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mamabearcatfanfics · 3 years

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Battle Couple

I've had this little idea for a while, and then decided I could bend it slightly to fit this year's @inukag-week's first battle couple prompt. Because not all battles we face have to be huge ones against a deadly foe. Sometimes the battles can simply be standing up for what's right.

Inuyasha dragged the beanie down tighter over his head, stomping towards the exit of the store. He hated this. This is why he bought things online and had them delivered. Because then he could avoid interactions like he’d just had with that racist arsehole. He glanced down at the text from Sesshoumaru again, wondering if there was some other way he could get this gift for Rin. It was the first time his half-brother had thrown a birthday party for his adopted daughter, and no doubt it would be a big deal.

Rin has expressed an interest in this item. Her birthday party is on Saturday at 10am. Do not be late.

And of course the toy Rin had asked for was sold out everywhere online. The tiny dolls with light up dresses and a matching crystal necklace were apparently ‘the’ toy at the moment. She specifically wanted the purple one, the ‘hope’ doll, because it was her favourite colour, and she already had the other dolls in the set. This was the last one she needed. And he hadn’t been able to find it anywhere. He was failing as an Uncle. The last store he’d been to, he’d practically seen a pair of mothers come to blows arguing over the last CrystalShines doll on the shelf.

He was close to the exit of the store when an intriguing scent wafted past his nose. It was another store employee, dressed in the dark polo shirt and black jeans, with one of those ear walkie talkies they all seemed to wear. She was giggling, talking to someone using the button on her mike, her other arm full of a variety of women’s clothing that she was putting back on the racks. Her arms were a blur as she began sorting them into different sizes, working quickly to make each rack neat and tidy.

He watched as she flitted about the store, talking to a customer, smiling and waving at a baby in a pram, folding jumpers and t-shirts. His eyes were drawn to her dark ponytail; the way it swung as she moved was almost hypnotic. Her glossy hair was black, but had a blue sheen to it under the harsh fluorescent lighting, and he had a sudden urge to reach out and touch it, stroke down the length of the swinging tail to see if it was as soft and silken as it looked.

Without even realising it, he followed her, almost bumping into her as she suddenly spun around to go in a different direction.

“Oh! Good evening sir, can I help you with anything?”

There was a pleasant smile on her face, and she was looking at him expectantly. His voice didn’t seem to want to work now he was actually standing close to her, so he turned around his phone, showing her the picture of the doll.

“This is what you’re looking for?”

“Yeah”, he said softly, his eyes focused on hers as she glanced up at him again. He’d never seen anyone with grey eyes before. It seemed they were lit from within like starlight, and now that he was closer to her, she smelt even better. He cleared his throat, trying to get a hold of himself. “My niece wants one of these for her birthday, and I’m having trouble finding one.”

“Okay”, she said, reaching for the button on her headset to talk to the other employees on the shop floor. “Let me just talk to my colleague in the toy department, and I’ll see if we’ve got that item in stock.”

❤

Kagome watched as the man in front of her visibly deflated.

“Don’worry about it then. Already talked to ‘im.”

And then she got it. Ryan was working the toy department tonight. Ryan the racist bigot who didn’t like interacting with any customers who weren’t white, male, good ol’ boys, exactly like him. Usually he worked out the back in the store room, unpacking shipments, but due to the flu going around and the shortage of staff, the evening shift manager had put him on the floor tonight. And he’d no doubt said something innaproppriate to this gorgeous man in front of her, who obviously had some sort of youkai heritage.

She’d had her own run-ins with Ryan. He’d said many cruel things to her over the past six months, since he’d found out what happened a few years ago, cruel enough to make her run to the safety of the women’s toilets to shed a few silent tears in private. He never bullied her in a place where others could overhear, he always cornered her in dark places where there was no one else around. He frightened her. Jak knew she was uncomfortable around him, and did his best to make sure they were never rostered on at the same time, so it had been a while since she’d had to deal with him.

She took in the golden eyes, fangs and the beanie yanked down hard over his long silver hair, but it was the resigned bitter look on his face that caught at her heart. She knew that feeling. Internally Kagome fumed, but outwardly she hoisted her brightest smile onto her face, wanting to make it up to him. She could fix this!

“Wait. I don’t know the toy department that well, but I’m sure I could help. Just give me a moment to put these things down.”

He followed her to a wheeled rack in the aisle where she hung all the clothing in her arms back up, and then turned to him, smiling brightly again.

“Let’s go to the toy department and see if we can’t find this doll for your niece. When’s her birthday?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Oh dear, that doesn’t give you much time to find one!”

“I’ve been lookin’ all week. Online stores have sold out.”

“Well, hopefully we’ll have one in stock. Let’s see, the doll aisle is around here somewhere.”

They walked together down the aisle, both scanning the shelves for the tiny dolls.

“They should be around here”, said Kagome, her finger running along the price labelling on the edge of the shelf, her eyes lighting up as she found the right tag, but sighing in disappointment as she found the shelf empty.

“Yeah”, sighed Inuyasha. “I asked the guy around here if he could find out if there were any more out the back or somethin’ and he, ah…”

“Don’t worry”, said Kagome, a determined look on her face, “I will personally go take a look in the store room for you. Just wait here for me sir.”

“Inuyasha.”

“Huh?”

He coughed a little, his head turning to the side to avoid her direct gaze. “My name, it’s Inuyasha.”

“Oh. Right. Just wait here for me Inuyasha, and I’ll be right back.”

“Thanks Kagome.”

She blinked in confusion as he said her name, wondering how he’d known it, then realised he had read her name tag.

For some reason him saying her name out loud made her stomach swoop, like she was on a roller coaster, even though her feet were firmly planted on the ground. As he gave her a shy smile, she felt her cheeks begin to heat, and she whirled around, making a beeline for the storage room, talking into the mike on her headset as she left.

“Hey Jak, it’s Kagome – just going out to the store room for a moment for a customer. I’ll get right back on those returns as soon as I’m done, okay?”

“Oooh, tell me it’s the hottie with the white hair that I pointed out to you!”

“Jak!”

“Oh it is! Take your time honey!”

“You’re incorrigible, you know that?”

“And you love me for it. Make sure you get his name and number before he goes!”

“Jak!”

“For the customer form darlin’, what else did you think I meant?”

She could hear him still sniggering as she released the talk button on her mike, and she shook her head, grinning despite herself. He was her in-line manager and they got on really well, but rarely got to spend time together, as he was usually rostered on during the day, and her in the evenings so her day was free for lectures and study.

Kagome squeezed her way into the storeroom, scanning the aisles of stock yet to be placed out on the shelves. And then she saw it, the edge of a box with a picture of a tiny doll up on the highest shelf.

Dragging over the step ladder, she placed it under the shelf and climbed up, her petite size meaning she had to stand on the very top to have any chance of reaching the box. She just managed to reach the doll with the tips of her fingers, and nudged it. It tipped forward and fell, and with a gasp she managed to catch it with her outstretched hand, teetering on the top of the ladder, her other arm windmilling frantically to keep her balance.

She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her frantically beating heart after her almost fall, the box containing the doll clutched tightly against her. But she’d found one for him, a purple one, just like he’d wanted. She had no idea why that made her feel so incredibly happy, but it did.

Grinning widely as she emerged from the storeroom, she began walking directly to the toy department. She could see Inuyasha there, waiting for her. But she could also see Ryan, his arms crossed as he spoke to him, a sneer on his face. She quickened her pace. Previous experience had taught her that expression couldn’t mean anything good.

❤

Inuyasha stood his ground, hands clenched in tight fists by his sides. He had every right to be here – he was a customer, he hadn’t caused any commotion or damage. Kagome had asked him to wait here. But apparently that wasn’t good enough for this guy.

“I told you already, we’ve got none of what your looking for. Nothing for you. Are you deaf, or just stupid?” The volume of his voice wasn’t loud enough to draw anyone’s attention to them, but definitely loud enough to get on Inuyasha’s nerves.

Inuyasha closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his hands shaking slightly as he held back. He would not punch out this idiot – this was a department store, not a battle ground. Even though he deserved it because he was a racist bigoted shit.

“I already told you to leave youkai! Do I have to call security?”

Inuyasha breathed out slowly, trying to keep any trace of anger out of his voice, even though he wanted to let rip. He’d found out the hard way that security tended to not ask questions, just see his youkai traits and assume the worst.

“And I already told you, another employee was taking a look out the back for me. She told me to wait here for her.”

“Yeah, like I’d believe anything one of you would have to say. You’re all the same. What are hidin’ under that hat huh? Some kinda weird freakish thing I’d bet. ”

“Inuyasha!”

Inuyasha turned, his eyes lighting up as Kagome appeared. But she wasn’t wearing the wide smile she had when she left. She was stomping towards them, a box tucked tightly under her arm, the scowl on her face impressive. Thankfully that scowl was not directed at him.

He could smell the nervousness pouring off of her, but you never would have thought it looking at the way she faced off with her work colleague, stepping in front of him like she wanted to shield him from this man's ire with her much smaller body.

“Ryan, I’m handling this customer. And I’ve already found what he needed, so there’s no reason for you to be here. I think you’ve probably said enough.”

There was the barest trace of a tremble in her voice, and Inuyasha moved in closer behind her, wanting her to feel like he was there to support her. He wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, but he didn’t like it.

Ryan rolled his eyes and then sneered at her, his voice low and vicious.

“Ha. Shoulda known it would be you Kagome. Such a helpful little kiss ass. Why don’t you turn that cute little tush of yours around and head back to the ladies department where you belong, unless you’re still that desperate for some demon tail.”

“What?”

Ryan grinned at the shocked expression on Kagome’s face, posturing like he’d somehow scored a point. “Bit ironic really, you working in the ladies department when you’re anything but. A human ain't good enough for Kagome, huh? Wasn’t it bad enough that the last guy you had got fired, now you’re after customers too? You really are a-“

“Don’t. Say. Another. Word.”

Both Kagome and Ryan flinched at the snarled words behind them.

“Kagome, call your manager”, said Inuyasha gruffly. “I wanna report this guy.”

“It’s my word against yours demon, and little Kagome’s not gonna say anything, are you Kagome, because you’re fuckin’ pathetic. There’s nothin’ you can report me for”, snorted Ryan.

“Oh, I don’t know. I’d probably pick being a racist arsehole, for starters”, said another voice cheerfully. "Then maybe we could add workplace harassment."

A tall man in a tailored suit stepped into view, his dark hair slicked back into a short ponytail. He was holding his phone up, obviously still recording the whole thing.

“Here I was, minding my own business in the Lego aisle while I looked for the perfect birthday gift for my little girls, and what should I hear? An employee bad mouthing a customer, when the customer had been nothing but polite and civil. Don’t worry about proof, I’m happy to be a witness. I was recording the whole thing. From the very first racist slur that left your lips.”

Kagome’s eyes were wide as she glanced from the ponytailed man back to Ryan, and Inuyasha could hear her heart beating frantically. He nodded at her approvingly as she took a deep breath, her hand steady on the button on her headset.

“Jak, it’s Kagome”, she said, her voice a little breathless, but firm. “Can you-“

Ryan lunged towards her.

“Don’t you dare, you fuckin’ bitch!”

Inuyasha ducked out from behind Kagome, his fist grabbing the back of Ryan’s shirt and lifting him into the air, Ryan’s legs kicking frantically as he tried to escape. Before Kagome could move out of the way, his steel capped boot caught her on the chin. She dropped like a stone, crumpling to the floor in a heap.

“Fuck, Kagome!”

Inuyasha swung Ryan out of the way and dropped him none too gently, all his focus on the small woman laying prone on the slightly grubby linoleum floor, still out for the count. He could hear a scuffle behind him as the man in the suit and a few other observers struggled to keep Ryan contained, but he no longer cared about him. He knelt down close to her, gently stroking the glossy dark hair back from her face.

“Kagome, can you hear me?”

Inuyasha shook Kagome’s shoulder gently, trying to rouse her, and her eyes fluttered open.

“Inuyasha?” she said groggily, her arm tightening around the box, a wobbly smile on her face. “I got your doll.”

❤

It took a while to sort everything out. An ambulance was called, and the police. The police took statements from Inuyasha, Kagome and the man in the suit, Miroku. Ryan was fired on the spot, and Jak was positively gleeful, despite the mountain of paperwork he’d have to fill out before he went home that evening. When the paramedic suggested that Kagome should go to the hospital to be checked for possible concussion, Inuyasha had immediately said he’d like to go with her, if that was alright with Kagome, and after a few polite remarks about it not being necessary, she’d gratefully accepted. Jak had positively pushed them into the ambulance together, waving them off with a bright smile. It was the most exciting evening shift he’d had in years.

❤

“You don’t have to stay you know. I’ll be fine, I’ll just get an Uber home.”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, leaning back against the wall, his arm resting on the edge of Kagome's hospital bed.

