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twofoursixohjuan · 2 years

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Day Nine: Storm

it's very late I apologise it got away from me

so remember when I gave Jesper an earned-name for one line in burn it to ashes and salt the earth and really hoped someone would ask about it but no-one did? it's a moot point now because *SPOILER* he has one in TSC, but tough luck, you're getting my ramblings anyway

with many thanks to the Battle of Marathon, and to my favourite scene to overanalyse: the race from Outcasts

fic under the cut

stormrunner

The night is falling, the storm is closing in, and in the darkness around them rise shouts and crashes and the occasional flicker of a torch. The rain pours down, soaking through clothing and pooling in the makeshift embankments the crew are digging in frantic desperation. The noise and the torches draw closer. The invading force will be on them soon. They're out of time. "Jesper!" Hal calls. The lookout breaks away from his work stacking thorny brush and scrambles up the muddy slope to where Hal stands. There's been no time for care, and the brambles have left his arms bloody. Hal makes a note to ask Edvin to check over the barricade workers. Later. If they survive. "What is it, Hal?" There are no jokes in Jesper's voice now. The situation is too dire for that. "We can't hold out long," says Hal, and Jesper nods assent. This is a skirmishing brigade, not an invasion force, but whether they number a hundred or a thousand matters little when all they're facing is ten. The Herons can slow their advance, though. The hunter's road winds through a deep, narrow chasm just here, and the crew is dug in at its narrowest point, barring the way. If they can buy some time… "I need you to warn Hallasholm," says Hal. "What?" Jesper shakes his head. "I won't leave. Send… send Stefan." His voice cracks raw. "Please." Hal knows that if it had been Stefan he'd asked, he would be begging him to send Jesper. Please. "You're faster than Stefan." "Stig's better over distances than me," tries Jesper. He glances to the embankment, where Stefan is still piling thorns. His hands are bleeding too. "Hal. Please. Don't send me away." "I need Stig in the shield wall," says Hal, hardening his heart. "Follow the hunter's road and bring reinforcements. We need you, Jes." "Five miles," says Jesper, shucking his swordbelt and sheepskin vest, and Hal half-expects a complaint. His nerves are drawn cord-tight, and he thinks he might just slap his friend if he tries anything like that. But all Jesper says is, "I'll be back before you know it." He tries a smile, but it's tight and lopsided and shatters as he says, "Hal?' Hal cocks his head. "You'll be here when I get back. Promise. You'll all be here." He glances to Stefan again. "Promise me, Hal." Hal opens his mouth, not sure what he can say. It's not in him to make promises he can't keep. But Jesper is already running, slight figure vanishing into the rain and shadows.

Jesper runs hard, step after step after step, rocky path jarring up through his legs. The walls of the gorge cut high above him, dark against the night sky. He can't keep this pace up forever, but his crew is back there and he'll be damned if he's going to slow down. Jesper's been running to get away all his life. He won't break now that he's running for the lives of his friends. A stitch knots hard in his side. He pushes harder. The gorge ends, sharply, without warning, and the gale hits him like a blow. Jesper staggers sideways, almost loses his footing, pushes on. Thunder roars like army, like a ship's drum, like the crowd that lined the footrace course. Through the driving rain, he can almost see Henjak's rangy figure vanishing ahead, Tursgud's bulk looming at his side. The road slows, twisting and curving through sloping woods. Jesper leaves the track and pounds across the sodden ground, cutting through the bends and turns. His feet skid on mud and leaves. One boot catches a tree root and he goes down hard, rolling in the dirt, all the air driven out of him. His head slams against a stone and he thinks he can hear Tursgud laughing, just as he had years ago when Jesper tumbled over the finish line bare seconds too late. But Tursgud is dead, and Henjak now, too, spitted on a sword in western Arrida, and Jesper has no time for imagination. He scrambles back up and keeps going, blood and rain in his eyes. Step after step after step.

He doesn't know how long he's been running, how far he's come. Not far enough. He is nothing but breath and thunder and aching bones, and he runs. Behind him he thinks he hears cries, carried on the wind, and the clashing noise of battle. Stupid. No sound could get over the howl of the gale. There are other voices in the storm, or maybe in his head, and other Jespers running, on cobbles and grass and sand and stone.

Stop, thief!

Is that Anye's boy?

Blast second! He can still win!

I'll break your fingers, you little—

Get him!

A whirlpool of shouts, of pounding feet and exhaustion and terror, and none of that was ever as important as this. Because it's not his life he's running for. He's soaked through to the skin. His arms don't feel like they'll ever be warm again, but his chest burns. The world shatters white. Lighting spears the sky to a tree not twenty metres away, and the roar of thunder splits the air. Jesper pitches forward in the sudden clamour, all bearings gone, falling through solid sound until he crumples into a ditch. The urge to lie there and never move again is almost overwhelming, but he can almost see the figure of Henjak vanishing into the rain, and he can't let Hal down. He staggers to his feet and follows. Tursgud is laughing again behind his eyes. Too fucking slow, gutter bastard, he says, looking down at a sprawled body in front of the cheering brotherbands. Jesper can't let him be right.

Step after step after step and every bone feels loose, every muscle choked with sand. Jesper's breath tastes of iron. Tursgud is running alongside him now, sixteen and easy, lit by the bright sunshine of a Hallasholm spring. You'll never make it, he says as Jesper stumbles, catches himself on both palms, pushes onwards. "You're dead," he gasps into the teeth of the wind. Tursgud just gives a shark's grin and draws ahead, just as he did all those years ago, fading into the shadow. If Jesper is going mad, there's no time for that either.

The ground begins to rise, sloping upwards under his staggering feet, and Jesper almost sobs. He falls again, gets up with torn hands and bloody knees, fighting the winds and his own failing strength and Henjak's pity, Tursgud's scorn. Step. Step. And he crests the hill.

There, glittering through the dark and lashing rain, are the lights of Hallasholm. Still maybe half a mile yet, but this desperate journey has an end in sight. The lamps burn steady on the walls, and as Jesper pulls in a burning, shuddering breath, the wind turns.

And backs.

The wind streams down towards Hallasholm and Jesper sprints with it, long downhill strides with the gale at his back. He runs in the wings of the storm. He's almost to the wall. A shadow flickers beside him. Dark eyes, shark smile, bulky boxer's shoulders, slowly dropping behind as Jesper runs. And then Tursgud is gone.

The gate stands a little ajar. On this wild night the guard on duty has probably sloped off to the keep, hiding from the rain. Jesper slips through and pounds down the silent streets, the occasional flash of lamps through a shutter adding to the there-and-gone moonlight. He cuts into one of the worse neighbourhoods — familiar territory. There's more light in the windows here, and as Jesper passes the gaping mouth of an alley a man stumbles out, reeling and stinking of ale, groping fingers clutching at Jesper's shirt. Jesper drops a shoulder and catches him in the chest, sends him sprawling. By the time the man has clambered back to his feet he is already gone. One last turn, and the moonlight spatters through the clouds and over the wide, cobbled street leading to the Oberjarl's hall. In the flickering silver glow, Jesper thinks he sees a shape, lanky limbs and smiling golden face.

Henjak raises a fist in salute and steps aside to let him pass.

****

I've got another half a chapter written (told you it got away from me) and I might pop it up on AO3 once it's done — depends if anyone wants it

#brotherband #brotherband chronicles #ranger gathering 2022 #fic #jesper #hal mikkelson #tursgud #henjak #yes I killed henjak I'm sorry it was for THEMATIC RESONANCE #again more imagery than plot #ghosts or hallucinations? you decide #overuse of italics

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monsterywriting · 3 years

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Maledos - pt 1

masterlist

This is a rewrite. Read the original parts here, here and here

word count: 7,381 (!!!)

AN: i have really wanted to finish this story, but the original wasn’t really well planned out (and reading my old writing was :/) SO i decided to make one GIANT rewrite of the originals and continue from there. i mostly added on to what was already there with some minor changes so the story would make more sense and just add some extra bits :) the originals will be taken off the master list but will still be linked here.

Everything burned as you raced through the streets of your neighborhood, frantically searching for your dog. Your legs and lungs were screaming from the workout you’d only just finished and your eyes stung with the threat of tears from your panic.

Of course Pumpkin would take off after the two of you had just come back from running on the park trails, only seconds away from entering the safety of your apartment building when a car backfired nearby and scared her.

You called her name out in desperation, though you knew she was probably long gone from the area. You had only just moved into the city recently and neither her or you were familiar enough with the area to not get lost.

You bit your thumbnail anxiously. Pumpkin wouldn’t last a minute out on the streets by herself, exposed to the elements. She was sensitive, scared of her own shadow when it was cast on a wall. Not to mention, the weather forecast for the night called for thunderstorms, dark clouds already gathering overhead to block the afternoon sun.

“Hey, kid, need some help?”

You almost don’t realize the stranger is talking to you, too preoccupied in your own worry to pay much attention to your surroundings. Once you do, however, you’re too relieved at the display of kindness to correct the tiefling that you were actually an adult.

Your potential savior towered over you, well over 6’ even without including his horns that curled back over his head, average for a tiefling but giant in comparison to your short figure. His skin was a fiery red and he was dressed in all black - a nice dress shirt tucked into slim-fitting trousers that accentuated his buff figure nicely. The most striking part of his outfit, however, was the leather biker jacket with an unfamiliar emblem of a stag surrounded by brambles. Had you been in your right mind, you may have also taken in his short-cropped black hair, bright yellow eyes, strong nose and jawline, nice full lips - in short, handsome, model-like, statuesque, hot, all terms you may have used to describe him if you weren’t preoccupied with finding your dog.

He also looked fairly annoyed with you, though you decided to attribute it as his resting face since he had obviously taken the time to come out of his way to stop and help you.

“Uhm- yes, my dog, Pumpkin,” you explained breathlessly, hardly able to focus as you continued to look around for a familiar flash of fur, “she took off while I was unlocking my apartment building’s door! We just got back from the park!”

Maledos appraised the tiny human with an eyebrow raised. He was still debating whether to actually go out of his way for you, his question more rhetorical than anything else, expecting the person to wave away a stranger rather than roping them into their problem.

Based on the owner, however, he figured ‘Pumpkin’ was a chihuahua. Or a Pomeranian; something small and fluffy that surely couldn’t have gotten far. It wouldn’t take long to find the little rascal, so he didn’t mind potentially being a few minutes late to work.

“I’ll walk with you and help you look,” he offered. You certainly didn’t look like you were a resident of the neighborhood, and at the grateful look you gave him as you eagerly accepted, you had probably been worried about wandering around the predominantly orcish neighborhood alone.

Maledos came to regret not minding his own business, however, as those few minuets stretched into an hour of searching every single alleyway, dumpster and parked car they came across and he had long since missed the window to get out of this mess. Valbaugh was definitely going to kill him once he finally showed up.

You, on the other hand, were laser-focused on finding your dog, nervously looking up at the darkening sky every so often and hoping that she was hunkered down somewhere and not running in the busy intersections.

After entering yet another alley while you checked under parked cars, Maledos squatted down to look under a store’s dumpster, careful not to get his shoes or pants in any of the unidentifiable dumpster juice leaking from a crack in the metal but eventually forced to place his hands on the pavement to peer underneath the gap, internally cursing at the definite crease in his leather shoes. He stood up, glancing down the mostly empty alley and catching a glimpse of brown fur disappearing behind some smaller trashcans.

Praying its your dog and not a stray so he can leave, Maledos approaches, intent on grabbing the dog and swiftly returning it to you. Moving the trashcan and expecting to see a tiny fluff ball, his gaze was instead met with that of a giant pitfall, its expression decidedly murderous. Its muscles flexed impressively underneath its reddish-brown pelt and its studded pink leather harness only added to the fearsome image before him. He scrambled out of the way, about to yell at you to run when you suddenly let out a screech and called out Pumpkin’s name again, this time in joy, crouching down and holding your arms open.

The pit ran past him and barreled into you, nearly knocking you over with the force of the collision. Standing up, you lifted Pumpkin with barely a grunt - an impressive feat in and of itself - and peppered her face with kisses as Maledos stood awkwardly out of the way of the touching reunion.

Finally setting the dog down, you grabbed the leash that had been trailing behind her and began thanking Maledos profusely as the two of you walked down the street and back to your starting point.

“Thank you again,” you repeated as you walked your now definite savior, sincere in your gratitude even if he’d been a grouch the entire time, “I only moved here a month ago and I was so worried I’d get lost!”

You gestured to the specific building down the road, evidently having no issue with telling him your address. In fact, the entire time Maledos had been with you alone in isolated parts of the neighborhood, you didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the fact that he, a complete stranger, may well have been a serial killer.

But more pressingly, Maledos realized the apartment building you pointed to was his own. Another surprise - you were apparently his neighbor.

As Maledos tuned out your rambling, he took the time to fully examine you. You obviously weren’t a little kid as Maledos had originally thought, but were incredibly short - you couldn’t be more than 5’. You were dressed in workout clothes, which was to be expected if you had just left the park as you told him. You spoke animatedly, your eyes and facial expression giving away every fluctuation in emotion while your hands waved about, even as he didn’t pay attention, he could guess you were recounting the moments leading up to you losing your dog - who was walking calmly in between you and him with her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth, seemingly the exact opposite of her spaz of an owner.

“I just don’t know how to repay you,” you finished as you finally reached the front of the apartment building, gulping down a deep breath before looking expectantly at Maledos.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said gruffly, continuing down the street in the direction he’d originally been going before the over hour-long deviation from his routine. Glancing at the time, he realized just how much time had elapsed and cursed under his breath, Valbaugh no doubt fuming at the bar.

“Well, I hope to see you around!” You called after him, certain he didn’t catch your name even as you shouted it as loudly as you dared in a residential neighborhood.

Maledos doesn’t turn around, not bothering to acknowledge your friendliness, knowing you wouldn’t last long in the neighborhood - no matter how tough your dog looked.

You, meanwhile, turn to look down at Pumpkin, the dog whining as she pulled on her leash to go inside. You quickly acquiesce, rushing to unlock the door just as the first raindrops began to fall on the sidewalk where you’d just been standing.

It wasn’t until after you reached your apartment and threw yourself on your bed in exhaustion that the gravity of the entire situation hit you. You could have lost Pumpkin for far longer than the time it took to find her had that tiefling not found her. And only now did you realize you never caught his name, though as you hugged Pumpkin close in your bed with emotional tears streaming down your face, you felt incredibly indebted to him, whoever he was.

