like, yes, realistically it's just objectively bad that he's destroying buildings. but they're also providing each other with a way to work through their frustrations, first by fighting and then by talking things out, and finally by hanging out together instead of dwelling on being excluded from the party.

so it makes a lot of sense to me that many tobecky fans gravitated towards writing far-in-the-future fic, usually by implying that some growth had taken place before starting to write the ship. (there are, as far as i'm aware, 2... maybe 3 exceptions, that take the time to attempt a real redemption for him, at least when i left the fandom.) because if you take away his worst moments, either by reasoning out that he was 10 years old and a mess, or that he was a cartoon character in a cartoon world where everyone's actions are over-the-top, or by just flat-out pretending that certain episodes never happened, there's some pretty solid ground to start a ship on.

go gadget go: we all do not see it, we simply close our eyes (review of canon)

when the show began, i was the same age as the characters. a lot of other people were, too - at least in my cohort of the fandom. i think it's pretty safe to say that many of us have fond memories of the show's earlier seasons, and held on to that interest as we got older, for whatever reasons. so like, not to be all 'as an OG fan...', but i remember seeing the shorts air for the first time in 2006. i have a diary entry in july of 2009 about how i, a 12yo with no concept of the idea of 'shipping', was disappointed in the new tobey episode because i wanted more tobecky interactions. (that was robo-camping, btw, lol.) and so i remember how exciting their rivalry felt, watching them as someone literally their exact same age, and then watching that again as a nostalgic 17yo, and then uh... growing up, to put it frankly, and realizing just how unhealthy most of their interactions were.

okay what i meant to say was, this section is an overview of the relationship's canon portrayal throughout the years.

first, we have early tobecky: this includes the shorts and the first few seasons. this is their classic relationship: he likes her and takes robots on rampages to get her attention, she majorly disapproves and has fun taking him down. we've all seen the show, you know what i'm talking about. his backhanded ways of trying to find out her identity often feature prominently in the episodes, which - sigh, i've mentioned this whole issue before, but it's kind of a grey area in the whole uncomfortable-factor thing, because while trying to find out her identity is VERY invasive, it's something that like... everyone in the show tries to do, even her canon crush (scoops). on the one hand, it's really not a great look, but on the other hand, this is a cartoon meant to parody a genre in which this trope is extremely common. so i just wanna say that i have Issues and Thoughts on this aspect of their relationship, but there are other things i find more important to discuss here.

second, we have late tobecky: this is seasons 7-8. this is... a very strange and huge shift from the previous dynamic, though it's not necessarily obvious. what i mean by that is that for some reason, the show writers made it so that half of tobey’s rampages have nothing to do with his crush on wordgirl, even though that used to be the sole reason for his villainy. seriously. we have the birthday episode, where he's upset because he feels left out; wg vs tobey vs the dentist, where he's mad that he has a cavity; and trustworthy tobey, where his robot goes on a rampage... after becky accidentally makes it malfunction. the two outliers are ‘guess who’s coming to thanksgiving dinner’ and ‘patch game’, but they still differ from previous seasons because 1) his destruction is isolated to a forest far away from the city, and 2) his motive is still to impress wordgirl, but his methods are relatively tame. also he completely gives up on the secret identity thing??? i may have missed some things but i think he straight up tells her 'yeah there's no way you're wordgirl, lol' and the subject is just dropped for the rest of the show.

i also want to include 'the robot problem' here, because it's one of two season 6 tobey episodes, and follows the 'doesn't destroy buildings to get her attention' pattern: in fact, he teams up with her to try and stop someone else from going on a rampage (even if his reasons are selfish, lol).

and finally. the other season 6 episode. we have go gadget go, the bane of my time spent in the fandom. because GGG is the single episode where tobey truly manages to take away her autonomy, and proceeds to abuse that power for an extended period of time, for his own amusement. it's bad. it's Very Bad. put in the context that it's a white boy doing this to an (ambiguously) brown girl, it's REALLY REALLY BAD. and the more i look back on it, tbh, the more weirded out i am that the show not only made it seem like she wasn't affected at all within the episode, it just... forgot about it (which is not unusual for shows and especially children’s shows, but WG does make some efforts to either retain continuity or create canon reasons for why things are forgotten about). it's the kind of thing that you can't excuse and honestly you can't redeem (like at this point, you gotta ask yourself why you're spending so much effort trying to redeem this guy when becky has several other possible ships that are nowhere near this unhealthy - violet, scoops, honestly even victoria if you want another hero/villain ship, my absolute fave rarepair rose, etc).

so if you want to still ship it you have to just pretend that it never happened. (i remember trying for weeks to write something exploring the aftermath of this episode, to try and make myself feel better about it, but the more i wrote the more i realized just how traumatic this event should've been, so i eventually just dropped it.) and i brought up my own timeline of experiences earlier to point out that this episode aired eight whole years after the show started. which means that when i saw it, even though i was a huge stickler for canon at the time, i'd built up my own idea of the show and characters strongly enough to go 'yeah, no, this episode sucks and i am going to pretend that it doesn't exist'. and i think a lot of other people did too, because i really saw like... no one mention it, ever, except for some rogue fanfics over on ff dot net that already liked dynamics like that.

because here's the thing, and i don't know if people nowadays are aware of it? but i'm 80% sure (cannot find a source, so the other 20% is that it was just a rumor) that the show was originally supposed to end after season 6. and even if it's a rumor, it makes a ton of sense, because we get 1) an 'ending' to tobecky, which is a bad one, 2) a permanent wordgirl identity reveal that significantly changes one of the major dynamics in the show, 3) an episode where TJ gets to work with wordgirl and get a nice potential ending for their sibling dynamic, 4) an episode where we see Two-Brains explore life without his henchmen... the list goes on, and idk how many of these are just major stretches. but the point is. if the show had ended there, that would've been a pretty solid ending for many things, including their relationship: aka, it would prove that it was only ever heading somewhere bad, and when tobey finally has his moment of triumph, he is truly evil about it. and this provides us fans who HATE go gadget go with an easy reason to dismiss it - we can say that it was an attempt to conclude things in a way that wouldn't have happened if the writers had known they'd get more time. but despite that... it is still a canon episode.

it is odd to me how dramatically the dynamic shifts after that, though, because we seriously go from 'worst case ever, tobecky is toxic, your ship is dead' to 'no actually they get along and hang out and get ice cream together and tobey isn't even pressuring her into it, she's happy to go along with it :)' like, immediately. i never knew much about the show writers, so i don't know if the writers changed in between these seasons, but i would absolutely not be surprised if they did.

the earlier episodes are definitely problematic as well (though they pale in comparison to GGG) but i think everyone who ships it is aware considering that tobey is, yknow, a villain. from memory, he destroys buildings to get her attention, lies to her about the level of danger that people are in to trick her into spending more time with him, blackmails her into reading his poetry, and he creates a robot based on her that’s supposed to be devoted to him (but of course, all of these things backfire). not great stuff of course, but like... he’s a villain, that’s the point of his character. and considering that he’s a child these are things that can be redeemed, if done thoughtfully.

anyway, to sum up this section, the show starts off with a pretty standard 'enemies with an unrequited crush' setup, takes a really dark turn for a single episode, and then for the rest of the show takes their dynamic in a direction that makes it much, much easier to ship. as long as you ignore a lot of previous content.

wordbot: where's becky's autonomy in all of this? (misogyny)

we've finally gotten to the fandom. i recognize that a lot of this is going to come across as hypocritical considering how active i used to be re: this ship, but like... i'm a very different person now. anyway. disclaimer i guess - i don't write this to accuse all tobecky shippers of being like this - i know a lot of us aren't/weren't! but boy do i have things to point out, so without further ado:

it is very hard to ship this without allowing some bit of misogyny to slip into it. very, very hard. the entire premise of the ship involves a girl falling in love with a boy that repeatedly pressures her to date him via threats to the safety of herself and people she cares about, which... it's 2020, i shouldn't have to explain why that's terrible & a terrible example to set for children (which is why i am glad they never made it canon, tbh). best-case fan content has tobey stop pressuring her and start working to redeem himself out of an actual change of heart, which leads to becky seeing him in a new light. worst-case fan content treats his incessant pressuring and sometimes outright threats as something romantic - and even worse, romantic to the point where he deserves her attention and love as a reward for not giving up or whatever. i did see this pretty frequently for a while, especially in the earlier 2010s (didn't read much, Not My Thing At All), but i don't feel like going into detail here because of how obviously problematic it is. one medium (but still bad) case is where the fan content makes him start his redemption, but treats her liking him back as a reward for not knocking buildings over anymore. another not great case is where she tries to fix him with her love, which is a very common and very dangerous romantic trope. both are just... so incredibly unfair to her.

in content where she tries to 'fix him'... yeah i feel like it's really obvious how misogynistic that is. girls and women should not feel responsible for the evil actions of men, plain and simple. idk what else to say here i just really hate that trope and hated it back then and it just sucks! so can we not do that anymore, thanks.

in content that treats her like a reward for good behavior, there really isn't much of an explanation for what she sees in him. if she just goes 'oh wow, you're good now, i am going to fall in love with you for it' the whole thing falls flat because it makes NO sense whatsoever. we get to hear so much about tobey and his feelings and why he likes her and how he feels about it, but where is that energy for becky? why does she choose to trust him, to spend time around him, what does she enjoy about his presence? where is her getting over scoops in the process of falling for tobey? where is her telling her friends about this, confiding in them, asking them for advice? where is her choice in the matter?

win a day with wordgirl: do you guys even like becky or do you just like the idea of her (misogyny... 2!)

it was pretty standard for all fandoms the early-mid 2010s, but that's still not a good excuse for why so many tobecky fanfictions centered specifically around tobey's feelings while refusing to give becky the same level of empathy and nuance. it is true that to ship them comfortably you have to redeem him to some degree, which means spending time figuring him out and trying to find ways to pull him to the light without feeling super OOC. but ships take two people??? and there was so much potential for fanfics to explore becky's complex feelings on the matter - because she is! complex! she's heroic and kind but she's petty and has a competitive streak, she easily befriends villains but also doesn't trust them and doesn't believe they can ever really change, she's the savior of an entire planet but has feelings of inadequacy as her civilian identity and struggles with feeling like she can be successful without superpowers, she's great at the straightforward meanings and uses of words and loves reading but struggles to write passages that aren't dry as hell, it can be easily headcannoned that she's neurodivergent (special interests, issues with fitting in with her peers, taking things very literally, etc)... seriously there is SO MUCH to explore about her character, and a lot of it comes into play when you add tobey into the mix (literally ALL of the things i mentioned are explored at some point using tobey as a parallel or foil), but i rarely saw fanfiction that explored her thoughts on things further than 'he's evil but... maybe good?' or 'he's evil but... i kind of like him anyway?'.

if you want her to fall for him while being a villain, explore it!! why does she go against her morals? does she lie to herself about it to feel better? does she feel like she has to 'fix him' as part of her superhero duties to the city, and if so, how does that affect her as she tries and fails to help him? does she fall for him when she believes that he's turning good, only to feel betrayed when he starts acting worse because he feels like he can get away with it? it's such a shame that fanworks spend so little time even considering these questions, and it is absolutely a product of how deeply misogyny is/was baked into how we approach media (especially back then).

tobey goes good: but wait, i thought this show was progressive (a conclusion, i guess)

ifbrd wrote a great meta recently about how the show is a bit misogynist, despite being progressive in several ways. honestly i don't have much to add, but i'd really recommend reading through this; it makes a lot of great observations about the ways that male and female characters are presented differently through the show

i have little to add, so i'd just like to conclude with a reflection on the ship from my current viewpoint. i do think part of the reason so many of us latched onto the ship, despite how obviously problematic it was, is that the show treats a lot of things that would be serious in real life as normal or even comedic - which is fine lol, i'm not going to pretend that it's not a show for little kids, so they have to keep the tone light.

but if we, as teens/adults, decide to engage with this content in a more realistic manner, we have to be prepared to confront how messed up so many of the things going on really are. and if you still want to ship it, there's nothing inherently wrong with that! there's a lot of interesting things to explore in this ship, no matter what stage of enemies-to-friends-to-lovers you write them at, and it can be really helpful to have a space where you can explore a dynamic such as this in fiction. (speaking from experience here tbh, writing some fic for them helped me deal with complicated feelings about some ex-longtime friends.)

so to write this ship at all means that there are canon issues that you need to deal with if you want to have them end up in a healthy relationship in any manner that makes sense (unless you create an AU where none of that is applicable, which, power to you then). and i’m not saying ‘write them with a healthy endgame or you’re Bad’, not at all lol. but at least please, please take a step back once in a while to examine the dynamic that you’re writing, and please be careful about whether you mean to be romanticizing whatever behaviors you end up portraying as good.

[dindjarindiaries]

Winter

gif via @damerondjarin​

summary: You spend the winter falling in love with Frankie.

series parts: summer, fall, winter

pairing: frankie “catfish” morales x f!reader

warnings: fluff, celebrations of thanksgiving (friendsgiving, i should say) and christmas

rating: T

word count: 6.154k

masterlist

The first snow is falling heavily the day you meet Frankie.

It’d be hard not to notice it, since you’re driving home on roads that definitely haven’t been salted yet—thus putting you on the highest level of caution. You’re already going the speed limit, and even then, you’ve still found yourself slipping a few times. You figure it’s time to finally get the snow tires back on, but what makes your car a problem isn’t your tires or even the snow. It’s the engine heating up so badly that you can almost see the smoke coming out of the hood, and with a curse, you pull the car over to the side of the road.

You stop the car and reach for the gloves you’d tossed so carelessly on the passenger seat just before you left work, pulling your coat a little tighter to your body as you step out of the car. You walk around to the hood and lift it, coughing a few times when some of the trapped smoke finally escapes. Thanks to years of having to deal with your own car troubles, there’s many things you can fix on your own, but this one’s got you beat. Snow sticks to your hair, body, and lashes, causing you to have to blink them away multiple times as you try to find out what’s happening. You’re at a loss, and you can’t help heaving out a sigh as you reach into your coat pocket for your phone.

No service. Great. The idea of using back roads to avoid the post-work traffic used to seem great—until you realize that you’re left out here with no signal at all, stranded and having to wait at the mercy of a stranger.

Who comes much sooner than expected.

You’ve just started to cross your arms and consider your options when the red pickup truck pulls over behind you. Your eyes narrow thanks to the brightness of their headlights, but they soon shut off, and immediately your eyes are drawn to the man who hops out of the truck. He’s got a forest green puffy winter jacket keeping him warm, paired with a baseball cap that one of his gloved hands tips on his head as he approaches you. As he comes closer, you meet his dark brown gaze, eyes that study you closely with genuine concern as he notices your predicament. You can feel the heat already rising in your cheeks as you look down at your feet in the snow. He’s much more prepared for it with jeans and a pair of boots versus you in your work slacks and the pair of heels you forgot to exchange for your own boots.

“Everything okay?” the man asks, his voice a slight rasp that’s much more gentle than you’d been expecting. He stops in front of you, hands coming to rest on his hips as he looks from your car back to you. “I know this is the worst kind of weather to break down in.”

You offer a small chuckle as you give your head a shake. “Well, actually, my engine’s overheated,” you explain, walking back to the open hood. The man follows you, his gaze investigating the area as you gesture towards it. “I can’t find out why, though. I didn’t want to keep driving in case, y’know…”

“Yeah, that’s a good call,” the man assures you, giving you a nod of approval before he leans over more to look around for you. After a few moments of silence, his brow lifts in interest, and he offers a brief ah before he stands up straight and looks over at you again. “It’s your radiator.”

You frown. “What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s cracked, and now it’s leaking.” You heave out a heavy sigh, clapping your gloved hands together as you grimace even further. “Don’t worry, it’s not a huge issue—for now. You’ve just gotta use a coolant on it to get the engine back to a normal temp, and then it’ll be fine.”

You look up at the man with a furrowed brow. “I don’t have any coolant.”

The man gestures with his gloved thumb towards his truck. “I have some, if you’re alright with me using it.”

You don’t hesitate to nod earnestly in response. “Yeah, of course! That’d be really great.” You give him a smile and he returns it. “Thank you so much…” you trail off, waiting for him to fill in with his name.

He seems to understand as he holds out a gloved hand to shake. “Frankie,” he tells you, his smile only growing as you accept his hand. “Frankie Morales.”

You respond with your name, watching as he hurries back to his truck and opens the door to search for the coolant. Frankie’s quick with it as he jogs back over, and you step away to let him work as he loosens the cap and then pours the coolant gingerly into the reservoir. As he works, you talk about how you both ended up on these back roads. You explain your reasoning of avoiding the traffic on the main roads after work, while he says he’s seen one too many disasters for his liking and he often sees people get stuck on these roads—so now, he drives them so he can help whoever’s in need. Frankie’s evident kindness warms your heart immediately, and you can’t help smiling throughout his entire explanation, though you discover not everyone’s as good about noticing it as you are.

“I’ve had a lot of people not want my help,” Frankie’s saying as he starts to tighten the cap back on. “I mean, I don’t blame them. It’s kinda weird for a stranger to just pull over and offer their help, especially if it’s a woman by herself—because I’m sure you know how a lot of men sadly just aren’t trustworthy these days. I don’t wanna freak them out, you know?” Frankie looks over at you, and for a split second, a small look of horror crosses over his features. “I’m not freaking you out, am I?”

You can’t help but laugh because you haven’t gotten an inkling of anything other than pure friendliness from Frankie. “No, Frankie, not at all,” you assure him, even daring to leave a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You’re nothing but very kind to me. I’m surprised that others can’t see that.”

You think your words might’ve made Frankie blush just judging by the way he ducks his face away from view for a moment, distracting himself as he pulls down the hood of your car for you. “Well, thanks,” Frankie says in a voice even softer than before. “I just, y’know, I wanna see people get home safe.” He tucks his gloved hands into his coat pockets as he speaks.

Your smile continues to grow as you shake your head. “We need more people like you in this world. I can’t thank you enough.”

Frankie returns your smile. “Please, it’s the least I could do.” He then hesitates, and you watch one of his hands free themselves to tip his hat again before he speaks. “You can feel free to shut me down completely on this, but do you mind if I, uh, if I follow you home? Just to make sure you make it safe? I know that sounds insanely creepy, but I just want to make sure the coolant’s working, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I found out—.”

You cut him off with a laugh and another reassuring hand on his shoulder. “That’s fine, Frankie. I think that if you really were a creepy stranger, you would’ve made your move when my car wasn’t working.”

Frankie laughs with you, giving you a nod as you both start to make a move for your cars. He first helps you into yours, obviously having noticed the situation with your now snow-filled heels as he opens your door and offers a hand for you to take as you balance and kick the snow out of them. Once you’re all settled, you watch in the rearview mirror as he heads back to his truck, and you wait until his headlights are on to pull back onto the road—pleased to notice that the engine’s temperature has returned to normal.

The drive home to your townhouse isn’t too long from where you’d been stranded, and in just under ten minutes, you’re pulling into your half of the shared driveway. You make it into the garage, hoping that Frankie hasn’t driven away yet. Thankfully, when you step out of your car, you notice he’s still there, having pulled up along the street. You bite back a smile as you hurry down to where he’s parked, watching as he opens his window to talk to you.

“Does everything look alright?” Frankie questions, and you can see a concerned furrow in his brow.

“It looks great,” you assure him, glad to see the knit in his brow straighten out as he gives you a nod of approval. Before he has a chance to speak again, you keep going, knowing that you’ll sound ludicrous but feeling unable to stop yourself. “I can’t thank you enough, and I’d really like to be able to do something. Do you want to come in quick, just for a mug of hot chocolate or something? I mean, it’s okay if you don’t, you probably have places to go.”

Frankie smiles at you. “I think that sounds really nice,” he agrees. “Should I park here, or—?”

“You can pull in the driveway, if you want,” you tell him, and he nods before you give him the room to move. There’s a warmth in your chest that sticks there and you can’t exactly place it. All you can do is focus on retrieving your work bag from your car as Frankie parks his truck and hops out again, following you to the door and making sure he kicks all the snow off his boots before he enters behind you. “I’m sorry, I know it’s not much,” you begin to apologize as you watch him look around the house, taking his coat for him once he shrugs it off. “It’s not very ready for guests, either.”

“It’s great,” Frankie assures you with a kind smile. “It’s very… I know this isn’t technically a word, but it’s very homey.”

“Actually, I think that is a word,” you confirm with a giggle, inviting him to sit at your kitchen island as you get out a saucepan and pour some milk into it. You turn to face Frankie with an eyebrow raised. “Wait, you aren’t lactose intolerant or anything, right?”

Frankie chuckles and shakes his head. “No, I’m fine.”

You breathe a sigh of relief and continue with what you’re doing, getting the hot chocolate mix out from a cabinet beside the stove. “I just have the mix, I hope that’s okay. I know it’s pretty sugary, but I don’t usually have a lot of time to make it from scratch.”

“Hey, don’t worry, really.” Frankie’s tone is gentle yet stern, as if he’s trying to get the point across to you very thoroughly. “I appreciate the fuss, but I promise, it’s not necessary. I’m not picky at all.”

You smile to yourself as you set out two mugs, finally turning back towards Frankie and standing across from him at the counter. In the lighting that hangs from your ceiling just above the counter, you can more vividly see his face, the kind twinkle in his dark eyes and the scruff that graces his jaw and upper lip. You hope your admiration isn’t so obvious as you shrug at him. “I know, I just… you were so helpful to me, and I just want to return the favor.”

Frankie raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure that’s it?” His tone contains a hint of teasing in it. He’d obviously caught you in the act of observing him.

You scoff playfully, looking down at your hands that rest on the countertop. Your fingers are folded together as your thumbs fiddle with each other. “Well, I guess I also thought you were cute, too.”

You look back up and bite back a smile upon seeing Frankie’s cheeks reddening a bit. He tips his hat—which you figure, by now, is a nervous habit of his—and see a small smile of his own tugging at the corner of his lips. “Then it’s not weird for me to say that I thought the same thing about you, right?”

You laugh and shake your head, feeling the heat rise in your cheeks as your gaze never breaks away from his. “I guess it’s not. Every great romcom starts with something breaking down, right?”

Frankie laughs with you, his eyes crinkling up a bit in a way that has your stomach erupting with butterflies. “Or canceled flights,” he adds, “and that’s really down my alley.”

You feel curiosity fill you at his words, and you encourage him to elaborate on that. Frankie begins to tell you about his piloting experience, including the job he has at the local airport teaching flight lessons. He explains that’s why he said before that he’s seen a lot of disasters, because flying can get really tricky sometimes, so he’s always looking out for people’s backs. He includes this with his time spent in the Delta Force, especially with his group of friends who he’s always had to watch out for thanks to their enthusiastic yet reckless behavior. He keeps going even as you finish heating up the milk, preparing the mugs and handing one over to him.

Frankie encourages you to talk more about yourself as well, and you go on about your desk job you have right now and your day-to-day life that pales in comparison to his. Still, Frankie’s interested in every detail, his brown eyes completely alluring as they look into your gaze with such genuine interest. You tell him that you’ve moved far away from family and he tells you the same thing—a commonality that warms your chest more than it probably should. You go on and on in such an easygoing conversation until you realize Frankie’s been here for two and a half hours now and both your mugs have been empty for half that time.

“I should probably go, now,” Frankie admits, which is what causes you to whip around and read the time on the digital clock of your microwave. You gasp lightly and start to apologize for keeping him so late, but Frankie holds up a hand to stop you as he gets out of his chair. “If I wanted to go earlier, I would’ve. I actually would stay longer, but I’ve got a flight lesson early tomorrow.” You smile at each other, and Frankie starts to reach into his pocket. “I’d love to keep this going, though. Do you mind if I…?” Frankie trails off as he hands you his phone, which is open to a new contact.

You agree without hesitation, entering your name and number and letting him do the same in your phone. He leaves with a warm smile, one that only grows when you ask him to text you when he’s gotten back safely. Frankie does exactly that—along with a request to take you out later in the week.

That’s how you end up hopping out of Frankie’s truck at the local outdoor rink, receiving a helping hand from Frankie after he’s already opened the door for you. You’d warned him that your ice skating skills are even worse than the average person and he’d told you not to worry—that you could drag him down with you if you needed to. He looks over at you as you walk in, his gaze observing your winter apparel for the cold night as he smiles softly.

“You look warm enough,” Frankie says softly, “but I have some extra stuff in the truck in case you need it.”

You smile up at him. “Thanks, Frankie. I don’t think your thoughtfulness ever ends.”

Frankie simply shakes his head, but you don’t miss the small blush of pink across his cheeks as he leads you inside to the counter. He—of course, and much to your own protests—pays for not only the time spent skating but also your rentals. He’s got his on in record time but you take a bit longer, which he doesn’t seem to mind at all. As soon as you stand up, you already start to wobble a bit, instinctively reaching for Frankie’s arm to stabilize yourself. You look shyly up at him afterwards, feeling embarrassed.

“Sorry,” you nearly squeak out, starting to loosen your hold on his arm.

“Don’t apologize,” Frankie insists, placing his gloved hands over both of yours to encourage you to keep them there. “I told you, I’m your anchor—and I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

You nod, trying to hold back a smile as he helps to lead you onto the ice. He holds you by both your hands to get you safely inside, and once you’re gliding, you’ve resumed your position of holding onto one of his arms with both your hands. Frankie’s easily the one guiding both of you as you go along, looking over at you every once in a while to make sure you’re hanging in there. You find it easier than you thought it’d be, and you smile up at him in delight. “I think I’m getting the hang of it.”

Frankie raises an eyebrow with a gentle smile. “Yeah?” He watches your feet glide beside his. “I think so, too.” He gently begins to tug upwards on his arm, encouraging your hands to meet as he entwines your gloved fingers together. “Just in case.”

You beam up at him. “Just in case,” you echo his words, letting the sarcasm drip into your voice as Frankie nudges your shoulder with a chuckle. The movement causes you to trip just a step, but instinctively you wrap your free hand around his arm again, throwing Frankie into a fit of laughter as you give his arm a tighter squeeze in playful anger. “So much for keeping me safe!”

Frankie shakes his head and gives your hand a squeeze. “I would’ve caught you,” he assures you softly. His words have already made your stomach flutter, but then he leans down to press a gentle kiss to your cheek, which truly makes your heart practically fly out of your chest. You bite back a warm smile as you hold a gaze with him, pulling yourself closer to his side as you continue gliding together.

You keep going around in circles as you talk about the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving, detailing each other’s plans and what you usually do with the inability to travel out to your families—and the lack of desire to, thanks to flight costs, risky weather, work hours, and family drama. The rest of your conversation flows just as easily as it had the night you met and during all your other text or phone conversations ever since. You also can’t help noticing the eyes you draw as you keep skating together. It’s mostly the teenage girls whose stares linger the most, whispering to each other with hands over their hearts as if they’re deeming you both as the model relationship. It makes you feel flustered at least a hundred times, yet you can’t help feeling the same thing they are each and every time you look over at Frankie and meet his caring gaze.

They’ve kept the retractable ceiling above the rink open for the evening, and so once snow starts to fall gently from the sky, you get to watch it come down around you. Not feeling affected by the cold thanks to the warmth of your clothes and Frankie’s close presence, you don’t mind it at all, and he doesn’t seem to either. At one point, though, he does slow your skating to a stop, letting you both step to the side out of other people’s ways as you try to blink away a large snowflake that’s settled on your lashes. Frankie laughs softly as he gently reaches a gloved hand forward.

“I got it,” Frankie assures you, and his gloved thumb moves carefully to brush the snowflake away. But now, you’re both realizing how close you are to each other, the heat of each other’s breath warming your faces. Frankie’s hand settles onto your cheek and the other slips out of your grip to meet your other cheek. You watch his gaze drop down to your lips and then back up to your eyes, seeming to ask you if it’s okay to keep going. You reassure him with a warm smile and the same gesture, your gloved hands pressing against his chest for stability as you let him press his lips against yours.

