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zalrb · 6 months

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The First Meetings {SE Fic}

This was fun, though I'm mad I couldn't use all the gifs I wanted.

Elena stood on Wickery Bridge and peered down to the river below. As she examined the water, she saw it all: her parents’ car skidding off the road, plummeting into the depths. The water filling the car. Her father pounding the window. Her mother unconscious. The panic. The fear. The acceptance. The darkness. And then she woke up in the hospital. Her parents were recovering in different rooms on the same floor. It’d been a close call. Too close.

She didn’t tell anyone about it, not her parents or her brother, not her aunt Jenna, not Caroline, not even Bonnie, but every day since that night, she’d come to the bridge. She’d spent a lot of summer mornings just standing here, sometimes sitting against the railing, writing in her diary, before meeting up with whoever or doing whatever. Like a ritual. She couldn’t really articulate why she did it. She couldn’t really articulate how she felt since that night either. Everyone expected that she was fine because she was fine, her parents were fine, everything was fine.

Maybe a week, a month of being jittery -- that was to be anticipated -- but now, it was time to go back to the way things were, the way she was. The only difference she’d really seen with her parents was that her dad had started spending more time with Jeremy, as if trying to make up for the possibility of lost time. But she and her mom were back to their routine. So she was back to hers.

Suddenly -- a caw. The noise disrupted her thoughts. A crow flew by and perched beside her. Elena startled. A crow on the bridge where she nearly died, how fitting. It didn’t leave. It hopped closer to her.

“Go away.”

It started to flap around her. What was its problem? “Shoo!” Stubborn damn bird. She turned to bat it away only to find the crow gone and a dark-haired man standing behind her. Her hand flew to her chest.

“Oops,” he said, his blue eyes glinting. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Elena didn’t answer right away. “I just didn’t know anyone else was here.”

He was grinning at her. Elena didn’t know how she felt about it. It was playful but there was something else there to it, something that made her a bit uneasy, like she should be ready to run at a moment’s notice. She blinked at him. Wait a minute…

“I know you,” she said, taking in the leather jacket, the blue eyes, the smile that in a second could turn to a leer.

They’d met months before. Four months before to be exact. On the night of the crash. Before everything changed. He’d come out of nowhere, just like he did now, and he thought she was someone else, someone called … what was that name, it’d been a ‘k’ name or a ‘c’ name…

“I do have a pretty unforgettable face,” he said now.

Elena nodded. “D..Da…Damien, right?”

He paused, something sharp and painful flitted over his face and then it was gone. “Damon,” he corrected.

Right. That was right.

“You should be careful out here, all alone.” He gestured around the empty bridge.

Not to be rude or anything, Damon, but it’s kind of creepy that you’re out here in the middle of nowhere.

You’re one to talk.

Pieces of the conversation they’d had in May were coming back to her as he said, “Been catching up on the local news.”

Elena swallowed hard. “Yeah, it’s weird, you know, because all my life, there’s never been a single animal attack and now suddenly it’s like bears and wolves and coyotes.”

“Oh my!”

Elena stared at him.

“Wizard of Oz.”

“Funny,” she said.

Why did she feel so tense? Why did it feel like he’d cornered her somehow?

When she’d met him that night, she’d felt … well, it’d been weird, but it’d been somewhat intriguing. He’d been somewhat intriguing. You want what everybody wants…

“Animal control’s been out so it’ll all die down soon,” she said.

“Unless it isn’t animals.”

Elena narrowed her eyes, trying to sus him out. “Why? You know something everyone else doesn’t?”

“Oh, I know a lot more than ‘something’.”

She shivered. It didn’t feel … her heart rate was steadily picking up. Why was something so simple so nerve-wracking? So stressful? She should walk away but she didn’t feel released from the conversation. He seemed to sense her trepidation because he took a step back and loosened his demeanour, like he was trying to appear non-threatening. He’d done that the last time they’d met too.

“So what are you doing here? Isn’t school starting?”

Elena bit the inside of her lip. “It’s a bit of a long story.”

“I ain’t getting any younger.”

Elena paused. She didn’t know if she wanted to tell him or not, but she somehow felt like she had to.

“A few months ago, the night I saw you actually, my parents’ car skidded off this bridge. We almost died, it’s a miracle we didn’t.”

“You come back to the spot where you almost died?” He raised his eyebrows. “Seems a little morbid.”

Elena pressed her lips together. “Yeah, I can see how it seems that way.”

“What does the boyfriend think about this? You know, the one you got into a fight with?”

Good memory.

“Matt?” Elena thought about him showing up to the hospital, taking her hand in his. Then showing up to her house, anxious to make sure she was doing OK. Then his back as he left when she told him… “We broke up.”

“Figures,” said Damon with a shrug. “Seems too much like a country bumpkin for a gal like you.”

Something in Elena switched and her tone grew firm. “I was in a weird headspace when I talked to you that night but I would never talk down about Matt. OK? You don’t know him so you shouldn’t either.”

He shrugged. “I just call ‘em like I see ‘em.”

“But you haven’t seen anything.”

He squinted his eyes at her and Elena didn’t really know what that meant. She couldn’t be sure that he wouldn’t hurt her but she couldn’t be sure that he would.

“You’re right, you know, I should get to school. Don’t want to be late my first day.”

“Want a lift? I got a sick ride.”

“Thanks,” said Elena slowly, picking up her school bag. “But I’m kind of taking a break from cars…”

“Suit yourself.”

His eyes twinkled and Elena smiled somewhat awkwardly before taking off down the bridge, and when she was sure she had enough distance between them, she slowed down and exhaled, before picking up speed again at hearing another caw.

She’d made it to school quicker than she thought she would. People were still outside, finishing homework or gossiping or playing hacky sack like they were in some weird retro movie. Elena stopped walking, taking a moment to properly breathe and unclench from her talk with Damien or Damon or whatever on the bridge, and glanced around for Bonnie or Caroline.

“Look out!”

Everyone looked around, and then up. By the time Elena followed suit, it was too late. A football. Spiraling in the sky. It was soaring toward her and in a second it was going to connect. With her face. Elena already knew it was going to be bloody. Bloody and embarrassing and painful.

Someone was calling her name. “Elena!” Maybe Matt? “Elena, watch---”

Out of nowhere, someone came in front of her, catching the football before it could hit her.

He wasn’t even looking at it. His head was turned toward her, his eyes peering into hers for any hint of impact or injury. She could get lost in those eyes -- that brilliant green. She was lost. Elena’s lips parted.

“You saved me,” she said, with a gasp of disbelief.

“You all right?” The boy’s tone was soft but his expression was focused, intent on her, and almost smouldering with concern. She could do nothing but blink. It took her a moment to realize that she was actually holding her breath again. It took her another to realize that it wasn’t because she’d almost been pummeled by a football.

“Sorry! Yes! Yeah, yeah, I’m --- thank you.”

His gaze lingered for a second before he turned around and threw the ball back. It whipped through the air at a speed Elena didn’t think she’d seen before. She chuckled. She couldn’t be sure if it was because of the adrenaline or because she was impressed.

“That was incredible. How did you throw it like that? How did you catch it like that?”

He shook his head. “I saw that it was coming toward you, and I just reacted, I guess.”

Elena felt suddenly and unexpectedly embarrassed, as if that had been the most intimate thing she’d ever heard. She was vaguely aware that they had an audience but she saw no one else, just blurs and shapes, this boy’s chiseled face the only thing she could see clearly.

“So, does my hero have a name?” She hoped he could sense the playful irony in her tone and her eyes widened slightly at the possibility that he couldn’t. She spoke quickly to fill in the silence. “Mine’s, um, I’m Elena.”

He smiled at her, his eyes glinting with … what was that? Amusement? Charm? Was he charmed? Did she charm him? Why was her heart beating so fast?

“Stefan.”

She nodded and bit her lip nervously. “I’ve never seen you around before. I would’ve remembered.”

That last part was unnecessary. Oh God.

“Uh,” he grinned, like he didn’t know what to do with the compliment. “I’m sort of new here. My family has roots in Mystic Falls, I was born here but I moved away a while ago. I just came back.”

“Just in time,” she said.

He looked at her curiously. “For?”

Me. Wait, what?

“Uh, well, our football team is in desperate need of saving. And with reflexes like yours, we might actually have a shot at not being a complete joke this year. Tryouts should be this week.”

Stefan made a face, like he wasn’t certain.

“You should do it for your moral fibre,” she continued.

He laughed at that.

“No, seriously, wasn’t it, uh, Camus!” Elena said his name like she was answering a question on a game show. “Wasn’t it him who said everything he learned about morality and obligation he learned from football?”

Stefan licked his lips and Elena did her best to keep her gaze eye-level.

He smiled. “He wasn’t talking about American football.”

“There’s non-American football?”

“Soccer.”

Elena cringed. “Oh. Right. I knew that.”

He shrugged it off. “Common mistake.”

He was kind. Elena brushed her hair from her face. The bell rang and everyone started moving toward the building.

Stefan gestured in front of him. “Shall we?”

Elena couldn’t help but smile but tried to control how widely. “We shall.”

They started toward one of the school’s entrances and even walking side by side, he kept his attention on her.

“So, you read Camus?”

“Yes. No. Well, I’m trying.” Elena couldn’t understand why she was rambling. Maybe she’d stop if he’d stop looking at her.

“I had something sort of happen to me a few months ago and it - uh - it - it changed things for me, not everything, a lot of things. Well, maybe not a lot of things, but some things…” Why couldn’t she just shut up? “So I’m trying to do … things.” Elena, she admonished herself, stop saying ‘things’. “Kind of like a New Year’s resolution just not on New Year’s…” She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly. If the universe had any decency, it would open up a hole in the ground that would swallow her up.

“That didn’t make any sense did it?”

Stefan grinned. “I get it. You have a new perspective now and because of that, you’re trying to do things you wouldn’t have before.”

That was exactly right. “Wow, you make talking look so easy.”

“Years of practice.”

She laughed at that. She didn’t remember a time laughing this much, this genuinely in such a short period of time.

They were in the hallway now and Stefan had stopped walking. Elena had the horrible feeling that he was going to head in the opposite direction of her and that it was time for them to go their separate ways.

“Thanks again,” she said.

“Any time.”

She moved to continue the way they’d been walking the same time he moved to walk down the opposite way.

They did that a few times before he stood to the side and let Elena pass.

“Thanks,” she said, hunching her shoulders, embarrassed.

She should keep walking. It would be smoother that way. Cool. Indifferent. Unaffected. It’d be what Caroline would tell her to do. She was almost around the corner. No, she couldn’t help it. She felt drawn back. A pull. She had to see him one last time. She turned her head and felt a jolt when she saw that he’d been watching her the entire time.

The rest of the morning went by in a bit of a haze. Truthfully, like most of her days since the accident. And then everything suddenly brightened to a sharp clarity just before lunch. History class. Her eyes went right to him when she walked into the room and she felt locked in even though Stefan didn’t seem to notice her. Before he could catch her staring, before Matt -- who she’d realized a second too late was also in this class -- could feel any worse, she sat down.

Mr. Tanner had been droning on for fifteen minutes but Elena wasn’t paying attention. She couldn’t even if she wanted to --- her thoughts wouldn’t let her neither would her body. Everything in her seemed to respond to Stefan’s mere presence being in the same vicinity. As if she were being called to. Which was crazy, she thought, because she didn’t even know him.

Casually. Very casually. She turned her head to glance at Stefan. A second later, his gaze met hers and embarrassed excitement bloomed in her chest, making her turn away immediately, a smile lingering on her face.

“Am I boring you, Miss Gilbert?”

Mr. Tanner saying her name made her flinch.

She wasn’t expecting it and so answered without thinking. “Kind of.” She was snapped back into reality when she heard the rest of the class titter with excitement. “Sorry, no, I didn’t mean---”

“No, no, you spoke your mind, don’t be a coward, own it. Let’s do something to correct your disinterest in my class.”

“Mr. Tanner, really…”

“Pop quiz,” he said, leaning against his desk. “The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle?”

Elena had no idea. It had to be a lot, right? It was a battle. “A couple hundred at least.”

“Are you guessing?”

“Well, I’m trying,” she said helplessly.

The class laughed.

“It would impress me more if you just owned up to not knowing.”

“OK then, I don’t know.”

Mr. Tanner sighed. “I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena. But the personal excuses ended with summer break.”

“There were three hundred and forty-six casualties,” said a deceptively light voice. “Unless you're counting local civilians.”

Elena looked behind her. Stefan was looking at Mr. Tanner with a pleasant expression on his face.

“Thank you, Miss Gilbert.”

Stefan smiled. Entirely un-intimidated.

“Your name?”

“Stefan. Stefan Salvatore.”

“Salvatore. One of the Founding Families.”

“Distant relative.”

Elena saw Matt mutter beneath his breath. It looked like it could’ve been ‘of course.’

Mr. Tanner nodded, as if deciding on how he would play the rest of the scenario. “In any case, you’re correct. Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle.”

“Actually, there were twenty-seven, sir.”

Mr. Tanner raised his eyebrows. “Twenty-seven?”

“Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss.”

Elena felt suddenly moved by that. Something in Stefan’s tone, in his expression told her that he was no stranger to loss. It was almost like he could feel the pain of that day as if he'd lived it.

“The founder's archives are, uh, stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner.”

Elena’s mouth fell open in gleeful shock and admiration.

Mr. Tanner’s eyes flashed. “Cute,” he said. “You know I let it slide before when you swooped in to save Elena, no doubt to impress her, even though I didn’t call on you to speak but I won’t tolerate rudeness. Pack up, go to the office.”

“Well, don’t get upset at him because he knows more about your subject than you,” said Elena.

The class tittered again and Stefan shot Elena an amused expression. She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling.

Mr. Tanner let out a nasty laugh. “Well, isn’t this sweet, the lovebirds defending each other. You can join him in the office, Elena. Come on, let’s go.”

Outside in the hall, Stefan was already walking in the direction of the office and Elena reacted.

“Hey,” she called out.

He turned around. She didn’t really have a plan. She just didn’t want to go to the office and she didn’t want him to go either. She wanted time. She realized right then and there, she would probably always want more time with him.

Elena walked over to a door and pushed it open. She tilted her head -- you coming? He grinned.

They decided to walk around the track, spending a few moments just ambling next to each other as the sun beamed down.

It was weirdly comfortable. Elena didn’t feel the need to talk to fill the silence. It was also strange how calm she felt. Earlier, being around him made her nervous, light-headed, and now she just felt ... anchored.

She’d never experienced that before.

“Bit bold of you, you know,” she said finally. “New school, new - well - old town, but first day and you’re already making trouble?”

“Well, I live on the edge.”

Elena giggled. “I can see that.”

“What about you? Mouthing off to a teacher on the first day? Very edgy,” he said, deadpanned.

She snorted. “Well, I nearly died. What’s your excuse?”

He turned to her then and Elena mentally kicked herself.

“That the thing that got you on your not New Year’s resolution?” he asked. “What Tanner was talking about?”

Elena brushed it off. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s…”

She glanced sideways at him to see if he would just change the conversation to something else he wanted to talk about but his expression was interested. Open.

“My parents and I got into a crash last May. Over on Wickery Bridge.” She shrugged. “That’s it, that’s the story.”

“Mm,” he said. “Maybe that’s what happened but it’s not the story.”

How did he know that?

“You don’t like talking about it.” The way he said it, Elena knew he wouldn’t press the subject if she didn’t feel like continuing.

“I just don’t really feel like I can say anything about it,” she found herself saying. “I lived, you know, I survived. My parents survived. I shouldn’t…”

“Have feelings about it?”

Elena had never really thought of it like that before. “Everyone’s just so ready for it to be in the past, you know?”

“A car crash isn’t a little thing. Nearly dying is the most transformative thing you can experience. It’s OK if you’re not OK about it right now. There’s a lot to process.”

“You know, I go to the bridge everyday? The spot we skidded off and into the river. Morbid, right?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “Seems like you’re trying to keep a promise to yourself. Going to the bridge helps remind you of that.”

“Yeah.” The word barely came out as a whisper.

How did he know that? Know her? Elena felt … recognized. And bare. Yet … safe. This. Was. Crazy.

“A promise…” She repeated. “And that’s the other thing too, it’s like it’s made me restless. Like, I got a second chance, a miracle, who gets that in their lifetime, you know? And I don’t want to waste it. But everything seems dumb and superficial now. I just want to live, you know, live with … with, uh--”

“Passion?”

She nodded. “Right.”

“In my experience, it’s the dumb stuff, the small stuff, that’s what makes up living. By all means, if you want to climb Everest, climb Everest, you know, but going to a concert or a pickup game or …

“Family night,” said Elena.

“Who says you can’t do those things passionately?”

Elena didn’t remember when they stopped walking but they were standing now

and the feeling … that feeling … of being recognized had deepened into something more acute, more intense and she felt the urge, the need to be that person, that space for him. Right then and there, she wanted to pour into him, and wanted him to ---

A crow cawed.

Breaking the reverie.

Elena turned sharply toward it. She couldn’t be sure but it seemed like the same one from the bridge. As soon as the thought entered her mind, Damon’s face flashed before her eyes, and she took a deep breath in. Stefan touched her arm. She wanted him to keep her hand there forever.

“You OK? Where’d you go?”

“Nowhere,” she said. “I’m here. I…” She took another breath and looked around for the crow. It was gone. “The crow … it reminds me of someone. Someone I saw earlier, before school.”

“Someone you know?”

“No. Not exactly. I’d met him once before.” She closed her eyes, searching for the words to describe what was happening to her. “I don’t know, since then there’s just been this feeling in the pit of my stomach. It went away for a bit, when…” When she was talking to him. When she was relaxed. “But it just came back. It’s like something I can’t seem to shake.”

“Sounds like he made an impression.”

She looked at him. “There are better impressions, believe me.”

Stefan’s eyes searched hers and it happened again. Immediately. He was drawing her into him and she was falling and falling...

“Hey, your face. Is there something---”

“Sorry.” Stefan shielded his eyes from her. “Sorry, I … sorry, I’ve gotta go.”

“Uh…”

Elena watched Stefan walk away, his stride swift, and felt a sharp stab of disappointment that they were no longer talking, no longer in the same place together,

A few seconds later, the bell signalling lunch rang.

The moment Elena opened her locker, it was slammed shut and her best friend, Bonnie Bennett, was standing beside her. Elena let out a sigh of relief. “Bonnie! Why did you--?”

“You and the new hottie. The whole school’s talking. Dish.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” said Elena casually. Too casually.

Bonnie looked at her. “That always means there’s something to tell. And I can tell because---”

“Because you’re a psychic now?”

“Because I was sitting by the window in calc. and I saw the two of you walking around the track. And you two were vibing. Don’t deny it.”

“Oh, please.”

“Aimee Bradley said that he defended your honour in Mr. Tanner’s class. She said he cussed Tanner out and stormed out of class..”

Elena made a noise of disbelief. “Since when did you listen to Aimee Bradley?”

Bonnie shrugged. “She’s not the only one saying it.”

“That literally did not happen! He just---”

Elena was interrupted.

“Well, your nose doesn’t look broken,” she said, nudging her way between Elena and Bonnie.

“Hi, Caroline.”

Elena exchanged a quick look with Bonnie who tried to stifle a laugh.

“And what do you mean my nose doesn’t look broken?”

“Oh, everyone’s talking about how Matt threw a football at your face to get back at you for dumping him and the new guy beat the shit out of him on the green.”