“For the tenth time woman, I don’t mind. I want to be here when the doctor examines you to make sure you’re okay. And then I wanna make sure you get home safe.” He sighed as he looked at the dark purpling bruise on Kagome’s chin. “I’m just sorry I didn’t throw that fucker down to the end of the aisle when I had the chance.”

“But it’s so late! It’s almost 2am, and you have the party to go to tomorrow. Today I mean.”

“Eh, that’s hours away. She won’t mind if I’m a little late, Rin’s a nice kid. And now I have the perfect present, thanks to you.”

Kagome was quiet for a while. The silence grew to feel uncomfortable, because Inuyasha could sense how tense Kagome suddenly was.

“Inuyasha… I want to explain. About what Ryan said to me.”

“Hmm?” He could smell nervousness again, billowing around her like a cloud, and he didn’t like it. “Doesn’t matter, none of my business.”

“But I want to”, she said, her voice taking on a stubborn edge.

“Fine, I’ll listen. But nothin’ you can say will change my good opinion of you. You stepped up for me back there Kagome, and that don’t happen for me much. I will always remember that.”

Kagome reached out her hand to lightly grasp the clawed one sitting next to her on the bed, and squeezed it.

“Thank you.”

He squeezed back.

“You’re welcome.”

“Anyway”, she sighed. “About what Ryan said. I started working at that department store when I was still in high school, as a weekend job. And there was this training manager, a kitsune. He’d come around every so often, and all the girls thought he was really good looking. He had a little green sports car; a lot of the other girls thought was really important. They all were flirting with him, and then he asked me out. I was so surprised. I mean, me! I’m nothing special! He was so stylish, and so charming. I really thought…” Kagome laughed but it had no humour in it, and Inuyasha squeezed her hand again. She shrugged, her shoulders coming up around her ears as her face turned away from him.

“I was so stupid! It turned out I was right about being nothing special, because he was going out with a couple of girls at every store that he visited.” She flinched a little at Inuyasha’s low growl of disapproval. “There were around ten of us. And because a couple of us were under aged, he was charged. Lost his job. Ryan found out about it a few months ago and thought-“

“Don’t say it”, said Inuyasha gruffly, squeezing her hand again. “Don’t matter what he thought. It’s in the past. And the Kagome I saw tonight was amazing.”

“No I wasn’t!” Kagome shook her head, then winced as her head throbbed, realising that was a bad idea. “I was so scared Inuyasha! I’ve never been able to stand up to him before. But I couldn’t stand the thought of him being mean to you!”

“Then you’re even braver than I thought.” Inuyasha entwined his fingers with hers, and cleared his throat. “Kagome, I know you don’t know me. But I think I’d like to get to know you. Could I call you? Maybe we could go out for coffee or somethin’? I mean you don’t gotta answer, and if you don’t wanna, I totally understand, I mean-“

“Yes.” Kagome giggled at the wide toothy grin on Inuyasha’s face. “Give me your phone and I’ll put my number in.”

“Wait. Maybe you should see what all’a me looks like before you say yes.”

Inuyasha tugged off his beanie, revealing the pointed white dog ears on top of his head. “If you wanna change your mind, I-“

“They’re so cute!” squeaked Kagome. “Please give me your phone!”

❤

Kagome woke up the next morning very late, so late that it was no longer morning at all.

It had been 3am by the time Inuyasha had dropped her home with a bag of painkillers and the Doctor’s instructions for treating her mild concussion. He’d helped her into bed, placed her medicine and a glass of water next to the bed for her, kissed her softly on the cheek and whispered goodnight, closing the door behind him.

She rubbed her cheek gently at the memory of that small kiss, a smile on her face. She still had a headache, so she took two of the tablets, then reached for her phone on the bedside table where it had been charging.

There were two messages.

The birthday girl loves her present! Attached was a picture of a smiling Inuyasha kneeling with his arm around a little girl in a checked orange party dress and sparkly sandals, her dark hair up in pig tails. A wide excited grin split her face, revealing the gap of a missing front tooth. The doll was clutched tightly in her hand, and she was wearing the necklace that came with it.

I told Rin how brave you were, and she wanted you to have some birthday cake. Can I bring some over when you wake up? 🍰

Kagome smiled almost as wide as Rin, despite her headache.

I’d love you to ❤

#inukag week #inukag week 2021 #battle couple #all the fluff #it's now 3am and I'm a tired tired Mama Bear #but at least I got one prompt in on time

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sceptilemasterr · 3 years

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Defenders of the Flame (TE Rewrite) Act 3, Scene 8 - The Penderghast Amorelia Day Gala

Title: Defenders of the Flame (A CIU Screenplay)

Main Pairings: Shreya x F!MC, Beckett x F!Atlas

Other Pairings: N/A

Genre: Full Rewrite (The Elementalists, Book 1)

Rating: PG-13 for violence, blood, swearing, alcohol, and sexuality

Summary: Several weeks later, Fiora and her friends enjoy a night of dancing, food, and fun.

Previous Scene: Never Bet Against Fiora

Masterlist: Link

INT. RHUKA HALL - GRAND BALLROOM - NIGHT

Several weeks later, the Amorelia Day Gala has arrived. Penderghast’s Grand Ballroom, located on Rhuka Hall’s top floor, has been fully decorated for the event. The entire room is bathed in a soft blue light, changing and shifting in ways reminiscent of sunlight being filtered through water. Toward the ceiling, multicolored floating umbrellas hang suspended by some kind of Air Stoichi. Beautiful fountains erupt in impossible patterns, shaped by Water Stoichi into figures and patterns that rise and fall in time with the music. A table against the far wall hosts countless dishes of all kinds of food, complete with several multi-layered cakes at the center. A few Penderghast students, along with several professors, are already present as several more trickle in, all dressed for the occasion. Then:

FIORA: Holy... wow! This place is amazing!

SHREYA (smiling): Not half as amazing as moi. Or, for that matter, my lovely date.

Fiora blushes heavily as she and Shreya make their way into the room. Shreya wears a beautiful beige dress with matching circlet, both of which are decorated with a Light-Att technique that makes them sparkle every time she moves. Fiora’s dress, in contrast, is a muted golden color with flowing translucent sleeves. As they enter, Fiora beams at her date.

FIORA: Shreya... this is amazing! Thank you!!

SHREYA: Perhaps I ought to be thanking you for saying “yes.”

FIORA (blushes): Yeah... I’m a bit slow sometimes--

She is interrupted by Shreya pulling her into a quick kiss. They break apart quickly when Shreya spots Zeph, Griffin, and Peter approaching.

SHREYA: Oh! Hi, everyone! So glad you could make it!

ZEPH (laughing): Don’t worry about us. We’re not interrupting anything!

Shreya and Fiora blush furiously.

GRIFFIN: Glad you both could make it! Did either of you see Beckett, by the way?

ZEPH: ...Or Atlas?

Fiora shrugs.

FIORA: They might be going together. I don’t know, Atlas was kinda hesitant about--

BECKETT: Ah, there you are!

Beckett approaches the group, along with an unfamiliar, bland-looking woman they do not recognize. Beckett is dressed in a crisp suit with golden tie, his hair impeccably combed straight back. The woman beside him wears a sparkling navy-blue dress, and Fiora at first doesn��t recognize her. Then, she seems to realize something, and peers closer at Beckett’s companion.

FIORA: ...Atlas?!

ZEPH: Wait, Atlas? Where?

SHREYA: Fiora, what are you--

The woman at Beckett’s side smirks, then waves a hand in front of her face and makes a few quick gestures. The unfamiliar features fall away, replaced with Atlas’s distinctive silver hair and facial features identical to Fiora’s. Zeph lets out a soft gasp.

ATLAS: ...I assume that damn thing works, then?

BECKETT: But of course! None can recognize you now, save those you’ve granted permission to.

ATLAS: Good. ‘Cause I’m leaving this place immediately if there’s any chance of--

ZEPH (laughs): Come on, Atlas! Can’t you just enjoy yourself for five minutes? I promise, nothing crazy’s gonna attack the Gala while we’re here. Okay?

Atlas scowls. Then she relents, smiling slightly at Beckett.

ATLAS: ...Fine. Can’t hurt to be here with someone like him, after all. He’s almost as good with combat stoichi as I am!

BECKETT: I--excuse you, what do you mean, almost?!

ATLAS: Oh, please. As if you even understood half the things I’ve had to...

As Atlas and Beckett continue arguing, the others exchange a look of exasperation.

FIORA: There they go again...

PETER: Uh, Griff, what’s with the disguise? I don’t think most people wear Cloakguises to go to Penderghast dances...

FIORA (shrugs): She’s my twin sister. Long story short, she’s... not supposed to be here.

ZEPH: Also, Beckett’s had a huge crush on her since even before we knew she existed--

BECKETT: I did NOT!

PETER (laughs): Sure he didn’t. Anyway, fair enough. I ain’t about to rat her out to Goeffe if you aren’t.

He glances over at the back of the room, where Dean Goeffe stands, a severe look on her face as she engages Dr. Englund in deep conversation.

SHREYA: Well? Shall we, then?

Shreya tugs Fiora out toward the center of the room, the other Pend Pals following close behind. As they approach the dance floor, Zeph dashes ahead of the others.

ZEPH: Watch this! I’ve been waiting for weeks to show you all this move!

Zeph launches into a full body wave, complete with shoulder shimmy. The others watch, enraptured... most of them, anyway.

BECKETT (huffs): I give that a two out of ten.

ZEPH: Oh, c’mon. That’s at least a seven, isn’t it?

BECKETT: Then show me a “seven.”

Zeph pouts as Shreya pulls Fiora onto the dance floor.

SHREYA: Alright, allow moi to show you a thing or two!

Shreya launches into a complicated dance sequence, complete with handstands, cartwheels, and other flashy moves. After a moment, she grabs Fiora’s hands and draws her in to the dance.

FIORA: Shreya, I don’t--Whoa!

After a few beats of dancing, Shreya grabs Fiora’s arms, holding them outward so that her hands are facing up. Perplexed, Fiora keeps her hands there... only for Shreya to step back, then leap into her hands, using them as a foothold to backflip through the air!

ZEPH: Holy Source!

GRIFFIN: Whooooo!

PETER: Yeah!

ATLAS (shrugs): Not bad.

Shreya lands and strikes a pose beside a still-slightly-bewildered Fiora. The others all applaud.

GRIFFIN: That was amazing! Shreya, where’d you learn that?

Shreya giggles as they step off of the dance floor.

SHREYA: I learned that one at a club in Pennseil!

Everyone besides Fiora gapes at her, impressed. Fiora simply looks confused.

FIORA: Okay, is this one of those Attuned things I just don’t understand, or...?

ATLAS (whispering): Pennseil is the Attuned reflection of... “Paris,” I think it’s called.

Fiora gasps in recognition.

FIORA: Oh! Wow, Shreya, that’s super awesome!

SHREYA: ...Well, Beckett?

BECKETT: Hmph. Well, I suppose that might be worthy of a ten out of ten, if for no other reason than by comparison with the single other entry in this impromptu competition.

ZEPH: Hey!

Atlas bursts out laughing. Shreya smiles and wraps an arm around Fiora.

SHREYA: Well. As if I would ever lose such a contest with you by my side, non?

FIORA: Of course not. That was seriously amazing, Shreya.

PETER: Hang on, I think I just spotted some cake. Can’t miss out on that!

GRIFFIN: Looks delicious! Let’s go!

The two of them dash over to the dessert table, with Fiora and the others following close behind. The group eagerly approaches the huge, multi-colored cakes dominating the center of the dessert display.

FIORA: Wow. Okay, that looks amazing.

She moves forward to take a slice, but Shreya grabs her arm and pulls her back.

FIORA (frowning): Hey!

SHREYA: Don’t worry, darling, you’ll get your chance. I just want to be certain you know what you’re getting into, first.

FIORA: Why? It’s just cake-- (sighs) It’s... not just cake, is it?

SHREYA (laughs): Of course not! The esteemed Chef Liyan Fang would never make something as ordinary as a simple cake, without even a single stoicheal infusion, can you imagine?

FIORA: So this thing has some kind of... effect? If I eat it, it’ll do something?

SHREYA: Just watch.

Peter grabs a slice from the blue tier of the cake, near the center. He takes a bite.

GRIFFIN (laughs): Wait for it...

A few seconds later, Peter lets out a series of musical belches that play perfectly in tune with the music playing overhead! Fiora gasps in surprise, then giggles, as the others all laugh.

FIORA: Ooh! I wanna try!

GRIFFIN: There’s gonna be more than one effect. It all depends on which color tier you take the slice from, plus which part of the cake. Choose wisely!

FIORA: Wait, so, is there a sign or something that says which part does what?

PETER (laughs): Where’s the fun in that? You’ve gotta take a wild guess, be surprised!

FIORA (hesitantly): Oh... I don’t--

She swallows, and her expression changes as she confidently approaches the table. She nods once.