The kiss is so soft and slow that it feels like you’re melting together in the same way the snowflakes start to melt on your warm cheeks, somehow so full of passion while simultaneously remaining gentle. For this moment, the rink and the people filling it disappear completely, and all you can conceive of is the man you’re drawing yourself even closer to. Frankie pulls away after what feels like so long yet somehow also doesn’t feel long enough, and the second his gaze meets yours again, you both smile wider than you think you ever have.

You swear you can feel gazes practically burning through you, so you look to the side and see the same group of teenage girls from before. They’re practically swooning at the sight of you, and you can’t help giggling with flustered cheeks as you look back up at Frankie. He raises his brow at you with another small smile.

“I think we’re drawing some attention,” you whisper to him, despite the fact that the girls are standing rather far off. Frankie follows your gaze as you look back to them, and they finally seem to notice as they duck away with gloved hands containing their laughter.

Frankie looks back to you with a soft chuckle, his hands moving from your cheeks to your hands as he takes both of them in his. “I guess we should go somewhere more private, then,” Frankie suggests, giving your hands a squeeze before he helps to guide you both off the ice. He keeps one of your hands in his as you walk back to the truck, him once again opening the door for you before he gets in on his side. Once you’re setting off to your home once again, you take his hand in yours, exchanging a smile with him. “I hope you had fun.”

“Of course I did,” you assure him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “I mean, once I learned how to actually skate.”

Frankie chuckles. “You did great.”

You continue to make small talk until he pulls into your driveway, yet again being as chivalrous as possible as he opens the truck door for you and walks you up to your front step. Frankie stops once you’re there, taking both your hands in his again as he looks at you with nothing but pure admiration and warmth. You can’t stop yourself from leaning close to him and giving him a soft kiss, butterflies erupting at the natural way his mouth moves against yours. You pull away with eyes that you’re sure have just as much admiration as his.

“I hope this means we can have another date,” Frankie says, chuckling when you laugh at him.

“And many, many more,” you insist, giving his hands a squeeze. Frankie’s eyes brighten at your words. “All I can say is that I’m really glad my car broke down.”

Frankie laughs at that. “Yeah, but we’re gonna get that fixed for good, alright?” You nod at him, beaming when he presses a gentle kiss to your forehead. “Have a good night.”

“You too,” you remark, and he gives your hands one last squeeze before he steps away. As he walks back to his truck, you call after him. “Text me when you get home!”

Frankie turns around and tips his hat on his head. “I was already planning on it!”

You bite back a smile and nod, turning around with a warm heart to let yourself into your home. You and Frankie spend the next few weeks seeing each other as much as possible, whether it be going to dinners out or just staying in at one of your homes—including one night spent at Frankie’s place watching the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special. That night, you end up accidentally falling asleep in his arms on the couch, and you wake up in the morning just to laugh along with Frankie. Thankfully, it’d been a Friday night, and neither one of you had work that morning.

On Thanksgiving—or, rather, Friendsgiving as you both called it—you’re with your group of friends but constantly hold a text conversation with Frankie. He tells you about the antics going on with his friends as you tell him about the way your friends are absolutely pelting you with questions about Frankie. You ask about dessert and he tells you that his friends definitely don’t know how to put desserts together, so with the permission of the friend who’s hosting, you invite Frankie over. He comes and draws the immediate attention of your friends, who openly admire him and his friendliness in a way that has your heart swelling with affection and happiness.

One of your favorite moments comes when you get to meet Frankie’s friends. You’ve been together for well over a month, now—though it practically feels like forever. Christmas is coming around the corner and Frankie tells you that his buddies are doing a little get-together and they’re very eager to meet you. You, of course, accept the invitation, and you soon find yourself with your hand tight in Frankie’s as you walk up to his friend Will’s house. Before you enter, Frankie stops you, giving you a soft yet serious look.

“I know I’ve told you this before, but they’re… a little much,” Frankie says with a laugh. “If it becomes too much, just let me know, okay? I’ll have them get off your back.”

“I can handle it,” you assure him, giving his cheek a kiss before you gesture towards the door. Frankie nods with a smile and moves to open it, knowing it won’t be locked as he does so. You’re both met with loud cheers and a blur of hugs and warm handshakes. You can already tell how the group acts like a little family, a thought that makes you smile as you continue holding Frankie’s hand and follow him into the living room.

Will hands you and Frankie a drink, and you cuddle a little closer into Frankie as he keeps his arm wrapped around your shoulders. You see the guys giving each other looks upon seeing it, and you look up to Frankie with a giggle to see him simply shaking his head at you. They ask if it’s okay for them to practically just interview you, and you laugh as you agree and start answering their questions with honesty and grace.

“First kiss?” Benny asks, going on the countless round of questioning as his eyes glitter with mischief yet friendliness.

“While ice skating on the first date,” you answer, earning a dramatic aw from your “crowd” that has Frankie rolling his eyes.

“Fish’s best feature?” Will questions with eyes narrowed in focus.

“His eyes,” you say.

“Really?” Frankie asks, and you look up at him with a nod.

“Obviously,” you retort, watching his cheeks flush red and tapping his nose just to make it a little worse. He pushes your hand away playfully as you laugh and face the boys again.

“Fish’s worst feature?” Tom dares to ask.

“His lack of self-care,” you insist. When Frankie gives you an incredulous look, you shake your head up at him. “You need to care for yourself as much as you do for others, babe.”

Frankie simply shrugs in response, hiding yet another blush by sipping his beer. You snort and turn to face the group.

“Alright, alright, I think we’ve overwhelmed her enough,” Santiago insists, drawing a laugh from you as he moves to stand up. “I think it’s time for some of these gifts.”

Frankie tells you that they do a Secret Santa every year amidst the panic of you definitely having not brought anything, but you’re both surprised when Santiago hands a little wrapped box to you. They make you open it last, wanting to soak in your reaction as you do so. When you unwrap it and open the box, you can’t help the wide smile from taking over your features as you pick up a dog tag necklace.

“It’s engraved with Fish’s details from back in the day,” Santiago explains.

“You guys didn’t have to do this,” you say, but there’s so much warmth in your tone as you admire the sweet gift. You hand it to Frankie, who looks at it with just as much awe and admiration.

“Of course we did,” Will insists with a smile. “But don’t thank us just yet.”

You furrow your brow. “What do you mean?”

Suddenly, there’s a quiet jingling sound from above your head, and you and Frankie look up simultaneously to see Benny standing over you with a mistletoe hanging from his hand. The group laughs as your realization sets in, and you both shake your heads before you lean in for a quick kiss that sends them into utter chaos. Benny walks back to where he’d previously been sitting and deals out high fives with the guys while you and Frankie just sit there and laugh at their dramatic reactions. By the end of the night, you truly feel like a part of their little family.

But your favorite moment of the winter comes on Christmas Day, when you’re having a little celebration with just Frankie at your place. You decided to spend it together, much rather having the comfort of each other rather than the panic of trying to get last-minute flights and time off to visit your families. You’re sitting on the couch in front of the small fireplace, watching as he unwraps some of the gifts you’ve given him—including the new, leather watch he instantly straps on his wrist. You can tell, though, that Frankie’s much more excited for you to open yours, and you go through a few nice things before reaching the last box. Frankie’s eyes are set completely on you as you open it, your lips parting in beautiful awe as you observe the silver necklace laying within. It’s a small snowflake with a diamond in its center, and when you look back up at Frankie, you can see the same glow of the diamond within his gaze.

“I know you have the necklace from the guys,” Frankie says, “but I saw that you put that on your car mirror instead, and I just—I really wanted to give you some sort of, you know, promise necklace, I guess. And I picked a snowflake because we met during the first snowfall of the season, and then our first kiss was because of the snowflake on your eye.” Frankie stops his rambling to search your gaze with a bit of concern. “I hope you like it.”

���I love it, Frankie,” you assure him in a hushed voice, thanks to your sudden emotion from the sweet gift. When you get lost in his gaze, you feel a bolder part of you emerge as you swallow hard. “Actually I… I think I love you.”

Frankie’s dark gaze glitters as brilliantly as you’ve ever seen it, and you watch his lips part in disbelief for a moment before he smiles wide at you. “I think I love you, too, baby.” With that, his hands reach for the sides of your face and pull it to his in a kiss more passionate than you’ve ever received from him. The heat radiating from both your beating hearts rivals that of the fire you sit in front of as your mouths move in perfect and graceful sync, your shared confessions being translated in this physical expression before you pull away with heavy breaths and wide smiles.

Once you’ve caught your breath, you pick up the box again, handing it to Frankie. “Can you put it on for me?” you ask, and Frankie nods earnestly as he takes the necklace out of the box and clips it in place around your neck. His touch lingers there for a moment, his fingertips brushing over the skin as his lips soon follow. Frankie leaves a few gentle kisses there that make your skin erupt into pleasant goosebumps, and instinctively you lean forward to give him more access. His arms settle on your middle as he pulls you closer to himself.

“You’ve given me a lot of great things today,” Frankie mumbles, his breath fanning over your neck as he does so, “but I think the greatest gift was the words you just spoke to me.”

You smile as you spin your head around as best as you can, reaching a hand back over your shoulder to hold his cheek. “I might be able to think of something a little better,” you hint in his same hushed tone, fingers dancing along the skin of his cheek as you try your best to bite back the growing smile.

Frankie’s gaze glitters with desire yet concern as he brushes some of the hair away from your face. “Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

You spin around to fully face him, straddling his lap as you rest your forehead against his. “I promise,” you begin, taking his hat and tossing it to the side so you can thread your fingers through his hair, “as long as you’re okay with it, I’m very much ready to prove what I said before.” You press a gentle kiss to the corner of his lips. “That I love you, very much.”

Frankie finally gives in with a smile that melts against your lips, his hands gliding over your sides and making you warmer than any fire ever could. By the end of the night, you’re wrapped up in Frankie and the warm blankets atop the couch, donning nothing but the necklace he’d gifted you with a heart that’s fuller than glasses of eggnog left untouched on the coffee table.

Before you know it, New Year’s Eve rolls around, and you and Frankie are spending it at a lively bar with the boys—though all your attention’s solely focused on each other. The countdown begins when you each get a glass of champagne in your hands, but not without Frankie murmuring something about oh, so fancy! that makes you laugh into the button-up covering his chest. You join in with the crowd as you look up to the TV that shows the glowing ball in Times Square, counting down each second until the clock strikes midnight. There’s a joyous cheer that’s drowned out the moment you and Frankie share a kiss, pulling away to press your nose against his with a smile.

“Happy New Year, my love,” you say in a breath barely breathed, your smile growing as you watch his dark eyes sparkle in that favorite manner of yours.

“Happy New Year, baby,” Frankie responds before he captures your lips with his again, seeming to completely forget your surroundings—but so do you.

By the time the snow starts melting away that winter and the buds of flowers start to peek out, you and Frankie are moving into a townhouse of your own. You’re about to reach for another box when you watch birds soaring above, returning back from their winter homes. You look to Frankie who’s just joined you at your side, watching as he tries to find the source of the look of wonder in your eyes. “I can’t believe the winter’s over already,” you confess. “I don’t even remember it being cold for that long.”

Frankie chuckles softly, wrapping you into a warm embrace and placing a kiss on top of your head. “That’s because spending the winter together made it feel much warmer,” he insists, pulling away from the hug to instead watch you roll your eyes at his cheesiness and join him in a sweet kiss.

And as cheesy as the words might’ve been, you know there’s truth to them—and you know that winter’s bound to be your favorite season, now, thanks to Frankie.

series parts: summer, fall, winter

permanent tag list: @mikahidalgo @bestintheparsec @stilllivindue2spite @givemethatgold @xbrujita @mandalorianspace @blushingwueen @sevvysaurus @myakai13 @thisis-theway @beskars @rachelloveseveryone @theindiealto @hiscyarika @wickedfrsgrl @synystersilenceinblacknwhite @bookwafflefangirl @charliepeaceout @cable-kenobi @ezraslittleblondestreak @hdlynn @your-pixels-are-showing @b0n-chann @javier-djarin @nettyklecan @mistermiraclee @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @smellssharpies @catfishingmorales @badassbaker @wille-zarr @kaetastic @saltywintersoldat @agentpike @mrsparknuts @readsalot73​​ @yespolkadotkitty​​ @mandhoelorian @lilangeldevil006 @cyaredindjarin @roxypeanut @phoenixhalliwell @hail-doodles @randomness501 @this-cat-is-dea @hopplessdreamer​

seasons with frankie tag list: @abuttoncalledsmalls @agirllovespasta @kindablackenedsuperhero @iellaren-uodo-rian @havenforafrazzledmind

frankie morales tag list: @themandadlorian @chibi-liz05

[aquietwritingcorner]

Writers Month Day 11: Glass/Royalty AU Word Count: 2013 Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl Rating: G/K Characters: Olivier Mira Armstrong, Captain Buccaneer, Major Miles, Philip Gargantos Armstrong, Mama Armstrong Warning: NA Summary: Princess Olivier Mira Armstrong is not interested in finding a husband. Her parents throw a ball for all the eligible men anyway. Buccaneer just wanted a night out and was given the chance for one by a strange man in a brightly colored shirt who can apparently make limbs out of glass. Somehow, this all works out. Reverse Cinderella Crack AU Notes: ngl, this was hilarious to write. AO3 || ff.net

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 Glass/Royalty AU

 Once upon a time, there was a Princess. If there was one thing Princess Olivier Mira Armstrong hated, it was pointless balls. She sighed as she sat on her throne and looked out over the gathered crowd standing around in all their finery. Some were dancing, others eating, and just about all of them were looking for ways to improve their standing both with the court and with each other. And every available young man was looking for a way to get her attention.

She snorted derisively. If her father thought that throwing a ball and inviting every eligible young man in the kingdom was going to get her married off, then he was sorely mistaken. This was nothing more than a waste of everyone’s time. She didn’t even know why he was so hung up on her getting married. She had four other siblings to provide heirs for the throne. She’d just pick one of them when the time came.

“Olivier, dear, why don’t you go down and dance with some of your guests.”

Her father’s voice came from beside her, and she glanced over at him. He was sitting majestically on his throne and eyeing a particular group of men. Olivier followed his gaze and blanched. None of those spinless weaklings were her idea of a good man.

“They aren’t my guests at all, Father,” she replied. “You invited them here.”

“Hm, so I did,” he said, stroking his beard.

“But they all came for you,” her mother put in from the other side of her father. “You should at least have the grace to go walk among them and dance with a few of them. There are some smart matches down there.”

Olivier followed her mother’s gaze to a different group of men. They were worse than the other group.

“…you aren’t going to leave me alone until I do, are you?” Olivier asked bluntly.

Her mother looked over at her, a bit of twinkle in her eye. “Not in the least.”

Olivier sighed once again. “Fine. Miles!”

Miles appeared next to her, and Olivier heard her mother sigh. Olivier paid it no mind. They had told her she could pick her own attendant, and so pick him she had. Miles was a married man with two daughters, and loyal to a fault. Olivier knew he was trustworthy, even if her parents had been a bit skeptical.

“Olivier, how are you supposed to catch the eye of a man if you’ve always got your attendant with you?” her mother asked.

Olivier was already standing and attaching her sword to her side. “Mother, if they’re not paying attention to me by now, considering you two set this up specifically so I’d be the center of attention, then they’re obviously not interested.”

Her mother sighed, but Olivier paid it no mind. Instead, she left the dais and headed down the stairs to the floor, Miles right beside her.

“Miles, pick me the least obnoxious ones, please.”

“I’ll do my best, Princess.”

The next hour was spent dancing with man after man. Miles did a good job picking them out. They weren’t bad men—or they wouldn’t be with a few more years on them—but they definitely didn’t catch her interest. They were either, too conniving, too awestruck, or too spinless. Finally, she signaled to Miles that she needed a break, and he nodded. She walked away to the gardens, ignoring the guards that were there, and took a breath of fresh air.

And that was when she realized that she wasn’t alone.

Her head whipped quickly towards the intruder, and her hand rested on the pommel of her sword. But the other person didn’t advance on her, just held up his hands, showing he wasn’t armed.

“Hey, woah, it’s okay, I’m sorry!” the man said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” He stepped out of the shadows. “I’m just a regular guy, see? Not a bear.”

Olivier looked him over. He was quite large, with a black mohawk and a thin mustache. What really caught her eye, though, was his hand. It appeared to be made of�� glass?

“Who are you?” she demanded of him, not having drawn her sword, but still prepared to. “And why would you say you’re not a bear?”

“Oh, uh, well, you see, people tend to think I’m a bear a lot,” he said. “I’m not sure why, exactly, but it does come in handy most of the time.” He grinned. “Or at least, I think it does.”

Olivier relaxed a little. It appeared that this man was just a guest. And honestly, an amusing one so far. “I can see where that would be useful. Do you mind if I stay out here?”

“No, Princess,” he said. “Its your palace, your gardens.”

She hummed at that. He was right, of course, but she really had just wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to go running off inside and tell everyone where she was. Miles was only one man, after all. He could only hold back so many people from disturbing her.

She leaned on a railing and eyed the man out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to be content just to be here. “Is your hand made of glass?”

The man looked down at it. “Whole arm, actually. I’m not sure how it works, but that strange man gave it to me, and it’s been functional.”

Olivier raised an eyebrow. “Strange man?”

The man nodded. “Yeah. Wore really tacky and loud shirts. He said my other arm was too greasy and needed too many repairs, so he gave me this one for the night.” The man shrugged. “I don’t think it’d be much good in a fight, but it lets me eat, at least.”

Olivier turned more towards him, looking him up and down and evaluating the man. “…would you like to find out?” she asked, her finger tapping the pommel of her sword.

He apparently didn’t miss that, and his eyes lit up. “I’d love to test it. Are you sure you’re able to, Princess?”

She drew her sword and got into a stance. “The Armstrong royalty has trained in the art of self-defense for generations. If I can’t fight in a ballgown, then I’m no good to anyone.”

The man grinned and dropped into a stance of his own. “I can’t say I’ve done much fighting in clothes like these, but this should be fun.”

“Prepare yourself,” Olivier said, and that was all the warning she gave before she was charging at him.

The man was quicker than he looked, and he dodged to the side, narrowly missing her blade. He reached out to grab at her, and she spun away, hair and skirt flaring out. She wasted no movement, and charged at him again, aiming for that arm of his. This time, he raised it, and caught a glancing blow from her blade, letting it slide off. He pushed her off of him, and she paused for a moment. The man looked at his arm and grinned. Olivier figured that it must still be in good shape, and so she charged again. This time, he used the arm to block a direct blow, and when the glass appendage held up, he grinned more.

They continued this back and forth fighting dance, until the bells rang, and he turned, startled, just as her blade came down on his shoulder. He let out a bit of a pained sound then, and Olivier saw his arm suddenly sinking lower. The man cursed as his glass arm slid out of his sleeve. Olivier darted forward to catch it.

“Sorry,” he said, “Its been fun, but I gotta go.”

“Wait—you what?” Olivier said.

“Gotta run!” he said. “Thanks for the fight, Princess!”

The man was already moving away, heading through the gardens at a breakneck speed.

“Wait—your arm!”

“Keep it!” came the call.

“What was your name!”

There was no answer.

“Stop! What was your name! Come back here!”

But he was either too far away or was ignoring her commands. Either way, Olivier didn’t like it. Miles, who had been watching them, came out at her raised voice.

“Princess?”

“I want the man this arm belongs to, Miles,” she growled out. “I want to find him.”

Miles, for his part, didn’t even blink at the fact she was holding a working glass arm and that there was an armless man running around somewhere. He just responded “Yes, Princess,” and set to work.

It turned out that finding a one-armed man wasn’t that hard to do. However, finding a particular one-armed man was a lot harder. Olivier, Miles, and an unfortunately conspicuous royal entourage had made their way to every province, city, and town in the country with no luck. Olivier found herself getting more and more frustrated with each failure. How hard was it to find a big man with a black mohawk who was missing an arm?

Well, it didn’t help that many men who were missing arms dyed and cut their hair. Or that more than a few people tried faking having a metal arm.

The house they were rolling up on had to be the last house that existed, and as the carriage rolled up, several men stepped out. None of them, she noticed, were missing an arm. Still, they had the general look of the man, so she got out to ask them some questions. They bowed to her, and one made the offer of tea, but Olivier was in no mood.

“Tell me—is this everyone from your household?”

“Yes,” one replied. “This should be all of us.”

“And you’re sure there’s no one more?”

“Not in our house, your majesty.”

Something seemed off, and she narrowed her eyes. “You’re positive?”

There was an exchange of looks between some of the younger ones. Olivier rested her hand on her sword. “Well?” she demanded.

“…What’s going on?”

There was a new voice coming from the forest, and the entire party turned to see who it was. He was carrying a load of firewood, but the man was large, with a black mohawk, and a metal arm. And, Oliver was pretty sure she heard one of the guards that road with them flinch back and say something about a bear.

“You,” Olivier said. “You have a metal arm, correct?”

The man looked at them. “Yeah, up to the shoulder.”

“Your right arm?”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Take it off.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Take it off.” She nodded to Miles, and he gestured for two of the other attendants to pull the glass arm from the carriage. “I want you to try this one on.”

The man blinked at her, and then grinned. “Alright,” he said, dropping his load of firewood. He reached up and took off his shirt, first, revealing all of his arm, and then pressed the releases that would detach his metal arm. Instead of falling to the ground with a clunk, he was fast enough to reach out and grab it before it hit the ground. He sat it on the dropped wood, and allowed the attendants to come closer and put the arm in. It clicked in, fitting perfectly, and he flexed it around. No one had even been able to get it to fit before now.

“Huh. It still works. I had wondered.”

“You’re the one from the ball. The one who fought with me.” Olivier said.

The man grinned. “Yes, Princess. I didn’t think you’d have this much interest in a handy man like me.”

“What’s your name?” she asked him.

“They call me Buccaneer.”

Olivier glanced at the house, the grounds, and the other men standing there. “Then, Buccaneer, how would you like to come back to the palace with me and become my husband?”

Buccaneer grinned again and reached out with his glass arm to take her hand and kiss it. “Princess, it would be my honor.

Olivier smiled back at him. “Good.”

And they lived happily ever after.

[liaswritesrobots]

Fluffy sceanario request for human S/O finding Naga!TFA Optimus in the woods?

It was well into Spring, the flowers were blooming, bees were coming out and buzzing around, the sun shined down through the vibrant green trees, the perfect day for a little hike in the woods. You can't remember the last time you got to wander around the forest, despite living so close to it, and you were quite excited to take a stroll through it and take pictures of the wild life there. You made sure your mini-backpack had everything you needed, cell phone and ID in case you got lost or had an emergency, a camera to take pictures with, your water bottle, and some crackers and fruity granola bars in case you needed a snack. You also made sure to slip some pepper spray into your pocket, just in case.

You headed out, making sure to first let those closest to you know you probably wouldn't be back until it was close to dinner time.

Once you reach the forest you pull out your camera, immediately taking a picture of the scenery. The light shown through little spaces from the tops of the trees, giving the forest a magical look to it. You soon spot some daisies that a bumblebee is resting on and slowly point your camera closer to get the perfect shot of the bee on the flower. After you take the picture you decide to get a shot of the flowers together, that's when you hear a rustling from behind you.

You turn your head to the right, hand ready to slip into your pocket for the pepper spray, and slowly stand up, "Hello? Is someone else here?" you ask, rather quietly.

The rustling sound happens again, this time happening to the left of you. You turn and ask once again, "Is someone here?" 

You notice something quickly go into one of the bushes. It was just a glimpse of something, something that looked like a tail, so you calm down a bit, knowing that it's an animal. Still, you're on alert, you know well enough that just because it's a little animal doesn't mean it isn't dangerous. You're hoping it's just a little opossum hunting some food, or maybe a stray cat roaming around. You figure since it's an animal you'll probably be fine if you don't mess with it, so you start to walk away. You'll find another area to photograph, one where you won't be bothering a little creature just looking for something to eat.

You stop at a place not too far away from the rustling bush that has a fallen tree, taking a picture of it. It looks like it's fallen pretty recently, probably from one of the storms you had a couple of weeks ago. You hear a rustling behind you again and turn around. You spot the same tail quickly hiding itself behind a very big tree, but this time you get a good enough glance to notice it's blue and red.

Weird… you can't think of any animal around here that had that kind of tail. Well… other than maybe a snake or some other reptile, since they can be very colorful at times. You start to get a bit creeped out, almost like whatever that is… is following you. You put your camera away and press forward, not stopping until you come across a huge rock that you immediately duck behind.

You peek out from behind the rock but all you can see is the tail disappearing behind the other side of the rock. You do a small gulp and take out your pepper spray as you turn back to face forward. So it is following you. And whatever it is it's far too close for your own comfort right now. 

You peek around again, this time on the other side, and yet you still don't see what this thing could be. You turn back, only to be met with an azure, somewhat metallic face with sparkling turquoise eyes peering at you upside-down from the top of the rock. 

You let out a scream and the creature screams as well and retracts as you fall forward and shuffle to your feet, shakily gripping the pepper spray as you aim it at the creature.

"WHAT ARE YOU?" You shout.

"What are you?" The creature asks back, peering over the rock at you.

"YOU CAN TALK?!"

"So can you!" The creature hesitates for a moment, before slithering back to the top of the rock, "At least that'll make this easier I guess." He says coming down from the rock in front of you.

You can see it clearly now, this thing looks like it's half snake, half robot, and it towers over you. It's metallic in some areas and looks like a snake in others, it's lower half is that of a snake, a San Francisco Garter Snake from the looks of it, and the top part is more man- er, machine, and it's voice is somewhat robotic.

"Stay back!" You say pointing the pepper spray.

"Hey, it's ok! I'm not gonna hurt you!" He says putting his hands in front of his torso, palms forward, "Look, I kind of crashed my ship and got stuck here but… I'm not exactly sure where here is."

"Ship?" You ask, tilting your head a little and lowing the spray a little.

"Yeah. I tried asking some other native creatures for help but… they couldn't really speak any language I could download."

You stare at this creature, so many thoughts racing through your mind. 'This is an alien? Certainly looks like it could be one. Am I going to die? Is it going to eat me or dissect me? What does it mean by downloading language?'

"Hey are you-" The creature slithers closer but stops when you raise the pepper spray again. He stares at you for a moment then backs up, "I swear I'm not here to cause trouble, I just want to repair my ship so I can go back to Serpentron."

"Serpentron?"

"It's my home planet."

"So you are an alien." You look down at the ground for a moment, 'Holy shit, a real live alien! It's in front of me! Crap I put my camera away…'

"Can you help?"

"Huh?" You turn your attention back to the creature.

"Can you help me repair my ship?" It asks again, a pleaful look in his eyes.

"Sorry, I don't think I'd know how..." You say.

"Oh," the creature gets a sorrowful look that almost makes you feel sorry for him, "Ok. Maybe someone else in the forest can. Sorry for scaring you by the way." He says before he starts to turn around.

"Wait!"

He looks back at you.

"I don't know if I'd go around just showing myself to anyone around here if I were you." You tell him. You're not even sure why you're giving advice, but there's something about this creature, now that you really look at him, that you feel is trustworthy and good, something worth protecting, "Since you're not from this planet some people might try to hurt you… they might try to experiment on you or something to learn how you work."

A look of shock crosses the creature's face, "Oh! Well, thanks for letting me know that. So some of the people here are hostile? I guess I'll have to be more careful from now on. I guess I'm lucky you're one of the good ones then." He smiles, and it's such a pure, sweet smile that you feel at ease.

"Uh, yeah, I guess."

"Sorry again for scaring you," He says.

"It's alright," you say, slipping the pepper spray back into your pocket, "Is your ship in this forest?"

"Yeah, it's closer to the end of it on the west side though."

"I uh… I doubt I could actually do repairs, but I might be able to bring you some tools some time." You offer.

"That'd help a lot!" He smiles that cute smile again.

"I'm y/n, by the way." You say inching a bit closer to the creature now that you realize he's not a threat.

"My name's Optimus Prime," he responds, "It's nice meeting you."

[finaldreams1106]

oh MAN is there going to be a continuation for buried alive? no rush though, just if there wasn’t before i’d request a continuation please and thank you

I can keep it going! It’s one of the few with named characters after all :D I’m not sure where it’s going to go from here, but I have some ideas 🤔

I hope you like it!!

