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onskepa · 3 months

Note

Good day to you our fantastic writer! I have a request for thee!

May I request a soon to be parents Spider x reader? Perhaps spider and his wife visit the Sully's at their new home within the Metkayina clan. The reader is still heavily pregnant with only two more month's to go, the Sully's beside jake who's not so surprised along with Tonowari's fam are pretty surprised how different human pregnancy is too Na'vi pregnancy. Like no wonder spider is so anxious and protective!

I basically had read you one shot headcanon about the human and Na'vi mothers and had a craving for husband spider fluffy and just protective sully/tonowari family interactions!

Awe~!! Honestly luv this is such a cute idea! Hopefully this is to yours and everyons satisfaction! Enjoy~!!

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Welcome pon

The island was bursting with busy life. Everyone doing their tasks with great glee, and many making sure everything was set. Why? Word spread of spider, the human na’vi is coming with his mate. Who is heavy with child. The metkayina went out of their way to prepare a pod for them and materials needed for the mate. The sully family were quite stunned and surprised how the clan was willing to do so much for a human. Mostly neytiri. But they appreciate it nonetheless.

So when the day spider arrived on his ikran with his mate, how she looked was a surprise indeed, but curiosity bloomed on the na’vi. Ronal was quick to welcome them to their home. And even quick to lead the couple to their pod and settle in. Tonowari knew that Ronal just wanted to be near the human woman as she wants to observe her pregnancy and take note of things.

“Come on! Come on!” Tuk leads the way as she spots spider’s ikran. Unable to hold it in, she jumps excitedly. Her family is close behind her, also excited to see spider. The ikran lands and off comes spider, waving at the family. The metkayina close, all huddling close to see the new arrivals.

Carefully coming down was a human woman. While she took her time, everyone couldnt help but stare at her stomach. She is very well pregnant. Neytiri quickly approaches them followed by lo’ak and kiri.

“Careful,” Neytiri says softly, grabbing the woman's hands onto hers, balancing her stance. “Oh stop. I'm not made of glass, I'm fine” the woman gently scolds. Light hearted laughter was heard as they made it to the massive group. Jake welcomed spider with a big hug and a rough pat on the back, but being gentle in welcoming the woman.

Tonowari and Ronal walked up to the human couple. Greeting each other in the na’vi customary, spider grins widely “it is good to see you again tonowari, ronal. This is my mate, samyam”. Samyam smiled shyly but was excited to meet the reef na’vi.

“Welcome, I hope the travel went well” Tonowari says first. Spider nods, “it took us longer but it was needed. I don't want anything to stress samyam”.

“Come, you must be tired from your journey” Ronal speaks, guiding the couple to the pod that was waiting for them.

Every step, every glance, move, speak, ronal and tonowari observed samyam carefully. And the human woman clearly noticed that.

“Is something wrong…?” she nervously asks. The leaders shook their heads. “Sorry, it is just…this is our first time seeing a pregnant human” ronal says.

Samyam gently rubs her belly, “it is alright. I was told from spider that you were pregnant when you met him. I too tend to be curious about na'vi pregnancies. I wonder if we are different in that matter or similar”.

“Exactly, how far along are you if you don't mind me asking” Tonowari asks. Quietly counting, samyam replies “7 months. A full term pregnancy is 9 months”. Ronal slightly widens her eyes at the information.

“Then there is much to prepare for your child's arrival” she says. This slightly confused samyam.

“What? But we are only staying here for a week at most-”

“No, you are staying here until your child arrives. You are in a fragil state where anything can happen. I will speak with spider, you are not leaving here for the next two months and that is final”

When Samyam told spider she is with child, like a banshee, spider couldn't help but share the news with literally the whole Omatikaya clan. And since day 1, spider has been nothing but an overprotective partner. Of course Samyam loves it, it shows how much spider is looking forward to being a dad and how serious he is taking it.

But it is also a bit annoying.

Not only spider being super protective, but mo’at, norm, and almost everyone was very protective. Mo’at prepared special teas to help with the pregnancy symptoms, na’vi mothers offered tips and gave her meals that would boost her health. And she was never alone, not for a second. There is someone always with her.

When her belly began to show, as if things weren't annoying already, it tripled. Spider didn't like samyam going deep into the forest, or areas that can be dangerous. Always in the clan village and always in places where there is a lot of people.

Of course samyam did ask to lower down the protectiveness but spider won't budge. As the days go by, slowly samyam is losing her tolerance of how much she is being babied. She understands but god damn! A little room to breathe?

Well more like a big space to breathe.

Spider suggested he and samyam go visit the sully family who live with the metkayina clan. Spider told her what the people there were like and how during his time there, the tsahik, Ronal, was pregnant and gave birth to her lovely child. It made Samyam curious and really eager to see the island. So they planned it out, and were extra careful.

It took a little over a week since they took many breaks for the sake of samyam, but she wanted to get there sooner.

And no sooner as now as when arriving to the island, was she in awe. Everything was beautiful and breathtaking. Now if only the na’vi can stop being just as protective as the omatikaya.

“Spider my love?”

“Yes sevin?”

“Don't you think this is too much?”

“No, too little in fact”

At their new pod, spider wasted no time to make it as comfortable as he possibly can. With the help of Ronal and tonowari, they added soft material in the area where spider and samyam sleep. Adding more nutritional foods in her diet, comfortable clothing, no sharp items near her, and most of all, once again never alone for a single second.

The sully children and the reef children were always with samyam if the adults or spider couldn't be around. Tsireya and kiri being the most curious of the bunch, always having a hand on the belly which samyam didn't mind. Tuk constantly asks questions of what it is like to be pregnant and never misses a beat when the baby kicks.

“I hope its a girl” Tuk says as she lays her ear against samyam’s belly to hear the baby. The human woman strokes the child’s hair, her motherly instincts already in full swing. “Why a girl tuk?” Samyam asks. In a cute puff of the cheeks, tuk explains herself in a serious [adorable] way.

“We have too many boys! We need more girls!”

Everyone around tuk chuckled lightly at her words.

“But tuk, the tsahik already has a girl who likes to follow you around, surely that is enough for girls?” neteyam asks. But tuk stubbornly shakes her head, letting her beads hit her forehead.

“No, more girls”

Samyam couldn't help but laugh out loud. Wrapping her arms around tuk and giving the child a little pinch on the cheek. “Girl or boy, I would love my baby no matter what. And I hope you will tuk, you and everyone”

“Finally I can have you all to myself” spider says with a silly grin on his face as cuddles with the love of his life. Warmth and calmness was in their little home. Samyam leaned back on his broad chest to hear his heartbeat. Calm and steady. “The kids are far better company than your” she teases. Spider lets out a not so surprised scoff.

“They are not even kids, they are literally around the same age as us” spider states. But samyam only humms. “In my eyes, they are kids. I don't care if they are older than me or younger, let my mother filter do its thing”.

“Alright alright if you say so” spider replies.

Gently he places his hand on her belly to feel their child. And as if by instinct, the child kicks at the feel of his hand. Spider couldn't help but smile bigger. “Our child misses you” Samyam whispers, her eyes drooping a bit.

“And I miss them”

Their baby has become a bit more active. As each day they reach closer to due date, it is as though the baby knows. And wants to make itself known.

“Hey spider?”

“Yeah?”

“I want meat”

As days pass into weeks, Ronal takes close observation to samyam, every day Giving the human woman regular checkups and would often ask questions out of mere curiosity. And what she was able to conclude so far is like a na’vi pregnancy, samyam would have odd cravings. Foods that are not so good for humans as spider would confirm, yet samyam would ask demand to eat foods that are not consumable. Yet spider and at times, ao’nung would hunt and give her the foods she craves.

And by Eywa’s miracle, samyam eats the food with no problem.

Another thing is the other pregnant na’vi would say they have an odd need to be around samyam and vice versa. The mothers needing to be together as company is a nice and delightful sight to see. Ronal noticed that samyam would get annoyed if too many would be over protective of her. Yet she is more at ease with the other pregnant females.

And tonowari is no different. When spider is busy or the sully family are occupied, he would watch over samyam at a distance. Making sure there is no threat in her path, a little pebble? Out of the way! A broken seashell? Begone! But of course in a low profile or the human would catch on.

Tonowari is also happy that spider would seek him out for advice on what to do or what to prepare. And tonowari being a proud father, would happily help.

“Damn it….!!” Samyam curses under her tongue as she struggles to get up.

Neytiri sees it and helps her stand up. Giving the human woman comforting words, she observes the belly. The due date is reaching very soon, and clearly the 9 months is almost complete.

“Samyam, I think it is best if you stay in a resting spot until the baby arrives” Neytiri suggest. This earns her a groan of misery from the human woman.

“But neytiri, I'm tired of just staying put. Spider has me under house arrest! I need to move, and staying here won't-uuughh!!” samyam stops herself as she releases another painful groan. The weight of her stomach was starting to become more unbearable.

“See? You are in no condition to leave. And spider is right to have you ‘under house arrest’ as you phrase it. This is a serious matter, samyam. If there is something you need you can tell me or the others. We will gladly get it for you, "Neytiri says.

