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sayonarasanity · 3 years

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windmill

this fic is based on the song Windmill by Lor (and I highly recommend you to listen to it while reading especially or later for it is an incredible song)

AO3

summary: Here is the thing about Levi, his heart is a windmill in the middle of a wilderness where there was no wind to make it twirl, there was no wind to make it beat, pound and feel. Just feel.

Until one day he got hit by a storm so wild, so rare and so incredibly terrifying but in the most beautiful and breath-taking way that it left him defenceless, vulnerable and weak. Like a tiny little flower which had long passed its day of blossoming in a fierce, winter dawn yet it stood erect with its fragile body, challenging against the merciless winds and the brutal frost.

He fell in love.

Windmill, are you still afraid of nothing?

Here is the thing about human life, it isn’t everlasting.

But what is? The world and each and everything within it are mundane. The day is doomed with the night, the sun is doomed with the moon, life is doomed with death, men are doomed with gravity. If something starts, then it is fated to end. It is a vicious circle, living that is. Waking up only to sleep again at night. Earning money only to spend it an hour later on a trouser which you thought was necessary but maybe it wasn’t. Cooking for hours and hours just so you can eat it in mere ten minutes because your body needs food so that you can keep on living, living and living.

Like a windmill, turning, turning and turning to the day when there is not even a breeze to swirl you and you are frozen, unspoken and rigid.

And here is the thing about Levi, his heart is a windmill in the middle of a wilderness where there was no wind to make it twirl, there was no wind to make it beat, pound and feel. Just feel.

He fell in love.

And he fell in love not like jumping to death from a high up building, piercing through the clouds. It wasn’t as quick as that. He fell in love as if he had jumped into a river. It was slow and it hurt during the process of acknowledging it. Like accepting the fact that you were dying. Yet, instead of fighting against it, he welcomed the embrace of the water like he welcomed his mother’s hold. He let the arms wrap around him firmly. Then gradually the snow cold changed to sunny warm and the heavy water he thought that choked him turned into fresh, light air.

And he fell in love rather quietly, but he fell in love deep. Then his heart started to move and twirl with the wind.

She was the whirlwind, and he was the windmill. She was wild, sturdy and destructive. When he waited motionless and steady for merely a breeze to touch his vane, she had brought him a storm.

And he got carried away with it.

“Why do you keep looking at that thing?” She asks one day when they are in his apartment and he stands in front of one of his shelves in the living room.

“It’s a windmill,” he explains, taking his eyes away from the scale model of it to focus them on her.

“I know that,” she says. The shelf is not that high, so she puts her hands on the edge of it and rests her chin on top of her hands. “I wonder if there is a specific meaning behind it.”

“Like what?”

She shrugs and blows, making the vanes of the windmill move slightly. “Like a memory or… a specific reason that only you know, but you don’t want anybody else to learn.”

He raises a brow. “Then why do you ask?”

“I am a curious one, you know,” she smirks. The afternoon sun highlights her eyes and plays with the colour of her short hair which ends just above her shoulders. Some strands of her brown hair shine a sweet red. It is tied slovenly behind with a little hairpin. “And I would like to learn about my boyfriend’s secrets.”

Right, boyfriend. Apparently, by some miracle or a dice tossed by luck or during a single second in which God or whoever had a tiny pity on him or because of a good-hearted, gentle and humane ancestor of his she had loved him back.

“There is no secret,” he looks back at the little maquette. There is really no secret behind it. He had made it himself about four or five years ago when he was still at college, studying architecture. It was just that with time it had gained a place more special and a meaning more solid and a presence heavier.

“Is that so?” she asks, raising her brows and smiling lips pressed, playfully. “Rest assured, I won’t get offended if it’s a gift from one of your earlier lovers.”

“I don’t have earlier lovers,” he deadpans, glaring at her sideways.

“What is it then?” She straightens and comes closer, dropping her chin on his shoulder. He spares a few seconds just staring at her inquisitive eyes, demanding answers. His heart beats calm, and he hears its pounds and feels its vibrations. Because of her…

Is the wind still your friend?

“I liken it to my heart,” he looks away, already regretting the words that left his mouth out of command.

There is a pause in the air and faint pink on his cheeks. “Oh,” she reacts at last.

He cannot move his eyes to her this time, as the silence stretches like a furry, tired cat and it nerves him with each tick-tock he hears from the watch that is hung on the wall. It lasts so long that in the end, he shifts uncomfortably, and Hanji lifts her chin from his shoulder, her eyes, clouded and thoughtful behind her glasses, are focused on the windmill.

“I see,” she says.

The next day she brings a propeller, almost the same size as the windmill and places it next to it. When she turns it on, the vanes of the scale model twirl slowly.

Then she looks at Levi who is standing still and astonished. The wind howls in his ears, and his heart beats unsteady because it faces the same storm again. Vicious, wild and free.

And she smiles because she knows.

Levi doesn’t exactly know or rather remember but they end up drunk as hell on one Saturday night.

They are outside, stumbling together towards the coast road where benches are lined up side by side. The air smells like early summer, with newly blossoming flowers and salt. There is a full moon above the sea, and it reflects argent on the surface of the dark, tranquil water. People walk by every now and then and there are stray dogs and cats around.

When they somehow manage to sit down on an empty bench, Hanji slips and puts her head on his lap facing the pitch-black sky. She giggles to herself as she watches the stars there are barely visible because of the city lights. “So pretty.”

“Hmm,” he approves, observing her relaxed features, coloured cheeks and the goofy grin on her face.

“Hey, Hanji,” he rolls out of her tongue. He doesn’t even think or plan on what to say. The following words just stumble their ways out of his mouth. “You are—did you know that I couldn’t drink tea without some honey in it?”

She moves her eyes to his and giggles again, covering her mouth with her hand. “Yes, I realized.”

“Oh,” he blinks as if it’s enough to scatter the clouds in his head. But— whatever. It doesn’t matter now. When he has the stars and moon above, the sea ahead and the girl he loves lying on his lap. “Don’t tell anyone. Nobody knows.”

She nods and draws an invisible zip on her mouth.

“You know why?” He pushes her glasses up her nose. “The reason why I can’t… drink it without honey?”

Hanji lifts her shoulders up. “Because it tastes like piss without it?”

“Yes.” He is a little surprised at her guessing it right.

“But Levi,” she laughs. “How do you know what piss tastes like?”

“I don’t—I just know.” He closes her mouth with his hand when her laughter keeps interrupting his sentences. “Shut up, idiot. You are ruining the moment.”

To his surprise, she wraps her fingers around his wrist and kisses his palm. He breathes and his stomach moves as if he was in a car and suddenly rode down a hill. She closes her eyes tightly once to indicate that she is listening.

“Okay,” he goes on. “So, I can’t drink tea without honey because it tastes like piss.” He inhales, despite his drunken haze. He probably won’t even remember—or will he? How drunk is he anyway? Oh, well. Doesn’t matter.

“That’s… how my life would be.” Miracles happen. While sober he would rather die than utter these words out loud. Maybe it’s a good thing that he is tanked up. Because she deserves to learn. “Without you.”

Her are eyes wide open, and Levi thinks there are galaxies hidden in them. He doesn’t know if there is anything that is infinite or a life that would last forever. Does forever even exist? Does the sky have an end or space a beginning? Humans are such incapable creatures. Cannot go back a day before or has no idea what will happen a second later. Hanji is a human being, flesh, bone, blood and a little too much brain, a little too many feelings, and sentiments. And she is not indefinite, at all. But somehow, she makes him feel like she is.

“Levi,” she says, pulling his hand away from her mouth. Her eyes are still big behind her glasses and her cheeks are even redder than before. “Does this mean you’re going to call me honey from now on?”

And somehow, she manages to annoy him with every goddamn chance she gets.

He frowns and pushes her shoulder, almost making her fall down the bench. She is bursting with laughter in seconds and wraps her arms around his waist to secure herself and buries her face in his abdomen.

“I’m breaking up with you,” he announces coldly.

“You cannot break up with me. We are drunk.”

“I can. I just did.”

“No,” she groans and presses her face deeper in his stomach.

“Let go, you ungrateful woman.”

“I caaan’t,” she whimpers. “Levi I—” The rest of her words are muffled; he cannot pick up their meaning and form a logical sentence in his mind.

“What?” He asks, bending his head down.

“I said, I loppffhhhppp…”

“I don’t understand what you are saying, Hanji.” He puts his hand on her shoulder to push her back. He is convinced at this point that she is not forming legible words, intentionally.

Unexpectedly, she withdraws and puts her hands on his shoulders to lift herself up. Then leans in to rest her head right beside his neck, nuzzling his skin. “We should go back,” she murmurs. “My place is closer.”

Levi has no idea what time it is when they miraculously manage to enter her house after a taxi drive which felt like years. They take unsteady and clumsy steps inside the house until Levi finds a door of which room, he is unaware of. He only looks for something to lay down on, then catches the sight of a couch with the limited light provided through the half-drawn curtains. He throws himself to it, without even bothering to take his jacket off. He only kicks his shoes out of his feet and tosses until he finds a comfortable position to sleep.

Hanji gets into the room a few seconds later. Levi watches her with half-lidded eyes and sees that she has a blanket in her hands. He frowns. How the hell had she had enough wits in her head to think of a blanket? But sleep weighs down on him incredibly heavy and so very unusually that he is almost scared to make it run away. He doesn’t have the strength the utter proper words at the moment anyway.

Hanji lies down on his chest, covering them with the blanket. He automatically wraps his arms around her as she presses her forehead on his neck. She whines. “I hope I don’t throw up during the night.”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” he mutters. The clean freak inside of him is alarmed and screams with worry and dismay. He has no voice though. Just a wide mouth open in a silent yell and eyes filled with apprehension.

“Would you break up with me if I did?” Hanji asks, and he feels her smile in her sleepy voice.

A moment of consideration. “No.”

She huffs out a drowsy chuckle. “Levi,” she murmurs and sighs. “I love, love, love you.”

Are you still afraid of something? Is it you who command?

“Idiot,” he says affectionately. The vanes of the windmill twirl ever so rapidly, and he considers how weird it is for his heart to beat, pound and feel for somebody else, for her only. “I love, love, love you too.”

The subway moves swift through the night and they are alone inside the compartment at this hour of the day. Levi watches their reflection on the window when Hanji takes a few photos with her phone. Grinning from ear to ear while Levi has a dead, worn-out look rooted deeply in his eyes. Travelling around the city to visit historical places, museums and parks within just one single day was the worst idea he had ever agreed to. He barely had the energy to merely sit.

“Gonna post these on Instagram,” she twitters happily, swinging left and right.

“Don’t forget to announce my funeral,” Levi murmurs.

Hanji snorts and locking her phone she puts it back in her pocket. Then she shifts and lies her head on his lap, staring up at him.

“Why do you always lie on my lap in public places?” He asks, looking down at her.

She shrugs. “I enjoy the view above.”

“Tch.” One corner of his lips quivers and he moves his gaze up, looking at the window across from him again. This time he realizes that there is heavy rain outside, the raindrops tap furiously against the glass. “Shit,” he swears tiredly. “It’s raining.”

She follows his gaze. There isn’t much before they reach their stop. They are going to soak to their goddamn underwears. It had been sunny the whole day. Curse his luck.

“Alas!” she sighs, but she doesn’t sound much concerned. “Levi,” she says then, and when their gazes are locked again, she beams at him. “Would you kiss me under the rain?”

He blinks down at her first, his heart stammering hard against his ribcage. His eyes examine her features carefully. “Would you like me to?”

“Yes,” she breaths. “I’ve never done it before.”

“Me neither.”

“How do you think it would be?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “I’ve never done it before.”

Her smile widens to display her straight, white teeth. “We should try it.”

“Maybe.” He watches her lips. They are a sweet shade of pink and they look maddeningly soft. And he wants to taste them so very desperately.

“Don’t worry. Nothing’s going to happen to your chastity.”

His gaze travels up to her eyes. “I am sure.”

It is still pouring rain when they leave the subway. Hanji leads them through the streets, with her fingers around his. He licks the rain on his lips and squints to get a better view of her. He smells wet asphalt and trees and earth. The odour of the pine trees is evident despite the rain. The splashing drops bounce on the ground like they are dancing up and down, but they slow down until they stop under a streetlamp.

“We should do it before the rain ends,” Hanji explains excitedly. As if what they were going to do wasn’t something basically everyone did but a life-changing, world-saving act of heroism.

Her lips taste like rain and they are warm against his own. When her hands cling to the collars of his jacket, he cups her cheeks and tilts his head. Much to their unfortunate luck, the rain almost ceases, turns into a drizzle that barely had any function of wetting anything. She smiles, but Levi doesn’t pull back for a little longer. Holds her gently, keeps her close.

Are you still afraid of the wind?

“Let’s dance,” she whispers against his lips. Her breath warm, her taste still on his tongue.

“There is no song.” And the rain stopped already.

She wraps an arm around his neck and holds one of his hands. He slides his other arm on her waist keeping up with her movements, while she rests her forehead on his temple. “We don’t need a song.”

They start to move slowly, following the notes of a song that doesn’t exist. The wind is blowing still, quietly. If he listens carefully, he can hear the pitter patters of the water dropping down from the rooftops, and the soft sounds of the wheels of the cars rolling on the wet ground, a plane taking off, a man coming back from work, his rapid footsteps. Tap, tap, tap. And his heart, content like he is lying down on the grass, with breezes caressing his face, ruffling his hair ever so slightly. Watching how quietly the vanes turn on top of a hill.

Oh, windmill.

You’re a place where I can cry.

You’re a place where I can lie.

You’re a place where I can die.

#levihan #levihanfic #fanfic #songfic #levi x hanji #levihan fanfiction

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albinokittens300 · 3 years

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A Place To Stay.

Pairing: Some Newtina. But also a Gen fic. Rated K.

Summery: After Paris, Tina (and Nagini) finds a place to stay in London with Newts assistant Bunty, to avoid the unnecessary attention an unmarried woman living with an unmarried man would cause. The arrangement, while strange, works well for all involved.

A/N- SUPER excited to share this! I don’t think I’ve gone this level of all in on an FB fic in a hot minute. The idea came from me and another friend chatting about historical accuracy...and the idea that in the ‘20s, most would find Newt and Tina (unmarried man and woman) moving in together scandalous came up. The idea that they would find Tina a female roommate lead to the idea of Bunty offering her and also Nagini a place to stay, and this fic was birthed! Really hope you all love it! Leave a like, reblog or reply if you feel like it :)

Tina lays back on the bed, clean and almost too new. Certainly unfamiliar. However, it was bliss as she leaned back into the pillows. Several nights with only a few hours of sleep will make any bed feel like a cloud.

A single candle continued to glow, and she hesitated to blow it out even though she wanted nothing more than sleep. A rustle comes from her large messenger bag, and Tina reaches for her wand before a small dark body toddles out into the light. The niffler, wrapped paw and all, comes out from hiding and approaches her.

The endearing nature of him sneaking out of her bag melts any annoyance she could have had. Since the Paris incident, she and Newt have been attempting to mend his burnt paw between meetings and briefings. Keeping his burn cleaned, wrapped, and carrying him in their pockets. It seemed he had grown fond of her due to her help in nursing him back to health, and decided to become a stowaway. Scooting over, Tina pats beside her on the bed. "Come here, little fella. Behave, and you can sleep here." She whispers.

Tired, the little creature complies and hops up beside her, warming her lap. As he does, Tina notices something peeking out of his pouch.

When she moves her hand to pull it out, the Auror discovers a piece of paper. Written on it is the familiar handwriting of the nifflers caretaker.

Dear Tina,

I hope you aren't bothered by a bit of company. When you were preparing to leave, I saw him climbing into your bag and decided to allow him to go with this little note. Bring him back tomorrow if you don't want the responsibility, but for the moment, I think he's happier and better mannered around you.

It will also give me a chance to try and temper the younger ones' thievery, without his bad influence. Or that's the hope.

Tina giggles and gently strokes the furry creature's back as he curls up next to her.

My hope is you are feeling more at ease now, with a permanent place to stay. I know things are frankly rubbish at the moment, but. I'm glad you decided to take Bunty's offer and remain in London till things are figured out. Please know you can come to me with anything you need. My door and ears are always open.

Yours,

Newt

Somberly, Tina cuddles the niffler a little tighter with a loose arm. Newt's words echo in her heart, and she wishes he was here. Or that she was several blocks down, in his townhouse. Being with Newt and Jacob had kept her sane the last few days since the disaster in Paris. The spare moments Newt would sit with her and take her hand, or Jacob's gentle pat on her shoulder were infinitely more comforting than any 'I'm so sorry' or 'we'll get her back' managed to be.

There was also the warmth that Newt causes in her, the feelings that were undoubtedly still growing. It was the last thing on either of their minds, but in a way, it wasn't. Tina would be lying if she claimed she wasn't in love with him. That's clear to her now. As was the fact Newt loved her too, after their moment in the archives together. If he loved her the same way? Well, that was a question for the future.

For now, just his love is enough to make Tina confident she hadn't lost everything when Queenie walked away. And that matters most, for now.

Turning her attention from longing for Newt to the little sleeping creature tucked into her side, the auror thinks she can't recall what he was named.

"I don't know that you have a name, little fella. Do you mind if I call you Peter?" She asks. The niffler snuggles closer to her, and Tina hums a giggle. Taking the reaction as a yes.

It's then the door creaks open and reveals Bunty. Her illuminated wand in hand, and dressed in a long sleeping gown. Tina is mildly surprised to see a fairly long braid down the woman's shoulder as she peeks into the room. "Just wanted to be sure you're alright. Make sure I can't get you anything. Heard you talking and thought…"

The air is thick between them when she trails off. It only took Tina several glimpses of Newts basement sanctuary, and he's hired help to know Bunty was thoroughly in love with her employer. Tina can't fault her for the affections, having similar ones herself even after she was convinced the younger Scamander ran off with Leta. The same things that drew her to Newt certainly enticed Bunty as well.

Even though it's aimed at her, the jealousy is something that Tina finds understandable.

"I'm fine, got everything I need." She says with a smile. "Nagini's...gone under the bed for the night, so I'm sure she's asleep," Tina notes.

Bunty gives her a half forced grin and nods, turning to leave before pausing. "Wait, is that?"

"The niffler, yes." Tina laughs. "A stowaway, it seems. Brought himself along in my bag."

"Careful with that one. If you have any jewelry that's precious to you, watch out for it. The little pilferer doesn't understand how to tell the difference between what's his and what's not." Bunty warns, and Tina giggles.

The memory of the bank, her first introduction to Newt and his case of creatures flash behind her eyes, lifting her mood the slightest bit more. The mayhem the duck-billed creature's sticky paws had caused. In a way, Tina has his greediness to thank for meeting Newt. For a second, she considers telling the story but then thinks better of it—no need to needle Bunty with how Newt came into her life.

"I will. And Bunty?" Tina calls out just as she is about to close the door. "Thank you. For giving Nagini and me a place to stay. I promise if there's anything I can do to repay you, just ask." The words ring truthful. When they realized how scandlous it would look for her to stay with Newt and Jacob, Tina had resigned herself to returning alone to New York before Bunty's offer.

"It's nothing. A friend of Newts is a friend of mine. Plus. Grindelwald in a cage will make us all a bit safer." Bunty asserts, and it's the most confident and pleased Tinas has heard her since arriving, and she's glad to see that she and Bunty seem to be able to get along just fine.