Buried Alive Part 7

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6]

Flore inhaled deeply, dragging the air through their teeth, trying to reawaken their mind. Then, they felt it. The stabbing of a thousand needles spreading throughout their body in a fiery rush as their powers returned. Their eyes flew open, their body arching as muscles, bones, and tendons all pulled together and reknit. Blessedly the flowing power also cleared their mind, soothing the raging pain that had been beating against their skull.

Then, after a few blazing seconds, their body fell limp again. Collapsing against the table as their initial surge of power faded back to its normal levels. Just a sliver of power working through their vessels, repairing tiny tears in their muscles, reinforcing them. Flore panted, trying to focus their eyes as their body returned to its natural state. They had no idea what that had been. They had never been without their powers before, had had not idea that they would build.

Briefly Flore wondered what would happen if they were left in one of those jackets for months, or even years. They stared at the stained fabric, now a deep brown from the mud, and shuddered. They didn’t want to find out how more power ripping through them would feel, it had been almost foreign. A lighting bolt rather than their own strength.

Their stomach twisted, it frightened them, this power that was supposed to be theirs.

Their movements jerky with forgotten strength, Flores gathered the vest and folded it. They would trap Villain in the same vest that they themselves had been trapped in. Then they hesitated, they didn’t have their satchel or anything else to carry it in.

“Here,” Roland said, his voice still strained, “you can use this, take it as an apology.”

Flores stared at him; they had forgotten that he was there. He held a string bag, nothing fancy, it looked like a souvenir from an overpriced event. But it would work, they shoved the vest inside, grateful that it was out of sight, then slung the bag itself over their back.

It wouldn’t take long to get to the city, they ran from the room, feeling their power surge with the movement. They could run faster than a car could drive, their muscles reinforced far beyond that of a normal human’s, without tiring. As soon as they reached the sunlight Flore increased their stride and speed, racing past the young girl holding a bear and what looked like a box of chocolates.

They ran down the highway, taking the indirect but smooth route rather than trying to clamber through the forest, passing cars. They tried to ignore the flood of vehicles leaving the city, and the relative emptiness of the path in.

Their legs burned, sore from the pounding so soon after their healing. Flore wasn’t tired, not really, but they could feel the strain. One ankle in particular started to burn, something about it not quite right despite the healing. Flore ignored it, running doggedly towards the city, and dreading what they would find.

They were nearly there when they saw the smoke, a black plume rising at the city’s fringe. The rank smell of burning rubber started to fill the air, making Flore’s eyes and throat sting as they raced towards the fire.

“Where have you been?” someone asked, their voice sharp with accusation.

Flore stumbled sideways a few steps in surprise before returning to her mad rush, “nice to see you too, Heven.”

The other Hero flew beside her, uniform stained with smoke and blood. He flew in silence for a second, “we don’t know who’s responsible.”

Flore nodded, “It was,” they hesitated not wanting to say Villain’s name out loud, “it was Jazby. She managed to nab me, I don’t actually know how long ago. How long have I been gone?”

Heven looked at them strangely, “nearly a week, what happened?”

Flore started to answer, but instead started coughing as a gust of wind swept more burning smoke towards them.

“Never mind, you can tell me later, we need to get that fire out.”

Heven flew faster, darting in front of Flore to leave a semi-clear trail through the smoke. Flore tried to follow it, tried to focus on the fire, and not on what had happened to them. It got easier as soon as the screams started.

Civilians were running, some into each other, trying to get out of the noxious haze of smoke and heat. Flore started darting amount them, pointing them away from what looked like a factory, and scooping the collapsed ones up. They weren’t as fast as Heven, but they were stronger, and started ferrying out uninjured civilians two at a time. The injured went out alone, cradled in Flore’s arms as they tried not to jostle them.

It took almost two hours to clear the building, but Heven called it after checking the last room. They didn’t try to fight the fire itself, instead they backed away to breathe clean air and watch as the building collapsed in on itself. Civilian firefighters didn’t fight the blaze directly, they were soaking surrounding buildings in an attempt to stop the spread of hungry flames.

Flore collapsed on wet grass, staring as the twisting black and orange of smoke and flame, their ankle swollen. They didn’t look at it, at the angry red blood that had been swollen pink flesh a few hours before.

Heven alighted next to them, their light blue cape reduced to a burnt rag of black.

Flore glanced at it, surprised that Heven hadn’t just ripped it off instead of letting it burn up his back.

“So, where have you been?” the accusation was still there but softened after Flore’s earlier claim.

Flore looked down, their face burning red. “Jazby, um. I don’t know how she got me.”

“Are you about to tell me,” Heven asked settling down on the grass next to them, “that you were grabbed in your sleep?”

Flore nodded, “I woke up with a rag in my mouth, it was soaked in something. . . and, she had an anti-villain jacket.”

Heven stiffened beside them, “do you know where their base is? I assume that’s where you’ve been locked up.”

Flore looked away again, picking at the grass. They didn’t want to say it. But, well, they didn’t have much choice. “No. She, uh. She buried me in the forest.”

“Did you say buried?” Heven asked, confused.

“Yeah, in a pit. With a mask so I could breathe. Some kids found me, started to dig me out. I got here as soon as I could.”

“Fuck.” Heven said.

Flore shrugged, not wanting to think of the crushing blackness. “There’s something else,” she whispered, “I, I let a truth-seeker in. It was the only way I get him to trust me enough to get out of the jacket.”

“So the base is compromised then?” Heven was angry now, thinking of the work it would take to relocate. Flore was sure that he hated them. “Or,” he continued, “did this rouge truth-seeker just so happen to be trustworthy? That seems unlikely, since all registered truth-seekers are currently in the city.”

Flore’s eyes filled with tears, they tried to convince themselves it was their body trying to flush the acidic particulates out. They didn’t do a good job. “I’m sorry,” they said, staring down.

Heven snorted, climbing to his feet, they rising to hover just a few inches off the ground. “Sorry,” he repeated, “well, thank god for that.” He started to fly away.

Flore watched him go.

“Well, that certainly didn’t go well.” Jazby said, appearing beside them in a flash of white.

Flore whirled away from the villain, fists coming up defensively as they stared at the unassuming woman. She was dressed in a white suit, it looked like the same one she had been wearing when she buried Flore, but it wasn’t stained with mud.

“Did you say you found a truth-seeker?” she asked, unconcerned with Flore’s aggression. She merely teleported a few feet away as Flore tried to swing.

“That’s very interesting,” she continued flashing to reappear again to Flore’s right, “I thought they were all accounted for.”

Flore grunted in frustration as she once again missed Jazby.

“I think,” Jazby said, rubbing their chin with a white gloved hand, “that I’ll go pay this truth-seeker a visit.” She smiled at Flore, all teeth, then disappeared again.

Flore swore, and tried to take a few running steps. Then stopped as their ankle flared with pain, there was no way they would make it to Roland in time. They stared towards the city where Heven had disappeared, and they didn’t think they would get much help from their team.

[lavendertwilight89]

InuxKag Week 2020--Day 5 Instinct

Tell me Again

AU Themed! Rated T (adult-situation and themes are hinted and spoke about not acted upon)

@inukag-week​ @superpixie42 @lemonlushff @dangerouspompadour @keichanz @cstormsinukagblog @willowandfog @inuyashaloverforever @xfangheartx @clearwillow  @umacaking @bluejay785 @smmahamazing @murdergiraffe @faulkner-blog @sapphirestarxx @swaggingtomboy @sarah-writes-stories @hnnwnchstr @wolverine1092

He had no idea how much time had actually passed since he was almost killed by his mother’s people. Something happened to him that day. Something dreadful and terrible. In his transformation, he killed all the villagers. He slaughtered them without regret or remorse. He killed aimlessly until his brother finally found him and knocked sense into him. He wasn’t even sure how long had had been in such a mindless killing state. He wasn’t taken down in the best way, but not the worst either. He could have been killed. Honestly, he didn’t care one way or the other at that point. He knew he really disappointed his mother—the only woman who would ever love him for the monster that he was.

He was trapped in his brother’s prison after that; he wasn’t even sure how long he’d been there before he re-woke in his heightened awareness state. Each time Sesshomaru got close, he felt his control slipping, sounds rolling out of his throat from his chest—purely instinctual things he had no understanding of—no control of. He couldn’t control himself; even when he was alone, that underlying feeling of control was so far out of reach. 

His mother’s people treated him like a freak, an outcast, a nothing. They were right. Beyond right. His mother, Kami rest her soul, had been wrong about him. Even though Sesshomaru hadn’t been a part of his life until he found him killing anything and everything that moved, even he didn’t deserve the attacks and snarls that were pointed at him.

He had met Sesshomaru maybe twice while his mother was alive. He was silent, stoic towards them. His mother was nothing but kind to him, offering him lodging, food, care. Sesshomaru always passed on the offer and insulted her blood. It pissed Inuyasha off but she always settled him down—she knew Sesshomaru didn’t care for humans. She knew deep down he resented her for their father leaving his own mother, InuKimi. She never faulted him for his anger or coldness and warned Inuyasha to do the same.

“Mother, why does he bother to come around?” Inuyasha asked one day while they sat in the palace garden.

“While he says he does not care about us, he does. I believe he wishes to honor your father and protect his pack,” Izayoi said as she brushed through his hair gently.

“Why?”

“His father was everything to him; he wants to follow in his footsteps as Lord of the West.”

“But mother—I don’t understand.”

“You will when you’re older, my love. You will learn what pack is.”

It had to have been at least hundreds of years since that conversation he shared with his mother. Sesshomaru had aged in the time since he found Inuyasha. Not in the, he’s old and wrinkly, just older, like a mature full-grown demon. Inuyasha hadn’t actually seen himself in a mirror in ages—but he knew he was past his lanky awkward stage. He’d finally stopped trying to escape; the only time he fought to try to be released was when his brother would show up. Something about seeing him made him angry, defensive. He still had no idea what his mother meant by pack or why the bastard even gave a damn. 

While he had only met Sesshomaru twice, while his mother said to trust his brother—he didn’t. He couldn’t. Not after he let his mother die. 

It didn’t matter if he tried to speak to him with words or in inuyoukai. He didn’t understand how he knew what the fuck he was saying, but he was able to reply. It didn’t matter that he seemed like he was trying to help him. Bottom line came out to he literally couldn’t trust him. Something deep inside forbade it. The voice demanded he attack. Snarl. Defend.

Recently the ass had the stupid toad start bringing in women to bring him food. Deep down he swore the bastard was trying to poison him. While he felt like it would be illogical in one part of his mind, the baser more powerful part wouldn’t eat for days to be safe.

When the women started showing up, they would sit before him. Some looked nervous, some looked bored. They were demon, half, even humans. Never the same one twice. He wasn’t sure what Sesshomaru was planning but whatever it was, it was pissing him off more and more to where his bindings were beginning to crack under his demonic aura. 

He laughed to himself when at night he finally tore them off and ran. Running as fast as he could, flying through the night sky. He knew he should have killed Sesshomaru but his desire and need to be free of that stiff’s castle was far greater. Hearing a loud roar in the distance, Inuyasha laughed menacingly as he knew he would likely get his hands dirty again and his instincts couldn’t wait.

 After running for a couple of moon cycles, he finally felt a pull from a village. Something he couldn’t explain—something or someone was calling him. The call stopped short inside the forest. It just became a solid humming—it was so familiar. For the first time in however long he had been alive since his mother had died, he felt calm. The fire that had burned furiously finally seemed to simmer. It was like he wasn’t under someone’s else control. 

He stopped running through the trees and finally looked down to where he could finally see where the melodic tune was coming from—a girl.

She was young. Dressed in miko garbs. Wavy dark hair. Bright sapphire eyes. A soft complexion and looked overall peaceful. The song she hummed made his chest rumble with pleasure. 

“You know, you can join me if you want,” her cheery voice called. The sounds emerging from his chest stopped and he froze. He glared and started to growl—she was a priestess. Priestesses were a danger to someone like him—she would purify him and not think twice.

He jumped down on top of her body, trapping her beneath him, snarling in her face but she didn’t move to her bow or arrows. She stayed still and gazed upon him in wonder. There wasn’t a trace of fear or anger in her scent at all… it was almost like—what the fuck—arousal? It made him stiff hard but his instincts were still warring between fucking the helpless bitch into submission or killing her on the spot because she was going to kill them

“Easy now, I’m not gonna hurt you,” she soothed. He blinked not once but twice. 

“Your eyes… they’re golden now?” she asked softly. He pulled back off of her, suddenly able to think actual coherent thoughts racing through his brain but only continued to growl at the young woman. She sat up slowly still smiling at him.

“Are you hungry?” she said reaching into her sleeve and pulling out a piece of dried meat. He snapped his teeth and roared trying to scare her off. How dare she try to poison him!

“Kagome!!!!” he heard another young demon yell. A fox by the smell of it. A male. Lunch…

“Shippo, stay where you are,” she raised her hand back to where the kit had landed behind her.

“No! I need to protect you! He’s locked in a demon state! His instincts are controlling him! You’re a priestess! You’ll be killed!!!”

“Shhhh, there’s nothing to protect me from. He’s ok. He’s just scared. He wants to make sure I’m trustworthy, right?” her blue eyes sparkled and her smile radiated true beauty… Wow. He felt his heart hammering in his chest.

“Sister!!!” he heard another out of breath female approaching quickly.

The girl named Kagome turned her head and then looked to him panicked, “Go! You have to go now!!” She threw the food to land by him and stood shooing the young kit away as well as she grabbed her bow, arrows, and basket running towards the other girl. 

He jumped into a tree and saw the young fox in another near him and watched as the priestess ran towards the village.

“Kikyo!”

“Kagome! Are you alright?! I could sense a dark aura! Where is it?!” the other paler woman spoke hastily.

“It’s ok Kikyo he uhhhhh… ran! I was able to scare him off,” she pacified. Inuyasha could smell the hefty lie rolling off her body along with her heavy anxiety. Why was she nervous?

“Kagome…” the woman named Kikyo warned. It made his inner beast snarl at the thought that she would dare threatened his woman. Wait—what? His? His woman? Where the fuck did that come from? He knew he had gone crazy but maybe being held captive by Sesshomaru made his mind go even further off the deep end.

“Seriously Kikyo! I promise! Everything is fine! The villagers aren’t in danger—I’m not in danger—”

“You are too trusting Kagome… It will be your downfall one day. Please, from now on, don’t wander off without speaking to me. I need to protect you from yourself.”

The woman, Kagome, was now stewing but nodded and followed her sister back to the village… What the fuck. What a weird woman.

The fox kit hissed at him catching his attention. Inuyasha turned to face him again and saw the kit glaring at him.

“Please don’t hurt her. She’s the only kind human in that village. She’s all I have,” he pleaded. “I don’t want to challenge you; I know I’d lose. But…”

“I won’t hurt her,” Inuyasha admitted causing the fox tyke to jump at his voice.

“You can talk?” 

“Of course I can talk…”

“I meant as in your demon state. I can smell your instincts roaring out of control. Even Kagome’s sister could sense your animosity. Why did you spare Kagome?”

“I don’t know… something told me that I shouldn’t hurt her.” The young fox stared at him as if trying to learn more from him. Shippo jumped over to his branch and earned a snarl but Shippo remained still, like Kagome had done until Inuyasha’s instincts settled.

“I’m Shippo.”

“Inuyasha.”

“You’re… Inuyasha??” the young boy gaped.

“Why?”

“You’re just not what, well, I thought you’d be. You’re more in control now. Why?”

“Couldn’t tell ya even if I wanted to.” 

“Is she your mate??”

“Mate?”

“Yeah! Damn you’re dumb for an older demon. The one your instincts draw you to! The one that calms your blood!”

“… Mind your business runt.” All he could equate his change in demeanor to was that woman. Kagome. She settled the inner beast within him. Calmed his boiling demonic blood. All he knew was, he had to see her again.

  Kagome had grown up an outcast amongst her people. Twin to the high priestess Kikyo, she just couldn’t stack up to her sister. The villagers knew it too. They compared them since birth and while Kikyo grew up to be refined, beautiful, a perfect example of a priestess, Kagome was… cute. At best. She tried her hardest but she honestly couldn’t live up to the priestess calling she had been given.

Kikyo was powerful. She held her duty close to her heart and protected the village. She worked night and day for the town. Since they were kids, Kikyo was colder, but she was kind. Giving. Studious. Serious.

Kagome was joyful, energetic, caring, but above all, accepting. She had saved demons from the traps the villagers set and helped them escape. She wanted them all to live in peace. But she was foolish, at least in the eyes of her people. Who accepted demons? Who helped them over her own people? 

The villagers started speaking ill of her to Kikyo and the headman. They wanted her banished. She was a danger to the village if she stayed. They said she lured demons with her crazy ideas that everyone should be treated equally, that her saving them only made them want to come back and start eating their children because they were given a second chance.

She scoffed at the idea! The kitsune she saved, Shippo, only lingered in the forest and traveled with her as she gathered herbs. If anything, he drove away unwanted demons with his presence. 

At that moment, she was on her way to meet with him when she overheard the whispers and scowls. She kept her head down and almost thought maybe she should just pack her bag and leave. It was enough she was unwanted, but the idea that Kikyo had to keep defending her and her reputation was starting to wear on her. Kikyo didn’t understand Kagome’s logic or thinking but never cast doubt upon her. She just refused to train her—she left Kagome to her own devices. Which was gathering herbs. No one trusted her anyway to try to do a healing or purification. Kikyo didn’t want her to fight as she figured she wouldn’t anyway. She surmised Kagome would feed herself to a demon rather than kill it. Sighing, she straightened her bow and quiver on her back and tightened her grip on her basket in her arms. 

“Kagome!!!”

“Good morning Shippo!” she called as she caught him in her arms as he flung himself into her chest. “How are you this morning?”

“I’m good! I’ve been helping some of the weaker demons escape from the traps the villagers have been setting. I feel like they have been adding more and more every day!”

“I know; I’m so sorry Shippo. Thank you for helping them out. I wish there was more I could do,” she sighed disheartened.

“It’s ok Kagome! We all know you’re different! Inuyasha is still here today too!”

“Inuyasha?” she asked.

“The dog demon who pinned you down yesterday.”

“Oh… well good! I’m glad! Is he talking??”

“He was until you got back to the village. He’s been sulking in a tree ever since,” Shippo teased.

“I do not sulk!!!” a snarl answered in the trees. He appeared in front of Kagome quickly—looming over her small frame, bright golden irises engulfed in red, overly large fangs hanging out of his mouth… and all she could think was how attractive he was. Not how he should have frightened her, not how she should be careful, not how his demonic aura was suffocating, but how handsome he was. How different he was from the villagers. She slightly averted her eyes from the demon in front of her and sighed slightly. Like he would ever think I’m beautiful. He probably saw Kikyo yesterday and wishes I was her…

It wouldn’t be the first time she was disregarded for her sister. But Kikyo refused any suitor because of her duty to the village. She would offer Kagome’s hand instead and she was swiftly and sometimes brutally turned down. Not that Kagome wanted any of the suitors that came their way anyway. That didn’t mean it didn’t still hurt though.

Inuyasha detected the hurt in her scent and growled catching her attention. Her beautiful blue eyes locked with his and he could see the forced smile, “Of course not. How are you doing? Did you eat the dried meat? I brought more today along with some rice if you and Shippo are hungry.”

“Why are you sad?”

“Huh?” she stopped moving and looked at him confused.

“Why. Are. You. Sad?” he asked pointedly.

“Oh, no reason. I was just thinking about something stupid; come on, sit with us,” she gestured as she sat with Shippo giving him some food and then giving Inuyasha some. He blinked. It was the first time in at least a century he accepted food from someone and didn’t automatically think it was poisoned. What was wrong with him?

“So… Inuyasha? Where’d you come from? How’d you find this village?”

“Dunno.”

“Oh… ok,” she bit her lip. He obviously was just being polite and waiting for Kikyo to come grab her. She turned her back and started to brush through the grass looking for the herbs she needed to gather for Kikyo.

Shippo looked at Inuyasha and tried to coax him to talk to Kagome. Shippo, while he was substantially younger, was more helpful than Sesshomaru ever was. But then again, Inuyasha assumed it had to do with the woman’s proximity. His youkai was calmer and more willing to listen and converse with the younger demon.

“Uh… what’re ya doing?” God. He was an idiot. 

“Hm? Oh, picking herbs for my sister and village.”

“Not for you?” He upgraded to lame.

“Uh, no. This is my job—well—my chore for my sister. To help her,” she added nervously sweeping her hair behind her ears. He could sense she had grown uncomfortable with the conversation. Was she upset with her sister?

“Why does your sister upset you?” Maybe he downgraded back to stupid—he smelt her tears then. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

“She doesn’t. Not really. Why?”

“I can smell your discomfort and lies. You may as well be honest or just say you don’t want to talk about it.”

“Sigh… it’s not that she upsets me. It’s just that she overshadows me. I wish I could do more for the village but, they don’t want that. So it all falls to her. All I can do is stuff behind the scenes.”

“Why?”

“Have you ever talked with another priestess while she picked herbs with a demon fox perched up on their shoulder? Has another ever offered you food or not purified you when you pinned them?”

Yep. He was stupid. An idiot. Dammit. “That’s… nothing to be ashamed of,” he hesitated in saying.

“You’re right. I’m not. It just puts strain on my relationship with my sister and the village. I am the problem—not her."

He was starting to grow angry with her attitude, “Why are you the problem!? Obviously it’s them!”

She jumped at his words and saw his aura rising around him angrily—why was he getting so upset for her?? He stood up and started to shake with power making Shippo run for the trees calling for her to follow. She acted more than thought as she threw her body against him embracing him fully.

He stilled and she gasped realizing what she had done. She almost pulled back but when he returned her embrace she froze. She felt his nose at the nape of her neck, inhaling deeply and then pushing hot breath making her shiver in delight. Rubbing her face against his rough haori, she tried to clear her improper thoughts.

He tensed around her, taking in her scent of desire, knowing she deep down wanted him to settle—his blood needed to remain clam. 

“You’re a crazy one,” he murmured into her neck.

“I get that a lot…” she breathed.

“Why embrace a monster who was about to slaughter your village? Your family?”

“You’re not a monster,” she said pulling back but not removing her hands from his body.

“How do you know?” he asked as his golden eyes bore into her.

“Call it instinct.”

His eyes widen. Did she know?

 Their daily visits continued from the late summer to the early winter. Inuyasha would wait for her just outside of the village in the forest line. She greeted him each day with a smile. As the seasons changed, so did she. She grew more confident, touching him here and there—his arm, hand, legs... Once she had grown so bold, she brushed his hair from his face and cupped his cheek. He also felt himself slowly slipping back into a more even state of mind. His fangs and claws had shrunk, according to Shippo his eyes weren’t red, but the stripes on his cheeks never faded. Not that it seemed Kagome minded. She never commented on his appearance making her uncomfortable. Her scent also revealed she enjoyed it—possibly almost too much.

He wasn’t sure how humans courted each other. Shippo helped him understand the demon way. He had been providing her with meals for her and her sister. He had started protecting the village, staying far enough away for Kikyo to not sense when he allowed his demonic aura to grow to defend his mate. After a moon cycle, Shippo was able to relay everything Inuyasha could tell him. While he hated talking, he did need to figure out what Kagome was to him and why he couldn’t get her out of his mind. Luckily, he could pound the twerp into the ground if he revealed too much.

The only thing he could do was follow Kagome’s lead. Such as the touching. He would graze her hand as they walked, sometimes held it which made her blush and smile up at him. Often he pressed his hand on her lower back guiding her to an area where she could find certain herbs she was looking for. They hugged a couple of times, often seeking comfort and support from each other.

He had told her about his past. He wasn’t even sure how or why she had coaxed it out of him. But she had, and she soothed his anger, his regret, his remorse he actually hadn’t realized he had. She also confided in him about the village she lived in. How she honestly wished she could leave, but she couldn’t bring herself to abandon her sister. Until Kikyo told her to leave with actual words rather than back handed comments, she would stay and help as best as she could. It enraged him to know how the village treated her because she helped demons, but she told him the days and evenings they were sharing made up for her staying. She would have regretted never meeting him… Him. Of all people, she wanted to meet him. 

“Inuyasha,” she said softly as they walked into the forest together. He had forced her to wear his haori due to the chilling temperatures and Shippo perched on her shoulder to keep her neck warmer.

“What?” he asked gruffly.

“Can I ask you something?”

“I guess,” he said.

“What… Uhm, how would you feel if…” she was nervous. She didn’t know how to tell him someone had actually asked for her hand. Not Kikyo’s—but her hand in marriage. Before she could decline, Kikyo had answered for her, accepting. Kikyo spent the evening calming Kagome and telling her it was for the best. But Kagome couldn’t shake the wrongness of the engagement. Inuyasha was the one man who stuck out through her mind. Even if he just wanted to be friends, she wanted desperately to run away with him. Start over with him and Shippo. 

“Spit it out wench.”

She scoffed at the nickname he had given her in the couple months time they had spent together, but it didn’t settle her nerves.

“Are you happy here, Inuyasha?”

“Keh, it’s not so bad. Plenty to hunt, clean river nearby, villagers don’t try to bother me or the kit. Why?”

“Would you, uhm, ever want to get away from here?”

“Why? Do…do you not want me here anymore?” he asked hesitantly.

“What?! No! Of course not!” she stopped walking to face him directly and took his hands in hers. “I—there’s—oh Inuyasha—I—”

“For fuck’s sake, what’s wrong??”

“Uhmmmm… I’m gonna meet you guys at the river,” Shippo said nervously, hopping off Kagome’s shoulder and scurrying away.  

“Inuyasha…” she breathed. She was so close to tears; terrified of rejection, terrified of the future. She couldn’t win. She didn’t want to ruin what she had with Inuyasha already, but she had run out of time—literally—though she hadn’t even known time was something she didn’t even have. 

Before she was able to speak she felt a spike of demonic aura—it was angry, fearful, and downright powerful. She looked to see where it was coming from and saw a pair of golden eyes staring at her through the trees. Gasping, Inuyasha turned and snarled in anger. Of course his brother would choose now to interrupt.

“Little brother,” Sesshomaru greeted coldly.

“Asshole…” Inuyasha replied.

“’Brother’?” Kagome asked as Inuyasha shifted her behind him.

“It seems you were able to find your own mate,” Sesshomaru stated.

“’Mate’?” Kagome questioned.

“Shut the fuck up…” Inuyasha growled as his eyes began to bleed red.

“Ah, an unclaimed mate. You are still unstable…” Sesshomaru looked to the girl curiously. “It seems she has been able to do what others cannot—but you have yet to claim her. You are still a danger to yourself and others,” he added as he raised his claws.

“NO!!” Kagome said stepping in front of Inuyasha.

“Stay out of this Kagome!” Inuyasha snarled.

“He’s ok! Please! Don’t take him away! His blood is only rising because you’re here!”

“You think it would be different for any other male? Any other demon, priestess? Until my brother is mated, he will revert back into the mindless demon and kill without sorrow!”

“That’s a lie! He remembers everything and carried the lives he took in his soul! He has control over himself! Inuyasha has been staying in the forest with Shippo and he hasn’t transformed once!”

Sesshomaru was suddenly in front of Kagome, claws glowing green and before he could even swing down at her, she was thrown away and tumbled around on the ground. She gasped from the breath knocked out of her and coughed at the sudden force of being pushed away. Quickly she looked back and saw Inuyasha fighting with Sesshomaru. His eyes returned to that cold steel blue, his claws lengthened, teeth grew, and the jagged stripes on his cheeks seemed more out of control.

She stood shakily and tried to watch them glide through the air as they swung at each other. Grasping his haori that was still on her, she worried without his armor he would be more vulnerable. 

“Lady Kagome!!” Fuck. Her. Life. As if Hojo would follow her into the forest any other day…

“Lord Hojo! Stay back!”