FIORA: You know what? Why not. Here I go!

She takes a slice from the corner of the cake’s yellow tier and cautiously takes a bite. The others look at her expectantly.

ATLAS: ...Well?

FIORA: I don’t feel any-- Whoa!

Fiora stumbles back in shock, and the camera shifts to her perspective. She (and the camera) look around at each of the others, and we see shining auras surrounding each of them. Shreya’s aura is a flickering reddish-orange; Griffin’s, a shifting earth tone; Beckett’s is stiff and silvery; Peter’s is wispy and fleeting; Zeph’s is bluish-green; and Atlas’s resembles Zeph’s, but much stronger, with an overlay of crackling yellow lines rushing throughout.

SHREYA: Fiora? Are you okay?

FIORA: Yeah, I... I think I’m seeing your stoichi! It’s surrounding everyone, like a glow, or...

BECKETT: Ah! Your vision must have been enhanced so as to better make out our stoicheal auras!

SHREYA: You actually can see them normally, if you try hard enough. Though here, surrounded by so many Attuned, it’s hard to notice... they’re fairly faint most of the time.

FIORA: Whoa. This is trippy. I--

Fiora’s (and the camera’s) vision pans to the left, toward Dean Goeffe and Dr. Englund... and we hear Fiora gasp. Dr. Englund’s aura is a stronger version of Griffin’s, but Dean Goeffe’s is a swirling mass of darkness, engulfing her to the point that we are barely able to see the dean herself through the thick aura.

FIORA (quietly): Dean Goeffe... her aura, it’s...

Atlas glances over at the dean. She frowns.

ATLAS (quietly): I don’t see anything. What is it?

FIORA: It’s black. And... it looks angry. It’s so thick, I can barely see her. What is that?

GRIFFIN (curiously): I don’t see anything. She looks like a normal Metal-Att to me.

FIORA: No, I--

The aura effect fades away.

FIORA: Darn. It’s gone! Hang on, give me some more of that cake!

The camera returns to a normal perspective as Fiora reaches forward, grabbing another piece of the cake. This time, she takes from the side of the yellow tier instead of the corner. After taking a big bite... She suddenly starts levitating in the air, wisps of Air Stoichi circling around her feet!

FIORA: Whoa! Okay, I did not expect that.

Everyone laughs.

SHREYA: The location of the slice matters too, remember? Wow, I absolutely must try one now.

As Shreya and the others all start taking their own slices of cake, all of whom end up with a wide variety of stoicheal effects, Fiora frowns, looking back at where the dean and Dr. Englund had been. Dr. Englund is now standing near the wall, gazing out at the crowd... and the dean is nowhere to be seen.

FIORA (to herself): That... something’s wrong...

After a brief moment, Atlas comes up to Fiora. Her hands and wrists are covered with shimmering red scales that are slowly fading away.

FIORA: What’s with the scales?

ATLAS: Damn cake.

FIORA (laughs): Should’ve known! Anyway, what’s up?

ATLAS (shrugs): Dunno. I just wanted to say... thanks. For keeping me around all that time, even though you barely knew me...

FIORA: Aw, Atlas, you don’t have to--

Atlas holds up a hand, and Fiora stops talking.

ATLAS: Seriously. You could’ve kicked me out at any time, or reported me to someone. Couldn’t blame you, with how suspicious I was being of your friends. But you put up with me. Not only that, when things were going south at the birthday party... you really stepped up. And now... well, I’m glad I’m here. With your friends.

FIORA (knowingly): By ‘friends,’ d’you mean... ‘Beckett,’ specifically?

ATLAS: Now you’re pushing it.

FIORA: Sorry.

ATLAS: But seriously. Thanks. I’m starting to see why everyone made such a big deal about this party. It’s... fun.

FIORA (smiles): If anyone deserves to have fun, it’s you, Atlas. I can’t imagine there were many parties in the Between.

ATLAS (laughs): If Raife’s evil cultists were having any parties, I sure as hell wasn’t invited. ‘Sides, at least here, I know I’ve got people to watch my back.

FIORA: Really?

ATLAS: There’s nobody I’d rather have at my side in a pinch than my sister. And... just between you and me, I don’t entirely mind that Beckett guy. He’s... competent.

FIORA (knowingly): “Competent.” Right. He’s definitely... that.

ATLAS (awkwardly): Right. Whatever, enough with all that sentimental crap. Catch you later.

Atlas disappears into the crowd. Fiora looks around, bewildered, until Shreya appears and pulls her into a twirl.

FIORA: Whoa! Hey there, Shreya.

SHREYA: Fiora! Just the good-looking and absolutely breathtaking Light-Att I wanted to see. Come dance with me!

Fiora smiles at her date.

FIORA: I thought you’d never ask! I’d love to.

Shreya leads Fiora out onto the dance floor as the music shifts to a slow waltz. They start to dance perfectly in time with one another, moving slowly around the dance floor.

SHREYA: This is lovely. Why don’t we dance together more often?

FIORA: Dunno. Guess we’ve been too busy with school... and fighting off random shadow monsters... and discovering my secret twin... y’know, usual stuff.

SHREYA (laughs): Ah, yes. Things are never dull with you around, are they? I am so glad we ended up roommates. It was clearly meant to be.

Fiora smiles warmly at Shreya.

FIORA: We were clearly meant to be, I’d say.

SHREYA: Oh, I agree. Everything is simply so... beautiful. Don’t you think?

FIORA: Yeah. Beautiful...

Fiora leans in and kisses Shreya.

SHREYA: Well! That’s certainly something the Fiora of a few months ago never would have done!

FIORA: Why, are you complaining?

SHREYA: Perish the thought!

They resume their dance as the music shifts into something more upbeat. After a few moments, Atlas and Beckett join them, followed closely by Griffin and Peter. They all dance together for a brief moment, until finally the song ends, to be replaced with another. The six of them all head toward the edge of the dance floor, where Zeph is waiting, eating from a heaping plate of some type of glowing Attuned snack.

SHREYA: This had best be important. I really was enjoying myself!

Atlas gives her a meaningful nod, then jerks her head in the direction of the ballroom’s entrance. Shreya and the others follow her gesture to see...

FIORA (astonished): Dr. Swan?!

SHREYA: She’s back? But... I don’t... that cannot--

BECKETT (frowning): Rather suspicious, isn’t it? That she should vanish for so long... only to reappear now? And without even speaking to Fiora or Shreya?

ATLAS: Took the words right out of my mouth. Something’s wrong.

FIORA: Let me talk to her. Maybe she knows something.

Fiora starts walking toward Dr. Swan, when suddenly, the booming voice of Dean Goeffe, amplified by telepathy, echoes through everyone’s minds.

DEAN GOEFFE (echoing): ATTENTION. THIS IS AN OFFICIAL PENDERGHAST ANNOUNCEMENT FROM DEAN GOEFFE. THIS CAMPUS IS CURRENTLY IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY. ALL STUDENTS ARE INSTRUCTED TO RETURN TO THEIR DORMITORIES IMMEDIATELY, AND AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTION.

As the students around them start panicking, Fiora and her friends look around with suspicion.

ATLAS: Okay. I can’t be the only one who finds this suspicious, right?

GRIFFIN: Right. Something’s wrong...

DEAN GOEFFE (echoing): ALL PENDERGHAST PROFESSORS ARE TO REPORT TO MIRROR STORAGE AT THIS TIME. I REPEAT: THIS CAMPUS IS CURRENTLY IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY. ALL STUDENTS...

The Pend Pals watch as Dr. Swan and Dr. Englund both immediately head toward the ballroom’s entrance, disappearing through its double doors. Fiora looks around at her friends, then at Atlas.

FIORA: Something’s not right. We need to follow them.

ATLAS: Agreed.

Amidst the throng of confused and terrified students, seven students make their way toward the exit, following the professors toward the Mirror Storage room...

_______________________

Notes: And so the climax begins... let's hope our heroes are strong enough to handle whatever comes next for them!

Timeline: The Amorelia Day Gala takes place on March 17th, 2018.

_______________________

Next: Into the Between

CIU Tag List: @brightpinkpeppercorn @endlesshero1122 @bbaba-yagaa @acidsugar0 @shaylan211 @griselda1121 @acanthisorbis @marmolady @choicesbabie

DotF/Elementalists Tag List:

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black-is-beautiful18 · 5 years

Text

Stone Cold-Prologue

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Black!OC

Warnings: mentions of guys being jerks

************************

"Oh Gabriel! Come out and play!" A voice rich and smooth like honey calls out causing the terrified man, using the tree he's in as shelter, to nearly faint from how hard and fast his heart palpitates in his chest. The night had started out fine. He and his date had gone out for dinner, had gone for a walk in the park, and then sat in his car for a bit enjoying each other's company.

Her name was Dawn, and man was she beautiful. Flowing red hair like fire and green eyes that seemed to pierce your very soul. She had curves in all the right places and also had a very witty sense of humor that seemed to pull him right in. Again, everything had started out fine....Until Gabriel didn't know how to take no for an answer.

*********************

Flashback

"I said no! The night was going just fine! Why'd you have to go and ruin it?!" Dawn demands glaring at her date her hair disheavled and her red lipstick now smudged. They had been getting along marvelously until he had tried to touch her without her permission." You're just like every other guy I've met! You want nothing but sex!" Not liking the fact that he was being denied a moment of pleasure, Gabriel tried to force himself on Dawn grabbing a hold of her hair causing her to react by punching him. As he recoiled in pain, she hopped out of the car and made a run for it glad that she had changed out of her heels.

"Dawn, wait! Come back!" Gabriel runs after her knowing that if he doesn't do something, she could cost him everything. He was a star athlete after all. The star and captain of his of his football team. He had a chance to go pro, but if word somehow got back to his coach that he forced himself upon some poor girl he'd never hear the end of it from anyone.

While running Dawn collided with three women who seemed to be going for a midnight stroll as well. Collecting themselves, the women look at her curiously." Are you alright?" The one in the middle asks her hazel eyes filled with worry. Panting, Dawn looks at the three women who glance at each other before looking back at her." Come on honey. Let's get you out of here. You shouldn't be here by yourself."

After explaining what had happened to the women, they had promised to take her home." I'm Stheno." The one with red hair says with a soft smile. She looks to be the oldest, but she couldn't be a day over 25. The one in the middle hugs Dawn startling her, but she doesn't mind." I'm Euryale!" She introduces herself with enthusiasm causing everyone in the little group to laugh." And I'm Medusa." The one on the end says offering a kind smile.

Dawn had hoped that Gabriel would have simply gone home, but when he catches up to her she can't help but cower at the sight of him. Noticing this, Stheno and Euryale hide her behind them. " Can we help you?" Medusa asks as a soft hiss fills the air. Putting his hand out, Gabriel ignores her." Come on Dawn. I'm sorry. Let me take you home." Narrowing her eyes, Medusa takes a step forward." Stheno? Euryale? Escort Dawn home please. Make sure that she is ok before you leave. I'll take care of him."

Understanding what they're sister is saying, they quickly lead Dawn away who can't seem to stop thanking them for their help. Medusa looks over the young man before smirking." Let's play a game." Gabriel glares at her with hatred." Yeah, no thanks." As he moved to walk past her planning on going after the three women who are getting further and further away, Medusa grabs his arm." I wasn't asking." She growls as she pushes him back her fangs glinting in the moonlight, and they definitely don't go unnoticed by Gabriel, who fails to realize that he is in danger.

"What are you? Some kind of freak?" He demands before laughing." It's a bit early for Halloween lady.'' Medusa smiles letting out an ominous chuckle." Oh this is going to be so much fun." She says as a a golden bow appears in her hand." Whoa! Hey!" Gabriel cries out in fear as she draws back the string an arrow appearing." You want to live? I suggest you run." Not even asking questions, Gabriel takes off running in the other direction a chill going down his spine at the sound of a shrill laugh and the sudden beat of wings.

***************************

Now here he is. Stuck in a tree with nowhere to go because some psycho is trying to kill him. Gabriel's body trembles as he looks down no longer hearing the crazy woman with the bow. Leaping down from the branch, Gabriel wastes no time before taking off back in the direction of his car. If he'd had his phone he'd be able to call for help, but even then he's sure he'd be caught.

As he runs Gabriel hears loud hisses and looks to his right letting out a scream of terror as he sees what should only be possible in horror movies. A winged creature with the body of a woman and a head full of black snakes instead of hair, running alongside him. This catches him off guard and causes him to trip over the root of a tree.

Laughter surrounds him and he powers closing his eyes tightly. Gabriel wasn't stupid. This creature may have had wings, but the head full of snakes was a dead give away. He'd managed to piss off a creature thousands of years old." Tks tsk. I thought you were gonna last longer than that." Medusa says clearly disappointed before pulling Gabriel to his feet by his hair.