You don’t remember falling asleep like that, though you must have as you’re forcibly shaken awake by your roommate facedown on your bed with your shoes still on your feet hanging off the edge and Pumpkin stretched out along your side. In your surprise, you suddenly shot up, effectively scaring the daylights out of Kharza, which in turn scared Pumpkin passed out next to you.

Checking your phone, you were shocked to find it was already 4 o’clock in the afternoon and outside your window the storm was in full force, the occasional rumble of thunder in the distance as giant raindrops sounding like hail pelted the windows.

Kharza flicked your forehead and pouted as her other hand reached over to scratch Pumpkin’s ear to soothe her, “Don’t scare me like that! What the hell happened to you? I’ve been calling you all afternoon.”

“Pumpkin got spooked by some car backfiring today and took off,” you explained, apologizing before getting into the whole spiel of what had transpired, wondering just how much to reveal to Kharza of the grumpy tiefling who came to your aid in case it made for an awkward interaction later, “Somebody did stop and help me, though. I don’t know if he lives nearby but if it wasn’t for him I probably wouldn’t have found Pumpkin.”

Kharza’s expression had grown increasingly grim as she absorbed the story, concerned about what could have happened to either one of you while running around the city’s busy streets alone. Rather than lecture you for not being more careful when you were so clearly shaken up about what had happened still, Kharza instead turned to Pumpkin and mock-scolded her in a baby voice, making you laugh at Pumpkin getting excited by Kharza’s tone alone.

You’ve known the half-orc since you were both in diapers, growing up in the same small town together - and keeping in touch even after she went to college in the much larger city - meant that she knew how important Pumpkin was to you and exactly what you needed to relieve the tension you felt.

“I’m glad you found her quickly,” Kharza said as she got up and walked to your bedroom door, “but hurry up and jump in the shower. We’re going out for drinks tonight.”

“What about the rain?” You asked, looking out the window at the seemingly endless torrent. You couldn’t even see the street below through the thick sheet of rain.

“I already checked the weather. It should be done by 7 so we can head out at 10,” Kharza insisted confidently, “I need a drink after being called in on a Saturday and you need to get out of your little new resident bubble. Bring out the party animal you from our high school days, huh?”

You chuckled along at the memory, somewhat embarrassed but acquiescing with her invitation out, knowing that despite coming out as a demand, she would have no problem if you declined. You supposed Kharza was right in that you had been in something of a slump since moving to the city and away from home - not going anywhere besides your job, the park with Pumpkin and the apartment. You didn’t know anyone here, and hadn’t really made the effort to get to know them.

You thought once you started your job you could get to know your co-workers, but the office you worked at was much larger than you thought and the cubicles kept everyone fairly separate, making it hard for you to really get friendly with anyone. Tonight would be the perfect opportunity for you to meet Kharza’s other friends and perhaps make some of your own.

Still, you were apprehensive standing in front of your closet wrapped only in your towels just hours later. It had taken you hours to convince yourself that Pumpkin would be okay alone, the thunderstorm long past and snoring loudly on your bed after going out to use the bathroom, and now you couldn’t help but agonize over what to wear. On one hand, it was your first time going out with Kharza in a long while and you wanted to go all out. On the other, you didn’t want to be stuck wearing uncomfortable clothes all night long.

Finally, you decided to go halfway, picking out a nice top but comfortable jeans, nice shoes but slipping an extra pair of sneakers into your bag just in case. Once you’re satisfied with your pick in clothes, you decided to leave your hair as it was out the shower, only blowdrying it briefly without brushing it out.

With your outfit complete, you grabbed your bag and keys and went out into the living room where Kharza was waiting to head out, though not before you both hyped the other’s outfit. She thankfully also went with a more casual outfit, wearing a pink crop top with a short jean skirt and black heeled boots. Her long, dark hair flowed down her back in loose waves, untamed but not entirely wild, which it usually was when she took it out her work braid. Kharza had been in the process of putting on her jean jacket to complete her look when you exited your room, and as soon as she was ready, you both left.

“What’s the name of the place again?” You asked as you both walked down the empty sidewalk looking for what Kharza claimed was ‘the best bar in town’ and ‘just down the street.’

“The sign doesn’t really match the name, but it’s named after the owner,” Kharza explained, directing you to cross the street at an intersection, “Mal’s.”

You heard the place before you saw it, the patio completely full even after the sudden rain left everything drenched. Though what made your drop was when you approached and recognized the sign, the familiar crest with the stag surrounded by brambles.

You kept your mouth shut, however, as Kharza led you inside through the crowd to a large corner filled with people of all kinds - a couple of orcs and elves, a satyr and a dryad who jumped up smiling and immediately enveloped you in a hug as Kharza introduced you to everyone else.

After brief introductions, you and Kharza head to the bar and you somehow managed to order your favorite beer from the absolutely colossal orc bartender despite the place being completely hammered.

Once you both return to the booth cradling your drinks, you get settled at the edge across from Kharza, you quickly get comfortable, engaging in the conversation with ease, the coincidence of the sign slipping from your mind as you laughed along with everyone.

Kharza always said you had a knack for making friends ever since you insisted on being her friend even when everyone else in kindergarten was wary of her as a half-orc and even went so far as to convince everyone else in your class that she was quote - the coolest and prettiest friend ever. However, tonight you had to attribute your easy assimilation with Kharza’s city friends to her having apparently talked their ears off about you, her best friend back home - including the story of how you became friends. A nice circle, you thought.

Less than an hour later, a familiar face appeared from the midst of the crowd, making you freeze in the middle of listening to the dryad, Nitidea, talk at length about their day. The newcomer squeezed in next to you, making you freeze where you were. Everyone in the group shouted over the crowd to greet the person next to you, all of them referring to him as Mal.

You don’t look up, caught by surprise and stunned into silence at the sudden appearance of the tiefling you met only a couple hours earlier with the most sour expression you’d ever seen on anyone now smiling so widely you were nearly blinded by his sharp, pearly whites. You do note that the smile does falter once his eyes finally met yours as ‘Mal’ realized not only was he sitting right next to you, but the arm he’d so carelessly draped around the person next to him was also you.

“So you were the new roommate Kharza’s been talking about,” Maledos said quietly, recovering from his initial shock with record speed once the rest of the table’s conversation shifted back to what it had been before he arrived, carefully taking his arm off you and pretending to reach for his drink while flashing a quick smile to everyone else, “I wasn’t expecting you to be…”

“Human?” You chuckle as you took a small sip of your own beer, not wanting to get buzzed too quickly, “and I wasn’t expecting the person who went out of their way to help a stranger look for their lost dog to be named Mal.”

“Maledos,” he clarified just a little too quickly, thanking the gods above that he was too red to noticeably blush as you laughed, though he wasn’t sure why he was so damn nervous in his own bar, though he suspected it may have something to do with the intensity of the stare Kharza was giving him from the other side of the table.

“Thanks again for today, I really do appreciate it,” you turn serious for a brief moment, noticing Maledos’ discomfort, which you presumed to be from how standoffish he’d been when you first met, deciding to try and ease the tension now that you apparently had mutual friends.

Giving Maledos one last nod of appreciation, you turned to rejoin the booth’s conversation, the tiefling soon loosening up as well as you pointedly didn’t make a big deal out of his entirely different demeanor.

Most of the group had never lived outside of the city and urged you to tell them more about living in “the country” since Kharza only ever went on about how boring it was - downplaying just how wild it could be growing up in a small, half-suburb-half-farmland town could be when kids were left to make their own fun.

As you were in the middle of telling your highly engaged audience about the specifics of the after-prom house party at one of the football players’ houses your senior year, the bartender appeared and quietly extracted Maledos from the group. You glanced up as he left, conscious of the sudden loss of the body next to you but continuing the story with Kharza inputting her own memories of the event.

Some indiscernible amount of time later, you found yourself struggling to get through the crowd and to the bar to order another beer for yourself. Once you finally are able to get the bartender’s - Valbaugh, you overhear a nearby patron call him - attention and get your order in, you noticed Maledos a few feet away talking with another group of people, once again amazed by how different he could be, though you supposed since he was at work he couldn’t exactly be Mr. Resting Bitch Face, an assessment you were now comfortable with making now that you knew that wasn’t how he normally looked.

Just as you paid for your drink and were about to turn away with it, Maledos glanced up and you both made eye contact. You smiled and gave a small wave with your free hand, but instead of returning the gesture, Maledos said something to the people he was talking to and began walking over to you. Neither one of you spoke as Maledos ordered a whiskey and when he gave no indication that he was going to speak while you both drank, you finally decided to break the silence yourself.

“You need that stiff a drink to talk to me?” You quipped, already kicking yourself mentally as it seemed to have the opposite effect than you intended, Maledos attempting to explain himself rather than lightening the mood, “I was kidding, Mal. This isn’t a interrogation.”

“Right,” Maledos cleared his throat, downing the rest of his drink, “Sorry, I’m not usually- I just really didn’t expect to see you again, much less with my friends. No offense.”

“None taken. I get it,” you smile, truly not offended as you figured that was just Maledos’ personality with with people he wasn’t close to, deciding to extend the olive branch of friendship first, “So… Kharza tells me you’re the mysterious neighbor I’ve never seen around the apartment before.”

“Yeah, I’m usually here all night and just knock out once I get home,” Maledos finally relaxed, falling into easy conversation with you once he imagined he was speaking to a potential regular customer, “I come and go at odd hours, so most people with normal work schedules wouldn’t exactly run into me.”

“I’m not envious of the all nighters but it sounds nice to have days for yourself,” you marveled, “so how’d you decide you wanted to own a bar?”

“I inherited it from my mom, actually. It’s named after her, too,” Maledos explained, handing his empty glass to Valbaugh and holding up two fingers, “When she opened it, the city was still pretty segregated between the different races. She wanted to have a space that was a neutral zone.”

“Well, it definitely fits the vision she had,” you smile, turning in your chair to take a full look at the diverse crowd in a new light.

“Well, what about you?” Maledos inquired.

“What about me?”

“Why the sudden switch to big city living?” He pressed, “I mean, I get Kharza’s old roommate sucked but that’s hardly a reason to move halfway across the country.”

“You’re right,” you snort, “I was already offered a job here when Kharza told me she needed a new roommate. The pay’s good and the rent was in my budget, so I decided to just bite the bullet and come out here—”

“With Pumpkin,” Maledos finished, chuckling as you beamed at him and nodded enthusiastically in agreement. You had a nice smile, he thought offhandedly, “I’m not gonna lie - seeing that giant dog when I was expecting a chihuahua almost gave me a heart attack.”

“A chihuahua?!” You feigned indignation, the corners of your lips threatening to turn up into a smile, “I’ll have you know a lady of my stature needs a dog to match.”

At that, Maledos burst out into laughter as he commented you probably had to scale the bar stool you were sitting on when you sat down, which finally broke your own serious expression and you both were laughing uncontrollably. The rest of the night passes in a blur, you and Maledos talking at length about anything and everything with only occasional interruptions as other patrons of the bar came to say goodbye to Maledos before leaving.

“I was totally surprised to find out you were so talkative… and smile-y,” you admitted, only a little tipsy after cutting yourself off on your third beer since sitting down, “I mean, you hardly said two words to me all afternoon.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of an asshole before people get to know me, or so I’m told,” Maledos admitted, slightly embarrassed that after making so many assumptions about you, he was now actually enjoying an entire conversation with you.

At some point, Kharza comes looking for you, everyone else heading out. The orc was giving you a familiar look, one you pretend not to recognize or notice. You were shocked you’d spent so long talking to Maledos after telling everyone you were just going to buy a single beer. Maledos glanced down at his watch, looking just as dumbfounded as you.

“Shit, it’s already closing,” Maledos frowned, “Valbaugh, why didn’t you announce last call?”

“I did,” the bartender replied, rolling his eyes, though the grin on his face indicated he wasn’t truly annoyed as he added teasingly, “I guess you were too preoccupied to notice.”

You and Kharza burst out laughing as Maledos’ tail, which had up until then been lazily swishing behind him, stood straight up as he began sputtering indignantly.

“Well, we’re going to head out,” Kharza said, dropping her hands on your shoulder and about to lead you away from the bar when something finally dawns on you.

“Oh, since we’re neighbors we should exchange numbers!” You said quickly, rummaging around in your bag for your phone and completely missing the looks Valbaugh and Kharza shot Maledos.

“Don’t feel too special,” Kharza warned sarcastically, “she also got Ms. Lalshur’s and Mrs. Umekrana’s numbers the first week she moved in.”

Valbaugh snorted, but Maledos’ pointed ears perked up at the second name, “I understand Ms. Lalshur, she talks to everyone… but I’ve lived there for almost five years and Mrs. Umekrana hasn’t said more than ten words to me. And they were ‘quit making all that fucking racket on the stairs every night’.”

You bite back a smile at the jab at your cranky neighbor, handing Maledos your phone so he could add his number to your contacts and taking his offered phone in return, “she’s nice once you get to know her. But it didn’t hurt that I was able to fix her sewing machine for her the day I met her…”

After saying your final goodbyes to both Maledos and Valbaugh, you and Kharza walked back to your apartment, Kharza wasting no time interrogating you about your apparently two hour long conversation with the tiefling as soon as you exited the bar. What did you two talk about? Did he pay for your drinks? Was he flirting with you? And, most importantly, do you like him?

You barely manage to keep up with the barrage of questions, and the last question nearly makes you choke on your own spit at its abruptness. As far as Kharza knows, you’ve only just met Maledos tonight at the bar, and while it is too soon to discern any deeper feelings, you can’t deny that you had fun spending time with him, or that he was incredibly attractive. However, you reason, it wasn’t ideal to date within a friend group, especially when you had no one else you knew - if things even got that far. Frankly, you would probably just embarrass yourself developing a crush on Maledos.

In any case, it would be more trouble than what it’s worth for everyone involved and you immediately decided it would be best to avoid that road altogether, firmly denying any feelings when Kharza asked.

…

A month passed quickly since your first night at the bar. It was the go-to hangout spot for Kharza and her friends, so it was a given once you became a part of the group that you would hang out there often as well, which meant even more interactions with Maledos - the only time you’d see him despite living across the hall from each other. And whenever you went to the bar, the two of you would inevitably take up each other’s time and attention, a fact Kharza loves to claim as proof of something deeper going on between you, entirely convinced that the two of you were sneaking behind everyone’s backs no matter how often you point out that your very average conversations were nowhere near the proclamations of undying love she imagined.