Helping samyam back to her comfortable spot, she couldn't help but sigh.

“How did you do neytiri? Baring three children?” Samyam asks.

Thinking back to those neytiri hums for a moment before replying. “My pregnancy with neteyam was not an easy one. He was my first. I did hunt during my pregnancy but as neteyam grew, it was getting more difficult to do my tasks. Until Jake told me to stop. Stubborn he was but I listened. Lo’ak and tuk were more easy”.

Samyam listens and looks down at her belly. First time pregnancies are never easy as she heard from neytiri and other na’vi mothers.

“I worry though. I dont wish to tell spider since he is already protective as he is but I worry something will go wrong…that the birth won't go right” samyam confesses. Neytiri gets closer to her and gently kisses her forehead. “

“Yes, it may be scary, but it is natural. It means your motherly instincts are there. But I and Ronal will make sure you are well when the time comes” she promises.

“Is that a tulkun?” Samyam asks to spider as he carves a wooden figure. He nods as he has his full concentration on his work. “Yeah, lo’ak helped me with some important details to make it good. Want to make enough when the baby arrives”.

Samyam smiles warmly, he really is excited.

And so was someone else.

The sound of water leaking was heard, spider quickly turned around to see Samyam smile, but in a painful way.

“Go get Ronal before I awaken the village”

In the midst of the night, the village awoke by the loud screams of samyam. Her lungs reaching full capacity.

Spider was quick to get ronal and tsireya and have them into his pod, screaming that the baby was coming.

With the help of neytiri, kiri and tuk, ronal and tsireya got to work.

Spider had to be outside of the pod for the women to do their duties. So he stayed in the sully’s pod. There, jake, tonowari and the boys were there to comfort him. It did help, but only a bit. Hearing samyam scream in utter pain made him anxious and deeply scared. So many things could happen and he wasn't there to support her.

“Bro, its going to be ok. They know what they are doing” Lo’ak says, patting spider in the back. Tonowari nods and adds in, “Ronal has assisted in many births. She and my daughter know what they are doing”.

“Yes but I just can't help it!” Spider screeches.

Jake walked over to him and gave a tight squeeze on his shoulder. “Hey, I get it spider. This is the first time for literally anything and everything. But the best thing you can do is just hope to Eywa that she and the baby will pull through”.

With easing words to spider, he calmed down more.

But for long hours, until the sun appeared in the horizon did the screaming stopped.

The baby arrived.

“Come spider, meet your child” Tsireya calls for him with a wide happy smile. Grabbing his hand she leads him back to his pod. And inside was a lovely sight.

On the comfortable bed layed samyam, sweaty yes but smiling with happy tears. And she was holding something small in her arms.

“Congrats spider, you are a dad to a healthy baby” kiri complements as she and the ladies leave to let the family have some alone time.

Getting closer, spider lays beside his beloved to see their new found family member. Swaddled in a blanket was the most beautiful baby spider has ever seen. Small but pretty pink skin tone, round cheeks and a button nose.

“H-hi baby….Im…Im your dad” spider stutters out, emotional tears running down his face. Samyam gently hands her child to him. “So perfect…” she praises in a tired voice. They share a deep kiss in gratitude. Looking down at their child with pure love.

“What should we name our child…?” Samyam asks. They thought of many names in the past months but none stuck out. Until now. One suddenly emerged in spider’s mind.

“Pon….our child’s name will be pon” he says with determination. Samyam repeats the name, liking how it sounds. So, gently stroking her baby’s head, and with a warm smile, brighter than the rising sun, she welcomes her baby.

“Welcome Pon, to your new world”

Aaaaaaaaaand that is it for this one! Honestly this one was so cuuuuuuuuuuute~!!! I love how it turned out. Until next time! see ya!

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Samyam = hug, embrace

pon = balance

#avatar #avatar the way of water #na'vi x reader #na'vi avatar #avatar 2 #na'vi x human #lo'ak #kiri #jake sully #neteyam sully #neytiri sully #metkayina clan #omatikaya clan #spider soccoro x reader #spider socorro #spider sully

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blue-jisungs · 1 year

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the cat guy from 143

au. non!idol lino, neighbour-strangers to ???

a/n. i love my cats. i love cats in general. cats.

not proof-read!! bc i am lazy!!

when minho was coming back from his trip to the convenience store he did not expect rain. it was sunny before he left. and certainly he did not expect, on a tuesday morning, to see someone squatting in the middle of the sidewalk. crying.

as he gets closer, he’s thinking what to do. he could just walk by. but he feels bad, he can’t do that.

so he stops in front of this person, gulping.

“excuse me?”

this certain someone happens to seem familiar… his brows furrow.

“sorry” you sniff, unable to control how your body shakes.

“are you okay?” minho asks, trying to recall where he has seen your face. speaking of which; it scrunches in sadness, tears forming at your waterline. he barely sees them due to the rain. you shake your head as a no, body shaking again. he’s starting to think it’s not only because of your crying but also because of the fact that you’re in a t-shirt and you’re soaking wet.

minho crouches and curses mentally that he didn’t bring an umbrella with him.

“what happened?” he asks softly and immediately regrets it when you start crying even more, harsh sobs escaping your lips “hey…”

“my cat has gone missing” you sniff and his heart clenches with pain. as a father of three he’s afraid to even think about something like that happening “he’s an asshole sometimes but he never ran away…”

“i’m sorry, i truly am. i can help you look for him, okay? but let’s get somewhere where it isn’t raining, hm?” minho coos and you look at him, pout on your lips.

“you will?” you ask, hope sparkling in your eyes. he nods, soft smile on his lips.

“i will. should we go to your place? you know, your neighbourhood should be the first place to look around” minho says and stands up, helping you as well. and then a lightbulb lights up in his head. you’re his neighbour.

“mhm. that’s smart. i live just around the corner” you nod and he a warm smile ghosts on his lips. he silently followed you to your place.

and his assumptions were proved correct when you opened the door that were… literally on the other side of his place. but he didn’t say anything.

“do you want something warm to drink? you must be freezing” you sighed softly, feeling the soreness from crouching for so long. minho scoffed.

“me? freezing? i’d worry about yourself. you were shivering all the way here” he shook his head, putting his groceries bag on a floor “let me do it for you. i assume we have a similar layout of apartment–”

“what?” you breath out, the situation you were in suddenly hitting you like a train. you let a - strangely familiar looking - stranger into your house and now he’s telling you that–

“i live across the hall” he smiled softly and you let out a gasp

“you’re the cute guy from 143–?” your eyes widened when you let too much slip and quickly corrected yourself “i mean cat guy?!”

“indeed. a father of 3” your neighbour nodded proudly. so hopefully he didn’t notice, to your luck “and i’m minho, by the way. i don’t think i introduced myself”

“oh, right! y/n” you grinned and minho was relieved to noticed that you calmed down a little.

“i’ll make you some tea and we can go look for your cat” minho said and suddenly you heard a loud meow. you two looked at each other in surprise, blinking slowly “do you leave your windows open?”

“no…” you frowned and stood up, going to your bedroom. but a sudden wave of cold air hit you and you realised that, in fact, your window was opened “oh”

“hm?” minho hummed from kitchen and you let out a gasp.

“i uh…” you swooped the orange cat into your arms and it purred, nuzzling its head against your skin. you stepped back to the kitchen “it’s not my cat”

minho turned his head and dropped a tea spoon he was holding.

“soonie?” he murmured and walked up to you, the cat not really… caring about him.

“oh, this little guy is yours? where’s my cat though…” you sighed, scratching the orange’s cat head

“it’s a girl, actually” minho hummed and suddenly froze “and yours?”

“oh, arnold schwarzenegger is a boy” you grinned and started laughing at his puzzled expression. then he frowned and left your place, leaving the door open. minho opened the door from his place and you followed him.

“one, two, three… four?” he scoffed upon seeing a grey cat on his couch, playing with dori.

soonie purred and escaped your arms, walking up to the two playing cats. dongie watched them suspiciously.

“well, i’m guessing we left our windows open and they became friends! this is so cute” you smiled, crouching down. arnold run up to you, purring happily.

“it is as long as you me cat is castrated” he grunted and you nodded.

“he sure is. sorry buddy” you giggled and patted his head. then you swooped arnold into your arms, looking at minho hesitantl “well, i’ll keep going then… but thank you. i really appreciate it”

minho nodded. just when you were about to leave and close the door, he put his foot between it and the doorframe. you turned around, surprised.

“you know, since they became friends… we can too” he smiled softly, scratching his neck “you’re pretty cute as well”

your eyes widened. oh. so he heard it.

“uhm, yeah! sure!” you snapped back, trying to hold yourself together “i feel like arnold likes being around dori, yeah. we can definitely hang out. you know, so they… can too…”

minho scoffed at your awkwardness.

“well, you know the address already” and with a wink, he closed the door, leaving you speechless in the middle of the hall.

“meow!!” arnold nudged your arm.