Noticing how he cowers and keeps his eyes closed, Medusa chuckles clearly amused." You know who I am. Why don't you look me in the eye hmm? Wouldn't that be much better than letting my babies eat those pretty blue eyes of yours?" She whispers as the snakes that make up her hair playfully nip at his face causing him to whimper.

" She won't miss you. Not after what you've done. You know a crime like that must be punished. Why don't you take just a quick look? It won't hurt a bit." Gabriel's face softens at the sound of Medusa's voice. It's as if she were talking to a child. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just take a peek?

Slowly, Gabriel's eyes open meeting amber reptilian eyes." Gotcha." Medusa says triumphantly as her snakes hiss loudly their eyes glowing brightly as they draw back as if preparing to strike. Gabriel tries to cover his face, but it's already too late. His body begins to turn to stone, his eyes wide in a mix of awe and terror. Yet another man has fallen victim to Medusa's stare. There had been plenty of the centuries.

Looking over her latest work of art, Medusa smiles her features slowly returning to normal." Goodbye Gabriel." She says amused before walking away proud of her handiwork. Oh how she loved what she did.

************************

A/N: Hi! I'm nervous about this first part, but here it goes!

@stars8melanin @suz-123 @ch-llmonger @cosmicmelaninflower

#steve rogers x black!oc #black!medusa #greek mythology #avengers #Unique stories

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keichanz · 5 years

Text

Oscurità, amore mio | II

I found my new title!

Previously known as Dalle Ceneri, this story is now titled Oscurità, amore mio which means “Darkness, my love” in Italian. Sooooo many hugs and thanks goes out to my dearest friend and inspiration @sssuperbartola! She’s been immensely helpful with writing this story and I couldn’t do it without her, or @sesshsbae! Thanks you two! <3

Read on AO3.

Dark eyes wide with a something akin to warried shock, Kagome took in the figure standing before her in all his muscled glory, his eyes the color of burnished amber, skin lightly tanned, and his mouth stretched into a wicked grin that did indeed reveal fangs, however they were smaller and definitely not that of the bloodsucker variety.

Kagome opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. “You’re not—”

“Nope,” he said, crossing his arms.

“But you can—”

“Yep.”

She shook her head, utterly confused and yet at the same time—

No. No, she was just confused. She was not impressed. She wasn’t. She wasn’t.

“I don’t under—h-how—”

He sighed, as if deeply troubled, though from what Kagome was getting from his emotional grid, he was more amused than anything. The bastard. “That’s a bit of along story, I’m afraid,” he confessed and then glanced somewhere behind her before cocking a brow. “One, by the looks of it, that you don’t really have the time for.”

She frowned at him and turned around to follow his gaze. “What—son of a bitch!”

Trying and failing to blend in with the gyrating and swaying bodies on the dance floor, the vampire her boss had sent her to eliminate was attempting to make his getaway. If Kagome hadn’t been absolutely certain he was her target, the intense panic that slammed into her when he caught her staring at him instantly gave him away and after that he abandoned all pretenses of stealth and made a mad dash for the exit, shoving humans out of his way and ignoring the indignant shrieks of protest.

Forgetting about the white-haired vampire-but-not, Kagome immediately took off after him, managing to slip between the sea of people more effectively than he had and was out the door in record time. The cold air made her skin pebble but she ignored it as she hiked up her leather skirt and retrieved her Sig, double palming it as she edged along the wall of the pub and peered into the dark alley beside it.

She didn’t see anything, but that meant nothing. Vampires were adapt that concealing their presence, but Kagome knew what to look for, dark eyes skittering around and searching for signs of his hasty escape, mentally reaching out and attempting to glean his location from the faint trail of panic she could still sense.

Cautiously she stepped into the dark ally and inched further down the narrow strip of pavement, taking note of the trash cans, a dumpster and various boxes lined up along the parallel walls of the buildings. The sliver of moonlight helped her see, but it was still dark enough where she had to squint to make out the shape leaning against the dumpster. She kept her gun pointed at it as she stepped closer, but huffed in irritation when it turned out to be a pile of garbage bags.

Scowling, the dark-haired assassin lowered her weapon and thrust a hand through her hair in frustration, cocking a hip and chewing on her bottom lip in contemplation. She knew he wouldn’t have gone very far; she had extensive and accurate knowledge that this particular bloodsucker got his meals in pubs such as the one she just left, and it was the only one open around here for miles. She was positive he would be back; underlying the panic she’d felt as he’d fled had been a gnawing hunger that had been ignored for one day too long and he was weaker than usual as a result, so traveling very far in his condition was unlikely. Right now he was most likely biding his time and waiting until she gave up the chase before returning.

She inwardly snorted. Yeah, fat chance. She’d waited a whole month once before taking down her target; a few hours were nothing.

Grumbling in annoyance, but knowing there wasn’t much she could do at the moment, Kagome holstered her Sig, turned around—and jumped.

“Jesus—what the fuck!”

A fang-bearing grin. “Flattery will get you everywhere, mia bella fenice.”

Ignoring that rather egotistical remark, Kagome’s lips tightened as her hand flew to her left hip. “You have no right,” she hissed and had the fleeting thought to go for her gun, but immediately dismissed it. He was far too close and ten times faster than she; he’d be on her before she could even draw it.

“You gave me the right when you purposely attracted me with that god-awful travesty of a song,” he returned smoothly, giving a careless shrug and Kagome wanted to punch him because she couldn’t even refute that. “I’m certain Tallon rooted around in there as well and found more than he bargained for, which explains his hasty retreat.”

“Tallon?”

He stared at her. “Your target?”

Kagome balked. “You know him?”

He gave another careless shrug. “No, but I’ve seen him around. He frequents this pub.”

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Only someone who also frequents a pub would say that.”

“I like their breadsticks,” he said blandly by way of explanation, his expression blank.

A vampire that liked breadsticks. Oh good lord she should’ve had a drink when she had the chance.

“I’m not a vampire,” he casually reminded her but Kagome didn’t believe it. Vamps were the only creatures that had the ability to mind read.

Crossing her arms, Kagome quirked a brow at him and asked, voice heavy with skepticism, “Really. Then what are you?”

He smiled at her, catching her off guard and she resisted the urge to inch away. The smile was pleasant enough, but there was an underlying hint that said danger and it made her uneasy.

“I already told you, bella fenice,” he said and his golden eyes grew hooded even as he continued to smile at her. “It’s a long story.”

“Stop calling me that,” she snapped, eyes the color of dark chocolate glaring at him with a veiled fire that threatened to burn him to the bone if he continued to provoke her.

He tilted his head, all innocence, and Kagome barely kept herself from snorting. Vampires were anything but innocent. “It suits you,” he said, racking his gaze down her body and she shuddered despite herself. His grin told her he’d noticed. “You are fiery. Passionate. I felt that a name like ‘phoenix’ would be quite flattering. You don’t like it?”

Kagome glared at him and felt her cheeks heat despite herself.

His grin widened. “Would you prefer something else? Perhaps piccolo gattina? Dolce angelo? Or maybe something more along the lines of bella bonazza.”

She had no idea what that last one meant, but it didn’t matter because going by the way those molten eyes crinkled at the corners and the deep chuckle that reverberated in his chest, it wasn’t an improvement. With every ridiculous name he rattled off Kagome’s jaw clenched even tighter and her hand suddenly itched, wanting to feel the reassuring steel of her gun against her palm while she popped a few silver bullets into the fucker’s forehead.

When still she didn’t answer him, he raised his eyebrows and the smile he gave her that time was downright lethal. “No? Then how about—”

She snapped and spat harshly without thinking, “Kagome! My name is Kagome, you goddamn—”

Kagome froze and the color abruptly drained from her face as her eyes went very large. Her heart beat erratically in her chest as the sense of what she’d just inadvertently done came crashing down upon her and she stumbled backwards as if the realization was an invisible force. Horror and dread roiled through her so strongly she felt sick and she swallowed compulsively as bile rose in her throat, her stomach rolling uncomfortably, her blood turning to ice in her veins, leeching the warmth from her skin and causing her to shiver almost uncontrollably.

The coldness she felt, however, was nothing compared to the deadly chilling smile he gave her then that was at complete odds with the searing heat in those molten amber eyes.

“Ka-go-me,” he purred, sealing her fate, and then he moved so fast Kagome didn’t even register it until her head was suddenly yanked back and two sharp points pressed against the soft flesh where her jaw met her neck. She jerked, but the steel arm around her waist prevented her from escaping and she bit down hard on her lip to stifle the whimper when a hot tongue lashed against her skin.

“You—you tricked me,” she gasped breathlessly, pushing against his chest, hating how her traitorous body reacted to his closeness. Gone now was the previous chill that had blanketed her body after she’d made her foolish mistake and in its place was a raging heat that roared through her with the intensity of a thunderstorm. Her nipples tightened, her muscles clenched in need, and warmth pooled between her legs—all instinctive reactions because she’d foolishly forgotten herself in her anger and irrevocably bound them together tighter than any contract ever could.

All because she’d willingly given a vampire her name and everyone knew that to do so was as good as signing your own death warrant because your life was no longer your own.

“No, mia bella fenice,” he growled against her neck and he heard her breath hitch in her throat. “I didn’t. You gave me your name willingly, and now...” He dragged his fangs along the slender column of her throat, brushing his lips against her thundering pulse and pressing a tender, whisper-soft kiss against the wildly fluttering skin.

Then his grip tightened, a savage growl erupted from his throat, and he snarled, “Now, Kagome, you’re mine.”

He struck and Kagome screamed.

*cackles gleefully* God this is so fun.

Piccolo gattina - little kitten Dolce angelo - sweet angel Bella bonazza - loosely translated “hot stuff.”

Originally I wanted Inuyasha to call her “sugar lips hot tits” but there’s really nothing that translates to those direct words lmao

I | II | III

#Oscurità amore mio #ii #inuyasha #kagome #inukag #supernatural au #fanfiction #keizfanfiction #iM HAVING SO MUCH FUN WITH THIS YOU HAVE NO IDEA LKAJFKLAJHDF;F

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maraudersmessrs · 6 years

Text

Remus Lupin and the Prisoner of Azkaban--- Chapter 35: One Monster, Two Monster

Ao3 link

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 11 / Chapter 12 / Chapter 13 / Chapter 14 / Chapter 15 / Chapter 16 / Chapter 17 / Chapter 18 / Chapter 19 / Chapter 20 / Chapter 21 / Chapter 22 / Chapter 23 / Chapter 24 / Chapter 25 / Chapter 26 / Chapter 27 / Chapter 28 / Chapter 29 / Chapter 30 / Chapter 31 / Chapter 32 / Chapter 33 / Chapter 34

By the time Monday rolled around, he was as recovered as he ever would be, energy back up and pain ignorable.

It was glitteringly sunny over a light dusting of fresh snow, cutting the late January bite into something that almost had a pleasant edge. But instead of taking a walk over the grounds as he longed to do now that he knew his joints wouldn’t dump him somewhere unfortunate without warning, he made his way up to his classroom, magically-lightened boggart trunk in hand to set up before Thora arrived. The 2 days in bed and the rest of the week and weekend stuck indoors catching up on missed classwork had him gazing longingly out each window he passed, soaking in the brief sunlight like some sort of summer starved plant. Alas, prior commitments. Thora seemed a pleasant enough girl and he was always pleased to get to know his students as more than a name on a page, so, despite the unfortunate circumstances, he was sure the morning would be agreeable enough.

He had the floor cleared, chairs and desks neatly stacked against the sides of the room by the time she poked her head around the door jam. “Hullo.”

Glancing over his shoulder from setting the case in the approximate middle of the room, he smiled at her, “Good morning, Thora, right on time.”

He felt her draw close behind him, watching him wave his wand to undo the magical fastens while leaving the physical locks still firmly sealed. “Why are we here and not on the 7th floor?” she asked, curiously.

That surprised a short laugh out of him and he rose to his feet, hands on his knees. “Good question. Partly for the fact that we only need a bigger space when there’s a whole class worth of people lining up to take the boggart on. But, also, partly because I don’t want to have to walk that far, do you?”

She gave a short chuckle of her own and shrugged, tossing her bag onto a desk against the wall. “Not really.”

“I’m glad this is satisfactory for all parties, then. Save, perhaps, our unfortunate boggart, here. Feeling alright?”

Eyes locked on the case, she shrugged again, uneasily. Her fingers picked at the hem of her sleeves. “Nervous, I guess. I’ve been trying to guess this whole time what it might be and I don’t really know which one I would prefer, y’know?”

His eyebrows raised in mild surprise and said, “Oh? I had thought you knew.” Declining to continue felt the least invasive, but they both felt the implied ‘and that’s why you elected to have a private lesson.’

It was hard to tell against her dark cheeks, but Remus got the impression that she flushed a bit as she shifted from foot to foot. “Uh, no, I just...I don’t do well, er, performing in front of others, y’know? I get real...I just get real anxious and I didn’t want….”