Rather than convince Kharza that nothing was happening - which it wasn’t - it always managed to set her off in a long speech about how dense you were and how you wouldn’t recognize Maledos’ feelings for you if he got down on one knee before you in front of everyone, to paraphrase.

While you couldn’t deny that Maledos was attractive to your best friend, who would easily see through such blatant lies knowing full well your ‘type’ had remained largely unchanged since you were teenagers, you still stood by your decision not to complicate the dynamics of the group with undoubtedly unrequited feelings. It was just downright unlikely that a hot, successful business owner who met hundreds of people every week through his job would find you of all people particularly interesting. Especially considering the fact that Maledos hadn’t given you any sort of indication that he wanted to be anything more than friends, no matter what Kharza said about the ‘subtleties of love.’

Despite your conviction whenever you told Kharza she was reading too much into things, but that didn’t stop the part of your pride that reared its head whenever she inadvertently stroked your ego with claims that some small action showed Maledos secretly was crushing on you. Despite it feeling so very high school, it was still an addicting rush to think so and didn’t help your burgeoning feelings for the tiefling every time you saw him.

After a particularly long day at work - a visit by an important client for the company you worked for requiring all hands on deck as your boss had everyone bending over backwards for them - you fell asleep almost immediately after getting home, only taking Pumpkin out to use the bathroom by your apartment building before passing out and even bailing on Friday night drinks with everyone. So when at almost 6 in the morning Pumpkin’s whining at your bedroom door to be taken out woke you up, you rushed to get changed and take her for a much needed walk, feeling terrible for depriving her of her evening walk.

You went to the park a couple blocks away, sitting on a bench in the small dog park while you watched Pumpkin excitedly sniff around. Despite sleeping well over eight hours, you still somehow nod off, not even realizing you do until you felt someone tapping on your shoulder, eliciting a shrill scream from you.

“Gods above that was loud. And here I was trying to save you from falling off a bench,” you recognized Maledos’ teasing voice right away, twisting around in your seat to look at him leaning over the fence as Pumpkin jumped onto the bench next to you for ear scratches.

“Are you barely coming back from the bar?” You stifle a yawn behind your hand, grinning as you watched Maledos easily scale the fence to sit next to you, still apparently full of energy even after pulling an all-nighter at the bar. He was wearing the leather jacket with the bar’s logo on it - the one article of clothing you had yet to see him without in all the time you’d known him - but now he wore a plain black shirt, jeans and white sneakers as opposed to the dressier clothes he’d been wearing when you met.

“Yeah, Fridays are always our busiest nights so I usually have to stay until the next morning,” Maledos sighed, draping himself over you melodramatically with one arm thrown over his face in mock despair, “I was bored all night without you there. Why did you leave me all alone?”

“Oh, I’m sure you were absolutely lonely in the bar surrounded by 800 of your closest friends,” you snarked, nudging Maledos in his side to get him off. You stifle down your soaring emotions at his remarks, knowing that Maledos’ words were far from flirtatious.

You had long since realized that the tiefling was very much like a cat in that respect - an aloof brick wall to those he didn’t know but incredibly needy with those he was close to - though you couldn't help the swell of pride that came with thought that he preferred having you around over anyone else. It certainly didn’t help dampen your growing crush on the man.

“And what are you doing sitting around in a dimly lit park this early?” Maledos asked, finally sitting up but still draping his arms around the back of the bench.

“I fell asleep early and didn’t get a chance to walk her,” you replied, placing both palms on either side of Pumpkin’s face and squishing the excess skin, making the dog grow so excited her whip-like tail began swinging right dangerously close to Maledos’ arm, “but when else would I be able to run into my night owl of a neighbor?”

Maledos snorted, the two of you beginning to joke around with each other while you sat, mostly about a certain couple on the first floor who was seemingly constantly arguing. You thought it was just in the middle of the night, but Maledos assured you they also kept him up during the day when all he wanted to do was sleep.

As the sky rapidly lightened overhead, Pumpkin started tugging on her leash in your hand, a sign that she was ready to go. Maledos walked with you through the park and back towards the apartment building in a comfortable silence, Pumpkin sticking close to Maledos’ side since he pet her while you walked.

“Oh yeah, Ms. Lalshur tells me you baked her the best cookies she’s ever tasted when you first moved in,” Maledos mentioned as he held the building door open for you, “gotta admit I feel a little left out.”

“I gave some to everyone on our floor, but somebody never answered their door when I knocked,” you said as you started up the stairs with Pumpkin.

“Y’know, I think I remember looking through my peephole and seeing a girl scout once…” Maledos tapped his finger on his cheek while feigning a contemplative look, though he was soon doubling over in laughter as you shoved him for the jab, though he doesn’t even budge.

“Well you can forget tasting any of my baking skills, mister,” you scoffed, turning as though you were going to stomp to your apartment door.

“Hold on, I’m sorry, please give me—shit!” Maledos tried to follow behind you, but neither of you noticed Pumpkin standing between you, the large tiefling falling forward as he tried to avoid hurting her and stumbling over his own feet.

Maledos fortunately caught himself on the wall, effectively caging you between his muscular arms as he hunched over you, your faces mere centimeters apart just short of a collision that would have surely left you both concussed - you worse if his horns had knocked into you.

You let out a chuckle to try and ease the tension, but it comes out too airy, made worse as you tried to joke, “if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you tripped on purpose, Mal.”

Maledos’ expression softened at the nickname you so rarely used for him in favor of his full name despite how universal it was for everyone else. He broke into a small grin, beginning to say something when the door across the hall slammed open and Mrs. Umekrana walked out into the hall with her trash in one hand and a cigarette in another, interrupting.

“You can’t keep it in your fucking pants until you get into your apartment, Maledos?” She muttered, continuing towards the stairs and taking a long drag that somehow doesn’t set off any of the smoke detectors.

The two of you watched the willowy-looking drow disappear down the stairwell like deer in headlights, the moment quickly hurtling towards uncomfortable.

“I didn’t know Mrs. Umekrana even knew my name,” Maledos said weakly, the first to break the silence as he quickly stepped away from you and loudly cleared his throat.

You were still struggling to catch your breath, not wanting to sound too flustered when you finally responded, though you were fortunately spared from the awkward situation as Pumpkin began whining to go inside beside you.

“It was good seeing you, Maledos,” you said with an only slightly strained smile, unlocking your apartment door and waving one last time before finally shutting the door and able to let out a deep breath you weren’t aware you were holding.

Your mind and heart were racing as you took off Pumpkin’s harness, relieved Kharza was such a heavy sleeper. Obviously unable to sleep after that, you tossed and turned in your bed as you wondered what would have happened - if anything at all - had Mrs. Umekrana hadn’t decided to take out her trash at that very moment.

Finally giving up on sleep, you got up and ventured into the kitchen, Pumpkin not moving from her spot on the bed. It was already 9 o’clock, which meant if your started baking now you could be done in an hour.

You quickly set to work, gathering all the necessary ingredients from the pantry and refrigerator while the oven preheated. Rather than make cookies, you decide to go with brownies since they were much easier to prepare.

Kharza wandered into the kitchen after you’ve already set the pan of mix in the oven, futilely pushing back her bedhead as she watched you pretend to scroll through your phone and look at anywhere but her while you sat at the dining table.

“Brownies? Who’re you bringing out the big guns for?” Kharza yawned as she leaned on the island counter with her chin resting on her palm.

“I’m not bringing out anything,” you replied, pressing the oven light to watch the brownies’ progress despite only just putting it in, keeping your voice even as you nonchalantly add “I’m just making Maledos some brownies.”

“Oh, Maledos, I should have known.” You don’t even need to look up to know Kharza was wiggling her eyebrows with a knowing smirk, her tone saying it all.

You don’t bother to make a reply, any defense of your actions only feeding into her conviction. You definitely could not tell Kharza about what had transpired hours earlier - no matter how badly you needed her advice on the matter. It would only make her more convinced that you and Maledos were an item and Kharza would no doubt tease Maledos with the information, which would make it obvious you were overthinking things with him when nothing actually happened and you couldn’t risk Maledos finding out your feelings like that.

By the time Kharza left on her morning jog with Pumpkin, you had already taken the brownies out the oven and placed the pan in the fridge to cool before cutting them into squares. After stacking two thirds of them onto a plate and sending a quick text to Maledos about coming over, you leave your apartment to go down the hall.

It took you a minute of pacing back and forth in front of his door to gather up the courage to knock, praying that Maledos was even awake. However, before your lifted hand can even make contact with the door, it was swinging open, Maledos standing before you before you can even jump from the sudden movement, your mouth slack in surprise.

“I- uh- got your text,” Maledos explained, standing aside to let you inside. He had changed into a plain white t-shirt and sweats, his hair still dripping obviously fresh from a shower.

As you walked into the apartment, you were struck by how different it appeared from your and Kharza’s, even with the exact same layout and fixtures. The interior definitely suited Maledos - a lot of steel grays with black splashed here and there, all very modern. The entire apartment was impeccable, ripped straight from a catalogue, a show apartment for tours rather than a home and definitely not one lived in for the last five years. However, it made sense considering Maledos spent most of his free time in the apartment sleeping, the rest in the bar, so it was a given the apartment wouldn’t be messy.

You set the plate down on the kitchen counter, nearly running face to chest into Maledos when you turned around just as he was reaching around you for a piece.

“Sorry,” you mumbled, ducking around him and not looking at Maledos as you felt your cheeks burning. In turn, you missed how Maledos turned to watch you make your way to his bookshelf, reading the spines but not daring to move your hands from your sides lest you mess up the order of everything.

Unbeknownst to you, Maledos had also been unable to sleep after the almost-something in the hallway. He had laid in his bed, wide awake and texting his older sister, who had been less than pleased to be woken up so early on a Saturday but easily placated with the news that Maledos of all people was having girl troubles.

He had been surprised as well. For years running the bar had been his life, everything else put on the back burner to that goal. He was good at that. Successful, even. But in romance, short flings and one night stands were his forte, not pining over his neighbor or a friend’s best friend - in your case, both. You were growing increasingly important to him and he knew for a fact you didn’t deserve having to deal with his ineptitude in longterm relationships. You were someone who baked cookies for your neighbors in your free time and helped old ladies fix their ancient singer sewing machines. You just came over with a plate full of brownies just because he mentioned he wanted to try your baking that morning.

Not to mention he would be risking your friendship if you didn’t even feel the same way. There was simply too much at stake for him, preferring to keep his feelings closely guarded and never acted on.

But all that care and caution was all thrown out the moment he would see you - just as he had this morning while walking back home from the bar. He had needed to rest, wake up before noon and go back to do the expenses. Instead, he found himself already walking over to you and tapping your shoulder, reveling in how all drowsiness dissipated from your expression upon seeing him and the way the corners of your eyes crinkled as you flashed him the widest grin - unconscientious, unabashed in wearing your heart on your sleeve.

“Maledos?” You asked again, jumping up to wave your hand in front of his eyes and drawing him back to reality, “You were spacing out pretty hard. Are you okay?”

“Of course!” It came out too forced, you certainly looked unconvinced. He laughed sheepishly, “Sorry, the all nighters are starting to get to me. What happened?”

“I said Kharza and I were going to go for drinks tonight since we didn’t get a chance to go out last night,” you reiterated, curious of what he had been thinking but respecting his decision not to share, “Maybe you could go with us? I think you could definitely use a night off. You seem tired. Get away from the bar for a night, scope out the competition. I’m sure Valbaugh and the others can hold down the fort.”

The concern you showed for him made a surge of emotion rise up in Maledos, bringing forth a wide smile before he could stop himself, agreeing to go with you. And Kharza.

“Great,” you clapped your hands together in excitement, heading towards the door with a wave, “See you tonight, then. I’ll text you.”

“See you tonight,” Maledos repeated back, returning you wave and standing in the middle of his foyer for a good five minutes after you’d closed the door behind you.

His phone alarm finally sounded, rousing him from his stupor rather than a nap and telling him it was time to go back to the bar. Dismissing it, Maledos opened up his recent calls and dialed Valbaugh to let him know he would be taking the night off.

#exophilia #tiefling #monster boyfriend #reader insert

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japanesespytranscript · 3 years

Audio

Don’t you wanna scram? Don’t you wanna hide? Don’t you wanna get away tonight? Don’t you wanna run? Don’t you wanna die? Don’t you wanna get away tonight? Not hearing all your shit Don’t waste my fuckin’ time Don’t you wanna get away tonight? Go kick rocks and die Everything you say is to make me feel stupid Everything you say is to make mе feel bad Everything you say is a distraction So I’m not listening to Who needs a preamblе? Jeffy Boi, just let me ramble! Whole damn world in shambles! Let the Bad Times Roll -The Vandals Brain is feeling scrambled, Homer Simpson in the bramble Every other scandal got me shakin' my head... (DAAAMN FOOL!) Don't you wanna run? Don't you wanna Go Dumb? Smack a politician up the backside of their cranium! Throw the racists in a rocket blast they ass into the sun! MEGA GUILLOTINE We 'bout to redistribute income! I'm not listening to you!

#Jeff Rosenstock #SKrAm!#SKA DREAM #musics #Jeff has so many songs that make me feel hyped up. bless you jeff

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ellenya · 4 years

Text

Bruce ( @rabbruad1) wrote:

‘Before Elle ambles, she always preambles.’

A ramble through the brambles is the best preamble to a gambol through Campbell’s shambles in Istanbul. It’s a scramble to get through all the gamblers, but it’s worth it for the sambal, right Bru?

#rhyme #poetry #poets corner #poets on tumblr #twcpoetry #writers corner #bruce and ellenya #silliness

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umbramatic · 3 years

Text

Night Of The Living Tuesday (Revolutionary Girl Utena X ???)

I'm sorry

Night Of The Living Tuesday

It was evening at Ohtori Academy. The setting sun's rays dappled upon Student Council Burger, the campus' premiere restaurant. A green haired, slender young man excitedly approached the doorway from the inside and changed the sign from "open" to "closed." "Eight-oh-clock! So long, everyone, I've got a date with a little lady, and her name is... is... actually I forget."

It was then he noticed another student standing at the door.

"What do you want?"