“shut up” you rolled your eyes and came back into your apartment, a wide grin on your face.

[ masterlist <3 ]

taglist. @geniejunn ,, @luvhyun3 ,, @starlostseungmin ,, @elviransworld ,, @jnks6r ,, @sieunsgf ,, @ethereallino ,, @laylasbunbunny ,, @duolingofanaccount ,, @slytherinhobi ,, @jung0ne ,, @ka-ni-ma ,, @iliveforlixie ,, @moonacholy ,, @ameliesaysshoo ,, @dazzlingligth ,, @stcrlcst

#skz minho #skz #skz fluff #skz imagines #skz scenarios #skz soft hours #skz x you #skz x y/n #skz x reader #skz reactions #stray kids #skz lee minho #lee minho x reader #lee know fluff #lee know x reader #lee know x y/n #lee know x you #lee know scenarios #lee know fanfic

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axailslink · 1 year

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Fucking embarrassing

Shuri Udaku x poc plus size reader

A/n: not me accidentally deleting your request so sorry love @troiichiimera also like your thing would not @ so hopefully this finds it's way to you. Also if you are not fond of the term "big girl" please don't be shy let me know I just couldn't think of a better term. Sza like big boys I like big girls 👀 okay I'm done I'm done.

Summary: Shuri enjoys taking you out on expensive dates but sometimes less is better so you both are cuddled up on the couch when you express that you want to sit on her lap.

Shuri's kissing all over your face instead of watching the movie but it doesn't matter because neither of you ever watched the movie on movie dates. You cannot name one time where you and Shuri actually watched the whole movie. "Oh shit who died?" Shuri's eyes finally catch the screen causing you to look back with wide eyes "oh shit they killed his aunt?" You both look at each other and burst into laughter "that's not funny but why does she look like that?" You imitate her dead body pose and Shuri rolls over in laughter planting her face in your thighs. "I hate you, that's so not funny!" You laugh and gently caress her head "yet you're still laughing princess" She nods "indeed indeed." You smile at her as you both let the laughter die down and you're just staring at her. "What?" You shake your head dismissing the passing thought but she looks at you and hugs your waist. "Don't do that I'll be thinking about it all day" you stare at the TV to distract yourself from the possible embarrassment that could come rushing through your body from this question "can I sit in your lap?" She doesn't take long to reply " yeah" which causes you to look at her unsure. "The black panther can hold up to 800 pounds I am the black panther" she can see that you're still a bit unsure "I've tested it I can hold 800 pounds over my head you are nothing on my lap. So stop worrying about it and just do it." You still don't move until she grabs your waist and guides you to her lap "no difference in breathing not much strength being used my leg might fall asleep though." She smiles at you reassuring you as you sit so the way down. "See?" She avoids talking about it after that not wanting to say or do anything to make you uncomfortable but it's something about her being able to pick up more than 800 pounds that has you thinking about many things. As if she can read your mind her hands gently grip your ass "we should be watching the movie" you hum as you look down at her she just smiles "we've been watching it for an hour the movie can watch us for a bit" you're only wearing a large black T which barely covers your ass and your favorite underwear. You feel her hands rise to your waist and she gently kicks her knee up as she slowly rocks your hips against said knee. Every time you and Shuri get intimate it makes you realize just how needy you might actually be if you don't have her touch for too long. "Shuri" she shushes you as she continues to slowly guide you but you absentmindedly start to grind onto her knee yourself your head in her shoulder as you let out light whimpers and moans. She kisses down your neck gently as she feels your body start to shake and come to a slowed pace but she doesn't let you as she continues guiding you back and forth your pussy throbs and clenches around nothing as you feel your climax nearing with each passing second. You repeatedly mumble her name throughout your choked moans but she kisses you quiet as one of her hands reaches forward and rubs your clit through your underwear as if the constant rubbing wasn't enough. You come undone on her hand soaking through the cloth between you and her fingers and she kisses you. "You did so well" you can't stop the smile that spreads on your face as you look away "stop with the praise" she laughs at your immediate shyness and kisses you again "fine I won't say anything else on just how amazing you did how you kept going when you felt your climax coming or h-" you cover her mouth and shake your head "stooooop that's fucking embarrassing."

A/n: holy shit is this smut? I don't really know either way enjoy. This does not mean I'll do every smut request aight? Some of y'all mad nasty or I just ain't comfortable writing that yet.

@iwillbiteabitch

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daydreamingsirens · 8 months

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f.u.c.k. (friend u can keep.)

I'm just tryna jump your bones; we don't gotta jump the broom, you know.

carmy berzatto x black!reader

rating: m. (as in minors dni)

words: 645.

Lazy sunlight filters in through the blinds, illuminating the couple huddled underneath the comforter in the middle of the bed. A thick head of hair peeks out from under the covers, surveying the hazy, light filled room with a frown.

This ain't my damn apartment...

You feel an arm tighten around your waist and a delicious soreness in your pelvis and oh, you remember the last night, or earlier this morning would be more appropriate. You look down into the sleeping face of your...what were you now? Were you considered lovers or was he still just a booty call? Whatever. You stretch and feel him shift and press his morning wood into you. It'd be real easy for you to just shift a little and sheathe him inside again, but you’ve got a better idea. You reach for the arm around your waist and pry it loose enough for you to shimmy out from under his grip, but hopefully won't wake him up. He snorts lightly and rolls onto his back, still knocked out cold.

You smirk at him as his dick tents the sheets and his mouth falls open slightly, and slide down until you’re eye level with his crotch. Nothing like a morning blowjob to wake a man up. You press your hands onto his thighs as you position yourself and lick a stripe from the base of his cock to the head. He doesn't show any signs of life other than the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. You presses kisses to the frenulum, tongue massaging the skin there before sucking the head into your mouth with a wet pop. He shifts slightly as you suck, dipping your tongue into the slit and licking out the precum with a groan. You back off and lick another stripe down the length, one hand coming up to stroke it while you nuzzle into his inner thigh and lazily lick his balls.

This is such a good dream... He sighs as he enjoys the wetness surrounding his cock, his hands lazily gripping your hips as you ride; completely content to have you do all the work this round. Suddenly, the tightness is gone and replaced with a wet pressure on his balls. He sits up and looks down, but there's nothing there. Where'd you go? The fuck is going on here? He gasps as he feels the pressure intensify and wakes up, blearily looking down to see a head between his thighs.

He rasps your name, his hand coming up to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. You lift your eyes to meet his and keep sucking, your hand stroking him slow. His other hand comes down to your scarf-covered head as you work him over. You hum, sending vibrations through him before letting go with a lewd pop and bringing the head of his dick back to your mouth to lick the trail of precum up. His head falls back onto the pillow as he lets you do what you want. You suck more of his length into your mouth and swallow around the head, causing him to let out a long moan. He's close but he doesn't move his hips or urge you to move any faster, enjoying the lazy pace. Y’all could wake the neighbors up later. He feels it curl up tight in his lower belly as you groan and your throat muscles constrict and vibrate and oh. He's coming with your name on his lips and his eyes on yours as you swallow it all and move back lazily.

“Good mornin' Carmy.” you drawl and smirk at his blissed out face. He grabs for your hands and pulls you up, hissing when your skin slides over his oversensitive flesh and kisses you soft and slow.

“Mmm...good morning indeed. Now c’mere.” he rasps and rolls you over.

#carmy berzatto x reader #carmy berzatto x black!reader #carmy berzatto fanfiction #the bear fanfiction #cr0wnwritesit

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snelbz · 11 months

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Better or Worse {13}

Nessian. Angst. Modern AU.

@snelbz x @theladyofdeath collab

Better or Worse Masterlist

Warnings: language, s e x

This chapter is NSFW. 18+.

I feel like everyone can see my nipples.

Realistically, I know that nobody but Cassian even knows that I have my nipples pierced, but my subconscious brain is yelling that everyone knows.

My husband, ever the overgrown child, is currently making a sand castle. A huge sand castle at that and he looks like he’s having a blast.

Turning back to the pages of the new romance I’d brought with me, he wasn’t the only one. With my earbuds in, I blocked out the sounds of the people around us and lost myself in the story before me. It wasn’t anything like the stories I wrote, but that didn’t make it bad. I loved reading books in different styles, always allowing my craft to evolve.

I was just getting to a scene where the male main character was on her front porch in the pouring rain, ready to tell the female main character his true feelings— and hopefully get some slow burn smut— when a shadow blocked my book.

Glancing up to look at my husband, I pulled one of my earbuds out. “What’s up?”

“I’m covered in sand and need to rinse off,” he said, holding out a hand that was, indeed, white and sandy. “Let’s get in the water.”

Curling my lip, I settled further back into my lounge chair. “I’m okay. I can’t anyways, remember?”

His eyes flicker to my breasts as he purses his lips as I use my new piercings as my excuse to avoid the cold ocean water. “Just come in up to your waist.”

I place a finger in my book as I cock my head. “Just go in by yourself. I’ll watch you.”

He frowns, and I can’t believe that I find it cute when he pouts. “What if I drown?”