As she trailed off he held up a hand and shook his head, trying to negate whatever discomfort his question had caused, “Whatever your reasoning is fine with me, Thora, like I said, I’m not going to ask for justification. I shouldn’t have assumed, so I apologize.”

“Nah, ‘s alright. Just didn’t wanna have a fit in front of the whole class or anything.” She glanced around at him and shot him a small, sheepish grin, “In front of you is fine, though, I suppose.”

He smiled as gently as he could and said, “I’m here to help keep you safe, so whatever happens will be kept in the strictest confidence, Thora. Is there anything in specific you’re worried about?”

“Not really, just the whole, uh, worst fear thing. Not looking forward to that,” she said in a tone of humor veiling real discomfort. Her fingers kept picking at her sleeves, plucking nervously.

“Understandable,” he nodded. “But necessary--to be able to know and control your greatest fear, to use that power to transform it into something that is not only harmless but laughable is an invaluable skill. There are many adult witches and wizards who struggle with it. Do you want to talk about what it might be?”

“No...I think I’ll psych myself out….”

He glanced down at the case, then back at her, a quirk of sympathy tugging his mouth when slowly she tore her gaze away from it to meet his. “Do you think you’re ready?”

She took a deep breath and blew it out before rolling up her sleeves and pulling out her wand. “I guess so.”

They both took several steps back, Remus drawing his wand as well, eyes on Thora. “Remember, I need this boggart for future lessons, so no going and banishing it in one go, right?” He quirked a smile at her that she nervously returned. “Remember the spell?” She nodded. “On 3?”

Without speaking, she nodded again, lips tight and wand pointed. Moving back even farther to leave her as the boggart’s primary target, he said, “1...2...3!”

The locks popped open, the lid flew off, and all at once, the both of them froze.

A latch cracking---

Mad golden eyes. Immense.

Moonlight---

A bass snarl, shaking through the ribcage to seize the heart.

He couldn’t move---

Measured steps, stalking. Claws grating on stone.

Werewolf.

A record warbled down the hall, the bed dipped--

Student. A child is here. Something in him slammed down, hard and fast. Breath unlocked again. He could move, numbly. All he could feel was a frantic, frenetic buzzing, deep within him, unidentifiable as an emotion. It had taken only a moment, maybe two. Thora was only just recoiling, her wand clattering to the floor, a horrified scream breaking free. She dove back against the front desk, curled up, hands over her head. Mutely, he slashed his wand, driving the boggart back toward the case, but not far enough. He stepped closer, the sickening vibration deep in his gut intensifying. The thing turned its eyes to him. Long white fangs parted. Another step and it shrank, spun, changed until the moon floated instead, like some sort of horrible Russian doll--the moon within the wolf within the moon within--

He slashed again and it fell back into the trunk, lid slamming down. He had no idea what was on his face as he turned back to her, but it didn’t matter, for she was slumped to the ground sobbing, hands over her face. “Oh God. I’m sorry. Oh God, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean--I’m sorry--that was stupid, that was so--”

“It’s alright,” he felt himself say, quietly.

“I’m sorry--”

Feeling strangely unreal and off center, he knelt next to her. “It wasn’t stupid.” His hands were numb.

The sobbing shrank quickly into hiccoughs she valiantly tried to tamp down, scrubbing her face clean on her sleeve. “Sorry. Sorry, for--for--”

“You don’t have to be sorry.” He couldn't seem to inject any inflection in his voice.

“I shouldn’t cry, I was just--it caught me off guard, I didn’t mean to drop--God, that was so stupid….”

“You can cry. It was scary.”

She, sniffed, lowered her sleeve and turned to look at him. He didn’t quite have control yet, so whatever expression he had was worryingly unfiltered, but whatever she found seemed to help, for she sucked in a deep shuddering breath and closed her eyes. Now that the beast was gone, so was the strange, unsettling thrumming at his core, leaving him feeling curiously...empty. Vacant. He, too, took a deep breath.

“Really, I’m okay. It just surprised me,” she said, her voice roughened by the now-stopped tears. “I, uh, I was sort of hoping it wasn’t gonna be that. Which...I guess makes sense that it was, if I was hoping it wasn’t. My brother and me almost got attacked in the forest, when we were little, going for a walk. Mum killed it--she was an Auror. I hadn’t really thought about it in years but then, when Professor Snape was teaching your class when you were gone...I guess it got me thinking about it again.

“Which, I mean, yeah, it sucks because it was scary but, Snape--” Distracted by this memory, she suddenly rolled her eyes, looking annoyed, “It was so dumb, he kept teaching us about werewolves and we told him that you had it planned for later this year but he wouldn’t listen, he kept saying all these things. My friend in Gryffindor said he did that earlier in the year in his class too, he told me about it. And it was like he kept trying to really subtly insinuate that you were a werewolf or something? It’s so stupid, like Dumbledore would ever let someone like that come to Hogwarts. And to choose you to be the one he was, like, hinting at is just--” she let out a scoff. “Everyone knows he wants to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts but of all things to accuse you of, it’s just really dumb. All the Hufflepuffs agree that you’re one of the nicest Professor’s we’ve ever had; werewolves aren’t nice people, they’re werewolves,” she continued, incredulously, obviously offering this as a compliment and an invitation for him to scoff as well, gesturing to the now inert trunk as evidence of this fact.

“...It’s nice to be trusted,” he heard his voice say, hollowly.

Suddenly, she looked self-conscious and muttered, “Er, probably shouldn’t be disrespectful about other Professor’s around you, huh? Sorry.”

He felt very far away. “...Probably not.”

Thora gave one last, huge sniff, swiped her arm across her nose and stood up, “I guess I should have another go.”

It took him another moment to rise, but he did. Student. Teaching. “Yes. Do you have any ideas about the Riddikulus form.”

She cast him an odd look. He made sure to blink. It felt like he had been staring. Wake UP, something hissed fiercely.

I don’t think I want to. I don’t think that would be wise at all.

“Um…” Her brows furrowed and she pursed her lips. “I guess...maybe...well, not dead, that’s not funny….”

He said nothing.

“Er...bald? Or...pink. Still scary, though; a pink monster is still a monster. Um...oh! Oh, I got one, okay! I think,” she cast a doubtful look at the case. “I think I can try again.”

“Good.” Dream-like, he moved beside and behind her once more.

“I won’t drop my wand this time,” she said, words firm, as if assuring him but her face was dubious. “Riddikulus?” He nodded. “Okay...ready.”

The lid swung open once again, that deeper than deep, rattling growl came again. His eyes were closed. The stench of rotting meat---Stop.

There was an intake of breath next to him. “Riddikulus!”

There came an odd, muted thump and a surprised gale of laughter. His eyes opened. A huge black anvil sat where the werewolf had been, leaving only 4 splayed legs beneath it. He must have stared at it for a few moments because Thora, still wheezing, said, “Sorry! Dad’s American, Muggle born. I got brought up on Wile E. Coyote! Meep meep, asshole!” She crowed at the boggart, who twitched at each new peal of laughter.

He felt his lips stretch and he said, “Funny.”

In the face of her mirth, the whole thing scooted backwards, then dove back into the case for relative safety and quiet, which made her laugh harder, tightly curled hair quivering in her glee. Part of him, the Professor part, quite detached, was glad that she had come about so quickly and found something so effective. Another, separate, walled off part truly and completely and sincerely no longer wanted to be here. A wolf scrabbling at the walls of a room on fire.

“...You should try again. To be sure you have it.”

And she did.

Twice. Control.

After the boggart had fled once more, he waved his wand, closed the case and locked it. Thora flexed her arm and said, “Take after my mum, I guess! Werewolf slayer!”

“Well done.”

She hesitated and said, “Are you alright, Professor? You’ve got...awful quiet.” She looked unsure, even concerned.

Something in the vicinity of a smile came over his face. “Yes.”

Sweet, kind, werewolf-fearing Thora frowned and studied his face, then softened and said, “Professor Lupin...were you a little scared, too?”

Deep in his pockets, he felt his hands begin to shake. Trusted. “Yes,” he repeated. “I think...I must have been.”

Something like sympathetic relief swept onto her face and, Hufflepuff through and through, asked, “Are you okay?”

“Mum killed it.”

“You’re one of the nicest Professor’s we’ve ever had.”

“A pink monster is still a monster.”

A latch shattered--

There is no monster in that trunk, there is one monster in this room. There is no monster in that trunk---

Student.

“I am. Thank you,” he said, quietly.

Satisfied, she turned and eyed the case. “We don’t...have to do this again, right? Not until O.W.L.S.?”

“No. Just the essay.”

Flashing a grin, she blew out a breath and clapped her hands together decisively, “PHEW! Good! I really don’t want to see that again soon. Or ever.” She turned back to him and, automatically, a smile pasted itself on his face, like holding up a mirror. “I’m really glad I chose to do the private lesson, I, uh, know a couple people who wouldn’t have let me live down that little scene that happened. But...thank you. Sorry if it was hard on you, too,” she added.

“Don’t worry about me.” Then stop making her worry. Selfish. “You did very, very well, Thora, and I’m proud of you. I’ll see you in class.”

“See you in class!” A bounce in her step, she scooped up her bag and thrust her wand behind her ear. With a fierce grin, he heard her say to herself, “I did it.”

She looked back at him and the smile flicked back on. Behind it, it felt distinctly cracked. He waved. She waved and left. The door closed. He sat down, on the floor. His hands shook.

It was a long, long time before he could touch the trunk.

#Pink monster you monster...or something #my stuff #ficlet #remus lupin and the prisoner of azkaban #This was gonna be about something else too but it went long so

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gurl2irl-blog · 6 years

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UNDER THE ARCHWAY by Zachary Ross

I’ve been consuming a lot of post apocalyptic media lately, but also have had a lot of problems with it and themes I didn’t enjoy! Post apocalyptic media has never felt very mysterious to me, and I never felt a lot of times there was any “hope”. So with that in mind, I’ve written this short story about the struggles of a mysterious world and finding hope in a barren wasteland! Enjoy!!

There’s nothing else away from the tower, those who venture out never come back. The land that wraps in thin, spiraling strips around the outer rim of it is our only living space. Going inside The Tower itself isn’t an option anymore, all that’s in there is the remains of a civilization we don’t understand, and entities who want us dead. No one has ever been to the top or bottom either, as the environment both in the tower and the environment wrapping around it become too cruel. “To be satisfied with the way we live now normalizes the problems we can easily fix, a future must come from those in the present.” Those are the last words she told me before she went into the tower, despite what we all told her. We were never supposed to go in there, or navigate into there without prior preparation. But that day she headed in without heeding my words. I’d scream and shout for days, trying to get her back, trying to find something that would let her know we needed her. But nothing worked. Nothing ever works. I open my eyes to find myself staring up at the dark maroon stone roof of my home, laying within my bed. The warmth of the covers is enough to keep my body and being comfortable, but the cold morning air from the window brushes against my face, sending a chill down my spine. I am awake. I lay there momentarily, entirely still, as if my limbs are asleep; and continue to look at the roof. It looks like it has some cracks in it, probably from age, but it gives the stone and clay a very natural look. Small light comes in through the window above my bed, allowing me to see the dust that flies around in the luminesce. The world continues to move, even though I have yet to even move with it. I slowly rise from the covers of my bed, and look around the room. Now the morning air is much more noticeable, almost as if it was waiting to hit me the moment I removed myself from the warmth of that cocoon. Seed bags and books line the floor, an unorganized shelf of foods and herbs staring straight back at me from the pantry shelf across from my bed. My tools and supplies sit in the corner of the room in a metal pile, dust slightly settling on the sickle and basket. The way they lay there almost makes me feel guilty, but I guess there’s nothing really to be guilty about. I shift out of bed in nothing but my underpants and start to stretch. It’s the same morning as always, alone in this small home of mine. Food supplies are running short lately, so making myself a large breakfast is out of the question. I approach the shelf of cans and bags and see what I could possibly eat for today. Seeing how things are lately, my best option right now would be to make just a small soup. I take a can of tomato paste and use the sickle from the tool pile to pry it open. Despite its age, the tool itself is still quite sharp. Searching the floor of this single room, I find a small piece of flint I can use to start the stove fire for today. With a few clicks, a weak fire burns under this small, stone slab I call a “stove.” I place an iron container over the stone and set the soup in it, adding some of the herbs from shelf. As the soup boils, I look out the window above my bed. An outstretch of topaz soil presents itself in front of me, the land as barren as always. From here, I can also still make out the soil I tilled and watered since last month. Still nothing. It’s hard to believe anything can even grow on this land when the underground is only 40 feet deep between sectors. The sky has a dark purple hue to it, as the sun is still just rising over the horizon of this area, giving it a slight tinge of yellow. I hear the shuffling of my two cattle from inside, but I cannot see them from the window as of right now. As I turn, I accidently slam my one of my horns into the side of the wall, and let out a loud yelp. Sometimes I forget how much I’ve let these things grow, you can’t really see change in yourself without reference. I walk over to the mirror on foot of the bed, and stare into it. Looking back at me is a somewhat hefty looking humanoid, with black dotted eyes and a jagged mouth, an outstretched elongated nose covers the mouth slightly. Two rugged horns stretch out from the head, both facing out into a downward curve. I stand there for a moment and then sigh, there’s really nothing else to be said. Pouring the warmed soup into a small bowl, I’m actually quite satisfied with the taste for the most part. I’m no chef, but working with the materials given, it could’ve been much worse. As I drink the red liquid, there is a knock at the door. I look up from my bowl straight at the chipped door that separates me from the outside. “Hold on!” I yell out, I can’t just answer the door like this. I open my closet and put on my work clothes, consisting of a dirty patterned shirt, leather pants, a belt that’s a little too tight, and some black boots. After getting dressed, I lumber over to the door and open it. The moment I open it, a loud “HEY THERE!” bursts through the silent home. “I have mail for you Ms. Elviyan, as per usual!” I blink for a moment, and then groggily nod. Bulisma is as loud as ever. You’d think with her mail carrying job she’d be more professional about it than just shouting. “Oh! May I come in also if that’s OK? The winds today were a little rough on me, my wings could use a rest, haha!” Before I even respond, she steps into my home. Her golden shoulder tassels from the blue mail uniform sway left and right as she waddles over to sit at the table. Her soft, round fur-covered face stairs back at me with a fanged smile, as she chuckles to herself. I squint slightly trying to give her a disapproving look, but she either can’t read my expression or is willfully ignoring what I’m trying to convey.