Both demons halted their fight and gazed upon the young human male who entered the area. He brazenly grabbed Kagome’s arm making her wince as it was the one she landed on when she was thrown away from Sesshomaru in haste. Inuyasha roared startling the two humans and he set forth to attack the male touching his mate. Sesshomaru reached forward and tried to stop him but Kagome did the unthinkable—she jumped in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck and held on for dear life screaming his name. 

Inuyasha froze, as did Sesshomaru having watched the exchange. He was shocked a priestess would embrace a demon, let alone while he was blatantly out of control with rage. Sesshomaru had seen many things in his long life… this was one of the strangest yet.

He had intended to attack Inuyasha to bring him back home again where he could court the young woman from the safety of the cell. As his elder brother, it was his responsibility to keep him from destroying his lands and their father’s legacy. Their father’s blood was too strong for the half-demon. Sesshomaru was impressed that not only had Inuyasha found his intended, but that he had been brought out of his demonic state. He wasn’t sure on the details on how he found her or vice versa, but there had been a fair amount of interaction.

“Lady Kagome!” Hojo yelled.

“Inuyasha, come back,” she cried holding onto him tightly. Shifting her face she locked eyes with the bright aqua irises. She saw the recognition in his eyes as he let out a gentle rumble to comfort her. Shifting one arm from around his shoulder, she stroked his cheek. “That’s it. It’s ok now.”

“Lady Kagome! He’s a demon! Release him at once!”

Kagome kept looking into Inuyasha’s eyes, ignoring Hojo and Sesshomaru to the best of her abilities. It seemed like it kept both males at bay from approaching them further and pulled Inuyasha back to his senses.

“Inuyasha?”

Sesshomaru maintained his distance seeing the young woman had brought his brother back with a mere embrace. How was she capable of such power? She was his mate, no doubt was left in Sesshomaru as he gazed upon the two. Was it also because she was a priestess?

“Lady Kagome!!”

“Lord Hojo, you should go back to the village,” she said softly, her eyes never leaving Inuyasha’s. She saw the golden orbs finally resurface. 

“I am not leaving without my betrothed,” Hojo said stubbornly. “It is my duty to protect you!”

Inuyasha’s eyes had just returned to normal and he looked like someone had just stabbed him through the heart, “You’re engaged…?”

“I…I tried to tell you this afternoon when this all started,” she swallowed still cupping his cheek even as he was starting to try to push her away. “I—please—I don’t—”

“Kagome,” he said brokenly looking away from her.

“Lady Kagome, leave the demon alone. He is under control and is no longer a threat to the village. I’ll make sure Lady Kikyo knows of your powers and we shall hold a celebration tonight for our engagement and your victory. I will hide the fact you… sullied yourself by touching the creature. Come, let us leave,” he extended his hand towards her. 

Inuyasha had not anticipated her reaction as she clung to his haori and looked at Hojo with disgust, “I ‘sullied’ myself?? How dare you! Why I never!! What’s your problem, Lord Hojo?! You act like there’s something dirty and wrong with Inuyasha! He was protecting me from his brother! Who, I don’t know why, but seemed like he was testing him! I was never in any danger and ugh!!! I can’t believe you would insinuate that Inuyasha was a lower being than you or I!!! Just because he’s a half demon doesn’t make him any less of a person!”

“Lady Kagome—”

“Listen, Lord Hojo,” she said turning towards the human male, one hand still clutching onto Inuyasha to try to deter him from running. “My sister shouldn’t have accepted your proposal. I am my own person. While I didn’t want to have this conversation in front of you, or his brother, I guess I don’t have a choice because I’m about to lose the only man that I’ve ever wanted to notice me.” 

She tilted her head down so she couldn’t see Inuyasha’s face, she was too nervous, blushing too hard, and had to keep the gusto that she had somehow found. She knew she felt something deep inside that pulled her to him. Something that demanded that she belonged to him. She always followed her gut feelings and they never seemed to take her down the wrong path—she knew she needed to follow them now. If she ruined what she had with Inuyasha then so be it; she could just start over with Shippo… But she really hoped it wouldn’t fall to that.

“Uhm. Listen, I… I have grown to really care for Inuyasha. I actually was going to ask him today if he would be open to leaving the village. I’m sorry Hojo. My heart belongs to him.”

“But my fair lady, I know I can make you happy. Provide for you, care for you, I know that you could grow to love me,” Hojo tried to appease her worries.

“No. It doesn’t work like that Hojo. I have to listen to what my heart is telling me, and it’s always said that I’m his. Not as a possession like you or another man in our village would claim—but… I don’t know how to explain it’s just—”

“Instinct,” Sesshomaru finished. They all gaped at the older demon standing before them, regal, poised, and cold. “Go human, and you shall be spared.”

“Not without—”

“You heard the bastard. If you want to keep your head you’ll get the fuck outta my sight,” Inuyasha finally spoke.

“But Lady—”

“Goodbye Lord Hojo; give my best to my sister. Make up whatever story you would like,” she said as she turned back to fully face Inuyasha. 

Once the human was gone, Inuyasha finally looked down to see Kagome’s fearful face.

“Inuyasha I—” he silenced her with his lips. He was testing her—he honestly wasn’t sure how else to do it. Being purified on the spot would have given him his answer, the rejection he thought she might give him. He thought that she might’ve just said that to the human to let her go. The scent that radiated off her had stung his nose when his rival was near. She was obviously uncomfortable. She hadn’t lied about that.

He was shocked though when she clutched the front of haori and kissed him back fiercely. Her tongue brushed through his lips and caressed one of his fangs making him gasp. Oh, seven hells… he felt like his body was no longer his own—but not in the mindless bloodlust he was used to. It had become possessed by the young maiden currently residing in his arms. He couldn’t think of anything but fucking rutting her right then and there.

His brother clearing his throat brought him out of the mindlessness that had overtaken him, making him growl slightly.

“If we’re done…” Sesshomaru said starting to walk slowly back from where he came.

“What?” Kagome questioned quietly.

“You can’t be serious! I’m not going back with you to be locked up again!” Inuyasha yelled angrily.

“Do not be a fool, Inuyasha. Your head is intact now. You know as an heir to the Inu-no-Taisho your place is in the west. You no longer require to be locked up, but I’m sure your mate would like a place to call home rather than having to wander the forest,” Sesshomaru said evenly as he did not pause in his gait.

“Will… Can we take Shippo?” Kagome asked.

“Are you sure this is what you want?”

“What do you mean?”

“To be the mate of a demon… this is a promise for eternity, not until you get bored of me,” Inuyasha stated uncomfortably. He still slightly feared rejection, but wanted to Kagome to be sure of her choice. 

“Inuyasha… I know my place is by you—call it—”

“Instinct,” he breathed and pressed his lips upon hers once more. Promising that they would forever follow their instincts loving each other in every sense of the world. 

[justlookatthosesausages]

“Lift the Spirit” :: a post-Frozen 2 Elsamaren fanfic

Chapter 4: On the edge of the abyss

“You are… Going to fight with those?” Muttered Ryder. 

“Yep.” Smiled Anna with a proud pout. 

“Those are… Yours, Kristoff’s and Eydis’ weapons?” 

“Yep.” 

“Should I be concerned if you three ever get angry at me?” 

“...Yep?” 

They looked at each other, then burst out of laughter. 

“Come on”, giggled the Queen as he closed the chest. “It’s time to eat.”

He followed her to the spot where their extended family was relaxing, and Eydis was already serving lunch. 

Ryder sat happily between Anna and Honeymaren, who had Elsa on her lap. 

“Ahh, the powerful trio of the three strongest women of the country!” 

The referred women frowned in confusion. 

“Excuse me?”

The brown-haired man grinned. “Well, Maren is the tribe leader, Anna the Queen of Arendelle, and Elsa the guardian of Ahtohallan. So yeah, you three are the most amazing women I’ve ever met.” 

There was a silence, and they exchanged unsure gazes. 

Ryder blinked. “Unless one of you doesn’t identify with the term ‘woman’? It’s fine then, just ask me and I’ll change.” 

Anna chuckled at his kindness. “I think we’re good with the woman appellation.” 

He sighed. “Okay. Cool. Sorry for panicking. I’ve spent a lot of time with Olaf on last Yule, and he kept talking about genders and pronouns, and…” 

Honeymaren tapped his shoulder affectionately. “You’re doing great, Ryder. Here, take some soup before you have a cardiac arrest.” 

Anna and the brunette laughed openly, however Elsa remained quiet. 

Despite her blatantly essential duty, she couldn’t help but think that she was less important than Honeymaren and Anna, who had game-changing roles that required more leadership than her. Also, they had to manage people, while Elsa had to manage magical beings. Those were just as stubborn as humans, if not more, but at least Elsa could feel their emotions and presence anytime. All of their exchanges were sincere, transparent. There was no way to be lied to in such a relationship. With the Northuldra and Arendelle, on the other hand… Not that the blonde considered them fervent liars, far from it, but one could never know about a human’s real opinion. Elsa had been Queen for 3 years, and in that experience, she had learned that people - especially male politicians - weren’t always trustworthy. 

She got jolted out of her thoughts by Eydis heavily sitting down next to her, and the princess sighed longly. 

“There. I hope you will all like it.” Smiled the little blonde, despite a clear stress, to the Northuldra present around them. “Bone at the teeth.” 

They nodded, and Elsa chuckled discreetly. “It’s ‘bon appétit’.” She whispered to her ear. 

Eydis frowned. “Isn’t it what I said?” 

“Never mind.” Smiled her aunt. 

They all drank their soup in silent content, and it was quite good, which they didn’t miss to tell Eydis. 

The princess started to daydream, looking in the horizon at the beautiful landscape they could admire from here. She saw two Earth Giants smile at each other as they exchanged their positions, switching to watch over the Northuldra land and prevent any surprise attack. 

“Auntie?” 

Elsa stopped staring at Honeymaren to turn to her niece. “Yes?” 

“How does the Earth Spirit works? I just saw two Giants communicate with each other without even saying a word.” 

Elsa grinned, and followed her gaze. “That’s because they use magic, just like I do when I communicate with them. We could call that telepathy. The Giants even have a way faster system to talk between them, as they are parts of one and only Spirit.” 

Eydis nodded longly. “So, it’s like a hive mind?” 

The blonde smiled at her cleverness. “Yes, exactly. Well, I’d say more like… An archipel. Because the Giants are like the visible islands on the surface, who actually are connected to each other in one and only land underneath.” 

Anna snorted. “You spend way too much time with Nokk. Water metaphors are heavy.” 

Honeymaren intervened as well. “Nah, that’s just Elsa. She’s a bookworm and her metaphors are constant.” 

“Uhm, I’m sitting right here.” 

She indeed was on her lap, and the brunette held her closer for cuddles, proving that this was just tease.  

“Anyway”, Elsa said, turning to the Giant who was guarding the place they were looking at on the horizon. “That’s Pebble.” 

Anna laughed openly. “Oh gosh, sorry, but… Damn, the names you give them. See? That’s the proof you spend too much time in the water.” 

“No, that’s the proof that he spends too much time with Nokk. They keep playing together. And in fact…” 

She closed her eyes and frowned slightly as she focused, tying a mental bond with the Giant despite the long distance. Eydis watched as the magical being named Pebble turned a bit to their direction, like he got called. 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Chuckled Elsa as she opened her eyes again. “He was hanging with Nokk before arriving for his shift.”  

“That’s cute.” Commented Honeymaren, though the Snow Queen couldn’t tell if she was referring to the Spirits being good friends or to Elsa casually sharing a mind connection with a 12-meter tall being. 

“Hey, Maren, speaking about bookworms, did you read the novel I gave you on last Yule?” Asked Anna. 

“No, not yet. But it’s in the hut. On the nightstand, actually.” 

Kristoff snorted at his wife’s intentions. “Are you turning the camp into a book club?” 

The redhead laughed. “No. And no mockery! You know that the times I go to the Arendelle library on Wednesday nights are the only time of the week when I’m leaving you at peace.” 

Kristoff smiled. “I love hearing you rambling about your recent readings on Thursday breakfasts, though.” 

The Queen grinned lovingly. 

Elsa was happy to see that Anna had made friends with townspeople. Arendellians were very open minded and knew how to forget that she was their sovereign to casually chat about novels with her in a public building. 

“So, Honeymaren, are you going to join the book club once you’ve read her novel recommendation?” Laughed Kristoff.

“Oh, no, it’s not really my kind of thing anyway. I’m not much into reading.” 

“Wait, what?” Frowned the redhead. “But you’ve finished several novels I told you about though.” 

“I know. It’s because Elsa is the one reading them. She reads them aloud to me at night. I can’t resist it, she has the softest voice in the world.” 

“Aaaaawwwww.” Melted Anna. 

Elsa blushed, a bit pouty. That was a private habit… 

“She does have a soft voice.” Admitted the redhead. “The kids want her to read a bedtime story everytime they can. Well, Isak at least. Eydis says she’s too old for stories now.” 

She gave a look at her daughter behind Honeymaren and Elsa, and the young blonde grumbled. 

“Though, the other night, she was listening to the one we told her brother. You’re still a fan, aren’t you?” 

“Mooom!” Frowned Eydis, grumpy. 

“Who wouldn’t be a fan of stories? You know, I’m certain that even animals love stories. You should see when we talk around the campfire. It’s like the entire Forest stops living to listen carefully.” 

She even remembered the occasions when Elsa talks about her day to the reindeers, and the same phenomenon happens every time: rabbits, birds and squirrels gather near to listen to her from behind the bushes. Nevertheless, Honeymaren refrained herself to share this enchanting trivia with the others, because she realized that her wife was tense since she had talked about the reading sessions. She caressed Elsa’s back gently, and kissed her bare shoulder. The blonde looked down at her, and their eyes met. She gave her a forgiving sigh, but her azure blue irises sparkled as a warning. Honeymaren grinned, her lips stretching but still in contact with her skin. 

They finished eating happily, until Anna stood up and slapped her thighs in both determination and excitement. “Alright! Let’s go scout around the camp.” 

Kristoff blinked. “Can’t we take a nap first?” 

“Heroes don’t nap.” Huffed the redhead. 

Honeymaren giggled. “She’s kind of right. Also, I’m not saying we should tempt the devil, but if we walk around, it will give the possibility for Victor to attack, and we’ll catch him at his own game.” 

They agreed and stood up along. “We’ll make two teams. I’ll go with Eydis and Elsa down the valley.” Suggested the Northuldra leader. “You two, with Ryder, across the woods.” 

“Excellent.” Beamed Anna. 

As they parted ways, she walked up to Honeymaren. “I trust you earnestly, but please make sure that Eydis is safe.” 

“Don’t worry.” Assured Honeymaren, winking. “I’m responsible.” 

Elsa scoffed sarcastically. 

“What?” Frowned the brunette. 

“The very first thing you taught my niece was to climb to trees, and how to hang up upside down with her legs without falling.” 

Honeymaren gasped. “And isn’t that a practical thing she still uses today? That she could use in this very battle? It is, so stop staring at me like that.” 

The two sisters eye-rolled. Eydis intervened to defend her aunt. 

“I still thank you for that, actually. It’s not the kind of thing I’d learn from a princess royal training routine.” 

“See?” Flinged Honeymaren. 

“Eydis, you’re not helping right now.” Said Anna. 

“I will keep an eye on your daughter, fire head. I promise.” 

The princess turned at the nickname. “Hey, by the way, why do you call her ‘fire head’?” 

Elsa giggled. “Because when she met your mother, it was the first time she ever saw someone with ginger hair. Nobody in the Northuldra tribe has such a hair color, you see?” 

“Oooh.” 

“This isn’t the only reason.” Precised Honeymaren. “When I have fight practice with Anna, her face gets all red from the effort.” 

“My face doesn’t get all red. My cheeks are like, slightly more red than usual, at most. If you tease me one more time with that, Maren, I swear that we’ll have a training session right now and it will get very real.” 

Ryder laughed behind them. “Liar. You secretly love that nickname. Because it sounds like a war title.” 

Anna shrugged in admission, and Eydis grinned. It did have a ring to it. 

She also noted how Ryder, Anna and Kristoff called Honeymaren ‘Maren’, while Elsa went for ‘Honey’. This family was really weird. She sighed. 

“Shall we go, then?” 

=======

“I just want to be a cooler uncle than Honeymaren to Eydis.” Insisted Ryder. 

He never had gotten the chance to talk about that topic, because his niece was always around when he saw Anna and Kristoff in Arendelle. Now that they were in separate teams, it was the perfect time. 

“Just tell me how!” 

Kristoff laughed openly at his struggle. “It’s not something that we can advise you on, my friend. You’ll have to trust your instincts on that.” 

“You know, the coolest aunt badge is already taken by Elsa.” Giggled Anna, sarcastic. 

“Figuratively and literally.” Grinned the blond. 

Ryder gave them a death stare as they all walked among the trees. “Can’t you help me instead of being sassy?” 

Kristoff shrugged. “To be honest, Eydis is starting her teenager crisis years. So anything that we adults say to her is never ‘cool’ enough. She’s a bit indifferent to Elsa’s powers now.” 

Ryder widened his eyes in shock. If she found the Fifth Spirit mundane, how could he ever compete? 

Cogs turned in his mind as he thought of something. 

“Having a digestive walk in the Northuldra woods, your Majesty?” 

Suddenly said a voice behind them, and all three startled and turned around. 

Someone was approaching, at a low and assured pace. It was a man, given his silhouette, and he seemed old, but also fit, like a retired guard. 

“Are the Arendelle’s castle gardens too small for your taste? Not that you belong there anyway…” Said the mysterious man in a low voice.   

He was wearing a dark purple cape, almost black. As he walked to them, and they were standing still, he took off the hood. Now they could see his face, that he didn’t plan to hide; Victor Eiglatson in person was standing in front of them. 

“You…” Frowned Anna. 

In her mind flashed images of his threats, his arrestation, his assaults described by Kristoff, Honeymaren, Elsa and the Northuldra, and, more importantly, the two innocent men who had died after his first attack. 

“You will pay for what you have done!” Shouted Ryder, and he approached the old Arendellian. 

Victor flicked his right wrist up to down in the Northuldra’s direction, and a dark slime blow hit his head from above. In a swift shock, the man groaned and fainted, falling head first in the grass. 

“RYDER!!” Exclaimed Anna. 

She then twirled to the enemy, her long red hair waving with her like a mane. 

“I’ll have you killed for that!!” 

Victor eye-rolled. “Calm down, Queenie. He’s only unconscious. I’m not gonna waste my magic on some random guy. You, on the other hand…” 

Kristoff followed his gaze. He was strictly staring at Anna. 

“Why are you interested in me?” Hissed the woman in question. 

“That’s really obvious. You’re the Fifth Spirit’s biggest weakness. I’ll have her at my feet once I’m done with you.” 

Anna frowned at his plan. She also wondered why he didn’t call her Elsa, but pushed that thought away to focus on clenching her fists. 

“Well I’ll beat you up, you old--” 

Kristoff’s arm stopped her in her momentum. She was strong, but he was even more muscular, so he easily held her in place. 

“You’ll have to go through me first.” He threatened. 

Victor didn’t even flinch at his sentence. “That can be arranged.” 

He flipped his wrists, and a burst of dark slime spluttered out of his palms. Two liquid monsters formed on each side of him, and started running to them. He cackled like a maniac as they immediately ran for their lives before the creatures touched them with their long crooked fingers. 

Kristoff was dragging Anna along his run, but soon understood that there was no need; she was even faster than him. 

He gave a peak behind to check if there were safe, and saw to his biggest fright that the arm of the closest creature changed of form. When the goo assembled at the end of its fingers and solidified in the shape of a long blade, Kristoff’s heart leaped. 

“WATCH OUT!” 

He tackled Anna, and they rolled in the grass to dodge away from the attack. They stumbled to stand up, and he stared at the monster which had its blade planted to where they had been standing, now struggling to take it off. So it was solid. 

Since when could they do that? Did they evolve? Did Victor learn from his past mistakes? Was he able to upgrade his creations, just like Elsa did? He gulped in apprehension. 

The second creature quickly made him come back to reality; it used the same technique, but with both arms. Two black slimy blades cut through the air, whistling in the woods, and the two Arendellians jumped back to avoid being sliced in half. 

They hadn’t plan this walk correctly, and Kristoff looked around to search for anything that could be used to repel the enemies.  

The King then saw a trunk on the ground next to them, and he ran to it. He quickly valued his actions: he could use a fallen tree, right? He wouldn’t disrespect Nature, for this was a dead tree anyway. Kristoff nodded to himself and put his right foot on the trunk, then grasped with both hand the thickest of its branches. It was so wide his thumbs didn’t even touch his fingertips, but he managed to pull and pluck it out with a loud grunt. 

Immediately, he twirled around and started to swung the branch in the direction of the creature. 

He could effectively stop the left blade of the creature, but it got stuck in the wood, which surprised both him and the monster. It didn’t wait for another blow, though, and made its second blade sing in the air, aiming right at his throat. Kristoff frowned, and thought faster than light; he grabbed his stick with his hands in reverse order, and moved it towards the creature’s elbow moving in his direction. In a swift shift, the monster accidentally planted its blade in its other arm. Looking a bit dumb now, it had both arms tied together, and Kristoff pushed its body with a strong blow of the branch. 

The monster fell on the ground. It then was confused on how to stand up now, with its arms like that, and it looked like it was punished and sitting with handcuffs on. 

Anna grinned at the state of the enemy, and when Kristoff turned around, panting, his happy brown eyes suddenly widened in terror. 

“What?” Said the redhead. 

“Duck!!” 

In any other context, Anna would have allowed herself a joke about the animal. Now wasn’t the time. She shrieked, curling down, and Kristoff jumped above her crouched body to slam the head of the monster who was about to spike his wife. 

The racquetball-like move was given with all his strength, and the creature was stunned, losing its balance and falling backwards. Anna stood up slowly, looking at the two outperformed monsters. She breathed out with a gasp at the shock to have been close to death, and stared at Kristoff from head to toes. She made a pause to admire his muscles glistening with sweat, and his intense stare due to adrenalin. 

“Gods I love you.” Sighed Anna, staring at him with arousal. 

They stared at each other, and walked the meters separating them with their gaze lost in the ocean of the other’s, like the entire world had ceased to exist around them. 

The approaching steps of the enemy brought them out of their reverie. Victor clapped his hands slowly with sarcasm. “Waow, truly effective, your Majesty. But you’re aware that you can’t beat them, right?” 

He snapped his fingers, and the stunned creature toddled up, standing up again, while the other saw its arms vanish, then be created again. It went on its feet too. 

Kristoff twirled his thick branch around, ready for round two. However, it now was covered with black magic ink, so he dropped it in a disgusted wince before he would get infected. 

The Queen whinged at how they now were defenseless again. 

“Why didn’t we take the weapons we brought?!” She exclaimed, blaming herself. “I’m so stupid, stupid, stupid!” 

“Now is not the time for self-undervaluation, feisty.” 

Anna grumbled, for he was right. She immediately placed her hands on each side of her mouth, lifted her head and sang the Spirits Call, as loudly and clear as she could. It rang in the woods and filled the air. 

Victor burst out of laughter. 

“What are you trying to do, nightingale? The Spirits cannot interact with my magic. Those are basic Nature rules.” 

Anna gave him a side look that was overcharged with sarcasm. “I’m aware. Elsa, however, received Ahtohallan’s blessing. You’re screwed, Eiglatson.” 

He shivered at her confident teal blue eyes. She wasn’t bluffing. 

The old man looked around frantically, now fearing the worst. They had split up in groups, but Elsa could arrive in no time. He gritted his teeth and made his creations disappear with a hand flick. 

“You’ll regret this. Deeply. Next time, I’ll have no pity.” 

He stared at Kristoff and his wife, and turned around, running away. The blond frowned, not agreeing to let him escape. He ran after him, following his dark cape floating in his move, dashing through the woods. The King followed the man for a long time until the cape suddenly vanished, like it was made of the same goo than the monsters. 

“Shit.” He muttered. 

He had been fooled. This was an illusion. He grunted loudly, and punched the nearest tree in disappointment. 

Anna helped Ryder stand up, and looked at where her husband had been running, wondering if he had managed to catch him. Though, she thought, Victor had magic, and if he was as skilled at Elsa, he would be able to disappear without a trace if he didn’t want to be followed. She knew how effective that was. 

“Did he hurt your head?” Worried the Queen. “Did your skin get touched by it?” 

“No, I’m okay. I had my hat on, thankfully. I knew that it would save my life one day.” Chuckled the Northuldra nervously. 

Ryder retrieved his balance, when suddenly something blurry and white arrived at high speed right next to him, and he shrieked with a jump. 

“ANNA!” 

The blonde grasped her sister’s arms in less time that it took him to blink. 

“Are you okay?! What happened? Why did you call?!” 

Before Anna could even answer, Elsa counted only two persons out of three, and inspected the woods. “Where is Kristoff?!” 

Gale arrived in a woosh, and made a noise, looking down at Elsa. Kristoff was okay, they said, but angry because he couldn’t catch the enemy in time. 

“I’m fine, Elsa.” Assured the Queen. 

“Okay, good. Good.” 

“Can you please put me down now?” 

The Snow Queen blinked in confusion and realized, in her panic, that she had been holding Anna by the arms like a clamp. The younger sister was stuck in her grip with her arms rigid along her body, her legs hanging in the air. 

“Oh, sorry.” 

She put Anna on the ground, and the redhead smiled sadly. She took Elsa’s hands in hers. “Breathe. It’s okay. He’s gone now.” 

“But I couldn’t catch him!” Hissed Elsa, upset. 

“I know.” 

“Now we know how he looks like, and his fighting style.” Said Ryder, angry as well, so he switched his mind to an analysing mode. “Anna, tell me everything that had happened while I was unconscious. I’ll inform the warriors, and we’ll prepare.” 

“Yes.” Encouraged Anna. “And this time, we will have our weapons at the ready.” 

She put her hands on her elder’s cold shoulders, resolutely. 

“Elsa, our next encounter with him will be the last. I vow to it.” 

=======

Anna cracked her knuckles once they all gathered in the armory hut. 

“Okay. Briefing the Northuldra, check. Updating their positions, check. Ours, check. Now…” 

She rubbed her hands excitedly, and Elsa lifted an amused eyebrow when she recognized where she saw that expression. 

“...Weaponry.” 

With an excited - and a bit evil and scary - laugh, she opened the chest that they had brought on their wagon. 

“Isn’t it a weird that a Queen who swears to be a pacifist and to never lead her kingdom to war is this thrilled about a battle?” Mocked Honeymaren. 

“That’s because you haven’t seen my armor.” Winked Anna. “Also, a lady got to be busy. My hobbies include fight, what can I say?” 

She opened the chest wide for everyone to observe, and took out weapons one by one. 

To Kristoff, she gave his axe, and it shone in the soft light of the hut, its cheek and blade bright blue. The whole head that was normally made of the finest Arendelle metal had been crafted in ice, and could only had been done by one person. Elsa smiled proudly and admiratively, as her work of art got enhanced by the sun rays and floating dust that surrounded the weapon when Kristoff happily made it twirl. 

“Perfectly balanced. As always.” He winked to the Snow Queen. 

Elsa blushed. They bantered a lot about ice, and spend a considerable time talking about harvesting and such, but when he complimented her unique customizations, she felt a bit shy. But she deserved that praise; she had spent a lot of time on crafting the ideal addition for their weapons. She smiled bashfully and nodded, approving that her ice blade married perfectly with the wood haft. Victor’s monsters could be killed by her ice? Let it be so. But with some elegance, please. 

Elsa’s eyes looked down at the grip that had Arendelle crocuses engraved on it, while Kristoff held the axe with both hands to inspect it. The blonde then congratulated herself on the density of the ice, which she could feel in the air from where she was standing. The back of the head, that had a hammer poll, looked more solid than anything despite its transparency. Since Ryder had laid eyes on the axe when Anna had showed it to him before meal, he couldn’t help imagining how Earth Giants themselves would be groggy if they got hit in the face with it. 