"Saionji is the restaurant open?"

Saionji sighed. "Read the sign."

The student glanced over, then continued. "I want an Ohtori burger deluxe and double smashed egg fries."

"No. I can't hang out here all night! I've got a life."

The other student frowned. "Well fine, if you don't want my money..."

"Did you say money?"

A red-haired, elegant young man strode over gracefully, perhaps too gracefully.

"Are you saying if this venture stayed open later you'd give us more funds for the student council?"

The student smiled and nodded as he pulled out money. More students came to join him. The redhead smiled back, pulled out a katana, and sliced the "closed" sign in half.

"Ladiies, gentleman, nonbinary fellows, welcome to the night shift. From now on Student Council Burger is open 24 hours a day."

Saionji's eyes widened in horror. "What? No, Touga, you can-"

He was interrupted by the other students barging in the restaurant eagerly. There was the click of a stopwatch as a blue-haired, wide-eyed boy approached from further inside, eyes sparkling. "Wonderful! We can do so much for the Student Council this way!"

"Not you too Miki..." said Saionji. He turned to the redhead. "Touga please..."

"See you in the morning, you two," said Touga. I can't stay here all night, I've got a life."

And he strode off into the sunset.

"T-Touga..." Saionji said.

"Isn't this great Saionji?" said Miki. "Just you and me together for hours and hours and then the sun will come up and we'll have help[ed the student council so much!" He clicked his stopwatch. "Are you ready to do this Saionji?"

"No."

Miki shrugged. "Well we've got customers!"

They took their places, Saionji at the counter and Miki in the kitchen. Saionji produced a wooden sword, handed it to the nearest customer, and gestured to his chest.

"Please stab me as hard as you can."

"Look Saionji!" said Miki. "I'm working in the kitchen! At night!"

:"...Don't hold back."

------------

"Hey Saionji! Guess what? I'm frying eggs... at night!"

"Look at me! I'm clicking my stopwatch... at night!" "SAIONJI I CUT MYSELF ON MY SWORD! At night!"

Not even by plugging his ears could Saionji drown it all out. Now Miiki was - he was marching around the counter in a circle, chanting "night night night" over and over to the tune of... Never Gonna Give You Up? That song was like ten years old. Weirdo.What had gotten into him? He needed a distraction.

"Miki! Stop your prattling and get rid of this!"

He hurled a bag of garbage toward Miki, which he caught.

"Oh! Good idea! I can take out the trash at night too!" said Miki.

He approached the door and then promptly froze.

"...Oh. Right. The dumpster is outside."

Saionji sighed. "Where else would it be?"

"...Are you sure you don't want to do it? It's unusually dark out tonight."

Saionji smirked. "How unbecoming of you. Your sister certainly wouldn't approve."

Miki scowled. "...Fine." He lifted the bag over his head.

"FOR THE WORLD REVOLUTION! AND MY SISTER!" And he barged out the door.

For the next several seconds Saionji heard loud screaming from outside. Then Miki barged back in and started heaving breaths like he had almost drowned before standing straight and clicking his stopwatch like nothing had happened.

"Twelve seconds."

Shit. He still hadn't snapped out of it. What was a Saionji to do?

Wait. That old schoolyard rumor...

"So you're not really afraid?"

:"Of course not," said Miki. "I'm a MAN."

"You're braver than I am. Especially after..." He shuddered.

"After what?" Miki said, eyes widening.

"You haven't heard? They've been gossiping about it for weeks!" said Saonji, throwing up his hands.

"I haven't! Gossiping about what?"

"I shouldn't tell you. It'll RUIN the night shift for you," Saionji said with a grin.

"N-no it won't! I'm a man, remember?"

"You mean... You've never heard the story of the Shambling Duelist?" Miki blinked. "D-Dueling Shamblist?"

"Shambling Duelist!"

Miki's eyes crossed. "The Crambling... The Ambling... the Scrambling... the Brambling... the Gambling... the Rambling... Gah!"

Saonji sighed. "...Alright, the Shambling Duelist. But most people call him-" he screamed, eliciting several odd looks from the patrons - "because that's all they have time for before he robs them of their manhood!"

"W-what is the story of this fearsome duelist?"

"Years ago at this very academy, the Shambling Duelist used to be a Student Council member just like you, only CLUMSIER. And then, one night, during a climactic duel, it happened..."

"He forgot his Rose Seal?"

Saonji raised his eyebrow. "...No."

"He forgot to turri on the Dueling Arena?"

"Still no."

"He learned to respect women?"

"Of course not! His opponent cut off his hand!"

Miki put a hand to his mouth. "N-no..."

"And then he replaced his hand with a rusty sword! And then, he got run over by a runaway elephant! And then at his funeral they expelled him! So now every... What day is it?"

"Tuesday."

"Every Tuesday night, his ghost returns to Ohtori to destroy the patriarchy!"

Miki gulped. "He's... Coming tonight?"

"Indeed."

"Does he... have a calling card?"

"There are three signs the Shambling Duelist has returned to Ohtori. First, the lights will flicker on and off. Next -"

A student approached the counter. "Hey can I have some ketchup?"

"Oh, sure," said Saionji, handing the student their ketchup. "NEXT, the phone will ring, and there will be no one there!"

At this point Miki was nervously biting his fingernails.

"The final sign is the Shambling Duelist showing up in front of this very restaurant, atop the ghost of the elephant that trampled him! Then he gets off and crosses the street without looking both ways because he's already dead! Then he taps on the window with his rusty sword hand..." Miki shuddered "N--no please..."

"He opens the door..." he leaned in very close to Miki. "He slowly approaches the counter... And you know what he does next?"

"W-what?"

"Oh never mind. You don't want to know."

"What is it?"

"You sure?"

"Tell me!"

Saionji suddenly appeared behind Miki. "He ROBS YOU OF YOUR MANHOOD."

It was then Miki started screaming.

...And screaming and screaming and goodness he wouldn't stop screaming. Saionji just laughed at it for a while but once he stopped laughing and Miki was STILL screaming he realized he should probably do something maybe.

"Miki- Miki I was joking."

Miki finally stopped screaming. "Huh?"

""It was all a lie! I was just messing with you!"

Miki blinked. "So the Shambling Duelist isn't real?"

"Of course not! I just exaggerated an old schoolyard rumor. It's all baloney."

"Oh! You got me good!"

He started laughing. And laughing. And laughing some more. Saionji sighed. This was going to be a long night.

-------------

Hours later, in the dark of the night, Saionji was reading a book, and by that I mean writing in his exchange diary, when something dripped on his head. "Wait what?"

The drip was accompanied by strange noises. "What's that?"

"This is wonderful Saionji!" said a voice.

Saionji screamed and whipped toward the source of the voice to find Miki cleaning the ceiling with suction cups. "I never have time to clean the ceiling during the day!"

Saionji turned back to his post and sighed. "Why did Touga even bother opening this place 24/7? No one wants an Ohtori burger at 3AM!"

-----------

It was dark in Nanami's room. She was sleeping soundly. Then her alarm clock rang and she bolted upright.

"Three AM already? Oh boy!" She pulled an Ohtori Burger from an expensive minifridge next to her bed, fought off intrusive thoughts about cannibalism, and chowed down.

----------

"I mean look around!" Saionji said. "This place is deserted!"

It was then the lights started flickering on and off. Saionji rolled his eyes.

"Good one, Miki."

"Thank you! But good what?" said Miki, now on the ground.

"The lights, you're flickering the lights, just like I sai-"

He looked over to the nearest light switch and to his horror saw it wasn't moving even as the lights changed. Miki looked too, a puzzled expression on his face.

"How are you doing that, Saionji?"

"It's not me! It must be- must be a power surge through campus-"

It was then the phone at the desk started ringing. With dread, Saionji picked it up. "H-Hello?"

All he heard from the other side was strange moans. Miki giggled.

"Good one yourself Saionji!"

'"W-what do you mean?"

"Your fable said the phone would ring and there'd be no one there! So you're making the phone ring somehow."

"Miki I'm not doing this!" Saionji slammed the phone down. "Okay breathe, breathe... what was the stupid story, it had the lights -" they flickered, "the phone-" it rang, "and-" He looked out a side window and gasped.

"And SHADOW GIRLS WILL PUT ON ALLEGORICAL PLAYS!"

He paused. "Oh, wait, they always do that. What WAS that third thing?"

He heard a trumpeting and froze, slowly turning toward the entrance.

There, outside the glass doors, wass an elephant.

"Wow," said Miki," "I didn't know they kept elephants on campus!"

"They don't," said Saionji.

The elephant stepped aside to reveal a shadowy figure, nebulous, with four glowing red eyes.

"Hey, that must be the elephant's handler!"

The shadowy figure drew a rusty sword.

It was at that point Saionji started screaming.

"The Crambling... The Ambling... the Scrambling... the Brambling... the Gambling... the Rambling..."

"The Shambling Duelist!" said Miki.

"Now you get it!" said Saionji. "We're going to die!"

"No, no, I'm honored! You dressed up as this mythical duelist so you could beat me in a duel!"

"First off, I could beat you in a duel anyway. Second off how could that be me when I'm right here?!"

Miki stared at Saionji, Then at the Shambling Duelist. Then at Saionji. Then at the Shambling Duelist.

Then finally screamed.

By then the Shambling Duelist had opened the door.

"Nonono please-" said Saionji.

"Have mercy!" said Miki.

The Shambling duelist approached the counter.

"M-Miki, deep down, I always kinda felt I should respect women..."

"Saionji I used your katana to pick my teeth."

"What?"

The Shambling Duelist raised its sword. The two screamed. The Shambling Duelist pointed the sword at Saionji.

"YOU!" said the Shambling Duelist, in a booming voice that sounded like multiple. "I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL!"

Saonji stared, "H-Here? Now? This isn't the Dueling Are-"

The Shambling Duelist slapped him. "NOW, COWARD."

Saionji hastily got up and drew his sword. Miki stood back to watch.

He made a thrust at the Shambling Duelist but it was countered with ease. His jabs grew more frenzied, but they were all expertly parried until he was knocked flat on his back, the Shambling Duelist's sword pointed at his throat.

"No... Please... I'll do anything... I'll apologize to every girl on campus if that's what you want!"

The Shambling.Duellist laughed a booming laugh and tossed its shawl aside, revealing a pink haired, fair-skinned girl and a purple-haired dark-skinned girl, laughing in unison.

'"..Utena? Anthy? said Salonji. "You two? How?" said Miki.

"We overheard your story when we were here earlier and decided to pull a prank," said Utena.

"IIt was my idea," said Anthy with a giggle. "Well, at the very least, you sure fooled us!" said Miki. "So that was YOU the whole time?" said Saionji. "With the elephant and the phone calls and the lights?"

Utena raised an eyebrow. "What lights?"

The lights flickered again and everyone turned to see a tiny monkey flipping the light switch.

"Chuchu!" everyone said in unison in mock scolding. Chuchu winked and turned off the lights.

***

The whole reason this ABOMINATION exists is because I've been rewatching Utena with a bunch of people who have never seen it before. The watch parties were usually on Tuesdays, I kept making jokes about the Tuesday Night line from the original Spongebob episode, and that snowballed into... This. Happy Halloween.

#revolutionary girl utena #fanfiction #fanfic #halloween

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arcaneraven · 3 years

Text

Unicorns exist Felix. And they mean trouble...

Chapter one of ‘New Era.’ A wayhaven Fanfiction Series

Dappled yellow hues filtered through the brown and green leaves that built up the canapé. The golden rays provided soft highlights to the group of four vampires that built up unit Bravo; the new family Detective Otto Tuffin found himself weaved into.

This lazy Sunday afternoon was the break from the storm Otto had dreamed about for the past three years. He lay sprawled out across a fallen log, using Nate’s thighs as a pillow listening to Felix’s hardships from his newest game. Nate occasionally interrupted to identify a bird call and provide some interesting facts.

“As I was left on 1hp the ‘din din din dun dun bleeleleleeee der der dern’ music started playing, it was just my trusty pal left, no items and my rival still had four left!!” Felix rambled, his arms wildly flapping around extenuating each word he dropped, his short curly afro bounced along with his enthusiasm. “but I still had a secret move left! So I clicked ‘last resort and-“

Crash. Branches snapped, rather trees fell, a large flock of birds, Rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameria), took off immediately. Otto flinched up only moments after all the vampires paused to turn to the origin or the disturbance.

“Yeah just like that! I won.” Felix scrambled his words together before Mason and Adam paused their fighting to regroup.

“Shit… what now.” Mason groaned, he stood slouched across a nearby tree, and brushed his thick black wavy hair away from his face as he lit a cigarette. Nate scowled at him, gesturing at the trees around them with his chin, but Mason only sneered back from behind his cloud of smoke.

“We investigate.” Otto ordered.

“We call the agency.” Adam ordered.

“Detective.” Adam glared down at Otto from his 6”2 height, despite the vampire’s towering stance, muscular frame and green eyes of death, the shorter 5’9 lanky frail framed detective only glared back through his circular glasses. “Adam… it could be anything.”

“Exactly!” Adam barked; he brushed his hand through his short blonde hair only narrowing his glare. “Oh so you care about me! Didn’t know you had in you.” Otto teased a snigger now joining his narrowed gaze.

Nate sighed as he watched his boyfriend, and best friend butt heads once more. He stood up to play the role of peacekeeper once again, he stretched the muscles that had cramped up from being seated for so long and went to place a loving arm on both of his fondest companions.

“Why don’t we investigate and call the agency as we walk over, I’ll keep an eye on Otto.”

Otto rolled his grey eyes, but found himself falling into Nate’s warmth, which Nate happily accepted freeing Adam from his arm and reclaiming Otto with both of them.

“Sure you will… Why don’t you both go investigate ea-“ Mason twirled his cigar, a suggestive tone swaggered it’s way over every word he placed.

“Trust me they already did that whilst you two were fighting.” Felix chirped in, gaining a nod of approval from Mason, but the male’s approval nods came to a sudden halt. He took one urgent stride forwards, nose flared, and eyes widened.

“Mason? Are you alright?” Otto questioned, his feathered eyebrows were pinched, Mason was known to get sensory overload easily thanks to his heightened senses. It rare for him to take such interest in a certain scent however… Unless it was out of the ordinary.

“Supernatural.”