I pull up a chair from across her and sit down with a sigh, “So, uh…I guess you’re done with deliveries for today if you can just barge in like this, aren’t you?” She once again smiles and nods at me. “You betcha! Everyone in town was pretty active today, apparently some new information about The Ancestors came in!” She reaches into her pouch bag and slides over a small paper clipping to me. “Look at this!” the paper clipping has an image of a burly, horned man holding up a small, metallic, box-like object. There seem to be symbols all over small, circular keys that line the front of it, with a black bar at the top. “BIG NEWS: Ancestral Drawing Device Discovered!” the headline reads. Bulisma points happily at the image, “You see here, this apparently was a device that let The Ancestors put paper in, and output small panoramas! Like each of the keys pressed will put a small symbol, and they think that The Ancestors used it either to write or draw! Isn’t that amazing!? Ya know, and it’s not like the other metallic devices they’ve found in the tower either, it doesn’t require any “power” and you can eas-” I slide the paper back and look at Bulisma.

I look at her with tired eyes and a frown, “Look. That’s great. But how does this help us? What does this device…do? Is it just for fun? Entertainment? Why announce something like this? This doesn’t benefit us now or today in what we need to do.” I feel bad talking to her like this, after how excited she looked, but I do have to be honest with her. Lack of water and minerals within the soil has been a big problem, and there’s evidence The Ancestors had devices that could help with that, so why did the Catalogers come back with nothing but an entertainment device? What help is this to us? Bulisma stops for a moment, and kinda smiles eerily back at me, her small trunk scrunching up a little. “Ah! You’re - you’re right Elvi, I’m sorry for showing ya! Ahahah…” there she goes with that “sorry” again, you can tell by the look on her face that she felt bad for showing me. I sigh and get up from the chair. “Look…are you hungry? I’m sure the trip down here was a lot, just stay here and let me get you something.” She turns from the chair to me and just nods, “Y-Yeah! I’d like that a lot, thank you Elvi! Hahaha…” I don’t know when she started using that nickname, but it’s definitely a new word in her vocabulary. After eating up some more of the liquid from the can, I pour it from the stone pot into the bowl, and put it on her side of the table.

We sit there silently for a moment, just eating our food. She occasionally will look up at me, but I try not to meet her gaze as to encourage her to ramble again. But I guess that doesn’t stop her, as she puts down her spoon at opens her mouth. “Oh! Have you been to the village a little down the strip lately? I noticed you’re still using that blanket that one vendor got from inside the tower haha…” she nods for a moment again. “They say they’re worried about you and hoping crop season is going well! Apparently they’re gonna try holding a festival soon!” I look up from the bowl at her, and then avert my gaze and shrug. “It’s…the same as it usually is, I guess. You’d think that crops would grow better in higher temperatures like this higher on the tower but…still nothing. After 3 years living her, such little progress has been made, if any.” She looks again at me and just nods again, a nod and look that says “I understand, I’m sorry,” but she knows she can’t say that. She knows how anxious it makes me when she apologizes like that.“Have you tried moving away from the tower again? I’m sure the land closer to the rim will be more fertile, it gets more sun since there’s no strips right above it all the time!” I shake my head. “The soil around the rim is too thin, crops won’t be able to grow very well out there, and water is difficult enough even when I’m next to one of the Tower’s sources.” Bulisma nods and looks down again. “W-Well uh, if you ever…wanna move back into town again, I’m sure everyone would be happy, haha…” While she said it smiling, she frowns right after she finishes talking. She knows why I moved away, what’s the point of being within a community you can’t support properly. For the rest of the meal, we both sit there silently, the only noises coming from our eating and the clinking spoons on the stone bowls.

Once she’s finished, she pushes back out her chair and stands up. “Well! Uh, thank you so much for the meal, it was really great!” There it is, I can see I brought down her mood again. The way she stands is slightly more hunched and defensive than before. It’s not her fault, I was the one being rude; but to apologize to her now might seem half-hearted, so the least I can do is be kinder as she’s heading out. I stand up and dust myself off. “Yes, I’m glad it was able to help somewhat.” She smiles again and nods, letting out a small nervous laugh. I…try to smile back and nod, but it comes out very forced. Regardless, she seems to take this as a, “I enjoyed our time,” and slightly loosens and perks back up. As she heads out, the door, she points to the pen where the cows relax. “Oh, did something happen to Selvanson?”

…Huh? What did she mean by that? I step out the door with her to look at the pen. The humid, dry air hits me, as my eyes adjust to the yellow morning skies. The dry, dead land outstretches before me still, none of anything I’ve planted yielding anything. This is nothing new for me, what surprises me is what the pen holds; and what it holds is…one less cow. Selvanson is gone. I look directly at Bulisma with panic in my eyes, my heart racing. “Did you see him when you got here? Was he here?” she nods looking at me with worry. I run over to the pen, and check the fence. I forgot to lock the gate. I forgot to lock the gate. I forgot to lock the gate. My head starts to pound and my body gets heavy as the stress of the situation encompasses me. How could I make a mistake so careless? How could I do something like this? I feel stagnant, like I can’t move, like something is holding me down. Bulisma approaches me and puts her hand on my shoulder. “Hey, it’s OK, don’t worry. we can ask the other people for help finding him, and I’m sure-“ I shake her hand off my shoulder. “No. No. We need to find him now. Right Now.” I desperately search the ground around the pen, looking for any sort of clues. The gate seems to have just been easily pushed open by him, maybe on accident. I look at the ground of the gate and notice vague indents in the ground from where they must’ve walked. I follow the footsteps, head pounding, eyes frantically searching the land over and over; and eventually I find a trail that leads into the tower. I stand straight up, and stare at it. The looming spires stand in front of me, almost as if it was some entity that I could feel. Standing at 7000 miles from top to bottom, I feel the entire weight of it suddenly on my shoulders. My cow went in through one of the thousands, if not millions of archways that led into the tower, and I could do nothing to stop them. Bulisma notices me staring intently at the tower, eyes full of dread, and walks over to me. “I’m…sorry this happened…”, putting her hand on me again. “I promise you, this wasn’t your fault, at all…OK? Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out and we’ll-“ I walk forward, having her hand slide off of me. I look at her sternly, with my intentions clear as the sky. “I’m going inside.”She stares back at me blankly for a moment, eyes wide. A look of disbelief paints her face, I would be shocked too if I was her. So I explain it again. “I am going inside the tower to find Selvanson. He has wondered in and I am going to get him out.” I turn away from Bulisma and head into the dark tower archway before me. “W-Wait! Wait..” she shouts. “You…you can’t just go in there! I know things are dire, but let’s think this thing through together, OK? It wouldn’t be any good if anything happened to you ahahah...” She approaches me as if to stop me. “Let’s go back to your house, and we can ask if they can bring us another cow from one of the higher regions for ease, OK?” She smiles wearily. Despite being covered in fur, I could feel she was just dripping in a nervous sweat. She didn’t want me to go in there. Hell, no one in their right mind would, except for Catalogers, but more often than not they come back with smaller numbers each time. I’ve only been in there once, but she doesn’t know that. “I’m going in no matter what you say. If anything happens to me, you can tell the villagers.” Bulisma looks down and clenches her fists. “But...but...“ she looks up at me, trunk scrunched up and tears welling up, “You can’t go in there alone!” I look at her confused for a moment before realizing what she’s implying. “I can’t take you with me, it’s dangerous, and I-“ She runs up to me and hugs me hard, starting to tear up into my work clothes. “Even if it is, you’re my friend and I can’t let you do this alone! I’m going to help no matter what!” Why is she getting so emotional over this? We’ve only been friends since my mother passed, and that’s only about 9 years. It’s not like we’re childhood friends. If we were, she would’ve probably left by now like all the others…but, I don’t know what, but something compels me to accept this. Something inside me says, “you won’t regret this, take the offer”. So I hug her back and tell her, “Alright, you can come along, but stay a distance away from me, you have higher mobility thanks to your ability to fly and glide, so it should be easier for you to escape if worse comes to worst.” She tilts her head from my chest to look at me, and sniffles. “I promise! Lets just not go too deep, and stay safe, OK!?” I sigh and nod. I’m sure wherever the Cow walked off to, it will be fine. It will be fine. It will be fine.

I walk back to the house with Bulisma and get some equipment scattered around just in case. Rope for any sort of descents we’ll be needing to make, a sickle in case we run into any trouble, and a single can of soup, just in case. It’s not a very large or extensive loadout for an exploration like this, but ideally it should only take an hour or so if all goes well. As I get all these supplies, Bulisma rattles off a bunch of info we both already know extensively. “Remember, the water reserves in the tower are pressurized in a manner that we can’t touch them directly or else!”

“Don’t eat any of the vegetation, ‘cause almost always it won’t agree with your immune system!”

“Any metallic objects with Mirror like flat segments should not be brought outside, as they usually contain corrosive materials within them!”

“While the building is sturdy, it’s still made of synthetic stone! Don’t move things too much!”