“What!” Elena looked at Caroline incredulously. “Oh my God, guys! Nothing you’re saying happened! Someone --- not Matt, he tried to warn me -- threw a football, it almost hit me and---”

“And the new guy saved you from massive embarrassment on the first day?” said Caroline. “It’s just so typical. There is a finite amount of hot guys at this school and when we finally get new blood, you get there first. You’ve already dated the captain of the football team, you had this encounter with some mystery man---”

Elena unconsciously tensed at the memory and Bonnie looked at Caroline pointedly, who closed her eyes.

“Sorry, I’m a bitch,” she said. “I shouldn’t have brought up that night.”

Elena sighed, half-exasperated but already on her way to forgetting the insensitivity. “I never said that guy was hot by the way.”

“Oh, please, mystery men are always hot. It’s like a rule,” said Caroline, apparently over her brief bout of contrition.

Elena addressed Bonnie. “You know I actually saw him again today before coming to school?”

Bonnie shook her head. “Really?”

“Yeah, the vibes were … weird.”

Bonnie squinted. “Weird, like, dangerous, weird?”

Elena opened her mouth but didn’t say anything . “It was definitely intense. But not like…” Not like what she’d felt when she spoke to Stefan. “I don’t know, it kind of made me queasy?”

“Butterflies,” said Caroline, throwing up her hands. “So, the sexy, dangerous mystery man gives you butterflies--”

“I never said--”

“And now you’ve got the other mystery guy who actually goes here saving you on the green like some freaking knight?”

Elena rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. He caught a football.”

But even when she tried to minimize what had happened verbally, physically she felt her heart thud and a jittery, giddy flutter in her stomach that made her want to laugh to get the feeling out.

“And stood up to Tanner on your behalf,” said Bonnie.

Caroline shook her head like she was severely disappointed in Elena. “You’re being so greedy.”

Bonnie snorted and rested her head on Caroline’s shoulder.

Elena opened her locker again. “Look, I’m not even thinking about Stefan.”

“So the new guy’s name is Stefan.”

“I could be talking about the mystery man on the bridge.”

“You’re not, I can tell by that big, dumb smile you’re trying to hide,” said Bonnie.

Elena popped her head out from behind her locker door and gave Bonnie a playful grimace.

“Anyway. I’m actually thinking about Jeremy. I haven’t seen him anywhere. Have you two?”

Caroline rooted around in her bag for some lip gloss. “Elena, if I ever start caring about the comings-and-goings of sophomores, shoot me.”

“That’s Caroline-speak for ‘no’,” said Bonnie. “And I haven’t either.”

“I’m kind of worried. He never skips school.” Elena pulled a contemplative face. “Bonnie, do you mind if we, like, quickly go over to my house to see if he’s there? I’m sure there’s something in the fridge we can eat so we won’t miss lunch.”

Caroline made an expression as if Elena had said the dumbest thing she ever heard. “In all of the times we’ve skipped school, when have we ever stayed home? He’s probably at the stoner’ pit or something.”

Bonnie snorted. “Yeah, Jeremy, a burnout. Please.”

“No, he could be at home. I don’t know, all summer he’s either been on his Xbox or pining after Vicki Donovan. Maybe he’s pretending to be sick and he’s still in his room.”

“If he’s been pining after Vicki Donovan then he’s definitely at the stoner pit probably trying to impress her..”

“Caroline!” Bonnie gave her an admonishing hit on the arm.

“What! You know I’m not wrong.”

“Don’t be mean just because you’ve had a thing for Tyler since fifth grade.”

“Shut up.”

Bonnie laughed. “Elena, I’ll give you a lift.”

“Since when was your family pack rats?” said Bonnie.

They’d made it to Elena’s house and walked into the foyer. The closet beneath the stairs was open and there were a bunch of boxes around the door, crammed with what looked to be junk. Papers. Dusty journals.

“I don’t know, this wasn’t here when I left this morning,” said Elena.

“You think Jeremy took it out?”

“Yeah, but why?”

Bonnie shrugged.

“Jeremy?” Elena called.

When there was no answer, she walked into the living room and didn’t see him there or in the kitchen.

“Some leftover spaghetti in the fridge,” said Elena to Bonnie. “I’m just going to check upstairs and then I’ll be right down.”

Bonnie nodded. “OK cool. I love pasta night at your house.”

“It’s the oregano,” said Elena, grinning.

She headed up the stairs. She could definitely here talking. Low talking. But it wasn’t coming from Jeremy’s room. She turned around. It was coming from her parents’. It was the middle of the day. Neither one of them should be home. Elena felt like suddenly she shouldn’t be up there. Something was wrong or secret or … She walked slowly down the hall toward the room. The door was nearly closed, but not quite. She peaked through the crack. Jeremy on a chair. So, he did stay home. And then … Dad. He let him stay home? And then … was that … was he holding … a stake?

#stelena #stefan salvatore #elena gilbert #the vampire diaries #dobsley #paul wesley #nina dobrev #stelena fanfiction #maybe if you and i had met first ... oh please

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blackjackkent · 29 days

Text

Visited the necromancer's hideout under the apothecary shop in the Blighted Village.

The fight with the skeletons in the front entryway was the usual pain. They were VERY efficient about all coming out of their caskets. The funniest part of the fight was that Rakha's wild magic surge gave her the completely useless ability to speak with animals for the duration of the fight. (There were no animals anywhere in the vicinity.)

Rakha's half-orc ability to come back with one hit point the first time she goes down is doing a lot of work for her squishy self at present.

The skeletons are unsatisfying for her to kill, though. They have no blood and they are, on some level, already dead. The beast shows little interest at their violence and no pleasure at their death.

We got some sorcerer-specific stuff while trying to pass the enchanted mirror guarding the main lab.

"Speak your name."

Narrator: An enchanted mirror. Raw magic leashed to a bauble. Almost sad.

Rakha can see the way the Weave undulates over the surface of the mirror, bound into its very matter. The face that peers out of it ripples with prismatic light.

[SORCERER][ARCANA] Try to sense the magic tamed within the mirror.

Narrator: The magic is old and wavering, but you recognize it. The mirror is a thinking lock, hiding some secret. It seems some vain wizard took living magic and twisted it into a forgotten curio.

I'm intrigued by the implication here that Rakha is on some level offended by magic being used for less than sufficiently grand purposes. This is a little ironic given that her purposes for it mostly involve killing anyone who gets in her way. But it also makes a certain amount of sense - her ability to see and sense the Weave was her first (and in a lot of ways still her only) exposure to beauty or wonder in this strange mystery world she's been dropped into; to see it not treated with the proper respect is... grating.

Perhaps the wizard remains within... murmurs the beast, and he can be punished for it...

She doubts it, given the evident age and utter silence of the place. But it is possible.

We also have another option here which is uniquely interesting in Rakha's case:

Examine your appearance.

The narrator's response is funny:

Narrator: You do your best to wipe the dirt from your face and look presentable. Adventuring is murder on one's wardrobe, though.

However, leaving aside the "magic mirror" in camp for appearance adjustments (which I tend to think of as a meta thing and not actually there), Rakha has to her recollection never seen her own face until this moment.

It's not a bad face, she doesn't think. Evenly proportioned, sturdy, serious. Scarred oddly. She wonders where that came from. An orc, Gale said - or half-orc, at least - hence the tusks. And the burning, muted rage in her eyes, never quite gone even when the beast is quiet.

----

"Thoughts?" Wyll asks with a slight grin.

"You asked me what I saw when I looked at you," she says slowly, not looking away from the mirror. "And I told you."

He nods slightly. "You did."

"What do you see in me?"

He quirks an eyebrow up slowly. "A mystery," he says.

She snorts softly. "I knew that already."

He offers a slight smile. "I see someone broken and rebuilding. As I am. As we all are." He folds his arms, watching her thoughtfully. "I don't have the answer you're looking for. I wish I did."

"I know."

----

"Speak your name," repeats the mirror.

Rakha repeats a name she pulled from an old book near the mirror. "Ilyn Toth."

At once, the face goes red in warning. "My master is no filthy half-breed. You are not Ilyn Toth. If you are his ally, step forward and declare it."

"Uh-oh," she hears Gale murmur in a sing-song tone from behind her.

Rakha's jaw sets. White flares at the corners of her vision. This is her own rage, though, not the beast; there is no blood to be spilled here. But she is being mocked. She remembers the last person to call her half-breed - and the satisfying crunch of his jaw under her fist.

[INTIMIDATION] "Open, or I'll smash you to pieces," she snarls. "Bad luck be damned."

Narrator: There is a pause as those glass eyes take you in. Then...

The mirror slides open soundlessly, opening a passage to the lab beyond.

#bjk plays bg3 durge #rakha the dark urge #mostly just character flavor here lol #bjk writes her own party banter

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foone · 1 year

Text

Jay peered around the doorframe over the corpse of the security guard. In the dim light of the still-illuminated exit signs, he spotted the attackers. Three figures, two carrying what looked like over-complicated crossbows, and a third hanging a few steps back, holding a dimly glowing rod and wearing some kind of tank on their back. A flamethrower? Maybe.

They're methodically checking all the offices along the hallway, ignoring the open door. Clearly they're worried about a surprise popping up behind them from one of the doors.

He leans back into the office. The wizard is rapidly writing something on the tablet, as the translator tries to keep up. Jay walks over and asks the translator what's going on, seeing the wizard's gestures towards the door.

"I'm not 100% sure but he says they will be sending squads with a magician, who has a... tank? Jar? And that you need to break the tank, and he'll take care of the rest."

Jay resists rolling his eyes. "That easy, huh? I saw when the guard fired at them, they're bullet-proof!" he says, checking how many rounds are in the guard's gun, more to reassure himself than anything else. The actual number is not very useful to know, if they can't actually hurt these invaders.

The translator writes out some words on the tablet, and the wizard slaps his head and quickly writes out a response. "this is not the best time for a chat, any chance you can hurry it along?" he mumbles, nervously checking the doorway again.

"I'm trying, I'm trying! Okay he says they have a shield which slows down fast moving things. So if you're close enough, it'll still work."

"Great. How close?"

"I have no idea. I don't understand their units yet."

"oh lovely! See if you can figure that out. I'm not optimistic about our chances either way... There are three of them, and two have weapons. Even if I can rush one, that leaves the other to put a hole in me, and then you."

"I'm working on it! Let me... Wait. Wait wait. It doesn't rain on their planet, remember?" she puts down the tablet and starts digging through her purse. "yeah?" "are all these sprinklers connected?" "what? I think so. Why?"

She climbs on the table, which wobles worryingly. Reaching up to the sprinkler, she lifts a scruffy lighter pulled from her purse.

"Tell me when. This should give you the opening you need!"

He stares at her, once again not sure exactly how much she's mad versus brilliant. "that's... That might work. Okay, get ready!" he says, kneeling by the door. There's only a few doors left before the attackers get to them. He thinks of mentioning that if this doesn't work, she's likely to be the first shot they take, standing on the table like that, but thinks better of it. It's the best chance of getting they have to get out of here without an impromptu piercing from those crossbow goons, and it would just worry her.

"See if you can get him to hide in the corner. I don't want them to get a lucky shot and take him out before we have a chance to fight back."

"oh good point. Can you hand... Oh right" she leans down to grab the tablet, but this turns out to be the last straw for this flimsy government-grade interview table. The table, tablet, and her all come crashing down with a terrible noise. A loud noise, which unfortunately prompts a response from down the hall.

Jay starts repeatedly swearing under his breath and takes aim at the doorway. So much for the plan. No no no, this isn't going to work. They're expecting this. They're checking each door carefully. I need them off balance. Oh well, time to do something foolishly heroic.

He steps against the far wall, near where the translator is being helped up by the wizard. He breathes deep, once, and runs for the doorway, hopping over the security guard's corpse as he goes.

As he enters the hallway all the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and the air feels electric. He turns to run at the intruders, who are only a single door down the hallway and have their crossbows already raised. Oh shit he thinks as he goes into a dive, barely thinking about why he does that. He doesn't hear the firing so much as the wall behind him splintering, and the clattering noise as one of the bolts hits the floor and bounces along it, failing to embed itself in the tiled floor.

Raising his gun, he fires at the worst target. The unarmed woman (he can now tell) wearing the tank of blueish-green liquid). The other two are already reloading or going for their backup weapon, so he should be taking advantage of this moment of confusion to take them out. That's what his training told him, and he could almost hear his old instructor screaming in his head. Too bad, he puts his faith in the wizard, and hopes he's not about to die from a mistranslation.

His shot misses her, handily. The tank worn on her back shatters like a wine glass, and there's a moment of pain as it diffuses into the room. He tastes metal and mint and his ears ring.

The woman is stepping back and raising her staff. The crossbow solders have shaken it off much faster than him, and one pulls out something that looks like nearly the exact midpoint between a hunting knife and a short sword.

Jay tries to will his muscle to move and roll towards shooting him, but his arms are feeling like he sleep on them, the pins and needles tingle going from his fingers to his shoulders. This is not good.

And then there's an alarm in the distance. A moment of pause, and grey-ish black water sprays down on all of them. The sprinklers!

The intruders act like they've been teargassed. You don't appreciate how long people born on earth have had to get used to the fact that it rains, and for people who've never even seen a cloud, getting rained on is a new and frightening experience, even if it's a poor imitation of a rainstorm being provided by barely up to code fire suppression systems.

He manages to raise the gun enough to shoot the man nearest him, and his screaming turns into a choke, then silence. Jay has no illusions about being able to get turned around to take out the other guy, and who knows what the woman is capable of? But maybe this will even the odds a little. He gets about halfway to pointing at the other soldier when he's hit by a truck.

Or at least it feels like it. He's thrown down the hallway by the force of the impact, confused by the lack of anything visible hitting him. He loses his grip on the gun, and hitting the far wall at the end of the hallway definitely doesn't do anything for the tingling in his upper body. He raises his head enough to see down the hallway, where the woman is holding up that staff, which is now glowing an angry read. Oh right. They have wizards.

The blue haze of the spilled liquid from her tank is still floating around the floor like someone dumped dye in a smoke machine, but as he tries to force himself to get up and grab the gun, he notices it's all flowing in the open door of the interrogation room. He idly wonders if the AC is still running (how could the AC be running? They cut the power! Also, why am I thinking about this? I may have a concussion...) as the soldier and wizard (are female wizards witches? Sorceresses? Do they have a different term at all?) walk towards him slowly, the soldier finishing loading his crossbow.

He fires. Jay closes his eyes instinctively.

There's nothing. No pain, no impact sound of a miss, just a ptwang of firing and then silence. He opens his eyes. The bolt is stopped in mid air, by the open door. The wizard-lady shouts something, and Jay doesn't need the translator's help to know that that's a swear, and not a very nice one.

The wizard they were interrogating walks... Floats? Jay isn't sure how much is magic and how much is the concussion. He... moves into the hallway, and the witch-enchantress raises her staff while rapidly saying a lot of words, and the solder goes for his knife-sword.

His floating wizard friend raises his hand and...

Shit. Did I black out?

A moment had passed. The wizard is still standing there. The solder and magical girl (a sailor moon theme song begins playing in Jay's head, unbidden. Yep, definitely a concussion) are not. There's no sign of them. Not even a scorchmark on the wall or a bloodstain on the floor.

That's a little worrying. Okay, a lot worrying. Note to self, don't get on this guy's bad side. Also, minor update from your still functioning senses: he's standing over you now. Maybe see if you can react to that?

Jay tries to get up, and the wizard puts out a hand. "Here, let me help"

As Jay is pulled to his feet, he realizes why that sounds weird. "Now I know I have a concussion, because since when do you speak English?"

"since about 2 minutes ago. Come on, we need need to get out of here. They wouldn't just send one squad, and they will quickly notice that that we stopped one of them."

Jay tries to walk and it turns into a limp and nearly collapsing into the wall. "we? I'm pretty sure that was mainly you."

"nonsense. I couldn't have done a thing until you took out the matra tank". That word sizzles in Jay's head, like it's a wire that's improperly grounded. I guess that's what happens when the magic can translate something?

The translator reappears at the doorway, nervously looking up and down for any further attackers. "Are you alright?" she asks Jay.

"I'll survive, but we need to get out of here. Can you help steady me? If we can get to the stairs I can drive us out of here, but I'm still a little off balance from whatever that-" he pauses, his brain having run out of female-magic-user synonyms, "thaumaturgist!" (where did that come from?) "... Uh, from whatever she did to me, or from hitting the wall after she did the thing she did to me. I may be slightly loopy, as you can probably tell."

"Sure. Rudapedi, can you hold him up on that side?" "of course. Let's go. "

So his name is Rudapedi? It's a good thing these magic users don't speak Latin, or that might mean something like... Stinky feet? Wait, I don't think "rude" means stinky... I can't remember much of my Latin classes. Pecavi? Why is the world spinning so much, and what does Latin have to do with it?

Everything is going black. His last words before the warm velvety embrace of unconsciousness are "puella est in cena."

#mundane kaya sona #my writing

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atopvisenyashill · 5 months

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who would be the stoners of asoiaf?

thank you finally something in my area of expertise!!!!!

Aemon - he smokes for pain technically but he Will peer pressure younger stewards to get high with him bc he thinks it’s funny.

Doran - again, for pain, he doesn’t presssure anyone into smoking with him but he doesn’t like smoking alone so usually Areo Hotah will have a puff. Areo’s tolerance is so high now lmao no one but Doran can tell he’s high

Ellaria Sand - Oberyn doesn’t like feeling out of control but Ellaria gets frisky while she’s high so she will have a toke before they bang, it’s awesome for them.

Edmure Tully - he loves making edibles. The smallfolk love him bc he just gives them edibles for free whenever he comes around to collect rent/taxes. Blackfish thinks it’s really juvenile but Hoster kinda liked Edmure’s weird way of ruling (he’d never tell him tho). Definitely gives Cat a few after the funeral and they try very hard not to talk about their feelings while absolutely blasted.

Theon Greyjoy - Ned disapproved of Theon smoking bc Theon always Went Too Far, so once he gets to Winterfell he is just mainlining Sativas and losing his absolutely shit. Goes cold turkey bc of ADWD but after the war (he’s gonna live fuck you) he starts up again bc Bran suggests it might help with his anxiety BUT ONLY INDICAS.

Asha Greyjoy - tbh, iron islanders will just put anything in a pipe and smoke it, they don’t give a fuck. Asha is a little more choosey than her uncles at least lol

Bran - the reeds turn him onto it. he quits several times over the years but he thinks it’s less gross than tobacco so he usually goes back to it. It’s not always obvious when he’s high for tree wizard reasons, but his siblings can Always tell.

Jaime Lannister - no one can convince me this man didn’t turn to substance abuse to deal during the early years of Cersei & Robert’s marriage bc weed is a great way to dissociate (if that’s how you want it to work) and this man’s number one coping mechanism is dissociation. He quits because Brienne gives all his weed to Podrick and Podrick goes crazy on it one night.

Podrick - listen, he picked up a lot of vices from Tyrion. This one at least makes Brienne laugh.

Brienne - only recreationally, never around Jaime bc he has A Problem and she doesn’t want him to relapse (he relapses several times anyway)

Arya and Sansa Stark - they’re together because they do it recreationally together as adults. they get soooo silly with it too, Edmure makes them smoke with him whenever they’re in the Riverlands bc it’s so funny.

Bronn - you cannot tell me that man isn’t a lil high at least 60% of the time

Mad Maid Malora Hightower - i just know her and her dad are up in that tower high off their ass, i know it in my soul

lewyn martell - recreationally. arthur dayne was super uptight about it. oswell whent smoked even less than lewyn, but if he saw lewyn smoking, he’d get in immediately. gotta cope with aerys somehow!!