“Lets go. Now!” Otto decided, pushing Nate reluctantly back, already marching ahead. Nate scowled looking between all the party members, meeting Adam’s gaze they both shared a look of concern, for different but similar reasons, but mutually agreed it was best to follow the detective without a single spoken word.

Felix jogged on ahead, golden eyes beaming ahead. “And I was just starting to get bored! Oooo I hope it’s a unicorn.” That comment was only returned with an unamused scoff for the leader of the group, Adam.

Pushing aside brambles, stamping over abandoned beer cans, and wincing at the abundant amount of stinging nettles the Detective eventually waded his way through the dense woodland environment, until his eyes fell upon a break in the woodland’s chaos. A clearing. A new clearing. His eyes widened almost as wide as his glasses, not at the unnatural halt in fauna and flora.

But at what lay in the centre. “Nate… You said only humanoid supernatural could fall through the echo portal right.”

“Of course why?- Re gamoto!”

“corniger-equus right?” Otto finally replied after allowing his eyes to take in what he saw. Nate gave him a strong nod, the pair both exchanged excited but looks of concern as they slowly and silently approached the creature… As the other vampires caught up, Nate turned around tapping a finger to his lips before returning with the detective on their investigation.

This message was all but lost with Felix.

“A UNICORN?!” He blurted out, Adam facepalmed, whilst Mason just hissed at Felix covering his ears.

The unicorn staggered up immediately, its ears lay forwards, and it’s nostrils flared, just as quickly as the one-horned-wonder got up it collapsed to the ground in a pained whinny. The spirals leading down its horn started to sparkle, and a blast of concentrated (what Otto could only guess was magic) energy towards unit Bravo. Nate instinctively grabbed Otto crashing him to the floor using himself as a shield whilst the other vampires leapt up out the way into the dense branches.

“Lets leave and let the agency deal with this!” Adam barked, all the vampires nodded in agreement, even though Felix looked reluctant. However, not all of unit bravo was on board, their troublesome human (part harpy) detective was not having it. He shimmied his way out from under Nate’s grasp. “It’s just scared. It will only cause more damage if it’s left feeling hunted!”

“Otter it’s dangerous… but be careful” Nate calmly responded, he sook his head but didn’t leap to stop him, seeing logic in the words he spoke. If anyone was to try and calm down the animal, it would be a detective. If not for his way with animals, but he wasn’t a vampire.

As Nate gave Otto his undivided attention, as the human appeared to be walking in zigzags with his eyes close to the ground, which Nate could only guess was his attempt to mimic a grazing animal he didn’t notice as the rest of the team joined his side. He reluctantly turned to acknowledge them when something caught him off guard.

Adam was shaking. Only slightly. But his companion looked terrified.

“… Not again. How are they back…” Adam mused under his breath. Mason arched a brow. “Who?”

“The rebellion. From 800 years ago.”

#the wayhaven chronicles #Wayhaven New Era #wayhaven fanfic #wayhaven #wayhaven detective

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xx-thedarklord-xx · 5 years

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Thine Enemy is Sweet (Part 5)

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four

“Run that by me again,” Harry said as he laid on Malfoy’s floor; the ceiling had been bewitched to look like constellations and he was mesmerized. “You’re saying Ron can just walk in? No invite? No date? Nothing?”

“Longbottom too,” Malfoy said distractedly as the sound of rustling parchment could be heard. Harry wasn’t sure what it was, but he’d been invested in them for an hour.

“That’s bullshit.”

“That’s a pureblood for you.”

“Sounds unfair.”

“Sounds like you’re jealous.”

Harry scoffed. Talking to Malfoy was always a headache.

“How do we get Seamus in?”

When Malfoy didn’t answer, Harry tilted his head back the best he could. His view was upside down, but he could tell that Malfoy was still looking over the paperwork.

“What are you doing?”

“None of your business.”

“If you frown like that anymore, you’ll get wrinkles.”

Malfoy’s brows furrowed as he peered over the parchment. “I’m not frowning.”

“You were.”

“I think you’re lying.”

“Ah,” Harry said slowly and sagely. “But you aren’t sure.”

“Why must you always annoy me?”

“I thought that was your role.”

“Potter.”

“Malfoy.”

“Do me a favour and kindly shut the fuck up.”

Harry huffed before he looked back up to the ceiling. “Why did you tell me to come over if you were just going to be ignoring me?”

“Is baby jealous?”

“Don’t call me that,” shuddered Harry.

“If you must know,” Malfoy’s tone suggested Harry didn’t. “I’m looking over the planning party’s orders.”

Harry sat up cross-legged and narrowed his eyes. “Planning party?”

“You thought Nott was going to plan his own engagement party?” Malfoy snorted. “Nott of all people.”

“How did you get the orders?”

A slow satisfied smirk crossed Malfoy’s face and it was creepy.

“I have my ways.”

“Did you know that you’re kind of scary?”

The smirk grew wider and Harry shook his head in response. Malfoy was a lost cause.

“Thank you.”

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

Malfoy ignored him as he moved to the fireplace. The address wasn’t recognized but Harry was curious enough to move closer.

Before he got close enough to see, Malfoy shoved him out of the way—hard.

“Idiot,” Malfoy hissed. “You can’t be seen.”

Harry rubbed his elbow where he had slammed it against the wall. He was going to kill Malfoy.

“Welcome to Vintage by Design,” A bored tone drawled, and he could see Malfoy’s already rigid posture stiffen further. “You’ve reached our Floo service. My name is Bramble, how may I be of help to you?”

“Bramble, is it?” Malfoy sneered, and Harry felt for Bramble, he did. “My name is Draco Malfoy and I’ve got a problem.”

A crash and audible scrambling could be heard, and he had to bite his cheek to stop from laughing.

“Ah, Mister Malfoy,” Bramble stumbled over his words. “A problem? I’d be happy to help.”

Malfoy smiled but it was condescending and his sympathies for Bramble went up.

“I’m sure you are.” The disgusted tone was reminiscent of their Hogwarts years and Harry didn’t miss it.

“I was tasked with speaking to your company,” the last word was said with such palpable distaste that Harry grimaced. “About the entertainment for the Nott & Greengrass party. I’m not sure why it’s all wrong.”

“I—you Mister Malfoy?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?”

“The Nott & Greengrass party?”

“Are you stupid?”

“I—It’s just that our coordinator for the entertainment was D—”

“Me. Look at the paperwork one more time. It says D.M. That’s me.”

“One of my co-workers said something about McMillan—”

“Did they now? You thought McMillan of all families was going to show up?”

“I did think the likelihood was slim,” Bramble muttered, and Harry could hear the confusion. “The last generation was more progressive.”

Harry rolled his eyes. Clearly, Vintage by Design was for higher class wizards.

“You said there was a problem, sir?”

“The person I booked for entertainment is not who is on the list.”

Rustling could be heard over the crackle of the fire, and the urge to look was strong, but the glare Malfoy sent him was stronger.

“It looks like the Weird Sisters Reunion show was booked for the party.”

What? The Weird Sisters were having a reunion? He hadn’t ever realized they broke up. And they would do it for Nott? Harry had always known there was a reason he didn’t like them.

“Yeah, that’s the problem. You see, they were my backup plan not the original.”

“I’m sure we can cancel; Nott will have to pay the cancellation fee though. The Weird Sisters are not cheap.”

The pleased smirk on Malfoy’s face caused Harry to snort softly into his hand.

“What should I put down for the entertainment, Mister Malfoy?”

“I have been lucky enough to get a Quidditch star to agree to attend and he’s got something planned.”

“What?” Harry wheezed. He slapped his knee when Malfoy glared at him. He couldn’t help it. Seamus a Quidditch star?

“Oh! Not as grand as the Weird Sisters but I have heard that Miss Greengrass is a Quidditch fan. She’ll appreciate that. May I ask who it is?”

Harry couldn’t help the loud half-choke, half-wheeze that left him. The sound was croaked, and he worried his lungs would fail him.

“Is everything okay over there?”

That had Harry laughing harder and he couldn’t help but stomp his feet. The laughter wouldn’t stop, not even when Malfoy shot a stinging hex at him.

“Yes, I think my cat is dying, that’s all.”

“We can continue this another time.”

“No, continue, I never liked the bloody thing anyway.”

“Oh, um,” Bramble hesitated, and Harry snorted. “Who did you say the Quidditch star was?”

“I didn’t,” Malfoy drawled. “The team is the Tornadoes if that helps.”

“Alright. I’ll go ahead and cancel the Weird Sisters and set aside an invite for the Tornadoes player.”

The laughter left Harry as he sat up straight. Wait. That was it? Malfoy just… just did it? That easily?”

“Should there be any further questions, I would like to know,” Malfoy said, tone hard and eyes narrowed. “I was not pleased when I saw the orders.”

“I—I’m terribly sorry to hear that.” Bramble sounded scared and Harry kind of wished he had that effect on people.

“How sorry?”

He couldn’t help but be impressed when Bramble rushed to offer discounts should Malfoy need a party planner in the future.

It wasn’t until Malfoy closed the floo on Bramble who was still offering apologies that Harry was able to relax.

“Forget kind of scary. You are full-blown scary.”

“You,” Malfoy growled. “You almost blew it.”

“Well excuse me, a little warning and I would have laughed before the floo. You can’t just surprise me like that.”

“That’s not an explanation,” Malfoy argued. “That’s an excuse.”

“A good one.”

“I disagree.”

“Who cares what you think.”

“Potter.”

“Malfoy,” Harry mocked with a slight sneer.

“I cannot wait until this is done with, so I never have to see you again.”

“Please,” Harry scoffed. “You’ll miss me.”

Malfoy opened his mouth only to close it and shake his head. A small victory.

“What exactly do you expect Seamus to do for entertainment?” Harry asked with a small chuckle. “He’s a reserve player, never played an official match. No one’s even going to know who he is.”

“I’m sure he’ll come up with something.”

“What? You are going to let him come up with a plan?”

“Why not?” Malfoy absentmindedly asked as he began to look over the paperwork again.

“That’s a horrible idea. He’s going to make a mess.”

“And?”

“And he’ll probably try and steal someone’s jewellery or a damn plant if they have a greenhouse.”

“I’m not seeing the problem.”

Harry threw his hands in the air. “What do you mean you don’t see a problem? He’s going to draw so much attention to—ohh.”

“Knew you’d catch on eventually.”

Harry didn’t appreciate the snark, he really didn’t.

“You want him to be the giant mess that he is.”

“Exactly.”

“That company is going to lose so much business.”

Malfoy arched a brow, not bothering to look up. “Do you care?”

“Not really.” Part of him felt like he should care, but there was nothing.

“Now that Seamus is taken care of,” Harry sat down next to Malfoy, ignoring the unfriendly glare. “What about Dean?”

“I said I had a plan, didn’t I?”

“No shit,” Harry scrunched his face up. “I meant, what is it?”

“Why don’t you figure it out for yourself?’’

“Huh—”

All the papers Malfoy had been obsessed with were dumped into his lap and he had to scramble to catch them all before any fell.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Malfoy placed his hands behind his head and stretched his feet out until a footrest appeared out of nowhere. “Go on, pull your own weight here.”

“I’d like to think I have been.”

Malfoy snorted harder than was attractive. “You’re full of shit.”

“I got my friends involved, didn’t I?”

“No,” Malfoy narrowed his eyes. “I did that.”

“It still counts.” He refused to admit Malfoy was right. Instead, he picked up the first piece of parchment. It was a list of guests that could show up, no guaranteed attendees.

“That one is useless.”

“Is it?”

Harry frowned down at the list before he peered up into Malfoy’s too smug face.

“You’re trying to confuse me.”

“Am I?”

“Stop it!” Harry hissed when Malfoy’s brows arched. “Just sit there quietly, not saying a word. I know that’ll be hard for you. You like the attention and—”

“Potter, you’re the only one talking. Quit rambling.”

Harry harrumphed louder than necessary as he moved onto the next one. It was a list of food, equipment, decorations and donations. Nothing caught his attention and he was going to skip that one too until he caught sight of a small footnote.

Painting on loan, preferably from the National Artistry Wizard Museum or the National Wizard History Museum, will check options.

“Wait,” Harry reread the whole page and triple checked the footnotes. “Nott wants a fancy schmancy painting behind him while they eat?”

“Does that surprise you?”

No. It didn’t. Nott liked to draw attention to himself, something Harry never liked, it made him uneasy.

“Has Vintage by Design already chosen the place?”

Malfoy shook his head as he picked at his robes. “They haven’t picked a painting either.”

It was obvious what Malfoy was insinuating, but he wasn’t entirely sure Dean would go for it.

“You want Dean to ask the museum if his painting can be on loan?”

“Oh no,” Malfoy leaned forward into Harry’s personal space. “I want you to ask the museum.”

“Why me?”

“Use your brain Potter, I know it must be hard, nothing up there, but do try.”

“Eat my arse, Malfoy,” snarled Harry.

Malfoy’s eyes twinkled as his lips twitched and Harry wasn’t sure what to do with that.

“You want me to?” Malfoy’s nose scrunched up in amusement, and Harry was not amused. “Can’t say I have a lot of practice with that. Usually been on the receiving end, but they say you only live once.”

“Malfoy,” Harry tried to scoot away but Malfoy followed him until Harry’s back pressed against the arm of the sofa.

“Hm, yes, Potter?”

“What are you doing?” The question came out breathy and he placed his hands on Malfoy’s stomach to act as a buffer between them.

“Waiting for you to answer my question.” His face was so close to Harry’s that he could smell Malfoy’s cologne.

“I don’t need you to eat me out.”

Malfoy laughed, actually laughed, and he couldn’t process it fully before, “Not the question I meant, but alright.”

It took embarrassingly long for Harry to realize he meant the museum.

“Well, if Dean asked, they might wonder why, right?”

“Mhm,” Malfoy prompted as he moved Harry’s hands. “Keep going.”

“I can’t think of why you’d want me to ask unless it was my name that would make them.”

“Right.” Malfoy’s hands were wrapped around his wrist and it was distracting. What was he doing?

“I don’t know how a painting on loan would work,” the last word came out as a choke as Malfoy placed a hand on his chest. “I’m sure they would want someone to go with the painting.”

When Malfoy said nothing, Harry tried to figure out if that was by design or if he was planning something.

“I could ask to talk to the creator and then Dean could be the one to come with.”

“Good job, Potter,” Malfoy whispered a breath away, noses touching.

Oh. That wasn’t fair. Praise should not be given so close to his lips.