“You’re an excellent swimmer.”

“What if a shark comes at me?”

“Punch it in the nose.”

“What if I drift off with the waves and I lose you?”

I chuckle, shaking my head. “Then I’ll send out the Coast Guard until you’re found.”

His shoulders sag. “I don’t want to go by myself. Please?”

I sigh, and even I will admit that it’s dramatic as fuck. “But it’s cold.”

“It’s not that bad,” he says, having already been in once. He holds out his hand, again. “Please?”

I stare at him for a moment, but he stares back with the same intensity.

“Fine, up to my waist, no more than ten minutes,” I say, and bookmark my page before taking his hand and letting him pull me out of my lounge chair.

If it were just because I didn’t want to get in, I would not be letting him lead me into the water. There is no way in hell that he wouldn’t drag me under, splash me, or do whatever he could to poke at me.

But thanks to his new favorite jewelry I own, I can’t get in the water for another eight hours or so. I’m not risking an infection from any piercing, but sure as hell not on my nipples.

True to his word, the water isn’t as cold as I feared and I even went out a little past my waist, careful to keep my breasts from bobbing into the water. Cassian stayed with me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me sweetly. This was a public beach, families and couples and kids everywhere, so it wasn’t like we could get hot and heavy anyways. But still, I could feel the heat simmering just below the surface in that kiss.

The memory of Cassian’s mouth on me the night before had all of my nerves lighting up. He hadn’t let me touch him, had said it was about my pleasure not his, and I had come not once, but twice, all without him touching my overly sensitive nipples.

I told him I wanted to do something we’d never done while we were on vacation. We went to bars and restaurants with our family, but we never went out and did anything else.

I wanted to go to a club. I wanted to dance and feel the music pounding through my body and lose myself in the lights. Cassian was not nearly as excited as I was.

Still, when we got back to the beach, we each started getting ready. I packed a little black dress just for this occasion, along with a pair of strappy heels. My hair was curled, free of its usual updo, hanging loosely down my back which was mostly bare, thanks to the dress I had on, which was open-backed and showed off my ass magnificently.

When I walked out of the bathroom, I stilled.

Cassian is sitting on the foot of the bed, watching a soccer game in his underwear. Although he had showered, he hasn’t done much since then, when I took over the bathroom and he went to “get dressed”.

Apparently, getting dressed means getting rid of his towel and pulling on his underwear.

And socks.

“Babe, there’s only fifteen minutes left and Illyria is down by one,” he says, eyes glued to the screen. “Let me watch the rest and I promise to dance with you all night.”

I think that’s fair enough. “Can you at least finish getting ready while you watch?”

Something exciting happens on the screen and Cassian jumps to his feet. “THAT’S RIGHT, MOTHERFUCKERS!”

I suddenly hope our neighbors are currently out of their rooms. Letting him watch his game, I go to his suitcase and pull out a pair of black jeans, along with a black, long sleeve tee that I shake the wrinkles out of.

As he sits back down, he glances over at me, and stills. I’ll never get tired of that, watching him look at me for the first time. His eyes go soft, then fill with lust, and his lips part as he lets out a breath.

He motions for me to turn around, so I give him a little show, turning slowly. When I face him again, it’s clear his eyes were lingering on my ass. “Good?”

“Why do you always have to look so damn good while trying to make me leave this room?” he asks, the game long forgotten. “It’s torture.”

“It’s my specialty,” I say, blowing him a kiss and laying his clothes out on the bed. “We’re not staying if it goes to overtime.”

It didn’t. Illyria scored one more time with forty seconds to spare and the game ended. True to his word, Cassian dressed, brushed his teeth, and we were out the door within five more minutes.

The club, called the Pleasure Barge, was just a few buildings down from our hotel. It had pleasure cruises that left the beach every half an hour, but that was not my focus for the night. After showing our ID’s at the door, our hands were stamped and we were let into the club. The music was loud and I could feel the bass thrumming through my entire body. I turned to Cassian, to see if my excitement was mirrored on his expression.

He couldn’t have looked more miserable if he tried.

“Smile,” I said, pulling on his hand and finding a table along the edge of the dance floor. “Go get us a couple drinks and then we’ll dance.”

He mumbled something I didn’t catch, but headed to the bar regardless. A few minute later, he returned with a vodka cranberry for me and neat whiskey for himself.

I sipped through my straw and watched him. “You could try to have fun, you know?”

“There are far too many people here for me to have fun,” he replied, bringing his glass to his lips and looking around.

“Finish your drink and I’ll make it fun for you,” I promised and his eyes landed on me.

It’s ridiculous how he can look at me and make me feel completely nude. It’s a talent that he’s always had, one that’s always made my heart beat a little faster and my knees shake.

He downs his whiskey in a few gulps, surely hoping to make sure I quickly act on my statement. I try to keep up, hasilty making my vodka cranberry disappear before dragging my husband onto the dance floor.

The music was loud with a heavy bass, and as soon as we were out in the mass of people, his hands were around my waist and my body was sliding up against his.

We haven’t gone clubbing since our early twenties, but I’ve always loved to dance. There’s something freeing about it, once you decide to not give a damn what anyone else thinks.

I throw my hands in the air as I shamelessly rub my ass all over my husband’s groin. My back is pressed against his abdomen, and I can feel his heart beating erratically. It seems that he doesn’t mind dancing with me, after all.

At least, that’s what I can assume from the way he palms my breast.

I swat his hand away as I laugh, turning to face him and sliding my arms around his neck. “We’re in public!”

“There’s at least twenty couples fucking in the bathroom right now!” He yells back. “I think me grabbing your boob is the most innocent thing going on here!”

I laugh again before getting lost in the music. Cassian must really love me, because I lose track of how many songs we dance to before he leans close to my ear and says, “Break? I need a drink!”

I nod so I don’t have to yell over the music and we find an unoccupied table across the dance floor.

“Stay here, I’ll get our drinks,” he says, giving me a chaste kiss and grabbing my ass.

I bite my lips as he goes, watching the way his muscles move beneath his shirt.

I pull my phone from the hidden pocket in my dress, checking my texts.

Elain has texted our group chat with pictures of a soft pink and gray nursery. She’s officially begun nesting, starting to put away the tiny clothes she’d received at her baby shower. This baby wouldn’t be here for another few weeks, yet she already has a larger wardrobe than I do.

I'm beyond happy for my sister and Azriel, just as happy as I was for Feyre and Rhys when they found out they were pregnant with Nyx. But it also felt like a shot to the heart every time I thought about the pregnancies we’d lost. Gwyn had suggested that we tell our families, to open our grief up to those that loved us. I want to and so does Cassian, but neither of us are ready.

Soon, we keep promising ourselves, and we will, but not yet.

I sense someone pause at the table next to me and I lean into him, smiling up at him, before I realize it’s not my husband. Jumping back, I put a hand to my chest. “Oh, my god, I’m so sorry, I thought you were someone else.”

He lifts a brow, and he does it in a way that tells me he’s used to flirting. “No worries. I’m Justin.”

I blink. It’s been a long time since I’ve been single, and Cassian and I got together so young that I almost don’t catch what’s happening here. “Hi, Justin. I’m married.”

He laughs, and I can’t deny that he’s attractive. A few years younger than me, I’m sure, maybe twenty-four or twenty-five. His hair is a chestnut brown and his eyes are blue, and they’re scanning my body from the top of my head to my toes. “I don’t mind that. A lot of married women vacation here. Girls trip, right? I’m known to make a girls trip a little more worth while.”

I can’t help it. I laugh. I laugh until I’m snorting. “I’m sorry,” I say, trying to catch my breath, “I just…does that line typically work on women?”

He flashes me a grin. “You tell me.”

“Oh, Cauldron boil me, no—”

“Can I buy you a drink?”

I stare at him, nearly dumbfounded. “I just told you—”

“You’re incredibly beautiful,” he says. “By far the most beautiful woman in this place.”

I hesitate. “Thank you, but—”

“Would you like to dance?”

This guy just isn’t getting the hint. He takes my hand, but before I can pull it away and tell him hell no, I hear my husband’s voice.

…………

Cassian

………….

I know I have anger issues.

I know my anger comes quickly and takes a while to fade, and I know that sometimes I get pissed over ridiculous shit, but there is nothing ridiculous about this prick taking my wife’s hand.

With both drinks in my hands, I stop behind Nesta and ask, filter long gone, “What the fuck are you doing?”

His stupid, smug grin melts away the instant he sees me. “Hey, man, I was just telling your wife how beautiful she is—”

“You were just leaving,” I say to him, interrupting.

“I’ve got this, Cass,” Nesta says, snatching up her drink as soon as I set it down on the table.

Nesta wasn’t going to dance with him, I know that, I could see the look on her face as I approached, but my fuse is short and I’m about to blow. My higher reasoning is gone and I’m pissed at this asshole who had the gall to touch my wife, at the club for existing, and at Nesta for dragging me here.

“Seemed to be doing real well while I was gone,” I snap, not tearing my eyes from the prick who’s still standing at our table.