It’s hard to believe with so many warnings and dangers, people still choose to explore the tower without getting any sort of registration. But I guess at this point, we’re not much better…heading into a barren, dangerous location like this in search of something so simple. Before heading out, I look back in the mirror one last time. The same visage looks back at me, horns and all. I sometimes wonder, are my eyes actually showing me what I’m seeing, or just what I think I am?From the house, we both exit back into the outside world, the blazing sun obscured by the strips of land that lay almost 500 feet above us. The shadow of the land extends before us, obscuring the dark, stone-patterned archway that leads into that dreaded spire. As we approach the tower, I can see Bulisma obviously looking very anxious. Her trunk slightly swaying from side to side, the way her ears are tensed up, refusing to sway with the light breezes that pass us by. I still don’t know why she agreed to partake in this journey with me, she has no benefit from it and nothing to gain, yet she remained firm. Is there something I know she doesn’t, something to give her this oblivious confidence? As we step towards the tower’s archway, a cold air blows from the inside, the wind howling through the countless windows and archways that line all facets of it. I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a moment, trying to ground myself in the location I am in now. The world lays around me, unmoving. I don’t know how long I stand there, focusing, but it’s long enough to make Bulisma tap on my shoulder to try to wake me up. I open my eyes and look at her, her face is painted with that anxious, fanged smile. “Let’s…just get in, and then get out, yeah?” She sounds more coy than usual, but her tone remains somewhat with cheer. “We’re gonna go in and find Selvanson easy peasy, I know it! Haha…” I can’t really smile in an instance like this, or really reassure her any better, so all I do is just give a firm, direct nod. I step into the tower first.To say the inside of the tower is dark would be an understatement. At this time of day, the sun doesn’t really shine very well on us, but obscured even more within the stone walls, we are covered by a dark, pitch blackness. At my feet descends a pit, the only support and way of maneuvering below is a steel ladder, rusted over decades but sticking strong. I crouch down, and place my palm on the cold steel bar, sending a shiver down my spine. I start to position myself, and climb down the ladder. As I go down, multiple openings and windows from the rest of the tower surround me in this tight dark corridor, becoming my only light. I can’t see my own body, yet I look out to see the yellow sky of the outside stretch out. I continue down the ladder for what feels like five minutes straight, never stopping. Above me, Bulisma also climbs down, in this tight space I guess it would be difficult to fly or glide, so this is our only way to enter and exit the tower. She chuckles in an attempt to thin the tense air, “Phew, this is quite the climb, isn’t it! You’d think at this point, we might as well be at another strip, haha…” Almost as if the tower heard her, through a narrow window, I can make out the soil from another strip below. But before I can comment on it, sunlight from afar slams into my back, giving a subtle warmth I almost forgot existed. Looking behind, I behold a sight I never anticipated in my life.A large, rectangular space stretches out, layered with different pathways and halls before. A single, statue-like structure rests within the middle of the space, indicating it as a sort of hub-like area, surrounded by what looks like hundreds of medium-sized rooms with glass and metallic doors. The space feels compacted, almost as if constructed separately from the tower itself, more resembling a space that was simply “placed” here. The glass tower of water that runs throughout the entire tower stands at the center of the area, almost like a single bone that keeps all the muscle connected. It’s the only thing I guess providing us with the water we need. The sun flitters in from holes and windows within the walls, giving the area a faint, blue shade as if the evening surrounded us. It seems this place was deep enough that the other side of the tower can shine through it. Above me, Bulisma makes an audible gasps and lets out a noise of awe and wonder. “This…this is beautiful!” She jumps off the ladder suddenly, adjusting herself into a spread T-position and letting her wings unfurl out from under her arms. She starts to glide around the area, performing small loops and flips, laughing to herself in excitement. I sigh to myself and descend down the rest of the ladder, reaching the floor below, it’s cold and feels metallic, but looking at the material it’s more reminiscent of marble. Through the cracks in the tiles, small amounts of dirt stick out where white glowing fungus caps seem to be growing. For just a brief moment, I ask myself how sustainable is the soil here, that a mushroom can grow? But I shake myself out of it. I look up at Bulisma, still flying around excitedly. “Bulisma, I know you’re excited, but please, be careful here. We can't risk being too loud, those things might hear us.” She heeds my words and starts to slowly descend, landing a floor below me in the plaza area. “Sorry!” she whisper-shouts. “I just never thought I’d see a shopping area like this! Did you know The Ancestors used to commune in areas like this for trading goods and services? I even hear that so-“ I show her my flat palm, and she gets the message that that’s enough for now. “For now, it would be best if we split up. The fact we did not find Selvanson dead at the bottom of the ladder means it’s still alive and moving around. I will head into the storefronts, and you head deeper into the plaza area. Understand?” She gives me a slightly hurt look, but nods in understanding. “Sounds good, ahaha…let’s just meet back here every couple hours, OK?” I nod back to her. She smiles at me, and starts to climb up the side of one of the walls. She readies her legs and launches herself off into a glide in the other direction. Despite her sunny and loud personality, she’s quite agile and quiet. I guess that’s to be expected of someone from the Upper Strips. I turn the other way, and start to explore the corridor that outstretches before me.

I explore multiple stores and enclosures, looking for any sort of clues within to see if Selvanson had entered. But most small venues turn up nothing but relics from the past. I find a small storefront that sold now entirely rotted leather shoes, an enclosed space lined with glass and small seeing glasses behind cases, and even an area with rotted metallic materials that leaked a crusty, white goo. I searched and searched, but there was no luck, I had to keep going in deeper though, even at the risk of encountering one of those creatures. Finally, I enter a glass archway farther down the corridor, broken glass lines the floors of a wet, soggy carpeted floor, years upon years of time having made the material mold and fold over on itself. On top of a raised counter, a sleek yet disheveled device stands, its mirror-like surface cracked; while on the back scraggly wires hang out, eroded away from the materials that they contain. This type of corrosion isn’t uncommon with devices like these, The Ancestors used to use them a lot for everyday tasks and activities. However, it’s highly unadvised even for Catalogers to bring them back, as the materials they contain could be seen as corrosive and dangerous to the outside world, or so we’re told. Lining the walls are rotted pieces of parchment within wooden frames, eligible at this point of time and with no meaning to this world.

I explore the room in search of any clues that a cow might have been here, footprints or waste of any sort. I find some newly made indents in the ground, where the moldy floor has been pressed down by a heavy force recently. I head deeper into the room, past a small archway where a door remained, and find myself in a crumbled corridor of darkness. I take out a small wooden staff and a much smaller rectangular object. This rectangle was a device of The Ancestors that runs on fuel and gas found from the ground, and allows us to create fire. I light the staff ablaze, and raise it high in my hand to create a light in this thick darkness. The indented footsteps I found earlier seem to lead into multiple rooms, as if whoever left them explored most of these rooms, so I choose to search every room. In one room I find a flat, metal table where a rotted cloth lays; and a large, laid-back swiveling chair destroyed with deep gashes in its sides, almost as if something cut them themselves. The gashes couldn’t have been from Selvanson, and there have been no recent Catalogers within my area, so I couldn’t think that this could be created by them either. I exit the room unsure of what could have caused them, but in my mind I had a feeling of what it could have been, and I don’t want to see it.

In another room, I find walls of glass that are lined with containers and labels I am unable to decipher. I look into most of the containers to find nothing but dust from whatever remained in them originally. Whatever used to be in these containers used to be of great value, as on most of the glass walls, a large rusted lock lays either on them or on the ground in front of them. On some of the signs and labels on these containers, a small plus symbol lays on them, a lost symbol that means nothing to this world. For a brief moment, I remember her. “Take what you need,” she would tell me, “If you were to ever bring anything back, there could be hope again for someone out there.” And for a brief moment, I consider it. I consider taking it. What if I take it and help someone? What if I take it and it benefits everyone? I panic for a moment, what if this makes a change? Against my better judgement, I pick it up suddenly and pocket it into my bag. Why am I doing this? What will this help? I stand up, and move along. I don’t think about it again; or at least that’s what I tried to tell myself not to do.Leaving the room, I notice down the hall is the deepest footsteps it looks like, much more fresh and new. They appear to be the same as Selvanson’s, but this is just an assumption on my part. What if at the end of those it’s not his? What if it’s something else? I didn’t know what lay before me past those doors, but what else could I do? Meet back up with Bulisma and just tell her, “Sorry, let's go home”? She’d pity me. She’d look at me like a failure, like I did wrong once again, like I shouldn’t have decided to do this. We’ll just go back up, climb that ladder, and nothing will change once again. The fact I’ve even made this decision was a big step, so why go back now? Why go back to that life of waking up every day, waking every morning to look at the barren land where nothing to grow and just to sit there and ponder to myself? I can’t give up now. I can’t be weak. I can’t be like her, the one who stays with me and haunts me every waking moment now. But there might be something else behind that door. It might not be Selvanson, but something else, one of those beings they always warn us about.

Details always vague, dangerous masses of flesh, for all I know they might just be fairy tales to keep us out of here. The Melted, my mother would call them. But in the back of my mind, my anxiety holds a grip on me. I stare at the looming door, still unsure of what could be behind it. Life on the surface remains barren and unmoving, people come together as communities, but there’s been no progress. I’m not the only farmer who hasn't really been able to yield crops, there are many. And it keeps getting worse every year, almost slowing down even. Down here isn’t much different, just looking at this place, it’s barren. The sunlight barely flitters in and the soil doesn’t seem sustainable much more. Fungus can flourish here but only because it’s so close to the water that lines this tower. My fist grips tighter. What happens if I bring something back like I wanted? But I can’t do that either, I could risk a lot of danger bringing more unknown materials up. But without those same materials, what if we can’t prosper up on the strips? My head spirals, my chest starts to clench as my eyes dart the room. I grip the handle on the door, and swing it open. Inside is a closed room, one where the ragged carpet ends and ahead of me, and I immediately look around the isolated space until my eyes focus on what lays in the center. Laying on the ground, a destroyed, iron bipedal being stretches over the ground, its legs destroyed almost as if they were crushed, and a large gash on the being’s “Head”. Its abdomen slashed open, where a milk like substance leaks out and onto the ground. The creature lays on the ground unmoving, I simply stare at it for a moment before I sigh to myself. “Oh, Selvanson…” I slowly approach him and crouch down to examine the head. I wasn’t expecting him to survive the fall, but it was still shocking to see him in a state like this. I turn the head first left, and then right to examine the underside, checking to see what wires and things would be salvageable. It looks like most of the wires are undamaged thankfully being protected by rubber, and the manure storage in the head also remains undamaged. I carefully tear away at the dented metal to unclip the wires attacked by small facets and put them into my bag. Being careful not to cause any more damage to it, I rip away most of the “flesh” like synthetic material from the head to get at the manure storage. The odor from the mechanical device reeks, but I guess it’s expected to when it’s mostly used for soil growth. It seems to be mostly empty also, was it all josled out from the fall, or did it fall out when it got over into this area? I can’t think about it too much though, I need to see if I can salvage the Black Box finally, I guess...the brain of the cow.

My eyes wander and gaze down back at the stomach area, where processed pseudo-milk still leaks out. I tear the hole in the stomach larger and larger, until I’m able to reach inside of the Cow and remove the black box from the rubber bag it is contained in. Still in tact, thank goodness, hopefully it doesn’t retain too many areas of this area or it might not function as properly. Was there even a reason to give these machines a personality to them, it’s weird how they’ve used these to emulate previous fauna of the pre-Tower environment. But why did it wander into the tower in the first place? Or...I guess the better question would be, how did it get into here? The Cow models can maneuver and open doors easy, but not with legs this damaged. There’s no possible way he could have crawled over here either, after considerable damage like this, Cows shut down until the black box is salvaged. I realized something just now, after all this time in silence passed by. Something dragged it here.

Before I can collect my thoughts about the subject though, the room rumbles, almost as the earth itself quakes, shaking the entire room and throwing me back. I stumble backwards into a large cabinet and slam my head straight into it, letting out a loud yelp and falling to the ground. From the top of it, a piece of paper falls and lands in my lap, with the shaking slowly coming to an end. I touch the top of my head to notice blood coming down from around the point where my horns stand. Whatever caused the event and shake like that must’ve been from the base or around the area if it was that strong, I don’t know what else could have caused it. I pick up the piece of paper, just to examine it for any pictures of anything of interesting info. My mother said taking stuff like this is valuable, but I never really saw the merritt in it myself. It’s not like we can read or ever understand the language, it’s just absolutely useless material that’s just another echo of the past, another reminder of something we might never be able to reach. I hear those words again in my head, louder this time. “If you were to ever bring anything back, there could be hope again for someone out there.” But why? There’s no use here, there’s nothing this will do to help me, or the others in towns just some time away, or those above or below, what can this info do to benefit anyone? I ponder more and more trying to discern her words, would this really be something worth taking back up above, or would this just be another factor in keeping a false hope that can’t remain much longer? Again, I found myself within this stalemate of what to do, what to gain by taking up such a useless parchment that could possibly change everything from what I know. Taking it would increase the chances of encountering a Melted, but if I just leave it will be fine. It will be fine. It will be fine.

I sigh, stand up, and place the piece of paper in my bag. I’ve completed what I needed to do down here and basically found everything I needed, so I need to head back to the plaza to meetup again with Bulisma, hopefully she’s already there, it has been a while since I’ve entered this area. I stand up and dust myself off, my pants slightly soggy from crouching onto the molded ground below. As I stand, my torch creates a dim light around the room, but suddenly the light becomes useless, as a headbeam shines onto me from the back. I stare at the wall for a moment noticing my shadow, realizing the light isn’t from me. So I turn around, and immediately notice what the light is coming from. A shadowy, obscured figure stands in the doorway, standing about 7 feet tall, completely naked and covered in a wrinkled flesh. It’s oval shaped head with a large dent in it, where melted skin pools into a thick viscous liquid, almost like a broken egg. The creature has one large, open eye staring back at me, while their other eye rests floating in the small pond of melted flesh that lays on their dented head. They rest their long, lanky arms to their sides, as sharp claws mark the bottom of their hands. The creature’s jaw remains constantly unhinged, revealing two tongues, one that lays in the back of the mouth, and one that hangs loose like a strand of cloth from their mouth. Standing there with two legs and a short, stubby tail, the creature stares back at me. Its labored breathing echos through the small room, only being drowned out by the beating of my own heart. The creature stands in my only means of exit, and I am trapped within this room. It just stands there. I think to myself that if I haven’t moved, maybe it hasn’t noticed me, maybe it’s just in here looking for something else. But that’s a lie, the creature has been looking straight into my eyes for the past few minutes I’ve been standing here. It’s waiting for me to make the first move.