“What are you doing, Malfoy?”

“Playing a very dangerous game.”

“For you or for me?” Harry pushed against Malfoy’s head until their foreheads were pressed together.

“I’m always in it for myself, didn’t you know?” It was self-deprecating and Harry could tell it was an insult Malfoy had been told.

“Then make it dangerous for you.”

Malfoy’s eyes searched his, no smirk on his face, no twitch of lips, just open curiosity.

“You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“No,” Harry agreed. “I don’t. I don’t even know if I want it.”

The sound of the floo could be heard but they didn’t move.

“Then perhaps, another time,” Malfoy whispered just as footsteps and voices could be heard.

“That’s what I’m trying to say,” Ron’s complaint was heard before he was seen. “She was suspicious of me!”

“It is Hermione after all,” Dean pointed out. “She’s bound to know you’re being suspicious.”

“I still think it’s a bad idea.”

“We know, Neville. You’ve said it enough.”

The sound of the floo went off again and Harry was still staring into Malfoy’s eyes. Had they always had specks of blue in them?

“How many times do I have to say not to leave me behind?” Seamus huffed. “Merlin none of you care about me.”

“And you two!” Seamus yelled, making Harry jump and jostle Malfoy slightly. “Quit snogging every time we come by.”

There was no use pointing out that they hadn’t, but it was a dangerous game as Malfoy put it.

“Make me,” Malfoy said and with the way his eyes were still on Harry’s face, he couldn’t tell who Malfoy was talking to.

“Malfoy,” Harry started but couldn’t think of what to say after that. There was something unfinished, only he couldn’t understand what it was.

The curiosity vanished and Malfoy’s face returned to no emotions and cold eyes as he got up and moved away. Harry wasn’t as comforted by it as he thought he would have been.

“So,” Ron plopped down on top of Harry’s legs and put his head on his chest. “What did we interrupt?”

“Nothing.” The truth came out before he thought better of it. “Nothing at all.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Harry ran his fingers through Ron’s hair and sighed. He wasn’t sure he believed himself either. The whole fake boyfriend was a lot more trouble than it was worth.

“What do you mean I’m the entertainment?!” Seamus cried, and for the second time that day, Harry cracked up.

-TBC-

---

Alright, it’s probably not as funny as I think it is lmaoo but I did crack up a few times while writing it. Gigi can attest to that. Speaking of Gigi, I’d like to thank @snortinglaughter for being my wonderfully beautiful beta who I adore

I’ll tag those who asked soon. Thank you! Hope you enjoyed it

#Drarry #Draco Malfoy #Harry Potter #Fake Dating #Enemies Fake Dating #Flirting?#Maybe #Seamus Finnigan #Dean Thomas #Neville Longbottom #Ron Weasley #banter

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sonofabludger · 5 years

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Age 15

God the day was hot. With the sun bearing down, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to finish this before lunch, but then again Grandma had promised if they finished the garden by sundown that she’d make her homemade apple dumplings for dessert.

Meh, what was another half hour?

She threw the net over another 2x4 and waited for her Grandpa to catch it on the other side. Of course it got stuck across the top. Running around to the other side, she shimmied her way into the bramble and began extraditing the mesh from the branches. As she slowly managed to pass the edge over, she heard a snort of laughter.

“You look like a low-budget wood nymph.”

Yang turned in surprise, nearly accidentally eating an unripened blackberry in the process. A wide grin spread across her face.

“Well, instead of lurking, you could come on in and join the fun. No need for me to be the only one looking like I was mauled by a cat.”

“Can’t blame the poor thing. I’d cut you up pretty good if you were all up in my bush like that.”

“Blake!” Yang yelled in mortification. “Grandpa, please IGNORE her.”

When she got no response, she poked her head out of the branches. Just two oblivious old men launched into rambling conversations at the end of the trellis. Great. Good time to abandon her. With a slight growl of frustration, she went back to pulling the net up and over. No point leaving it all an exposed mess for the birds. Yang was surprised, however, when she felt soft fingers meet hers to grab the end of the mesh and lift it over the plank. Looking over, she was met with a small smile and proffered hand. She took it in gratitude and pulled herself out from the mess.

“Thanks,” she grunted as she planted feet on less prickly soil. “I might never have made it out of there. When Gramps gets to talking, it’s pretty hard to make him stop.”

Blake laughed. “I’ve known that since the day I met him. I don’t know if my grandpa actually talks when they’re together or if he just grunts back at his monologuing. To be fair though, he doesn’t usually have a whole lot to say.”

“Well then, I doubt those two would even notice if we made a beeline out of here. There’s something I want you to see!”

Yang led her friend down to the creek and casually removed her shoes and crossed. The banks were soft today, but not mushy. She was a bit concerned that Blake might not fare so well with the climb, but she didn’t need to worry - Blake scrambled up in record time. She flashed her a wicked smile and took off through the pasture and almost to the edge of the woods.

Deliberately skidding her heels into the grass, she let herself plop backwards on the side of the hill. Her friend, in her surprise, toppled straight over her. Yang grabbed her as she somersaulted, but it only ended up with them both tumbling down further. They couldn’t help but laugh as they sprawled out next to one another, short of breath.

“So,” Blake wheezed, “what was - so important - that you needed - to act like - we were chasing - Usain Bolt?”

“Ha - just the coolest thing - you’ll ever see. Now shush.”

The afternoon was perfect. The sun was out, the grass was cool, and they were just two friends quietly taking in the perfection of the nature around them. The air was so fresh and pure. It was almost unbelievable how such stillness could say so much. It was at that moment Yang broke the silence.

“Look,” she whispered.

Two baby foxes crawled out of the hollow concrete cylinders just at the other side of the creek at the edge of the woods. It was surreal. The two looked around for any signs of danger before one leapt at the other and they began to play. Blake and Yang simply watched in awe as the two rolled around like kittens, yipping and nipping at one anothers’ ears and tails. Neither one could hold back the giddy smiles on their faces; there was just so much joy in the atmosphere.

That same soft hand from before found hers and intertwined their fingers. Yang should have been surprised by the motion, but she wasn’t. It felt as natural as these foxes playing.

“Yang,” she heard breathed out, “this is perfect.”

“So are you.”

Suddenly there was tension in the air. She certainly hadn’t meant to say that. It was just a reflexive response. She was trying hard to keep her now racing heart from beating out of her chest, lest her friend hear her panic and racing thoughts.

“I’m -” Blake began, “I’m not offen - you aren’t - I mean it’s ok if you meant - if you meant -”

Yang couldn’t help herself from looking over at her companion and propping herself up on one elbow, hands still entwined. With a gulp, she let her eyes come to rest on her friends’. They looked at one another nervously.

“Blake, I - I didn’t mean that you might - and I know we’ve only really seen one another during the summers so it’s not like we know each other that much other than, ya know, how I taught you to catch minnows and you gave me some great books - which I really like by the way - and we’ve explored these woods pretty well and remember when we built that tree stand? I’m just saying I think you’re pretty great and I really like when you’re around and I thought you might like the fox family and I’m sorry if you feel -”

Her companion was suddenly also on an elbow and inches from her face. A tentative hand reached to brush golden locks behind her ear. The motion was so soft and endearing, Yang thought she might melt like a chocolate bar. This at least was a calming effect on her nerves.

“You’re fine. I’m glad you happened to be here. I always come with my grandpa in the hopes you’ll be visiting. You’re special.”

Yang searched her eyes and found herself unconsciously bringing her hand to rest at the dip of Blake’s waist.

“Is it ok if I -”

“Yes,” Blake breathed as she brought their lips together.

(2/3)

#bumbleby #farm au #farmer yang #rwby spoilers #ficlet #part 2 #first kiss #yang will always be a babbling idiot in my mind #blake x yang #blake bellodona #yang xiao long #midwest romance

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glitterinabottle-blog · 7 years

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I want to kick myself for reading the dumbest manga ever

#Onani Master Kurosawa #WHAT THE FUCK #THERE WAS LITERALLY NO RESOLUTION FOR THE POOR KITAHARA #WORST MANGA EVER #F++#ramble bramble scramble

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poetstreee · 6 years

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Bears In The Thrush

Two bears in the thrush Rolling in their play Lost in the unhurried hush Of a quiet Autumn’s day. Over steamy bowls of ramen broth, One bear to the other grins. As he plunges his snout into ramen froth He celebrates how his loves wins Him a book of poetry For him to hold as he reads. And into this realm of Art and sophistry His bear mate loving leads. She shows him to a new forest glade; Her paw he holds tight and warm; She leads him into the Sylvan shade And provides him shelter from the storm Of the many thoughts in his bearish brain; Too many thoughts for a bear to think. So she draws him a bath, hot and pink For him to gently sink Into peaceful sleep true and deep In such reprise he dreamless lies The seeds of sleep are his to reap As she kisses his dream filled eyes. And this was their play in their day to day At night they lay in each other’s arms. And like this both bears were content to stay Enamored of Fall’s eternal charms.

Then there came a frightful storm Cold wind crept into the forest lair There came the crack of lightning’s whip That gave both bears a scare! Then there came torrential rain That swept one bear away And both bear hearts were filled with pain That the rain had disturbed their play. And neither bear could find any rest Since the storm had swept the two apart. There was so much ache in the one bear’s chest Because he could not find his heart. So he scrambled in the bramble, He searched through the brush. He listened to rivers ramble, He waited in the hush. Since the cold winter’s day that took him away From his bear mate whom he loved so much Bemoaned his wounds under many moons The bear could not live as such. So thus began bear’s search In valleys low and mountains high. He looked in the chapel and checked the church, He even scoured the sky. He asked each star that he came across “Have you seen my baby bear bright?” But compared to her their light was dross, So silent stayed the Night.

iii

One day bear came upon a Tree Whose boughs were dark and green. He asked the Tree if it did see Where his baby bear mate had been. “Why art thou searching?” asked the bark, “Who is she to thee?” And so bear sat down, his face was stark As he began to answer the Tree:

She is my sadness, she is my joy, She is the glint in the gold of Troy. She is the ocean and she is the boat, She is the grass and she is the goat. She is the tune in the bear song I sing She is the meaning behind everything! She is my baby and she is my bear But O Great Tree sitting there – I can’t seem to find her anywhere!

“Stop searching for thyself,” said the Tree, “Except in her eyes O Bear, dost thou not see? Love is the Truth that lurks in the Lies That the Woodland Folk daily speak. They fill the forest with their clamor, From the Lion’s roar to the Mouse’s squeak, All they care for is glamour! So harden thine heart against their jeers. Guard well thine ears. Love is a war waged for a thousand years Love it is that informs all of your Fears.

So be thou brave, O Bear! Bravely go forth and seek! Love is not glasses and love is not hair And Love is surely not for the meek.

And so the bear thought and thought. He scratched his berry stained snout. It was with iron that his love was wrought, Faith must be what Love is about! So he decided to hold out. Just then came a rustling in the brush - It was his baby bear bright! He let out a yelp and picked her up in a rush, Oh what a happy sight!

Two bears in the thrush Rolling in their play Lost in the unhurried hush Of a quiet Autumn’s day.

Notes:

I wrote this poem in the grass as an anniversary gift to my girlfriend. Our first date was at a ramen restaurant. Hence the peculiar lines 5-7. That night, she gave me a Collected Poems anthology that she stole from her grandmother. Hence the lines 8-10. Also, I’m thinking of turning this into an illustrated children’s book one of these days.

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mikesmithrhythmandrhyme · 4 years

Text

Thursday, 26th March, 2020

Parsons Lane. Had to go out to do a bit of shopping, but very much aware of Social Distancing.

Brambles in the background....

What a tangle-cum-ramble of brambles!

A story came to mind:

He wondered what might lie beyond -

What there might he find?

Perhaps where Sleeping Beauty lies,

Beneath a witch's curse?

Should he try to rescue her?

Could think of nothing worse!

Scramble through the brambles?

You're going round the bend!

And if even if he found her,

Who knows where that might end?

Two metres social distancing!

How's he going to kiss?

Good point. He'd keep his distance -

And give the kiss a miss.

He needed waking up himself,

So carried on to town,

Thinking on those brambles -

And the story he had 'found'.

#SleepingBeauty #SocialDistancing

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greenflamedwriter · 3 years

Text

Fea, Stray, Knight | Chap Two

LANCE

Lance soon realised, to him, what would usually take a short amount of time seemed to take longer than he anticipated, especially if he had to show someone something.

This trek for example. God this hill was making him out to be such a liar.

He finally made it to the cave that Keith wanted to see and gave a dramtic gesture, “Well we made it and...oh.”

He trailed off, hearing Keith groaning in exasperation at the sight of the entrance to the cave. Which was closed off by police tape.

“Well, maybe another time buddy.” he patted Keith's back, Lance turned around about to make the descend back down the mountain. Until he heard Keith make his way forward and actually ignore the tape as he ducked under it.

Lance gasped “Keith!” he hissed, Keith turned his way with a smug look on his face.

“You coming?”

Keith stepped back into the shadow of the alclove, shrouded half in shadow as he stepped further inside the cave, Lance eyes squinted. He could've sworn Keiths eyes glinted yellow...

He was just seeing things.

Realising Keith was leaving him, Lance flinched and almost fell over with how fast he tried to keep up with the wayward lad.

“Keith- Couldn’t we come back when there’s, you know, less police tape?”

Keith readjusted his backpack while he kept pacing forwards, he glanced back to make sure Lance was still following.

“No, I need to see this now.” Lance paused in his step then continued until he was walking by Keith's side and gave him a peculiar look.

“Need to see what now? And why can’t it wait?” Keith sighed and picked up his pace “I can’t explain it, I just need to see it-”

“It...?”

Keith turned a corner and headed deeper into the cave, Lance could feel the air thinning, was it getting hard to breathe?

“Keith, I think we should go, before we suffocate or die under a cave in. I never planned to die this young.”

Keith paused when he saw a ledge and began to climb it “Relax,” he said then dug his sneakers into the granite wall scraping off dirt and pushing himself up.

“It’s just around the corner, then we can leave.” he allowed.

Lance followed behind but kept grumbling, calling Keith an 'occupational hazard.'

Keith ignored him, Lance glared at Keiths back. He couldn’t drag him out now, but it was getting harder to breath and why did he agree to this!?