#tina goldstein #Bunty #newt scamander #Newtina #fantastic beasts and where to find them #crimes of Grindelwald #AJ Writes #A Place To Stay #One Shot #I defiantly feel this could be explained #in maybe a vignette style #this defiantly isn't all of this AU/Idea

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hatsampixie · 3 years

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Kick Buttowski: Full Moon Fever

Small note: I was planning to write part 1 after I wrote part 2.. But I never got the chance to, so.. I might as well just post it.

This is also from 2019.

Later that night..

It was about 10:00, and Kick was already nestled in his bed, still dressed in his helmet and jumpsuit outfit, for he became too tired to even undress and put on his PJs. The moon shone brightly through his bedroom window, giving a hint of light in the room, and it was very quiet, a little too quiet..

The stairs softly creaked as someone, or something began to walk up the stairs, ever so quietly, without the floorboards even making a sound so loud it would wake someone up. "Now.. little child, I know that you may run, but you cannot hide, or outwit me.. And I think it's time you turned to my way of thinking.." A dark growling voice spoke, he chuckled in his throat as he went up the last 3 steps, the creature's eyes glowing an ominous red.

As he slowly walked through the hallway, he sniffed the air, until he finally recognized his soon-to-be victim's scent, he reached out with a large clawed black hand, and slowly, very slowly, opened the door, walked into the room, and began closing it. But at the last moment, he gave a little shove, and the door closed behind him with a menacing click.

The one he eyed in the bed before him was none other than Kick Buttowski, who now, due to the sound of the door shutting, sleepily began waking up, his eyes at half-mast.

The creature chuckled in his throat once again as he drew nearer and nearer to the bed, "Heheheh.. There you are.. Look at this little sleeping beauty.." And as he was a foot away from the boy, the beast yelled at the top of his lungs in a monstrous roar: "WAKEY WAKEY, CLARENCE!!"

Indeed, this woke him immediately. Kick's eyes shot open and the expression he had at first was an annoyed glare, "Brad, don't even think about-!" But in a split second, he realized that his older brother had never called him by his real name; that wasn't Brad. His angry expression quickly turned into a look of terror as the beast opened his mouth, which was filled with 30 long razor sharp teeth, each about as long as your ring-finger and 2 inches wide. And Kick, in his horror, screamed as loud as he could as the monster, baring his teeth and claws, lunged for him with a blood-curdling roar.

Kick awoke screaming in the night, drenched in sweat from fear, he paused breathing heavily and looking himself over, his now wrapped-up wound still hurt from before. Then he looked at the room around him.. It was just a dream, or in this case, a pretty realistic nightmare.

Kick slowly rose out of bed, glancing over at his pet goldfish once, he opened the door to his room, there was no sign of the creature. Closing it afterwards, he walked over to his bedroom window; still nothing, just a pretty nice view of the neighborhood of Mellowbrook outside, the stars shining in the night sky, and the moon..

He glanced up just to see some clouds, backlit by the light, float away. Revealing the glowing full moon in the night sky. "The moon sure is pretty tonight." he said, he was about to walk over and get back into bed, when he saw something creepy happen.

His wound began to glow.

That's right, Kick's wound started glowing an ominous red color right before his eyes, and they widened in shock. "W-what the-?!" he yelped, starting to unwrap his bandages. As soon as his bandages were off, he felt strange.

Painfully strange.

Kick looked down at his gloved hands, noticing that they were beginning to shake, and in a flash of pain, he saw claws grow out from the end of his fingers, Kick tried not to scream, for he knew it would wake his parents. But things only got worse from there. Kick fell to his knees, hugging himself and yelling as the pain in his body increased, and he began transforming.

His gloves were torn apart when the claws grew in, and his boots soon did the same as his feet became wolf-like, shredding his boots and growing claws and everything. His teeth became razor sharp and his canines grew a little longer, giving him the fangs of a vicious carnivore, parts of his jumpsuit were torn as he grew a few inches bigger; this would be cool if it weren't so painful.

Then some urges kicked in, so to speak. As he was transforming, he suddenly gained a craving for meat, more so than usual, and then he felt an urge to.. Kick threw back his head and unleashed a loud howl, which sounded both human and animal all at once, "AAAAARRROOOOOO!" The boy immediately covered his mouth, gulping in fear: the sound was so loud that someone else in the house should've heard him.

Hair began to grow on him, where the torn places of his jumpsuit were, there was now fur showing. And fur even grew out from under his helmet and grew around his face, (kind of like the lycans from the TV series Teen Wolf) the hair was a dark brownish-ginger color.

And then to top this off, he felt his tail bone grow longer and longer, and eventually a furry tail burst from the pants in his jumpsuit, Kick had the grace to blush for a moment. Then he saw his vision turn blurrier and blacker, the whites of his eyes turned a glowing ominous yellow, his pupils narrowed to slits as the monster took control.

The now beast-turned Kick paused, breathing heavily as the pain passed through him, the glow from his wound faded. At that moment, Kick's older brother Brad came in, kicking open the door as he did so, and he was not happy at all. "Hey, dillweed, I'm tryin' to get some shuteye as the rest of us are, so why don't you do us- well mostly me, a favor and get back in bed and catch some Zs already!" he shouted.

That struck a nerve, Kick's yellow eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed with anger as he started growling, growling like an angry wolf. "Is that supposed to scare me?" Brad asked tauntingly. "You think that just standing there and growling is gonna do anyth-" Then Kick turned to face his brother, his eyes glowed in his rage, Brad snickered for a moment, but then his eyes locked with the feral eyes of his brother, who started advancing towards him on all fours menacingly, and drool dripped from his mouth like an animal with rabies.

At first Brad thought that he was wearing contact lenses, but then he noticed Kick's torn jumpsuit, claws, fangs, and his twitching tail, and then his eyes rose to the full moon shining through the window, and he put it all together.

It wasn't a trick, his brother had actually turned into a werewolf, and from the look in Kick's eyes, he REALLY wanted to kill him.

A nervous smile spread across Brad's face as he slowly backed away. "Uh.. N-nice wolfy.. Nice were.. Kick?" he whimpered, with a snarl, Kick leapt at his brother, knocking him over, using his claws and fangs, he attacked Brad like a wild animal would, until he had scratches all over him, bruises, even his clothes were ripped, but Brad managed to knock Werekick away from him, the teen weakly got up and stumbled into the bathroom to help his wounds. Werekick stood up, shook his head, snarled at Brad, and climbed out of his bedroom window onto the roof.

He leapt off the roof, used his claws to get a grip on a tree as he fell, spun around and around it like a fireman on a pole, tearing away it's bark, leapt into the air and landed perfectly on the ground with no harm done.

Werekick glanced around at the neighborhood around him; all he wanted now was to cause chaos and mayhem, a smirk spread across his face, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. Then he threw back his head once again and unleashed a loud howl that could be heard for miles, which did wake some people up. (accept for Kick's parents and his sister, who were wearing earmuffs as they slept) He dropped on all fours and ran off to start some chaos, barking like a dog as he did so.

#kick buttowski #kick buttowski: suburban daredevil #werekick #werewolf #werewolves #2019 #werewolf story #story #brad #werewolf transformation #full moon

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madllamamomma · 4 years

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Journey Back to the South Part 10~

[Ok I am so sorry this is late! I am currently on vacation with my husband, then my step dad now has the virus and that really stressed me out, because I’m closer to him than my own P.O.S. father... Sooooo yeah... Life is a nightmare. Thats why I write fan fiction to escape it..... Thats healthy.... right......right?.... *crickets....* Anyways, enjoy!]

WARNING: Heavy topics about abuse and rape. NSFW.

Part 10~

“You’re important too.”~

As the crowd is continuously distracted by giving praise to the new Illuminator, Muriel is still gently forcing his way towards the front where you are standing. As he finally comes to your rescue, he is just as shocked as you are to find Shona, the sole Kokhurian in all of the Shining Steppe that claims to despise you and your people, hugging your neck and literally crying on your shoulder. Unsure what to do, your hands hover over her but you are unsure what to do with them. “Uummm…”.

“Thank you….” Shona whispers, shakiness in her voice. Just as quickly as she embraced you, she pulls away and scurries off out of the gathering tent without a second glance or thoughts. Everyone else is too focused on showering Ava with much deserved praise, no one else even noticed what had just happened.

You glance up and meet Muriel’s eyes, and he mirrors the same dumbfounded expression that's in your face. As his hand wraps around your waist to pull you close, you both stare out the tent in the direction she fled, and he mutters. “Did…..did she…. just—?”

You nod your head slowly, still completely stunned as well. “I’m…. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who witnessed it. I don’t think I would have believed what happened…… I still don’t believe it actually.”

This is… very shocking. Little did you suspect that she’d thank you let alone hug you.

Soon the crowd makes their way outside around the large fire in the middle of camp. Muriel tugs you both along with everyone else and notice Una standing in front of the fire as she speaks in Ruin. “We thank our Great Mother and Great Father for blessing us with a very fruitful year. We have had many blessings that we have shared. Many victories, and some losses. But we are strong, we will always keep going. Tonight concludes our Winter Solstice! May winter have mercy on us as we continue to honor our Great Mother and Father. May our departed visit us tonight as the spirit realm and the living realm merge tonight....” Una keeps going on, but you start to zone out slightly feeling very tired all of a sudden and you lean into your hermit. Even he looks a bit tired, lusting after a good night sleep.

As soon as the closing ceremony was completed, Muriel, Inanna and you head back to the tent and nearly collapse out of exhaustion. Lazily taking off your clothes and dress into your long shirt and taking off your pants. All the anxiousness you and Muriel had felt for Ava’s trials have all but vanished and left the want to sleep for about a full day or two. Even though the ‘celebration’ was completed, it sounds like others are still up, singing, dancing, and being merry and whatnot… Hmmm… it has to be for Ava. But they deserve to be celebrated over! They worked so hard... You groggily turn over and murmur good night to Muriel and Inanna before you gently drift off to sleep and you feel a feather light kiss on your temple and his warm arm wrap around the small of your back. For some reason you hear Una’s words repeat in your head before slipping out of consciousness.

‘May our departed visit us tonight…… as the spirit realm and the living realm merge tonight…..’

—————————

The feeling of being on all fours and fur all over my body are becoming rather familiar to me now. The dark tundra is frigid and icy and I can see my warm breath cloud in front of my face, yet it never bothers me. The moon is just barely showing any light on the dark plane. I’m alone again…. but not for very long.

I can’t help but feel such joy when I start to sense warm air rush overhead and a large ball of fire lights up the hillside. It’s her…. Rhemi… She flutters her wings over me for a moment and she makes happy little calls and I growl softly back in response. Gracefully, she brings herself down from the sky and perches herself on a nearby bolder. Once comfortable, her flames dissipate showing her dark brown and red feathers, the dark night blankets the vast tundra once again. For a moment I just gaze at her…. Even now, underneath all her magical flames she is so beautiful. She always is…

My body starts to move, and before I realize it I’m sitting next to her by the boulder. Her small beak rests on my snout, and she snuggles up against my thick fur like she always does, even in the real world. I always like how she does that. It makes me feel wanted… loved. After a while the two of us start to stare into the dark night sky, I’m unsure why, but I feel like something is bound to happen soon.

The Aurora’s lights suddenly start to dance across the sky and I can hear that deep humming once again. With bright colorful lights illuminating the tundra, I can see that we are sitting in the middle of Khamgali’s graveyard on a small hill.

One by one I can see what looks like people’s casts burst from the ground and tombstones. Bears, wolves, eagles, hawks, caribou, foxes, and many other animals crawl out. But after they come out, their bodies become physical like mine and Rhemi’s. The bright colors of the cast dissipate giving away to the various furs, feathers and other features. Thousands emerge and stretch their limbs and backs out as if they have been resting for a long time. Soon the creatures start to roam around, seemingly recognizing each other, and greet nearby animals. Some even start to wrestle, chase, or play around on the vast plane. I find myself rather dumbfounded at this sight, unable to take my eyes off the scene. It is even rather entertaining to see.

“...Muriel?..” A very deep male voice calls out from behind us nearly startling Rhemi and I—I…. I feel like I know that voice… The two of us quickly turn around. Two bears are standing side by side; one as big as I am, maybe even slightly bigger, and the other is smaller and silky, beautiful. They both have deep green eyes and have this presence to them that feels…. comforting…. warm… I feel like I know them. Like I used to see them in my dreams before when I was young…

The smaller one starts to approach me warily, apparently attempting to not scare me… She smells sweet like fresh heather and after the morning dew. It finally clicks in my head… Her presence is all too familiar and I step backwards ashamed and I hang my head down low wishing to disappear. I glance my eyes over to Rhemi, still perched on the boulder. She looks a little confused at first, but seems to understand who these bears are as she sees my face. Her ruby eyes light up, and she mutters a low chirp as her eyes glance back to the two bears in wonder.

I shake my head as my eyes shut close tightly and the feeling of dread overwhelms me, tightening my chest and my stomach feels like it's in knots. No…. please no… No, no, no…. I…. I really don’t deserve you or your comfort… all this time I thought you both….. just got rid of me… Because I was a burden… but really you were just protecting me… protecting this land… Now that I stayed here I completely understand why you did….. but for the longest time… I didn’t want to care about you… I didn’t want to even think about you…… No…. I don’t deserve your love.

Suddenly I feel the small bear lifts my head up with hers and starts to softly growl and grunt as she lovingly nuzzles my furry neck with her small silky soft snout. She’s a lot stronger than I expected and she pushes up against me, but she’s comforting non the less…. She has tears in her deep green eyes as she huddles close to me. The other larger one trots over and gently lays his head over top of mine. Why does the feeling of him there so reminiscent of when he would pat me on top of my head? I remember enjoying that when he came back after hunting or trading…. Now that I think about it, I do the same to Ida when I see her.

The two bears both are making very small sad, yet happy, gruff whimpering noises like their hearts are torn in two… I don’t want to… but I feel myself relax as they are around me. I know why you both stayed here and fought—I do now at least… but…… part of me…. wishes we all left the Steppe together—GodDamn it….. that sounds so selfish.…. But…. I wish…. I got to know you both better myself… I wish you got to know... me. Maybe… I’d be more like you two…. maybe I would be braver….. stronger…

The small bear pulls away to look me in the eyes. I can see the corner of lips curl up… she’s smiling at me… she looks… proud? “Our little cub…” She says softly, but somehow does it without moving her mouth at all. Her voice is as silky, calm, and smooth as her fur... Just like I faintly remember when she used to sing home to sleep.

“... Look how you have grown. Our boy, mo ghoul.” The large bear mutters, his voice shaky. His voice minds me of the one in my head. Very similar to my own when I speak, but just slightly different….. it’s strange to hear. “We love you, Son… we always have….”

I don’t open my mouth…. but somehow words flow out like a river before I can stop them. “..... I know….. I know you did…. I’m sorry…. I’m so sorry…” I can feel tears drop down my long nose. Just less than a minute ago, I didn’t want them to come even near me…. but… now…. I don’t want them to leave…. “I wish I was better for you both…..”

“Nothing to be sorry about, my son.” The bigger bear mutters in such a kind and warm tone. “We can never ask for a better son. We are sorry we had to leave so soon.”

The two bears huddle up to me once again. This time they are even tighter… Even though they don't have any arms, I can feel their loving embrace around me. It feels good… Like I have been craving it somehow. “We will always be here with you cub…. Always…. Even if you don’t see us.” The smaller bear says.

….I can feel that pulling once again…. Something is taking me back to my body…..

Please no!..... Why?! Why am I being pulled back now?! Whatever this is—a God? Father Sky? Or Mother Earth?.... or even me…. Please stop this!! Don’t make me leave them!!.... Not again… Please!!! I want to be with them…..just... let me stay…. just a little longer….. wait… —WAIT!

“We love you, little cub.” I can hear them both say as I fade away from this realm….

“..... I love you both too…..”

————————

You can feel as Muriel snaps his trunk up from the bedding with a gasp. For a moment he just sits there panting hard. His movements wake you from your slumber as well. But it takes you a few seconds for you to sit up and get awake. Once you feel like you can move your body, you rub your tired eyes to comfort Muriel… Those bears... they were Glenna and Artturi… his parents. Una mentioned that the solstice was the time when the spirit realm is closest to the living. You glance up towards the hole in the tent. It’s still night, the moon is hardly even out... Probably not even midnight yet.

Carefully you slide your small fingers and lace them with his and he very slowly tightens his grasp. You both sit there for a while in silence listening to the fire crackle and hiss. “...You ok?....” You very quietly ask, leaning your head against his large deltoid and look up to his very emotionally torn face. He presses his lips tightly together and he very sluggishly nods his head, but you can see the tears forming in his eyes. “.... Ya’ know….. It’s ok to miss them….” You whisper.

He opens and closes his mouth a few times, trying so hard to say what’s on his mind. “I didn't…. I didn’t care when I forgot their voices… or their faces…” He stops for a moment and he closes his eyes and furrows his brow, thinking hard. “.... I dunno…. maybe I didn’t think I did…. but… but now… I.... I just…. just…. wish……” Tears flow from his eyes and chokes on his sentence. He covers his eyes with his hands to stop them and shakes his head irritated with himself as his body starts to tremble. “.....S-... Sorry…. Rem.” He murmurs through his tears.

“Please, don’t be sorry, Mur...” Your heart breaks in two anytime you see him cry like this… but it’s to be expected after that dream. Sitting on your knees, you wrap your arms around Muirel’s shoulders from behind him and place a kiss on his temple bone. Those two bears were his parents' spirits…. ghosts?… previous casts?— Well…. whatever you want to call them, and however they got there hardly matters. The fact is that they were there to see him. Perhaps Artturi still can leap into dreams even after death?...Maybe he knows how to bring Glenna with him?...Who really knows?... You take in a large thoughtful breath and place a soft kiss on Muriel’s head again. “... It’s okay to miss them… even if you don’t remember.” You understand how it feels not to remember your parents faces either. It hurts not to know—it’s almost infuriating how much it does.

He shakes his head avoiding looking you in the eye. “.... All my life…. I didn’t… let myself… miss them..... but n-... now…. Do… do I even have the right to?.... Especially after the way I thought of them? That they just... abandoned their only son?”

“Of course you do, Love…” You tenderly guild his head down and turn him so he rests his head on your chest and pet his hair and he clutches the back of your shirt. He seems to feel soothed once he’s there and starts to calm down a bit. “….. You were too young to understand what was really happening…… no one was there to tell you tell you otherwise….. You did what you had to do to survive….. Perhaps thinking that they sent you away was a method of coping with it all… somehow to make sense of it... It’s better than not knowing anything forever… I think guessing about it most of your early life would have been worse.” He huffs a long exhale and shrugs. Your fingers brush through his dark hair pulling it out of his handsome face. “...You really shouldn't beat yourself up about it, Muriel. ”

“.... I wish I could… see—” He slightly flounders in his words, then gives up mid sentence in frustration. “—I…. I don’t know…..”

“Come here…..” You whisper, very tenderly pulling him back down to the bedding. As you rest your head back on the pillows and he buries himself into your neck and shoulder holding you tight while you both lay on your sides. You squeeze him back comfortingly, tears still slowly trickling from his eyes. “... They both were so happy to see you….” You mutter just above a whisper, pushing back his hair out of his face again.

He softly closes his eyes, melting into your touch, but doesn't appear to be convinced. “.... How can I know?.... Know for sure?..”

“They were. I know it…… So do you…. they loved you, Muri. They still do….. I… I think they’re still watching like Khamgalai….. But perhaps the Great Lights really do hold a part of their spirits….. even after a year has passed…. just like Kok… I guess we’ll never really know for sure…. But I know they are proud of you. You could tell on their faces.”