“Excuse you?” I can hear the righteous indignation in her voice as she turns in place to glare up at me, the jackass behind us forgotten.

“I’m gonna go,” he mumbles, backing away. “You two have a good night.”

I want to say something, to have the final word, but Nesta beats me to it. “Go fuck yourself, Justin.”

Whirling back on me, her eyes are blazing. “Do you really think I was flirting with that asshole?”

“I don’t know what the hell was happening,” I say, losing the tenuous hold on my anger. “I walk up and he’s holding your hand and asking you to dance. What else did he say?”

“He hit on me and I told him I was married.” She emphasizes the word by holding up her left hand and pointing at her wedding rings. “But he wouldn’t take the hint.”

I know if I say something right now, it’s going to get me in trouble, so instead, I toss back the double shot of Gentleman Jack I ordered, feeling it burn all the way down. “I’m ready to go.”

“I’m not,” she seethes. “I want to dance, I’m having fun.”

I gesture towards the crowd on the dance floor, empty glass still in my hand. “I’m sure if you can find your friend in there, he’d love to dance with you.”

Her mouth snaps shut and she’s seething. “Wow.”

I shake my head. My hands are shaking and I feel like punching a wall, flipping a table. “I’m going back to the hotel.”

“No, you’re not.”

I turn to leave.

I know it’s a dick move. I know I’m being an asshole. But it’s better than causing a scene and I’m right on the edge of doing just that.

It’s taken me months to get to the point of being able to casually reach for Nesta’s hand, to flirt with her again, to be the guy that she needs and then there’s this guy…who comes out of nowhere and has the audacity to touch my wife like she’s not a goddamn masterpiece.

He has no right.

I crash through the doors of the club and into the fresh air, taking a deep breath.

Nesta’s night behind me. “I should’ve known.”

“Known what?” I ask, not stopping. I keep trekking ahead in the direction of our hotel.

I’m seeing red.

I can’t make it stop.

“Known that you would make a mess of this,” she says, heels clacking on the sidewalk behind me. “You didn’t want to go in the first place. I should’ve known.”

Her words hurt me but I can’t stop. I’m too blinded by jealous rage. “Go back inside. I’ll see you later.”

She barks a laugh but there’s no humor in it. “You’re a dick.”

I don’t answer. She’s right and I can’t deny it.

I also keep replaying that asshole taking her hand over and over again in my head. Nesta wouldn’t cheat, I know that. There’s not a single doubt in my head that she’s loyal to me. That doesn’t stop the scenarios from playing out one by one.

He takes her hand and they dance and she has fun with him, instead of her boring husband who would rather be watching a soccer match in the hotel room. She laughs at his jokes and he smiles at her in that douche bag way he did.

It fucking infuriates me.

I spend the entire walk back to the hotel playing out stupid scenarios that would never happen and by the time we make it to the elevator, I want to turn around and go back to the club and break that asshole’s jaw.

Nesta angrily punches the button to call the elevator and in the back of my mind, I know I’m ruining our vacation. I’m overreacting and I need to apologize, but I can’t. She’s my fucking wife and no one other man will put his hands on her.

We don’t talk until we make it to our room, when I push open the door with far too much force and she follows me inside.

“Are you happy?” She snaps, plopping onto the bed and taking off her shoes with shaky hands.

“Fucking ecstatic,” I say, kicking off my own shoes. “Can’t wait for what you have in store for tomorrow.”

Her back straightens as a newfound fury brews in her eyes. “You know, you’ve always been a jealous asshole, Cassian, but you’ve reached a new level tonight. Congratulations.”

“Don’t,” I warn, yanking at my belt, feeling like my clothes are suffocating me.

“Don’t what?” She yells. “Tell you that you’re being a dick when you’re being a dick?! I was having fun, Cass, and you ruined it! We were having fun! And then you started overreacting out of nowhere! All of the trust that we’ve built? Gone! Because you couldn’t even trust me to warn off some prepubescent twat without your help!”

“You don’t get it,” I hiss, and I know my tone is cruel, but I can’t control it.

“Of course.” She laughs, but humor is obsolete. “Of course, I don’t understand.”

“You don’t!” I yell, and she nearly flinches which hurts me more than it hurts her. “I didn’t touch you for almost a year, Nesta! Then this guy shows up out of nowhere and touches you without a second fucking thought!”

She stops then, the tension in her shoulders fading, if only a little. The anger in her eyes turns to concern. Sadness. “Cassi—“

“Do you know how many days I spent wanting to just reach over and take your hand? But I couldn’t.” My anger is dissipating, and now I’m just tired. Now, I just feel foolish for my outburst, but I shake my head. “And this random fucking stranger just…does it.”

She takes a step towards me, but then stops. “You have to trust me to take care of shit like that on my own, Cass—”

“You shouldn’t have to,” I say, crossing the space between us and cradling her face in my hands. “As your husband, it’s my fucking job to take care of you, to protect you, and that includes someone putting their hands on you.”

“Doesn’t give you free reign to be an asshole yourself,” she murmurs, voice softer than it was before. Her eyes are on my lips, heavy lidded, lined with thick dark lashes. Her makeup is smudged just a bit from our time on the dance floor.

“I’m sorry,” I breathe. “I’m sorry I’m an asshole, but seeing him touch you, even just taking your hand, when you’re the most precious thing on the whole, godsdamned planet?” I shake my head, brushing my thumb along her jaw. “I lost it.”

“You’ve always had a short fuse.” Her voice is whisper soft now and at some point, her hand ended up bunched up in the front of my shirt. “It only takes a spark to set you off.”

“And there you were holding a match and some kerosene.”

I’m not sure which one of us moved first, if it was conscious thought from either of us, but her hands were in my hair and her mouth on mine a second later. I had no idea where her phone was and I didn’t care. Nothing would interrupt us tonight.

She gasped as I picked her up, cradling her ass, her legs quickly wrapping around my waist. Then I was laying her down, covering her with my body, refusing to waste another second.

She clings to me, her dress hiked up and I grind into her, already making her moan. She reaches for my shirt and pulls it off, her lips only leaving mine for a second to pull it over my head.

If I felt out of control before, it’s nothing to what I feel now. I’m no longer in control of myself, my being. She has me in the palms of her hands, ready to do whatever the hell she wants. I need it, I need her. It’s been too damn long.

I slip her dress down her body and throw it away. She lays before me in nothing but a little lace thong, and those damn nipple piercings are staring up at me.

My cock is so hard it’s agonizing. Unbearable. I’m fumbling with the button of my jeans, but Nesta rolls me over and pins my arms above my head, kissing me fiercely.

A year of lust and want and need, of longing and heartache and distance, has all been building up to this moment.

Nesta leans back, breathing heavily, her eyes searching mine. “I need you. Now. Don’t be gentle.”

Without a word of warning, I roll us back, grinning down at her. “As you wish.”

I claim her mouth in another savage kiss, tugging on her bottom lip as she works on getting my pants off. For a moment, she seems to be having as hard a time as I was, but then I feel them go loose around my hips and we’re both shoving them down until my cock is free pressing against her thigh.

As I grab the waistband of her thong, Nesta lifts her hips but instead I rip them off her body, the shreds of lace landing on the floor by the bed.

She gasps and leans back to look at me, but anger isn’t lighting her eyes. Arousal is. “Those were expensive.”

“I don’t give a shit,” I say, wrapping an arm around her waist and scooting us both farther up the bed, until her head rests on a pillow. My lips are on her neck, finding the spot where her neck meets her shoulder and sucking.

“Gods, yes,” she groans and I smile against her skin.

One of my hands skims down her body, pausing to tease the swell of her breasts, then the heavy underside, careful to give her nipples a wide berth. I drag it down her toned stomach, pausing as she shivers beneath me. I glance up at her. “Are you okay?”

She nods, eyes burning. “I need you, please, Cass.”

My fingers skim over her sex, making her jump, which brings a smirk to my face, and then I slide them between her folds. She’s already so wet, slick and warm, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready for me. It’s been months since I’ve been inside her, but hurting her is the last thing I want to do.

I slowly slide my middle finger inside of her, watching her face as I do. She gasps, and her back arches, and her legs spread wider for me.

I give a couple of slow, taunting pumps inside of her before adding another finger. She moans quietly, and I can’t help the fact that I’m getting a little more rough.

Which she seems to enjoy.

“Cass,” she breathes, and her hips are writhing, moving in time with my fingers, now slick and glistening as they pump.

She gasps again as she reaches down between us, fisting my cock. I groan as she squeezes, and then my mouth finds hers once more.

Adding a third finger, it’s now more of just a tease. She’s ready for me, undoubtedly, but I can’t seem to stop. I look down between us, watching as the sheets get wet beneath us while her hips sway and grind against my hand. Her breathing is hitched, her chest heaving, the sounds escaping her mouth echoing throughout our room. When her knees begin to shake, as her fingers dig into my back, I know she’s close.

“Come for me,” I breathe.

Her body tenses as she yells out a curse, and I feel her clench around my fingers. I thrust them back in one last time, deeply, loving the way she feels as she comes around me, and circle her clit as she rides out her orgasm.