#valyrianscrolls #FINALLY THE NITTY GRITTY QUESTIONS AKSJDJ

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endlessly-cursed · 1 year

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Primrose Gray’s Legacy, Act One: The Younger Years, Chapter Four: The Arrangement

A/N: Finals are finally over and holidays are over the horizon, so this series will get my undivided attention. Expect more of this series after the long radio silence!

Summary: Primrose’s life takes a drastic change that will mark her youth

OCs featured: William Devlin ( @unfortunate-arrow ) Henry of Alderly ( @gaygryffindorgal ) and his family

OCs mentioned: The Stolberg-Burkes (also Gryff) the Coventries and the Hastings ( @camillejeaneshphm ) the Aldens ( @cursed-herbalist )

Warnings: A bit of classism of the era

Word Count: 2.2k

Taglist: @gaygryffindorgal @nicos-oc-hell @slytherindisaster @camillejeaneshphm @hphmmatthewluther @thatravenpuffwitch let me know if you want me to either add you or remove you!!

1889

Vincent Gray had been invited to a gentlemen-only soiree, and wanting to escape the women’s scheming, he was gladdened to accept. It seemed like finally he was being accepted in high society by his fellow male peers, a bit tired of ambitious mamas.

Especially he was escaping his wife’s machinations. He could still recall their argument later in the morrow.

“Why can’t you see how advantageous this match could be?!” She shouted “Our daughter would be protected and no one would doubt her claim! Maria Elisabeth married a duke herself.”

“Yes, and that duke ruled her and Winbourne! Just like Frederick was the one taken into account while Henriette remained in the shadows.”

Victoria looked at him “What do you have against the Alderlies, exactly?”

“They are Hanoverians, Vicky!” He cried out “You know what happens to their wives! Everybody does!”

“Are you implying that Henry is not enough husband for our girl?”

“Henry’s a good lad. I’m more worried about his parents and close peers. And the fact that they’d likely swallow the estate into theirs and centuries of work would go to the seven hells!”

Victoria raised her hands “What do you suggest, then? Anyone in mind?”

“Yes. Someone who doesn’t have ties or a title to tend. Someone who will not stand in the way of her claim. Perhaps in the Wizarding World.”

Victoria turned back at him and slowly came close to him “I am the viscountess here, and our daughter will marry whom I say, end of the discussion.”

Vincent sighed, rubbing his temples. Then, suddenly, a thump woke him from his trance and saw a rather tipsy Lord Carlisle greeting him “Ah, Lord Vincent, what a surprise!”

“My lord. What brings you here?”

“Well, I’ve heard that you are looking for a groom for your girl. I have a ward her age. Shy, likes drawing and quiet. His name is William.”

Vincent’s eyebrows shot up in amusement “Are you proposing your… ward for my girl?”

He nodded, gulping another drink “You see, I’ve heard, and correct me if I’m wrong, that you wish for your daughter to marry someone who won’t stand in the way of her claim. The boy has no noble ties, no title or a name to tend to. I’m happy to educate him to be her shadow and know his place as her future husband.”

“People will talk.” Vincent remarked.

“And will you listen to what they say, my lord? It could be an advantageous match…”

Vincent observed the man for a minute, taking in everything he said. The rumours were everywhere that he was the boy’s father, and it’d cause some trouble for Primrose, but perhaps, if they were engaged, the people wouldn’t doubt him as much.

“Lord Paul, how about if you come see me this Tuesday at four o’clock so we can discuss this properly?”

He smiled, shaking his hand “I’ll be there.”

“Let us hope you remember.” He joked.

For the next months, Paul and Vincent discussed back-and-forth how their engagement would work.

“…Of course, Primrose will be the head of the house.”

“…It’ll be wise that they have separate bank accounts.”

“…Won’t have any obligations until they’re introduced in society.”

“…Eighteen would be a good age for him to propose.”

“…Must learn in the meantime the history of the Somersets.”

“…In exchange for her hand I can give you…”

Right a few weeks before the boy’s ninth birthday, they had already settled a contract and would meet to sign it properly, everything planned and agreed. But secretly, he had been in the lookout for any other bachelor who’d pop up.

On Victoria’s point of view, not only the Alderlies had proposed their son, the Coventries and the Aldens had proposed their respective sons. Victoria had rejected the second, for he was a bit old for her tastes and had heard that he had already picked his future bride. When the scandal of the only Coventry boy and heir being homosexual came out, Victoria wrote to them rejecting their prospect.

Another families had stepped up, offering their sons that were her age. Vincent had investigated the Greek boy, Adonis, and Victoria had liked the di Napoli boy, Ernest, if she recalled correctly. But Ernest’s family was problematic and the Greek boy didn’t have the qualities he looked for a groom in his daughter, so they were rejected as well.

In the end, he was where he started: with the Devlin boy as the final prospect. Legitimacy controversies aside, they were a good match: he was just as intelligent, knowing French as well, a capital student and in the way of becoming a sportsman. It was definitely better this way, with someone unimportant in the eyes of society so he wouldn’t outshine his girl, the important piece in the chess.

Soon, Paul called proposing a dinner at his estate to see if they’d match after their speculations and also have a celebration for their ninth birthdays, since they were very close in age. He was quick to accept and told Victoria of his intrigues. The response was a Romanian vase being thrown to his head, which he hardly missed.

“YOU ENGAGED MY DAUGHTER TO A BASTARD?! WITHOUT CONSULTING ME?!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. He had never heard her scream like that ever since last year, when she had miscarried their last child.

“I know how it seems, but we must see the bigger picture here—,”

“Oh, and what would that be?!”

“He is a good boy! A good student, intelligent, with no ambition or ties to any sort of state or title, the perfect husband that won’t outshine the important person here: Prim!”

“I don’t see why she shouldn’t marry someone of rank! Or with an actual fortune! Last night the Stolberg-Burkes called. They consider their son a worthy groom of our daughter, and so do I! And it’s never too late for Henry!”

“Please, give the Devlin boy a chance.”

Victoria scoffed “You’ve made your decision. Go on, tell me what the hell have you plotted now.”

He looked down, ready for the shouting “We have signed a contract. We only need your signature.”

Silence. Then, ruffling movement of skirts. Then, another vase was thrown, and he had to duck this time “Victoria, enough!” He cried.

“YOU SIGNED A CONTRACT WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE?! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO DO ANYTHING WITH MY HEIR WITHOUT ME?!”

“YOUR HEIR?!”

“YES!” She yelled “MY HEIR, MY HOUSE, MY BLOODLINE.”

He nodded, anger and bitterness building up “And I am just the lucky sperm-man who gave you what you needed to continue it, am I not?”

Victoria realised what she had said, and started to try form a sentence. He didn’t give her a chance. He instead left, slamming the door close. He didn’t hear Victoria’s sobs, but could tell that he’d be sleeping in the guest room.

8th of July, 1889

Victoria had dressed in the Somerset blue and black, while Vincent had dressed the Slytherin green and both seemed distant to one another. Many children had been invited to their joint birthday party. Primrose, thankfully, was a good girl and was happy to share her birthday bash with someone else and make a new friend. They were now speaking to one another in French, and while weary of her presence, he seemed to like her well enough. Primrose, was, of course, intrigued by him and why the sudden interest on a minor noble family. Henry was quick to snatch her to play, and invited William along.

They ran off to the gardens, which weren’t as grand as the ones in Winbourne, but still nice to look at. Lord Paul was, of course, trying to win over Victoria, showering her with compliments and the sort of flattery, but Victoria was as cold as the Antarctica itself, offering cold and calculated smiles and dry ‘thank you’. She glared to her husband from time to time, muttering things about the decoration of choice and how one could tell that the place lacked a woman to take care of things properly.

“I’d be much obliged to tell you all about the bachelorettes who are in the lookout for a… humble husband like yourself, my lord.” She smiled, clearly trying to get a raise out of him, but it seemed that Vincent had warned him. He smiled tightly, raising his glass.

Louise leaned and whispered something about a portrait of the late viscount and Victoria laughed coldly. She looked back at the garden, where Georgia helped Primrose up and observed a quiet William drifting away. She wondered why wasn’t he following probable orders to impress the girl.

“Vicky, dear, have I ever told you about my nephew Caspian Hastings? He is available, a future marquess to the Hastings line and very much a bachelor…”

Primrose had decided to follow the Devlin boy into a hayloft and observed he was drawing something under his shirt, focused on it.

“What are you drawing?” She asked.

The boy looked up and cleared his throat, raising a bit his sketchbook “Nothing. Aimlessly drawing.”

Primrose showed her hands “I understand if you don’t want to show. I know we’ve been introduced, but with all that noise… I’m Lady Primrose Gray of Winbourne.” She extended her hand.

“William Devlin.” He shook her hand.

She sat in front of him, a respectful distance between them “It seems like our fathers wanted us to meet. Do you think he’s fishing for allies?”

“He is… that is, he is not my father, he is my guardian.”

“…Of course, my apologies. What are your theories on this whole soiree?”

1892

There had been several events, and Primrose had seen for herself some suitors from her mother, and had done her best to impress everyone with her piano and harp skills, which she had practised. According to Bea, men were inclined to women who had a good sense of music and who looked pristine and put-together, so she always chose sensible colours for her presentation. The Devlin boy had been invited, but he was not present. Probably sketching somewhere.

Someone went to fetch him. Her father was going to make an announcement. Primrose looked at Henry, and he looked at her too. Perhaps they’ve finally reached an agreement? Everyone looked at her father expectantly, a choking silence filling the room.

“As you know, my wife and I have been looking for a suitable groom for our little treasure, and we like to think we’ve found the perfect man for it. Hence, I have decided to announced the engagement of my daughter, the Lady Primrose… to William Devlin, Lord Carlisle’s ward.”

Her mother said nothing, perhaps bracing herself for something.

“I’m sorry?!” Duchess Louise cried.

“This is outrageous! Victoria, you told us that we were your first priority!” Duke Thomas argued. Henry just sank in his seat.

“Hah! I can think of better men here than that—,”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Primrose cried. William, who had been trying to withdraw, had been seized by Primrose’s hand, and she looked defiantly at the adults. She was playing a big gamble, but William did not deserve this “It was my choice,” she declared “my father presented me with all of the candidates and I chose Mr. Devlin. I chose him, not my parents. I understand your anger, but I will not allow you to insult my bridegroom.” She lifted her chin, and William looked at her, bewildered. Everyone sat down, and she swore the duke downed his glass. “From now on, you will speak to him with respect, for my sake and Winbourne’s.”

Henry stood up and lifted his glass “To Lady Primrose and Mr. Devlin, then.” The other candidates soon followed.

As they began whispering, William finally left, taking the chance that her grip had nearly vanished and Primrose followed. She chased him to the gardens. He noticed her and turned around “Why did you do it?”

“They were insulting you, sir. I couldn’t allow it. The choice is made. We will marry when we are older, and it is our duty to look out for the other.”

Something in his face flickered, and his shoulders softened “Thank you. I don’t think anybody has defended me that way before.”

Primrose smiled tightly, and nodded “I will leave you to your own thoughts. You know where to find me.”

Primrose walked to her room, already retiring to bed, when she found her mother there. She looked like she had aged a thousand years. She motioned her to sit with her “What you did today was brave. Not many would’ve defended a boy like him with such fierceness and bravery. But we can put an end to this if you wish. The Stolberg-Burke’s offer still stands…”

“No. I want it to leave it the way Papa has done. Besides, I think that I can finally do something good with my title. I think that his tie to me protects him from rumours.”

Victoria smiled widely and kissed her head soundly “When did my girl become so benevolent and wise?”

Primrose leaned on her mother and didn’t hear Victoria mutter “I will find a way out of this farce. You will marry for love, even if it’s the last thing I achieve, so help me God.”

#hp victorian era #hp fanfiction #primrose gray's legacy #pgl book one #the younger years #oc: primrose sabrina gray #vincent gray #victoria gray #william devlin #henry of alderly #mywriting*

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whenihaveyouromione · 8 months

Text

When I Have You - Chapter 96

Read on Fanfiction.net or ao3.

---

Chapter 96

Ever since he’d started working at the Ministry, Ron realised that he’d rarely left it during the day. Most of his days were spent underground, in an office, walking the corridors or in the lunch room in the hope of catching his wife at the same time.

But today, he’d escaped aboveground. He had an hour and for a while, he simply wandered Muggle London. Once upon a time ago, he would have felt completely lost and bewildered to be in an environment he was very much not used to. Over the years, though, he’d grown accustomed to how it all worked. He understood money, how appliances functioned, and simply how to converse with Muggles without bringing magic into the conversation. Now, he could walk past a shop and not wonder what a ‘computer’ was, because he knew and could envision it in his head.

He stopped in a small cafe and ordered food, paying for it with only a moment’s hesitation on how much he needed to give over to the worker. He then smiled at the woman taking his money, thanked her and left with his food.

It was a fairly simple life, he realised. At least for Ron.

For the second half an hour of his break, he returned to the most familiar part of London — Diagon Alley. There, he was amongst people like him and he was free to carry his wand around and he didn’t receive odd looks when he walked past in robes.

Here was a place that he’d grown up in, visited with his family to either buy his older siblings’ school supplies and wishing it was him, or going with his mother when everyone else was at school, he and Ginny tagging along and staring into the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies.

He had the best of both worlds now, and maybe, if things didn’t work out in the wizarding world, he could find a job in the Muggle one. He wondered if Hermione would agree to that.

That was an option, though not one he really wanted.

He only had about twenty minutes left when he stopped out the front of his brother’s shop. As usual, it was filled with colour and noise and when he peered through the window he saw that it was filled with small children and their parents.

He made a note that he’d have to take Rosie here when she was a bit older and then entered. George was at the back, trying to serve a never-ending line of paying customers, all the while keeping his eye on the others, probably making sure they didn’t run off with anything.

Ron had always admired George’s positivity. Growing up, Fred and George had always been the ones to make others laugh. But right now, he looked flat-out stressed. He seemed to be doing the job of three people.

“Alright there, George?” he asked, coming to the counter.

George barely glanced at him, accepting a handful of Galleons from a woman with two young children bouncing on their toes with their new toys.

“I’m more busy than I’ve ever been and it’s not even the summer holidays!” George eventually said.

“Where’s Verity?” Ron asked.

George waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the shelves. “Over there, trying to be in more than one place at the same time. I’m going to miss her when she goes, that’s for sure.”

Ron peered through the crowd, but couldn’t spot the woman that had been in the shop virtually from its opening. He’d only met her a handful of times, talked to her even less, but she did seem on top of everything, and George seemed to really like her and appreciate her working for him.

“What brings you here?” George then said, finally looking at Ron in a lull moment before the next group stepped to the counter. “Aren’t you working?”

“Lunch,” Ron said. “But I do have to be back in a moment. Just thought I’d drop in and say hi. I didn’t realise you’d be so busy.”

George snorted. “Been like this for a while now. That’s four Galleons.” He held out a hand to a boy and girl, both about ten, to take their money. “Hence why I want to open up in Hogsmeade. Relieve some of the pressure.”

“It’s good for business, though, isn’t it?” Ron said. “I mean…”

“If I had the staff to manage it properly.”

“You haven’t found anyone else?” Ron asked.

“Nobody I trust to run a whole damn shop on their own. I’ve got a few workers in mind to assist, but I really need someone at Hogsmeade to oversee things.”

Ron once again looked around the shop. It had more and more products each time he visited. George was a genius. He couldn’t quite grasp how his brother could continue coming up with ideas and putting them out to have them successfully sold. He was the most successful business in Diagon Alley — no one could deny that.

“Then, ever since I put out my Homework-Helping-Cheat-Free range, the owl orders for Hogwarts have picked up by eighty percent. I can barely produce them in time. Some students are getting them a whole month after they order it. What’s the point by then? Exams are over.”

“You can only do so much,” Ron reasoned. “You need —”

“Help,” George said. “Yeah.”

Ron fell silent. He only had a few minutes before he had to get back to the Ministry, though seeing how stressed his brother was made him want to stay. Perhaps he could take money from people. He didn’t know much about the products, but he could take money.

“Listen, mate, I’m really busy, I’d love to chat, but I just can’t.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Ron said. “I’ve got to get back to work anyway.” He paused, thinking for a moment. “Hey, how do you feel about me stopping by at five today? As you close?”

“I don’t have a problem,” George said, “but Hermione might. Isn’t she at home today with a screaming baby?”

“It’ll be quick,” Ron said. “Just… wait around a bit?”

George shrugged. “Alright.”

“Thanks.” Ron left the shop after that and Disapparated from the street, an idea already forming in his head. It wouldn’t be much, or as well-paying as the Aurors, but he supposed it could do for the meantime. Ron was looking for a change, George needed help. It was the perfect answer to the problem he’d been dwelling over for years now.

He’d help George out in the shop.

…

The evening was a cool one, the sky above dark and grey, but Ron’s mood felt light. He had sent a memo to Hermione after returning from his lunch to tell her he had to help George with something. She hadn’t sounded too upset, but was very aware that she had been with Rose all day and he’d make this quick.

He couldn’t see why George would deny him the offer. Ron couldn’t promise he’d be the best, but he was help and that was what George was after. Perhaps he could help enough for George to finally open his Hogsmeade shop.

Despite all the shops being closed, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes still shone brightly. In that moment, he appreciated the joy George’s work brought to everyone — children and adults alike. He couldn’t wait to bring Rose here and see her face light up when she saw all the bright colours.

George was restocking the shelves when Ron entered, this time, to a much quieter environment. The customers were gone and now it was just George. He seemed more relaxed.

“Made a killing today, I bet,” Ron said by way of greeting.

George smiled and laughed. “I’m on my way to Gringotts after this to put it all in the vaults.”

“Vaults?” Ron questioned, surprised. Was George making enough money to keep two vaults in the wizarding bank? If that was true, he’d kept that very quiet.

“My one, and the business one. Gotta pay my staff… well… my skeleton staff, that is.” He frowned.

“That’s what I came to talk to you about, actually,” Ron said.

That caught George’s attention. He lowered his wand from levitating boxes to the higher shelves and turned to Ron with a raised eyebrow. “What, you’ve come here to offer your services, have you?” Ron could tell he meant it as a joke.

“I have.”

“You — what?”

Ron moved to the back of the room where the counter was. “Is there a place we can talk? Sit?”

George nodded, indicating his office at the back. “Come in. Tell me exactly what’s going through your mind, brother.”

Ron followed George into the office, noticing the boxes of products, tests and piles and piles of plans and drawings scattered throughout it. It was near impossible to move, let alone sit, but George managed to find two chairs beneath the mess.

Ron sat in an old wooden chair that wasn’t very comfortable, but it’d do.

“So,” George said, not wasting any time. “Tell me. How are you supposed to help me out when you’re out there fighting all the bad guys all the time?”

“I’ve decided to leave the Aurors.”

George’s eyes widened. He didn’t speak for a few seconds. “Are you serious?” he eventually asked.

Ron nodded. “I’ve decided it’s not for me. The days are long, most spent inside an office rather than being out on the field. And even if they were, I’d much rather come home to Rosie and Hermione in one piece than beat up, or not at all…”

“Wow,” George said, scratching his head. “That’s… that’s huge. The Aurors are like —”

“Not everything it’s talked up to be,” Ron said. “At least not for me. I’ve been wanting to for a while, but it’s been hard. I know we’ll be losing income, and with a baby…”

“Yeah, you have a kid now,” George said thoughtfully.