Anna smiled and bent down again to pick up the next weapon. To Eydis, she gave her mace, whose numerous spikes shone so well that they seemed like sparks. Magically sharp, actually even sharper than razors, the blades glittered in the same way than Kristoff’s axe head, with a beautiful transparency that also scared by its density. Eydis’ mace had a classical grip, but all eyes were obviously staring at the top of it; it alternated between a blade and a spike, making it a fearsome item. 

Honeymaren grinned. “So, your weapon of choice is a mace, uh? That’s a nice nod.” 

“A nice nod?” Repeated Eydis. “To what?” 

“Well, with what happened with Thor years ago. Did you pick this one because you’re at ease with hammers?” 

The princess snorted. “Maybe. It’s handy in every meaning of the term.” 

Just like her father, she spun the weapon in all ways once Anna gave it to her. She hit the air around in several expert ‘woosh’s, practicing her moves. 

“I like the way it feels during fight.” Grinned Eydis. 

Ryder widened his eyes at the sight. Yep, she was her mother’s daughter. However, when he saw the careful gaze that Anna was giving her, he could tell that Kristoff was definitely the one who approved on this mace. Nevertheless, Ryder would bet that Anna simply sighed and shrugged when Eydis asked for permission to make this her weapon. 

The Queen returned to the chest. 

Finally, she took the last weapon, hers, which was to no one’s surprise but to everyone’s honest impression, an enormous sword. 

While the Northuldra siblings gasped in admiration, Kristoff sighed longly. “You had to bring your biggest sword, uh?” 

“After seeing Victor Eiglatson earlier, I absolutely don’t regret it, dear.” 

Honeymaren’s jaw dropped, and she came closer to observe it. Anna made quite a show when she tried it out. Obviously, the whole blade was made out of ice as well. Elsa smirked from where she was. It shone around as Anna wielded it, and even reflected on the wood walls of the hut. It was, out of the three weapons, the one with the biggest amount of ice, so it made a great impression.  

Honeymaren was impressed as always by the beauty of her wife’s magic. Though, despite all of that, what impressed her the most was how effortlessly Anna was lifting the sword. It was an impressive work of art that surely weighed more than Honeymaren would even expect. How the heck did she make it seem effortless? 

Eydis gasped excitedly. “Awesome! I never got to see this one close before!” 

When Anna put it down against the wall of the armory hut to look for their battle outfits, the princess eyed the sword with envy, walking to it. 

“Can I borrow it to try it out? With auntie’s ice blade, it’s gorgeous.” 

Anna turned around and was about to give her answer, but Eydis, in her iconic nerve, already lifted the sword up. She rose it to see the cross-guard closer, but the blade was way heavier than she thought, and the weapon tilted. With a yelp, she lost her grip, and the sword fell forward to the floor. 

“Holy hell!” Muttered the princess. 

Anna smirked as she caught it. “I was about to suggest you to not lift it. This sword can’t be wielded by anyone, sweetheart. There is a reason why Elsa custom-made it for me.”

She approached her astonished daughter. “Only I am able to use it. It actually took a lot of training to master my moves. Also, see how long that grip is?” 

“Yeah, it’s longer than any sword I’ve ever seen.” Murmured Eydis. 

“That’s because it’s a two-handed sword. You lifted it with only one, so it was a foregone conclusion.” Smiled Anna. 

She placed it back against the wall. 

“So you put both hands on the grip?” Asked Eydis, curiosity and enthusiasm making her voice high.  

“It depends on the move or feint you intend to make. Most of times, I place one hand on the grip…” She showed it to her. “And the second one on the pommel.” 

Her hands now covered the pine green grip and the pommel proudly engraved with the Arendelle crocus. With its green hilt and its purple round hilt end in each hand, it gave the Queen an astonishing aura by reminding the flag’s colors. She demonstrated the easy twirls that this two hands position allowed to do. 

“It’s the most beautiful sword I’ve ever seen.” Exhaled Honeymaren, in awe. 

Anna smirked proudly while Elsa blushed with a soft smile. 

“Elsa made it entirely for me.” 

As if the entire ice blade wasn’t enough of a hint, the rain-guard - which, just like the grip, was made of high quality leather dyed green - had a embedded snowflake symbol. It was the upper half of the snowflake, and it gave the feeling that it introduced the upcoming blade to sight when one observed the stunning weapon. The scabbard, which Anna had discarded next to the chest after she proudly made the sword sing by taking it off, was breathtaking as well. All along were traced drawings that seemed to have been made by both Elsa and Anna. Honeymaren wondered if they had been crafting it together, and easily imagined them giggling as they did in a warm sharing moment. 

“Why a two-handed sword, though?” Asked Ryder. 

“I suggested it to her since that stubborn idiot refuses to use a shield.” Smirked Elsa. 

“A really good suggestion.” Said Anna, who preferred to ignore the derision. 

They went out of the hut for Ryder to show them the staff that he would be using. None of the Arendellians commented negatively on how simple his weapon was compared to them. First because they were nice and enough open-minded to not judge ahead, and second because all three of them actually knew the aching pain that followed a hit in the shins. Ryder didn’t train often, but had won a few rounds thanks to that. From what they had seen, Victor Eiglatson wasn’t wearing any armor, and that might even be the blow that would take him down. After all, the most effective attack is the one one doesn’t expect, and Ryder was an expert at sliding down to hit weak spots. 

While they were outside and Elsa and Honeymaren started to chat a bit further, Eydis came close to her mother. 

“Will auntie be okay? During the fight?” 

Anna frowned. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, I’ve never seen her truly be mean in her blows. She’s not very direct. She’s a bit scared to be offensive, no?” 

The redhead blinked as she stared at Eydis, then suddenly laughed loudly, her head wiping back. “Oh dear, you truly have no idea, do you?” 

“What?” Grumbled the princess. 

Anna coughed as she tried to retrieve her breath. “Yeah. Right. Sorry. You can’t know, because Arendelle and Northuldra have both always known peace since you were born. So you’ve never seen her actually fight.”

Eydis was upset by her mother’s giggles. “What is so funny?” 

The Queen smiled. “Let me search for an example… Well, you have a big snowball fight with her at every Yule, uhm? Remember last year when you asked her to stop holding herself back, to have an actual challenge, and you came back to the castle exhausted?” 

Eydis scoffed. “It’s not that amazing, I remember I got to touch her once or twice with a snowball.” 

Anna smirked. “Because it was a game. Now imagine what she does when it’s a fight. Did you see Elsa pick up snow from the ground when she, for once, didn’t force herself to slow down?” 

The little blonde widened her eyes at that realization. Elsa had been crafting those snowballs out of thin air. “No.” 

“Did you see her being out of breath, just for one second?” 

Now Eydis gulped. She had been able to hit her aunt several times, but was panting once the game was over. On the other hand, her aunt was perfectly fine. 

The princess got suddenly aware that she had been fooled all along. Elsa had only pretended to be hit to make her happy. How dumb was she to not have understood this before? Her aunt was astonishingly athletic, she knew it. Once, she had seen her race with Nokk on the fjord shore and she had been running faster than them. And they have the shape of a horse. 

Eydis’ jaw dropped. “Okay, now that is just creepy.” 

Anna nodded with a smirk. “You don’t have to worry any second of her abilities on a battlefield. She could kill us all in our sleep, trust me.” 

Kristoff approached to put a hand on Anna’s shoulder and a kiss on her cheek. 

“I’m gonna go train with Ryder, we’ll see you later.” 

He was happy for such a context, and his wife snorted. “Don’t wear yourself out. It’s better if you’re in good shape for the upcoming fight. Be careful, okay?” 

The blond man smiled at her care. “I will.” 

He followed Ryder to the training area, and not even two full seconds later, he tripped over a root, and almost fell to the ground. 

Eydis burst out of laughter as her father grumbled. Anna remained serious to not make him feel ashamed. 

“Damn, I lost my ice harvesters reflexes.” 

“Too many king activities?” Teased Ryder. 

“If you want, I can show you how to use an axe again.” Laughed Eydis. 

“Don’t mock me, you two!” 

Eydis bit her lip to hide her smile. 

“Sorry. Well, I’m not gonna lie, you taught me all I know about resourcefulness in the wild and how to be an ace at ice harvesting. So I can’t demean you.” 

Kristoff gave her a smile, then rejoined Ryder. 

Anna went to Honeymaren and Elsa, where the brunette was preparing her bow for the battle. 

She was intrigued when she approached the leader. 

“Wait, don’t you usually have a bigger bow? Where’s the one you hunt with?” 

Honeymaren smirked. “Judging on sizes, your Majesty?” 

Anna snorted. “Of course not.” 

The Northuldra made the bow twirl left to right and back with her hand on the grip. “This bow is a warrior one, that’s why the size is different.” 

“Uhm, excuse me, a what? As much as I love this name, I’m confused. Why ‘warrior’?” 

The brunette smiled. “It’s the type of bow. You know, they come in all shapes and sizes, just like people…” 

“Stop with the tease, dummy.” 

She got a smirk in return. “The one you see me use during hunt is a long bow. Very long, in fact. It’s optimized for stealth, with a light wood and silencers on the string to be as discreet as possible. We also craft them that long because we use them from a very far distance. With those features, we do not frighten the animals, and therefore are respectful of Nature. We have a more tender meat as their death was quick and without fear.” 

Anna gulped at the powerful statements. 

“This one...”, said Honeymaren, lifting the bow she was holding. “Is quite exactly its opposite. Notice how its wood is way shorter and curved three times, even at the tips. It’s optimized for fighting. I’m not a fan of what it represents and the context it’s used in, but it’s very effective. As we stand closer to the target, we don’t need a long bow, and this size allows faster recharge.” 

“A bow for warriors on the battlefield…” 

“Yes. Its unique asset is its main default, however. As we can’t draw the bow very much because it’s shorter than the usual, it only is for close range.” 

Anna blinked, retrieving from those incredible details. She then smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll give you a window to shoot.” 

“I count on it.” Smirked the brunette. 

She went to pick up new material in the craft shed to change the grip of the bow and make it brand new. On her way, she passed by Eydis, who was staring at the stunning collection of bows all hand-crafted by the tribe. 

“You don’t have those bows in Arendelle, uh?” Grinned the proud leader. 

Eydis puffed. “Even if I did, I can’t buy a single thing in the kingdom without thinking of mother, anyway.” 

“What, she scolds you when you buy useless things? A bow is far from being useless.” 

“No, because there’s her face on every coin.” Snorted the princess. 

They both laughed. 

“She never scolds me for anything I buy. I could ask a chocolatier for my weight in candies and she would even encourage it.” 

They laughed again. 

She saw that Honeymaren had sit down at a table to extend a band of leather and cut the parts she needed. She would be using the dagger she had at her waist, and that all adult Northuldra were wearing constantly, for how multifunction it was a for a people living in the wild. 

“Hey, could you do the trick again?” 

Honeymaren, who was about to simply take the dagger of its sheath and casually use it, smirked. She untied the leather pouch, twirled it in the air, then placed her wrist under it to make it spin around, and took out the dagger with expertise and elegance. The whole movement had been smooth, and Eydis’ eyes sparkled. 

“Never gets old.” 

Honeymaren waved her eyebrows and turned the knife between her fingers before getting to work. 

A few minutes passed, and Eydis admired all the weaponry. Several ice arrows were on a table near the wall, and she approached her hand.  

“Waow, those are superb. Look at the very precise and intricate heads…” 

“Don’t touch that!” Exclaimed Honeymaren, rushing to her niece. 

Eydis’ admirative eyes switched to angry ones. “Damnit! Why can’t I touch anything?!” 

“Language.” Scolded Anna from afar. 

“Sorry, Eydis.” Said the Northuldra leader with a pout. “Those are extremely sharp. Elsa upgraded them since the last time I used them, and even myself have to be very careful when handling them.” 

She slowly placed them back in her quiver, and wondered why she had been leaving them there. Northuldra children could have hurt themselves… When they joined a whole stack of others in her quiver, she realized that in fact, Elsa had been crafting new ones after their meal. 

She admired her wife’s dedication and work on their weapons. Each of them had been enhanced with Elsa’s unbreakable ice. Their efficiency against the monster would be unprecedented. Even Ryder’s staff was covered with a thin layer of ice to strengthen it, keeping the traditional way of fighting. 

When Elsa had announced that she would be using a spear entirely made out of ice, and she had crafted it under their eyes, Honeymaren’s knees had almost buckled at the flashing image of how attractive her wife would be when she would fight with it. The spear was blue - obviously -  and had - as usual - intricate details, for Elsa couldn’t help being extra. The shaft had all the colors of the Spirits spreaded on it, with the four diamond shapes and their symbols proudly displayed along. The head of the spear wasn’t the classical one but a four pronged trident, inspired by the four Spirits’ harmony. The blades were long and placed facing each other two by two, forming a round cross and looking like the cardinal points. Anna had made the remark that if she crafted this quadrident spear while on Nokk, she would look like Poseidon, but Honeymaren didn’t get the reference. 

The odds for the fight were really good. Honeymaren smiled proudly and positively when the two sisters joined them. 

“With Elsa’s expertise, we will defeat Eiglatson in no time.” 

Anna wanted to support her positivity, but she shivered. “‘Next time, I’ll have no pity’, he said. I just hope that we will be strong enough. May the gods be on our side.” 

Elsa nodded, then suddenly widened her eyes. It was like she had remembered or realized something out of nowhere. 

“We will be prepared, Anna, don’t worry.” Assured Honeymaren with a firm leader voice. 

They all agreed. Anna suggested to help Honeymaren refine the Northuldra warriors’ strategy, and Eydis to sharpen their weapons. 

Elsa was the only one not to move, and she remained oddly silent, staring down. 

Anna turned to her, and lifted an eyebrow, about to ask what was wrong. 

“I need to take a moment alone before the fight.” Said the blonde, forcing herself to smile. “I’ll take a break in Ahtohallan.” 

Her sister nodded. Elsa certainly needed to recharge in every meaning of the term; as an introvert with a bubble of calm, and a magical being with the ancient glacier. She had noted long ago how better the Snow Queen’s mood was after meditating in the magical source. 

Honeymaren watched her lover go, slightly suspicious. But she shrugged and walked with Anna to the hut where they had spreaded a giant map on a table. 

“Okay… Strategy thinking…” Mumbled the redhead, and Honeymaren got amused by her pout. “Maren, do you consider yourself lucky?”

The Northuldra leader snorted. “Well, I got to marry a Spirit who also is the most beautiful woman in the world, so… I certainly am.” 

Anna eye-rolled comically. “I meant, if we make a back-up plan based on chance, would that be in your favor or not?” 

“Yeah, sure.” 

The Queen stared at Honeymaren, because now she had been silent, and the distance separating them from the hut was long, so that would soon be awkward between them. Anna noticed that the brunette was fidgeting with something on her left hand, but didn’t get to ask. 

“You must think that I’m a hopeless romantic, uh?” 

Anna smiled. “No, not at all. I mean, yes, you really are, but I don’t mind it, if it’s what you’re afraid of. I find your couple adorable. And you know already how Elsa’s happiness deeply matters to me, so to know that she’s living a perfect married life with you fills my heart with joy.” 

Honeymaren smiled. “I’m the thankful one, I swear. You know, she changed my whole world.” 

She rose her hands, showing the woods surrounding them. “First, by freeing the Forest, and then, by teaching me on her first night in the camp that constellations had names. It was barely hours after I discovered the existence of stars. Imagine how overwhelming that was.” 

“I easily do.” Grinned Anna. “She’s a real nerd. I’ve known her for such a long time - I can’t say my whole life, that would be lying - and she still teaches me stuff about science and physics. It’s crazy coming from someone who also defies those laws with magic.” 

Honeymaren chuckled tenderly. 

“Once, she crafted a sextant for a little girl in the village.” Continued the redhead. 

“A sex… What?” 

Anna burst of laughter. 

“It has nothing to do with sex. It’s a navigation tool, based on the position of stars.” 

“Oh, I see. Old Northuldra told me that our people used to watch the stars to find their way.” 

“All people used to.” Smiled Anna wisely. 

Honeymaren nodded. It was also true figuratively. Elsa was the brightest star that ever shone to her eyes. She could follow her everywhere, like her true north. The brunette fidgeted with her ice ring again at the image of her wife giggling when she ran after her stunning figure in the fields, and Elsa turning around with a smile that warmed her heart like nothing else did. 

“Mareeeeen…” Called Anna’s voice, probably not for the first time, and finally succeeding in bringing her back to Earth. 

“Oh, sorry, you were saying?” 

When she turned to the redhead, she was smirking. “Uhm, correct me if I’m wrong, but the hut is that way, no?” She said, pointing the other way.

Honeymaren blinked and look at where she was heading. Three more steps and she would bump head first into a tree. 

“Y-yes, yes, I was… I’m coming.” 

She cleared her throat, and followed her smiling sister-in-law to where she was supposed to go. 

=======

When they went out of the hut more than two hours later, Anna stretched next to Honeymaren, then she suddenly heard a neigh in the distance. 

She saw a familiar horse, gleaming between the trees, and trotting through the camp in their direction. 

“Oh, hi Nokk!” Smiled Anna, waving. “What are you doing here? Isn’t Elsa with you?” 

She then saw that someone was on their back, but not seated like they rode them; that person had been picked up and transported. 

Nokk stopped walking in the middle of the camp, about twenty meters away from them. Honeymaren’s eyes widened at the platinum blonde hair of the of woman. 

“Elsa?!” 

The blonde groaned, shook her head and massaged her forehead. She forced herself to sit up, but she clearly had difficulties. 

“Elsa, are you okay?!” Panicked Anna, staring at the blonde. 

Nokk neighed loudly. 

“I’m fine.” Murmured Elsa, getting down from the Water Spirit with as much composure as she could. 

Nokk neighed again, insistent. 

“Okay, I may not be.” Muttered the Snow Queen, and only the horse could hear that. 

She let go of Nokk’s neck and lurched along the path. Anna and Honeymaren had come close, sensing that something was wrong. 

“Elsa, you’re usually pale, but now you’re white as a sheet. What happened?” Worried her sister. 

“Do you need help to walk?” 

“I can walk, it’s okay…” 

Honeymaren didn’t insist, noticing how stubborn Elsa was. However, as her and Anna gave way for her to walk through the camp, her knees suddenly buckled. 

“Elsa!!” 

She collapsed to the ground, and Honeymaren rushed to catch her. The blonde fainted in her arms, her head dropping back, and Honeymaren lifted it up. 

“ELSA!!” Screamed the brunette a second time, starting at her lover’s face with alarmed wide eyes. 

She shook Elsa’s body desperately. She pressed her ear to her chest to hear if her heart was beating, but her own heart was beating so fast that she couldn’t focus on the right sound. To make it even worse, Anna had fallen to her knees next to her and was breathing faster and louder each passing second, inspecting her elder’s face. 

“ELSA!!” 

The Snow Queen didn’t respond, still unconscious, her eyes closed. Honeymaren kept her hand behind her head and fumbled at her belt with the other. She grabbed the knife at her waist and drew it in one swift move, then contrasted with that speed by delicately placing the blade under Elsa’s nose. Time seemed to hang in the air while both Anna and Honeymaren stared desperately at the metal, until it covered with condensation. Elsa was breathing. 

They both sighed heavily, their shoulders slumped. They now were sitting on their heels, gripping the blonde’s body. Honeymaren shook her arms. 

“Please, please open your eyes, Elsa. Please stay with me. Please stay with us.” 

She shook her body again, and Elsa blinked tiredly, opening her eyes very slowly. 

Honeymaren gasped and held her tight, muttering a long line of prayers and gratitudes to the world for bringing back her wife. As she hugged her, she felt the ice and snow clothes under her fingers, and she only realized then that it should have been the best clue to know that she hadn’t left them; the magic fabric would have melted away otherwise. 

“I like it when you hold me in your arms like that…” Muttered the voice of her lover next to her ear. 

The Northuldra leader detached from the hug, and kept her wife in her arms, but away enough to stare at her face. 

“What happened to you??” 

The Snow Queen’s weak features twitched in a smile. “I found the password, Honey…” 

“What?” Blinked the brunette. 

“‘Only time itself will tell’... Kronos. It was Kronos.” 

Anna and Honeymaren remained silent in confusion. What the hell was she talking about? 

“Kronos… The greek god of time…” Murmured Elsa with a weak, almost imperceptible voice. 

She however had an obvious sly smile, and Anna blinked. 

“Wait, what? What are you talking about?” 

Had her sister gone mad? She sounded delirious. 

Honeymaren, on the other hand, had connected the dots. She shook her head, as stunned as Anna, but for a different reason. She sighed at the brilliant mind of her wife. 

“You’re incredible, Elsa, I swear… In all meanings of the term.” 

The blonde allowed herself a grin despite her lack of strength. 

“Would someone care to explain?” Frowned Anna, upset that she was missing something that clearly was important. 

“The code word that would unlock the repressed memories of the previous Fifth Spirit… It was ‘Kronos’.” Said Honeymaren. 

Elsa felt happy as the two people she cared the most about exchanged a gaze with huffed smiles. Though, when their eyes reverted to her, her forces left her; her eyes turned up again and she plunged back into darkness. 

=======

When Elsa regained consciousness, she slowly opened her eyes, recovering her sight in blurry steps. She first saw the floating blue candle jars hovering just below the ceiling of the hut. So she was in her bed. At the idea, a feeling of warmth invaded her heart. She then saw, as her vision sharpened, Honeymaren looking at her in distress, then deep relief as she sighed when she saw her wife smile. 

The brunette cuddled next to her and pressed her forehead to her temple. 

“Thanks Ahtohallan, you’re alright.” She murmured. 

“Actually, what happened is Ahtohallan’s fault…” Pointed out another familiar voice, filled with reproach but also concern. 

Elsa’s smile went larger as she turned her face and saw her sister bent over her as well on the other side of the bed. Anna’s sarcasm left her face to quickly be replaced by happiness when she crossed her elder’s gaze. 

“Hey you.” 

The blonde winced. “Actually, it wasn’t entirely Ahtohallan’s fault.” 

Anna sighed. “Yeah, once again you had to go to far, and now you regret it. Seriously, is she this alluring? Is the need to know the truth like a drug or something?”

Honeymaren and Elsa chuckled. 

“Gotta say, the Spirits call can be breathtakingly beautiful sometimes. I can’t imagine how attractive it is when it comes from the source itself.” Admitted the Northuldra leader. 

“And in addition to your dorky snoop personality…” Smirked Anna. 

“Says the one who keeps asking me about gossip!” Gasped Elsa. 

“Well, at least, I’m not risking my life when I ask!”

Elsa eye-rolled. The sisters grinned, and hugged each other warmly. 

“You scared me a bit there.” Murmured the Queen against Elsa’s ear. 

“It’s a good thing you’re used to my drama then.” 

“True.” 

After Anna detached from the hug, Honeymaren stared at her wife in a scolding expression. 

“You really shouldn’t have done that! Don’t make me quote the song. When will you finally...” 

Her frowned eyebrows suddenly shot up, the rest of her sentence vanishing in her throat as she realized what she was doing. “Oh no. I shouldn’t be angry at you. You could have died, and I’m lucky enough for you to be alive…” 

Elsa’s hand quickly slid on the sheets to hold hers. “You’re my wife, Honey. That’s what married life does. You get deadly worried about the other.” 

Anna winced at the word ‘deadly’. 

“You care about me with all your soul, and you’re angry because you weren’t there to protect me.” Continued Elsa.

“So you agree that it was extremely dangerous.” 

The blonde winced. “Yes.” 

“Your hella curious personality will be your undoing, Elsa.” Grumbled Anna. 

“Without my curiosity, we wouldn’t have known about Runeard’s plan!” Reminded Elsa coldly. 

The two other women couldn’t deny it, and remained silent. 

Honeymaren sighed in an upset way. She didn’t like how Elsa purposely went to Ahtohallan alone right when she figured the code word, because she would definitely have prevented her if she was accompanied. 

She passed a hand in her wife’s hair, retrieving her smile. 

“So the previous Fifth Spirit was a nerd as well, uh?” 

Elsa frowned as she was sitting up with her elbows.

“Why do you say that?” 

“Oh, don’t go ‘anyone could have guessed the Kronos password’. You know that none of us would have found it. Did you see memories of him making jokes about Orion’s belt?” 

Elsa slapped her arm, and she grinned. 

“Those jokes would be so bad that he probably put them in his repressed coded memories, though.” 

She received another slap, and this one was stronger. 

“Well, I’m glad to see that your regained strength.” Laughed Honeymaren, rubbing her bruises. 

Elsa couldn’t help but smile, and shook her head. 

“Can you stand up?” Asked Anna. 

“I think I can.” 

She however put her hand in Honeymaren’s stretched one, just to make sure that she wouldn’t fall if her knees buckled. Nevertheless, she could step easily through the hut, and even started to go outside. As a double reward, the Northuldra who were working near the hut turned to her and beamed to see that she was okay. Elsa smiled back, and she felt infinitely better. Now that she knew all the truth and was replenished, she felt ready to fight Victor. 

“You know, I wouldn’t be surprised that Ahtohallan gifts each Fifth Spirit with sarcasm, drama and nerdiness.” Smiled Anna’s voice behind her as she and Honeymaren got out of the hut. 

Elsa gave her a stare. “Don’t encourage her.” 

The two women simply shrugged, amused. Though, Elsa’s sudden serious face changed the mood. 

“Actually, let’s go back inside. We need to sit down.” 

“Uhh, what? Are you okay?” 

“I’m alright. But I have to tell you all the truth about Victor Eiglatson. And it’s best if we do it privately.” 

The Northuldra and Arendelle leaders exchanged a worried glance, and followed her back inside, closing the door behind them. 

Elsa then proceeded to explain that they got a lot of things wrong about him, as they sadly expected. 

“He has been planning his revenge on the Fifth Spirit for years. Longer than any of us three was born.” 

“This is a really spooky introduction, thank you very much.” Commented Anna, her eyes wide. 

“I’ve had access to every single memory that the previous Fifth Spirit had been ashamed of and hiding, even to himself, and…” 

Elsa shivered. That meant a lot coming from her. Honeymaren understood now that her weak state wasn’t only because going far in the secret past had impacted her magic; it was an emotional wreck as well. 

“I’m gonna explain it from the very beginning.” Told Elsa. “So, first of all, Victor Eiglatson had a wife, called Niks.” 

Her sister puffed. “How could a man like him have been married?” 

Elsa gave her a stare. 

“Anna, I love you with all my heart, but I’m begging you to not interrupt me until I’m finished.”

The redhead pouted in a sullen expression, and Honeymaren bit her lip with a smile. ‘Let her continue’, she said with a gaze. 

“Victor and Niks both were merchants, who traveled around the country, and they both had dark magic.” 

“What? How??”

“Anna…” 

“Okay, okay, I’m quiet.” 

Elsa resumed. 

“While Victor kept it low profile, Niks kept using her dark magic for larceny. Robbery, bullying… She kept wielding her powers for evil ends. One day, they were delivering supplies to the Northuldra, and she had threatened the people during the night. The Fifth Spirit had noticed, and spied on her to see if she would do it again. He saw her doing it repetitively each night Victor and her had stayed in the camp, as they had asked for board and lodging for a week. 

Two days before they left, the Northuldra leader told her that he knew what she was doing. He warned her, stating that the next time she would use her powers for such acts, he would have to punish her. She didn’t take him seriously at all. On the following night, she blackmailed a young mother and her child, saying that she would send monsters and hell on the poor family if they didn’t give her half of their crops by the next time they would do business here. The Fifth Spirit saw everything. On the morning after their departure, he followed their caravan, and…” 

The Snow Queen interrupted her story. It was a bit sudden, so the others wondered what had happened. 

“He…” Elsa stopped to gulped. She took a few seconds, then retrieve the needed courage. “He killed her. He killed Niks with his ice and snow magic.” 

Anna and Honeymaren let out synchronized gasps. Anna’s hand flew to her mouth. Elsa closed her eyes and lowered her head. 

“I saw everything. I mean, it was in ice statues form, but… Still. And as he used the same magic than I do, I could almost… Feel what I saw. He impaled her in one go.” 

Honeymaren’s throat tightened, a ball forming in her throat, and she guessed that it was the same for Elsa. She placed a tender hand on her shoulder, and the blonde squeezed it tenderly. After a breathe in, she continued. 