The grip she has on my cock is nearing the point of painful, but feels so damn good that I almost don’t want to remove it.

Almost.

But I need to be inside her. I need to feel her, everywhere. To become one with her again after so long.

As she comes down from her high, I kiss her neck softly, sucking and licking, and pry her hand free from where she still held me. Stroking my cock, I climb over her, listening as her breathing evens out, before planting my free hand beside her head and meeting her gaze. There’s so much I want to tell her, so much I want to say, but I don’t need to. I see all of it and more reflected back in her eyes.

Lining myself up, I slide between her folds, coating myself in her slick heat and teasing her clit with the head of my cock. She gasps every time and my grin grows.

Her eyes narrow and she grabs my hips while lifting her own, trying to position me at her entrance. I keep just out of reach, teasing her, and watching as she becomes increasingly needy by the second.

“Cassian,” she whines, throwing her head back and I love it. I’ve got her in the palm of my hand, just like she has me in hers.

Leaning down, I drag my teeth along the graceful column of her throat. “What do you want, sweetheart?”

She grabs a handful of my hair, tugging my face up to hers and crashes my lips to hers. We break for only a second, just long enough for her to whisper, “I want you to fuck me.”

And then I’m plunging into her, heeding her request to not be gentle, as I push in to the hilt in one hard thrust. She tears her lips from mine in a moan and I watch as her breasts bounce and those piercings flash in the low lighting.

I wait there, deep inside of her, dwelling in the feeling. After such a long time apart, this feels so right, so perfect. My hands roam her skin and cup her face as I give her one gentle kiss before completely unleashing myself on her.

I pull myself out to the tip and thrust into her once more, gaining the same reaction. I can’t stop watching her. After pulling myself up on my knees, I bring her legs up over my shoulders and grab onto her waist. She doesn’t want me to be gentle, so I won’t be. I know what she likes.

I wait for her eyes to open up, wait for them to connect with me, before pounding into her quickly, aggressively, relentlessly.

She doesn’t give a damn that we’re not in the privacy of our own home, that these walls are paper thin. She moans, screams, curses my name, and it consumes me.

I’ve spent so many nights dreaming of this, reliving the memories of our sex life, but those fantasies didn’t compare to how she sounds, how she feels. I watch her chest heave, her breasts bounce with every thrust of my hips. I watch her eyes roll back, watch how her brows are pinched and her lips remain open. She reaches up to the headboard behind her and lays her palms flat against it, grounding her.

A burning sensation is growing low in my spine and I groan as I grip her waist hard enough to leave bruises. I’m not going to last much longer, I know that. It’s been way too long since I was inside of her, but I need Nesta to come one more time. I can tell she’s on the edge, can tell by the way her hips are starting to quiver and my name is falling from her lips like a prayer. I fucking love it.

I hold her legs to my chest with one arm while my free hand dips to our joined bodies. Swirling my thumb around her clit, I grit out, “Look at me, Nes.”

With great effort, Nesta’s eyes open, locking onto mine. She reaches for me and I let her legs fall apart, settling in each side of my body as I drive into her, my fingers rolling her clit.

Her fingernails bite into my back as she wraps herself around me. “S-so close, Cass.”

I murmur, my lips next to her ear, “Come for me, sweetheart,” and bite down on her neck.

As if she was powerless to defy my words, her orgasm slams into her, making her back arch, pressing her breasts into my chest, as she calls out my name. I fall over the edge right behind her, pumping into her in erratic strokes until I go rigid, eyes rolling in the back of my head, my cock buried deep inside of her.

The room is silent save for our heavy breathing. Falling to the side, I grab Nesta and roll her half on top of me, kissing her until I feel like I’m going to pass out.

When the kiss breaks, Nesta laughs quietly and buries her face into my neck. “Holy shit,” she whispers, “I missed that.”

“Me too.” I brush her hair back and kiss the side of her head. “We’ll have to do it more often so that you don’t start missing it again.”

“We can do it every damn day and I’m still going to want more.” She leans up and looks at me. The love in her eyes is overwhelming.

“Good.” My eyes never leave hers. “Me too.”

When she kisses me this time, it’s gentle, slow. We kiss like that until we finally fall asleep.

#better or worse #nessian bow #nessian #nesta x cassian #nesta archeron #cassian #snacmc collabs #snelbz x theladyofdeath collab #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf #sjm fanfic #sarah j maas

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mrs-monaghan · 11 months

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I can breathe a sigh of relief now. JK looks happy, healthy and thriving. I too was worried about him. And if you think about it, when JK started going live and was down in the dumps, drinking live after live, This was right when things ramped up with JM being probably more busy then he's been in a while. We had Jan starting off with Dior in Paris, then Vibe in Feb and JK came live and sang Vibe and promoted JM & it escalated from there. JM being more busy, cause Face promotions and JK coming live more often obviously emotional, but still lighting up seeing JM, still asking JM over and Still promoting JM. Promoting set me free & face and spoiling songs and compare that look to JK during when he played Letter. It was like a weight lifted. His smirk. It was out. He knew JM would be more available, still not to his liking, but enough to where they seem to be spending a lot more time together behind closed doors cause JK walking around with that post sex glow. People said we were crazy when we said that I Miss you was for JK and his Me too was for JM. So either both were cocky and assumed the I Miss You and Me Too were for the other, since they both replied to these or they were in fact meant for each other. You can still be in a relationship and still miss the hell out of your partner. I still ain't getting over JM telling JK he missed him, after seeing 10 minutes earlier. Damn stage 5 clingers. Both of them. Now JK is probably feeling the world lifted off his shoulders cause Taennie out and it frees him. He can just hang out normally with his friend now without romantic rumors. There is no turning back. Shippers may still ship, but they look even more insane, esp now that celebs and westerners have picked up on it. Like at this point, you are embrassing the hell out of yourselves still shipping TK.

I do know this is gonna be short lived and JK's promotions are coming up which is gonna take him away JM time again, then they are gonna be separated for 2 years and I feel so sorry for them, because its gonna hit them hard. If JK is missing JM just being in Seoul, but at the office. Oh man, its gonna kill him. I just hope Hybe doesn't make JM go before JK's album drops. I hope he's around to show support like JK has & be here, until and they both go around the same time. Fuck Hybe if they make JM go before JK's album. So yeah, we might be in for round 2 of sad lives from either or, once JK's promotions kick in. Just get ready.

Oh man. Why end this beautiful ask on such a sad note anon? 😔 I believe they're going to be fine. For reals. JK has already had the unfortunate experience of how it feels like to be without Jimin. So this was some kind of practice if you will.

And if they enlist at the same time like I suspect, that means they will get their breaks at the same time. Hopefully. Idk how this shit works. But this is even more reason for them to enlist together.

SK continues to relax little by little on some of their homophobic laws which I am side eyeing; wondering if it ain't BTS related 🤔 Jin and Jhope getting high rank roles also makes me wonder and gives me hope that BTS will indeed be treated differently in there. Love to see it.

I'm off topic anon, but this is your fault. I'm just trying to think how this all benefits Jikook, u know? Which is why I feel Jimin will wait for JK's album not just to support him like he always has, but also going in at the same time just works out perfectly for them. No one is inside longer than the other. U know?

Anyhu, anon, if JK changes up things, then he changes up things. And I kind of wish he would a little bit coz I wanna see his face so bad

And if he brings his boyfriend with him I will not complain. Not one bit.

#ask shaz #bts ask #bts #jikook #jimin and jungkook #kookmin #jimin #park jimin #jungkook #jeon jungkook #minkook

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stardustandash · 9 months

Text

Enter The Wild - Linked Universe

Tags: angst, hurt/comfort

Chapter 1

The band of Heroes find themselves in a Hyrule of ruins and relics and about one hundred years too late. Or maybe, they came just at the right time.

Yet another "gang meets Wild" fic

AO3

The shift had been fast and dramatic. One minute the group was walking through a market in Sky’s Hyrule, and the next they were standing in the middle of a big, empty field. Well, it wasn’t completely empty. There were strange large stones that were rather uniform in shape popping out of the long grass and the ruins of stone buildings standing derelict and sad. To top it off, they had gone from a bright, sunny day to a cold drizzling rain. The group all stared around then at each other.

“Ok, anyone going to pipe up and say they recognize this, or?” asked Warriors.

“Definitely not mine,” said Wind. “Twilight?”

“Nope, not mine either.”

“Then I think we’re about to find another Link,” said Time. “Alright, we know the drill now, find the nearest town, ask around for the Hero, and don’t be suspicious.”

The last was tacked on with a pointed look to Four and Wind.

“But first, we’re going to find some shelter and wait out this rain?” asked Sky hopefully.