“...... I….. I wish I could have known them…..” His body starts to feel slightly warmer as he looks back into your eyes rather sheepishly. “... I wish…. they could have met… you….”

You smile back at him a little… He doesn’t know. “Well…” He lifts his head up slightly and listens to you intently. “....Before….. I woke up….. And you left…. For some reason I stayed a little longer….”

“...What?” His eyes light up and widen as you say that. “.... What…. what did they…?”

“.....They just…. Kinda hugged me—well first your mother inspecting new all over like Una did our first day here— but then they both nuzzled their faces kindly on me like they did to you….” You can feel as your cheeks glow red as you continue and Muriel still has his eyes locked onto your in astonishment. “...They asked me…. To take care of you…..”

“They….. they did?” Muriel seems to get a hold of his tears now. You scoot into your back and he follows, slightly hovering over you, resting his hand on his propped up arm... “.....and… what did you say?”

You can’t help but give a silly love stricken grin as you open your mouth to tell him the answer. “I told them I would… forever…. until I drew my last breath… and even after that…..” Your hands start to shake a bit, feeling anxious as you continue, and you grab his large hand and caress his palm with your small thumbs. “.... I will always be here by your side, Muriel. I will protect you with all my might….” His eyes seem to sparkle when you utter those words and he looks so adorably smitten. But then your brain decides to ruin the moment as overthinking takes over and you start to expel words. “Well—I know that’s not saying much… I-I’m not very strong physically compared to you—…. but you know I can kick some ass if I need too— I won’t let anyone hurt you that’s for sure! As long as I can—” Suddenly Muriel’s hand cups your right cheek and he presses his parted lips to yours, stopping your silly rant and kisses you like you're the air he needs to breathe. A little surprised muffled squeak escapes from behind your teeth, but then you start to melt into his touch and kiss him back.

As he very slowly pulls away, his forehead meets with yours with a little happy grin on his face as he strokes your bottom lip with his thumb. “.... Sometimes….. you talk too much….” He says with an amused snort.

You slightly pull away, sticking out your bottom lip, feeling a little embarrassed and you avert your gaze to the other side of the tent and sigh, “Yeaaaaah….. I know…” You do have a tendency to rant at the worst of times.

He exhales sharply through his nose and he turns your face back with his thumb and pointer. “....But I love you for it….” He sits up, holds you close and your head rests in his large shoulder as he embraces you tightly, and you kiss his neck a little. “... thanks…. for being here… and…. letting me talk… and understanding me…”

You smile wrapping your arms around his strong torso. “I always will, Muri… I love you… with all my heart.”

“... I love you too….” His whispers back in your ear very sweetly.

He returns laying on his side facing toward your direction and the two of you lay there facing one another, still entangled in each other's arms as you both drift off back to sleep.

—————With feather made of hot embers, you float back to the realm of dreams————

…….But this time Muriel isn’t there with you….

You glance down, and your feathers have faded away and you are in your normal body.

This place…. it looks familiar….. you're not sure where you’ve seen it before. But it feels like you’ve dreamt…. or maybe been there…. but a very long time ago...

—It’s night time again. The buildings look different to you compared to the ones back home. They are mostly made of wood instead of brick or stone, they are delicate looking. Tall mountain peaks are surrounded everywhere, on the very tops are powdered with snow. It looks like whatever city you’re in, lives in the heart of a valley. The sea is nowhere in sight, neither is salt in the air. You’re landlocked. It's rather pretty scenery wise, but a strong sense of foreboding seeps into your chest as you continue to roam this strange place…. Why do I know this place…. it's so pretty here… so why do I feel like I hate it?

Suddenly you stumble upon what looks like a noble’s house… a vast mansion with tall widows and ornate sculptures everywhere… It's rather lovely… almost reminds you almost of Nadia’s palace, the bright lights inside make the stained glass windows shimmer as they cast their colored light on the stone outside. As it appears to be flakes of snow are softy falling down. You peer up and twirl around, even though you hate being cold, you have always liked to watch snow as it fell from the heavens. Cupping your hands, you reach out your palms to catch them. However the white snow turns dark and looks ominous. Once it falls into your hands you then realize it’s not snow at all—It’s soot and embures falling from the sky. Your body makes an about face back to the beautiful home. The entire mansion is now engulfed in flames. You never thought that stone or marble could catch fire…. but it seems that you were wrong….

There isn’t a soul around and you look all over for someone to help put it out. But it’s dead still other than the terrible flames consuming the building. You're still all alone…. or so you think…. Out of nowhere, a lone woman with dark brownish red shoulder length hair, and very familiar looking clothing is suddenly standing in front of you about eight meters away. With her back turned away as she stares at the flames as they quickly eat away at the mansion. “...H-... Hello?” You quietly call out to her, almost afraid to utter a single word.

Eerily the mysterious woman turns her neck around very sluggishly, just enough to reveal a small part of her profile over her shoulder. The whites of her eyes are blood red and sickly looking, you can even see red veins under her eyes and mouth. You take a few steps back instinctively out of fear. I know that look all too well…. The red plague….. those are the end stages…. The visible corner of her lip curls up into a comfortable grin as she stares at you with those cold burgundy eyes that almost have no life in them.

Your feet take a few steps back in fear. “Who….. who are you?”

She still won’t turn herself all the way around to face you, but there isn’t any denying her familiar features.... Is that…. me? Your eyes squint and you tilt your head feeling just completely dumbfounded once again tonight.

Finally she opens her mouth and begins to speak over the loud roaring flames as the mansion’s riff begins to crumble away. “...... You know who…...” it’s rather creepy to hear your own voice answer you, but it sounds so weak… so tired… so strained.

“What do you want?...” You ask not sure if to run or press on.

“.... Truth….” She replies, the loud noises if the inferno dampens as she speaks, you can hear her crystal clearly.

“...Wha—What do you mean ‘truth’?” You shake your head slowly trying to comprehend this strange answer. “Where are we—?”

A loud viscous enraged scream suddenly comes from the fiery mansion making you nearly jump out of your skin. It sounds like a person has been very badly injured…. But a very icy shiver runs down your spine and shakes you to your very core. It sounds like the voice of the creature who killed Ezavior—It frightens you to hear it again so soon. “W-..... What is that?? Is there someone in there? Shouldn’t we save them??”

The wind starts to pick up her hair and flows over her face. “....You know who…..”

You feel as your mouth sneers at that preposterous answer. “What??—No I don’t! That's why I’m asking!”

“You know who it is…..” She repeats sounding almost saddened. “.... You can’t deny it….. You know they survived… You remember seeing them… don’t you?”

“What—? No!!! I don’t!!! Don’t you listen??” You start to become frustrated with all of this strangeness, and just desire answers, not more coded messages.

She shakes her head disappointedly, her grin falls and turns her back to you once more and sighs. “...You're still not ready… one day your going to need to face this…I may not be here to protect you anymore.....”

“What?— What does that even mean?”

“.....Now is not the time…. Not yet.... you should go.”

“What do you mean I’m not ready?!— WOOOH!! HEY!!” Out of nowhere an invisible force wraps around your torso and throws you backwards through an open door frame. It’s so dark inside.

She finally turns all the ways around, but the flames cast too dark of a shadow for you to see her sick face. “Go…. be with him… enjoy the time you share spending together.” She says warily.

“What do you mean?? What’s going on?! Wait just a moment!!! Why aren’t fucking answer me??”

She brings up her left hand and waves it. “I suppose you’ll see in time….” She utters lastly as the door shut in front of your face before you can dash out of it.

“Wait!!!” You scream right before the door completely slam closed. It then starts to feel farther and farther out of reach then it completely disappears into oblivion and you find you yourself running towards it. “WAIIT!!!!!”

—————

“Mmmmmmm…. W-Wait......” Your body sits straight up and you wake with a start fluttering your eyes open….. Did I just say.. something… just now? What was I even doing?

“Rem—You ok?” Muriel and Inanna quickly come to your side from the middle of the tent by the fire, both look rather worried. “—Was it another bad dream?”

You squint your eyes and look all around, slowly becoming oriented with where you exactly are. “Hmmmm? Wha-.....What now?”

Muriel brushes his knuckles against your sleepy cheek and huffs a bit grumpily. “.... Did you just have a bad dream?”

You realize that you were just dreaming and it was a strange one too. You tilt your head looking at the covers, squinting your eyes in attempts to recall it… but there is just nothing…nothing you can remember about what you just dreamt. Inanna nudges her snout under your right elbow and you start to lift your arm up to pet her still pondering hard. Your lips click, and you shake your head a little. “...I….. I don’t really know….. it was definitely a weird one….. But I…. I can’t really tell you what happened in it….” He looks at you pointedly, brow slightly furrowed, looking for any signs of fibbing. You stifle and yawn and drowsily smirk taking his wrist and place it over your cheek, cuing him to hold your face. “I told you I would talk to you. I promised, Mur. This time I really don’t remember. I would tell you if I did.”

He sighs and he slightly relaxes as you lean into his touch and he strokes your cheek with his thumb, looking more convinced. “Alright….” He leans down and kisses your forehead sweety and you do a little happy tired wiggle. “Come on, I made some breakfast for us.”

“Alrighty~” You get yourself out of bed, quickly donning your tight pants for warmth. It may be warmer from the fire in this tent, but the temperature has most definitely gotten colder since you both arrived nearly two weeks ago. As you get on your socks, you see that Muriel was kind enough to make you some fish and eggs for breakfast. And you start to boil the kettle for tea. “Whatcha think, Love? Earl grey, or cinnamon chai this morning?”

“Hmmmm….” He looks thoughtfully glancing between the tea tins, then closes his eyes. “..I like them both... But Chai always goes good with fish… I think so anyway...”

“Oooo!! That’s true. Good call, my sweet~” You say with a toothy yawn and start to prep the tea cups. While the tea steeping, you take the time to stretch like you do every morning when you can, making your spine and hips pop satisfyingly. Muriel just shakes his head with a small grin as he watches you. He may attempt to hide it, but you are pretty sure he likes to watch when you do a stretch called ‘the pigeon’, it shows off how flexible you are.

Soon all three of you start to chow down breakfast that your hermit so kindly made for you in comfortable silence. Slowly you start to wake up, the food and the chai tea slowly bring you back to life this early morning. As Muriel swallows his last piece of fish, then stares very thoughtfully into the fire, a somber expression washing over him. “.....Should be leaving soon.” He faintly breaks the silence and you stop mid bite to listen to him. “.... Gilbert says the snow will be falling any day… don’t want to get stuck…. Asra would be sad….and so will his idiot.” Muriel's face looks almost sad when he says that. You can only imagine how hard it is to leave his new found family. But you both have obligations back in Vesuvia… you with the shop and him with the forest.

You lean into his arm and snuggle up to him and he leans back. “We’ll come back next year.”

He blows out sharply through his nose and brings his tea cup to his lips. “....Yeah, I know.”

You both lapse back into silence for a moment and you think about the middle of last night during the dream in the graveyard and Muriel’s parents. He said he didn’t remember their faces or voices….. but Una has a way of tapping into distant memories. “Hey…. Muriel?”

“Hmmm?”

“Do you remember when we first met Una in the graveyard?”

He nods firmly, unsure where you're getting at. “...What of it?”

“...Well .... I was thinking… about last night…. What you said…. about your parents….”

“Oh…..” He averts his eyes over to the other side of the tent and still looks a bit ashamed for some reason. “What does that have to do with the first day we met everyone?” He asks with a raised eyebrow, curiosity now in his gaze.

You look back at your warm tea and run your pointer finger over the rim. “... Well…. before we leave… maybe…. you can ask Una…. to show you…. your par—”

“--M-Madainn mhath!” Just as you were about to finish your thought, you hear a familiar little child’s voice outside the tent. “....Cousin!..... Not Cousin!!” It’s Ida. And by the second pair of feet stepping behind her, it sounds like she isn’t alone. Inanna's tail starts to wag as she hears her little voice and quietly whimpers in excitement. Who is gonna miss Ida more when we leave? Muriel or Inanna? You smile and chuckle to yourself. “....Are you both awake?” Ida calls out again, but a little quieter in fear that she may be disturbing you two.

Muriel and you exchange surprised glances, it’s still early in the morning. You shrug and you and Muriel stand up. “....Uhhh…. H-hang on, Ida.” Muriel replies, grabbing his shirt and throwing it on while you make yourself decent. He shoots you a quick glance before opening the tent and you nod once you fasten your corset belt over your long shirt.

Once the entrance is untied and opened, Ida steps in and Inanna goes straight for her, licking her little face and she giggles adorably. “Nana!! Tha thu a ’fàileadh mar èisg!! Hee-hee!” She hasn’t been wearing her hood lately, perhaps she’s becoming more comfortable in her own skin. Not very much to your surprise, Ava comes into the tent behind her, they look a little tired, evident with the small bags under their eyes. They were probably up all night celebrating after getting the approval from the elders, but they look so happy like a five ton weight was lifted off their shoulders. It looks good on them.

“Ida…. Ava.” Muriel says stepping aside to welcome them in with a nod. “Morning.”

Ava smiles up at him with a toothy grin, this is the happiest you have even seen them other than last night. You are actually excited to see them again. The last you saw of them they were being paraded around camp the night before and you didn’t get to say good night. You lunge forward and wrap your arms around them giving them a large hug, almost startling them (but they have almost gotten used to your mannerisms). “AVA!!!! How’s my favorite Master Illuminator doing today~?” You ask cheekily, moving them slightly side-to-side in excitement.

Ava’s face quickly flushes, yet they can’t help but keep a large humble smile on their lips as you call them that. You pull away so you can watch as they communicate with their hands. “... Not a master yet, Rhemi….. but I am officially an Illuminator now… that is thanks to you and Cousin Muriel of course.”

“We were very happy to help! Right, Love?” You turn your face towards him with a giddy looking grin.

Muriel smiles over to Ava and gives a solid nod, then reaches down and pats Ida’s head and she giggles again. She turns around, grabbing his wrist and starts to inspect it. He snorts, knowing what she is looking for. “Don’t worry.” He says showing her the bracelet she made him. “... I haven’t taken it off…. I promised you I wouldn't.” Her little cheeks are painted bright pink as she lifts up her arm and shows hers as well.

Ava makes a little muffled laugh at the two of them then turns their attention back to you. “Sorry to interrupt you both this early in the morning. Didn’t want to wake you.”

“That’s alright. We were just having some breakfast.—We have some tea left if you’d like some.”

Ava politely shakes their head. “We are here on business…”

“Business?” You repeat with your head tilted slightly a little surprised.

Ava scratches their neck and looks slightly sheepish. “.... The elders are all in the gathering tent this morning. They asked me to come and get you two. They want you and Cousin to join us.”

Muriel looks rather confused, still not understanding Ava’s hand language as you start to look uneasy. Ida tugs on his large wrist to get his attention. “Momma, Papa and the other old people—” Ava shoots their sister a particular scolding look and Ida tries to recover herself. “.... I-I mean e-elders—wanna see you and Newcomer in the big tent where we eat.”

You look over towards Muriel then back to Ava. “Wait…… the elders?…. Are…. Are we in trouble, Ava??”

Ava shrugs and scratches the back of their head, honestly, not really knowing what the deal is. “Elder Evander said to try not to keep them waitin’--.” Ava gently smacks the back of their sister's head to scold them. She apparently wasn’t supposed to say that part. Ida rubs where she was struck and blows a raspberry at Ava and they just sigh irritatedly.

“Sorry…. Take your time, but they are all waiting for you two.” Ava communicates sheepishly, noticing that you aren't fully dressed with your plum colored overshirt and blue skirt.

Muriel huffs slightly grumpily, from Ava’ expression, he could tell what they were saying. “Tell them we’ll be there in a moment.”

Ava nods and opens their hand up for Ida to grab hold. She takes it and they both walk out the door and Muriel closes it so you can get dressed.

Feeling nervous, you try to get dressed quickly, but fearing the worst. “What do you think that they want us for?”

Muriel shrugs, taking off his shirt to fasten his belts to his torso. “Maybe it’s about leaving. They may want us to get going before the snow starts to fall…”

“I doubt that… If we decided to stay, I think they’d be more than overjoyed.” Muriel pauses for a moment, and hides a little smile, he won’t admit it, but you know he agrees. “Uggh….. I hate that we have no idea why they are calling for us…… You know…. I get a feeling like I used to get into trouble a lot…. Maybe that's why I am so anxious.”

Muriel stifles a chuckle sounding a bit too amused. “Why doesn't that surprise me?”

“What does that mean?? I’m a goddamn angel~” You smile fakely innocently and bat your eyelashes.

“Pffttt!!! You’re a goddamn mess is what you are.” He throws his head back and cutely laughs with a large smile. “... Come on. Let’s not make them wait anymore.” He leans down and quickly steals a kiss and it makes you feel a little more calm.

“Well if we are in trouble, at least we're in trouble together.” You say with a smile, throwing your traveling cloak over your shoulders.

You follow your hermit out the tent, through camp and to the gathering tend, trying your best to not feel so anxious about all of this. As the two of you make your way inside the gathering tent, you notice that not only are Una, Gilbert and the other elders that you expected to be there; But Ronin, Tad, Ava, and Shona are also there. They are all sitting in a semi-circle on the blankets and pillows a new feet away from the fire. Una is holding her boy baby in her arms as he sleeps away peacefully.

“Muriel! Rhemi! Madainn mhath!!” Gilbert cheerily greets with a warm hearty chuckle like he normally does. He points to the front of the semi-circle. “Come, come, come! Have a seat!”

You take Muriel’s hand, feeling him starting to get a bit anxious as well and you both take a seat. He hates being front and center of everything. “We…. we aren’t in trouble…. are we?” You warily ask sporting a nervous smile.

Una jolts and sputters at the thought, waving her hand dismissively. “Oh heavens!——No!! We just have something we would like to discuss, that's all! Something good!” She then smiles reassuringly at you. “Sorry if we worried ya!”

You exhale a long relieved sigh and relax your shoulders and lean into Muriel’s side. “Pfffew!! Ohhh!!! Thank goodness…..” You mumble under your breath and Muriel quietly snorts at you.

Gilbert chuckles a little at your apparent relief. “OH! Before I forget…” Gilbert pulls out the journal from his fur cloak. “I read it all, Rhemi. Three times, in fact. It’s fantastic. I couldn’t ask for a better representation of the stories of old and of our history. It was very well written.”

“Thank you…. Can’t take all the credit, though! I had some help from Ava of course..” You nod towards Ava and they blush a little, seemingly at this point out of habit. Gilbert smiles over to his child, their face heats up even more and scowls as if to say, ‘please don’t look at me like that!!!’

He stifles a chuckle, shaking his large shoulders as he sets the journal down next to him and looks back to you and Muriel. “Well, I’m sure you want to know why we asked you both here this morning… We have something to ask of you both….” He pauses for a moment, what you could only guess is for effect. “...Since you two have been here, you have helped in so many ways…. Muriel helped us catch fish, fixed some things here and there, learned to grow plants with Una like your mother did, you even took care of the chickens and other animals during the mornings, you spared my young little warriors cubs to help them better defend themselves. Ha!! You even did patrol a few times when no one asked—you didn’t have to do that. Any of those things… But we greatly appreciate it....” Gilbert then reaches out his hand, gesturing to you and you stiffen. “....Then you, our Newcomer! You helped preserve our history and documented it accurately…. You’ve helped revive an old tradition of the Illuminators, and help my eldest child so they could pursue their dreams of becoming a storyteller. We just can't thank you enough. We are just glad that little cub has someone like you.”