“Victor saw everything. He was boiling with sorrow and rage. He wanted to kill the Fifth Spirit right away, but he froze his lower body and walked away, returning to the camp. He said that it was what needed to be done.” 

Elsa’s hands had returned in her lap, and she clenched her fists nervously. 

“He didn’t even apologize. Victor had spend the day screaming and shouting until the ice melted with the heat of the sun. Once it had vanished, he realized that he had to bury his wife properly before setting off to the camp to murder the Northuldra leader. On her tombstone, he swore to avenge her, and built a plan. Only, when he came to the Forest days later…” 

She looked up at the ceiling, like she could see the sky from where they were. 

“The mist had fallen.” 

She shrugged sadly. “He tried all he could, poured all his magic into his efforts, but it was in vain. As you know, only Anna and I can open the mist. Only the Bridge can. Only the Fifth Spirit can. And the Fifth Spirit… Had just died in turn.” 

Elsa looked at the wall absentmindedly as she remembered the ice statues. “Victor learned about his death through rumors as he came back to the kingdom. He noticed how some soldiers were hateful towards the Northuldra, and he enrolled in the army to train for the day the mist would lift. He planned and planned and planned, and his dark magic got better and darker each passing year. The only thing that separated him from his revenge was a wall of smoke.” 

Her eyes lifted to Anna. “Years later, he learned that I was the Fifth Spirit. In fact, that we both technically were. He started to shout to everyone that we did not deserve to be Queens of Arendelle for that reason. You know the rest. He got sent to prison for such words, but he escaped with magic. His goo monsters slipped through the bars really easily…” 

She once again couldn’t help but let out a little bit of admiration for his creations, despite some disgust. 

“It was less than a month ago. He had trained a lot since. But… Despite hating the Fifth Spirit with all his soul, and his promise to avenge his wife’s death... He actually doesn’t plan to kill me.” 

Honeymaren gave her a look that meant ‘Let me guess, it’s way worse?’ 

“His goal is to rip my magic out of me.” 

The two other woman widened their eyes in utter astonishment. And to make things worse, Elsa kept going. 

“He cleverly thought of that because with his research, he understood that the Fifth Spirit reincarnation is a cycle. Ahtohallan gives the ice and snow powers to a new person each time the previous dies, for them to be the only one to read her memories. And if he kills me, the chain would not stop, it would simply continue. However, by absorbing my magic, his revenge will be complete.” 

Anna had at least a hundred of questions burning her lips at Elsa’s statements. Yet, the elder lifted a finger. 

“Wait, that’s not all; I also saw a memory on his frieze that wasn’t there the last time we checked it with Honeymaren. It was the most recent one. From this afternoon.” 

She gave a pause, and gulped. “He’s planning to attack Ahtohallan’s tonight, and rot it to the core with his goo magic.” 

The two women let out the same gasp, quickly replaced by a deep groan. No one would touch Elsa, and no one would touch Ahtohallan. For Anna, the magic glacier was the source of her magic and who she was and had allowed her to be fully proud of her identity. For Honeymaren, it was this and even more; Ahtohallan was her deity, a representant of the sacred laws of Nature, and she would never let anyone profane the entity that the Northuldra worshipped since forever. 

“We’ve got to unite all of our forces and prevent him from crossing the Dark Sea.” Stated Elsa with emotion. 

A silence fell, and she looked at them with sad eyes. 

Anna didn’t dare to react verbally yet. 

“Uhm… Are you finished?” 

Elsa sighed. “Gosh, I hope so. Yeah, you can talk.” 

“Well, I don’t even know where to start.” Exhaled the Queen. 

“The only thing I retain from all of these news is that I call dibs on the first shot to Victor’s heart.” Grumbled Honeymaren, fire in her hazelnut eyes. 

“Honey, no.” Calmed Elsa. “Violence is not the solution. I mean, of course we’re going to fight him with all our forces, don’t look at me like that, but we’re not going to kill him. This is not who we are. He’s the murderer, not us. He will have to face justice.” 

Honeymaren sighed in a pout. Elsa was right. 

“M’kay.” 

She didn’t seem so convinced, but admitted that shooting arrows at a human’s heart wasn’t really the way to show a good example. 

Anna passed a hand in her hair, and tucked it behind her ear. “So… People with magic can… Rip magic out of other magic people?” 

Elsa gave her a sad look. “I didn’t even know it was possible until today. And I’ve been exploring the abilities of my magic since the Great Thaw, so for nearly 20 years. Never would I have thought that I could extract magic out of someone’s soul…” 

A silence floated in the room. Honeymaren and Anna exchanged a gaze, not daring to ask the question. Finally, Anna did. 

“And… Do you think that you…” 

“No. I would never do that. I don’t want to learn how to do it, and I never want to do it.” Stated Elsa, her voice firm and strong. 

Her azure blue eyes had been so intense that the two other women got stunned by it, then they had grateful smiles. Elsa had god tier powers, but never would she commit such an act. 

However, guilt roamed the Snow Queen’s body as she remembered that the previous Fifth Spirit, on the other hand, had come to a decision of this gravity. 

She looked down as she passed her hands on her arms, curling a bit on herself. “First my grandfather… Now him… I’m tied to criminals.” 

“Don’t say that!” Exclaimed Anna. 

“He killed, Anna. My previous incarnation killed someone.” 

“He’s not you. You are not defined by his action. You’re you own person, even if you have identical powers. You’re no evil, Elsa. Do you hear me?” 

The redhead had been grabbing her sister’s arms for impact, but also to make her stop cowering. 

“You’re literally the most gentle, nicest person I’ve ever met.” 

Elsa blinked sadly. Honeymaren nodded firmly next to Anna, and passed a soft hand in her hair and along her face. 

“Yes, you are, snømus. Would I have made a murderer my wife? I don’t think so.” 

A snort escaped Elsa’s sad lips. 

With the way her sister and lover were holding her, she could cry instantly, so humor was a good way to prevent that. She took a long inhale, and stood up. 

“Yes, it’s no time to get emotional. Victor is cruel and reckless. Tonight we face him with all that we got.” 

The Snow Queen walked to the entrance of the hut, opened it, and turned around to face the two women who looked at her in undeniable awe. With the light passing by the wood slits and the candles projecting blue hues on her face, she looked like a fierce Valkyrie on the warpath. 

She gave their stunned faces a big grin. 

“Let’s suit on.” 

A second of impressed silence fell. Anna let out an amazed puff. “Waow, look at who’s all confident about conflict now. Who are you and what have you done with my forever insecure sister?” 

The blonde gave her a judging look. She had just ruined her epic attitude. 

“I’m not saying that negatively.” Assured the younger. “Only… Damn, you’ve become such a badass. What happened to you?” 

Honeymaren put a hand on Anna’s shoulder. 

“She married me.” 

Elsa smirked.

=======

Anna helped Eydis to put her armor on, then Elsa helped Anna with hers. Sometimes, the redhead had so snap her sister back to reality, because she was admiring the beauty of some steel pieces and taking a lot of breaks.

“Elsa, you’ll get plenty of time to admire my armor once I have it entirely on.” 

“Yeah, sorry. Am I too slow?” 

“No, it’s fine. It’s actually touching that you love it so much. I like to have your opinion on those kind of things. But right now, I’m starting to lose my balance.” 

Elsa hurried to place her boot correctly. She then asked for Anna to turn around to tighten her brigandine. Anna had a proud grin as she stood with her hands on her hips while Elsa was busy. 

“With it, there’s no way those monster’s dark slime will touch my skin.”

She was about to turn to look at Elsa, when an annoying noise came from her neck. “Damn, my gorget keeps squeaking. Can you do something about it?” 

Elsa turned once she was done with the bodice. 

“Well, my magic may do a lot of miracles, however ice and snow are everything but oily. So I’m afraid I can’t.”

“I was talking about actual grease, dummy. Do you have some?” 

“Oh. Yes.” 

Anna smiled as Elsa went to get some in the shed. It was funny how, long ago, the Snow Queen would never have dared to use her magic for anything, and now it was her default option. 

“A Northuldra is using it next door, he will bring it back. Apparently, Kristoff have the same problem.” Smiled Elsa. “I know it’s a good sign, but when was the last time you two wore armors?” 

“It’s not that it’s rusty”, defended Anna. “They are pure work of art from Arendellian’s best craft people. But they need some… Restoration?” 

The blonde grinned. She kept helping her sister place the armor’s pieces one by one, picking them up from the chest where only hers had remained. Her smile faded when she saw how red Anna’s face had gotten when she lifted the faulds and was about to place them. 

“What is it? You seem uncomfortable.” 

Anna looked away with a little pout. “It’s nothing.” 

“No, it’s something. Your freckles almost are disappearing under your blush. What’s wrong?” 

The Queen looked at the faulds. “They’re very large, aren’t they?” 

Elsa blinked in incomprehension. “Uhh… Yeah, they’re meant to go around the waist and hips to protect them. So, by definition, they are.” 

“No, I mean…” 

She was unable to finish her sentence. Elsa frowned as she tried to understand. “You mean your hips and waist are very large.” 

Anna looked away again, and nodded silently. The Snow Queen put away the faults in a brisk move, which the redhead interpreted as revulsion. That’s why she was confused when both her hands got seized in hers. 

“Anna, look at me.” 

The redhead had startled at the touch, and she turned to her sister. “What?” 

“You can’t possibly be saying that you don’t like your body, right?” 

The teal blue eyes went down. “So you agree. You think I’m fat too.” 

“Oh Ahtohallan, no, Anna, hey, look at me.” 

She quitted holding her hands to place soft palms against her cheeks. Anna looked at her, and she was on the verge of crying. 

A silence passed, and Elsa’s gaze switched from one eye to the other. 

“What if you are.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“What if you’re fat?” Said Elsa. 

Anna blinked. It surprised her so much that her tears went away. 

“Yeah, what if you’re fat. Does it matter?” Asked Elsa. 

The redhead blabbered. “Well, of course it does!” 

“No it doesn’t. Stop me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that Kristoff has seen you naked a couple of times or more, didn’t he?” She asked, half-teasing. 

Anna blushed. “Uh, yeah.” 

“Did he ever say anything negative about your body? In 10 years of marriage?” 

“I… No, quite the opposite.” Muttered Anna. “But he could be lying.” 

“Oh. Sure. So, allow me to ask: when was the last time Kristoff has ever lied to you?” 

Anna was speechless. Why was Elsa so good at this? How did she knew exactly which arguments do use? How did she knew precisely what Anna had to be reassured about? The elder sister brushed her cheek with her thumbs to take her out of her thoughts. 

“Anna. You gave birth to two beautiful, amazing children. Your body changed from that. There is nothing more normal in the entire world. Nature gave you the space to bear children.” 

As if those touching words weren’t enough to wreck Anna’s entire soul, Elsa’s left hand went to Anna’s lower belly. “You carried life. Life is the most beautiful thing in the world. Don’t you think that life deserves as much space as possible? And you carried it with love. Love is the most important thing in the world. Don’t you think that love also deserves as much space as possible?” 

The redhead’s lips trembled, and she could barely talk as they stretched in a smile. 

“Y-- Yes.” 

“Then cherish each and every single ounce of your body that fills that space today.” 

Anna’s eyes closed and her tears fell, then she launched herself in Elsa’s arms for a tight hug. It was truly tight with her armor, but the blonde couldn’t care less. She closed her eyes as her little sister’s doubts faded away, and she could almost feel how lighter her soul was. 

“Thank you so much, I… I…” 

Anna had troubles breathing, and gasped over her shoulder. 

“Hey, take your time. It’s okay.” Elsa said gently, rubbing the back of her hair. 

Anna soon detached from the hug to rub her tears and sniff. “I should stop crying though, or this armor really will get rusty.” 

Elsa smiled. The Queen stared at her resolutely. 

“You know, you often say it for yourself, but I swear that I don’t know what I’d do without you.” 

“Nonsense. You rule a kingdom. And are the most admired monarch of Arendelle’s history.” 

A silence passed, and they looked at each other with sighs, until Anna stopped sniffing. Elsa picked the iron piece from where she had left it. 

“Now, can I please put your faulds on?”

“Yes.” 

They kept going with smiles, continuing component after component. 

“Can you promise me you won’t tell anyone about what just happened?” 

Elsa smirked. 

“Sure, don’t worry. I’ll take your secret to the greave.” 

Anna stared at her sister, then down at the piece of armor she was holding around her leg, then stared at her again, and this time in a judging way. 

“Was that a pun?” 

Elsa wheezed, not able to retain herself. “It was a good one, admit it!” 

“I can’t freaking believe that my sister just made a joke about a grave. Oh my gods. Hey, stop laughing. No, don’t fall to the floor. Elsa!! Put the greave back on my… Ugh. You’re impossible!!” 

She grunted as she placed the piece herself, shaking her head at her elder’s giggles. With the shake, the gorget squeaked, which made Elsa howl with laughter even more. Actually, the blonde’s laugh was so contagious that Anna laughed as well. 

“That really was an awful joke. I hereby declare, Queen Anna of Arendelle, that you are not allowed to enter the kingdom’s territory anymore. We don’t tolerate this bad humor.” 

Elsa snorted. “Oh, come on. Everyone knows how acclaimed I am in Arendelle. People would riot if they don’t hear my stupid jokes from time to time.” 

Anna sighed dramatically. “Granted.”

“You wouldn’t get rid of me that easily anyway.” Smirked Elsa. 

Anna kept going on her drama. 

“I know. That’s my burden. Being stuck with you as my sister for my whole life.” 

She turned to the door when she heard Eydis come in the hut to pick her gauntlets. 

“Eydis, could you come over here please?” 

“Why?” Frowned the princess, wondering what her mother was talking about from behind the changing screen. 

“Would you grab your mace and kill me? I can’t stand Elsa anymore.” 

The girl knew her mother’s ramblings enough to understand that she was joking, and didn’t even lift her head from the gauntlets she was tying up at her wrists. 

“Sure. Do you want to be knocked on the head or in the face?” 

The sisters laughed. 

“Gosh, she’s a future mercenary.” Chuckled Elsa. 

“She’s actually aiming for ice harvester mixed with sailor.” Shrugged Anna. 

Soon, they were finished. “Come on, let’s go outside so I can admire it in the sunlight.” Beamed the Snow Queen. 

=======

“So now you’re the one in need of a tissue. Do you need one?” Grinned Anna. “We probably packed some.” 

Elsa breathed in and out heavily as she blinked to chase her emotional tears. 

“You just look… So great, in this, Anna. I’m…” 

She let out a noise that was a mix of a gasp and a squeal. “I’m really proud of you.” 

The Queen of Arendelle smiled widely at the compliment. “Thank you, sis.” 

Anna’s armor was entirely polished with a matte golden color, and it made her look like a stunning legend. The absence of reflections gave her a serious aura and the detailed finishing touches showcased her. Each joint of the metal and seam of the reinforced garment were engraved and embroidered with ivy motives. On both of her shoulder pieces were drawn Arendelle crocuses, one in green and one in purple. Her plackart proudly displayed the kingdom’s flag, and it married perfectly with the gold color of the whole outfit. 

Gods, was it hard for Elsa to not burst into tears at the whole sight. 

She approached to wrap her arms around the redhead. It was rare that Elsa was the one to initiate embraces, so it meant a lot to Anna, and it warmed her heart. 

When they finished hugging, Elsa held the face of her little sister in her hands, sniffing at her beauty. “You’ve become a wonderful woman, Anna. A passionate Queen, a devoted mother, and a hero with a heart of gold.” 

The redhead snorted modestly. “You’ve only seen me in that armor for like, two minutes.” 

Elsa shrugged. “And yet, I can attest you that you would look way better on a Joan of Arc style portrait than I’ll ever do.” 

Her younger laughed. “This might be the best compliment in the world.” 

“Looking really good, Anna!” Approved a voice behind them, and they turned to see Honeymaren with a thumb up. 

Anna giggled and thanked her with a comical curtsey.  

“I’ll join you in a moment, I’m gonna suit up too.” Informed the Northuldra. 

“Okay.” 

She disappeared in the armory hut, and the Snow Queen smiled when her eyes landed on the redhead again. “With Kristoff and Eydis, you three look absolutely amazing. This really looks like the Arendelle flag was brought to life.” 

Anna smiled. “Let’s hope that it will fly forever, then.” 

The exchanged a gaze, their eyes sparkling with emotion. 

Elsa looked over to where Kristoff and Eydis had been standing, and the sisters spent a long time talking about the specificities of each. Kristoff’s one definitely was a mix of a knight armor and an ice harvester outfit, while Eydis’ one seemed like a miniature of her mother’s, but in silver. With her blonde hair, she was really pretty. All the armors, in their own way, demonstrated how talented Arendelle’s craftspeople were.  

“I like how we got those armors made to measure.” Said Anna. “It allows easy movements, while it assures efficient protection.” 

“Yeah, it’s…”

The blonde’s answer vanished in her throat. Elsa suddenly disconnected from reality as she stared behind Anna, but it was like she was staring at nothing. Or rather, at something divine. 

“Hey, are you with me?” Said her sister, snapping her fingers in front of her eyes. “Did your brain fry in Ahtohallan or what?” 

Elsa didn’t respond. With a frown, Anna turned around to follow her gaze, and when she saw Honeymaren step out of the hut, it was like the Forest itself had stopped its activity to stare in awe. 

The brunette was wearing a traditional war outfit only wore by Northuldra leaders, and it suddenly became very clear to Anna why Elsa hadn’t been able to make words. Anyone had to admit that Honeymaren was giving a stunning impression with that attire. Anna’s jaw dropped when the brunette took a few steps outside and looked over the tribe with a stare that made her aura matching the one of a falcon, except that her eyes were filled with pride and care for her people. The redhead then realized that she was looking for Elsa among the crowd that was staring at her, and when she finally recognized the platinum blonde woman behind Anna, her satisfied smile went larger in a beam. She made her way to her, and the Queen wondered if Honeymaren was ready to see up close the ravenous look that Elsa was giving her, and if Elsa was strong enough to not faint right when the leader would be breathing near her. 

With amusement, Anna’s eyes darted from one woman to the other, and it was certain now that Elsa had never seen Honeymaren wearing that outfit. Which made sense, given the current peaceful times. 

It was a mix of a tunic and an armor made of hard leather. The latter fabric clearly had been reinforced with an unusual thickness that was reserved to battle gear, and Anna was impressed by the details that however had been drawn on it. How much time did the Northuldra have spent on this? It required a lot of expertise and talent for a tribe that only used manual tools. Several bands of lighter leather crossed Honeymaren’s torso and fell from her shoulders to land on her hips, both holding her weapons and assuring that the flexible armor would stay in place. A large band of thick leather crossed the leader’s belly and juxtaposed her traditional belt, to which was still attached her usual dagger. Beautiful darker pieces were covering her forearms so she could easily protect herself from the blows, and Anna noticed the sames on her thighs and shins, tied above her tunic. Her left wrist was protected on the inside as well, the leather also serving as a guard to avoid any injury when archery is involved. The outfit was objectively magnificent with all its practical yet sophisticated pieces, all dyed with different natural colors that made it soar. Some were pitch black, others a deep brown interlaced with ochre bands - which highlighted her chestnut eyes - and others, especially her tunic, were bright beige. 

Honeymaren had completed the outfit with her bow in her back and her quiver at her waist, and it looked like she was ready to slay. In fact, Anna was almost considering the idea to let her go to battle on her own and take care of everything. Who could stand up to her? 

Elsa let out a noise when her wife arrived to her level, and it betrayed the fact that she had forgotten to breathe for a moment. 

“H-- Hey-y… You.” 

Both Anna and Honeymaren bit their lips to hide their giggle at Elsa’s rare fluster. For a very articulate person, she seemed to have lost all her vocabulary. 

“H-Honey…” 

She tried to say a full sentence, but was simply unable to. 

Bruni trotted nearby and squeaked, and Anna smirked. Was it to admire the Northuldra leader and compliment her outfit, or to check that the Fifth Spirit wasn’t on fire? 

“Are you okay?” Grinned Honeymaren, teasing, though a bit concerned. Now wasn’t the time for Elsa to faint again. 

“I-- I’m beautiful. I mean… I’m not... I’m super-- I’m great.” 

Anna giggled, but she managed to hide it behind her palm. Elsa was too busy staring deeply at her lover to even notice it. 

“Breathe, love.” Smiled Honeymaren, passing her hand along the blonde’s cheek. 

One could think that this would make her arousal even deeper, but the brunette actually succeeded in taking Elsa out of her transe. She gulped as she retrieved her normal behavior. 

“Yeah, uhm… Uh… Let’s get ready, shall we?” 

She coughed and turned around, inviting the others to follow her. 

“Auntie, what will you wear for battle?” Inquired Eydis, running a bit to go walk next to her, her mace bouncing on her shoulder. 

Her little eyes were sparkling as she imagined the most amazing armor possible. Elsa recovered from her fluster and looked at her niece with a smirk. 

“Why, my work outfit of course.” 

As she walked, and there was no need for her to stop nor slow down, she flicked her wrists up in unison. Gusts and twirls of glittering magic appeared from her palms and went in two ways. One move went down from her wrists and added layers of protection to the casual white tunic she had been wearing. The other move went up like embers of ice that floated in the air, which then deposited on her bright white outfit like petals. The magical dust formed new shapes on her shoulders, knees, chest, belly, hips and shins, creating the most perfect ice armor. It couldn’t be more custom-made, and it obeyed each and every motion she made, being comfortable and ergonomic. It also was incredibly beautiful with its breathtaking details and decorations, once again reminding the four other Spirits. Most of the parts were diamond-shaped. Despite the whole piece of art it made, its transparency didn’t fool anyone; the armor was sturdy, if not more than regular ones. Elsa admired her own work. 

“...With a few additions, I’ll admit.” She smiled. 

Honeymaren’s chestnut eyes got lost at the sight, having not missed any of the show while she walked on Elsa’s other side. That was, for the lack of any other word, a divine transformation. Her eyes filled with tears. Were they due to emotion or because the outfit was bright white and gave the feeling to stare at the full Moon herself? She blinked to dissimulate them. 

“Not very stealthy, but I guess what we’ll have to deal with it.” Shrugged Honeymaren, to joke about it and switch her mood. 

She giggled when she received a white-covered elbow nudging her ribs. 

Elsa shook her head, then looked at the horizon. Her gaze now was more focused than ever. 

“Okay, Victor. You wanted to face me? I’m not alone anymore. Here we come.”

[alarawriting]

Inktober 2020 #5/Writeober 2020 #1: Blade

I have a feeling this might be based on a Tumblr prompt but I can’t remember where or when...

***

Aster finished haggling with the merchant for tomatoes, and turned, certain that someone was watching her. There was an old woman standing in the center of the market way, looking directly at Aster, and there was something strange about her – aside from the gray braid that went down to her knees, given that the old women Aster knew cut their hair short to make it easier to keep it, since they were going to put a kerchief over it anyway. After a moment, Aster isolated it – no one was looking at the woman. No one was looking away from her either. It was as if no one in the market could see her, aside from Aster.

She went on to the merchant selling cauliflower, broccoli and beans. The old woman followed her, and now she was closer. There was still no one else looking at the woman, but they all stepped out of her way, casually, as if they just felt like bending their path slightly.

Finally, Aster went to a tree on the side of the market, and waited. The old woman strolled over to her. “You’re Aster Sennadotter? Daughter of Canlon the Eater of Fire?”

“Who wants to know?” Aster asked. Mom and Dad had been heroes, once upon a time. Some of those who’d know that Dad was the legendary Fire-Eater were those who’d have nothing but praise for him and his deeds. Some… were not.

“I’m an old friend of your father’s. Has he never told you of the wizard Enteleki?”

Aster’s eyes went wide. “That’s you?” She looked the tiny, ancient woman up and down. “I thought you’d be taller.”

“Many say that. Tell me, has your father trained you in the blade?”

The phrasing was a little weird; it took Aster a moment to realize that Enteleki meant trained her to use blades, in general. “Mom taught me some dagger work. Throwing, mostly, but some up close, for self defense. Dad hasn’t taught me anything.” She abruptly realized how that sounded. “Anything like that. I mean, he taught me how to fish and ride a horse and identify weeds and things like that. But nothing about blades.”

“So you’ve never learned to use the Sword of the Eater?”

“Are you kidding?” Aster laughed disbelievingly. “I’ve never even seen it. Dad said it was lost after he defeated the last of the Servants of the Phoenix.”

“It wasn’t,” Enteleki said. “He’s still got it. He must have hidden it from you.”

Aster shrugged. “He probably had good reasons. He’s done adventuring, he says. He just wants to live on the farm and grow our crops in peace.”

Enteleki shook her head. “Short-sighted. Of course, he’s done adventuring, no one would expect a man his age, with a family and a farm, to go on a quest. But the thought never entered his mind that the world might need you, did it?”

“Why would the world need me? My mom and dad may have been heroes, but I’m just a farm girl.”

“Your father was a farm boy before he was a hero. Your mother, the granddaughter of the village wisewoman. They were nothing special, before destiny called them.” She leaned heavily on her staff. “Just as it’s calling you now.”

“Why me?”

“You’ll figure it out. Just know for now that you are your father’s daughter. Ask him for the sword and prepare to leave. Or the Lady of Light will destroy everything – including your town, including your farm.”

Aster scowled. “I’ve never heard of her, but, generally speaking, why would someone named the Lady of Light be evil?”

Enteleki looked up into her eyes, and it felt like the old woman was a hawk, sizing Aster up as prey. “Phoenixes are creatures associated with life and rebirth; why would evil people call themselves the Servants of the Phoenix? Evil people lie, Aster. And they lie to themselves, and tell themselves they are good, perhaps that they are the only good ones in the world. Battles are never between good and evil. They are between those who seek to cause harm, even though they may think they are doing what is best for everyone, and those who seek to mitigate or stop the harm, or to make something that helps come to pass.”

“Okay, but… if evil people think they’re doing what’s best, and good people think they’re doing what’s best… how do you tell which is which?”

Enteleki barked laughter, sharp and hard. “How indeed. But the Servants of the Phoenix were burning the wisewomen, claiming that those who followed the ways of the Phoenix would have eternal life, and wouldn’t need wisewomen to heal them, and therefore wisewomen were evil because they tempted people away from the righteous path of the Phoenix. Tell me, was anyone ever good because they burned healers to death?”

“No,” Aster said firmly. Her own mother was a wisewoman, just as her great-grandmother had been. “All of that sounds wrong. I mean… why would you have to worship the Phoenix? What if you have a different god? And even if you did worship the Phoenix… no one ever said the worshippers of the Phoenix come back to life, only the Phoenix itself. And even if you were going to come back to life, why would you not want willowbark for a headache, or a poultice if you get injured? Phoenixes come back to life by dying in fire first. You’re not going to set yourself on fire if you strained your leg.”

“And that is why your father had to defeat them, with the help of your mother and their friends. The Lady of Light claims that she will drive out the darkness, and bring enlightenment. But her idea of ‘darkness’ includes men drinking in pubs and tossing dice, women brewing beer, people telling stories where anything happens that involves an evil act even if the evil act is done by the villain of the piece, men and women who love their own sex, and people who join in love before marriage even if they’re betrothed. As well as many other things. She sees our land as steeped in sin, and she wants to conquer us and burn out the ‘sins’ of the people… by setting fire to their homes and farms, if necessary, and for some reason she always finds it necessary.”

“Okay… yeah, that does sound pretty evil. But how do I know you’re telling the truth? Maybe you’re an evil wizard and this Lady of Light person is actually great and you’re lying to me.”

Enteleki smiled. “Your parents taught you to question. That’s very good. A skill that will serve you, in life. But the answer is, firstly, your parents know me, so you can ask them if I am trustworthy in the things I say. Secondly, you can go deeper into town and give the crier a coin and ask them to tell you everything they know about the Lady of Light, and my suspicion is, they’ll back up what I’ve said, because there aren’t many of her followers around here – which is why she wants to burn it all. Ask a few women at the washer-well what they’ve heard. Ask your parents if they know anything about it. And then take everything you’ve heard, and use your own judgement to decide who’s right.”