There were sounds of agreement all around, and so the group set off. Their boots slipped and caught in the mud as they stepped across the field. At first, everything seemed fairly normal, but as the group continued Time couldn’t help feel more and more nervous about this Hyrule. There were animals in the tall grass that darted away from the group as they passed, but there were no other travellers to speak of. Hell, there was not even a sign of civilization aside from the ruins that shadowed them across the field. Time looked to the others and saw the growing discomfort on their faces as well. Legend was biting his lip as he surveyed a stone wall, taking in the crumbling stones at the base. No one made a sound as they walked, not even to laugh when Hyrule’s boot got stuck in the mud and was stuck hopping on one foot until he could free it.

Eventually their search for shelter was cancelled out by the downpour lessening and the clouds lightening overhead. The group could see farther now, and found themselves to be in a large valley basin. The rain was just easing off and the sun was beginning to peek through the clouds when they got their first sight of civilization. Smoke curled into the sky from a point out of sight behind a hill. They could also see two tall peaks stretching skyward and lost among the last of the rainclouds. The beauty of the landscape and the sign of living people lifted their hearts as the group set off with a new energy in their steps.

“Hey guys, I don’t think these are just stones. Come look at this!” called Wind as he scrambled up the side of one of the uniform rocks.

Indeed, as Time got closer and with the light of the sun he could make out swirling patterns carved into the rock and though it was half-buried there were four visible tendril like appendages sticking out of it. It looked like some kind of mechanical monster.

So of course Four had scurried ahead and was now trying to it out.

“Careful Four, we don’t want to accidentally wake it up,” said Time.

“I just want to see if its mechanical or magic!”

“Think you could get it running again?” asked Hyrule. “Wonder what they were all for?”

Time sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. These kids were going to be the death of him. He sincerely hoped that whoever this Hyrule’s Link was, he would be calm, patient, and practical. Even if they could wake up one of these creatures, there was nothing saying that it would be at all friendly. Better to learn about this world first before messing with potentially important or evil beings.

“We should get a move on. It may have stopped raining, but we should still find shelter for the night and start asking questions,” said Time. When Wind and Four started pouting he added: “We can ask about these things too. Someone around here must know something about them.”

“Yes!”

“Fine, but I’m taking this,” said Four, holding up a large, strange looking screw before pocketing it.

The group continued on, passing the strange mechanical creatures where they sat quietly in the dirt. As Time’s eyes spotted the top of a strange looking structure over the rise, Warriors spotted something else.

Planted in the ground were several long-rusted weapons. Just the right size for a Hylian and near to both one of the strange creatures and a ruined wall.

“Something happened in this Hyrule. Something bad,” said Warriors as he took another look around the field. “This was a battlefield, a long time ago if these weapons are to judge. Wherever the Hero is, he’s got one hell of a mess on his hands.”

He absently picked up one of the rusted swords and gave it an experimental swing. The blade snapped off and nearly hit Sky, who was yanked out of the way by Hyrule.

“Nice,” snarked Legend.

“Shut up,” said Warriors. “I’m just proving my point, these weapons are ancient.”

“Come on, we’re nearly there. Unless you want to replace your weapons with rusted out equivalents?” said Time.

Truth be told he was just as unsettled from the untouched battleground this Hyrule seemed to be. And he was doubly glad Four hadn’t found some way to turn the creatures on, as Time was starting to have the sneaking suspicion that they were responsible for the ruins and the abandoned weapons.

The thoughts of what could’ve happened in this world swirled around his head for the rest of their walk. He was so lost in thought it took Twilight gently shoving his shoulder to realize they had reached their destination.

It was not civilization.

At least, not in the sense that Time, or any of the others thought of it. Instead of a village or a collection of huts, they had come across one very large, very strange tent. It was shaped vaguely like a horse. He had the brief thought of Malon laughing her head off at the structure and it sent a burst of longing through his heart. Though the tent was strange, the people milling about near it were not. Hylians, and a few others of the various folk of Hyrule were going about their business in the area. Most noticeably a large rito man with blue feathers playing an accordion. Still, there were less than ten people by Time’s count. Not enough for a village. But a few waved at the group as they approached, and a friendly man called from behind a wood counter.

They quickly learned the friendly man’s name, Tasseren, and that he owned this particular stable. Out of how many he did not say, but he promised the beds here were softer than any of the rest. With the sun getting low in the sky the group pooled their rupees and settled in for the night. After their walk it was no surprise when Sky and Wind practically jumped into their beds and were softly snoring only minutes later. It was only a matter of time before the others crawled into their own beds, armour and weapons resting at the ready on the ground nearby.

Time let them get comfortable under their warm blankets before walking back out into the night. A few people were still up, mostly talking with each other over the cook fire nearby the actual stable part of the structure. Across the nearby river a blue structure glowed brightly, its light rippling across the moving water to touch the opposite bank. Time settled himself against the wall of the tent looking out over the field with the strange stone structures. This Hyrule was unsettling. Peaceful, but unsettling.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Time would be lying if he said the question didn’t surprise him in the stillness of the night. He turned quickly, reaching for a sword that was left next to his bed inside when he found Twilight grinning down at him.

“You neither, Pup?”

“No. Something about this place makes me uneasy. The whole field smells, well, like death,” said Twilight as he sat down next to time. He leaned against Time’s arm as his eyes stared out across the shadowy field. In the dark Time couldn’t make out more than a few dark shapes in the grass, but he knew Twilight’s eyes were better than his.

“We’ll get some answers, Pup. And hopefully the Hero here has it all in hand. After all, the rest of us joined up after our adventuring days were done,” said Time, not without a touch of bitterness. None of them had asked to go on another adventure. The only upside was that this time none of them were alone on their journey.

“Ah, did I hear you mention a hero?” asked an unfamiliar voice. Both Time and Twilight looked up at the newcomer. It was the rito man with the accordion from their arrival. “I know a song about the Champion, if you’d like to hear it.”

Time and Twilight shared a look. Would information actually just fall into their laps? It couldn’t be that easy.

Kass misinterpreted their look. “Sorry for eavesdropping, but all of you young men remind me of a friend of mine. Same sort of looks, you all could be family.”

“It’s fine,” said Time. “And yes, we would like to hear your song.”

Time hoped that the rito’s friend was in fact, the hero they were looking for.

“Excellent! Ah, before I start, my name is Kass. I’m a bard from Rito Village.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Kass,” said Time.

Kass nodded, and took a deep breath before beginning an upbeat, yet sad tune. His voice followed the dance of the melody as he sang low and sweet.

“An ancient hero, a Calamity appears, Now resurrected after 10,00 years.

Her appointed knight gives his life, Shields her figure, and pays the price. The princess’ love for her fallen knight awakens her power, and within the castle the Calamity is forced to cower. But the knight survives! In the Shrine of Resurrection he sleeps, Until from his healing dream he leaps!

For Fierce and deadly trials await. To regain his strength. Fulfil his fate.

To become a hero once again! To wrest the princess from evil’s den.

The hero, the princess -hand in hand- Must bring the light back to this land.”

Kass let the final note trail off into the sounds of the night. For a moment the three of them sat entranced in the dark before Time and Twilight caught up with what the words of the song were telling them.

“Wait, so the hero of this land is in this Shrine of Resurrection?” asked Twilight.

Kass blinked down at them in surprise before his features gentled into a strange smile.

“It’s just a song. Everyone knows the Champion died protecting Princess Zelda one hundred years ago. The Shrine of Resurrection is real enough. I have a traveler friend who told me he visited it once, if you’re interested in seeing it.”

Time felt his heart sink. Why would Hylia bring them all to this Hyrule now, with their Link 100 years dead. Maybe they had to fix it all themselves now, was that it? On top of fighting the darkness they had to save this Hyrule?

“What’s this Calamity in the song?” asked Time, hoping it wasn’t too strange of a question to ask.

From the look he got, it was a very strange question.

“Are you boys trying to say you haven’t seen the castle in the last hundred years?” said Kass. “Have you been living in the clouds?”

Time’s heart raced as he tried to think of a convincing lie.

“Our parents were very protective. Its our first time out of the village,” offered Twilight when Time failed to think of anything suitable.

Kass was apparently still not convinced when the sound of hooves on the road captured all three of their attention. Coming down the road from the west was a pale white horse, its coat gleaming in the moonlight. On its back was a dark shadow of a rider.

“Ah, it’s my friend,” said Kass. “The one who has been to the Shrine of Resurrection.”

Unconvincing lies forgotten, Kass moved towards the road to greet his friend. Time stood to get a better look at the stranger and felt Twilight do the same beside him. They watched as the stranger rode up and dismounted smoothly in front of the stable. He gave his horse a quick pat before waving at Kass in greeting. The stranger’s face was mostly hidden by the dark cloak he wore and the shadows no matter how Time strained his eyes to work.

“Hello to you too, my friend. Are you well?”

The stranger shrugged and raised the hand not holding the reins of his horse. “I’ve been better. Blood moon a few nights ago, had to clear the roads again.”

Time was a bit taken aback to see the stranger signing. At least Kass understood, or seemed to.

“That’s too bad. Would hearing a song before you sleep cheer you up?”

The stranger nodded, and motioned to his horse.

“Yes, I’ll wait until you put him away.”