As I stand there, in the distance I hear the faint voice of Bulisma. “Elviyan! Hey! Come out here, looks like there needs to be a brief change of plans!” The moment her voice rings out, the creature falters for a moment and twists their head backwards, slightly sloshing some of the liquid skin out of their head. And before I know it, before I can think, or wonder, or decide what to do, I charge into it with my horns head first. My curved left horn slams into the creatures abdomen and goes through really easy, almost as if I was tearing into an unskinned fruit. I twist my head to gore into it harder, as it lets out a hellish high pitched scream. The creature unsure of what to do, starts to flail around for a moment, attempting to unlodge me from its torso. Its claws slash deep into my back, sending blood all down my spine and neck, but I do not falter, I start to run while holding the creature in a hug, and slam it straight into a wall. Its head makes a loud cracking noise as it screams even louder than before. I use all my strength to pull back from the creature, removing my horns from its body. When I removed myself from it, a thick, black liquid starts to spray all over me and my bag, drenching me almost entirely. It starts to collapse to the ground, screaming, slowly as if the being was deflating entirely. I don’t stick around to watch the spectacle, I’ve risked enough, I’ve done enough down here. I sprint out the doorway and start to make my way out of the small building into the mall’s plaza. I look around frantically and spot Bulisma on the lower floor in the center, she notices me and waves. I wave back impulsively. “Hey! There you are! Did you find Selvanson?” I raise the black box into the air. “OK! Awesome!! Now for the bad news…”, she glides up to the floor I’m on and points to the area we came down. I look over and notice right away that the ladder we have climbed down is now destroyed, it lay a wreck on the ground, crushed by larger boulders. Bulisma looks at me cautiously, “Did you feel the quake earlier? It looks like th-” she stops as she notices I’m covered in the black fluid from the Melted. “H-Hey wait...are you-” I stammer at her, “It’s OK, we can’t worry right now. How are we getting out.” She gulps and nods, “Well...I had a plan where I can glide up to the strip a little above us and get a rope down, then you can climb up it from the outside, simple as that…” I nod at her, “Great, set that up and I’ll follow suit right away. Stay safe and lets make this quick, OK?” She smiles and nods back at me, “O-OK! Thank you!” The thank you for a moment shocked me. Without realizing, I told her to stay safe. That’s when I realized it, I’ve never felt like this before, never in my life did I feel hopeful like this and have a strive to do something. The materials I’ve collected might help people, they might make this world a better place. Its small, but by getting out of here, not only have I completed my mission in saving Selvanson, I might’ve saved more for all I know. This is a drive I never expected. This is the will to continue. Bulisma quickly jogs out the nearest window to the outside and takes flight, heading downwards to gain speed and then quickly shooting back up, I lose sight of her for a brief moment and stand their waiting. My heart is pounding, my muscles are tense, I can’t even feel the injury from earlier from when I fell onto the cabinet or when the creature slashed at me, adrenaline runs through my veins. I couldn’t ever tell her, ever let her know, but the truth is I didn’t enter this tower of Selvanson. I never entered it to save him, or for any personal gain for that matter. I entered the tower with no intention of leaving, no intention of returning to that dull, motionless life above. I would come down here and not come back out, however I perished I would have accepted. I was just going to find a room and starve, maybe even speedup the process in some way if I needed. But things have changed now. Things are different. Something has clicked in me, I don’t know what but the voice in my head has swayed me. My mother’s words have driven me to where I am now and I refuse to suffer the same fate as her. I’m going to bring back what I collected, and I’m going to try to change for the better. Nothing can stop me. Nothing will stop me. There is hope. To double check and make sure I didn’t make a mistake, I grab for my bag once again to check what I’ve collected, the paper document and the small empty bottle with a label. Both are drenched in the black liquid from before, it looks like my bag didn’t do much to protect the objects from that aspect, but both remain undamaged. Thank goodness. I pick up the paper to make sure the liquid doesn’t make it tear easier or make it unusable. But that’s when I notice something. The areas where the black liquid cover, I can read.

I can read what sections of the documents say.

EMERGENCY MEMO

PROCESS TO FACILITATE EARTH UNSUCCESSFUL. AFTER MANY MONTHS OF DISCUSSION WITH THE U.N. AND OTHER SERVICES, EFFORTS TO REBUILD THE EARTH HAVE BEEN LEAD TO BE UNSUCCESSFUL. IF YOU ARE RECEIVING THIS MEMO, YOU ARE EITHER A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL OR ASSOCIATED WITH ONE IN SOME FORM. PLEASE FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS BELOW IMMEDIATELY.

HUMAN LIFE ON EARTH HAS BECOME UNSUSTAINABLE AFTER THE IMPACT OF PTE-85220, AND THE CHAINS THAT BIND THE REMAINING PIECES OF THE PLANET WE HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN AND LOVED CANNOT SUSTAIN THIS PLANET. BECAUSE OF THIS WITHIN THE YEAR, THE PLANET WILL DRIFT AWAY INTO SPACE. OUR EFFORTS HAVE FAILED.

HOWEVER, THE PROCESS TO PRESERVE THE HUMAN RACE WILL STILL REMAIN. WE AS A SPECIES WILL NOT DIE OUT, FAR FROM IT. SPANNING THE EXACT DISTANCE OF THE ORIGINAL EARTH, SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN HARD AT WORK TO CREATE THE BABEL PROJECT, AN ARTIFICIAL CELESTIAL BODY WHERE PLANT LIFE AND WATER WILL CONTINUE TO GROW UNTIL IT A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT IS CREATED. A FALSE, ARTIFICIAL SPECIES WILL INHABIT SAID ENVIRONMENT AND CULTIVATE IT FOR YEARS TO COME, UNTIL ITS RESOURCES SHALL RUN OUT.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

YOUR JOB AS A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL NOW IS TO PREPARE YOUR PATIENTS OR THOSE WITHIN YOUR AREA FOR THE CRYOSTASIS PROGRAM. THE PROGRAM WILL ACT AS A WAY TO PRESERVE THE BODY AND SOUL, AND KEEP US ALIVE UNTIL WE MAY RECLAIM THE LAND THROUGH THE BABEL PROJECT. A LARGE TOWER OF ICE THAT CAN NEVER MELT WILL BE SET WITHIN THE CENTER OF THE TOWER, WHERE OUR BODIES WILL BE PRESERVED. THERE IS A 0.09% CHANCE OF THE ICE SYSTEM MELTING, HOWEVER, BUT DO NOT LET THESE NUMBERS FRIGHTEN YOU. WE, AS ONE OF THE GREATEST AND STRONGEST SPECIES TO GRACE THIS REALM WILL NOT FALTER. BY CREATING AN ARTIFICIAL SPECIES TO REPOPULATE AND ATTEMPT TO CULTIVATE THE EARTH, WE WILL BE SAFE WITH THE BABEL PROJECT. AND THE SPECIES WILL SIMPLY DIE OUT AFTER 127 YEARS, AND THE TIME COMES FOR US TO RISE AGAIN.

PLEASE PREPARE ALL PATIENTS FOR FREEZING EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, AND ENSURE THAT ALL INFORMATION IS SENT TO YOUR GOVERNMENT. THERE IS STILL HOPE FOR THE PEOPLE OF TOMORROW. WE, THE HUMANS OF EARTH, WILL SURVIVE UNTIL THE ENDS OF TIME. GOD BLESS YOU, AND WHAT YOU WILL DO FOR YOUR PEOPLE.

I stare at the page. I stare at all the information that was just given, everything that has been said. I feel for a moment I can’t breathe. For a moment, I don’t feel my body. I look up to the center, and stare at the spire of water that lies in the center of the plaza. And for a brief moment, I realize this is not how it was supposed to be. None of this is. Is this the truth? Is this what is really happening, what lays before us as a species? Are we just a byproduct of a convoluted plan, to wipe ourselves out eventually for a species that doesn’t exist anymore? My body stands there heavy, almost as if the weight of the entire Tower lays upon my shoulders. My eyes dilate and things feel as if they are getting fuzzy around me, as if this is a dream and I’m just in bed, all my actions from just signals in my brain, not a moving body. I look outside the archway that stands before me, beholding the empty sky that stretches forward into infinity. The sun resting on the strip that stretches above me, almost as if peeking from behind it. Is that fake too? Is the sun real? And if that’s not, am I? Is anyone, what does any of this mean? As I stare at, a single rubbery rope drops down from said strip, I hear a shout from above. “Grab on, hurry! Climb on up, we’re almost there pal!” Bulisma’s cheery voice grounds me for a moment. She doesn’t know. No one knows. I climb onto the rope. Bulisma lets out a small sigh, “I’m glad you’re on! Now come on, I’ll hold this rock I tied it to down!” She can’t see me, yet she has confidence I’m there. Is it my weight from holding onto the rope, or is she just certain? How can she be so certain in the first place? I don’t get it. The cold wind brushes onto me, as the sun from above shines on me like a spotlight, casting my shadow against the Tower’s exterior. What happens when I get up? Do I show her, or tell her? Do I keep it a secret? What’s the point anyway, we’re all going to die out, there’s going to be nothing left of us, that was the plan. Why stay here for the inevitable, suffering every day just to watch the same things wash over me again and again and again. There’s nothing here for us. There never was. And there never will be. I let go of the rope. I fall. The air around me winds through my ears. My clothes cling tight onto my body as they are pushed upwards from the air. Gravity drags me down. I close my eyes and smile. I feel heavier than I ever have. And yet free. Free. Free. I feel myself land. It’s not heavy, and it doesn’t hurt, it feels soft, and as if I’m still flying. Is this what it feels like to pass, to feel like I’m soaring? But I reach my hands down, and feel a fuzzy warmth. There’s something I’m sitting on. I open my eyes, and find myself right above another rim. I look down and notice I am on Bulisma’s back. I’m alive. Bulisma is shouting at me, saying something, but my brain processes nothing. Tears seem to fly from the sides of her head, being lost to the quick winds we go through as we glide slowly down to the rim below. Eventually, she lands and I step off of her. She shakily, stands up from a crouch, and looks straight at me. She’s sobbing. She’s bawling and can’t stop crying. And before I can say anything at all, she walks over to me, slaps me hard across the face, tears still in her eyes. The impact wakes me up. I’m still here. I still exist. She clenches her fists again, but then goes in to hug me hard. “I’m so glad you’re safe! P-Please! Please be more careful next time!” Does she know what happened? Does she know I let go, not that I fell off on accident? I can’t lie to her anymore. I can’t do this. Since I’ve met her, she’s been like this, always so caring even though we barely knew each other. But maybe it’s now time I opened up. It’s the least I can do on this dying earth. I push her away, and look straight at her, “I let go”, I tell her. “I let go of the rope.” And pass her the paper I read from the tower, she stares at me for a moment in confusion, tears still welling up. “There’s no point in this. Read it.”

It takes her a moment to read it over, but as her eyes scan it and descend, she starts to understand and grip the paper harder. Her trunk slightly scrunches up again. Then, she looks up and looks at me. I solemnly nod at her and close my eyes again. But she does something I don’t expect, she laughs and comes over to hug me again. I open my eyes again confused and push her away. “Why are you laughing? Didn’t you read what it said? Our resources are finite, we’re at the end of our rope, there’s no h-” She laughs again. She looks at me with tears still in her eyes, but this time with a smile. “Elviyan, don’t you get it? This is huge!” I stand there confused, almost angry. Does she just care about this because it’s another stupid relic from The Ancestors, or “humans” as they referred to themselves? “This is proof that we can survive!” She hugs me again….what? What does she mean? I look at her with strong intent, “The document...says that our resources are finite. The humans had us here to briefly cultivate the land and then die. What about this means we can do anything but die out?” She chuckles again. “That’s exactly it! They were wrong!” She points to to the tower, “Remember how they said that they were supposed to be frozen? And that didn’t work out? What’s to say their plan to have us eventually wipe each other out will work either!” I stare blankly for a moment, and speak again. “But...there’s no point. You’ve seen my land, you’ve seen countless lands that just mirror the exact fate this document predicted, there isn’t hope. It’s over” She laughs again and looks at me, and just says one word. “Community”, she looks and smiles at me. “We are a community, and through a greater people, we can figure this out!” I look at her confused again and tilt my head. “Don’t you get it, Elvi? Even after the humans were wiped out, civilizations still persevered and grew! They said we were supposed to die out after 127 years, but our history has existed for almost 300 now!” I stand there, still confused. “Simply...it means while they might’ve suffered, they created a future for us! A future for the next generations! It means, even if the changes we make now and what we do today doesn’t always affect us, it could affect and help a greater tomorrow! Elvi, we’re here on this tower to create a better future for people like us!” She grabs my hands, “There’s hope for us after all!” I start to tear up. I don’t know what to say, I don’t know what to do. We matter? What we do matters? I hug her back, and starts to shout and cry. I start to stand there, and believe that I can make a change. My mother was right, Bulisma is right, they were all right. The world was never dying, but in fact the world is growing, changing and rebuilding itself on the foundations of a broken past. I look around me to notice the green grass of this strip, the trees with fruits bore on its branches, the fresh smell of the air around us. We’re alive, and we’re going to keep living. Because we defied what we were created to become. That day I finally understood my mother’s words. To be satisfied with the way we live now normalizes the problems we can easily fix, a future must come from those in the present.

We will build a better present, for those in the future.

#prose

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