“Yeah, and it changes things.”

“So, you want to come and work for me instead?” George said. “The safer option?”

Ron nodded. “Something like that. And, also… I can see you need the help.”

George laughed. “That’s a step down, don’t you think? From an Auror to standing behind a counter taking money from eager children and tired parents, or stocking shelves.”

“It’s what I need right now.”

George thought for a moment. “Does Hermione know about this? I mean, does she know of your plans, or —”

“She knows I plan on leaving. She… gets it. I think. She doesn’t know I’m here talking to you, though. Not about this.”

“And she’ll be okay with you moving from there to… here? I know how she feels about my products…”

“It’s not really her choice,” Ron said shortly, then sobered. “I think she’ll feel better if I have a plan, which I do now. If you’ll have me, I mean.”

“Of course I’ll have you!” George said. “Merlin, I could use any help I can get. Though, it doesn’t solve my issue of staff. Verity said she was out of here the moment I found someone to replace her…”

“At least you’ll be working with your brother?” Ron offered, a sheepish smile forming.

“Huh. Yeah, that’ll —” He paused, something in his expression changing. Ron wondered if the mention of brother had brought back memories of Fred; how, were Fred here, they wouldn’t be in this predicament. But then his mouth broke out into a grin.

“What?” Ron questioned. “What’s so funny?”

“I just had a thought!” George said excitedly. “You know I’m looking for someone to run the shop in Hogsmeade. Well, the shop that doesn’t yet exist. What if that’s you?”

“What?” Ron said, taken aback by this turn. He’d come here offering his services to help his brother, not… not take charge of a whole shop.

“Well… think about it!” George said. “You know I want someone I can trust, and I can trust you. These days I can, anyway. I mean, you’ve got a wife who keeps you in check, and you’re a dad now, which is a hell of a lot of responsibility. And we’d keep it in the family, too. I run this place, you run the one in Hogsmeade. The boss.” He thought some more, giving Ron the opportunity to speak.

“I’m not sure I’m out for —”

“I have an even better offer for you!” George cut in as if Ron hadn’t even spoken. He looked at Ron gleefully. “Become part owner with me?”

“What?” Ron’s mouth opened. “No, no, that’s not what I —”

“You’re serious about leaving the Aurors, right?” George continued.

“Yeah, but —”

“I can guarantee that this business is doing well enough that being part owner would not be much of a difference to what you’re earning with the Aurors. Maybe, if we have a good week, it could be even better.”

“George, I’m not sure I —”

“It was built to be run by two,” George said. “Fred and I. It’s hard doing it on my own. It’s exhausting, not to mention that my whole life is based around how well it does. Did you know I haven’t actually had a girlfriend since… well… since forever? And I haven’t even been on a date? I don’t have the time to even think about dating, because all my attention is on keeping this shop up and running.”

“No,” Ron said warily.

“There the rest of you are, living your lives, in long-term relationships, married, kids… and here I am —”

“Running the most popular business in wizarding England,” Ron interjected.

George smiled and then shrugged, leaning back in his chair. “True enough. But… it’d be good to have someone to share the responsibility with. You know, deal with some owl orders. Have some fresh ideas, too.” He gestured vaguely to the shop front. “You might not remember this, but way back, you and Harry came in here with a little crawling Teddy and you suggested I put in some things suitable for the real little ones.”

Ron frowned. He didn’t remember that.

“Well, I took that on board and they’re some of my most popular products outside of the school range. So, you’ve got the ideas, Ron. Maybe bring those ideas to the table. Have them here. Work on them with me. As my partner.”

Ron opened his mouth to protest again, but when he searched for an argument, nothing actually came. Other than him knowing absolutely nothing about how to run a business, this seemed like an even better opportunity than his original plan to offer his assistance.

It seemed all too surreal, and a little unbelievable that everything seemed to be falling into place. He was walking away from one job and into another that was potentially just as good financially, if not better.

But, there was one big problem. He wanted to spend more time with Rose and be present more. Taking on something such as this wouldn’t allow for that.

“Mate, I must say, this is a huge thing, and I appreciate it, but, the whole reason for me doing this is to be with my daughter more —”

“You can have her here,” George said. “I mean, when Hermione’s back at work and everything, you can have her here. I see the babies brought in here all the time. The bright colours entertain them and they love it. Besides, she’d be a huge selling factor.”

“So, you want to use my kid as a sales tool?” Ron questioned.

“No, but it can’t hurt. My point is, though, you can have her here and work. And, if you can’t come in, then you can easily do stuff from home.” He pointed up. “I sit up there often. Well, I did, when I had the numbers to be down here. It’s nice at times. Being the boss has its perks.”

Ron shook his head, but not as an answer, more trying to process everything that had happened in the past five minutes. The scariest part was that he was almost considering the offer as a serious opportunity.

“I can see you’re torn,” George said. “You can think about it. I got a bit excited. But… I’d love to work with my little brother. Plus, I know you wouldn’t let me down.”

Ron wasn’t as confident in that assumption, but he nodded.

“When you say ‘part owner’,” Ron began slowly, “you mean like…”

“Literally part owner. Half of this would be yours. I’d ask you to buy it off me, but… honestly, you’d just be filling a gap that has been here for seven years. So… just… fill that gap. And, if anything happened to you and me, you’d have something for Rose to inherit, and any future kids you might have. Merlin knows I won’t be having them anytime soon.”

A sinking feeling filled Ron. Was George asking him to replace Fred? Was that the reason? That he needed someone to fill a hole that hadn’t ever been filled since Fred died? He didn’t want to be that person. He didn’t want to be Fred. He couldn’t be Fred.

George seemed to know what he was thinking. “Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to replace him. I just want you to fill the gap — and all the work — he left me with. Besides, I think he’d be happy to know it was you who was taking over.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Ron said. “Both of you never took me all that seriously…”

“Yeah we did,” George said, grinning. “We greatly admired the way you always got yourself into trouble, doing dangerous things…”

“You never showed it.”

“That’s because teasing you was so much more fun.” George chuckled. “If that’s going to be the deciding factor of your decision, though, then on behalf of Fred and I… I apologise for all the shit we did back in the day. We were young, too. I’d like to think we’ve both matured.”

“Yeah. We have, I guess.”

George took a blank piece of parchment from the desk near him and snatched up a quill. He scribbled something on it and passed it to Ron. “That’s the standard profit we make each week, excluding what I pay for staff and products and things. On an average week, that’s what I take home for myself. Happy to split it fifty-fifty with you because with an extra shop, that means more customers and it might just double. But it’ll go up for sure.”

Ron accepted the slip and read it. He did a quick calculation of half the figure and realised it was only a little less than what he was earning with the Aurors. He looked back at George, eyes wide. “It’s this successful?”

George nodded. “The shop, the owl orders, yeah, it’s doing alright. People need a laugh.” He took the slip back from Ron and smiled. “So, what do you say? Will you be my partner?”

Ron really couldn’t see a reason to say no. If George’s numbers were right, their income would be virtually the same as before, but it would contain the flexibility of being able to have Rose with him. And on days that he couldn’t get to the shop, he could stay at home with her and… work. Perhaps he could do the owl orders and send them all off. It was exactly what he wanted. Needed.

“Erm, yeah, I guess,” Ron said, breaking out into a grin. “Completely unexpected, because I thought I was just offering you some help, but this might just be perfect for what I’m after. You’d have to show me the ropes, though. And teach me how all the products work, because I’m not exactly caught up with that. But… yeah, if you’ll have me.”

George jumped up, whooping. He then clapped Ron on the shoulder. “Welcome aboard, partner. You are officially part of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.”

Ron smiled, and then beamed. “Yeah… yeah I am!” Somehow, this felt right. Like he’d made the right decision.

“How long will it take you to finish up with the Aurors?” George said.

Ron shrugged. “A month or two? I haven’t told anyone but Harry yet.”

“How about we say March?” George said. “I’m going to send an owl tonight accepting the conditions of the Hogsmeade premise. It’ll take a month or two to get all the products over, the signage up, so that works, I think!”

“Yeah, March is good!” Ron said. “Wow…”

“Yes, yes, it’s happening so fast. We’ll find some new employees. Verity will be pleased to be out, and Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes will be more successful than ever!” George clapped Ron on the back again.

“Now to just tell Hermione the good news!” Ron said, sarcasm etching his voice with the words good news. He knew the last thing she’d want would be to refer to her husband as the part-owner of a joke shop. It was probably much more exciting to tell everyone she was married to an Auror.

“She’ll be alright,” George said. “Show her the profit I make. She won’t say no after that.” He glanced down at his watch. “It’s getting late, but how about I stop by tomorrow morning? We can go through it with her so she’s on board?”

Ron nodded. “Yeah, that might be for the best. If she hears it from you, she might be —”

“Less inclined to agree,” George said thoughtfully.

“I was going to say more inclined. I know nothing about running a business, but believe it or not, she admires your success, even if she doesn’t like what you sell. How about ten tomorrow? That gives us time to sort Rosie out and whatnot.”

George nodded. “Ten is fine. I’ll break the good news to Verity and then… leave her to run the place and head on over. I can’t wait to see little Rose again.”

Ron smiled. “She’ll be glad to see you, too.”

George clapped his shoulder. “Once again, welcome aboard, mate. I look forward to having you on my team.”

“Thanks,” Ron said. He left the shop and Disapparated home, landing on his doorstep. When he came in, he found Hermione once again in the kitchen with Rose asleep in her bouncer on the table.

Hermione smiled. “Everything with George okay?” she asked as he kissed her.

“Better than okay,” Ron said, grinning. “He’s coming round tomorrow. I’ve solved the problem of what I’m going to do when I leave the Aurors.”

#romione #hermione and ron #ron and hermione #ron weasley #ron and hermione fanfiction #hermione granger #harry potter fanfiction #hermione and ron fanfiction #romione fanfiction #harry potter

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ahungeringknife · 10 months

Text

365: February 3

@seventhscorpio

yeah pretty sure I just got a 3 day brain rot about the Hive. I am the worst at doing month long challenges bc more than like 3-4 prompts rarely interest me.

---

He’d never been to this part of the Throne World before. According to the runes and directions it said ‘Archives’. So a library of some sort. He’d never been to a library but he’d seen plenty.

He library was enormous at six stories tall and full of shelves that went up to the ceiling of each floor. Lining the shelves were thousands and thousands of books, scrolls, and rolls of documents. Most of the occupants were Wizards, gently floating with a book in hand or resting it on a tall lecturn. But there were Acolytes here too most of them sporting a horned carapace headpiece not unlike Wizards. Wizards to-be perhaps? Not all of them of course. Some were just Acolytes and a handful he saw had the start of their Swords at their hips.

He wandered the library unhindered looking at the towering white stacks and the delicate stained glass that looked like eyes peering in on you. But why did the Hive need books if they had the World’s Graves? He ended up standing between two stacks thinking about it for a long time. Maybe they just liked it? The interfaces he’d seen Hive use weren’t… the best and most of it was analogue. It wasn’t like Graves were rare either. They were all over. Maybe they didn’t work the same in a Throne World? That had to be it.

There were several librarian acolytes in the library who made sure no one was doing anything disruptive. One caught Gup putting a book back in the slightly wrong place and started yelling at him. It was just one book to the left what was the big deal!? He made himself scarce quickly after that, leaving the library but staying near the Archives.

He ended up finding an acolyte off by themselves furiously writing stuff down. Gup just leaned over their shoulder and saw they were writing notes directed at Savathun. Gup didn’t get why. His mom said Savathun was dead now. Or at least her body was. “Isn’t that a fool’s errand?” he asked.

The acolyte nearly fell off the low ledge they were sitting on. “What? Who are you? Don’t you know it’s rude to sneak up on people?” he demanded.

“I wasn’t sneaking, you just didn’t hear me,” Gup said brightly.

The acolyte narrowed his green eyes at him. “Why do you sound like that?”

“Like what?”

“Mmmm. What are you doing here?”

“Looking around,” Gup said in his carefree stupid way he could do. He’d learned to do it from uncle Savant and he was very good at it.

“Well do it somewhere else.”

“Why are you writing notes for Savathun?” Gup asked, undisturbed by the hostility. A lot of Hive were hostile towards you at first. “She’s… gone,” he said, feigning sadness.

“Exactly. And I’ll have everything written down for when she comes back,” they said sharply.

“But the Guardians took her. I imagine she won’t, right?”

“Pft. Immaru will find a way. Don’t you want her to come back?”

“I’ve lost enough gods, another doesn’t do much for me,” Gup said. Eric had had to talk him through that logic. He was technically part of Crota’s brood but ‘would’ have joined Oryx’s brood when he showed up. “I know Guardians are good at making our gods dead,” he tapped part of his arm where he still had some yellow chitin. He’d shed most of it in favor of more gray blue/purple that more resembled his mom’s skin. He sat next to the acolyte on the ledge now.

“You were Crota Spawn,” he said. Gup nodded. “Awful thing they did to our Prince,” he said bitterly. “I was Hidden Swarm before Savathun came.”

“What’s your name?”

“Dornuk.”

As far as names went it was nothing terribly special. Good name though. “I’m “Xolkûn, but you can call me Gup if you want. That’s what my mom always calls me,” he said cheerfully. He loved how absolutely confused what he said made other Hive.

“… Gup? But Xolkûn is such a cool name,” Dornuk said.

“My mom only calls me that when I’m in trouble.”

There was a long beat of silence. “What’s a mom?”

“Like a brood mother but she loves you,” Gup said brightly.

Dornuk stared at Gup. “You’re weird, Xolkûn,” he decided.

“Gup is better.”

“Fine. Stupid weird name for a stupid weird Acolyte,” Dornuk said.

“My mom thinks its cute,” Gup said. “So if you’re writing notes for Savathun when she comes back how do you know what to write down?”

“I’m just writing everything down,” Dornuk said.

“I bet it’d be easier if you were allowed around some big deal wizards huh?”

“Who’s to say I’m not?” Dornuk asked scornfully.

“Well you’re here and not in a meeting on how to thwart the Gaurdians,” Gup shrugged. “Or get our god back.”

Dornuk looked at him a long moment. “You talk weird. Like those Lucent,” he squinted at Gup. “You’re not one are you?”

“No. I bet my mom has some stuff you could write down for Savathun,” he said. “She knows all sorts of stuff about what’s happening in the Throne World.”

“Your ‘mom’ is some sort of Wizard or something?”

“No. She’s a Lightbearer.”

Dornuk gave Gup the most confused look. Gup didn’t talk to too many Hive so didn’t really realize he was being insanely confusing. “… Sure,” he said and got up, Gup hopped to his feet.

“We need to go somewhere open first,” Gup said and Dornuk followed Gup out of the Archives onto the promenade that ran up to the Archives.

“What’s the matter with you?” Dornuk asked after Gup found his mom’s scope glint and made a hand sign. He knew she was looking. He counted the flashes of the scope glint.

“Hmm? Nothing I’m just getting a reading from my mom. This way. She’ll meet us over here,” and he walked off. They walked a ways away from the Archives to what was now a fountain with benches. Gup plopped down. Dornuk stood.

“So what exactly is your mom?” Dornuk asked.

“A Lightbearer,” Gup said, not lying but not telling Donuk the whole truth either.

“If you were in Crota’s Brood how’d you end up here?”

“I was brought? Not like I’m a Wizard who can fly,” Gup said.

“But you don’t have the carapace colors of any swarm I’m familiar with,” Dornuk’s eyes narrowed. “Including Xivu Arath.”

“I just like these,” Gup said in his sweet stupid way that looked like it was giving Dornuk a headache. “It’s fun, you know. What’s life if you can’t have some fun?”

“There is work to be done over fun.”

“Sounds like you never have fun.”

“I do too,” Dornuk protested. “It has just… been a harrowing year.”

“After you meet my mom we should go do something fun,” Gup said brightly.

“You are a strange Acolyte, Gup,” Dornuk said with all the gravity of a funeral.

“Oh, momma,” Gup perked up and Dornuk turned when Gup pointed. Before Dornuk could yell about a Guardian Eric calmly put a gun in his face. “Mooom, don’t do that,” Gup whined.

“Who’s your friend, baby?” she asked, looking at Dornuk who was bigger than her.

“Dornuk. He’s nice,” Gup said.

“Dornuk… Let’s be friends. No yelling, okay?” she asked nicely and Gup didn’t hear the obvious threat in her voice. Dornuk nodded quickly. Eric put her gun away, slotting it into a holster on her thigh. “What’d you call me here for, baby?” she asked Gup.

“Dornuk writes stuff down for Savathun,” Gup said pointing at his new friend. “All the important stuff but he’s not allowed in meetings with the Wizards. But you know all sorts of important stuff, right?” he asked her.

There was a pause and then Eric chuckled. “Sure. I guess,” she allowed and came and sat next to him.

Dornuk stood there staring at them. “Gup, that’s a Guardian.”

“Yeah. Lightbearer, like I said,” Gup chirped.

“Why isn’t it shooting us?”

“She’s my mom. She wouldn’t shoot us don’t be silly,” Gup scoffed.

“I can understand you, you know. It’s quite rude to talk about someone like they aren’t here,” Eric said.

Dornuk looked at them both and looked torn between great interest and absolute fury and revulsion. Eventually his curiosity won out. “You’re Gup’s mom?”

“Yes.”

Gup was thrilled when Dornuk slowly came over and sat on Gup’s other side with his writing tablet. “What’s a mom?”

#365 #writblr #writeblr #destiny the game #destiny 2 #destiny #Hive #Acolyte #Guardian #Hunter

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racfoam · 1 year

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I am so ashamed that I skipped over Lily, James and Snape in 1st Wizarding War AU, here is some scenes in no particular order (Harry is 24 in the fic, Lily and the Co are 18 in the first meeting scene)

Lily

Harry collided with something — no, someone. Momentarily, the colour of orange autumn leaves filled her sight. Both Harry and the person — a woman — groaned at the colission, stumbling back from each other.

Opening her eyes, Harry was met with vibrant green eyes. They were the colour of spring grass, fresh leaves. They held entire forests of trees within them. Momentarily, Harry thought she had collided with a mirror, because those were Harry’s eyes.

The heart stopped beating inside her chest as she gazed upon the face of a witch, with long beautiful red hair and emerald green eyes.

Somehow, someway, Harry managed to breathe in, ignoring the sudden flood of tears welling in her eyes the longer she stared at her mother.

“I’m sorry —” started Harry, her voice mixing with a gentle one's, one Harry knew from dreams and memories, one that refused to step aside for Voldemort, the same voice that encouraged Harry on the graveyard, the same voice that told her she would always be with her.

They both stopped, blinking, confused by the other's apology.

“Sorry about that,” said Harry quickly, waving her wand at Lily's books without saying a thing. They floated up and back into Lily's bag. “I usually don’t crash into people.”

Lily raised her eyebrows.

“I'm Harry,” Harry burst out before she could cower, internally wincing at the little squeak in her voice.

Lily peered at her. She was the same height as Harry. “Have we met before?”

Harry forced out a dry laugh. “No. I'd remember if I met a beautiful witch like you.”

Lily chuckled. “You remind me of my boyfriend. He makes silly one-liners, too.”

James

A voice coughed, loudly. Clearly, it intended to be heard. “Being a Chaser is better.”

Harry knew that voice, a confident, masculine tone. She froze up. She forgot how to breathe. Slowly, she turned her head to the table where it had come from.

Unruly, short black hair and rectangular spectacles behind which piercing brown eyes stared. A six-foot-one young man stood across from her.

James Potter offered an awkward smile.