You can feel Muriel’s body start to heat up and his heart pound, but he still holds your hand and doesn't show signs of letting go. Una chuckles softly at Muriel, lifts up her head and starts to speak.“.... Berty and I know you both have plans to get married when you go back to Vesuvia….. My husband, the other elders and myself have been discussing… and we have one more request before you both leave…. Many years ago, we had a tradition called the

Gabhail Ris Ceremony.”

You tilt your head, squinting your eyes thoughtfully. “.... ‘Accept…. it’…. ceremony?” You mutter the translation slightly perplexed.

The old woman that passes out the ale every night barks a quick amused laugh. “... Sometimes words have many meanings in the language of old, little one. Sometimes they can be lost in direct translation…. gabhail ris also means ‘acceptance’.” Her voice is shaky and has age to it, like the little old woman that you make a reumatizam potion for. She’s also very sweet and cute, but rather strong for her old age...

Gilbert nod then continues on after the older woman explains. “...Yes! Many many years ago, when a Kokhurian married someone from outside of our tribe, they would conduct a little ceremony. It was a way the betrothal’s family, mostly the parents, showed their child’s betrothal acceptance into the tribe—Not just as their spouse, but as an individual of the Kokhuri. Traditionally the ceremony was conducted the day or two before the actual wedding, but we know that you two are planning on becoming wed once you're back to your home in the north… we can’t be there when that happens, but… Well…. we wanted to ask if we could at least conduct this ceremony as a sigh of our gratitude—” Gilbert pauses and drops his gaze, a somber expression washes over his usually cheery face as a thought crosses his mind. Una notices his silence, peers over and places her hand on top of Gilbert’s and squeezes it. Her touch seems to snap him out of it. His eyes glance back up and he grins back at his wife and he clears his throat before pressing on. “..... Moonlight and I know we could never replace your parents, Muriel—We would never want to either…. But we care about you like you were one our own cubs….. That day we saw you at Aunt Khamgalai’s hut, well…. it felt like you were a missing piece in our hearts.... now that you're here, it’s like you’ve never left…. ” Muriel doesn’t seem to know what to do with that statement and his face turns a little pink. But you can tell, he feels the same way. “.... We also know that Glenna and Artturi would have loved Rhemi to death. And if they were still here——well…. they would have wanted this….. So…..” Gilbert trails off and peers back to Una, they suddenly place their right hands over their hearts and half bow while still sitting on their knees and Muriel starts to stiffen at the gesture, holding his breath. “..... Una and I want to host a Gabhail Ris ceremony in your parents honor.” Gilbert lifts his head up slightly to look at the two of you. “...That is, if it is alright with you, Muriel… It’s your decision afterall.”

Muriel quietly sits there next to you and flutters his eyes. He is completely baffled by this request. Honestly so are you. As you both sit there you can’t help but think to yourself,….They want to accept…. me? An outsider as their own??..... Muriel finally looks down at you and you both have no idea what to say. He flounders for a moment trying to understand everything. “.... You both want to make Rhemi….. an honorary… Kokhurian?”

Una and Gilbert straighten their torsos back up and she rocks her baby a little, shaking her head. “Rhemi wouldn’t be just honorary, she would be part of us. It’s more like… an adoption so to speak.”

Muriel’s eyes become a bit watery and squeezes your hand tight as he looks at you again for what to say. With one quick soggy eyed smile, he nods to himself and exhales sharply through his nostrils glancing back to Una and Gilbert. “I—…..we—….” He stutters a bit, still shaken at this beautiful gesture and he takes a deep breath. “.... It would be an honor if you accepted my br- br-....” His face quickly becomes red and panicked at that word, and he scowls grumpily at himself, drapes his arm over your shoulder and proudly hugs you in front of the elders. “—R-Rhemi….” He then picks up his eyes and glances back at every elder with such gratitude. “Thank you….. both of you…. I mean all of you...” Your heart feels so fluttery and overjoyed as he utters those words. But then you smile uncontrollably at yourself a bit. Bride…. he was going to call you his bride. He still can’t say those words. Jeez, he’s too cute. Everyone’s faces light up and are so exactic and they all start to speak amongst themselves. Tad and Ronin are giddily huddled together trying not to cry sappily. They did say they loved weddings. Ava looks so happy and has this sweet looking emotion on their face as they look at you and Muriel, almost like a sense of longing. But Shona looks pointedly at her knees, she doesn’t look upset or angry like you expected. Instead she looks like she’s full of regret, she still won’t even look at you or Muriel or anyone else at all. Ava notices and places their hand on her shoulder and pats them comfortingly, but she still shrinks into herself.

Una hands the baby to her husband and takes the small bundle gently and starts to make silly faces at him, and he coos sweetly. Once her hands are free she makes a single clap, making a loud smack getting everyone’s attention once again. “Alrighty then!!! Now— there is one other thing…” The elders stop their chatting and listen to her carefully. “... Traditionally, Muriel’s siblings, usually with femine understands, would be assisting Rhemi to get ready for the ceremony….. However, Muriel doesn’t have any siblings. The other option is that a Kokhurian would volunteer to keep taking her into their care. So we need a person, of age, mind you, married or unmarried that would represent Rhemi. They will act as your Neach-Cùraim, or caregiver and will help you prepare for the ceremony, and teach you what to do.”

With a determined look in their face, Ava makes their way to stand up to volunteer. But suddenly Shona grabs their wrist before they get to their feet. The twin’s eyes meet and she tugs them back down, quickly whispering something in their ear. Ava's jolts and their face becomes rather red and they return to their seat looking complexly embarrassed hanging their head down low. Then, the tent goes dead quiet as Shona stands up to her feet. Everyone stares at her as she takes a large breath before moving her feet toward you and Muriel in front of the semi-circle. She still won't look you in the eye, keeping her gaze glued to the ground, but she suddenly places her right hand over her heart, and bows slightly, making her long braid fall off her shoulder. “... I’ll represent the Newc— I.. I mean….. Rhemi.” Ava and Gilbert’s mouths drop to the floor in utter shock and quickly exchange perplexed looks. Una eyes seem to gleam with pride as her lips sprout into a large smile, just beaming at her daughter.

Muriel’s eyes meet yours and the both of you are mirroring the same astonished expression as Gilbert and Ava. She…. wants to… help...me?... ME?! You flutter your lashes and look back to Shona with your confused big burgundy eyes. Her demeanor has completely flipped, normally incredibly confident, short, and snooty, she’s now very sheepish and humble. It is almost alarming. “You….you want to represent…. me?.... A-A Traveler?” You ask, tilting your head a little bit, not knowing if you are comprehending completely at this moment. Maybe…. is she misunderstanding?

She straightens back up and starts to play with her braid, opening and closing her mouth a few times, seeming to be struggling to form words. “I....I would be honored to represent you, Rhemi.” At last she answers. “...No one is more worthy of becoming a Kokhurian than you….I see that now……. And yes…. I would be happy if you let me…. If... If that's alright with—OOF!!”

Your body moves before you can stop yourself as you quickly stand to your feet and embrace her without a second thought. “I will be happy if you would, Shona.” Her cheeks light up a bright pink and for a moment; her face looks just like Ava’s has in the past; she continues to avert her eyes away from yours and her trunk is a little tense in your arms.

You realize that you may be making her uncomfortable and let go and awkwardly scratch the back of your head and everyone in the tent is rather quiet. Una looks to her husband and nudges with her elbow and he snaps out of the stupor. “Hmmm?—AH, Yes!!! Right, right, right!—Alrighty then!! Shona will be in charge of getting Rhemi ready! Good, good, good! That solves that problem!”

Una practically jumps to her feet, looking so completely thrilled with all of this. “Well, best be off then!! Let’s get you to my tent, eh? This ceremony won’t start itself, now will it??” Una and another woman around her age who is very heavily pregnant stands up and follows her. They then come on each side of you and loop their arms around yours and start to drag you out of the tent.

“Wait— you mean this is gonna happen now?!” Muriel interjects with a bit of alert in his voice, you both were not exactly prepared for this to happen right at this very moment.

Una turns to Muriel but keeps tugging you right along out of the large gathering tent. “Why yes, of course!!! The snow should be a-comin’ any day now! And you both said you wanted to head back north unless you plan on staying all winter here!”

“Wait— w-what’s happening now? Una?! What are we doing?” You mutter as you are being let out of the tent. Just as you turn back around to catch a glimpse of Muriel before exiting the tent, he looks a bit confused and rather uncomfortable making you feel concerned for him. “W-waits gonna happen to Muri while I’m getting ready??”

“Oh, don’t you fret ‘bout him, my dear! Gilbert, Shawn, Ronin, and probably Ava will be with him. They will be helping him get ready and keep him company while we get you all prepared.”

“Oh… wait, it’s morning, how long is this gonna take??”

“Well…. we have to bath you, do your hair, then get you dressed— we also need to get you fitted for a headdress and earring—Ohhh!! I’m so very excited! I haven’t seen one of these since I was a young girl! Glenna had a cousin that got married to a newcomer. Those two were so cute together!”

“.... So this is like a wedding?”

The pregnant woman giggles a little and speaks up. “No—Not quite. It’s more like Una said as an adoption into the tribe…. But in a way it's like a marriage to the tribe. Now don’t you fret, Muriel will be by your side. But we’ll be dressing you in traditional Kokhurian clothing during the ceremony.” You aren't sure what to expect at this point, but now that Muriel and you have agreed, there isn't any going back, so you decide to roll with it.

Ida comes running out of the tent with Inanna, both carrying a bucket of water. “Com’on, Nana!! We gotta fill the tub up in the other tent now!”

You can’t believe your ears for a moment and Ida and Inanna run toward the outside of camp. “... Did she say what I think she said?” You quickly open the entrance of the tent and see a wonderful looking sight of an extra large wooden Kokhurian sized tub. You can feel your left eyebrow slightly twitch. “..... You-... You had a tub this entire time, Una?!”

She chuckles a bit standing at your side. “Of course I do! Can’t bathe in ice water during the winter on this tundra, can we??”

For some reason you feel a little irritated at this discovery. “.... So…. your tellin’ me… I could have had an actual bath this entire time down here??” You ask, trying to hide your frustration.

Her arm drapes over your shoulder and she starts to laugh a bit more as you just stare at the tub with a rather disappointing look on your face. “Well—You should have just asked!” You can’t help but just groan semi painfully remembering how you were forced to use a bucket to wash your hair for the past couple of weeks. All you’ve been doing is dream of a nice tub to soak in. “Ha-Ha! Oh you poor sweet thing! Oi!! Don’t just stare at the damn thing! Get yourself undressed and get it!” Una says patting your shoulder as she leaves the divider.

The tub clearly has some years to it, it’s no royal tub like at Nadia’s palace. But it’s large enough to fit even the tallest Kokhurian, and it’s a sight for sore eyes. The water is steaming and you just can’t wait to get into it. You take your clothes and fold them to the side next to the divider and carefully step into the bath. The hot water feels so nice on your cool skin, you can feel your muscles unwind as you soak into it. It’s large enough that you can get your shoulders down into it. A happy sigh escapes your lips as you relax the back of your head on the side. This is so nice…… nothing can ruin my relaxation….

“Hey—” Shona's voice suddenly calls out to you behind the divider, making your eyes fly open and you shudder a bit. “... NewC—I mean, Rhemi?”

You drop yourself into the water and cover your naked body with your arms and legs….. Spoke to fucking soon….. You lift your chin up slightly so you can be heard and shyly answer. “Ye-yeah?”

“It’s me, Shona… do you mind if I come in? I have some flowers and soaps for the bath.”

“Uhhhhh…. oh??” The thought of her coming in actually makes you feel uneasy. You don’t really show your skin off to people normally. Muriel is the only one who has seen you naked… that is that you know about… But Shona did volunteer to help you after all. It may be incredibly rude if you deny her assistance. Besides….flower petals and soap would be nice. “Ummm…. o-ok I guess….. I’m naked though!”

You hear her snort a little. “Yeah I know you are, that's why I’m asking if I can come in.”

You feel a little stupid stating the obvious and you shrunk into your shoulders. “O-okay. Come in.”

She comes through the divider completely unperturbed by your nakedness. She isn’t wearing her long parka for the first time. Instead she’s wearing a pinkish-plum colored wrap around dress, with orange designs and yellow flowers embroidered on the collar. You’ve seen part of it when she pulled one arm out of her sleeve for the archery game, but you didn’t see the full dress until now. Hiding underneath the thick furs, she is rather stout and fit, but not as thick as you had thought, and she has an excellent and elegant figure.

Feeling rather embarrassed, you keep yourself covered tightly as she makes herself busy preparing the flowers amen soaps. She may not be bothered by your nude presents, but you curl into yourself trying to hide your body, hoping she doesn't think any less of you.

As she turns her attention to you noticing your tightly bounded self, she raises an eyebrow as she sprinkles the flower petals into the hot bath water and softly grins. “Please, don’t be shy, it’s just skin… All of Great Mother’s children have it one way or another.” She then sits next to the tub and places the bottles of soap and shampoos to the side on the floor. “... Kokhurians may hide our bodies under thick furs, but we are not afraid of it. Besides, we're both women.” Thhhhaat really doesn’t mean anything… You quietly snort, thinking to yourself, but you feel a little more comfortable and you unravel yourself. I guess it’s fine if she is with it. She sticks her hand into the water to swirl the petals around a bit and immediately pulls it out, her fingers a bit red. “Ssssshit!—Tha an t-uisge seo uamhasach teth!!” Her eyes finally meet yours and she looks very concerned, then realizes that your skin isn’t at all red or burning. She tilts her head and sneers out of habit. “—How… how are you sitting in that?! It’s scalding hot!”

You smile awkwardly and scratch your neck. “Yeah….. I apparently have a high tolerance to heat…. a very high tolerance...”

She flutters her eyes and her sneer falls making her face soften looking impressed. “.... You are just… full of surprises. Huh?” She grins a little more.

“Yeah…. I’m told that a lot…..” You mutter bashfully. A bit of awkward silence takes over the tent while Shona starts to wash your hair. She really is taking her time and carefully washes your locks. Her longer nails feel very relaxing as she exfoliates your scalp and you start to understand why Muriel loves it so much when you do it for him. He even asks if you’d do it for him from time to time, you never mind either.

“Let this set for a few minutes.” Shoa says while getting comfortable sitting next to the tub, her arms draped over the side.

“Oh ok….” You reply with a half forced smile and you both lapse into very uncomfortable silence once again. You kind of want to start a conversation, but you have no idea how to do that with her… You don’t really know anything about her, other than she likes archery, making clothes, and taking care of her younger siblings.

Before you open your mouth attempting to ask a vague question, she surprisingly breaks the silence. “Can I say something without sounding weird?” She utters, finally glancing briefly into yours eyes.

You grin and shrug, relieved she broke the silence instead of you. “Ummm....Yeah, sure.”

Her eyes verse vertically and she stares uncomfortably down at your naked body as she rests her cheek on her knuckles. “... You have really nice boobs.” —HUH- What?!?! You start a bit when she utters that, but she looks like she’s very sincerely complimenting you. “... They’re a lot bigger than I thought they were. And they have a really great shape.” You shrink a bit into the water feeling a bit embarrassed again. “... I… I’m sorry if that was a bit too personal—”

You shake your head and try to relax. “N-..... No… it’s fine— it’s just—Uuuggghhhh. My friend, her name is Portia… She told me that too when we went shopping for swimwear this summer. It’s actually a really nice thing for someone to say…. but It's just very shocking when someone says it outloud… I never had a sister to tell me otherwise… Or at least I don’t think I did…..’”

Shona just snickers a little and leans her head into her arm resting on the side of the tub. “No wonder my cousin is crazy about you…” Her smile then falls and she averts her eyes toward the divider looking a bit ashamed. “..... Well that and you’re…. really patient….. and kind… and…. a better person that I am…”

Your heart drops when she says that, her tone filled with such regret and pain. “You’re not a bad person, Shona… I get why you didn’t like me. I remind you of someone that hurt you and your sister. And then Ava and I were keeping a secret from you…”

“It… It still doesn't excuse myself. You were right, the other day…. you didn’t hurt me or Ava… All you’ve done is help my family...” She pauses for a moment as she starts to rinse your hair with a bucket. “Here, close your eyes.” You do it obediently and she carefully pours the water on her head making your hair cover your eyes. You shake your soppy wet air and push it back out of your eyes. Once all the shampoo is rinsed out, Shona uses her fingers to comb through your hair to make sure there aren't any tangles, “.... It’s strange…. A Traveler took my sister’s voice. But another one gave them another….. For a long time, I thought I was the death of her happiness. But we just were looking at it from the wrong angle.”

“Ya’ know….” You look at her very kindly as she returns to lean on the side of the tub. “... I never hated you for not liking me, Shona… I'm just glad you're actually speaking to me like this.”

She looks away very ashamed grabbing another bottle of nice scented conditioner and starts to pour some in her palm. “I don’t know how or why you’re…. You're so understanding, I would have punched me in the face by now. I was a real bitch to you…”

You shrug a little, thinking it over. In normal circumstances, you would have done just that now that you think about it. But you never did feel hostility when it came to the twins, especially Shona. “....Maybe it’s because I get how you felt….. I mean…. in a way… People can be awful.” Shona stops washing your hair for a moment and just listens to your words. “....I didn’t like textile merchants for a long time… I made my friend buy me new clothes for over a year.”

“What do you mean?....” She mutters.

“... A few years ago, I woke up and didn’t have any memories…. the person I was living with was my only friend and he took care of me. He taught me how to be a normal person again….. but he would always leave town for awhile and I would be sad… really sad…. This one time when he left, for some reason I decided to go to a tavern… it got late, and this…. this guy I met there offered to walk me home.” You stop for a second, fiddling with a flower petal before you start again, Shona listening intently to every word. “.... I’m not proud of it…. but I was lonely and a bit drunk. He kept complimenting me, made me feel like I was wanted…. So… we started to kiss—this is before Muriel and I really knew each other, by the way….” She nods a little and you continue. “—But then he wanted to take it further, and it…. it just didn’t feel right. When I said no, he suddenly became so angry….. he overpowered me and pinned me against my own shop door.”

A look of horror washes over Shona’s face and she nearly stumbles on her words. “.... What did you…how- how did you— what did you do?”

Thinking back, you snort a little and lightly rub your forehead. “I head-butted the shit out of him and somehow broke his nose—hurt like hell too! Then I threatened him with a spell, but it didn’t work. Luckily Muriel was there and… and he saved me. Since I woke up five years ago he had always looked out for me. I just didn’t know it until just over a year ago. Then we got to know each other more… and… well you get the idea….” You feel your cheeks heat up at the thought.

Shona looks down at her dress for a moment, her hands slightly trembling. “How… How are you ok with…. just talking about it like that? Like it was nothing?”

You sink your shoulders into the warm water and fiddle with another flower petal pondering rather hard about it. “I…. I wasn’t. Not for a long time. I tried to forget that day even happened… but then, somehow the jackass wandered in my shop. He didn’t recognize me at first… he was looking for a sleeping potion but I knew he had other intentions…. Muriel was there again. Good thing too. I may have done more than just hurt the bastard.” You look back over to Shona and she’s just trembling all over, looking so terrified for some reason, tightly gripping her dress. Eerily, you know that look on her face. Very slowly you reach out for her shoulder. “... Shona…?” She jumps at your touch, but doesn’t pull away nor is she disgusted with it. “....Those Highwaymen... You said that Ava was protecting you from them?” Shona eyes become watery like a dam about to burst. “They….. did more than beat you up… didn’t they?”