“All right,” Aster said. “I will.”

Beginning with telling Mom and Dad all about this.

***

Canlon Shreveson, called by some the Fire-Eater, stormed out of his house in a fury, grabbed his horse, and rode down the dirt path outside his property far enough that he knew neither his daughter nor his wife would see or hear any of it. He dismounted, and yelled, “Enteleki!”

There was no guarantee she would come just because he’d said her name. Wizards weren’t summonable. They showed up when they wanted to. But he suspected Enteleki would want to, and he was not disappointed. One moment there was nothing at the edge of the forest, and in the next, there was an old woman wrapped in a cloak.

She hadn’t changed at all. Most old women, if they didn’t die between the time you first became a man and the time you were settled with a farm and a wife and a teenage daughter, became frailer, more wrinkled. Thinner, usually. Sometimes smaller. Enteleki looked exactly the same as when he’d last seen her, nearly twenty years ago.

“What in seven hells are you trying to do with my daughter?”

“I’d think it’d be obvious,” Enteleki said. “You’re in no shape to go kill the Lady of Light, or even stop her, and you’re not the right one for the job anyway. Your daughter is.”

“My daughter is the Chosen One for some new damned quest to stop some other monstrous person from causing death and chaos. Am I hearing this correctly?”

“Yes.”

“No,” Canlon said, almost roaring it, in the tiny woman’s face. “NO! Aster is fifteen. Fifteen, damn you! She’s not even old enough to get married!”

“Senna was sixteen.”

“Senna was our healer. We tried to keep her out of the fighting as best as we could. And I don’t know what you told her grandmother to let her come with us, but whatever it was, I suspect she cursed you to have the eternal crows pick your bones when she realized what you’d sent a child into. I was too young then to realize how wrong it was for Senna to go with us… and Senna was a year older than Aster is now.”

“Do you think I do this for fun?” Enteleki glared up at him. “Do you think I send children into battle out of love for their parents’ distress? Just once I would like to find that the Chosen One is twenty-six and an experienced mercenary, thank you. But no. You were eighteen when the bones and the ashes told me you were the one. And forty years before you were born, it was a girl of thirteen years, and I did my best to protect her as best I could, but she wasn’t as fortunate as you. She lived, but there was darkness behind her eyes all her life, and she took it finally, three years after you were born. And before her, there was Melen the Rogue, who was seventeen then. I don’t know why it’s always children. I don’t know why we need to have heroes at all – why can’t ordinary people taking up arms do what must be done? But it’s always the same – so much more war, so much more death, if the child heroes don’t go up against the evil of the day. Maybe the world would eventually prevail and become a bright and loving place again, but there would be so many dead, so many made displaced refugees.”

Enteleki had never spoken to Canlon this way before. She’d seemed so encouraging, so strong, when he was young. It had honestly never occurred to him that any part of what she did might bother her. “And so you need to sacrifice my daughter so that hundreds can live in peace.”

“Yes.”

“No! Not my daughter. Not this time.”

Enteleki’s eyes narrowed. “You know well that if the Lady of Light isn’t stopped, this whole land will burn. Your farm as well, and your neighbors’. You know that if the duke musters an army against her in time, which is unlikely in itself, your farm may be burned by your own countrymen so that the Army of Light can’t resupply here. Are those good fates for your daughter?”

“No. But she shouldn’t be the one.” Canlon took a deep breath. “I’m experienced. I know how to wield the Blade of the Eater. She’s never held a sword in her hands before. I’ve done this before and I can do it again. I’ll be the one to fight the Lady of Light, so that Aster can stay safe.”

Enteleki shook her head sadly. “You’re not the one. You’ll fail. Aster’s the one who can succeed.”

“My daughter is not taking up my blade – that she has no idea how to use – and going to war. End of story. I’ll go. And if I fall, at least I’ll fall knowing I was protecting my daughter.”

“Which will reassure her greatly when she becomes an orphan.”

“You can’t stop me, Enteleki. I know you. You can’t take my sword from me; I’d have to give it to you for you to give it to Aster, and I won’t. I’ll take it with me to challenge the Lady of Light. Now you can fight by my side and maybe make it less likely that I’ll fall, or you can get out of my way.”

“I won’t stand in your way,” Enteleki said, almost sadly. “And I’ll do what I can to help you. But it won’t be enough. You will fall, and then either Aster will take up your blade, or this land will burn.”

“We’ll see about that,” Canlon said.

[sarehime]

Admiration - 5

While Garda was wandering in the dark forest, she was thinking about what Björn said. If what he said was true, they had been in very dangerous situation right now. But why? Garda couldn’t understand why those who kidnapping their family members were being helped. First, she had to understand the reason.

 She sighed and then, raised her gaze to the night sky that is full of stars. The moon wasn’t visible, was in the new moon phase. This had been the third new moon phase without Muzaka.

 “Where are you, my lord?” she mumbled.

 “You still can’t find him, Garda?” With a familiar voice, she flinched and turned to her back immediately. Maduke looked at her with a sleazy smirk on his face. How could she be that absent-minded to couldn’t notice Maduke? She didn’t answer his earlier question and placed a distant look on her eyes. “You know what, Garda? I really pity you.” She made a sour face.

 “I have to be in so pitiful situation, even you pity me of all people,” she said. Maduke burst into an ugly laughter.

 “Ah, Garda, I can’t understand why do you behave me like that? Like I am your enemy...” Maduke’s words might be sounds sincere but Garda had known him long enough to understand the meaning behind his words.

”Oh, yeah. You have been a trustworthy ally of me all the time, Maduke. How ungrateful of me,” she said tauntingly. He was the one who always make things hard for her and look at the nerve what he said right now!

 “You really make me sad when treating me so coldly. We don’t have to be ‘enemy’ you know. You are really very strong warrior and know our people’s situation. You really believe someone like Muzaka is a good Lord?” Garda frowned.

 “Watch your mouth, Maduke. He is still our Lord.”

 “And whose ‘fault’ is this?”

 Garda didn’t like the tone of his voice when he said fault. What is the fault? Muzaka is a Lord, yes, it might be a fault in their eyes... But in her eyes... He had to be Lord. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t a great Lord, she couldn’t let those monsters to crush Muzaka. Muzaka is the best of bad lots. With Muzaka, she could handle this ones but without him she couldn’t stand their before much time. She understood this better after this kidnapping incident.

 “Ah, I really admire your nerve, Maduke. Before enraged me, get out of here. I am tired of your bullshits already!” she said while her eyes was shining under the starlight. Maduke took a step back after saw her eyes and raised his hands.

 ‘Well, well...’ he thought.

 “You are a smart woman, Garda. Think about this matter carefully before angry to me. Don’t you think to things would have been better if you would be our Lord?”

 He really has a serpent’s tongue, she thought. If anyone other than Maduke had told her this words, she might have thought of it. But with Maduke, she had to be careful. He loved to trick people and Garda wasn’t stupid to fall into the dirty trap of him.

 “Get out. I am not repeat myself twice,” she warned him and it was obvious it’s her last warning. Maduke shut his mouth after understand this. I’d better stop here, he thought.

 He smiled before vanished from here in the blink of an eye without saying anything. Garda sighed. She did hate this smile! She should be careful, she should be more careful...

 **

 Frankenstein was angry right now.

 Well, it was really hard for him to not to get angry after seeing Muzaka was chatting with his master happily. While Raizel was looking at him with his usual calm expression, Muzaka was telling him about the events he had experienced while traveling around the world. He seemed to have a lot fun from this events. Frankenstein frowned, suddenly a tired face flashed in his mind. He was wondered if Muzaka have been thinking about Garda in those times that he had been enjoying. He wanted to laugh because the answer was too obvious.

 Muzak lay down on the sofa after finished his talking. He started to watching the ceiling, there was a small smile on his face. He looked like to thinking something that give him joy.

 “Why don’t you travel around the world with me, my friend?” he asked. Frankenstein sighed after hearing the ridiculous question. He really think that my master is as feckless as him, he thought discontentedly but after what he saw, his eyes widened bewilderedly.

 Raizel looked so sad.

 “Would you like to travel with me? It will be funny, I promise,” Muzaka said. Frankenstein didn’t want to hear the answer that he already guess.

 Raizel nodded to Muzaka’s offer. Actually, Frankenstein also wanted to his master to go outside and enjoy the weather. He wanted his master to learn that the world was bigger than the one he watched through the window but of course, not with Lord Muzaka. With him, Raizel might be in danger while traveling the world. It was clear that Frankenstein can’t trust Muzaka at all. Of course, he couldn’t say it to Lord Muzaka’s face directly, moreover Raizel was in here and he couldn’t risk the break Lord Muzaka’s, his master’s only friend, heart in front of Raizel. He had doubts if he have a heart though. If he had a heart, he would be ashamed of Garda’s situation and at least try to become a decent Lord.

“Will you stay here?” Raizel asked. Frankenstein closed his eyes. Please, don’t stay here, he wished.

 “I plan to stay for a few months, I hope it won’t make you feel uncomfortable,” he respond and threw a look at Frankenstein’s corner. Frankenstein could feel that he is enjoying this situation.

 “Lord Muzaka, your aide came here a few months ago,” he was bring Garda up in the conversation to spoil his entertainment. And as his expected, Muzaka’s smile was wiped away after hearing what he said.

 “My aide? Did you mean Garda?” Frankenstein nodded.

 “Yes. She said you have to be in your home. Also she looked very tired to add more.” Muzaka straighten up from the sofa and frowned. It was clear that he looks guilty as he should have been. Frankenstein would be feel happy if he bring him to his senses.

 He should have been in his home instead of here.

 “Thank you for telling me Frankenstein, I think I have to go. After all, Garda has come this far.” Frankenstein smiled at him with a fake smile.

 “It’s a good decision,” he said. “I am sure Garda will be happy! I will be seeing you off.” Thank God! He thought. Muzaka took a look at him before turned to his friend.

 “I’m going, my friend. Take care.”

 “You too,” Raizel said.

 Muzaka nodded and left the room and Frankenstein followed him with a smile that show his victory...

[shadowthrone-ammanas]

Ghost Kid Chapter Fifteen: Books

Surprisingly all Hat Kid had to do to get Snatcher to take her to the library again was ask. And even more surprisingly, he barely even complained before teleporting them there.

It was again very cool and fascinating to look around at the large books in their giant bookcases, lit only by the occasional magic candle. And it was a secret! She never would’ve even guessed such a place existed if Snatcher hadn’t told her about it and brought her here. It had to be underground somewhere, right? But what part of the rather large forest was it under? She’d probably never know and didn’t need to.

“I want to read the books you mentioned the other day about the Moonjumper guy,” she said, titling her head up to look at Snatcher. Moonjumper hadn’t appeared to her since that time but it was probably only a matter of time before she saw him again. “And then I want to find a good fiction book. … Can I borrow multiple books at once? You know I’m super careful and responsible with them now, right?”

Snatcher sighed as he moved them to different part of the library. “Fine.” He pulled three books off the shelf and handed them to her, shrinking them while he was at it. “Here are the books that mention that asshole. They’re not super informative so don’t expect much. One of them is particularly bad for other reasons but it’s whatever, I’m sure you won’t care.”

One of the books was a book about folklore, presumably Moonjumper was one of them. The other two seemed to be about powerful beings in general. The folklore book looked almost new.

“Thank you,” Hat Kid said, looking back up at him. “And now a fun book too?” She didn’t want to push her luck but reading the history book revealed to her that while nonfiction was good and informative, fiction was more fun and therefore better to relax with.

“Yes, fine, go find one. If I didn’t need to get it down for you, I’d let you run off but ugh… whatever, make it fast.”

Hat Kid smiled at him before running off, leaving him to follow.

***

It was dumb but Snatcher was glad to see Hat Kid so excited about books and reading. He’d converted her into being a book nerd, just like him. Not as much but given enough time perhaps so. Now if he could get her interested in law too…

Nope, that wasn’t something he should care about because he certainly wasn’t going to teach her law or anything else. Hat Kid was a nuisance. One he had to put up with because she was a ghost and ghosts weren’t tolerated many places outside of Subcon Forest. So he was stuck with her. He shouldn’t care that he’d got her into books and most certainly shouldn’t be considering trying to get her into other things too. She was nothing to him… or least that’s how things were supposed to be.

Maybe the thing she’d said Moonjumper had said about his feelings for her was right? He did use to want a kid one day, specifically a daughter. … Nope! That was when he was alive. He was barely the same person anymore. The only desire of his that was the same as when he’d been alive was the desire to rule over and protect his people. That was a princely/ruler thing though, all his personal desires were different. These days all he wanted on a personal level was more souls to eat and to be left alone by everyone else.

“What’s your favourite book?” Hat Kid asked, pulling his gaze back down to her. “Fiction book,” she added as he opened his mouth to name his favourite law book – the one he wrote because he was biased and not ashamed to admit it.

Coming up with his favourite fiction book was a lot harder. … He could think of a lot of good ones, some of the not suitable for a child to read though both in level and content so… “Are you asking out of curiosity or for a recommendation?”

“Both.”

“Hmmm…” He listed off a string of book titles that undoubtedly meant nothing to her. He didn’t even bother trying to come up with books that would be suitable for her, just listed all the good ones that came to his mind.

“You can go on about this for a long time, can’t you?” Hat Kid eventually cut in.

“I’ve read a lot of books kid, asking me for a favourite or a recommendation probably isn’t a good idea.” Especially since he didn’t yet know what kind of books she actually liked. “I could lecture you about the law for hours on end too if you want.” Or a myriad other things, he’d been an avid scholar back in the day and still was in a way. He had a lot of knowledge about a lot of different things.

“Um, as interesting as sitting through long lectures about the law sounds, no thanks. Give me a book with aliens in it though. I want to know what you guys think beings from outer space might be like.”

Snatcher shrugged and teleported the first book he could think of that fit that criteria to hover in the air in front of her, shrinking it down to normal size in the process. Her face lit up.

“It’s got a pretty cover,” she said as she grabbed it and placed it on top of stack of books.

“Yeah, it’s a collector’s edition so don’t you dare damage it.” If she hadn’t already proven herself trustworthy with his books, he wouldn’t have ever dreamed of lending it to her.

“I won’t, I promise. Thank you for letting me borrow your books.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” He’d brought her mostly as an excuse to visit his library. His ability to just teleport the books to himself meant he didn’t have cause to visit it often. He should try to make a point to do that more just for the sake of it.

“But um… you can change your size and stuff, will I be able to do that soon if I eat enough souls? And what about changing the size of other things? Like you do with your books. Because if I have enough magic to do that then I can take my own books off the shelf and all you have to do is take me here and get me out.”

“I don’t know if I’d trust you alone in my library.” It would make it easier on him though. “But yeah, in theory after you eat enough souls you should be able to do those things. I don’t know how many so don’t ask. You have your books now though and it should keep you occupied for a while so we’re done here.”

Before she could protest, he teleported them back to the surface and into his large reading hollow. “Now shoo.” He made a shooing gesture towards her as he settled into his chair and teleported a book to himself to read.

“Okay, see you later. And uh… you still need to teach me how to snatch souls sometimes so don’t forget. Bye!” She waved before turning to leave.

He scowled after her as she floated off towards her ship. He hadn’t promised though, he’d said maybe. Even if internally he’d known that meant ‘yes’, she shouldn’t know that so she shouldn’t presume it to be so. Maybe he wouldn’t teach her after all. … Though really, it depended on how he felt when a teaching opportunity came up.

***

Without fixing the ship to occupy her anymore, Hat Kid sat on her bed to read. She was starting to take after Snatcher, huh? Reading because she didn’t have anything else to do and enjoying it. Who knew books could be so much fun? She would have to try to get her TV and game system working again soon too though. Maybe she could even convince Snatcher to play videogames with her. She couldn’t really imagine him doing it but it’d be tons of fun if he did.

For now though, she placed her stack of books on the bedside table. She put the pretty alien book aside and put the other three on her bed in front of her. She’d read all of them but for now, she was going to read the parts about Moonjumper.

A couple hours later

Snatcher had been right, they weren’t exactly the most informative. The sections on Moonjumper in all three books weren’t long and were almost entirely speculative in nature. There were only two things all three books agreed on. The first was that Moonjumper liked to cause mischief, sometimes very harmful and bad, other times just harmless confusion and mild annoyance. The second was that he interacted with the physical world by stealing a body from a dying person and that his presence corrupted the body until it was no longer inhabitable at which point he got a new one.

What he was exactly, where he came from and even whether or not he was native to this planet were all unknowns. The books didn’t even speculate much, mostly just stating that no one knew nor was anyone likely to ever find out because Moonjumper apparently talked to very few people and had never revealed that information nor did he seem likely to. It was dumb.

Hat Kid could possibly ask him and maybe get some information. But… after that first time she’d talked to him she really didn’t want to because he might start telling her things for the sole purpose of being upsetting again. She didn’t trust him one bit. So with an annoyed sigh she picked up one of the books again. While looking through the table of contents, she’d seen a chapter about Snatcher that she wanted to read. The folklore book had such a chapter too. It was unlikely that she’d learn any new information but whatever, it shouldn’t take too long to read anyway.

An hour later

She slammed the folk lore book shut with a scowl. She couldn’t believe how inaccurate it’s chapter about Snatcher was. It claimed that he’d worked with Vanessa to freeze the forest, killing everything so he could take control of it all. It was a disgusting lie, how could they possibly suggest such a thing? The other book had at least had the decency to say no one knew where the Snatcher – called the Soul Snatcher at one point before it had gotten shortened in part due to the fact that he occasionally snatched other things too – had come from.

It did call to mind the question of why no one remembered the prince, aka Lukas, anymore but Vanessa’s name was still well known. Of course part of that had to do with the fact that Vanessa was still alive – effectively anyway, it was hard to tell for sure, though it was possible with magic. But… why had Snatcher been so persistent about erasing his past as the prince? So much so that no one even knew his name anymore and people confused him for having allied with Vanessa when she’d killed an entire kingdom’s worth of people?

Well, his past wasn’t a good one. Maybe he was just… burying it because he wanted to pretend it never happened. Hat Kid wasn’t an expert on such things but she was pretty sure that that wasn’t a healthy way to deal with that kind of stuff. … She’d give him a hug later, maybe help him feel a bit better.

Previous / Next

[ladyramora]

Together again

Shadowbringers spoilers.

Submitted by: @lolzwaitwhat

Ramora and Y'shtola walked deeper into Rak'tika Greatwood,  following a path of bright blue flowers that glowed in the shadows of the trees towards Yx'Maja, the taller of the duo scanning the area while the shorter stroked at the medallion that was to help them gain safe passage, her eyes searching for a people who had cut off all contact to the outside world centuries ago.

Thancred, Minfillia and Urianger hung farther back, their eyes searching through the wood as well, although as to what they were keeping their eyes open for, Ramora could only guess.

Since coming to this world, she had found that the one who had brought her here hadn’t realized they had pulled another warrior of light through and had no idea where she was. He knew where everyone else had popped up, as he had many people looking out for them as well as letting the Scions here know if one of their friends had slipped into the world as well and could look for them, but he had no idea where Lolz was. 

She and the others had been searching for her while killing the light wardens that plagued these lands, but had not seen her anywhere. Y'shtola assured her that those who entered this part of the forest without permission or proof that they were trustworthy were often killed on sight, so it would be highly unlikely that Lolz would have stayed, even if this had been where she had arrived, but Ramora had a feeling deep in her gut that the last of her lost companions was close as they continued forward.

Suddenly they heard arrows and she and the nimble Miqo'te leapt backwards to avoid them, the heavy heads landing with powerful thuds into the ground where they had just been.

“‘twould seem we have found them.” Y'shtola purred, pleased that they had found the group they had been looking for, her head held high to look up at three armed vii wearing a sort of uniform armor. The one in the middle held a bow, most likely the one who had given them their warm welcome, the one on her right had a staff and the one on her left welded a spear.

“You tresspass on sacred grounds.” The one in the middle said, her tone powerful with a hint of an accent that made Ramora perk up a bit, a bit enamored as the vii ordered them to “Begone!” As she unleashed a volley of arrows into the air.

Ramora didn’t even have the time to be impressed with her ability to shoot so many arrows at once when she felt her stomach tense at the sight of so many arrows falling towards them and quickly grabbed at her weapon.

Only to watch as something pink flew towards the arrows from behind them and knocked them away before standing, revealing a female with a short stature, pink hair and a lack of bunny ears stand between their group and the vii, wearing the same armor as the bunny girls in the tree, a fan in each hand and no staff to be seen.

“Is-is that?” Thancred began.

“Lolz?” Ramora murmured, stiff with shock.

The figured turned and then gave them a sweet smile, “You’re fucking late again, Rammy."Lolz told her.

"TRAITOR!” The one with the spear bellowed at their savior, “THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US AFTER WE TOOK YOU IN AS OUR SISTER?!”

“Well, to be fair.” Lolz said as she lowered her stance, “These guys became like family to me before you guys did.”

the one with the spear let out a roar before leaping to the ground before charging at them.

“Wait, we did not come to-!” Y'shtola began, only for the Vii to knock her off of her feet and for Lolz to began to fight her one on one, fans verses spear.

“I never thought I’d see the day that Lolz fights with anything other than magic!” Thancred laughed as he used his sword to stop more incoming arrows from striking him or Minfillia.

“Indeed.” Urianger agreed, his tone light and somewhat amused, “If I recall, you have often said that in a battle, you prefer magic over might.”

“that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to fight without magic!” she blurted, somewhat annoyed at their shock as she fought, “I just like magic better!”

Y'shtola looked up at the two other Vii still standing in the tree, “Please, we mean you no harm!” And then held up the medallion to them.

The vii with the spear stop mid strike and stared at it in awe as Y'shtola told them that they were allied with the kingdom of Ronka and that they carried the seal of the emperor.

The vii on the ground began dashing around her squinting at it at all angles.

“For the love of-” Lolz groaned, “Just ask her if you can take a closer look already!" 

The vii stiffened at the command before sheepishly motioning to the medallion, Y'shtola handed it to her and she began doing a proper inspection.

Ramora finally managed to take a few steps towards her no longer lost friend, "You’re-you’re okay…”

“It appears to be GENUINE!” The spear one cried happily.

Ramora heard muffled voices from above as she took another step closer, her eyes watering as she did so.

“Are you okay?” she asked, “Because Your eyes are all shiny and it’s not the happy 'I’m gonna ride tonight’ kinda shiny…” Ramora pulled her tiny friend into a big, tight hug before she could say anymore and started to cry.

Lolz looked towards the others, who seemed to mirror her shock before she sighed and rubbed her back, “Glad you guys are okay too-” she then paused and looked to the others, “Wait a bloody second here, aren’t you three supposed to be out for the count?!” she cried, her free hand moving to point at the three who, last she saw, had been souless husks in rooms back at their base.

But before anyone could answer, the archer of the trio called out, “We acknowledge your seal, but we must be certain of it’s authenticity! Follow the azure flowers to our village, there we will judge if you are friend or foe.” She then seemed to narrow her eyes on the non-vii wearing their armor, “That goes for you too, Lolz.”

“That’s fair.” She complied, “Need me to pick up any extra food for tonight on the way back?”

The archer let out a huff, “You seem confident that your deeds will be forgiven. Or are you trying to bribe us?”

“Confident.” She replied, “Vii aren’t the kind who can be swayed with bribes.”

The archer gave her a small smile before motioning for the other two to join her and then they left. The group waited a beat before Ramora finally let go of her friend and wiped at her face as she regained her composure.

“And how, dare I ask, do you know what kind of people the Vii are?” Y'shtola asked.

“Oh, the village elder back home is a Viera, she used to babysit me all the time when I was little. I used to make her all sorts of little accessories and stuff and she’d teach me about Viera culture and how to fight with fans and basic self defense.” Lolz explained, then rubbed at her shoulder, “She’s also the reason I prefer magic to might, harder to get your ass handed to you when you’re sending blasts of magic at your enemy from a distance.”

“Couldn’t an archer attack from a distance as well?” Minfilla asked her.

“Arrows and bullets can be sent back to the source if you know how to do it.” she mumbled, then motioned towards the path of glowing flowers, “come on, the village isn’t too far and I helped the little ones hunt for a bit this morning, so there should be plenty to eat when we get there, even if we don’t see anything on the way.”

“I must say, you must have quite a diverse culture on this island of yours.” Y'shtola chuckled.

“That’s a nice way of putting it.” She replied, making them chuckle.

Ramora watched in rapt attention as the last friend she’d lost led the way to the vii village, the words their group spoke seeming to be lost to the sounds of the forest and the glow of the flowers, her heart feeling light (no pun intended)

She would probably bombard Lolz with questions later and had no doubt she had questions of her own, but for now, it was just nice having all her friends back.

Lolz note: Yay! Rammy has all her friends back now! 

I kinda felt bad about how I made Ramora cry in alone and when I learned she had abandonment issues… so yeah, I kept trying to think of how I could have them reunite. Then while I was playing the main story of Shadowbringers I was watching the scene where we meet the vii, I was like, hmmm, yeah, Lolz would have the kind of luck where she’d get stuck with the antisocial bunny girls who try to kill anyone who ends up in their forest without any armor or weapons… or clothes for that matter.

Also, I headcanon that Lolz had no idea she was in an entirely different world until Y'shtola explains it to her.

Why is that? Well, she woke up naked and without her bag or weapons and figured the possessed Zenos stole all her stuff and stripped her and left her in some far off place to either die or to keep her busy enough to pull a Thancred so he could do as he pleased without her interfering and upseting Ramora in the process. When she saw Vii running around, she knew she was far away from where she had been, although not much else than that, and threw a shit fit about how she was going to fucking kill the next Ascian she saw for this, but she had no idea she was in the First and not the Source since Vii and Viera have such similar cultures. And as for the Lighteaters, she just figured they were just dangerous and unfortunately common place monsters in the area as her old Viera babysitter never told her about the local monsters she dealt with growing up.

Also, Lolz has another shit fit after finding out she’s been in another world this whole time and is pissed that she couldn’t have come into this world with at least some clothes. “I HAD TO MAKE CLOTHES OUT OF DEER SKIN AND POISON IVY! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG A POISON IVY RASH LASTS, RAMMY?!”

“I’m honestly more curious where you got the rash.”

“NONE OF YOUR BLOODY BUSINESS!!”

You don’t have to post this one, I just wanted to give you a follow up story that has a happy ending after making Ramora cry in Alone. sorry if it’s not as good as the last one but I really wanted to share this with you. 

[leonthecardboardunicorn]

The Frozen Heart- Chapter 3

First Chapter

Previous

Pairing: Vain x Liz

Summary: Felix’s new plan is to steal the power of the Dragon of Time. Trying to stop him, we land in the future?! It looks like we’ll have to work with Vain if we want to get back to our own time!

'The future'. For so long, we'd lived in fear of bringing about that terrible future in which the sky had fallen. The world in which the Dragonkin had returned and burned the world to cinders in vengeance. Now- now, we had landed right in the middle of it. 'This can't be happening- it can't-'

"Liz, it's okay, it's okay," Hugo said gently.

"This is not unfamiliar territory to us," Vain assured me. "No matter what, we will keep you safe." I eased a little at their reassurance.

"Don't think you're getting out of this!" Zeus barreled over to Vain. "Do you think we'll just up and trust you when we don't even know the first thing about you?"

"Zeus, don't just go barrelling in!" Lucious scolded.

"But it's true that we don't know you," Alfonse said. "To us, you just showed up right outside the tower.."

"Very well." He sighed, as cool as could be. "Ask away. I will answer what I can."

"Well, for starters," Zeus asked, "who are you anyway?"

My heart was in my throat as I watched them; I wondered if I should speak up- "My name is Vain; like Hugo, I have come from the future- this future- to stop the threat of the Dragonkin." Hugo nodded, coming to stand at his side. Both of their expressions were carefully blank, not giving away anything, and I was reminded of when I'd first met them.

"Wait, then you've been here-" Alfonse caught himself, "er, in our timeline- this whole time?"