“Sure, the Seeker gets the glory, but it's the Chasers that keep the game going to give the team the advantage. Ten points can make or break the game.”

Harry continued gaping like a fish out of the water.

“Sorry," he said, and Harry saw so much of herself in him. “I really like Quidditch. I ramble about it. Tend to do that a lot, actually, about the things I love, now that I think about it... Only my girlfriend can stop me when I start.”

“I ramble, too,” said Harry suddenly, her mouth faster than her brain. It was probably the silliest first words to say.

Then again, she inherited that trait from the wizard in front of her.

Snape

“Oh," said Harry, pausing at the sight of a young man beside Voldemort. The greasy hair falling down his head and curtaining his face gave it away. “Sorry. The doors were open...”

“Not at all, darling,” said Voldemort. “Severus and I were just finished with our discussion. Dare I say, you are right on time.”

Harry was impressed not to see Snape flinch at Voldemort's cold voice. Even this young, with only a year out of Hogwarts, Snape was clearly made of tougher stuff.

Voldemort appeared completely at ease despite the interruption, smoothly transitioning into introductions. “Severus, this is Harriet Potter. Harriet, this is Severus Snape. A promising young potioneer. He is only a year out of Hogwarts, but has already proven himself a very capable wizard.”

I bet... thought Harry, fighting back from frowning.

“Nice to meet you,” said Harry politely, offering a hand. Snape glanced to Voldemort, and upon the elder wizard's nod (like Voldemort was giving Snape permission), Snape shook Harry's hand quickly, then let it go, as if burned, like holding Harry's hand a moment longer would give him a deadly disease. His hands were certainly that of a potioneer.

“Honoured to meet you,” said Snape, and Harry was surprised by how respectful the drawling voice was.

“You may go, Severus.”

The chill of Voldemort’s voice would be enough to make anyone other than Harry and Aurors cower. Snape showed no signs of fear. Instead, he bowed his head to Voldemort, and swept away, out of the drawing room, closing the doors.

“Interesting kid,” said Harry thoughtfully.

“Severus is hardly a child,” said Voldemort. “He is the most mature of all the witches and wizards his age.”

Harry decided to drop the subject.

#snippets

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justafairytailofinnocence · 1 year

Note

Can u write part 2 like when Moriarty comes back and teams up with Voldemort and Bellatrix I can't choose whose better Sherlock or Snape lol and reader gets taken to Malfoy manor but takes Hermione place and instead of mud blood Bellatrix writes bloodtraitor

Hello dear 💖, thanks for your request.

Sherlock x y/n ravenclaw reader x Snape🕵️‍♀️🧙‍♀️🦇 Tangled wits part 2🔍

Warnings: blood

It’s been two months since y/n saw Snape. Sometimes she wonders if he’s even alive anymore, not even a letter nor a note left behind to keep y/n’s mind at ease. In the living area in Sherlock’s study, y/n pressed her forehead gently against the window as the rain droplets trickled down the glass. Her hand gently touched a letter she had written using ink with an owl’s feather. It was a letter asking for the safety of her one and only friend. The snowy owl chirped from within its cage, causing y/n to snap out of her perturbed trance. She grabbed the letter lightly and opened the birdcage to allow the snowy owl freedom. The letter had a stamp with an ‘H’ in the middle. “Be swift and quick, heed your surroundings, and do not attempt to fly off course, for there are death eaters lurking at every corner” Y/n placed the envelope in the bird’s beak. The snowy owl’s wings expanded and flapped; y/n opened the window latch and watched as the owl flew outside. Y/n heard the front door outside the house creak open; something invited itself inside the home. And it was not Sherlock.

Quickly and smartly, she grabbed her wand and awaited the intruder who dared invade Sherlock’s home. “My dear, how long has it been? Time surely does fly, does it not”. That voice? Why does it sound so familiar? Indeed y/n had crossed this man before in an unruly encounter.

“Itty, bitty, baby—y/n”, a high-pitched, screechy voice peered outside the office’s dark hall. The sound of nails dragging along the walls could be heard as it got closer. The dark fog had emerged from within the office, black as a thick cloud surrounding the small room. Suddenly two red eyes appeared through the thick fog. “Y/n, what a ssssssurprise to see you here cowering before me with nooooo Sherlock”. The voice was horrific, hoarse, guttural, and raspingly husky. It sent shivers down y/n’s spine. “Fear not, child, for your death shall be as painful as the rest of the mudbloodsss”. A figure started to form as the two red eyes came closer, though it was not of a man. The humanoid had smooth, hairless skin covered with a black cloak resembling a snake. It was unlike any ungodly creature y/n had ever seen. The male thing grabbed y/n as she started to lose consciousness, her mind swirling and her sight dark.

The snow owl flapped and flew over the clouds; in the distance, a small town covered in snow. The owl flew closer and closer toward a small building in the snowy village, a village known as Hogsmeade. At every turn, the owl flew closer to its destination. The owl landed in a small building with a sign on the outside that read “Three Broomsticks Inn”. The owl had managed to fly inside when a wizard opened the door. The inside was rather crowded, with many witches and wizards laughing and drinking butterbeer or fire whisky. Although it was crowded, it had a warm feeling, and the inn was clean. Sitting in the corner of the Inn was a man that wore black clothing with a black cloak draped behind him. Around his neck was a hand-knitted scarf coloured in Slytherin’s colours, green. The man’s eyes held a mixture of woe and coldness within them; he didn’t speak to anyone and read the daily prophet alone. The owl flew directly over him and dropped the letter before him. The man sneered with annoyance. “Bloody owls”, he grumbled. When he glanced at the letter, he snatched it from the table and opened it with curiosity. “Perhaps just another dim-witted Gryffindors idea of a prank,” he thought—hopefully, not a howler. The man unfolded the letter, reading each font with emotion; he knew whose words these were written from. His eyes softened, his mouth becoming less snarky and more worried. He stood up from the table and stormed outside the Inn without a second thought. His name at the end of the letter echoed in his mind “Severus”. It was a word only y/n referred him to, besides Albus and Minerva.

“apparate”, Severus flickered his wand. He disappeared from the Snowy Inn in the rainy street on Baker Street. The house he stood in front of must’ve been the correct one, considering the door read “221B”. “How odd,” he thought “, the doors open”. With a quick stance, Severus held his wand, prepared to defend himself from the intruder. He swiftly entered the door and trailed through the hall into the office. “Tch, even the filthy muggle can’t keep his workstation clean; reminds me of another certain half-wit”, he grumbled to himself. With no time to stall, he checked the area, trying to hear or find any trace of y/n, wherever she may be. Severus searched everywhere, yet she couldn’t be found. One thing he spotted, however, was the scratch marks that ran along the hall’s wall. Severus touched the effects along the wall only to realise who could’ve broken in. “Dear Merlin!” he uttered. With no time to waste, he rushed down the hall to the outside of the house. The only problem was now, ugh, he appeared.

Two men stood outside the house: one with a horrified expression and the other with a concerned look. “My god Sherlock, someone broke in” Watson rushed toward the door, only to see Severus standing in the doorway, his hair drenched from the rain. “Explain yourself before my associate, and I have you arrested—” Sherlock interrupted Watson. “Hang on, Watson, this man; we’ve met before” Sherlock approached Severus with a calm and content smile. “Sorry old chap, couldn’t help but notice your standing inside our house with what I assume you must’ve had a replica of our key”, Sherlock analysed.

“If you assume it was I who caused an intrusion, then your mind is in the gutter”, Snape insulted slightly. “I only stumbled upon the entrance myself”.

“Odd how you “stumbled” at our address and entered our home by which I assumed you investigated the house searching for only one person, a person whom I could only assume couldn’t be Mrs Hudson, one of a particularly close connection that could only lead to—” Sherlock smiled.

“Y/n L/n”, Sherlock concluded.

Snape sneered as the intelligent mud blood guessed correctly only; he didn’t suspect the reason. “I’m not here to pinpoint my alliances; Y/n’s not here; she’s nowhere to be found”.

“Listen to me, you insolent fool, I believe—I have a suspicion y/n’s been kidnapped by dangerous associates, ones that even I can’t find out track down.” Snape crossed his arms with his cloak draping behind him. “Hm, associates, you say? Watson, do you recall what day y/n’s arrival was?” Sherlock asked.

“Ah, my word, it was at least two months ago. Erm, I believe it was the stroke of midnight on the 3rd of March.” Watson stumbled over his words.

“Precisely, by the account of y/n standing outside my office’s window, she encountered a rather peculiar man who happened to be a dear friend of y/n’s”, He recalls. “I believe she mentioned in her previous conversations of death eaters, a group associated with something or someone evil”, Sherlock concluded once more. Snape pieced together the only person who could’ve been interested in knowing y/n’s location, one who tracked them down. “I know where she is; it’s the only possibility”.

Sherlock nodded. “Then there’s no time to waste”.

Severus dreaded the feeling of teaming up against this annoying muggle. However, for y/n’s safety, he tolerated it. The three men stood next to each other, prepared to Apparat; only Watson was hesitant. “I say, do you know what we’re—” Before Snape answered, the three men held hands as Snape Apparated out of the area with Watson screaming, “doinGGGG”. The three appeared outside a big, gloomy mansion with the emblem “S” on it. Watson stumbled and tripped. “I say, that’s surely a new way to travel”. Sherlock didn’t waste a second moment and headed toward the mansion with Snape. As they entered, Severus was somewhat confused by the lack of house elves surrounding the manor. Usually, there were thousands of those little things doing tasks and chores for their master. Severus gripped his wand; he headed into the main dining hall where the last death eaters meeting occurred. The two men hid behind the wall keeping an eye out for other death eaters. Only, instead of seeing the rest of the death eaters, he saw Bellatrix holding her wand over the witch’s arm. “Please, please don’t”, Y/n whimpered. “SILENCE BLOOD TRAITOR!” she screamed. “The order don’t knows-ch you’re here, best send em me regards” Bellatrix grabbed her wand and shoved it into y/n’s arm. The spell dug in like a knife cutting deeply against the witch’s arm. Y/n started to scream, a scream of peril and pain. The words against her arm spelt out “B L O O D T R A I T O R”. Blood tricked down y/n’s arm as she lay there in shock. Severus wanted to kill the older witch for what she did. The screams from y/n trembled in his mind; like a record on repeat, he couldn’t shake it off. Sherlock watched in horror as he couldn’t help the tortured witch.

Sherlock could see the horror that emerged on Severus’s face, pure shock and anger. Sherlock spotted someone he thought was dead next to Bellatrix, “Moriarty”, he whispered. Sherlock tried to think of a plan when Severus entered the room with little to no emotion from what Sherlock had witnessed seconds ago. “Shouldn’t you be tending to the dark lord’s task of gathering the others” Snape calmly spoke.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Sevvy, come ta play, have ya” Bellatrix poked her tongue out in a sinister way. “No, I’ve come for the girl; The dark lord has ordered I take over.” Snape’s act was convincing that even the crazy witch fell for it. Moriarty smiled with an amusing look. “And, if you recall, what were the dark lord’s plans exactly; from moments ago, I thought his orders were clear”.

Severus looked over toward the girl’s body and glanced back at Moriarty. “I would be asking the same, though; I wonder why the dark lord has chosen a muggle to work alongside him”.

“Then I’ll refresh your mind; I’m the only intelligent man on this earth who knows of the order’s plan.” Moriarty snidely remarked. “Though, I’m starting to believe you’re not here for the dark lord, are you”.

Moriarty pulled out a dagger and held it to Y/n’s throat, only to not pierce her skin and dangle it just above. “Tick tock Severus, I say we let the witch burn at the stake, shall we” Moriarty smiled sinisterly. “Moriarty”, Sherlock spoke as he appeared from behind the wall. “Sherlock, good to see you remember me.” Moriarty glared at Sherlock. The two men looked at each other and nodded; Severus shouted “Expelliamus” as the green light hit Bellatrix, knocking her into the wall. Moriarty and Sherlock began to fight using their fists; Sherlock grabbed a medieval sword from a statue of a knight. “Just like old times”, Moriarty snidely remarked. As the two men fought, Snape rushed to y/n’s side, whispering a charm that stopped the bleeding. “Wake up, wake up”, he muttered. Y/n flickered her eyes as she turned to her side to see Severus grabbing her shoulders firmly. “What, where’s Sherlock? Watson!” Y/n tried to call out. Suddenly something pulled her in—Severus was hugging her—her one and only friend she hadn’t seen in ages. Y/n had never seen him like this before, although she didn’t ask and instead wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I’m glad you’re here.” y/n smiled.

Sherlock caught Moriarty off guard. “Sorry old friend, but I’m afraid our reunion is cut short”. Suddenly a dark, thick fog appeared from within the room; two glowing red eyes emerged as a figure came into view. “Sssso it seems you’ve betrayed me, after I thought you were one of usss”. “Voldemort”, Y/n muttered. “My lord” Severus answered the dark lord. “Silence, you betrayed us and—for that you shall perish” Voldemort cast a spell at Severus; however, y/n was quick to her feet “Expelliamus”. The dark lord casted one spell after another, however, the witch kept fighting back. “I’ll return to end you all” The dark lord vanished from the manor allowing the three to win.

For now, the trio were safe, although Moriarty escaped Sherlock’s grasp and bid his old friend goodbye and vanished within the fireplace using the floo powder.

“Sherlock”, y/n smiled. She hugged the detective with a loving warmth. “Y/n, you’re alive; I’m glad”, Sherlock smiled back. Watson rushed into the dining room out of breath. “Dear heavens, what happened? Your arm,” Watson pointed. “Fret not, Watson, she’s all right”, Sherlock reassured him. The man had caught his gaze staring at y/n—though behind her—Severus had glared at the detective.

“Thank you for saving y/n—” sherlock tried to thank him.

“I’m not asking for your gratitude, you foolish muggle” he sneered.

The two men lived in different worlds but for one thing they had in common was their heart for y/n.

That's all I have for now:

Ta Ta✨

#sherlock holmes x reader #snape x reader #harry potter x reader #harry potter x y/n #sherlock holmes

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poorlytunedukulele · 1 year

Text

Prompt 19 - Weaving, Unraveling

May 24, 2951; The Last City, Earth

Cayde had been suspiciously cagey when he’d asked her to come in, so Azra had been expecting a surprise. Somehow, she still managed to find herself stunned.

Azra walked into the War Room, eyes sweeping the space for Cayde and finding someone else first. She didn’t stop walking, but she did falter for a second. She hadn’t seen them in over seventy years. They were supposed to be dead.

Azra had enough wits left to act casual. “Eris Morn, as I live and breathe.” She strode up and made no pretenses she wasn’t looking the other Hunter over. Her eyes didn’t miss the presence of the Speaker, a rarity in the Hall of Guardians. They didn’t miss Ikora Rey’s bright focus, or Cayde’s too-tense stance.

“The taint of the Vex clings to you,” the other Hunter said. Hive eyes stared unblinking from behind a rough cloth wrapping. It was a bit disturbing, Azra admitted to herself, but… well, she’d seen a lot of disturbing things. It’d take more than this to phase her at this point.

Azra shrugged. “Always has, always will,” she said nonchalantly. “A small price to pay, for the victory I’ve seen. You, Eris…” She didn’t know what to say. Was she here as some sort of test? Obviously a long-dead Guardian showing up out of the black, sporting some Hive-y body parts? Anyone would be a little suspicious, especially considering the track record of Hive-touched Guardians. Azra wished Ikora or Cayde had told her about this beforehand. Did they expect her to pick up on something they couldn’t?

Screw that, she decided. Screw tests. Eris Morn stood steady, but there was no Ghost over her shoulder and the bandages around her eyes wept black oil like tears. Azra knew what it was like to come back a changed person. If the Consensus wanted scrutiny, she wasn’t going to give it.

Azra spoke the truth she wanted to. “I know we weren’t really even friends, but it’s good to see you alive. This… it’s rough. I know what it’s like. If you need anything…” She was awkward, the tension of the situation robbing her of her feigned ease. What could she even say?

Eris obviously hadn’t expected a stilted platitude. She cast a glance sideways at the Speaker, questioning. “I am afraid to say I am confused.” Of course- she wouldn’t know why Azra was here. She had no context. They’d just called up a random old acquaintance and they’d started rambling.

Azra sighed. “They called me ‘cause this isn’t the first time a Guardian’s shown up out of the black after decades.” She crossed her arms self-consciously. It had only been thirteen whole months, but it hadn’t gotten easier to talk about. “I didn’t get stuck in the Hellmouth, but I was… trapped, kinda, in the Vault of Glass. It wasn’t…” How to explain? “I guess to say I was there a long time is a lie. To say I was there a short time is a bigger one.”

She shook off the uncomfortable nostalgia and turned her focus back to the task at hand. “But I know what it’s like, being alone in the Dark for so long. And I saw the horror at Mare Ibrium.”

“Perhaps you do,” Eris said. “You echo like water blind in the night.”

“And you stink like a Hive Wizard. Like them brittle half-rotten leaves you find in caves when the rain washes them in,” Azra replied. She peered at the other Hunter with narrowed eyes, leaning more on her Lightsense than her sight. Yes, the sense of dry rot, yes, bone shards and dust, but underneath it, still… oiled canvas, chamomile tea, that electric moment when you slip and your feet lose purchase and suddenly out of nowhere you’re in freefall- “But you still feel like Eris,” Azra concluded.

“You sense it, too?” Eris said. “Curious, that we both find ourselves so adept.”

“I think Guardians who spend a lot of time in Dark places get more adept with their Lightsense,” Azra supplied. “And I spent, well…” Again she ran into that impassible, undefinable wall. How long had she been in the Vault? How could she define the shape of it?

“Not a long time, but certainly not a short one?” Eris guessed.

“Forever,” Azra said. “I guess I was in there for just about forever.”

“I suppose there is no use keeping it a secret,” Ikora Rey interjected. “Mz. Jax was indeed called in to help determine if you would be a threat to the City.” She looked pointedly at Azra.

The Arcstrider shrugged. “Wouldn’t the Praxics be a better authority on this than me?”

The Speaker finally spoke. “The Praxic order is always looking for threats. They would find one anywhere. On this matter, we need to see with clearer eyes.”

“I trust her,” Azra stated, without hesitance or doubt. “Yeah, so she’s different than she used to be. But nobody is ever the same as they used to be.” She took another moment to glance at the other Hunter, but… “If she’s hiding something, it’s nothing that I can sense.”

“That is enough for me,” Ikora said. “Welcome home, Eris.” Her eyes held a warm twinkle- she’d known this would happen, that Azra would come and throw her lot in with Eris. Azra had sway now with the higher-ups, with her victory in the Vault and her continued dedication to the Vanguard. She was the perfect person to absolve Eris Morn of suspicion.

It was still underhanded. Azra decided she had no more time for all this testing. She took a step forward and stuck out a hand. “You have any questions, you need help, or an advocate, you come to me,” she ordered. “The future is a confusing place. You don’t need to walk it alone.”

“You are different than I remember,” Eris mused. She reached out her own hand and they shook. Eris’s grip was wiry and strong.

“I’ve seen a lot of things, Eris,” Azra said. “I’ve been through a lot, but here I stand on the other side. And now here you do, too.” A miracle, practically. That they had both known terror and loneliness, and yet they were both still here to feel the sunlight.

“Perhaps…” Eris said. “It has been so long…”

“Bibimbap,” Azra decided. “And a hot shower. And you’re welcome to crash in the Crew’s room-“

“Hey,” Cayde protested. “That’s my bed you’re giving away.”

“Go sleep in your office, then,” Azra scolded. “The woman hasn’t seen a pillow in seven decades.”