Tears overwhelm her eyes and she can longer hold them back as they roll down her face. “M-Momma and Papa don't even know. Only Ava does…. Please don’t tell any—”

Bursting your top half out of the tub, without thinking you throw your wet arms around her, unable to stop yourself. “.... It wasn’t your fault what they did, Shona.”

She is a bit shocked at the sudden embrace at first, but doesn’t pull away. “Y-Yes it was. I was the one that insisted on going near the Great Gate…. I— I even flirted with that highwayman—the leader! He posed as a merchant when we were trading…. he-... he saw all that we had. That’s why he and his gang raided our tents!! But…. They’re all dead now... Papa and the other fighters killed them. So why does it hurt so much still?”

“It doesn’t just go away, Shona. It fucking sucks what they did! It was wrong! It’s sickening!” A single tear drips down from your cheek.

“Yeah. It.. It does. I fought them off as much as I could but…. They still…” She shakes her head, unable to say it. But she doesn’t have to, you know. If she doesn’t want to talk about the details, she doesn’t have to.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone about it? You’re mother especially? How has she not seen it?”

“I… I don’t know… She asked if anything happened… and I denied it—and why would she want to relive that?”

“... Why would you lie?”

She shakes her head a little, seeming unsure herself. “....I dunno….. They-they almost killed Ava. That was enough for my parents to deal with. I didn’t want to make things worse… Maybe… Maybe I thought if I didn’t talk about it… It would just go away. Like it didn’t happen. As if it was just a bad dream. I… I don’t know. It didn’t seem important.”

You hug her even tighter. “...You’re important too, Shona.”

Shona shakes uncontrollably, but she places her hands over your arms, excepting the comforting embrace. “It’s been so long…. it shouldn’t matter anymore.”

“But it bothers you still. Doesn’t it? That should be reason enough to talk to someone...... Get it off your chest. This is too much to beat. Even for you! You are very strong, all of the Kokhuri are… but you don’t have to be alone with this, Shona.”

“.... How do I even ask for help for something that happened years ago? Besides what can talking do?”

“....It's not just the talking, Shona… it's the listening part too….”

Shona leans into your arms and softly weeps, it seems like she needed to talk about this. A few minutes go by and she finally gets a hold of herself, gently pulling away from your arms. “....Thanks for listening, Rhemi…..”

“Any time....” You lean over the edge of the tub and kindly smile, then see her dress is half soaked now. “I’m sorry I got water all over you.”

She wipes her stray tears away with her forearm. “It’s… It’s fine. Th.. thank you… I.... I really don’t deserve you being so nice to me. Especially the way I treated you since we met.”

You smile a little wider, conjure your magic and wave your hand instantly drying her dress. She glances down in astonishment. You can’t help but be empathetic towards her. “... Yes you do. I knew you had a reason. Just because you disliked me didn’t mean I didn't like you. Believe it or not, I’m bad at talking about things that bother me too. So is Muri.”

She snorts a bit, at last giving a small grin again. “Cousin Muriel- I can see, but... you? You seem so open. You bearly know me and you spoke about a horrific thing that happened to you.”

“Yeah. You would think that, huh?... I think I kept a lot of secrets when I was younger. I don’t really know why I know. But I think I remember that I had to hide a lot. Especially the person who I really was…. But with Muriel. I never feel like that. I can alway be myself… I can be honest with him. And he loves me anyway. But sometimes I forget about that. He made me realize that I needed to be more truthful too.”

Shona just gives you a knowing look and smiles a bit wider. “Cousin Muriel is lucky to have someone like you, Rhemi.”

You shift your legs a little to make sure they don’t go to sleep and mirror her smile. “..Ya’ know…. you can call me ‘Rem’ for short if you like. My friends call me that.”

Shona flutters her eyes and makes a very happy sounding huff out of her mouth. “Thanks, Rem.” At last, you can call Shona your friend. It feels good. Like Ava, she seemed to be secretly lonely, even both of their energy seems to be lighter like a huge weight has been lifted.

Shona stifles a soft giggle as you start to shiver because of your cold wet hair. “I think we need to rinse your hair again, you don’t want to catch a cold.”

You tilt your head and gently close your eyes. “That’s actually a myth—”

Suddenly Keavy comes into the divider with something in her hands. “Oi, Shona! Have you seen—” Quickly you sink even deeper into the tub with a surprised squeak and tightly cover your breasts.

“—Keavy!! Privacy! Ever hear of it?!” Shona snaps looking rather grumpy and stirn again.

Poor Keavy shudders and quickly darts back behind the divider. She also doesn’t have her parka on and is wearing a wrap around dress very similar to Shona’s. “—Ooooh! I am so sorry, Rhemi! I didn’t mean too—…. Wait—Shona?! You're her neach-curaim???”

“Y-yes…” Shona‘s cheeks start to heat up very slightly, but as a matter of fact face washes over her. “.... What about it??”

“N—nothing!!! I-I…. just didn’t think… that…… Know what, n-... nevermind. I guess I’ll come back later.”

“I-It’s just you…. right, Keavy??” You whimper.

“Yeah it's just me. I promise! No one else!”

“You can come in then. B-But I’m naked.”

“Yeah…. I got that part.” She softly chuckles as she comes back behind the divider and you feel a little silly at your obvious statement. “I have the clothes you made for her, Shona. Momma just put the final touches on them.”

You whip your head to look at Shona in astonishment. “Y-You made me a parka??”

She shrugs with a hint of blush on her cheeks. “Well, I can't take all the credit. Momma and a few of the other people helped. Great-Auntie Khamagalai taught Momma how to sew very quickly and she taught me the same. And it’s custom that your new family make you a traditional parka, headdress and earrings. Since you're not getting married I’m afraid it’s not as fancy, we didn’t have as much time to prepare anyways. It was a parka I was already working on.” You look back towards Keavy and she gives you a huge smile and opens up the parka. Suddenly you feel breathless at the sight of it. It’s the same one you saw that she was working on the other day when you peeked into Shona’s tent. It’s so beautiful, she even made it short enough for you to wear. Your eyes suddenly get watery and Shona jolts. “—It really was last minute… I’m sorry if its not to your liking—”

“No! That's not it!…. I…. I love it, Shona. It’s— it's perfect.”

Keavy eyes dart between you and Shona, looking very surprised at how you both are getting along all of a sudden, not really sure what to make of it. Shona notices, then glances over to her sister a little irritation fresh on her face. “What??”

Keavy blinks a few times and shakes her head. “N-… nothing…. It's just good to see you…. look like that, Sis.”

Shona blushes a little more and plays with the end of her braid. “Whatever…. you weirdo. So are you gonna help us or just stand there staring??” She mutters as she stands to her feet.

Keavy looks rather surprised. “You…. you want me to…. to help you?”

Shona sighs, sounding a little annoyed to grab a towel passing by her. “Well you might as well make yourself useful…. right?” She utters grumpily flicking Keavy’s forehead at her older sibling-like as she passes by her. “I’ve still gonna get her the dress I had to make the other day and I still need to finish the earrings and the headdress…. Could you help her rinse her hair?”

Keavy is stunned at her sister's actions, but actually doesn't need to mind at all. A large ginger smile washes over her lips “Yeah!—I’ll be happy to help.” She carefully folds the parka back up and places it on a small stool by the dividers and picks up the small bucket and stands knees over where Shona was sitting before. Keavy seems so happy at this moment. Shawn mentioned that Keavy and her were close at one point when they were younger. He also mentioned that she never let anyone help her either when it came to her duties and took on way more than she needed to. Maybe Keavy hasn’t seen this side of her in a long time. It must feel good to be trusted to help.

Keavy helps you rinse your hair out then hold your hands as you step out of the large tub and blankets you with the towel. Once dry, Shona comes back with the dress she was talking about. It’s not a wrap around dress like theirs, she seemed to have taken another dress and sown it together to make it fit you. Her skills just amaze you, she made it look like it was purposely made that way. As you donn it over your head, it fits perfectly, and hangs off of you very well. Shona and Keavy then lead you out of the divider after you're dressed and you sit next to the fire.

“Awwww!! You look nice in mauve.” Keavy says cupping her cheeks in girlish excitement and Una comes into the tent with her newborn tightly in her arms. Una stops for a second as she sees you and a happy smile takes over her lips. “Look Momma! Oooo I am so excited! I haven't been to one of our weddings before!—Well I guess this isn’t really one. But…. it’s close enough for me! I can't wait to see Cousin’s face when he gets a load of you after we get you all ready~.”

Your cheeks light up, feeling so nervous all of a sudden. “You—You think he’ll like me dressed up?”

Una tuts at your statement and kneels down to your level and gently tilts your chin up. “Of course he will!! You are a very gorgeous girl, Rhemi! I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I’d bet ya he would think you're beautiful dressed in a potato sack!”

Shona fetches a comb and starts to brush your hair, patting your shoulder comfortingly. “You’re gonna blow his mind.” She adds while Una stands back to her feet, taking the sleeping baby to a small crib to sleep.

“Thanks… Both of you…” You say with a little happy grin.

Suddenly without any warning, Tad comes bursting into the tent, heaving heavily like he ran as fast as he could from the other side of the camp. “RHEMI!!!” He cries out with such urgency in his voice, making everyone in the tent just jump in shock.

“—YES!! What?! What’s goin’ on??? WHERE’S MURIEL?!” You half shout as your heart drops into your stomach fearing the worst.

He suddenly doubles over completely out of breath. “Wha—?..... Oh! He’s—he’s fine.” He utters exhaustively waving his hand. “Ronin,…. Gilbert,...A….Ava and…. Shawn are…. with him… Pffew—”

“Then what is going on? Spit it out, man!!” Una chims in, looking just as shocked and worried.

Tad huffs out his sentence, but only a single word at a time. “Rhemi,.....Can… Can I… Please….. Do… Your…” He takes in a large inhale attempting to slow down his breathing. “....HAIR!!!!!!”

You flutter your eyes and start to relax and slap your forehead with your palm. What the hell Tad…

To be continued…..

Again, I am so sorry this is late. These last few chapters are gonna be hella fluffy. So, be prepared! Hope you all are staying safe and staying healthy! Mother Llama loves you babies! Enjoy my hot trash!!

#the arcana #muriel fanfic #journey back to the south #madllamamomma #ava of the kokhuri #una of the kokhuri #gilbert of the kokhuri #shona of the kokhuri #ida of the kokhuri #muriel of the kokhuri #part 10~#my hot trash #for my hungry trash pandas #eat up my children #sorry its been so long #i am a terrible person

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nataliedanovelist · 4 years

Text

GF - Beauty Within the Fallen ch.VIII (Finale)

Summary: Two misfit twins come across an enchanted castle, home of a mysterious beast, and slowly begin to form a strong bond that just might survive through anything. Even evil demons.

AU and artwork belong to the beautiful and very talented @artsycrapfromsai. Go give her some love, guys!!!