"If you've been working with Hugo," Klaus asked, "then how is it this is the first time we're meeting?"

"I have been working behind the scenes to help you," he said. "Although you may not have seen me, I do believe you all know my familiar." He turned and scooped up Mischa in his arms, eliciting cries of shock from the others.

"No way, you're Mischa's master?"

"Correct. Now then, if you're all finished with your questions, we should get a move on. This isn't exactly the best place to stay."

"Oh." I hadn't even thought about it, but we were right out in the open. If any of their enemies should see us, we'd be in a lot of trouble.

"Where were will we go?"

Vain and Hugo exchanged a look, and Hugo nodded. "Back to base, then; from there, we'll be able to return to your timeline." He turned and started heading off, Hugo following shortly after him.

"So, what, we're just supposed to follow him?" Zeus asked.

Klaus sighed. "I don't think we have any other option for now. It's safer to follow and see where they lead." Even Zeus, grumbling, agreed with that, so we all followed after him- off into the future. Who knew what awaited us there?

Of course, as we started walking, Vain quickly became the topic of discussion. "Man, can you believe this guy?" Zeus ranted as we walked. "Coming out of nowhere and bossing us around.."

I looked up ahead. Vain and Hugo were leading the way, quietly discussing something, leaving the rest to follow behind them.

"I can't believe that there's been another time traveler all of this time," Caesar said a sigh. "I guess we should have asked Mischa more about him."

"He may be a little.. shady," I said, "but he's a trustworthy person."

"You say that like you know him," Lucious commented.

"Well.." I looked away, unsure of what to say. But, apparently, my silence was enough.

"What? What do you mean that you already knew him?" I quickly covered Lucious's mouth; Vain shot a glare over at him. "Sorry.." Vain turned back to Hugo, muttering something about a 'noisy bunch'.

"I've run into him a few times," I admitted;

"When was this?" Zeus asked.

"Do you remember the case with the General?" As I saw them put the pieces together, I decided not to mention the first time I'd met him. Not exactly the best first impression. Of course, not that this was exactly the best first impression either.

"I've met him a few times as well, when I stood at Felix's side," Willem said. When I glanced over at him, I saw that he was doing better, regaining his color. "We nearly came to blows at the factory, truth be told; that power of his is quite something."

"Ugh, just when I thought I was starting to understand what's going on."

A few hours later, Vain and Hugo stopped. "It's still a long ways to the base," Vain said. "We should make camp here for tonight."

"Are you sure this is a safe place?" Klaus asked. "This is a very open area."

"It'll have to do for now; there isn't much cover for miles around." The others begrudgingly agreed, and we all got to work setting up camp.

'This isn't how I imagined coming to the future,' I thought. I'll admit, the thought of coming to the future had crossed my mind once or twice, but I'd always thought of what I could do to help. Though I'd carried my bag with me when we'd gone into the forest, I didn't have nearly what I thought I'd bring. I thought I could give them seeds or food.

With all of us working together, we quickly had set up camp, and we had a small campfire going. I saw the others casting glances at Hugo and Vain, talking in low voices. "I wonder what they're talking about.." Alfonse said.

"Little prince, Baroque, come here for a minute," Vain called out. "You too, little bunny."

"Little prince?" Lucious grumbled as he went over to where the brothers were sitting. "What is it?"

"We'll need disguises for the three of you," he said. "As the leaders of the resistance and the Goddess of Time, the three of you would be almost instantly recognized."

"What do you want us to do? We didn't exactly bring a change of clothes.."

"What you're wearing now is fine.” Luckily, none of us were wearing our uniforms. Vain looked thoughtful for a moment, then he took off his cloak, handing it to Lucious. "Little prince, use this to cover yourself." Lucious took the cloak, fastening it around his head like a hood. I could just make out his eyes peeking out from under the hood; Caesar let out a little laugh.

"The fiersome leader of the resistance-"

"Shut up, Caesar!"

As Vain talked to Caesar, I noticed Hugo slipping off his scarf, tying it over his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Although I am known to the people of your timeline, it is dangerous for me to go without a mask here," he said. "Since I lost my mask in your timeline, this'll have to do."

"Will you be able to see through there?" I asked, waving my hand.

"I can see you doing that," he pointed out, and I put my hand at my side.

"And as for you, little bunny." Vain turned to me, studying me for a moment. "I doubt the people will recognize your face, but the legends do speak a little of the appearance of the Goddess. You have a.. distinctive look, after all."

"Hmm.. What if I took my hair down?" I said.

"That should work." I pulled the ties from my hair, letting it fall freely down my shoulders, and I saw the other's eyes widen for a moment. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"It's nothing- nothing-" Vain quickly got to his feet. "I need to speak to Willem." He breezed past us.

'What was that about?'

And another thought occurred to me, one that I can't say didn't trouble me, no matter how much I tried to push it aside. 'Why am I the only one who didn't have to cover their face?'

That night, though I tried to sleep, troubled dreams followed me. Finally, I gave up on sleep. 'Perhaps I'll just take the next watch..' A beautiful humming caught my ear, and I found myself following the sound.

My heart leaped into my throat at the sight. Vain was sitting by himself, humming as he combed his long hair, now free from its ponytail; his long hair seemed to shine in the moonlight.

'He's so beautiful..'

He looked up, and I froze, but he just smiled. "Couldn't sleep, little bunny?"

"Yeah. I.." I shook my head. "Bad dreams." Even now, the details of my dream seemed hazy, but I just remembered a brilliant, blinding light. Luckily, he didn't press me on that. "Mind if I sit with you?"

"Go ahead." I took a seat next to him, and we sat in silence for a little while.

"Is it your turn to keep watch?" I asked idly.

"Technically, Willem is. I tried to tell him he could go and sleep when he got up, but he refused. He'd probably tell you the same." He shook his head. "Stubborn dragon.." I glanced over, and I saw Willem sitting by himself, watching the horizon. "Since I was up already, I thought I'd take the moment to take care of personal things." He gestured with the comb in his hand. It was strange to see this powerful time traveler doing something so mundane like combing his hair. He was so at peace, and I felt like my nerves were on fire.

"It's a little surprising. This is all so.. terrifying to me," I admitted. "I've traveled a bit, but not like this. Not in a world filled with such.. danger. Camping like this, taking turns keeping watch- And yet you seem so at ease here."

"That's just because it's new to you," he said. "But this is my domain. I've spent most of my life traveling like this. If I never did anything for myself while traveling, I'd never do it at all."

My heart ached. "That's right, this is your life.." I would be able to go home soon, but he'd had to endure this for so long. "I'm sorry."

“No need to apologize.”

I watched him again, “Hey, Vain, can I comb your hair?” I blurted out without thinking. “It just looks very soft-”

Did I really just say that? Great, maybe the future had some rocks I could crawl under..

To my surprise, he handed me the comb. “Be my guest.” Oddly enough, I did feel a little better.

"Why did you grow your hair out?" I asked. "Surely, it's a hassle. I know I have a lot of hassle with mine.."

"Oh, it is, but you could say it's my major vanity." He smiled a bit at his own joke, but his tone grew somber. "..My father had long hair just like this. It's.. the only thing I can remember of him." He let out a bitter laugh. "I can't even remember his face, but I remember that."

Oh. Hugo had mentioned them in passing, but that was the first time I'd really heard about their parents. "I'm sorry." My heart ached as faint memories of my parents played in my mind. "I know how that feels. When I try to remember mine, I.." I tried to speak, but the words came out. He didn't press me, so we sat in silence for a while.

Finally, I pulled away, handing him back his comb. "There you go. All done."

"Thank you," he said with a smile, tying back his hair in his usual style. And he suddenly turned to me, gently touching my hair.

“I know this all seems scary now. But you have no reason to fear. We will protect you.” My heart was in my throat as I looked up at him."Why don't you try to get some sleep, little bunny? I'll try to see if Willem's ready to hand over the watch."

Strangely, after that, I slept a lot easier.

Not too far from the time travelers, a figure in a hooded cloak wandered through the scorched land. "Let's see what this timeline holds for me.."

[schrijverr]

Professor Elric?

After The Promised Day Edward is sent on a miliary mission to Hogwarts where he will teach Alchemy to his students. He is told not to interfere with their business, but he has a hard time not getting involved with this weird Voldy prick.

On AO3.

Ships: Rons crush on Hermoine implied, Eds crush on Winry implied.

Warnings: none

Chapter 8 out of 10

~~~~~~~~~~~

After Edward returns to Hogwarts time passes in a bit of a blur. His student are getting better and better at Alchemy, some are even fast enough to throw up a wall in the middle of fighting. He does get kind of busy against the end of the school year. He has exams, O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts to make and Umbridge to avoid. He doesn’t know what her problem is, but he does know she wants to ask him about something Alchemy related and he’s not in the mood to answer her.

It’s about a month before the exams begin that Hermione approached him after class and asks him if she can ask him something without him running to Umbridge. Without missing a beat, he told her: “I hate her, stupid Umbitch. Ask away.”

She actually snorted at the name Umbitch, then she said: “We’ve been holding these meetings, about Defense Against the Dark Arts, because Umbridge isn’t teaching us and I was thinking about what you said and I was hoping you could stop by and give us some hand to hand combat training or even just strategy training, since you’re military and all. You don’t have to, just don’t tell anyone.”

He just laughs and says: “That’s amazing. A rebellion in the hole of the lion, she’d never expect that. I’d love to come, but you must not tell me a lot of details. The more I know the more dangerous it is. Just tell me when and where to meet you and I’ll see you there, okay?”

Hermoine smiles: “Of course, sir.”

Then she writes something down on a piece of paper before giving it to him and running of. He watched her go and shook his head, kids these days were crazy. Then he realized he was one of these kids and he had done some crazy stuff so it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

~

“Hi, I’m Harry. Harry Potter.” the black haired boy said as he shook Edwards hand.

Edward nodded and said: “Oh, yeah, I heard of you. Still kind of dumb of Voldemort to kill you with a spell to be honest. Just dropping you out of the window would be more effective.”

If the boy had expected anything it wasn’t that, but he didn’t seem to mind. He looked around and saw a mirror with a note on it, it read ‘Dumbledore’s Army’. He looks back at Harry and says: “You wan to be an army leader?”

He shook his head: “No, sir, but no one is taking Voldemort seriously, so we have to.”

“Yeah, adults are pretty stupid, but I have to say Wizard Adults take the cake.” Edward answered.

The rest of the DA had been following their interaction closely, so Edward didn’t have to do much to get their attention. He just turned to them and said: “You are training here to fight. In a fight the key to success is knowing the weakness of your enemy. You are planning to fight Voldemort from what I hear, so what is his weakness?”

A girl with ginger hair said: “He doesn’t have any, he’s one of the most powerful wizards there are. He’s only afraid of Dumbledore.”

He snapped his finger and pointed at her: “You have just told me two weaknesses.”

He got some confused looks back, so he explained: “You said he’s afraid of Dumbledore, try to get him there when you fight. You also said he’s a powerful wizard. The better you are at something, the more you rely on it.”

Still not everyone understood him. He went on: “If you fight him with something other than magic he won’t know how to respond. Tell me, what is a spell you know to stop a bullet?”

It stayed quiet, but they did give each other some looks. “How would you stop a spear coming at you? Would you know what to do if someone came at you with a knife? If you can make a sudden wall appear how would that change the fight? It would block a spell, give you cover and hide you from view.”

Everyone was starting to understand where he was going with this. He said: “Try to think outside the magic box you’ve created. I see some of my students, they’ve had hand-to-hand combat training and they know Alchemy. From what I see, you guys are way behind on Alchemy. He won’t know how to counter it.”

He saw Dean raise his hand, he smiled as he saw that he trained his kids right. When he acknowledged him he asked: “How can we ever hope to contact Dumbledore quickly?”

“For Gods sake, someone give him a phone. What have you wizards got against them? I got a phone in my office, just use a damn phone!” he said.

“I don’t think he knows how to use a phone.” Harry said.

“That is a good argument, think of something else, something or someone that can move quickly.” he already had an answer, but he wasn’t going to spell everything out for them, so he just gave Hermione a telling look.

She frowned for a second, then her face cleared up as she said: “We could ask one of the house-elves to deliver a message to him. I know them, because of my work with S.P.E.W.!”

Edward gave her a smile and a thumbs-up. She grinned back and he saw a ginger boy glaring at him from behind her. He rolled his eyes and shrugged, he wasn’t after Hermione, he thought Winry and he had something going on, maybe. He didn’t want to push, not after everything she endured for him and Al.

“See, you all don’t even need me and it is dangerous for me to know shit. Umbridge has her ways and I don’t want to tell her anything, but I have no way to counter sneaky magic. It’s better if I know little.” he said, “I can write down my number, call me if you all decide to do something stupid and listen to what I just told you.”

He scribbled his number down and gave it to Harry. He said: “I know what they tell you, but you are a kid, it’s okay to not listen to grown-ups when they tell you to be an instrument of war. I sold myself as a dog to the military when I was twelve. I never was kid and I never will be, but you still can. You don’t have to sacrifice that, alright?”

Harry muttered a thanks, it was obvious he didn’t know what to do with Edwards statement. It pined him to know that this boy didn’t know anything else besides playing a part in Voldemorts defeat. After that he said goodbye and quietly slipped into the corridor.

~

Harry was turning the cellphone Fred and George had gotten him in his hands. He only had one number saved on it, Mister Elrics. He thought back on what he had told him when he came by the DA meeting.

It seemed preposterous to even think about not fighting Voldemort, but the more he thought about it the more appeal it got. He would just get to focus on learning, playing quidditch and laughing with friends. He could go live with Sirius and do dumb shit with him, stuff he had always wanted to do with some sort of father-figure when he was young, like eating a lot of ice-cream on his birthday, just because. He wouldn’t have to worry about the entire Wizarding world, even though everyone seemed convinced he had to save them all, be a hero. He was Harry, just Harry. So, why did he have to carry that responsibility?

He twirled the phone again, then he put it away in his trunk, then decided it would be better to carry it, so he slipped it into the pocket of his school pants. He would worry about that later.

~

He didn’t have time to think, because everything went to shit. The DA was discovered, Dumbledore disappeared, Hagrid had to escape barely getting away while Professor McGonagall had to be taken to St. Mungo’s and on top of that he has his O.W.Ls. It’s all a bit much and before he could talk about all this with a rational adult, like Mister Elric, he got this dream. Sirius was in danger.

He tried to be rational, but Sirius wasn’t there when he’d tried to contact him through the Floo Network and he doesn’t know if Snape understood his message. Then he’s in the forest and Umbridge was getting kidnapped by centaurs. And Grawp was there and it’s chaos, but he and Hermione managed to escape.

Before he knew it he’s in the air on a Thestral and they are on their way to the Ministry. He knew that they needed to contact an adult, a trustworthy adult, who knows what to do. He wondered how, but then he remembered the phone in his pocket, he could call Mister Elric.

The phone rings twice before he heard: “This is Colonel Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, speaking. Who is calling a government line?”

It sounded mechanical, like he has said it a hundred times before, Harry thought that it was quite funny, but he had more things to worry about. Panicked he said into the phone: “It’s Harry, sir. I don’t know what- it all happened so soon and we’re, we’re- uhm, I’m on, uhm.”

“Just speak clearly, what happened, where are you and where are you going?” Mister Elric ordered.

It helped and Harry replied: “We’re on our way to the Ministry, I think my godfather, Sirius, is in danger. Voldemort has him. We’re currently in the air. Umbridge found us in her office, we were trying to contact him.”

Mister Elric cursed, but stayed level headed, which Harry appreciated. He said: “Just keep going, find out what’s happening. I’ll meet you there, don’t do anything stupid.”

“Yes, sir.” Harry replied.

The phone beeped, Mister Elric was gone and they were flying to danger. Harry wondered why this always happened to him.

~

Edward didn’t know how those kids managed to get into this shit, but he did know he had to help them. He knew he wouldn’t get there on time by car, hell he didn’t even know where the Ministry was. He went through his colleagues and tried to figure out who could help him, none stuck out.

Then he remembered the house-elves, they had become quite close, especially since Edward found out where the kitchen was. He made odd hours, so it was nice that he could just come in and get a bit of food. They also knew a lot and were happy to talk to him about their knowledge which had been handy when he was trying to figure out the Wizarding World.

He started running like a madman. He was sprinting through the hallways without any regard for people and the layout of the school. He was pushing people out of the way and creating doorways where necessary. He skidded to a halt in front of the painting and tickled the stupid pear. The door flung open and he quickly ran inside.

He startled a bunch of house-elves when he stormed inside. One named Kraddy he knew best and luckily for him he was right by the door. He knelt and said: “I need you help, you have to take me to the Ministry and I need someone to get a message to Dumbledore.”

Krabby looked back with eyes as big as plates and said: “Uhm, I might be able to take you to the Ministry, but we don’t know where Dumbledore is, but an owl might be able to find him.”

“That’s great! Do you have some paper and a pen?” Edward said.

Soon he was sitting at a table trying to write Dumbledore a message with a feather and some ink. He hoped it was a bit legible, but he didn’t have time to do it over. He gave the letter to another elf named Dobby and thanked him again, before turning to Krabby and letting the elf whisk him away.

After a vomit inducing experience Edward never wanted to repeat again they were in central London next to a red phone booth. He gave Krabby a questioning look, but the elf just ushered him into the booth and told him it was the visitors entrance to the Ministry.

Krabby fiddled with the phone a bit and then they slowly started to decent, emphasis on slowly. Edward was urging the booth to move faster with a bit creative language. After what seemed an eternity they touched down, he sped out of the booth, but changed his mind and turned around.

“Go back to Hogwarts, Krabby. It’s dangerous here.” he said, when Krabby nodded that he understood Edward ran, he had a group of idiots to find.

[awkward-toshinori]

Hey Yo, can I get all 200 asks for the ask meme thing? Please and thank you!

Absolutely

200: My crush’s name is:

Horia

199: I was born in:

Romania

198: I am really:

friendly and trustworthy

197: My cellphone company is:

Digi

196: My eye color is:

Aqua Blue

195: My shoe size is:

7,5

194: My ring size is:

20?? hell if i know tbh

193: My height is:

5′7

192: I am allergic to:

nothing

191: My 1st car was:

I can’t drive yet!!

190: My 1st job was:

No jobs yikes :c

189: Last book you read:

Sword of Destiny!!

188: My bed is:

messy and full of plushies

187: My pet:

no pets but ahh  my baby plant

186: My best friend:

I’ve got tons of them and I’m pretty sure they know themselves

185: My favorite shampoo is:

ah I don’t really have any preferences

184: Xbox or ps3:

*big gasp* ps3

183: Piggy banks are:

They’re superb but I would feel so bad about wrecking one

182: In my pockets:

Glasses tissues

181: On my calendar:

uh there’s nothing noted yet

180: Marriage is:

Something quiet amazing and lovely, at least from my point

179: Spongebob can:

aww man I don’t watch spongebob

178: My mom:

is shorther than me, that’s for sure

177: The last three songs I bought were?

I didn’t buy any songs but I did buy albums and the last three I bought I suppose were Aenima by tool, Portrait of An American Familly by Marilyn Manson and Slipknot by Slipknot, I think

176: Last YouTube video watched:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q9UafsiQ6k

175: How many cousins do you have?

2 or 3 I think

174: Do you have any siblings?

Yes, one

173: Are your parents divorced?

nope

172: Are you taller than your mom?

yes B)

171: Do you play an instrument?

Not yet but I’m planning on getting a bass so

170: What did you do yesterday?

I went to a cool concert

169: Love at first sight:

not rlly

168: Luck:

nope

167: Fate:

also no

166: Yourself:

no *oops doopsie I’m sorry*

165: Aliens:

yes

164: Heaven:

nah

163: Hell:

no

162: God:

nopety

161: Horoscopes:

not really

160: Soul mates:

hmm  a bit

159: Ghosts:

no

158: Gay Marriage:

157: War:

not really

156: Orbs:

not really  :/

155: Magic:

no but I find it interesting154: Hugs or Kisses:

hugs

153: Drunk or High:

I personally wouldn’t go for any of those but drunk ig

152: Phone or Online:

online

151: Red heads or Black haired:

black haired

150: Blondes or Brunettes:

ah, blondes

149: Hot or cold:

cold

148: Summer or winter:

winter

147: Autumn or Spring:

spring

146: Chocolate or vanilla:

vanilla

145: Night or Day:

night

144: Oranges or Apples:

oranges

143: Curly or Straight hair:

straight

142: McDonalds or Burger King:

McDonalds

141: White Chocolate or Milk Chocolate:

White Chocolate

140: Mac or PC:

PC

139: Flip flops or high heals:

flip flops

138: Ugly and rich OR sweet and poor:

sweet and poor tbh

137: Coke or Pepsi:

coke

136: Hillary or Obama:

Obama??!!

135: Burried or cremated:

cremated

134: Singing or Dancing:

singing

133: Coach or Chanel:

coach

132: Kat McPhee or Taylor Hicks:

I uh, none

131: Small town or Big city:

big city

130: Wal-Mart or Target:

I had never went to one though Wal-Mart

129: Ben Stiller or Adam Sandler:

Adam Sandler

128: Manicure or Pedicure:

Manicure

127: East Coast or West Coast:

East Coast

126: Your Birthday or Christmas:

Christmas

125: Chocolate or Flowers:

flowers

124: Disney or Six Flags:

disney

123: Yankees or Red Sox:

Yankees

122: War:

I uh personally don’t agree with them and uh dunno

121: George Bush:

Don’t have one yet

120: Gay Marriage:

I find it lovely but too sad it’s not legal here so

119: The presidential election:

Quiet stinky as in no good choices

118: Abortion:

See this topic rips itself in two, if it’s intentionally done I personally think it’s the worst thing to do but that someone can do whatever they want, it’s their body after all, though if it happens and it’s not intended just, big sad react

117: MySpace:

I don’t have an opinion on it

116: Reality TV:

I don’t really watch it nor like it

115: Parents:

I would’ve appreciated if my parents showed me more support and love but not that I have anything against our type of relationship at the moment so

114: Back stabbers:

I totally not like them so I choose to cut contact with them 

113: Ebay:

It’s fine till now

112: Facebook:

I’m not a big fan of Facebook

111: Work:

If it’s something I love, it makes me feel good but if it’s not it kind of brings a feeling of uneasy and frustration to me

110: My Neighbors:

They’re chill, the baby and the puppy are my favorites 

109: Gas Prices:

kinda shitty here

108: Designer Clothes:

They can design what they want however they want, this is not really a topic of interest for me

107: College:

I can’t wait to get to it ngl

106: Sports:

Not one of my interests but they do look fun

105: My family:

I tolerate them easily but yeah I love them

104: The future:

Other than that I’m scared as hell regarding the future? nah

103: Hugged someone:

Eh!! Today!!

102: Last time you ate:

7 hours ago??

101: Saw someone I haven’t seen in awhile:

Oh last week I think

100: Cried in front of someone:

U H, yesterday

99: Went to a movie theater:

last thursday

98: Took a vacation:

last Christmas

97: Swam in a pool:

last summer

96: Changed a diaper:

never tbh

95: Got my nails done:

OH, it’s been ages since I’ve done that

94: Went to a wedding:

4 years ago

93: Broke a bone:

never nyehehe B)

92: Got a peircing:

I don’t have any but planning on getting some

91: Broke the law:

never

90: Texted: 

minutes ago

89: Who makes you laugh the most:

tbh, my friends

88: Something I will really miss when I leave home is:

my stuff but mostly my baby plant

87: The last movie I saw:

Captain MArvel

86: The thing that I’m looking forward to the most:

finishing high school

85: The thing im not looking forward to:

Missing upcoming opportunities

84: People call me:

Satana(I have the perferct explanation)

83: The most difficult thing to do is:

talk in servers or groups tbh

82: I have gotten a speeding ticket:

Oh I’d feel terrible and embarassed tbh

81: My zodiac sign is:

LEo

80: The first person i talked to today was:

my boyfriend

79: First time you had a crush:

in 5th grade

78: The one person who i can’t hide things from:

My boyfriend.. because he knows when something’s up with me or if something’s not good

77: Last time someone said something you were thinking:

hmmm weeks ago I think

76: Right now I am talking to:

@angelwings-234

75: What are you going to do when you grow up:

be a programmer 

74: I have/will get a job:

I hope to get one as a programmer in the future (though hell If I know what exactly yet)

73: Tomorrow:

I’ll probably hope for school to end faster just so I can nap

72: Today:

I haven’t done much tbh

71: Next Summer:

Will be so busy and I’m so not up to it

70: Next Weekend:

I’ll be going to a cool ass contest

69: I have these pets:

I have a baby plant!!!

68: The worst sound in the world:

static noise

67: The person that makes me cry the most is:

myself?? sounds a bit edgy

66: People that make you happy:

all the close friends in my life and some artists along with stuff I enjoy a lot

65: Last time I cried:

yesterday

64: My friends are:

There are too many to list them but luv them all

63: My computer is:

full of games that I’m probably not going to finish in the following 2 months

62: My School:

kinda sucks when it comes to students

61: My Car:

does not exist yet

60: I lose all respect for people who:

who are rude and big mean bags of shit?? I could detail this but dunno

59: The movie I cried at was:

Interstellar 

58: Your hair color is:

blonde

57: TV shows you watch:

SOA, Gotham when my bf watches it and I don’t really like TV shows though I have some on my waiting list

56: Favorite web site:

https://www.pbinfo.ro/

55: Your dream vacation:

just, somewhere around a forest, it’d be quiet lovely ngl

54: The worst pain I was ever in was:

tooth pain

53: How do you like your steak cooked:

a bit raw tbh

52: My room is:

ass messy as me

51: My favorite celebrity is:

uhhh Corey Taylor

50: Where would you like to be:

Right now?? At my bf, if it wouldn’t bother him..

49: Do you want children:

ABsolutely

48: Ever been in love:

still am ig

47: Who’s your best friend:

I have too many but love them all so much

46: More guy friends or girl friends:

I have more guy friends apparently 

45: One thing that makes you feel great is:

achieving something

44: One person that you wish you could see right now:

All of my best-friends tbh

43: Do you have a 5 year plan:

I do

42: Have you made a list of things to do before you die:

Not yet and I doubt I’d do it

41: Have you pre-named your children:

me and my bf came up with some names but who knows

40: Last person I got mad at:

My bf i think

39: I would like to move to:

another city in my country, a much bigger one

38: I wish I was a professional:

artist

37: Candy:

Haribo

36: Vehicle:

Renault or Dacia

35: President:

don’t really have one

34: State visited:

I haven’t been to any at all

33: Cellphone provider:

Digi

32: Athlete:

I don;t have one yikes

31: Actor:

Hmm Benicio Del Toro

30: Actress:

I like some but I don’t have a favorite one

29: Singer:

Peter Steele, his voice is simply, lovely

28: Band:

Ohhh anon Tool and Cargo atm

27: Clothing store:

I don’t have a fav one

26: Grocery store:

any??

25: TV show:

Sons Of Anarchy

24: Movie:

The Alien trilogy

23: Website:

Twitter I think

22: Animal:

Cat

21: Theme park:

I don’t really have one

20: Holiday:

Christmas

19: Sport to watch:

ski jumping

18: Sport to play:

Volleyball I think

17: Magazine:

Don’t have one

16: Book:

The Shinning

15: Day of the week:

Saturdays

14: Beach:

Don’t really like beaches

13: Concert attended:

Truda’s concert for moment but I suppose Disturbing’s going ro replace it or maybe Cannibal Corpse, who knows

12: Thing to cook:

Pudding

11: Food:

Noodles or cremeschnitte

10: Restaurant:

One called Anna

9: Radio station:

don’t have one

8: Yankee candle scent:

dreamy summer nights

7: Perfume:

men’s one are my favorite, gotta admit it

6: Flower:

ORchids

5: Color:

purple and black

4: Talk show host:

don’t have one

3: Comedian:

A romanian one, can’t remember his name

2: Dog breed:

German Shepherd, American Eskimo, Border Collie, Golden Retriever, Siberian HUsky there are too many I can’t choose only one

1: Did you answer all these truthfully?

yes I did it oh god