“Let us start with the Bibimbap,” Eris interjected. “And we will see where the path leads from there.”

AO3 Linky!

#destiny #destiny the game #destiny 2 #destcember2019 #destcember2022 #destiny fanfiction #eris morn #just gonna huck these last few into the void while it's still 2022

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somegirlontheinternet135 · 9 months

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☆Anything And Everything, All Of The Time☆

~Chapter 2~

"Whoa, look at all these exhibits!"

Inside of the museum, a young lad and his friends were looking through the many exhibits. "A true marvel indeed, they're artifacts of all over Earthbread!" A pointy-hatted cookie said, both impressed and excited, "Eclair must have to travel a lot to have so many," the cookie with a pink hood said. "Well, I wouldn't say travel," they chimed in, "it's more likely that most these artifacts were given to him."

Although they looked ordinary, there were nothing but. In the lands of Earthbread, their group were known for their brave conquests and heroic deeds. Even taking part in the battle against Dark Enchantress Cookie, a powerful cake witch the threaten to destroy their world. Despite their group being dubbed as "kind-hearted" and "righteous," some of them were a bit more. . . mischievous. "What's so great about it? It's just a bunch of old junk! Probably not very expensive either" A spikey-haired member of their group said, mumbling the last part under their breathe as they almost examine each exhibit they come across. "Old junk?! How could you sa- waait!! are you trying to steal these artifacts?!" The pointy hat cookie asked, realizing the other's true intent. "*Gasp* Steal?!" They gasped dramatically, even placing a hand on her chest, "Wizard Cookie, I would nev- Oh hey! What's that over there?" She said trying to defend herself before getting distracted with something else. Her sudden disregard of those assumptions made the two lads behind the made the two lads behind the wizard giggle, cause him to groan and angerly gives chase

What caught her eye was another exhibit, on the opposite side of the room. Making it special, was the fact that is was the only one in the room, away from the other artifact; from a nearby window, the sun angled into the room, creating the perfect spotlight. This, was no ordinary object, it was none other than the time capsule itself. . .

It had been roughly two weeks since the object saw the light of day, only being revealed now, preserved, now shown to the public. Chillie Pepper Cookie, the one plotting to steal, is charmed by its presentation and rushed to the display but was stopped the red rope blocking the entrance. "Oh! Shiny, shiny! That exhibit must be new!" She said enthralled by purely its shine, Wizard Cookie and their other friends, Gingerbrave and Strawberry Cookie, followed suit. "Chillie Pepper Cookie!" he yelled, "could you not think about stealing for fi-?! Wait, you're re right, that exhibit does look new. . ." He yelled before stopping and looking at the object himself. "There's. . . no other exhibits around," Strawberry Cookie said, standing behind the two in front of her but peering into the room to check the surrounding area, "whatever it is must be really important. . ." Wizard hummed in curiosity, "*hmm* what do think Gingerbrave?. . Gingerbrave?" He asked his friend twice, the only one who was silent of the group

Each friend had their own reaction to object, all except Gingerbrave, the most fearless, loving, and kind-hearted of their group. At first, he didn't care for the thing, merely interested to follow his friends, but when his eyes hit the thing, he couldn't take them off it. "*Uhh*. . . Gingerbrave? Are you, alright?. ." Strawberry asked, noticing his face, now emotionless and dazed, but completely widen eyed. This caused all the friends to take notice on Gingerbrave's behaviors, frozen like a stature. "*Huh?* What's the matter with Gingerbrave?" Wizard asked Strawberry Cookie since she was near him the whole time, "I-I don't know!. . " she panicked as she pulled a piece of her hood up to cover her face. "He was like that since we got here!" Though the others were trying to figure out exactly why their friend was acting like that, one of them were rather inpatient. . . " Uh Hello? Gingerbrave, you in there? It's us!" Chillie Pepper yelled, going as far as to start poking him, which is abruptly stopped by the other two

As this was all physically happening to him, however, in his mind, it was all blurs, nothing but mumbles were coming through, and he couldn't even feel what was touching him. The only thing he could see was the sparkling orb before him; a singular thought went through his mind, one much louder than the mummering around him, one that almost felt impulsive. Completely ignoring his friends' attempts to wake him up, Gingerbrave pushes the aside him up, and proceeds to walk into the gated room, stepping over the rope guarding it. "G-Gingerbrave!! Have you lost your mind?!?!?!? You get use in trouble!!" Wizard yelled out to his friend, grabbing his arm as to stop any further; the lab's behaviors only confused them more, acting normal just seconds ago. "Yeah! And besides, I already called dibs!!" Chillie Pepper said with greedy intent. She went from wondering about her friend's silence to caring about the shining orb, finally getting on Wizard's nerves

"Is that what your concern about?!" He asked, yelling angrily, "Gingerbrave is acting like this for who knows what and that *THING* IS WHAT'S WORRYING YOU?!?!" He refers to the artifacts, Chillie Pepper merely yelled just as loud, "*Pfftt**Duh* Of course I do!" She said, crossing her arms, attempting to justify her actions, "I just don't want him. . . Stealing it, you know?" Obviously, she thought off the tip of her head, which only angered the wizard more. All the while, Gingerbrave's eyes were still on the object, pulling towards it like a rat motivated by cheese. "Worried he would steal it?. . ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Wizard screamed angrily, "out of all the lies you told, *THIS* has to be the worst!!" Focusing directly on his brainless, an argument ensues between the two, giving Gingerbrave just the right amount of time to slip and continue his walking pace toward the glowing orb

Everything was havoc, just moments ago they were enjoying their afternoon, next thing you know, the scene completely changes and everyone's acting up. Strawberry, who's been completely silent from that point on, was quite scared and flustered, not concerned over friends' bickering, something she unfortunately got used to. Rather, it was Gingerbrave, now dangerously close to the valuable ahead. Building the courage, she pushes between her two friends, rushing to and leaning over the red rope. "Gingerbrave! Wait!!" She called out to him as loud as she could, but it was already too late. . .

The brave lab had already became arms- length of the artifact, eyes shining with an almost hypnotic glow. And with a single hand, he lays it on the time capsule. . .

Once he did, it was like he was thrown into a portal; thousands of images were blaring in front of the lad's face, many of which he didn't understand. . . Hundreds of airships, unknown figures surrounding the object as it breaks, and bright yellow eyes peering through a opening in the sky as maniacal laughter could be heard, to was all too much. The force was so strong, that he had pull himself away, throwing his body back and causing it to collide onto the ground, it was thankfully enough to gather the attention of his friends, who were now frantically jumping over the rope to get to him. The three of them huddle around the lab's body, who was still shaken up and overwhelmed by his quick encounter, taking quick breathes, "Gingerbrave, what were you thinking?!" Wizard asked, still angry and confused, "surely Eclair heard us and- wait, what exactly happened?" He places a hand on his chest, his heart was pounding like a drum. "Gingerbrave, you're breathing really fast. . . are you alright?" Strawberry asked, placing a hand on his shoulder to help gain his composure. With the full support of those around, Gingerbrave was able to come back, lifting his body partly off the ground, "jeez, we were worried about you bubby!" Chillie Pepper chime in, shifting her focus from right to left

" '*We* were worried about you' *heh* you certainly weren't! . . " Wizard counter against to his rather selfish companion, "last time I checked, you only cared for that artifact! . ." It looked like they were about to fight, so in an action of courage, Strawberry Cookie steps in, as it wasn't the right time to be arguing. "I-Is it really a good time to be arguing?! . ." Strawberry squeaks, questioning both her on opposite sides, saying in a tone which only a mother would understand, causing Wizard to look to her shocked, immediately attempting to defend his actions. "Now hang on just a moment!" He spat out, putting his hand up whilst facing her; their group had been together since the birth of the "Cookie Kingdom," through thick and thin, they surpassed any challenge, but ever since the war against Dark Enchantress, what was once a pure example of friendship was now. . . strained

"I'm merely telling Chillie Pepper here that-ww" "I saw things. . ."

". . ."

"*Huh?*"

"*Uh* what?. ."

"Excuse me?"

A half composed Gingerbrave cuts of the Wizard and finally spoke, bringing those around into a state of confusion; things? what things did he see?. . They had to get answers. "Ok. . ." Wizard said, turning to him and learning forward, "were these good things or, bad things?" His question alone was enough to get other two curious, act out so many times in one day. "I. . . don't know. . ." Gingerbrave said, scratching his forehead, trying to explain the images even he didn't understand, "i-it was like-" But just when he was use all that he can gather, the group gets jumpscared by a sudden

"DONT TOUCH IT!!"

From the back of them, causing the four to screaming in unison, snapping their head behind to see none other than the museum owner himself, Eclair Cookie. . . After the prompted screams, he attempted to calm the group down, frantically apologizing

"Oh!- Sorry, sorry my youth colleagues! This *cough* exhibit wasn't opened to the public yet. . ." Eclair announced, clearing his throat as he stepped forward. Due to him not being near direct sunlight, his face a hidden behind the curtain of shadows, but with the given silhouette, they immediately knew what state he was in, and finally revealing himself, their exceptions were clear as day. Messy hair put into a ponytail and eyes under his bags were the first things they saw, other than his clothes, which was just as messy as his hair, the only thing the same about him was monocle. The friends, who were still on the floor, are both shocked and confused, they heard much about this museum, being told by another; it was the reasons that came there in the first place, yet somehow, were being greeted by *this*, the one thing that seemed to be out of picture

Undoing the red rope, Eclair steps into the room whilst the friend group gets up from the ground. "So, what do think of the latest addition?" He asked nonchalantly, forgetting about yelling at them earlier, this along Gingerbrave's actions was enough gain Wizard's suspicions, they all somehow had to be connected. "*Uh* It's great but-" Strawberry said before being cut off by Wizard Cookie, "What do you know about it?. ."

"Excuse me?" Eclair asked once more, not being able to her the wizard clearly the first time since he sort of blurted it out. "The new exhibit. . . have you gather any information on it?" Wizard responded, keeping his question vague as to not stir anything up; the minute the question was spoken, the owner's entire face lit up, as if waiting days, weeks, or maybe months even months to answer it. "Well I'm so glad you asked!" Eclair said cheerfully, moving past the group to head straight for the exhibit. The exhibit itself, like most, was given its own stand, however, underneath the treasure, was a lush and rather expensive looking pillow, which with the addition of the room only shown more of its importance. Now next to the stand, Eclair presentation to the young ones in teacher-student sort of way. "As you know this is our latest addition to the museum," he said, with the enthusiasm of a middle school teacher, but it wasn't enough, however, to entrain the four travelers. who all stood in a row, "as you can see from the environment, this item is of high importance, its design quite sleek and beautiful-"

He was about make more descriptions before being interrupted by Chillie Pepper Cookie, who was just as annoyed and inpatient as ever. "Who cares about the design?!" She yelled, "just tell us what makes that thing so special!" She was just about to shushed once more by Wizard, but Eclair does it for him, snapping his head around yet not leaving his post. "Will you just?!- *Sigh* moving on. . ." Eclair gritted his teeth before cutting himself off, taking a deep inhale and exhale while walking to the exhibit. "What makes item so special is. . ." Eclair said as takes a dramatic pause to build tension, leaving the young ones on the edge of their seats, after all, who knows what could be. And after what felt years of waiting, he finally revealed what the object was. . . "I don't know!!" He announced with pride, leaving the group speechless, but not in a good way. . .

There was an awkward silence that stretched to the even smallest cracks of the room, it was so quiet, you could hear a cricket chirp repeating echos. "*Umm* What?" Wizard asks finally breaking the silence, just as confused as everyone else was. "That's it, that's what makes this so special! I don't know!!" Eclair responded, announcing one more, this time with even more pride. Three of the friends gave each other, with how the museum was mostly isolated combined with his current stated, it was clear that he was a bit. . . Out of his mind. . . Worse of all was that neither of them had the courage to bring it up to him, all but Chillie Pepper, how was clearly annoyed and angered that her time was wasted, even going as far as to march up to the museum owner a bit. "Are you kidding me?!" She snarled, certainly someone would forget she was trying to steal it, "if you don't what makes that thing so special, why even bother giving it a fancy display?!" Her chose worked were enough to tick Eclair off, but not send him over the edge; leaning forward, he takes a hand and flicks the hothead on the nose before sighing. "*Sigh* You didn't let me finish. . ." He said, leaning back and beginning to walk around the exhibit, "objects mold history to what it is today, giving the clear glimpse into the world before our time. . ."

He continued his rant, "however, there are objects that have no names or origins, and that's what them so special!" Eclair said excitedly, shaking his fists in his enthusiasm, "not only can these unknown rewrite history as know it, but open windows other time periods!!". Whilst oversharing, he begins to bounce around the valuable, never staying in one spot to examine it, "think of the possibilities!!" He said, pulling out of a magnifying glass from who knows where to further examine the orb, "What's its story? How does it fit into our timeline? What secrets does it hold?. ." Question after question, he seemed to get more and more obsessed with it, all the young ones did was stand and watch him, concerned and just as confused as ever. Chillie Pepper had already started to back away, this was too weird, even for her. "Yeah, yeah. . . right. . ." She said, faking a smile and backed next to Strawberry, nudging her head next to hers, "This is a load of bullcrap. . ." She uttered to her friend's ear, who was already scared, sweating buckets. Like before, Eclair wipes his head directly at her, angered at the words he could clearly hear

"I heard that!" He barked at the young one from behind the stand, still examining the object. Grabbing Gingerbrave's hand, Wizard sprinted toward his other two, abruptly forcing a hand onto Chillie Pepper's mouth. "So sorry about my friend here!- *haha* she can rather impatient around some cookies" Wizard said in a huff, frantic and trying to fix the situation, "if you excuse us, we have *uh-*" Without another word, he grabs onto Chillie's hand, in turn causing him to latch onto Strawberry's as well. Singlehandedly, he pulls all three of them out of the room, whilst Eclair, watching the entire thing, merely shrugs it off, continuing his research. Wizard drags the group into a patch of the museum, who were all spoken up by the running but knew exactly why they were pulled out of the room, with little convincing, they got together into a huddle. "Alright, first of business, what do think is wrong with Eclair Cookie?" Gingerbrave asked the team

"*Ummm* Maybe he's sick?. ."

"Yeah, I don't think so. . . With all this stuff around, gotta be hoarding problem for sure!"

Gingerbrave, Strawberry, and Chillie Pepper were all taking shots in the dark, making guesses where it was clear as day, the answer was right in front of them. Wizard, the smartest of the four, had made enough observations to know what he thinks is going on. "Wizard Cookie, what do you think?" Gingerbrave asked Wizard for his input, "Isn't it obvious?. ." Wizard shared, confident in his investigation. "You know that shiny, new exhibit that Eclair Cookie was obsessing over? well could be that the *exhibit* is the problem. . ." With all things they saw that day, this would be a solid argument, but some were more hesitant. "I don't know, Wizard, we don't really much proof. . ." Strawberry countered, or at least attempted to, causing him visibly annoyed. "Are you kidding?!" He said angrily, "first and for most, Gingerbrave started acting up as soon as got to room, once he touched the exhibit, we went back to normal. And judging by Eclair, he's likely been expose to that thing for who knows how long. These can't be mere coincidences!" Everything about his argument made so much sense, Gingerbrave decides the back him up on his claim. "Yeah I think you're right Wizard Cookie. . ." Gingerbrave nodded in agreement, "think about it, everything that happened today, it was like some sort of pattern"

"And let's not forget your supposed visions Gingerbrave, those could mean something as well!" Wizard added, refreshing his friends mind on what he saw. "Oh yeah, right. . ." Gingerbrave said rather rattled, remembering how overwhelming those thoughts were, "still don't know what they mean though. . ." he mumbled the last part under his breathe. Whilst so, Strawberry and Chillie Pepper, stood listening to their statement, slowly understanding the situation, after their arguments were made, Chillie spoke out, just impatient as ever and. . . A glim in her eye? "Alright, so we know that whatever that exhibit, is actually important, now what's the game plan?" She asked the group, 'wanting to know' what's next. "Well simply really. . ." Wizard exclaims, "we get that thing out Eclair Cookie's hands!" A idea like this risky, but worth the shot. "I don't know guys. . ." Strawberry said with her doubts, "we've seen how protective he was with the exhibit, what if he doesn't even give it to us?. . " Like Wizard Cookie always did he had an answer to the problem, not even noticing the smug smile beside him.

"Easy, we'll have to-" He said before cutting himself off, realizing the painful irony before him, just to the left of him was Chillie Pepper, smugly looking at him while trying to hold in her laughter. With how dire the situation was, the Wizard sighed, they both knew where this was going. "*Sigh* steal it. . ." He grudgingly sighed out as he hunched forward in embarrassment, in turn causing Chillie's face to fully light up. In her excitement, she jumped out of the huddle, making all sorts of excited noises, annoying Wizard Cookie but scaring the other two. "Oh c'mon! You don't need to rub it in!" Wizard said unimpressed, breaking from the huddle as well. Not being ironic enough, Strawberry and Gingerbrave were shocked; for the longest time, they never took Chillie Pepper's ransacking seriously, either she wouldn't get what she wanted or was stopped midway through, but this time, she was given an open field. Already broken from the huddle, the two confronted their friends and his plan; "wait? We're not actually gonna steal it right?!" Strawberry asked her peer, checking if he was serious or not; "yeah wizard cookie, Stealing is wrong!" Gingerbrave chimed in, slightly angered that his friend would suggest something like that, "there's gotta be another way to-"

"Desperate times call for desperate measure people!" Wizard said, cutting of Gingerbrave in his speech, "and besides, think of what good we'll do if had got that object out of Eclair Cookie's hands." Ever since the war, the group had found themselves mostly attending to their kingdom, so much so they forget to do good for the cookies across Earthbread, they needed to get caught up somewhere. . . Sighing, Gingerbrave, grudgingly, agrees with their plan, "*sigh* alright, we'll do it. . ." He said, upset it had come to this. All Strawberry did was nod her head, not wanting her friends to argue any longer, and with that, their heist begins. . .

Chillie Pepper leads the group by sneaking to the room the valuable was held, tiptoeing, hiding behind stands, her moves were rather exaggerated, as if a spy in a movie. Wizard merely rolls his eyes and groaned while the other two watched in confusion, but it wasn't long for them to join her, quickly pacing yet just as careful. Once finally at the room again, Chillie avoids the small entrance, jumping near the doorframe and pressing her back against the wall, causing the cookies behind her to be even more confused and annoyed, considering that Eclair wasn't in site. . . From the doorframe, she peaks inside the room to find not only the owner gone, but the time capsule, right where it needs to be. At that point, her friends had joined her against the wall, waiting for her command. "So, what do you think?" Wizard asked Chillie Pepper, who turned to face him, everything about the scene would meet the steal easy, but there was still an issue. "*Sigh* The coast is clear but I need something to carry it with. . ." She said honestly, scratching her head, they were all thinking of possible solutions till Strawberry stepped up. "Well this work?" Strawberry asked, taking off her backpack, a useful tool she had for their trip, leaving their main thief slightly dumbfounded as she hadn't noticed. She hands her the backpack, which she gladly takes

"*Hmm* Didn't know you had this on you, but thanks, it'll do fine!" Chillie Pepper said before taking the backpack. Bag in hand, she once more breaks from the group and walks into the room, not a thing was out of place. She checks her left and right before tiptoeing to the stand which held the object, three of the friends watching her to make sure she doesn't mess up. "Chillie Pepper, be careful!" Gingerbrave whispered out, still upset about their chose, but she merely brushing it off since she'd do it so many times before. While sneaking her stand, however, she made the foolish decision of looking up at the stand, the mysterious object before; just then she couldn't take her eyes off, her shining that same yellow glow, Chillie Pepper had fallen for its trap. Tiptoeing faster, she was just about arms-reach when all four of them heard, just a few feet away, the owner was coming back. Scaring the other three, their movements became frantic, they knew they had to get the thing and out fast. "Chillie Pepper, hurry! He's coming back!!" Wizard yelped, they yell for their friend, wanting her to pick up her process. After the first time, you'd expect the same to happen to Chillie Pepper, but you're wrong. . .