ch.VII

~~~~~~~~~~

“Well, well, well well well well well well well well!” Bill’s voice echoed from Gideon’s mouth. “Good to see you again, beast, you’re looking good.”

“You,” Dipper snarled. “You’re the one who cursed him.” “Hey, hey, you’re not as dumb as you look, Pinetree.” Bill taunted. “You’re gonna pay for that!” Dipper suddenly broke from Stan’s hold and charged at Bill, but when he raised his hand, the boy suddenly floated and couldn’t move. “What?!” “Possession and curses aren’t all I can do.” Bill shared boastfully. He suddenly fell back and rolled as a giant claw left-hooked him in the face. Dipper fell face-first and was assisted up by his sister, free from Bill’s spell. “RUN!” Stan shouted back at the kids as he moved towards Bill swiftly, but neither Dipper or Mabel moved. “You think you can defeat me?!” Bill cackled maliciously. “I’m the Master of the Mind! The Demon of the Nightmare Realm! You’re just some unwanted monster! A disgusting creature! You’re vile! You’re foul! You’re flawed!” “Also CUTE AND FLUFFY!” And Stan pounced for the kid, but Gideon suddenly floated in the air. “Maybe you can fight me, but they can’t.” Bill snarled and dove for the kids. “NO!” The three rolled down onto another balcony and Bill had Gideon’s hands around Dipper’s neck, choking him. Mabel elbowed him off of her brother and Bill had no issue hurting a girl, so he punched her and they began to fight. Bill quickly kicked Mabel away and Dipper hurried to her. Bill clapped his hands together and made a long dagger appear between his palms, grabbing it and ready to fight. “Let’s get this over with.” Dipper buried Mabel’s face into his shoulder and he stood in front of her protectively. He closed his eyes and winced when Bill suddenly moved forward, but no pain came to him and he heard a loud, agonizing roar. He looked up to find Stan between the kids and the enemy, and Bill had stabbed him. Stan had taken the dagger for Dipper and Mabel. “NO!” The kids screamed and hurried to his side and he fell on one knee, his paw clamped over his wound, trying to ignore it and face a bigger issue. Bill dropped his dagger, which disappeared once it hit the floor, and laughed, first a low chuckle but then an ear-splitting cackle. Something gold emerged from Gideon’s body and the boy fell, unconscious. Bill, kicking his legs and holding his triangular body, laughed down at the suffering mortals before him. “Oh ho, this is just too perfect!” The demon declared. “What’s even better than killing those kids?! Killing Stan! Now the curse will never be undone and Sixer will be gone soon enough! Good job there, beast! Thanks for making my job es… AAAAAGH!” Stan had gathered the last of his strength and punched Bill right in the face. Because Stan was directly connected to the curse, he could touch the demon in a way no one else could. Bill crumbled under Stan’s knuckles and the echo of his horrible scream rang through the night. Stan gasped for breath and fell back, completely drained as so much blood was leaving him from his side. Dipper and Mabel gasped in horror, shaken from their shock of Bill’s demise, and were at his right side. Mabel, the closest to his head, petted his cheek and the side of his face. “Stan? Stan?!” She begged, his eyes closed. The old beast forced his brown eyes open and they sparkled up at the kids. “Hey,” He grunted. “You’re back.” “We told you we’d come back.” Dipper said shakenly. “We couldn’t… this… this is all our fault.” “No,” Stan firmly pushed that notion away, his breath staggering as he winced in staggering agony. “No… it’s okay… it’s better th-this way…” “Don’t talk like that.” Mabel scolded and cupped his furry face with her little hand. “We won’t lose you… we can’t lose you. You’ll be okay. We’re all here now, it’ll all be okay.” Stan smiled at her hope, the kind of hope he wished he had, and as he struggled to breath, he lifted a shaking paw up to her to return the kind gesture. Mabel held his hand up to the side of her face and let a tear fall on his thumb. Stan combed her hair gently with his claws and, despite being at Death’s hand, despite the pain, despite the end being so close, he was happy. He chuckled weakly. “Heh. Looks like I was good for something after all.” Mabel shut her eyes and held his hand even tighter. Dipper blinked hard, refusing to cry, and then looked back down at his friend. Stan closed his eyes with a smile, and then his breathing stopped. Mabel dropped his hand and stared, tears rolling down her face. “No… no…” She frantically tried to wake him up, to bring him back. “No, no, no!” Dipper watched in horror. He was so overcome with grief and shock that he seemed to shut down. As his twin desperately tried to be hopeful and tried to find a solution, he knew that, once again, he would have to be realistic and make Mabel see the cold, harsh reality. Finally, she looked up at her brother’s own wide-eyed, grief stricken face. “It-It’ll be okay, right? Right? He’ll be okay… right?” He was the smart one; if he could somehow see a possible way for this to all work out and for Stan to be okay and for them to be a family… Dipper somehow found it in him to shake his head, a tear escaping his eye. Mabel, shaking, collapsed on Stan’s still chest and clang to his shirt and fur for dear life, sobbing in agonizing grief and pain. Dipper cried and hugged his sister with a trembling arm around her shoulder, his other grasping Stan’s shirt. “You can’t go, you can’t!” Mabel cried. “You just c-can’t…” Her voice cracked halfway through her pleas. She was heartbroken and tired. Dipper swallowed, and together they whimpered, “We love you,” preparing to say goodbye. Dark clouds rolled over the skies. Dipper and Mabel both cried unashamed over their loss. Neither of them had any idea what to do, so they just stayed there and sobbed over Stan’s limp body. They didn’t even notice a bolt of sparks falling down. Or the next. Or the next two. But Dipper thought he heard something and glanced up as more silver and gold magic fell from the heavens. “Mabel,” He lightly shook her shoulders. “Mabel, look.” She forced herself to look up and she gasped at what was happening. Even more unhindering, Stan’s body slowly began to rise. Dipper dragged Mabel back and they watched with tears in their eyes as Stan’s blood-soaked cloak wrapped around him and he became engulfed in golden light. Terrified, Dipper and Mabel held each other, worried that his body might be taken away. When the light vanished, the maroon cloak was free of blood and a man wrapped in it was being set down carefully, the magic fading away. The kids noticed, though his back was to them, that this man had pale skin and long, gray hair, and was in Stan’s ripped white shirt and torn dark pants. The mysterious man slowly made his way to his feet, as if he was moving his body for the first time in his life. He stared and flexed his hands and arms, clutched at his stomach, savoring everything. And then suddenly he turned around. His brown eyes were bright, not at all faded like his hair, and his eyes immediately locked on Mabel and Dipper. The boy tightened his hold on his sister, still traumatized and very paranoid. The man moved his mouth, struggling to form words, his jaw shaking, until he finally spoke one word. “Kids?” They knew that voice. No one else had that voice. And the look in his eyes, his warm brown eyes, the same ones he had. As he stared at them with shock, wonder, disbelief, awe, and love. There’s only one person it could be. “STAN!!!” He got on one knee and let the kids hurl themselves into his strong arms. With each child on his shoulder, crying their hearts out, Stan held them tight and grinned with shut eyes, savoring this moment. He chuckled warmly and just having him here and alive was all Dipper and Mabel could have ever wanted. So much so that it took them a minute to fully understand what had happened. Dipper lifted his head and wiped his tears away. “But, how?” He breathed. “How is this possible?” Mabel turned so she could see Stan’s face, but she kept her cheek on his shoulder. “Turns out we messed up Bill’s message.” Stan said with a warm smile. “He didn’t say anything romance.” His eyes moved down to Mabel, who was looking at him misty-eyed. She was still crying. Stan smiled at her and tried to make her feel better with a comforting look. The little girl smiled and lifted a hand to his cheek, cupping the side of his face, feeling his five o’clock shadow and long hair. Stan smiled and rested his cheek in her hand, his eyes closed, but then his eyes popped open and his hold on the kids loosened as a sudden realization hit him like a ton of bricks. “STANFORD!” Stan hurriedly put the kids down and then ran into the castle for dear life. Dipper and Mabel gasped and tried to follow, but they just couldn’t keep up with the old man fueled with so much adrenaline. Ford had turned back into a human a few minutes ago, but after going thirty years without using a body at all, he found he had no strength and was too clumsy to function, so he chuckled helplessly at himself and trusted that Stanley would be there soon. Until then he relished in the feeling of breathing, of seeing and hearing properly, of the wonderful feeling of a night’s breeze in his hair. Moses, how he had missed it all. And, somehow, Stanley had done it. The door was thrown open and without a single door Ford was suddenly pulled up and thrown into a bone-crushing hug, but he just laughed, delighted to hear his own voice again but even more delighted over his brother’s touch. His twelve fingers clung onto Stan’s shirt and his twin buried his face in his shoulder, shaking. What had happened since Gideon picked the journal up was all an excruciating haze to him, but none of that mattered now. Ford finally felt like he had his brother back. He took note of Stan’s heavy, breathing. Ford just held onto his dear twin and said into his ear, “I love you, Stanley.” Stan sagged a little, making them both sag since he was mostly holding them up. “I love you, too.” Ford isn’t sure if Stan believes him, so he repeats himself and then Stan does the same. This goes on for a few minutes, with an occasional “I’m sorry” sprinkled in. Stan moaned this even more woefully. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” “No, I’m sorry.” Ford insisted upon, his speech muffled by Stan’s ripped shirt. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you how much I love you years ago. Then we wouldn’t have had to go through this.” “It’s fine.” Stan’s own voice is hard to hear through Ford’s brown jacket, “It’s not your fault. It was never your fault. If it was anyone’s fault, it’s mine.” Ford tightened his grip around Stan, his voice taking a hard edge to it. “You’re wrong. I was the one who was tricked. You were the one who tried to clean up the mess I made.” “Yeah, well...” “You’re both wrong!” A voice interrupted and the brothers loosened their hold to look at the door. They found Mabel and Dipper standing at a distance. “It was neither of your faults, you dum-dums! It was the evil triangle’s fault. Geez, I thought adults were supposed to be smart.” She said with a roll of her eyes. “She’s right, you know. “ Dipper smiled at them, a teasing gleam in his eye. It was unclear which statement, exactly, he was referring to. Stan and Ford stared at the younger pair of twins for a moment. Then, a low chuckle escaped the eldest, growing into laughter steadily, while the younger brother shortly followed suit. Soon, both were laughing against each other, barely keeping themselves sitting upright. Finally, Stan spoke. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess… yeah. I guess you’re right, kid.” “Of course I’m right!” Mabel grinned, hands on her hips. “I’m always right!” Their laughter quieted and the old men noticed the grand distance between themselves and the children. Stan motioned a hand for them to come up to them while Ford smiled shyly, excited to be formally introduced to them. Dipper and Mabel slowly walked towards them and Stan took each of their little hands with one of his own and also took Ford’s. He had his brother lay his hand out flat and he put the kids’ hands on his. “Kids, this is the author of the journal, my brother.” Mabel and Dipper soaked in his appearance. He was definitely Stan’s twin, but he had his own unique differences. His hair was charcoal gray, shorted and fluffier, and had a gray stripe in the middle of his hair. He had a gold-rimmed monocle over his right eye, his eyes were also a soft brown, and he had a cleft chin. He wore shiny black shoes and fancier clothes, decked in a brown coat with a red scarf tied around his neck. Mabel and Dipper looked down at their held hands and saw that this man had six fingers, just like the journal. They grinned excitedly and Mabel even kissed his hand before leaping into his arms and nearly knocking him over, but Stan luckily had a strong hand on his brother’s back. “Ford!” Mabel cried out in joy as Dipper hugged him, too. “You’re back!” Ford chuckled wetly and blinked away his tears. “Thanks to you two. Thank you so, so much.” The door burst open and Soos stood there, chubby and grinning as a human again. “DUDES! Look at us!” Wendy was soon by his side, a beautiful redhead, and cheered, “You guys! You won’t believe it! Everyone’s back! Pacifica, Candy, Grenda…” “Abuelita!” Soos called and ran to his grandmother, who was sitting in an armchair and taking a nap. “Soos! Mi precioso!” Stan helped Ford up to his feet as the kids got off of him. They held his hand again and they all just stood together, overcome with joy and happiness and love. ~~~~~~~~~~ Almost immediately after the curse was lifted, the two sets of twins fell asleep in front of the fireplace in the lounge, too exhausted from the day’s events to do anything else. Stan was so tired and focused on Ford and the kids that he didn’t even change out of his torn clothes first, but no one cared at all. Everyone’s hands touched in their sleep. Mabel and Dipper held hands, and they had their hands over Stan and Ford’s. Stan had his arm over Mabel, used to hugging her and Dipper when they snuggled together over stories by the fire days ago, while Ford had his arms wrapped around Dipper, almost using the boy as a teddy bear. He desperately needed to feel the comfort of human contact that holding someone brings. Ford had sat somewhat awkwardly because he was not used to having a body again, but no one minded. Mabel and Dipper both used Ford’s arm as a pillow; poor Ford would feel it in the morning, but again, no one cared. Against pillows propped by on a couch, Stan kept an arm wrapped around his brother. Even in his exhausted state, he had the need to keep him safe. In the days to come, slow adjustments had to be made. Ford required a lot of assistance, learning how to use his body again, but Mabel was only happy to teach him how to eat and Dipper assisted in walking and Stan was a little too quick to picking him up and carrying him. Stan and Ford invited the kids and Fiddleford to move in with them permanently and they joyfully agreed. Ford and Fiddleford made fast friends and soon little explosions of experiments gone wrong from the study would become normal. But that was all in the future. For now, they only rested and dreamed. Right now, Dipper was remembering a distant memory. It was bedtime, and he and his sister at five-years-old were stubborn and didn’t want to go to sleep, but Grandpa Shermie only chuckled and told Fiddlford he could handle it and was left alone with his grandchildren. “Come now, my shining stars.” Grandpa Shermie said as he picked up Mabel and put her in the big bed she shared with her brother to keep the nightmares away. He combed her hair. He took in a deep breath and sang a song Ma used to sing to him and his brothers a long time ago. “How does a moment last forever? How can a story never die? It is love we must hold onto, never easy, but we try. Sometimes our happiness is captured, somehow our time and place stand still. Love lives on inside our hearts and always will.” At the same time Dipper was having his pleasant dream, Stan was having his own. Ma was brushing his hair with her fingers and then scooped up Ford to put him in the top bunk as she sang. “Minutes turn to hours, days to years, then gone. But when all else has been forgotten, still our song lives on. Maybe some moments weren't so perfect, maybe some memories not so sweet, but we have to know some bad times or our lives are incomplete. Then when the shadows overtake us just when we feel all hope is gone, we'll hear our song and know once more our love lives on.” ~~~~~~~~~~ The next evening, Stan found himself panting as he awoke. He felt sick to his stomach and his head was spinning. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to calm down. In the neighboring bed, Ford was already awake, staring at his hands on his lap. He looked up at Stan with a concerned look. The younger twin sighed and looked away in shame. A small, timid knock was at the door. “C’min.” Stan called. The door opened and the masters of the castle smiled to find two children and a pig wishing for their company. They could tell by the look in Dipper and Mabel’s eyes that they must have suffered a nightmare, too. Stan smiled and opened his arms. At once, they ran into his hold and got under the silk covers. Stan squeezed them and tolerated the pig at the foot of his large bed. Mabel looked over at Ford and freed a hand for him. He smiled, honored that they wanted to include him, and he climbed into the bed, as well. Snuggled together and slowly sinking back into their sleep, Mabel began to mutter a lullaby under her breath for her boys. “How does a moment last forever? How does our happiness endure? Through the darkest of our troubles. Love is beauty, love is pure.” The elder twins exchanged looks as Dipper began to whisper with his sister. “Love pays no mind to desolation. It flows like a river through the soul. Protects, perceives, and perseveres, and makes us whole.” “Minutes turn to hours, days to years, then gone.” Stan and Ford sang quietly together, making the kids look up at them with astonishment. “But when all else has been forgotten, still our song lives on. How does a moment last forever?” “When our song lives on.” The kids sunk into the adults’ comforting hold and soon they were all sound asleep. THE END

Dedicated to @artsycrapfromsai.

#GF #gravity falls #disney #batb au #beauty within the fallen #ford pines #stan pines #mabel pines #dipper pines #THANK YOU #thank you all so much for reading and supporting this fic #I'm so thankful for all of you #please leave a comment on what you thought

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the--sad--hatter · 5 years

Text

Mischief, Meet Your Match - Chapter Five (Loki x Reader)

WARNINGS: Violence, Swearing, Smut, Loki

SUMMARY:

Sam would say your liking for bad boys has gone too far.

Tony would kill the God of Mischief with his bare hands.

Steve would lock you in your room and never let you out.

Natasha would probably just throw you off the roof.

But there’s just something about Loki that draws you to him, and you couldn’t help it even if you wanted to.

MASTERLIST

By the time you reached the outskirts of the city Loki had taken to ignoring you, annoyed by your constant barrage of questions. Not that you really noticed, you were talking at a hundred miles an minute and he wouldn’t have been able to get a word in if he’d tried.

“How am I going to you know… talk to them? And what are their customs? Mischief what if I offend them?” You asked with considerable concern.

This was your first foray into Alien territory, you didn’t want to screw it up and upset anyone.

His fingers closed around your wrist and he pulled you backwards, spinning you so you were facing him.

“What are you doing now?” You sighed.

He only smirked and stepped in closer, his arm wrapping around your waist. The once steady beat of your heart picked up until your heart was thrumming like a trapped hummingbird against your ribs.

“Mischief?” You choked out in a whisper.

He dipped his head until his lips were just a mere breath from yours and against your better instincts your eyes fluttered closed in anticipation. He whispered something against your lips, something you didn’t understand and a cool tingling started in your lips, spreading through your body like an electric shock. Your head felt clouded and heavy.

Abruptly he released you. It was so sudden you almost fell over and scrambled to regain your balance as he turned on his heel and strode away.

“There, now you needn’t worry about the communication barrier.” Loki said over his shoulder.

“Wait, what?”

“Allspeak Kitten. You can understand and be understood by almost any being in the universe now.” He elaborated.

Your fingers brushed over your lips as you frowned. It was a spell, he had enchanted you, not kissed you.

“Wait, you’re saying I can talk to Aliens? I’m going to be able to talk to them?” You gasped.

“You are aware I myself am what you would class as an Alien? As is my brother.” He said dryly, taking the time to look back at you like you were an idiot.

“Thor’s not an Alien, he’s a puppy.” You scoffed as you caught up with him.

“And me?” He probed.

“I could spend a lifetime trying to figure out what you are and not have any answers.” You told him.

“What a waste of a lifetime, especially since yours is so short.”

“Don’t worry Mischief, I wouldn’t really waste my life on you…...”

You trailed off mid-sentence because someone walked out of a doorway and across your path. The person was about 4ft tall, green, had a trunk with a snail-like shell around it and two eyes raised on stalks above it’s head, and didn’t appreciate you staring it.

“What the hell are you looking at?” They snapped.

“You.” You said dumbly.

You hadn’t meant it to come out rude or antagonistic but they seemed to take it that way, ducking their head down and hurrying away.

“Oh. Oh no, I didn’t mean it like that.” You said, looking after them forlornly.

“Ciegrimite, native to this planet.” Loki supplied helpfully.

“Cool!” You said, awestruck.

The further into the city you got, the more that awestruck feeling grew. It was a cluster of new sounds and smells, some you could find similarity in, some completely foreign. There were aliens that were indistinguishable from you and Loki, though some had blue, green or purple skin. There were various beings though that were absolutely nothing like you as well though and everytime you saw one, you got a little giddy.

“Who’s that?” You asked, tugging on Loki’s sleeve like an excited child.

“A Calurnian. I’m not personally acquainted with her though so I can’t tell you who it is.” He said with only a hint of mocking.

A small furry brown creature that came up to about your waist saw you peering at it and before you could look away before offending it, it waved at you. You waved back enthusiastically, ignoring Loki rolling his eyes beside you.

“Druff. Idiotic things, they possess no more than a childlike intelligence and have an even shorter lifespan than you do.” He whispered.

“What? How long do they live?”

“Three years, give or take.” He shrugged.

You looked back at the small being sadly. Three years wasn’t long at all, no wonder they had childlike intelligence, they never even grew up.

“It’s not all beautiful after all is it?” Loki taunted.

“Beauty isn’t measured by quantity Mischief.” You snapped.

He seemed taken aback by the sudden souring of your mood.

“Enlighten me then Kitten, how does one measure beauty?” He challenged.

“You don’t.” You said simply.

If he needed it explained, then he was never going to understand. You kind of got it though, when you lived for millenia then things lost their charm and excitement and your standards got higher, being raised as Royalty probably didn’t help either. You were actually glad that you would never live long enough to become that numb to things.

“This is one of the seedier taverns in the city, well know to be frequented by pirates and mercenaries.” Loki said, nodding towards a one storey shack.

Even if this world was unfamiliar to you, you could tell that the tavern wasn’t a nice place. It had a very bad vibe and the raucous yelling and sounds of fighting coming from it put you on alert even before Loki had pointed it out.

“What are you doing now?” He sighed in exasperation when you didn’t follow him but started scoping out an alleyway instead.

“I though you were like the King of Sneaky? If I watch from here, I have a clear view in through the windows. It’s better than stomping in and attracting attention.” You explained, perching on top a railing so you could see the whole inside of the tavern from your vantage point.

Loki might have argued if it weren’t for the brisk professional manner you had taken up. You had slipped into mission mode.

“Yes, it’s better if you stay out here. You can be my secret weapon.” He agreed with a slight nod of his head, acting like he had come up with the idea.

“If you need me, scratch your right eyebrow. If you need me to get ready, scratch your left.” You ordered.

“How droll.” He sighed.

“Ok, counter offer, I’ll wait for somebody to stab you. Soon as I see you bleeding, that’ll be my signal to come in.” You offered.

“Everytime I think we’re making progress you say something like that, I’m starting to think you don’t like me.” He quipped dryly.

“I like you.” You said with a casual shrug.

He narrowed his eyes and waited for the punchline but there wasn’t one.

“Even after I kidnapped you and forced you to play bodyguard to me?”

“An alien waved at me, I’m pretty over the kidnapping thing as long as I get home soon. And you’re not the worst company in the world.. or the universe.” You informed him with a teasing smirk.

“So there’s hope for us yet then.” He deduced with a grin.

He leant on the wall so he was towering over you with his considerable height, his eyes twinkling and his lips upturned.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I like you but I don’t trust you. I’d say I wouldn’t trust you as far as I could throw you but I think I could actually throw you quite a bit further than I’d ever be able to trust you Mischief. You’re still the god of lies, and fire and chaos, and you tried to take over my planet and attacked my family. I’m working with you because I have no choice but don’t forget that I’m still and Avenger and you’re still a villain.” You said, reminding yourself more than him.

Everything you had said was technically true. He was the bad guy and you were trying your best to be a hero. You were helping him because you were essentially his prisoner. Neither of you could afford to forget that. You guessed Loki wasn’t pleased with the reminder because his expression went cold and he turned around and walked into the tavern without another word.

And if you felt guilty for hurting his feelings then it was just weakness on your part and you needed to do better. Making friends with Loki was not on the agenda. All that was on the agenda was getting home.

You needed to get back home, to Steve.

~~~Two Hours Later~~~

Loki exited the tavern furiously. He had been forced to threaten his way out, leaving at least two bodies in his wake and you, you hadn’t deigned to show up. He stormed over to the alleyway he’d left you in and as he suspected, found it void of your presence. There was a slight chance you had been taken but he suspected that if you had somehow been unable to fight off an attacker you would have at least made such a scene that he would have heard it. No, he knew what had happened. You had abandoned him.

Ire coursed through his veins at your unreliability and callousness. He thought you had reached an accord and you had scuttled off like a cockroach the second his back was turned. You were really arrogant enough to believe you could survive in this place without him, lightyears away from your home and your precious Avengers without any backup.

He bit down a groan of frustration and began searching for you, trying to think like you would to figure out where you had gone. He searched all through the marketplace assuming you would be entranced by the stalls of shiny worthless junk but he turned up no sign of you. He could just leave you here but that was too close to mercy and he wanted to make you pay for your betrayal. He’d been kind and this is how you repayed him.

So what if he had kidnapped you, you had tried to trick him first. In fact, you were the reason he had been captured in the first place. Even if you thought you had just been defending the little hunk of space debris you called a planet you had no right. And he hadn’t hurt you, he had even let you attack him without repercussion. He had used his magic to gift you allspeak, something usually reserved for Asgardians, and just because you’d been so worried about being able to talk with the insignificant beings who traversed this place. Well he hoped that you enjoyed being able to understand them before they slit your throat and threw you in a pit. Though the thought of that happening did make him quicken his pace.

Because he was the one who deserved to kill you, not because he was worried.

His search for you came to an abrupt conclusion when instead of him finding you, you literally fell at his feet. Or to be precise, someone bodily threw you out of a tavern and into his path.

“Mishiff?” You slurred, squinting at him from the ground.

He stared down at you, half furious, half perplexed.

“Kitten.” He said lowly, his tone dripping with venom.

He knelt down and grabbed a fistful of your shirt, dragging you to your feet, glaring daggers at the ginormous bovine like creature that had unceremoniously thrown you in the dirt.

“Leave. Now. Before I make you pay in blood for laying a hand on her.” He snarled at it, his eyes flashing dangerously.

It seemed to understand the danger and slowly backed away. When it had retreated back inside the Inn he looked down at you.

“’Lo.” You said amicably, blinking up at him.

“You’re drunk.” He seethed.

“Yup! They have strong stuff here, gets even super shoulders drunk.”

“Of all the stupid, ignorant, lowly creatures in this universe you are the one I trusted and you abandoned me if favour of getting drunk.” He clarified, deadly calm.

“You didn’t trust me with a thing, you napped me by *hiccup* accident. You were just being a dick so get off that high…. Thingy… HORSE!” You screeched, trying to turn around and looking confounded by the fact you couldn’t seem to move.

He noticed a few people watching the commotion and swore under his breath.

“Move.” He snarled at you, pushing you ahead of him and swearing again when you stumbled and he was forced to catch you.

He sighed and kept a grip on your waist, dragging you off the streets.

“Where we going?” You asked giddily.

“Out of sight,” He hissed.

“Oh, I’m in trouble now!” You yelped.

A/N - What are we thinking so far?

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#Loki #Loki x Reader #loki x you #Loki Series #Loki fic #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #The Avengers #avengers fanfiction #avengers x reader

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carolyncaves · 4 years

Text

For Untamed Spring Fest Day 4: Bunnies. As much as I love them, I wanted to be creative and use bunnies for something other than Wangxian (though they, or LWJ at least, are still involved by implication). I can’t walk more than three feet into a story without making something ace and polyamorous - in this case you can see I gave Jiang Cheng the former and these three the latter.

1167 words, Nie Huaisang/OC, Lan Xichen. Post-CQL, plenty of unresolved tension left over from the plot, overtures of friendship.

Lan Xichen did actually come visit them in Qinghe, not even a month later. Meihua smiled over-satisfied when his arrival was relayed from the city gate, and Nie Huaisang sighed dramatically. He could practically see some devious forfeit coalescing behind her eyes. Nie Huaisang would surely enjoy it, after a fashion, but he pouted anyway at being the loser.

He would have to be certain to win their next bet. He had a black silk rope hidden in a box in the back of one of their cabinets, and he had several ideas for how he might …

Lan Xichen looked like a figure in a tragic painting. He had restored his [careful] grooming, and he wore luxurious robes once more. The sadness was still so thick it almost literally dripped off him, painting the floor in his wake, but he looked so very beautiful for it. Nie Huaisang felt guilty for admiring it, for enjoying anything about this peaceful man’s suffering. But it wasn’t his fault Lan Xichen even in mourning was art in motion.

He was breathtaking when he smiled, too. Nie Huaisang remembered that distantly from his youth.

He met Meihua’s gaze, knew she saw the same beauty he did. They had discussed this.

“What if the honorable and untouchable Zewu Jun denounces us as terrible and perverted people?” Huaisang had asked, trying to wheedle out the pitfalls in their plan to ensnare the lachrymose First Jade with friendship. “What if he curses our souls with the pure good magic of the Shattered Ice Flute?”