“Keith, I feel like we’ve been walking for an hour,”

“Fifteen minutes,”

Lance paused then continued walking, “Alright...whatever, but so far we’re walking around a cave, with no adult supervision.”

“I’m eighteen.” Keith mumbled.

Lance had to stop short turning to Keith in surprise, even Keith paused at the odd look aimed his way.

"What?"

“Wait- Since when?” Keith looked a little stunned, why was Lance acting like this?

“Um, since this morning?”

“What!?” Lance yelped, it could be heard from all around, Keith slapped his hand around his mouth to stop him from yelling further. Keith head whipped around looking panicked when one of the stalactite fell.

Lance ripped his hands away and hissed “Eighteen? You’re like smaller than me.” Keith's face was unimpressed.

He turned around, continuing his trek and ignoring the teen behind him. When he turned a corner Lance had to jog to keep up.

“Wait wait, I was only kidding, heck I even got Pidge’s age wrong I seriously thought they were younger than me,”

“Do you ever stop between breaths, or even breath?” Keith snapped, Lance had a feeling he was annoying him. Well good! Because they were in a cave doing who knows what!

Lance was thinking on how to persuade Keith to leave until they turned a corner and something caught their attention.

Something...odd.

“What is that?”

Keith gazed up and up at the large wall, that was painted with tribal markings, but none that Lance had ever recognised before.

“What are these?” He stepped forward and even as a nerd took lots of photos on his phone,

“Hashtag selfie.”

Keith just stared at Lance obviously in judgejment. While Lance smirked “It’s a quote from my favourite youtuber he- never mind.” Lance rambled and kept taking pictures.

Keith began to scribble it in his notebook.

“So was this what you wanted to find?” Lance asked taking another shot, I should be a freakin photographer damn these shots look good! He even took a sneaky one of Keith.

Keith finished his drawing and took a step back gazing at it some more “I don’t know, I’ve...felt restless since I came here and I think...this is it.”

Lance had to admit, he never usually believe in cryptids. But this was seriously freaky. As a kid he had a legit ghost story about a guy named george in a red coat but nobody believed him!

Although this was nothing like that, he believed in the supernatural all right!

After his last photo, Lance whistled over to Keith “Think we should get back?” Keith blinked looking a little dazed “What? Yeah yeah, m’tired.”

Lance nodded “Alright,” he turned around they followed their way back through the narrow tunnels of the cave, making their way back to the real world.

Once they made it outside they both gasped at the burst of sunlight, that assaulted their eyes “Holy shit-”

“How long were we in there!?” Keith snapped, he looked at his watch, it was almost seven in the morning. School started in two hours, they both glanced at each other.

Then they made a mad scramble down the cliff.

Behind them near the corner of the cave was a small bush, it shuffled disturbed and a rabbit hopped out. It's nose twitched, as it watched the two boys running.

Once they made it to the street’s did Lance wave at Keith both seperating at the crossroads. “See you at school buddy!” Keith waved with two fingers, a smile on his lips “Likewise.”

Did Keith just salute?

Lance rolled his eyes and kept running ahead, what a dork.

Once he made it home he barely had time to shower or change or even have breakfast and kiss his Mama goodbye. If he wasn’t in a rush he would’ve noticed the Lethes Bramble in his room...

He sprinted to school like a mad man and both he and Keith almost made it to the door, only for the bell to ring after Keith got through. Lance was given a late form for being five minutes late. When really he was 0.5 seconds late. The School system sucked.

Once they settled in class, both too exhausted to even pay attention to the lesson, both gave a nod of acknowledgement. Lance was happy to know that Keith’s bruise was going down and there wasn’t any new ones on his face. Not obvious anyway, when Lance glanced back to the teacher and almost knocked all of his belonging of his desk in his haste to set his recorder.

The fact that this thing can record his teacher clearly through this huge ass classroom full of chattering kids, pencils and paper swishing and swooshing about?

Wasn't technology amazing?

It wasn’t until lunchtime that he noticed something...peculiar. He sat with Keith and noticed Keith didn’t have his notebook with him. He mentioned it and Keith responded sheepish,

“I had no time to put it in my usual spot so I dumped it in the shed and locked it, I need to get it back after school.” He said but he looked uncomfortable without anything to get out to a scribble with, his hands were fidgeting.

Lance rolled his eyes, he bent over rummaging around in his bag while Keith glanced at him curiously. Lance brow furrowed, he did have a sudden urge to buy a notebook this morning. At least it would come in handy since he knew HE was never going to fill it.

He sat next to Keith and rummaged around until he found what he was looking for. “Here, your fidgeting is killing me.” Keith glanced up ready to insult him, until he saw what Lance was holding he straightened up.

“Wow,” He took the notebook, his eyes wide in fear looking spooked, that was not the reaction Lance wanted. “Uh Keith-”

“This is freaky, I wanted to buy this yesterday.”

“That one?”

“This exact one.” Then Keiths eyes looked at Lance shutting off and going cold, “Are you stalking me?”

Lance shook his head “How in the heck did I know that you liked hippos? I just bought this because it was cute.”

Keith continued to frown and Lance shrugged “Fine, I’ll keep it.” Lance stood up grabbing his bag, Keith flustered and held his hand up.

“Wait no, don’t leave.” Lance glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow.

“What do you want from me?” He asked, sounding tired. Keith gave no inclantation that Keith even WANTED him here.

And yet the tone was strange as if it had power, or a million questions into one.

Even Keith looked unsure, knowing he wasn't answering what Lance was verbally saying but something else.

“No I...I don’t know what I want.” Keith admitted, dropping his hand and sitting down, Lance pressed his lips together feeling awkward.

He slowly sat himself back down, he breathed out “Look, I’m not good at this type of stuff, Hunk could probably cheer you up better than me.” And just like that the weird atmosphere was diffused.

Keith smiled, “Heh, maybe but then there are times when he just stares.”

“Yep that’s my Hunk...where is he anyway?” Lance glanced around now realising that both Pidge and he had been absent all morning.

“Usually they ditch first period but they’re usually here by now…” Lance wondered looking around for a stupid yellow bandana. But no. Nothing.

“Maybe they took a sick day?” Keith pondered, already scribbling into his little book- wait he starts at the last page? Weird.

“No. They were working on a project, they would never miss a day.” Lance pulled out his phone and hit call, maybe they were sick?

After dialing up the number he was met with the answering machine. “I’m sorry, the person you have tried to reach is either turned off their phone or has lost dial range.”

What? Hunk always has his phone on, he tried Pidge after and it was the same thing and he knew they always fully charged their phone.

That weird feeling was making itself known, Lance shrugged it off and stood up. “Maybe we can ask their teacher, they always email ahead of time if they were sick.”

Keith who barely started eating his Roast Chicken Crisps, stopped chewing “Whu?” His mouth was muffled, but shoved his stuff into his bag when Lance began to walk away.

“Nope, never heard of that students name.”

Out of everything to come out of that professors mouth, it wasn’t that. Lance sighed and rubbed his eyes “What? No Hunk Garrett and Pidge Gunderson. They were both students in your lab, big guy little girl?” The teacher shook his head “No, they are not in the system,” now thinking they were pranking him, the teacher kicked them out, Keith almost dropped his crisps.

Once you open them you can’t just stuff em in your bag, so having Keith eating like a racoon while Lance was (Apparently) talking about unknown students did seem a little odd.

“This is so weird,” Once Keith finished his crisps he tossed the packet into the bin and turned to Lance.

“Maybe something strange happened to them,” Lance gave him a weary look “Something like what?-”

“It could be snake people!”

Lance opened his mouth then closed it.

“No.”

“This is not turning into, whatever you’re thinking. We’re going to ask around first. Before we can jump into conclusions. And that will be it.”

Keiths eyes looked too excited for it to be it.

They went back to their lessons and napped through them by mistake, they missed the bell to signal they can leave this prison. Lance startled awake and knew staying up all night was a bad idea. He shuffled over to Keith like a zombie “Come on, bro.” Lance shuffled his shoulder.

“Wake up-”

Keith suddenly stiffened his hand moving and swerving up- Knife! That was a knife aimed for his face! “Keith!” Lance flinched closing his eyes. Keith instantly froze his arm paused in mid-air. Keith looked shaken moving away slowly, looking pretty spooked himself.

Lance swallowed. “Why do you have a knife?”

Keith flushed scarlet, “No reason, don’t ask.”

Lance blinked about to ask and be a pain about it, if he was going to get stabbed Lance thinks he should have the right to know.

Keith pushed past him, Lance glanced down and noticed his knife had a weird emblem on it, kinda fancy.

Why the heck did he have it and...why did he need it?

Once they left the school, Lance saw Tamah, a short girl with warm brown skin. He ran over.

“Hey, have you lovely ladies seen Hunk?” The girls laughed and it drew him back, Tamah was Hunks science partner, he would think she would ask him where Hunk was.

“Is that another flirting technique? You’re a bit off.” Lance held his hands up, “Whoa wait- No Hunk Garret he’s your partner.”

Not sure if she was messing with him or not, the others watched as he swiped through his phone and found a picture of him and Hunk.

“Here, see?” She peered closely and nodded “Wow he is a Hunk, what’s his number?” The girls laughed while Lance’s face fell, they didn’t know him?

He even saw Keith with his hands in his pockets asking others and they were shaking their heads, okay this just went from weird to completely bananas.

“I don’t get it," Lance huffed, exaspirated. "Hunk and Pidge haven't been in all day and now everyone is acting like they don’t even exist! I mean, why is it just You and me who remembers them?”

Lance was growing frustrated, his best friend was gone and everyone on campus was acting so weird.

“Maybe they were abducted by aliens so everyone has been mind wiped and only we remember them because we knew them more.” Lance almost smirked until he realised that Keith wasn’t joking.

He opened his mouth and raised a finger ,“Um,” Then saw Keith face and thought better of it.

“That’s one theory.” He said and looked away, missing how Keith was gaping at him and he continued on. “We should check out their usual places, maybe the hideout or their house- their house!”

Lance snapped his fingers.

While Keith merely stared at him, taking Keith by the arm, Lance began to powerwalk in one direction. Easily going by memory towards the street where both Hunk and Pidge lived.

Only to stop at the front door. Lance could only smile nervously “Um Keith? I am seeing this right?”

“Yes. I’m seeing it too.”

This wasn’t a house. It was a termite infestation, there was barely any structure to it. The roof was caved in, the windows bare. Lance shook his head “This can’t be right…”

“You kids aren’t doing anything weird, are you?”

Both Keith and Lance whipped around at the voice. The neighbor was a small old lady with eyes closed. Lance swallowed feeling officially creeped out. “Um no, we were looking for a friend who lived here? Their name is Pidge?”

“Honey,” The woman said with a sweet voice “No one has lived here for years.” Her voice croaked like one of the broken roof tiles.

Feeling just as uneased Keith only turned around. “Thanks for letting us know.”

They moved to another house that thankfully looked intact, Lance sighed in relief “Oh thank god something normal-”

“Lance, wait!” Keith could barely hold him back as Lance knocked on the door, he even brightened to see Hunk’s parents opened the door. Lance asked about Hunk, he did not expect their faces to scowl.

“Who the heck is a Hunk?”

Lance face furrowed. He leaned back beyond confused, then squared up his shoulders. “What do you mean who the hell is Hunk? He lived here I came to this house all the time!” Lance cried in exasperation. Hunks father started to look nervous his eyes shifting around as he took a step back.

“Son, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Lance opened his mouth to object, Keith placed a hand on his arm.

“Lance, it’s okay. Sorry about that sir, wrong house.” Lance sighed and conceded to follow Keith, a permanent scowl on his face and hands in his pockets.

Both Lance and Keith retreated and walked as far away from the street as possible. Lance was clearly shaken.

“That’s impossible. I was just there last week! How...this doesn’t make any sense.”

Their path began to change, from cement to gravel. Lance realised they were walking towards the park.

The park itself was split by a long stream, with a red oaken bridge to connect the two. The river reflected the bridge to look like a perfect circle. He always found it fascinating as a child, until someone warned him from going there again.

They found a bench, that was starting to become part of the tree’s what with all the vines encircled around it.

“Are you looking for someone dear?” Both Keith and Lance flinched, they jumped of the bench like it was on fire. They heard the chuckle and turned to the source of the sound.

Lance couldn’t believe his eyes, it looked like a woman buried within a tree.

The leaves interlocking as her hair and her arms outstretched like branches, like an amalgamation.

Keith peered closer towards it and Lance tensed “Keith, don’t!” He was afraid she was going to swallow him up, Keith waved and she or...whatever this thing was, waved back.

This could not be happening.

She smiled, her eyes covered by leaves and all he could see was bark move as she spoke “I’m the Thistle Witch of this Glen. An independent Fea of no court.”

Lance and Keith glanced at one another, Keith spoke as the other seemed to have lost his voice.

“Um...Fea?”

Fea. As in Faerie, faeire’s were real. All those stories his grandma told him were true, Lance shivered.

All those warnings she gave wasn’t superstition after all.

“You are searching for you friends, I assume.” Her voice rough as bark, but her eyes crinkled in amusement.

Lance open mouth shut with a click. How did she know that!?

“I can help you. Go up the mountain, there is a lake where the other fea gather. You may find your friends there.” Lance almost sighed with relief then frowned once he realised something.

“Oh you wanted something in return, I have five bucks?” He asked unsure if a tree would want that- oh god it was paper. Wasn’t that like giving a human a skinned baby?

Even the tree looked unimpressed, “No. I require nothing consider this a free token. But be warned, child. take care with bargaining with other fea. They may not be as merciful as I.” Then she faded or fully became a tree.

Lance wondered if for a moment, he was imagining this and if he was slowly going crazy.

With nothing left to lose, they walked up the hill wondering if they could find this pool party. Lance glanced at Keith and saw his face was dark.

“You okay?” Keith glanced up surprised “What- oh no it’s nothing.”

Lance only stared at him until Keith caved in “I thought it was aliens okay.”

“What Fearies aren’t good enough for you?” Lance teased Keith clenched his fists, his face pinched.

“Well you don’t look shocked at all, that’s weird.”

Lance almost stopped walking. “Yep,” He admitted, popping the ‘P’ He then faced Keith with an easy going smile, knowing he should be freaking out externally. “That is weird.”

They lapsed into silence, concentrating more on the walk towards this unknown pool, Lance couldn’t know for sure if they would find it or not. But they had to try.