For some reason, for whatever reason, she was able to snap out it because the noises around, both the yelling and the footsteps, but why? No time think of that however, opening the backpack, she grabs the orb by its base and quickly puts the thing inside, closing it and swinging one of straps onto her back. As quickly as she entered, Chillie Pepper dashes out of the room and through the door, urging the others to do the same.

Together, they sprinted straight for the main entrance, bursting through the front door and ran to reasonable, far distance on the path leading to the place. Once they were finally escaped, they all practically collapsed to the ground, forming a sort of pile whilst taking heavy breathing, shook from the mission. And for what reason, the exhausted huffing turn into laughter of all the things. After successfully stealing from a museum and nearly getting caught, they were all high from the dopamine and excitement, that feeling was almost forgettable at the time. "*Haha!* oh what a rush!" Wizard laughed out, "that felt *huff*so cool!" Strawberry responded happily and still out of breath. "*Hahaha!* It was like my first heist! Good times, good times!" Chilie Pepper said, finding the feeling not only good but nostalgic. Like before, each member had their time to respond, leading for Gingerbrave to say:

"*Hahaha!* I can't believe we just did that!!"

Gingerbrave's words, those stupid, naive, was enough for the realization to sink in. They, the heroic group which defeat evil, the cookies that everyone loved and looked up to, had just robbed a museum, his heart sunk. "I. . . can't believe we just did that. . ." Gingerbrave said in almost disbelief, the feeling of happiness being replaced with dread and sadness, the first of the group to sit upright. Strawberry, immediately noticing her friend sulking, gets up and attempts to conceal him but is unfortunately interrupted by the partners in crime. "Alright, what's next?" Chillie Pepper, wanting to know their next move of action, "Well it's like what Eclair Cookie said, we have no information on the thing, so the logical solution is to take somewhere where it can be studied" Wizard exclaimed before turning to Gingerbrave. "Oh!- and Gingerbrave" "*Hmm-*" He didn't know he'd caught his friend off guard, but it was thankfully at the right time. . .

"We still need to decipher exactly what you saw" Wizard pointed out unaware, all Gingerbrave did was shift into a feeble position, "oh yeah, those" He blurted out, concerning Strawberry Cookie even more. "So, where can we do all of that?. ." She asked before looking back at her distort friend, the wizard knew exactly where to turn. . .

"Oh, I think know just the place. . ."

~Meanwhile~

For what felt like a few minutes, Eclair Cookie had the left the room which the time capsule was kept in to fetch supplies for clean it, even though it was perfectly fine as it was, he didn't know what came of him but for some reason he treated the valuable like a freshly baked cookie. "Sorry I was gone for so long, I had to- *gasp!*" He spoke to the thing like it had ears, walking into the room with cleaning supplies in hands, but when he actually saw the stand and the pillow empty, he paused and gasped, dropping all his supplies in shock. "Oh, no, no, NO, NO!! Where has it gone?!?!" He yelped, bolting to the stand and checking around it, "Who could've possibly?!- Oh these little!-" Just when he realized exactly done it, Eclair glowed that suspicious yellow like before, causing him to pause. When the light was gone, he just stood there for a moment before looking around in confusion, getting a glimpse of at the stand a final time. . .

"Wh-What? . . I don't remember setting up another exhibit. . ."

~Back With The Main Group~

"Dazzling, divine, and perfect," were only the few words to describe "The Creme Republic," a marvelous city that floated over the muddy beaches below, a moderative society filled with the most advanced technology, the finest entertainment, and the most delectable delicacies. Where many aristocrats called "home," controlled by a group of higher ups, known as the "The Elders," the prime of example of upper class, or at least that was higher city. . . The lower city, a mass of land mixed between man-made islands and muddy beaches, was the exact opposite of the city above it, riddled with what some would call "riffraff," muggers and thieves, cookies trying to get by, and it just so happened to be where the brave lad and his friends headed. . . After gathering what felt like little to nothing about the valuable, Wizard Cookie suggested on taking both it and Gingerbrave's visions to the one cookie they knew who could crack this case, and the one recommended the visit to the museum in the first place, professor and scientist, Espresso Cookie

To summarize what happened next, they arrived at his apartment at night, explained the situation which made the scientist at the intrigued at first, and spent the entire rest of the night trying in decipher what exactly happened, with Gingerbrave explaining what he saw whilst Wizard and Espresso took notes, a rather extremely therapy session, as Strawberry and Chillie Pepper had fallen asleep. It stretched in till morning, which's our present timing. "And that's pretty much everything I remember. . ." Gingerbrave exclaimed, laying a bench prepared for him, both Espresso and Wizard sat just beside him, the Wizard hummed. "*Hmm* All this information but no idea what it all means. . ." He said, scratching his chin whilst reading his notes, "this may be harder than we thought. Espresso had already tokened a nosedive into his notes, and he found the same thing, lots of information when put together made no sense, a typical thing seem in dreams. "I'm more or less impressed that you two were able to stay up the whole night" Espresso in an impressed yet sarcastic tone, he'd rarely had cookies pull an all-nighter with him. Wizard shakes his hand, thanking him for taking them in, but the scientist wasn't all to amused

"*Cough* Again, thank you for letting us come at you at such a short notice." He said, clearing his throat, the others in his grasp, Espresso wasn't too happy, not just because they showed up for an issue that sounded childish and silly, but for showing up to begin with. "Firstly, I wouldn't call wasting my precious time is worth thanking. . ." He said as coldly as ever, pulling his hand away from the Wizard's and getting up from his chair, "secondly, shouldn't it be I thanking you, of all cookies?. ." His tone shifts back into a sarcastic tone. Espresso had a known reputation for his intellect, yet when it could down to his actual achievements, he couldn't help but be a little cocky. "Oh?. . You haven't known already? . ." Espresso asked, walking towards a strange deceive, which is what he uses to brew coffee. A wave of confusion hit the air, neither Gingerbrave nor Wizard had any idea what he was talking about, him rolling his eyes didn't help either. "After your little stunt of saving Earthbread, every cookie feels as if they need to pay some sort of 'debt' to you. . ." Espresso said, beginning to brew another cup of coffee

That point, Strawberry and Chillie Pepper both started to wake, not which at atmosphere of the room, which was a little surprised but also still confused. "What do mean a 'debt'? the war against Dark Enchantress happened long ago" Wizard said, seemingly putting the past behind him, even though the so called "past" was very recent. "Yeah, and besides, we don't need any rewards, helping others is all the reward we need" Gingerbrave chimed, making the wizard nod his head in agreement. Them and their kingdom were able to benefitted from the cookies there and hold its own despite the constant shuddering from others, Espresso merely scoffed. "*Pfft* try telling that to millions of cookies wanting to thank you after the war, *and the cookies who actually deserved the credit*" He mumbled the last part under his breathe, but it was true. . . Imagine dedicating your life to helping with the war, only to be outshined by some little kids, leaving you in the dark. . .

With that, he picks a coffee cup and sips the coffee he just brewed. Both Wizard and Gingerbrave didn't need to see his face, from just the sound of his voice they could tell he was jealous, and who wouldn't. . . Giving each other cautious looks, they decided to just get to the point of their problem. "Alright, but could you at least tell us what's going on with Gingerbrave?" Wizard asked, having Espresso turn his back on him, "oh. . . That. . ." Espresso said, already tired of the young ones invading his space. He them walks to the door, cup still in hand, he rubs the area between his eyes before groaning, "well it's obvious your friend is experiencing a series of nightmares, and those are not in my field, so there, problem solved" He said, opening the front door, "now it's only best that you leave. . ." After everything four of them saw together, it was safe to say they weren't too happy with Espresso's suggestion. "W-Wait, that can't be all right?" Strawberry asked the scientist, though still deary eyed. The cookie just rolled his eyes, he didn't have to for this, "*Ugh* What else is there?" he asked sarcastically, still at the door, "your so called 'problem' is merely something a freshly baked cookie would complain about! . ." At the point, Wizard Cookie had enough, not wanting to give up that easily, they needed to show him. "Now, hang on just a moment!" Wizard jumped in, getting up from his chair and marching towards Espresso, who stood unmoved and stern the in entire time. . .

"Espresso Cookie, I can insure you, me and my friends here had seen the physical side effects with our own eyes! We even have the artifact to prove it!!"

Hearing the wizard's words, Espresso's eyes widened, whilst deciphering Gingerbrave's thoughts, they didn't have time to discuss the cause. . . "*Hmm* An artifact you say?" Espresso hummed, leaning forward to Wizard. "Yes, an artifact. . ." Wizard repeated, "I'm sorry for telling you on such short notice, but we truly believe that this artifact may be the source of those hallucinations" He said before letting chime in, "he's right Espresso, I saw all that crazy stuff when I touched that artifact, regular dreams can't do that!" Gingerbrave, now sitting up on the bench. No knows what exactly was in their words, but whatever it was, it flipped a switch in his brain, turning him annoying and sarcastic back to intrigued. Espresso had it bad as is, first he was given little credit for the war, atleast by The Creme Republic, and matters worse, everyone was waiting for his next move; claiming to give him all the time in the world, but that's only honeyed words. . . At any moment, they could break the ground under him, like a bomb waiting to explode. Yet, discovering a mysterious object, that felt his moment, his chance, the boost his career so desperately needed, the time to prove something to the Creme Republic, no, all of Earthbread. . . "*Cough* I normally let others deal with the artifacts but. . ." He said somewhat awkwardly, being the one to trying a kick them out moments ago, "I'll make an expectation this once. . . mind if I see it?" He asked, closing the door, which Wizard was more than thankful to do so. "Y-Yes of course, we have the artifact right-" He turns before cutting himself off, the realization giving him a light slap to the wrist, Chillie Pepper, who'd be silent the whole time, had been clutching onto the backpack which kept the valuable safe, clearly, she was still attached to it. Calmly, Espresso walks up to her and leans forward, "*Hmm* I except the artifact to be kept here?" He turned to ask Wizard, who nodded his head 'yes', "well then, perfect!" Sticking a hand, he was about grab the backpack, before Chillie Pepper pulls away at the last minute, angered and somewhat growling. It stops Espresso dead in his tracks, spooking him a bit, and pissing off the Wizard, she'd be so well behaved up in till that point, and this was not time for greed

"Chillie Pepper Cookie, give Mr. Espresso the artifact" Wizard scolded, taking down to the thief like a child. The thief still wouldn't budge, staring directly at him and clutching it tightly, leading to the peace maker of the group, Strawberry, to step in. "Cmon Chillie Pepper, please?. ." She asked rather politely, both in tone and in motive, in turn making the thief let out a sigh, revealing that yes, she is motivated by greed at times, but she still cared for her friends, atleast in her own way. "*Sigh* Fine. . ." She said, grudgingly handing the backpack to Espresso Cookie, who gladly took it. He undoes the zipper and pulls out the valuable inside, revealing the object once more. In his curiosity, he held the thing close, allowing the backpack to fall to the floor. "*Hmm* This is artifact that cause your misfortunes?. ." Espresso asked, Wizard paced towards him, "*Uh* Yes. . ." He answered, slightly embarrassed when the scientist responded the way he did. To be frank, Espresso was partially disappointed with the physical appeal of the object, with the "side effects" they claimed to have witness, he expected to look grander and actually associate to what it could do, giving him a few suspicions. "So, what do you think?. . " Wizard asked cautiously, "*Sigh* Well, it wasn't what I was expecting. . ." Espresso sighed out as her examined the object and getting all the more suspicious, "I'm going to have to ask you a few. . . questions. . ."

But just before he could any of them, his eyes land back onto the object, particularly gluing themselves on it, like so many times. And for a mere moment, his eyes glowed a ring of that same bright yellow before disappearing. He stood frozen for a few seconds, creating awkward silent in the room, before Gingerbrave finally spoke, breaking the silence. "Espresso Cookie, you alright?" He asked cautiously, and the scientist responded with three, peculiar words. . .

"The Time Capsule. . ."

"What? . ."

"Oh- Nothing- Nothing!!" Espresso blurted out frantically, though already known, this was first time they ever heard in person, but the way he said, like a form of enlightenment, made it sound almost ominous, turning up a non-existent tension that wasn't already there. Standing by the bench, Espresso leans forward, placing both his hands onto it whilst the object stays in between, turning to the brave lad, who was now very uncomfortable at that point but didn't say anything. "*Cough* I apologize for earlier, now, onto those question. . ."

With questions both asked and answered, there's not a need to go through every single detail. To summarize, Madeline Cookie, a friend of both Espresso and the other cookies who was upper city, was coincidently visiting him that evening. Once told about the situation, though confused at first, he was more than happy to take the young ones in, and besides, what's not a better way to pay his debt to the heroes? . . Examining the object, Espresso made many claims, his biggest, yet most false. . . was that could crack the case of the mysterious valuable, by himself, within two days. . . Of course, everyone was skeptical at first, considering the circumstances and what it was capable of but their trust in him, this was Espresso Cookie after all, what else couldn't he do?

~Two days later~

Nothing. . .

He gathered nothing. . . not even a crumb of information. When the two day-mark pas sed, Wizard Cookie was tasked on checking on the scientist to see if he had gathered any information regarding the time capsule. He was about to knock on the door to his apartment, till suddenly, the door creaked open ominously, he found this weird cause remembered being told that Espresso always kept his door lock, always. . . Wizard took it as a sign, something wasn't right. Opening the door and entering the place, he immediately notices to two things: First, they entire place was pinch black, resembling that of a cave, secondly, the place smelled heavily of coffee, which wasn't unfamiliar for someone as overachieving as Espresso, but that time, the smell was much stronger, aroma pouring out of the door. Walking through the apartment, Wizard used his wizards' staff like a flashlight as he tries to Espresso, and or a light switch, but his search was quickly interrupted by what sounded like mumbling, giving him quite the spook

Wizard that turns around, only to see a wide-open door, leading directly into Espresso office, the room that started it all. Reluctant yet determined, he slowly sneaks to the entrance and takes a peek inside, seeing nothing but hearing the mumbling from a much better, view. As well as squinting his eyes, Wizard could make out what was very much Espresso Cookie, placing things on what looked like a board. "*Uh* Espresso Cookie?" He said, calling out to the scientist rather concerned, what he didn't except was him jumping in fear and falling over, since he said it so calmed. "AHH!-" Espresso yelped, colliding to the ground, which lead the wizard pacing toward him to help, but was stopped by something on the floor he stepped on. "*Ugh* What on Earthbread?!-" Wizard yelled pulling his fact up to examine it, giving Espresso enough the time to pick himself and walk to an unnoticed light switch. "Apologies. . . I didn't have the time to clean the place." When he finally gets lights on, it was far worse than the Wizard could ever imagine; Espresso's normally clean and organized office was completely wrecked by empty coffee cups, work papers and spilt coffee everywhere! And being honest, Wizard thought the lights were better off. . . But he kept the to himself. Silently, he watches as Espresso picked up papers and books off the flood, before his eyes land from onto the front of office. Just behind his desk, was possibly the largest theory board he'd ever seen; covered in various book pages, pictures of other artifacts, and at the center of it all, a picture of the time capsule right in the middle of the board

And if that wasn't enough evidence the Espresso lost it, just above of said picture, was "WHAT ARE YOU?!" in bold lettering. "So. . . you're probably wondering what I've gathered on the artifacts? . ." He said blankly, which scared Wizard, "*Uh* yes, why?" Though he asked a simple question, he was met with a strange answer. . . Laughter. Moments after he asked about time capsule, Espresso exploded into wave of laughter as he walked to his desk, definitely sounding higher than a belly laugh but not a full-blown hyena cackle. All the while, Wizard stood quiet and watched, a mix of both horrified and confused of whether Espresso was happy or having a mental break. His laughter finally ended once Espresso took a sit leaning back in his chair then inhaling deeply. "Oh my sweet child, the inner machinations of my mind are an enigma." he said, almost impressed, confusing the wizard even more

"Even after I, stupidly, set up those impossible deadlines for myself, it still amazes me that I've gathered zero information about the artifact, I've spent the last two days obsessing over it, creating thousands of theories, yet STILL SOMEHOW REMAIN SANE THROUGH IT ALL!!!"

"So no, I haven't gathered any information on the artifact." Espresso said, him shifting his mood from mantic back to his normal nonchalant and sleep deprived state, making the situation all the more jarring. How did things get so bad, so quic- Oh no. . . No, no, no, of course! Wizard, a mass of emotion at that point, was sorting through his thoughts, concerning and a bit werided out by Espresso's well-being. "*Hmmm* Ok then, but," he said, walking towards the scientist's desk, "aren't you taking things too far?" He hoped he would have a chance on 'saving' him, unlike Eclair who was already long gone. "Oh-ho! Not far enough!" He said as he got up from his chair and starts walking to the right. Turning a bit, and there it was, the time capsule itself, sitting on shelf, causing Wizard to follow suit, who was walking directly towards it. Espresso grabbed it with both hands, "as you already know, this INFURIATING thing is a lot. . . tougher than it looks," he said shifting his tone from left and right, scaring the wizard more, "no matter how hard I tried, I could never break it down to its core. Every step I took just. . . pushed me back! . . *Sigh* So I decided. . ."

"For further investigation on the artifact, I arranged a meeting with Clotted Cream Cookie for his opinion"

The news, paired with Espresso's nonchalant attitude, made the wizard's face drop and heart sink. Giving it to Clotted Cream Cookie, consul of the Creme Republic, youngest member amongst the Elders, would've been the last person to the time capsule to. Considering capabilities of the object, or at least what they knew already, were almost fueled by the attention it received, all the more reasons to keep the thing a secret. Shaking himself back into the reality, Wizard tries to confront Espresso, who was already preparing to leave. "Espresso Cookie, you can't be serious!" He yelped at Espresso, back turned to a nearby coat rack, grabbing his coat and the artifact still whilst rolling his eyes, unimpressed, "had we not gone over the artifacts abilities?! . It may be fueled by attention! From what we know, the more exposure it gains!-" "*Ugh* Well you be quiet?!" The scientist cutting him off before whipping his head around, yelling at the child who annoyed him. After his little outburst, he signs, and walking to a mirror placed on the other side of the wall, fixing his appearance but placing the artifact on his desk. "Espresso Cookie, you don't understand!" Wizard Cookie said, trying to get him to can to his sense, pacing towards his desk, "further examining the artifact could have serious impacts on other cookies!"

"*Sigh* For the love of the divines, this isn't about other cookies!" He yelled at the wizard once more, now completely fed up with his 'shenanigans', "It's about creating the path towards the future, for the betterment of the Creme Republic, for Earthbread! Not matter what it takes. . ." His selfish motives were enough to enrage Wizard Cookie, still shocked that he risk so much as for just an answer, whatever was laced on the artifact, it clearly got to Espresso as well. In his resistance, Wizard attempts to get the time capsule, reaching a hand before something hits the tip of his finger, causing him to pull away. On the ground, he notices a stray coffee bean, what had ticked him on the hand, and he'd knew exactly where it came from. He looked up at Espresso still, rather quickly, fixing his appearance in the mirror, glaring; Espresso didn't say a word, merely using the mirror to stare right back at him. Taking what felt like hours just to sigh in reaeration, "*sigh* do you know how hard it is me? . ." He said aerated, turning around and pacing toward the wizard, "making achievements, discovering thing cookies couldn't. . . Only to shoved to a side like you're chopped liver?!"