“Sure, but what if he thinks ‘yes, I would certainly be pleased to lie gently with the beautiful Sect Leader of Qinghe and his equally beautiful wife?” Meihua had responded. Always weighing the potential reward.

They were in total agreement on the matter.

She was stunning herself, wrapped in heavy brocade and adorned with rich metal. Not the fine filigree of Lanling; her jewelry was bold and severe. She was every inch the image of ‘Madam Nie’. He had tried as well, put on his grandest hairpiece and carried his most beautiful fan. It was foolish, probably – Lan Xichen was still deep in the well of his grief, and would likely pay no attention to their attire, much less think any further beyond it. But both he and Meihua played the long game, and committing to the role was part of it.

By the time Lan Xichen had fully approached the dais, Nie Huaisang had spent long enough admiring both his wife and their guest that he noticed the members of Lan Xichen’s retinue were bearing something square-shaped draped in a blue cloth. Nie Huaisang stood and properly returned Lan Xichen’s bow, but he did so while wondering what was underneath it.

“Sect Leader Nie, Madam Nie,” Lan Xichen said. “I hope you will not think me presumptuous for taking your invitation at face value and visiting you here in your home.”

“Far from it, Zewu Jun,” Meihua said. “We are pleased and honored you accepted our invitation, and look forward to hosting you for however long you wish to remain within these walls.”

“Your hospitality is generous, so I have brought with me a small gift.” Lan Xichen smiled gently, and it very nearly reached his eyes. “My brother has told me that Sect Leader Nie is fond of at least some small creatures, and we have quite an abundance of them at Cloud Recesses these days. I thought you might like to add a few to your menagerie.” He reached out with his graceful hand and pulled the blue silk off the box like a waterfall.

The box was a cage, and inside it were rabbits. Three beautiful, adorable bunnies, obviously taken from Lan Wangji’s sizeable herd – one white with grey, two mostly charcoal.

Nie Huaisang was glad his reputation was for having an empty head, because it meant he could coo and hurry down the steps to inspect the bunnies from close up without having to try to act dignified. Meihua was right on his heels, and when he glanced over his shoulder, her real smile was shining through her painted one.

“They’re charming, Zewu Jun,” she was saying, as Nie Huaisang stuck his fingers through the bars and touched the white one’s feather-soft fur. Its nose and whiskers tickled his skin.

“How marvelous of you to bring them, Xi-xiong.” The words were out of Nie Huaisang’s mouth before he could think them through, silly and overly-familiar and supposed to be disarming, but the air turned to ice beneath them.

What right did Nie Huaisang have to call Lan Xichen such a thing? The mourning Lan Xichen, stricken down by despair. The last person who’d called him a brother by bond had died by his hand, at Nie Huaisang’s engineering. Nie Huaisang would deserve Lan Xichen’s retribution, for trampling all over his grief.

Nie Huaisang had lost his brother by blood. Nie Huaisang had stood at his own brother’s swordpoint. Lan Xichen had mourned Nie Huaisang’s Da-ge too, hadn’t he? Wasn’t Mingjue also Lan Xichen’s sworn brother?

“I’m glad you like them, Sect Leader Nie,” Lan Xichen said, as if nothing had ever happened. He put his hand to a door in the side of the cage, unlatching it and drawing one of the grey bunnies out. “And you as well, Madam Nie.” He held the rabbit expectantly, as if he were waiting for Nie Huaisang to take it.

“Please, call me Zhang Meihua,” she said, ignoring the thread of tension, though she certainly wasn’t ignorant of it. “If you’re comfortable with it. You’re our personal guest, and we’re all friends here.”

“Zhang Meihua,” Lan Xichen affirmed. Then, after a pause: “Nie Huaisang.”

Nie Huaisang reached out slowly, gathering the bunny into his arms. “Zewu Jun,” he said, rather like an apology.

Lan Xichen inclined his head. “Lan Xichen,” he corrected in answer. He passed the other dark bunny to Meihua and held the light one himself. They took their time like that, absorbed in the little creatures. Lan Xichen and Meihua seemed determined that theirs become fast friends. Nie Huaisang left them to it, but eventually, when he looked up from talking to and clucking over his own furry companion, he found Lan Xichen was watching him. His expression was half bemused and half one of something like … longing. It was almost fond.

He was certainly not fond of Nie Huaisang. Not yet, at any rate. Perhaps he was jealous of the rabbit, and his long seclusion had made him yearn for some gentle touches and soft words.

Nie Huaisang’s face warmed – it had an unfortunate propensity for it, which was one of the many reasons he carried his fan, though he couldn’t bring it out now with the animal in his arms. If that was what Zewu Jun wanted, he and Meihua would be pleased to oblige him – if they could be clever enough to bring the pieces of his heart into alignment.

#untamed spring fest #cql #mdzs #the untamed #xisang #apparently i'm just shamelessly posting shorts from an unfinished wip now #i have a keyboard and word processing software and i'm going to make that everyone else's problem lol #if you're here for some reason i appreciate you haha #stay safe #stay sane #my fic #nhs #lxc #fatal journey

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crownvetch92 · 3 years

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Light Eternal Chapter 1

The moon shown down on lush green leaves as a large shadow swooped down over a sea of trees. A shrill screech filled the air, scaring up massive amounts of birds and insects from the branches. Yellow eyes searched the resulting panicked swarm, honing in on a particularly plump partridge. Gigantic leathery wings beat as the large bat creature snagged the partridge with furry spindly arms, sinking it’s large claws onto it’s prey, killing the bird almost instantaneously.

With her prey in her claws, the bat creature landed on a sturdy branch, plucking feathers off her catch. It was an old habit picked up from her time living amongst mortal humans, before the rise of Vlad the Impaler, and subsequent fear of vampires took hold. She huffed, brushing scratching her ear with her wing claw, as her hands were busied with plucking the last feathers off, and disposing of them into the pitch black forest below.

Aside from her spindly arms she looked just like a giant version of a big brown bat, standing 6 foot from head to talon, and a wingspan of 10 feet. She gazed up at the stars, admiring their tiny flickering lights. She chittered in excitement as a meteor shower began to light up the sky above. She continued eating, discarding bones and inedible gizzards into the leaves below. Small scavenging creatures leaped through the branches below, squabbling over the scraps. They looked like pale, twisted, hairless monkeys with needle sharp teeth. They squawked and chattered, bickering amongst themselves. One was brave enough to sniff at the giant bat’s three taloned feet. She shifted away in disgust, kicking the vile scavenger away. The creature hissed, and jumped down to a lower branch.

The bat finished her nightly meal, and started grooming herself like a rat would. A flash of light caught her large yellow eyes. A meteor passed right past the tree line, and into the forest below. The she-bat sniffed at the air, and then skittered down the tree. The forest was impossibly dark, at least for mortal standards. It was like descending into the deepest part of the ocean, where no light could ever reach. The she bat maneuvered down, using only the sturdiest branches.

She sniffed the air, trying to pick up any strange scent left by the falling star. She followed a scent, that of heated stones. She looked around, nothing was out of the ordinary. Only the bioluminescent flowers that littered the forest floor dimly pulsed with faint light. The she bat huffed, nothing was there, her curiosity lead to disappointment. She scuttled back to her cave.

“Was your hunt successful Estelle?” Echoed a deep yet powerful female voice.

“She smells of blood and bone, arvak.” Came a deep male voice.

“You could say zat...” Estelle the she bat replied, flying up to a large stalactite and clinging to it, “Vat about you?”

Arvak, a large ice dragon looked up, her scales glittering pale blue, “Boar meat, again.”

“Still better zan nosink.” Estelle replied. Ragnar, a red scaled fire dragon, just grumbled in response. Food was more important now that Arvak was heavy with eggs. Most of Ragnar’s kills went to feed his lifelong mate.

“If only prey was as plentiful here as it was on earth before humans came to be,’ he griped.

“You could vedy vell move,” Estelle squawked.

Ragnar blew sparks out his nostrils, “It is not that easy bat,” he shouted, “The humans destroyed my wings!”

He spread his once glorious leathery wings, now nothing more than heavily torn, hole filled connective tissue. He had lost his ability to fly when mortal humans discovered weapons. “I cannot fly at all!”

Estelle held her comment. She just huffed, buried her head in her wing and fell asleep. The next few nights brought more of the same, but she decided to catch a few fat birds for Arvak to dine on while the eggs developed. Arvak laid her eggs a few days later. The eggs were healthy despite their small size. While the eggs incubated in Arvak’s care, Estelle hunted for herself.

While hunting, she noticed an oddly soothing floral smell. She followed the floral scent, finding an enormous white lily. Estelle sniffed around, something seemed different, aside from a new bioluminescent flower suddenly appearing in a place she knew so well. Estelle heard something, akin to a puppy’s whimper. She twitched her ear in the direction of the sound. She slowly turned her head, out of the corner of her yellow eyes, she saw motion.

“Is alright,” Estelle crooned, “I von’t hurt you.”

A small child emerged from the bush. She looked to be about 7 years of age. Her long hair was a dark blue, with small pinpricks of light, reflecting the night sky itself. The child wore a simple dress made of the same flower petals as the lily. It glowed white, making her exposed skin look ghostly pale. Her eyes glowed a vivid green, as her cat like pupils widened in silent panic at the sight of Estelle.

A tarantula sized jumping spider sat on her shoulder like a bird, reared in a defensive posture, fangs bared. It’s white fur bristling. Orange spots on the sides of it’s abdomen gleamed in the pale light from the flower, and 6 U shapes spots decorated it’s back. It was incredibly fluffy for an arachnid familiar, with large shining eyes facing forward, and 6 more smaller ones spread around the sides of it’s head. The spider had an incredibly cute features despite taking a protective stance. Estelle looked around, the bodies of several scavengers littered the area. Surely they caught a whiff of the new flower, hoping for a fresh meal. There were fang marks on each one’s hairless body, as well as sticky spider silk covering their grotesque, twisted faces. The little girl had numerous scratches on her legs, and dirt covering her feet.

“Don’t worry little von,” Estelle crooned, “I vill not hurt you.”

There was no response aside from trembling from the girl, yet the spider had eased up, putting it’s forelegs down. The spider still eyed Estelle suspiciously, chittering quietly into the child’s ear.

“Zat is a little better,” Estelle said soothingly, carefully walking closer before brushing the child’s tangled blue hair to the side with her clawed hand, “Vat is your name child?”

The girl gulped, “c-c-caeweth…”

A deep growl sounded, Estelle’s fur stood up, this creature sounded large.

“Ve must go,” Estelle whispered, picking up the girl and spider in her spindly, fur covered arms as a giant skeletal dog like creature with saliva covered fangs and bloody elongated claws trode onto the light of the giant lily.

The grave dog completely lacked eyes, sniffing about the flower with it’s exposed bony nostril holes. The flesh on the top of it’s muzzle had long been stripped away, leaving only exposed bone. The animal hungered, salivating and gnashing it’s teeth, trying to chew on a petal, and poke it’s nose in the flowers center. Estelle took advantage of the creatures distracted senses, and fled with young Caeweth back to the safety of the cave.

“Damn grave dogs,” Estelle said under her breath.

“What was that thing?” Caeweth whimpered as she clutched Estelle’s soft, thick, brown fur.

“A grave dog,” Estelle said a bit louder, “Humans thought a dog would guide them to ze land of the dead, so zey buried them in grave yards. Unintentionally creating a twisted beast vitch dines on all types ov fae.”

Caeweth clutched Estelle’s fur tighter, making Estelle wince slightly. The trip back to the cave went simply enough, as the scavengers and grave dogs were busy squabbling over meat scraps near the lily. Within the cave, Ragnar lifted his head, smelling an odd scent

“What have you brought this time, Estelle?” He growled, spewing sparks out of his nostrils.

Estelle lifted her wings, revealing little Caeweth, “I found her in the nick of time, any later and she voud haff become grave dog prey.”

Ragnar growled, “You do realize that is a Night Fae? If they find out, they could very well kill all of us without a second thought!”

“Vagnar,” Estelle said calmly, “She is but a child, born outside ze kindergarten, she vould surely haff died out in those voods. Vat vood Arvak say, hm?”

Ragnar huffed. Estelle had a point, Arvak’s motherly instincts would overturn any argument he had the audacity to come up with.

“Fine.” He growled, “But if any harm comes to my eggs, she will be left to the mercy of the forest.”

“Sounds fair,” Estelle nodded.

Caeweth had buried her face in Estelle’s fur, frightened by the loud confrontation. Estelle’s fur was so unreasonably soft, silky, and comforting, she was practically embedded in the cloud like softness.

“You haff nosink to fear little von.” Estelle cooed, moving deeper into the cave.

The sound of water echoed throughout the chamber.

“Where are we?” Caeweth asked tentatively.

“Zer is a spring here,” Estelle cooed, “a place to vash up.”

Caeweth dipped her toes into the clear water. The water was comfortably warm despite the underground temperature. She giggled as the water relaxed her sore muscles. Before she knew it, a silver comb was passed through her tangled hair, preening out all the knots that had accumulated over the past few hours. Caeweth washed off all of the dirt and sweat she gathered, and soon was wrapped in a warm blanket, placed on a soft, yet rudimentary, nest of straw.

“Do you feel better?” Estelle cooed softly, stroking Caeweth’s still wet hair, “never you mind Vagnar, he’s just grumpy.”

Ragnar huffed at the comment, laying down on the smooth stone floor of the cave. His tail twitched back and forth uneasily, red scales glinting in the soft light of the glow moss lining the crevices in the walls. He shook his horse like head, nearly hitting his ram like horns into the wall.

“Arvak better come back soon,” he muttered to himself.

Estelle was too busy soothing the little fairy child to sleep with lullabies and stories, while the jumping spider clung to the wall. Caeweth drew one of the nest lining cloths into her arms. She was not completely sure what was going on, but Estelle seemed nice enough. This was better than the alternative of being ripped apart by scavengers, or disemboweled by grave dogs. She yawned as her eyelids grew ever heavier, till she just drifted off into a deep sleep.

#fairy #fae #bat #shapeshifter #dragon #ice #fire #ice dragon #fire dragon #eggs #flower #lily #white #light #child #fairy child #fae child #fantasy #fairy tale

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thatonebipotato · 4 years

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Pills(1)

Story Warnings: Angst, Deceit, Remus, blood, descriptions of pain

Chapter Warnings: Deceit, Remus, detailed descriptions of pain, blood, screaming, uhhh let me know of any more!!

;)

~~~~~

Remus gave a loud yawn, making a show of rubbing his eyes dramatically. A long night in his imagination had made him very tired, and he wanted- no, needed- affection. He wanted comfort, because long nights of getting stressed out sometimes only caused more stress. He frowned, watching Deceit. He was currently making them some breakfast, but that wasn’t what he wanted. He didn’t want food, he wanted his snake.

“Remus,” said snake said smoothly, “maybe you should go sleep a little longer, what about that, sweetie?” Sweetie. A lovely name that he had been hearing a lot more recently. Not that he was complaining.

“Yeah, but I’d much rather enjoy the view,” he said slyly, glancing downwards before looking back up to meet the other’s gaze.(ha, gays-)

“Remus, you can look later,” he said, sighing. “You need sleep. I’ll put some food for you into the microwave so you can eat later, ok? Go sleep.”

“Hmph, fine!” He got up out of the chair and yawned again, though he tried his best to suppress it. He stumbled his way down the hall, and past the hall that branched off to his room. He didn’t want to be in his shared room, and the room they’d started preparing for him separately wasn’t finished yet. He wanted his imagination instead. Sure, Dee had told him to sleep, but he’d much rather not. Besides, he could take a nap in the imagination or something, so it was fine!

He reached the entrance to the imagination, and began to feel off. Maybe it was because he was worried about being stressed again, maybe it was something else. But there was something… wrong. About his own imagination. The door seemed to be a lot darker, and more broken than it had before. Welp, that’s what happens when you let monsters run loose around the place!

He threw the door open without a second thought and sighed contently, breathing in the sweet smells of his imagination. Despite what most everyone else thought, his side of the imagination wasn’t that dark, or even that bad. At least, not on the surface. There were many flowers with strong fragrances here and there. Most of those fragrances were different kinds of poisons or hallucinogens. Prolonged exposure to them made Remus entirely immune, and even Deceit was mostly immune to all of them. The sky was a dark gradient of purples and oranges, pinks and reds, and some dark blues, the product of an endless sunset. The sad part about the sky was it was covered in storm clouds, most of the time.

There were trees, and a lot of them. They towered over the land, and were very dark, with patterns in their bark and leaves that resembled animal skulls of all kinds, and had sharp edges. And the beasts. Oh, how Remus loved his pets! There were one eyed things with a large mouth and long claws; there were large things with a million arms and eyes that killed its prey with the thought alone; there were furry creatures that looked innocent enough, but could swallow four blue whales whole and still want more; there were slimy things and scaly things, big and small things, things with claws, and wings, and broken, sharp teeth. Ones that howled, and groaned, and yipped, barked, cried, whined, and spoke. He loved his pets!

He wandered up to two trees, the mud made from the previous rain threatening to make him slip. They were very tall, and rigid. He held out his hands, and several ropes appeared in them, and a large cloth sheet. It was a hammock. He began tying one end to one of the trees, and the other to the second tree. He pulled down one side, and leapt up into the hammock. It rocked under his weight, before settling into a lazy roll.

Today, there weren’t any clouds. The trees blocked out most of his view, but he could still see the soft colours. The smell of sickeningly(quite literally) sweet flowers was mixed in with joyous scent of rain. One tiny little fuzzball leapt from the fronds and onto Remus’s tummy. It purred and curled up, producing a sort of tickly sensation. Remus reached out his hand and started gently petting the thing. It was just as soft as it looked. Most people would be sceptical about this puffball, and they should be. While is was furry, and looked like a very tiny monkey, it had the mouth of a snake. It’s jaw could unhinge, and it was venomous. It attacked anyone that wasn’t Remus or Deceit if they showed any sign of danger, or startled it too much.

Her name was Fred.

Fred yawned lazily, turning over onto her back to allow Remus access to her belly, purring louder when his hand found said spot. Remus slowly traced shapes onto her belly, and smiled. Fred had been staying around Remus remus a lot more, and was a sign that she was expecting. In a world made by Remus, what else did you expect? Well, expect more than they were, currently.

Her tail loosely curled around his wrist, and she dozed off into a quiet slumber. Remus would join soon after, but he didn’t want to. He forced himself to stay up until he couldn’t. His eyes felt like they were on fire, and his eyelids weighed down a person being thrown off the dock tied to an anchor. It didn’t help that he had started to itch, a mad burning sensation that crept down his arms and legs, and buried itself into his stomach. For all the pains he’d ever felt, this one was new. Was this supposed to happen? He couldn’t remember.

Just as he was about to drift off, he screamed. The pain immediately flared up, and it hurt. A lot. It felt as though his muscles were being pulled apart one by one, but also at the same time. His joints felt like they were being pressed into burning iron, and the heat never once died down. His skin grew extremely cold, and hurt against the burning of everything else. He kicked and thrashed and screamed and cried, falling off of the hammock and into the mud. He writhed around, and if anyone saw him, they would’ve thought he was having a seizure of some sort.

By this point, Fred was up and about, having been startled so horribly from her nap. She was still on the hammock, and was screeching at Remus with confusion written across her tiny face. The danger was coming from him, but he was also the one in danger. She didn’t know how, she just knew that he was.

Remus curled into a ball, still screaming. He’d managed to control himself from hitting everything around him, but he was still in pain. Why was he in pain? What was happening? Why wouldn’t it stop already? Was it happening to the others? Was this happening to Dee?!

His eyes, which had previously been squeezed close, shot open. Oh God, was this happening to Deceit?! He forced himself onto his hands and knees, even though he was in agony. His attempts to stand kept failing, and he kept falling back onto his knees, so he decided he would just crawl out instead.

The screeching had stopped, Fred was gone. Where she had gone, he didn’t know, but he didn’t want to care right now. He had to check on Dee.

There were suddenly arms under his own. He started hurting more due to pressure being put onto him, but that didn’t matter. Whatever had grabbed him was moving closer to the door. That’s all he needed.

The thing gently placed him back onto the cold, wet ground, and lowered Fred onto him. She had gone to get help! She made sure to jump off of him as soon as possible, and started working on opening the door. Once she got it to click open, she pushed it wide enough for Remus to crawl through, and sat waiting for him to pass through.

He started crying more, having to pick himself back up and out the door, which closed behind him as soon as he was out. He heard sobbing coming from down the hall, and forced himself up, leaning onto the wall. In this moment, he wanted to die more than ever. But he couldn't He had to check on his snake, dammit!

It took a long time, but he finally made it to the last stretch. It was just a crawl from here to get to his hurt Double Dee and make sure he was ok. The second that his own struggles had made a noise in the mostly quiet living space, the sobbing softened.

“R-Remus? Is-is that you?” His voice was broken and quiet.

“Y-” Remus got cut off by a coughing fit, which only made him feel worse, if that was even possible. When he finally stopped, he looked down to see blood on the floor, and some gloved hands by his face, that were also covered in blood. He had to physically restrain himself from screaming when the hands softly cupped his face. He finally looked up, and, though he felt like he was burning at the stake, felt his blood run cold.

Deceit had blood on his chin and staining his clothes. There were tears in his eyes, and he looked white as a sheet. His scales, while normally a vibrant greenish-yellow, looked grey, and his eye was tinged blue. Which was weird, because he wasn’t close to shedding.

“D-Dee Dee, what happened?” he forced out. His own voice was raspy and scratchy from him screaming, and it felt like he was being choked when he spoke, and not in the good way.

“I don’t- I don’t know,” Deceit admitted. His teeth were also stained red. “I think something’s w-wrong, but I just… Remus, everything’s r-really cold.” He looked close to fainting.

“Dee, take- take me to the couch. Now.”

Deceit didn’t question it. He just threw his arms around Remus’s shoulders and supported him as they walked to the couch, slowly. When they got there, and Deceit had set Remus down, Remus knew he would regret what he was doing.

He grabbed Deceit’s hand quickly, and pulled him down onto him with maybe too much force. Yep, he regretted it. The pressure felt like he’d been hit in the chest with a fast paced, rolling boulder. He didn’t say anything as he wrapped his arms around the others chest and held him tightly. Deceit went to protest, but then melted into the touch.

“You’re so warm,” he muttered, burying his face into Remus’s neck.

The second Deceit’s skin touched his, he squeaked.

“Wow, and you’re- you’re really cold!” Deceit was somehow even colder than Remus was. The pain slowly melted away, as it was like an ice pack was pressed into him, but it slowly returned as Deceit heated up. By the time that happened, it was too late to get Dee to move or get him an ice pack or something, because the snek was asleep. He was softly snoring, and looked so peaceful like that, despite the fact that he was bloody and actively causing discomfort.

Remus sighed, and decided the pain was absolutely worth it. He would give his life for Dee, and though he wasn’t dying now, this was the best thing he could do.

Though he was in pain, he forced himself to close his eyes. Soon enough, it started to ease up, and Remus was finally asleep. The breakfast the Deceit had been making was forgotten on the counter, and aside from the snoring from the two Dark Sides, it was silent.

This. This was peaceful. This is how the both wanted it from now on, at least for a little longer.

But that was only the first pill.