Maybe there was nothing there, maybe they were being punked and recorded by Hunk and Pidge right now? But this was elaborate even for them, Lance feet were killing him and he felt his stomach rumble.

What time was it anyway? Before he could even ask Keith, or even suggest calling it quits the boy stopped.

His eyes looked spooked, he tilted his head to the side as if he heard something. Lance waited with baited breath. Keith wasn’t talking and losing patience Lance decided to poke the bear.

“What is it-”

“Shh.” Keith hissed, which made Lance reel back. Rude much? But then Keith held a finger and turned to Lance “Do you hear that?” He asked then faced the direction.

Lance honestly couldn’t hear anything then Keith began to walk with a purpose in his step.

“Come on, It’s right here! Can you hear it?” Keith sounded way too excited, like he discovered a cryptid, instead of aliens or supernatural ghoulies. It was faeries.

Lance chewed his lower lip. Without anything else to do. He began to follow Keith up the hill.

And slowly, he began to hear it, the music was too soft at first. How Keith managed he’ll never know. It was captivating, a song that drew him in like a sirens call. Just like Keith he wanted to seek it out with a raw desperation.

He had a vague thought, that this is what Adam felt before he bit into the forbidden fruit.

He heard Keith gasp, looking up he saw the boys face glow with blue light. It was reflected from what he was seeing even white waves moving over his skin had Lance thinking of water.

He took two long steps to stand near Keith and gasped, it was a large lake that seemed to glow ethereal. A cyan blue brought this small place to life, Lance tried to take it all in but it was impossible.

There were so many people around the pool, sitting on the rocks. It looked like a normal party hosted by rowdy teenagers. Except for how they looked.

There was literal mermaids in the pool, satyrs playing flutes and dancing around dryads, who wouldn’t look at them, only to tease them into more playing.

But the others, some looked almost humanoid their angular faces and almond eyes, they were black and stared into his soul. They were so beautiful, Lance felt as if he peered into the heavens. A place he had no right to be.

He was at war with himself, he wanted to be a part of this. He wanted to taste the wine, he wanted to talk to them. He wanted to dance with them.

But he could not, something was telling him to run. Once Keith stepped over the circle of rocks looped around the enclosure. Lance could only follow blindly.

As soon as they entered they heard laughter and soon, most of the fea drew closer to them like moths to light. They took Keith’s hands and twirled him around, he laughed gleefully not even finding it strange in the least.

Lance felt something touch his hair and flinched to find a beautiful pixie place a flower crown on his head, the branches had thorns, it pricked his head and yet he found he didn’t care for the pain.

He smiled stupidly at the Pixie and felt joy when she touched his hand,

“Want to come with me?” She leaned close her lips a breathe from his.

Lance sighed dreamily, until his eyes flickered over to something away from the tempting fea. There in the darkness away from the bright pool, was a large disturbing form. A mat of black fur hunched in a large bulking form piercing yellow eyes staring at him.

Lance squinted not sure what type of form this thing was even supposed to be, a bear or a man? He couldn't tell until his eyes lowered to the beasts hands, mouth falling open to see a small fairy squirming in it's claws.

Barely breaking eye contact the beast placed a claw over the delicate wing. With spine chillin dread, Lance flinched when the claw took the delicate wing and yanked.

The fea screeched and it pierced his very core then it was drowned out by the drunken music. The sound even made Lance groggy his eyes dragged to the pixie again her smile still warm...and taunting. He tried to shake it off, it was like trying to wake up in the morning.

It was very hard.

Lance looked down trying not to look at their faces, or listen to them. He saw Keith near a rock formation a few Fea circlered around him. Finally waking up from the grogginess Lance felt his focus narrowed,

“I’m sorry- maybe later,” he waved at her half assed, then made his way towards Keith. If he had something to focus on maybe…

Then he tripped into the pool.

If he wasn’t too busy drowning he would feel embarrassed, opening his eyes, he swam up and gasped spitting out water and coughing. Dear god how deep was this pool!?

Brushing hair out of his eyes, realising he lost the flower crown and the petals withered into wrinkled foam floating away from him. He glanced around, then swam towards the edge managing to push himself out.

He looked up where Keith was supposed to be and gaped to see the spot empty, shit!

“Keith!” He could feel the hot claws of panic squeeze his chest, he looked around frantic, and soaking like a rat.

“Lost little thing?” A melodious voice asked, another pretty Fea that made his breath catch and his mind go foggy, shit- no!

Flicking water of his wrist, Lance could feel his mouth purse into a grim frown. He looked up at the lady with scarlet hair that glowed and had black oval eyes and sharp cheekbones her skin smooth and pearly white.

Lance tried to look at everything but her as he spoke, “Yes, I was lost in your eyes.” Usually his lame pick up lines scared away the girls. Hopefully these fearies were no different.

She giggled. Lance could feel himself slump.

She just...giggled.

She then layed her finger towards his neck “What an amusing thing. I want to keep you.” Until her hand brushed against the chain hanging around his neck.

She pulled back with a screech startling others. they jumped in surprise, even Lance fell back in stunned shock.

“You carry iron!” She hissed clutching her hand to her chest, Lance glanced down seeing his chain hanging innocently on his neck. He grabbed the chain shoving it down his shirt.

He pointed randomly in one direction and yelled youdly “Look! Michael Bublé!” They, thankfully, turned around while he booked it away from them. He had enough of this and he could barely get away from them never mind ask them about Hunk or Pidge.

He tried to scan the crowd for Keith, so far nothing. Feeling hysterical if he lost him he wouldn't know what he would do.

Lance almost screamed his name. Until he saw a mop of raven hair did he sigh with relief.

Before he could step towards him a hand latched onto his arm yanking him away. Lance took a long breath and steeled himself for another run in with a feaire.

“You are not supposed to be here.” He blinked and felt too stunned, what he felt with the other Fea was overshadowed by what he saw before him. Dark coloured skin framed by white hair as pale as the moon. And with the sound of that tone, the anger in her voice was imminent.

Why was that much more of a relief, than the fake smiles given to him by the others.

Then he frowned “What do you mean? It’s a party isn’t it?” Her nails dug into his flesh and he grimaced. The pain seemed to ground him a little, he tried to pull out of her grasp “Listen, Lady. I’m just going to grab my buddy and go. But there’s something we need first-”

“If It’s anything from the Fea, your quest has been in vain.” She answered with a clipped tone, her eyes hidden by the hood concealing her face.

Lance hand fell to his side, then raised again “Um, No we were looking for our friends that vanished, no one even knows who they are. Or even if they existed. Hunk Garrett and Pidge Gunderson? So being spirited away has you guys written all over it.”

Her lips thinned as she took his hand and led him towards a group of Fea dancing near the floating lights in the trees.

Lance,stupidly, let himself be led into the throng of people. Her arms slipped over his shoulders as she leaned in close. By the sudden proximity he placed his hands on her hips to steady himself his face flushing vibrant, at the position they were in.

She was easily able to manipulate him like a puppet.

She whispered in his ear and Lance felt himself melt, almost missing what she said next.

“You should forget about your friends. Return home and stay away from us.” Lance almost nodded, then paused moving back but her grip tightened her hand clinging to the back of his neck.

“We’re not going anywhere. Not until we find Hunk and Pidge.”

“There is no one in the Fea Courts referred to, by that name.”

“Bullshit.” She leaned back her mouth opened affronted by his crude words.

Then her lips pursed, Lance glanced from the lady to a pair in a corner and stiffened. It was Keith...with an elf!?

She seemed to notice and her grip loosend. she followed his direction and saw the pair. She hummed softly a soft smile pulling her lips.

"It is strange that I cannot persuade you at all, tell me..." She tilted her head to the side and gestured to the pair behind her, gaining Lances attention.

"Do you have a preference for someone else?" Lance felt slow to understand until he realised what she was implying.

His face burned red as he took a physical step back "No it's not-"

"You like him don't you?" She spoke bluntly. Lance felt himself fluster "You got it wrong- Yeah I like him- wait, just not in that way!" He almost yelled out then slapped his hand over his face.

Just stop, stop talking.

Now she crossed her arms over herself, elegently. "Are you sure you don't like the same sex?" Lance took it as a bribe and now felt himself flush for different reasons.

"No," he glared "Not Keith, he's like a brother. I cannot believe you-"

"Be still, it was not an insult." She placated then placed a hand on her chin looking gleeful.

"He might lose his innocence tonight," Suddenly sounding playful. Lance stiffened his eyes locking back on the scene and chocked to see the elf move in closer bracketing Keith in against the wall.

Lance almost ignored it, until he thought back on the compulsion the fea used on him, feeling floaty and... agreeable.

Lance gasped and felt utter dread at the implications that could be happening at this moment.

"He's what!?" He couldn't stand still and watch this, before he could even move and demand they break it up. She caught his sleeve.

"Hold on," Her smile was the only thing that rooted him to the ground.

"I hate to see a rabbit such as yourself falling into a wolfs nest.”

"Um.." Lance wasnt sure if he was being insulted or not.

“So I warn you, stay away from the Fea courts. They are no home to you.” Before he could respond, he heard Keith’s voice.

“Lance!” He whipped around to see Keith running towards him “Anything?” Lance held himself back from yelling at Keith for abandoning him, but held himself back. Lance was pretty much dazzled by the colourful fea as well.

“No, no one has a clue.” Keith shook his head “They’re lying.” Lance tilted his head puzzled “I thought Fearies never lie?” He asked Keith face glowered “Well I know they are.” Lance held his hands up.

“Okay jeez.”

Glancing around at the party, even though it pained him to think about it.

“We should go, there's no one here that knows where they are.”

Keith perked up “Wait, someone does know something." Lance hummed "Was it that elf guy you were talking too?" he asked innocently.

Keith flushed "no- I mean yeah- he'll be here tommorow." Lance nodded.

"Alright then."

They managed to slip away without any distractions until at the edge of the circle, Lance had a sudden compulsion to look behind him. His heart stuttered to a stop to see the beast from before staring at him.

Their eyes locked. Lance swallowed taking a shaky step back. Officially creeped out, Lance fastened his pace and caught up with Keith.

“What was with that freakin bear?” he shivered officialy wigged out.

Keith peered at him curiously, so Lance elaborated “The fea in the corner, ripping wings of fairies.”

Keith frowned “I hadn't noticed him.”

That familiar feeling of foreboding reared its ugly head.

Lance started to walk Keith home, Keith said it was no trouble but all Lance wanted to do was know what happened with that elf guy.

So far nothing.

"Lance seriously it's okay..." Lance waved him off.

"It's fine, plus if your parents ask, I can explain and say it's all my fault." He grinned but that just made Keith look more worried.

"That's just making me feel worse."

They finally made it to his house, and Lance realised it was not good if the lights were still on. Especially at this time of night.

Keith made to step forward "I'll see you later." He waved and Lance nodded "Yeah, see you tommorow."

He waited until Keith took a step inside, he made to leave then hesitated.

He couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Shaking his head he took another step and froze. A loud crash came from Keiths house.

He gaped to hear shouts and even screams, lights flickering on in neighboring households at the noise.

Without thinking he turned on his recorder in his breastpocket, thank god he could use it for something else. He ran inside ripping the back door open wide.

"Keith!"

He froze, his eyes trying to take in everything at once he was at a loss.

Keith's foster father was around the corner looing stunned.

While Keith was covering his face, he looked up in shock a bruise blossoming on his cheek and a women standing over him.

Lance saw red, he stomped inwards and shoved the man away "Get off of him!" He pulled Keith to his feet and held him back.

"Who are you?" The women growled taking a step forward Lance pushed Keith behind him.

"What the hell were you doing with Keith?" The man babbled still in shock.

"It's not what you think-"

Lance yelled "Oh explain it please, try to tell me that this was an accident." He gestured at Keiths face and noticed the boy flinch favouring his right side.

Lance felt a cold pit settle in his stomach.

"Keith let's go,"

The woman heard, slowly advancing "Don't you move!" She made to grab them and Lance yelped pushing Keith out the door and running after him.

"Stay back!" He yelled out and slammed the door shut.

Both ran as far as they could, once they were thoroughly winded. Did Lance look at Keith still gasping from being out of breath.

"What the heck happened back there?" Keith looked up then looked away.

"I...don't know."

Lance took Keith home, and before they could relax a knock came at their door. Keith tensed and Lance instantly sat up and watched as his mother opened the door.

A man and women one in a buisness suit and another in uniform.

They were looking for Keith and Lance scowled and ripped into them "They were abusing him- look at him."

They only looked pitying, "Son, we are aware of the situation and we are looking into it. We need to get all the facts first."

"Wha- Facts!?"

"Keith was barely in their home, he was having fights at school how can we know for sure that Mrs parrish was the cause."

Lance was fuming, his hands tightened into fists.

"He is not going back there."

"Lance it's okay-"

"No it's not! You're not safe there, he can stay here with us! It's okay right, ma?"

His mother looked like a deer in the headlights but at what glance at the boys face she shook her head.

"We can take him in, no problem."

"I'm sorry, but we can't have Keith here, he needs to go back to the insitute but with how late it is, it'll be easier to stay at the Parrishs until this is sorted out." Lance groaned and reached into his pocket and pulled out his recorder.

He couldn't believe they would sweep this under the rug.

"I recorded everything! And look at his face!"

"Son, you must understand we have precedures about these types of things, about Keith's living arrangements-"

"-He's staying with us." The social worker was beggining to lose patience.

"Young man, if you don't release Keith into our custody we are going to have to enter the premises and remove him ourselves."

Keith stepped forward "Please? The Mclains aren't that bad and they have room for me." Lance nodded behind him.

Instead of arguing both the police and the Social Woman suddenly relaxed, like puppets with cut strings.

They nodded back in a daze, "O-Of course, that is perfectly acceptable." They walked away leaving the two stunned on the doorstep.

Even Lance's mother stared after them slowly shutting the door "I guess they changed their mind."

Lance smirked "That was lucky, huh?"

Keith stared at the door closing his brow furrowed,

"Yeah, lucky."

Lance's mother berated him for a bit, "You know how late it is? Ah dios mio, sometimes boyo-"

"I know I'm sorry, won't happen again." Her face told him she'll believe that when she see's it.

After a while Lance gestured up, "Want to bunk with me?"

"Yeah."

The door closed behind them. Both blissfully unaware of the silhouette watching from a distance hidden between one of the hours, with piercing yellow eyes.

#FEA

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