"I've lived in you and are friends' stupid shadow for too long. . . And its' about time I settle score! . . "

"Don't ruin this for me. . ."

Espresso clutches Wizard Cookie by the wrist, the same hand which tried to steal back the artifact, all while giving him the deadest, and most threating, of stares. As scared as the wizard was, he never acted upon any defensive measures, despite the scientist's crazed state of mind and clear selfish intentions, Wizard still thought that he was there. . . somewhere at least. What made his stare the more jarring, was the tiniest shine in his eye of yellow, further convincing the wizard that the artifact had something to do with it. . . Finally after a bit, Espresso lets go of his hand and takes the time capsule from his desk, now back in his clutches, he began to head for the door, giving Wizard the chance to try reach out to him a final time before being met with one final icy stare as soon as Espresso reached the open-door. "Now if you excuse me, I have meeting to attend. . . and I suggest you get going as well. . ."

~Meanwhile, At House Madeline~

Gingerbrave sat alone on one of the mansions'' grand balcony, leaning on the white chocolate railings and overlooking the marbled grounds below. Organizing his thoughts, he remembers everything that happened from a few days' prier, what he ate that morning, the way he greeted his friends, even a crack he stepped on, it was all clear as day, yet the things the most were what riddled him, taking the artifact from Eclair and giving misinformation to Espresso of where it came from, things he was pressured into doing. Gingerbrave was supposed to be hero, a noble and truthful one at best, and here he was stealing and lying to get he wanted, it was a shameful thing, and he couldn't feel more terrible about it. . . Alone in his head, Gingerbrave didn't notice Strawberry Cookie, watching him through the balcony's entrance, out of everyone in their group, Strawberry seemed to be only one to actually care for his state of mind, she was first to notice and wanted to reach out but wasn't given the chance before, but now she did. "*Uh* Gingerbrave? Are you okay?" She asked nervously, despite the volume in her voice, it was enough to get his attention, even spooking him a bit, "Oh- *Uh* Hey Strawberry Cookie. . ." Going through the entrance, she walks onto the balcony and joins Gingerbrave, placing on her hands on the railings, "so, is there anything wrong? You seem pretty tense. . ."

Despite everything that goes out, the best way to deal with stress and to get out any negative thoughts, at least for Gingerbrave, was talking about it to a close friend, in this case Strawberry Cookie, no matter the situation, he always felt he could relay on his friends to help, deeply inhaling and exhaling before finally spilling the truth. "It's just. . . *Sign* I feel like I'm becoming less and less of a hero. . ." Gingerbrave said upset, it shocked Strawberry, even blinking twice wondering if she heard that right. "What are talking about Gingerbrave? You do heroic stuff every day! Like-" she said baffled by her friends' claim, before scrambling in her head to find an example, choosing what she thought was the best. "Defeating Dark Enchantress Cookie! I can't think of anything more heroic than that!" Strawberry said cheerful, hoping that would help her friend's mood, only to sour it. . . "I'm talking about a few days earlier ago, at the museum!" He turned to Strawberry, visibly distort, it merely baffled her even more, surprised that he was willing to put the past behind him so fast. But foolishly enough, either her memory wasn't the brightest or was forced into being the natural peacemaker of the group caused her to make a rather stupid response. "*Um* What do you mean?. ." She asked, no knowing what else to say, in turn distressing Gingerbrave even more, "are you kidding?. . " He asked, raising his voice a bit,

"During our visit to the museum, we stole the artifact right of Eclair Cookie's nose! . . Or when we took it to Espresso Cookie and I said we 'borrowed' it! A hero is supposed to be honest, to be truthful to those around you, to be noble- and I haven't done any of that!"

"Gingerbrave. . ."

"AND THAT'S NOT EVEN THE WORSE PART!"

"When we defeated Dark Enchantress Cookie, when I made that speech in the front all of those Cookies. . . I bended the truth so no one would. . ." "Gingerbrave, please. . ." Strawberry said, cutting him off, attempting to reinsure her friend but it was already too late, Gingerbrave was now clutching the railings, small tears forms under his eyes, he was upset and had every right to be. "You don't get it Strawberry Cookie!" He yelped, his voice more stranded, "*Sniff* I lied to thousands *Hic* of cookies that day! . . I lie to thousands of cookies every day!!" His speech is interrupted by random sniffling, his practically shaking in his guilt, he was wreck. . . That point, Strawberry, horrified, didn't know what to do, she'd never seen her friend in state like this before. Despite her much concern, she couldn't watch her friend turn into crumbs, so raised her voice once more to get the brave lad's attention. "Gingerbrave, listen!" Strawberry yelled, cutting him off, her raising her voice thankfully stopping Gingerbrave from continuing his guileful rant but he was still in dismay. Thinking of comforting words, she quickly raffles in her brain to find anything that would help Gingerbrave, she looked through old memories, every challenge face but more importantly the foes they fought, for they had all one thing in common, which was coucal to his health.

"*Sigh* Look, If I learned anything from our adventures and from you, is as long you have good intents-" She sighed out before being out off once again by her friend, who was confuse but still a mess. "What do you mean?" He asked, Strawberry landing a hand onto his shoulder in reinsurance. "Think about it, all the enemies we faced, they had reason to do what did. . ." She said in a calm, almost motherly tone.

"Dark Enchantress wanted to go against our creators because she wanted to protect the weaker cookies, and Stardust wanted to destroy the City Of Wizards cause he wanted to free those inside. . ."

"And you lied to all those cookies because you couldn't bare to hurt them" The upset-frown on Gingerbrave's face began to slowly disappear she went continued, making a good paint about his intent. "You know that the truth would hurt others. . . you keeping that truth, has to be most heroic thing of all. . ." Strawberry said, moving from holding his shoulder to his hand. Looking into her eyes, a small smile forms on his face though tears were still in his eyes, they were the words he needed, despite being considered 'corny' by some. But just before he was about to thank Strawberry Cookie, a chilly realization hits him, a realization that would affect later on in life. . . "Wait a minute?" Gingerbrave wondered, whipping the tears from his eyes as his grip on the railings loosened, "If doing the right or wrong thing depends on intentions, doesn't that-"

"OWH, OW! LET GO!"

"Oh, no you don't! We important things to discuss!"

At the nick, Gingerbrave's question interrupted by some familiar bickering at the entrance, he was safe for now. . . Startled, the two turn around, walking through the entrance was Wizard Cookie, pulling an angered Chillie Pepper Cookie by the hair with. "*Uh* Guys? What's happening? Where the artifact?" Gingerbrave asked as the two of them leave the railings and head to their friends. Wizard Cookie only sigh in frustration as he pulled Chillie Pepper forward, letting go on her hair and plopping her on the ground, allowing her to rub her hair whilst rumbling. "No, worse, much worse!!" He said, scaring his friends even more. "What does he mean 'much worse?'" Strawberry asked, just as terrified and wondering why the artifact wasn't in his hands. But the waiting didn't last long. . .

"Espresso Cookie refused to give it back! And he said taking it to Clotted Cream Cookie!"

Wizard confessed, dropping the largest drama bomb onto their group, creating a wave of horror onto the friends.

"I tried to everything to stop him! Even following him to upper city, but it was already too late! And I know well that artifact had something to-"

"So, we're back at square one?!" Chillie Pepper asked angered, quickly picking herself of the ground, Wizard clutching his fists as he nodded his head 'yes,' which made her angrier. As horrified as they were, Gingerbrave makes that final effort of gaining his composure, taking a breather before leading their group as he always did. "*Sigh* Everyone, calm down!" He said assertively, gaining groups' attention easily, perks of being a leader. . . "Think, how can we get the artifact back?" He asked his group for ideas, which they immediately understood, Wizard Cookie was, of course, the first to think of something. "Well, Clotted Cream Cookie is very hard to work with, extremely difficult to convince, so simply talking to him is ruled out. . ." He said, Gingerbrave nodding his head in agreement. Despite everything they've done, Clotted Cream always expect in return for his assistance, "for the betterment for the Republic" was always his excuse. . . Clearly not showing enough bravery, Strawberry decides to throw her hat into the ring. "We could try stealing it again. . ." She suggests, thinking since stealing the artifact worked the first time it should work again, causing the thief of the groups' eyes to light up, only to be shut by the other two. "*Sigh* That could work, but. . ." Wizard trails off, shamefully admitting it was a good idea yet had its flaws, "it'd be far riskier than taking from of the museum." Once more, Gingerbrave agreed with him, being well aware of the Creme Rublic's laws. "He's right Strawberry Cookie," He said, nodding in agreement, "the Creme Rublic has very strict laws, that's something we can't risk right now!" Those words caused Chillie Pepper to grumble, crossing her arms like a child

But then, the smallest lightbulb went off inside her head, a lightbulb should've gone off sooner. "I mean, we could. . ." She chimed, trailing off and making her friends confused. It was only till she gestured herself fighting did they understand, and immediately rejected the idea. "*Pft* Definitely not! . ." Wizard Cookie scoffed, almost laughing to himself at how ridiculous her plan was, she was a surprised, considering that violence solved their problems so many times in the past. "Wh-h-what?! fighting isn't that bad, it'd worked before!!" She said, annoying, attempting to justify her place. "Not all of the time, Chillie Pepper!" Gingerbrave countered, "using brute force doesn't solve anything." All Chillie Pepper did was cross her arms once more and grunt, to her that comment sounded rather hypocritical. "*Pft*Says the guy that supposedly fought Dark Enchantress Cookie and won!" Just before either Gingerbrave or Wizard was about to scold her, Strawberry stood in between, further inserting herself as the 'peace maker.' "Can everyone just. . . *Sigh* calm down and think of something? . ." She said, raising her voice then sighing, easily tired from yelling. "Well can't just sit here! Who knows how fast it'll take em!" She said, making a decent point for Gingerbrave bounce off of

"Chille Pepper's right, Strawberry Cookie!" he said, grudgingly agreeing to his friend's claim, which confused the fuzz out to her. "Remember, it took 4 days to learn how to create the magic candy, imagine how fast it'll take for them to do the same with the artifact! . ." As he said this, Wizard Cookie was trying think of a plan himself. Clotted Cream getting his hands on the artifact, further investigations, and the elders seeing it a whole another problem. All these issues were possible, but thankfully, there were flaws. . . "Not quite," Wizard chimed in, "let me ask you this: would The Elders or Clotted Cream really waste their time on an object which some kids claimed to be supernatural?" "No? I don't think so. . ." "Exactly!"

"And knowing Espresso, he'd probably give several rants explaining the proof we gathered for him! . ."

"That would give us enough time to think of a plan!" Strawberry said cheerful, fully understanding what Wizard Cookie was trying to say, which corresponded with the rest of the group. "Ah ha, what would we do without you?!" Chillie Pepper further complimenting him as she pulls him into a crushing hug, rubbing his hat and hair with her fist, but quickly pulling away. "Then it's decided!-" Gingerbrave announced, "we use the time we have to think of a plan to take back the artifact!" With their decision, they all cheered in unison, rather randomly, before leaving the balcony together. Wizard paces ahead to make one final calcification, "now, just to let anyone know, I notified Grand Madeleine Cookie that we'd be staying for a few more days in exchange for household." Wizard said, walking backward to face his friends, which soured Chillie Pepper's mood a ton. "Awh- c'mon! Really?!" She whined, considering two days ago she didn't have to lift a finger. And her friends, being the goodie two shoes they, scolded her once more for it. "Well, it would be rude to overstay our visit. . ." Strawberry Cookie added as they all got close to the door, Wizard Cookie holding the doorknob, ready to open it. "Yeah, and beside," Gingerbrave added atop of Strawberry's claim, "we just asked to stay for a few extra days, I'm sure Madeline is suspicious of us by now" "Exactly!"

Just when Wizard Cookie, a large figure came in toppling from other side. Instincts kicking in, he immediately shifted himself just in time for whoever to fully to the ground. Spooking the others not just because of Wizard, but they themselves were just inches from being crushed. "Wizard Cookie, are you all right?!" She said worried, he proceeded to brush his shoulder as if it were nothing, "don't worry everyone, I'm fine" He ensured. Confused, Gingerbrave was the first to look down to see the cipropride. . .

"Madeleine Cookie?!"

"Hehe, hello dear friends. . ." Madeleine chuckled nervously and embarrassed, no surprises there. . . Well, him showing up just after they just spoke was one surprise. Quickly, all the friends turn their head down, just as confused as Gingerbrave was, they knew that he became suspicious after a while, but they couldn't ever exact him to spy on them. "Were you eavesdropping?!" Chillie Pepper yelled, her confusion turning into rage, nearing her hand toward a knife which she kept in her belt, which was met with even more nervous laughter as he began to sit up, Madeleine Cookie knew well he was caught. . . At first, any chance he had to explain himself was quickly met with threats from the Chillie Pepper, which were shut down by the others. With the given opportunity, he began to confess; Madeleine was given little information on the artifact, nor the groups' whereabouts, apparently his suspicious thoughts got better of him and decided to eavesdrop. Sadly, the extremely thick walls of House Madeleine made listening in almost impossible, allowing him only to hear mumbles, and not the friends walking towards the door. . . Of course, he couldn't make out much, but one thing he could hear just barely of his friend's name, Espresso Cookie. . . Fast-forwarding a bit, Madeleine asked what they were talking about and exactly what Espresso Cookie had to do with it, though all hesitant at first, Gingerbrave explained what happened; despite being egotistical at times, he'd proven through thick and thin that he can be trust-worthy soul. . .

Immediately after, the warrior of the divines was baffled, Espresso Cookie, his greatest friend, his partner in discovering the secrets of the soul jam, it could never by him! Ok, it could him- but still! Wanting to take action, Madeleine decided he would go to Espresso and confront him hand on, heavily insisted not to by the group, which the last thing they wanted is Madeleine making a fuss. But it was already too late, he got up and marched straight out the door. "Should we. . . do something?" Strawberry asked, concerned, which was meant by a light patting on the shoulder and a "no," from Wizard Cookie. They all knew that their interaction won't, and besides, they had bigger things to worry about. . . For the next few days, the four formulated and strategized a possible plan to take back the time capsule, deciding that stealing it would be the most possible solution, but it was getting it out of The Elders' greasy hands and how they wouldn't get caught was the challenge. . .

With the occasional tasks of Madeleine Cookies aunts and mother, most of their time spent in the Creme Republic was used for their plan, almost working themselves to exhaustion. . . Was this what it felt like to be Espresso Cookie? Sadly, being so caught up in the potential danger to Earthbread, they never noticed the rumors and talk amongst residents of the Republic. News of this 'mysterious artifact' spread like wildfire, not just in the Creme Republic, but almost all of Earthbread! All within a span of two weeks. . . It would all come crushing to the main group one day, having their first sleep within those two weeks. Gingerbrave and the others were sleeping peacefully in their pillowy beds of the guestrooms before being shook awake, it was Chillie Pepper, who recently got an fortunate glimpse outside. "Guys! Guys! Wake up!" She yelled, shaking each bed frame, one by one, the three, still dreary eyed from the night before

"*Mmm-* Chillie Pepper? . . What is it?"

"*Yawn* What time is it?. ."

"Chillie Pepper Cookie, you better have a good excuse to waking us at this hour. . ."

"Oh, you want an excuse, I'll show you an excuse!!" Before anyone can stretch or rub their eyes, Chillie Pepper single handedly pulls her friends out of bed then pushes them out the guestroom door. Normally, Wizard Cookie would've been angry for her doing something like this, but from the sound of her voice and body language, he could tell something was wrong. She sounded frantic, stressed, and almost desperate, he didn't what got into her, all he knew was that it had to be important it make Chillie Pepper of all cookies act this way, possibly something related to the artifact, which they haven't in days. This information immediately woke up Wizard Cookie, unlike Strawberry and Gingerbrave, who slowly come to that realization though still tired. Spiriting, Chillie Pepper leads the three to the outside balcony, where the three finally what got Chillie Pepper so worked up. . ."Do you call *that* an excuse?!" She questioned loudly, who were too in awe to answer "Whoa, look at all those airships!"

Up above, several airships swarmed the surrounding area, a least thirty covered the sky. After the war, The Creme Republic established several trade routes as well as spreading goods, one of them being their technologic advancements. But a sky full of airships wasn't the only thing that shocking, "wait, Gingerbrave- those are-!" "The airships from my vision!" He gasped, cutting from the wizard. Unbelievably, the very images that plaster themselves into Gingerbrave's head were fragments of the future, meaning that the events come are to be true as well. . . In everyone's shock, the four head toward to railings of the balcony to get a better view, "why do you think they're here?!" Chillie Pepper, asked panic, "I don't know, un less. . . OH OF COURSE!!" Wizard Cookie responded before yelling and smack his palm onto his hand

"The cookies inside in those airships must be here to see the artifact! The elders must've shared the news!!"

"H-How?! it's only been two weeks!!" Gingerbrave exclaimed, despite every large kingdom being miles, they all know each other well, knitted together in a spider web of exchanges, whether its goods or gossip, and the Creme Republic had become somewhat of the tourist trap in the past few months, attracting from all over to see the vase and dazzling nation, thus the reason it all spread so fast. . . "Oh no! Are we too late?!" Strawberry asked panicking. Gingerbrave sees the distress and fear in all of his friends, he had to do something but what?! Almost all the cookies they knew were affected by this 'curse', there was no one else they could turn to. . . Unless. . . "Not yet!" Gingerbrave chimed in, fueled with a newfound determination as well as the words from Strawberry Cookie, "I say we take back the artifact, tonight!" The others were spooked by his instant mood swing, but not surprised, it wasn't rare for to get fired up on anything. "Tonight?! Gingerbrave, I know our plan may work. . . But think of the aftermath!" Wizard Cookie added with honestly, knowing their probabilities are thin

"If we take by the artifact now, millions of cookies of will be after us, not to mention the Creme Republic!! And besides, other than it side effects, we know little about it! What do we take it to?!"

"We take the artifact to the cookies who may just be immune its weird side effect, cookies we know! . ." Gingerbrave said with confidence, he was willing to save Earthbread, even if it meant doing what some consider 'wrong'. It took the friends no time at all to figure out just who Gingerbrave was talking about, making them all gasp. "*Gasp!* You don't mean?! ." Strawberry gasped in shock, surprised that Gingerbrave would suggest something like that, and him responding only by nodding his head

"What do you say, guys you in?"

"*Hmm* With them on our side, we could advance any impossible task, even this one! Let's do it!!"

"I'm in too!"

"YEAH, IT'S CRIME TIME!!"

"*Shhhh!* Chillie Pepper Cookie, keep your voice down!"

"Oh!- sorry! Sorry!!"

Not much could be said about what their plan exactly was. . . other than magic, mass property damage, and a clever replacement were involved. But the much, bigger question at play was the identity of "them"

Who were "they?"

Why were they friends so shock when "they" were brought up?

And why would "their" involvement be so crucial to their goal?. .

#cookie run #cookie run kingdom #cookie run kingdom au #anything and everything all of the time #gingerbrave #strawberry cookie #wizard cookie #chili pepper cookie #eclair cookie #espresso cookie #madeleine cookie

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