~~~~~

:DDDDD

Sorry for any mistakes I made, I didn't really go back and check for any, lol

Taglist: @fatesail @supersoftsupersleep @thesoftestpuffballwegot @chronophobica (two of you guys did show up? I?? Sorry???)

#ts remus sanders #remus sanders #ts deceit sanders #janus sanders #tw blood #tw pain #sanders sides #ts sides #tssides #thatsthat24

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solaneceae · 5 years

Text

MFKZ OS 11: Cruel

People were running around in a panic, seeking shelter from the cold drizzle that was steadily growing to a full-out storm. A few drunkards were openly cursing at the dark and heavy sky, as if their slurred profanities would somehow convince the clouds to fuck off somewhere else.

Angelino paid them no mind, keeping his head down as he made a beeline for Rios Rosas; apparently his usual bus had decided that the gloomy weather was a valid reason not to do its freaking job.

Yup. Out of all the shit happening daily in this nuthouse of a city, rain was the thing that gave the drivers cold feet. Fucking lazy cunts.

So there he was, walking home under pouring rain like an idiot. He snickered; on the bright side, they wouldn’t be as many thugs as usual on the way. Maybe he could get to his flat without getting his ass handed to him by some fuckwit who didn’t like his mug.

Deep into his own muttering, he didn’t notice the flash drowning the world in white for a brief moment, and thus nearly jumped out of his skin when a loud cracking sound assaulted his eardrums a few seconds later. Biting back a startled yelp, he looked up; the sky was so dark and low he could barely make out the top of the building he was walking past, and an ominous rumbling made his throat close up with unease.

Thunderstorm. Fuck. As if this day couldn’t get any shittier.

The hybrid gritted his teeth and picked up the pace, his already damp clothes sticking uncomfortably to his skin; he just wanted to go home dammit, why did bus drivers had to be such a pain in his-

Another flash made his eyes widen, his stomach coiling in fearful anticipation. Okay, okay, maybe it won’t be so bad, maybe it won’t be too loud-

CRRRRACCCKKKK

“AH, FUCK!”

He couldn’t help his body curling in on itself, his arms flying upwards to cover his ears and push, push, push against his skull, like it’d block out the sound if he squeezed hard enough. He couldn’t quite make out the sounds that were leaving his mouth right now, but it probably wasn’t glorious.

God, he probably looked like a lunatic.

He shook himself out of… whatever this was, and broke into a sprint. Okay, so lightning didn’t strike twice in the same place right? So the next ones would have to drop further away, and by the time they got close again he would be home!

He let out a nervous giggle. Yep, seemed legit.

And so he ran for a few minutes, barely dodging a few irate passerby and the occasional tipped-over trash can, his worn shoes threatening to let him slip on the wet pavement any second.

The halfling had began to see Hotel Guadalupe peeking out from between rooftops when something stopped him dead in his tracks. He slowly turned to the right, the weird, high-pitched noise sending an unfamiliar tingle down his spine. He blinked owlishly; there was something down that alleway, something…

That noise again. He cocked his head to the side as he felt something flimsy brush at the edge of his awareness.

Cold.

Pain.

Cold.

He shivered, equally from the cold and the intrusive emotions he was getting from… somewhere. Eyes wide, he took a few steps towards the back of the alley, where a large, mostly burned down trash bin stood. The pressure in his head was growing, his pitch black skin prickling with goosebumps-

Wait.

He froze, a horrible suspicion worming its way in: the last time he felt something like this, it’d brought him hell. Getting ambushed in his own apartment and hunted down and kidnapped and beaten and brainwashed and nooooooope. Nope. Not today brain, not dealing with your shit.

Another noise, shorter and closer. Sounded like… a sneeze maybe? Lino’s brow furrowed as something wiggled in the half-melted heap of trash; Whatever it was sounded harmless enough, but he had learned not to trust anything in this hellhole. Still, he couldn’t help taking a few more steps, and before he knew it the thing was right in front of him.

“Nice job dumbass. What happened to ‘don’t ask questions, don’t get involved’?” he chuckled in disbelief -he was so gonna get himself killed one of those days- and stood on his tiptoes to peer into the bin.

And- yep, that uh, that was a cat alright. Definitely a cat. Not a weird tentacle monster or -hell no- a rabid dog. Juste a tiny, pathetic-looking cat.

Angelino groaned; this was stupid. This whole situation was fucking stupid, he was standing in an obviously cut-throat alleway in a middle of a storm because he heard a dumb cat meowing. Said cat -merely a kitten really- was still whining, not moving from the mostly-deflated tire he was laying against, the stains of dust and oil practically invisible amidst its inky black fur.

Lino tilted his head; that thing didn’t look so good. Its fur was matted in most places and sticky with oil and blood, yellow eyes wide and unfocused. Its little chest rose and fell rapidly, harsh little puffs of air leaving his struggling lungs.

It was small. Probably a runt.

The little circular dents in its side made Lino shiver in sympathy; that looked like a dog bite, a pretty nasty one at that. “Damn. Sorry buddy, that must hurt like hell.” he mumbled, absentmindedly tracing his fingers along the scar on his left hip. The only response he got was a weak meow.

The pressure in his mind was receding, but it didn’t qualm his nervousness in any way; instead, a growing sense of dread filled him as the creature in front of him moved slower and slower, his meows getting quieter, few and far between.

Angelino wasn’t naive: that kitten was dying, alone in a trash bin, in the pouring rain. The weather had gotten colder in the few minutes he’d spent on that alleyway, and given the tremors shaking the hybrid’s body, the hypothermia would probably finish it off before the blood loss would.

It was sad, yes. And unfair. But life in DMC was cruel like that, that was a fact Lino had accepted a long time ago. He wanted to tear his eyes away from the tiny twitching body before him, turn back and run home to relative warmth, and dryness, and Vinz who’d probably finished his shift at Pipo’s by now-

Another meow. That one was longer, louder that anything that had come out of the cat’s mouth until now. The half-alien was jerked away from his reverie, only to be pinned into place by an impossibly bright yellow gaze, tired and desperate and terrified. He felt his breath hitch as the world around him lost its focus.

He was cold, and alone. The warmth and scent that he had learned to associate with safety were gone, and everything around him smelled bad. He laid prone against something hard, letting out quiet little whines. He was hungry. Where was home? Where did the nice voice go, the one that always made him feel happy? He wanted it back…

“Mama…”

Vinz stood in the doorway, his second favourite El Diablo t-shirt on and an unimpressed look on his face. He took a deep breath and pinched the area above his nasal bone. “Lino. What in the actual fuck.”

His roommate smiled uneasily. He was absolutely soaking wet, a little puddle of rainwater already pooling underneath him, and he bored the same expression he had whenever he’d seen one of his roaches die. His arms were tightly wrapped around his midsection, full-body tremors shaking up his limbs. Between that and the slight blue tint of his skin, Vinz was pretty fucking concerned right now.

“Hey. You mind letting me in? I’m freezing my ass off here.” the hybrid asked.

The hothead raised an eyebrow, but moved over to let him through. “No shit. I’ve been home for hours, the hell happened? I was starting to think you got jumped on the way here.”

“Nah.” his best friend drawled, walking past the door and into the living room. “Buses stopped working so I had to walk, that’s all. It sucked ass though.”

Vinz winced, closing the apartment door. For anyone else, it would’ve been a mere annoyance. But for Lino… he shook his head, resisting the urge to fuss over his friend. “Yeesh. Good thing it wasn’t snowing. There’s still some hot water left if you want to get warmed up y’know.”

Angelino just hummed distractedly, still clutching his arms against his chest. He looked distant, and to Vinz that could usually mean one of two things: either he’d somehow gotten hurt and was trying to hide it from him, or alien stuff was eating at him. In either case, it was bad.

Lino would immediately shut him out when he prodded him about it though. So he kept a comfortable distance. “So uh, that’s it then? Nothing else happened?” he asked, keeping his tone as even as possible. And that’s when the hybrid to face him, pearls of rainwater still dropping from his soaked green hoodie, with a very strange expression on his face.

Huh. Was that shame? ...Sheepishness?

“Weeeeellllll… kinda? It’s not bad though, really.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, just spit it out. What did you pull this time?”

Angelino didn’t grace him with a response, slowly unclutching his middle and reaching into his hoodie’s kangaroo pocket instead. Vinz squinted; okay, so he’d found something. Hopefully it wasn’t a gun this time, Lino tended to get a liiiittle trigger-happy whenever he found one of those. He’d spent a whole week fixing up the ceiling that one time.

His roomate pulled the mysterious item out of his pocket, cradling it with surprising gentleness. At first glance it seemed pretty small, dark and furry-looking wait what.

Vinz looked back up, his right eyelid twitching in disbelief. “Are you. Serious.” Angelino just shrugged, holding the little black creature in the crook of his elbow.

“Hey, don’t give me that look. It was cold and alone and pretty sure a dog mistook it for a chew toy or something.”

“You brought a fucking cat home.”

“S’more of a kitten actually…”

“How did this even happen?”

“I just told you…?”

The hothead groaned, his flames gaining a reddish tint. “Angelino. I tolerate your roaches cuz they saved our asses that one time, but this shit right there?” He flailed his hands around as his best friend climbed up the kitchen counter, reaching for the cupboard where they kept their meager medical supplies. “The fuck were you thinking? We got enough shit to deal with between the two of us, you really think we can afford a freaking pet?!”

The halfling gave him a Look™, gathering gauze and antiseptic while still cradling the kitten. Now that Vinz could see it for himself, it was strangely silent and still, and the dark patches on the bottom of Lino’s hoodie didn’t quite look like water to him. His dark-skinned companion took a deep breath and hopped down the counter. “I know. I know, okay? I know this is dumb Vinz, trust me on this. There was a freak storm, I was panicking like an idiot, and that thing was screaming its lungs out from the bottom of a trash bin. And don’t ask me why I didn’t just ignore it cuz I sure as hell don’t know.”

He held the furry thing out, urging Vinz to take a closer look. “Remember what you told me back then? What was it, ‘trash babies need to stick together’?”

The kitten twitched in his hands, its tiny mouth opening on a silent cry. Its pitch black fur was sticking out every which way, sticky with blood and other nasty street fluids, eyes firmly shut and tiny paws kneading at nothing.

Lino sat down into already long-ruined carpet, starting to pour bright red disinfectant on cheap cotton balls. “So yeah, that one might kick the bucket before morning. Fucking dogs, man.” He absentmindedly scratched at his off-white scar. “But who knows, right? I think it’d fit right in with us.” he quietly stated.

Vinz stared at him for a few seconds, his hands picking at the hem of his second-favourite shirt. He eventually rolled his ethereal eyes, sighing. “Fuck it. I’ll get the towels.”

A tingling sensation near his nasal cavity brought Vinz back to the waking world. He curled up tighter in protest, clinging to the warmth in his limbs and the soft cotton in his head. Unfortunately the itch came back twice as strong and a sudden sneeze seized him up, waking him up for good.

Uuuuuugh. He was too out of it to feel it before, but every single inch of him ached. The day was off to a great start. He blearily opened his eyes, his sight returning as the two rings of light formed in his socket-

-and was greeted with a pair of slitted, wide yellow eyes peering at him from a mere inch away.

The hothead sprang up with a yelp, bumping his skull against the coffee table, because he was lucky like that. He sat up, crossed legged on the faded carpet beneath him. Right, he mused, rubbing his aching skull. Living room. Fell asleep on the floor.

That explained why he felt like shit. He popped a few joints into place with a grunt and looked down at the source of his current misery.

The black kitten Lino had dragged home last night stood right in front on him, staring curiously at his flames. Most of its midsection had been wrapped in yellow-white gauze in an effort to stop the bleeding in his side, and while it obviously bothered it, the bandages seemed to have helped; the animal’s movement were slow and sluggish, but its eyes were bright and alert, and its fur, while still dirty, wasn’t matted or sticky with blood anymore. A major improvement compared to the state it was in the day before.

Vinz looked up; Angelino was still out a few feet away, his back against the bottom of the couch, fingers twitching every now and again. He’d probably wake up soon.

The kitten chirped, attracting Vinz’ attention again; it had taken a few hesitant steps towards him and was now sniffing his socked feet in earnest. He raised a brow ridge. “Dude, gross.” He stick his finger in front of the creature’s nose, watching it swipe harmlessly at it.

The hothead snorted at its antics. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was glad. This little gremlin most likely would’ve died if not for them. He felt like they’d done something right for once, like they’d fixed something instead of fucking it up.

Not gonna lie, it felt pretty good.

“Didn’t know you were a cat person.”

Vinz huffed; Angelino had stood up from his previous curled up state on the floor and was approaching him, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The hothead took his eyes away from the tiny panther attempting murder on his hand to peer at his roomate. “Tch, no way man. haven’t you heard? Cats are evil.”

“Can’t be worse than dogs.” the hybrid shrugged, plopping down next to him. “Also, don’t you do witchy stuff? You can’t do witchy stuff without a black cat, pretty sure that’s against witch law or something.”

“It’s Wicca. And I’ll have you know that’s a very insulting stereotype and I am deeply offended by that statement.”

“Aw, sorry bro. Guess you’ll have to spell it out for me.”

“Eat a dick, Lino.”

The hybrid just chuckled, reaching down to let the kitten rub its face against his palm. Vinz sighted. “Hey uh, this is nice and all, but we still can’t keep this guy. Pets cost money, in case you didn’t know.”

The cat gave Lino’s hand a raspy lick, before turning back to the skeleton to try and climb up his leg. Vinz glared at it, as if daring it to try and swoon him with its big round eyes and tiny wiggly ears and-

The feline clumsily slid off his pant leg and ended up on its back, tiny black padded paws reaching up at him. He would’ve bit his lip if he could. Dammit.

Angelino smiled. Vinz was so easy to read. “It’s fine. It’s just for a few days bro, just the time for this lil nugget to get its pep back. Don’t have to take her to a vet or anything.” He dig his fingers in their guest’s furry belly, wincing when razor-sharp teeth nipped his knuckle. Mh, maybe that was a dumb thing to do. Here’s to hoping the thing doesn’t have rabies or something.

“ ‘sides,” he added, “this one looks old enough to take care of herself, there’s plenty of mice in this shitty hotel. Cats usually go and do their own shit, you barely have to do anything. They’re like roaches, but fuzzier I guess. And before you ask, no she ain’t gonna eat my roaches. Told you before, they smart, they’ll stay clear of her.”

Vinz stayed silent for a few moments, then relented. “Fine,” he groaned, “we can keep it for now. Seriously though, only you could compare freaking roaches to a- wait, ‘she’? How the fuck can you tell?”

“Dunno, i just kinda… know? Ooh, nice bunny kicks. Maybe she can be a wrestler one day.”

“So what, you some kind of psychic now?”

On top of everything else? Vinz wanted to add, but he didn’t.

Lino smirked, taking his hand away from the vicious beast at his feet. “Yeah, I can see into your mind, and what I see is disgusting. You got some fucked up kinks.”

The hothead flipped him off as the kitten climbed into his lap, successfully this time. “I call bullshit, it- Ow, claws. Ten bucks it’s male.”

“Whatever man, it’s your money.” the hybrid retorted, watching their protegee knead the front of Vinz’ shirt with abandon, the first hints of a purr leaving his tiny chest. The skeleton blinked, his head tilting to the side.

“...He kinda looks like you.”

“We’re not naming her after me, Vinz.”

“What, i’m just saying!”

The kitten yawned, curling up on a warm lap.

yah no they never settled on a name. or a gender for that matter. they just started to call their new roomate different names every day. idk i thought it’d be funny

#mfkz #mutafukaz #vinz #angelino #fanfic #fanfiction

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