The stranger nodded again and disappeared out of sight for a few minutes before coming back to stand in front of Kass. Time watched as he stood expectantly, almost childlike in the way he held his hands together in front of himself. Again, Kass started singing a song, this time about Champions who fought Ganon 10,000 years ago and some “Divine Beasts”. Time didn’t really understand aside from that this world had, apparently, seen more than its fair share of battle.

All throughout the song the stranger stood and listened as if rooted to the spot, gently nodding his head in time. As Kass finished the stranger gave him some quiet applause. It was a nice moment, considering how strangely eerie this Hyrule was. Time relaxed a little, shifting his weight to lean against a support for the tent when the moment was ruined by a branch snapping under his foot.

The stranger reacted in an instant, a bow in his hands from seemingly nowhere and an arrow pointed straight at Time. Before Time could react to calm the situation, Twilight stepped in front of him with a growl.

“Shush, Pup,” said Time at the same time Kass said “It’s ok, they’re just travelers.”

Time put a hand on Twilight and gently but forcefully shoved him out of the way as he stepped forward into the torchlight at the front of the stable. The stranger had lowered his bow slightly, but still had the arrow nocked and ready.

“Sorry for startling you, my name’s Time, and that’s Twilight. We’re travellers,” said Time in a soft voice.

The stranger just stared, hands still gripping his weapon before Kass chuckled at him.

“They aren’t bokoblins, Link,” said Kass, “No need for the bow.”

Time’s ears pricked up at that. Maybe the Hero wasn’t quite as gone in this world as the story claimed. With a sigh, the stranger, Link, dismissed his bow in a glow of blue light to a small rectangle hanging on his hip. With one hand he reached up to pull down his dark hood and revealed a head of shoulder length blonde hair swept up in a ponytail and a face full of familiarities. He had Time’s blue eyes, Twilight’s proud nose, and the same stubborn cowlick Legend tried to keep hidden with his hat.

Then the similarities ended. The boy staring back at him has skin that told a sad story. Scars twisted up Link’s neck, clawing across his left cheek and disappearing into his hairline. All in all, the kid looked like he had been through hell.

“Sorry. Yiga are common here, can’t be too careful,” signed Link.

“At least you didn’t shoot us,” said Twilight. “Anyway, we hear you know where to find the Shrine of Resurrection. Call us pilgrims of a sort, we’d like to see it.”

Link’s face darkened and his shoulders hunched under his cloak. His eyes skittered away and he bit his lip.

“Why?”

“We’re related to the Hero and we’d like to pay our respects,” said Time. Talking to link was not unlike trying to soothe a spooked horse. All he had to do was speak calmly and evenly and keep his movements slow and telegraphed. “If you know the way, would you be able to show us?”

It did not escape his attention that Link’s eyes shot back to him the moment he said they were related to the Hero. It wasn’t a lie, they were all distantly related across time and space and by the Hero’s Spirit. Link’s stare was piercing, as if trying to see into Time’s soul for the truth. Whatever he was looking for, he found it as he relented with a sigh and his shoulders relaxed a bit.

“I can show you in the morning. Go sleep, we leave at dawn,” he signed at them.

He then turned and vanished into the tent. By the time Time and Twilight followed him inside they could only see a bed with the curtains drawn to mark where he had gone. In the other beds the various heroes slept on, all soon to be awoken to the fact Time and Twilight had found either this Hyrule’s Link or a lead to him.

Next Chapter

#linked universe #linked universe fic #this is 3 years old now wow #posting here just because #lu #lu fic #breath of the wild #botw #wild linked universe #twilight linked universe #time linked universe #the others are all here too #loz #Legend of Zelda

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ronearoundblindly · 1 year

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Time and Tines (Preview)

an excerpt of Steve Rogers x Villain!Reader

Excerpt summary: With Buck's encouragement, Steve asks an interested, beautiful woman to dance. Surprisingly, it goes well. That's not the only surprising part...

A/N: Overall, this challenge is about bittersweet, doomed love, and while the excerpt is from the beginning (and thus more light-hearted), I wanted to sneak this in as a warning: it goes downhill from here. Mentions of needles/poison. WC 1098

“Oh, no. That’s not necessary. I’m a miserable dancer.” You lift your bejeweled clutch up alongside your lemon-lime soda. “Besides how would I carry it all?”

“Well, if they’d make dresses with fuller skirts like they used to, you wouldn’t have that problem. The world regressed that way. Real shame.”

“Don’t like the form-fitting gowns?” you cock your head with wide eyes.

Steve’s gaze snaps to his shoes, hoping to choke off the heat rising in his cheeks. It only chokes his words. “Oh, oh god, no. They’re lovely. I meant, ya know, pockets and…I just—I didn’t want anything to stop you.“

“Me neither.”

You take him in with a warm assessment and a quick evaluation of the room, tucking your lip between your teeth briefly. “You’re in luck,” you add with a laugh. “I’m about to blow your mind, Captain.”

He watches you open the clasp, fish around inside the tiny bag—barely an envelope, really, but Steve learned from Natasha that ladies can hold a scary amount in those things,— and pull out a silvery length like a party trick from the minuscule confines. The new strap allows you to toss the purse over your shoulder.

You present the transformation like it’s a superpower.

“Nifty,” Steve coos.

You nod an acceptance of his awe. “I am nothing if not prepared.”

“And now—“ he offers his hand again “—out of excuses. Bucky tells me I am ‘a sight to behold’ and not in a good way. Shall we prove him right in solidarity?”

You head to the open floor, guided by Steve’s lead. “Not gonna try to prove him wrong?”

He swings you around to face him. “How would I always win as Cap if I bet like that?”

You hum while Steve settles a hand over the satin at your waist. “Picking your battles, huh?” Free and delicate hands land at his shoulders before one smooths down his sleeve, your eyes never leaving his. “And I’m a fight waiting to happen?”

He gets lost for a few bars until he shows his true colors and winces.

“Well, my toes are fighting with yours, clearly.”

But you simply laugh.

Steve’s brain turns over the steps and his apologies and then finally lands on a good line way after the fact. “Or, no, wait, I’ve got it now.” He squares his shoulders a little more and deepens his voice, comically.

“You’re worth fighting for.”

The snort huffed in his face is perfect, the grin that splits your painted lips over shining white teeth blinding and well worth his efforts.

“Oh wow. See!” He earns a featherlight slap to the chest. “You do have your charming moments, Captain Rogers.”

“Steve, please—“ he fakes leading you off the floor “—and could we go repeat that in front of—“

“—the extremely grumpy man gripping a beer bottle?” Your sights land across the room toward the bar. “I don’t know, Steve. Your critic looks pretty…something.”

Steve frowns when he sees Bucky. As his friend speaks with Dr. Avani, Bucky’s face pinches solid as stone, overly serious beside the doctor’s casual body language. Buck indeed looks pissed for no reason.

Steve squints in apology. “He’s not—that’s just—I promise he’s not like that—“

Where was that teasing joy from a minute ago?

Steve contemplates that still when your hands release him, and his focus snaps back.

“I need to use the ladies’ room anyway,” you shrug, rubbing a palm up and down your bare arm.

“And then fireworks?” Steve inserts hopefully, almost removing his suit jacket right then to drape over your shoulders. He sounds like an excited schoolboy, and he’s again glad that Bucky is far enough away not to know how obvious he’s being.

You smile, a graceful tug at the dark, matte lipstick sculpted over your full—Rogers. Then a little nod is all you offer before turning to the hall, bag bouncing at your hip on its magic chain.

Steve watches you go, meandering over to Bucky while his head still glances in your last known direction until his friend grunts to get his attention.

Avani is gone, but Buck’s face remains sour.

“What on earth did Doc say? Some intel for a mission.” Steve’s only half-curious and fully-distracted though.

His friend just waves off the mood. “Where’s your girl?”

“She’s not…” Steve shakes his head.

“Fine. Where’s your girl for the night?” Bucky raises one eyebrow.

“You know that sounds even worse now than it did back then, right?”

“Well?” Bucky looks around inquisitively.

“Powder her nose—” Steve smirks with rosy cheeks “—then watching the light show.”

He gets a solid smack between his shoulders and a proud nod.

Steve tries to remain patient, he really does, but after a few minutes and nearly every guest settled into their own viewing spot across the long balcony, he checks back over his shoulder.

Nothing.

He excuses himself from Bucky’s side and wanders toward the hallway.

Yes, he knows he’ll look too interested and a bit stalker-esque, but he doesn’t want to miss the show—he doesn’t want you to miss the show with him. There’s gonna be this beautiful display in the sky and you’ll be engrossed enough that he can just look at the changing colors glow across your…

What?!

Around one corner of the wall, Steve sees a foot, one shiny, brown men’s dress shoe, and then another. Someone’s kneeling—shaking if the tremor of rolling toes is any indication—and then there you are standing over him.

“Doctor Avani?” Steve croaks, watching you raise a syringe and needle high over the man’s head.

You ignore Steve’s arrival.

The doctor’s eyes don’t break from you as he shrieks, “Captain, she’s mad. She—“

“How dare you? Bastard,” you bite out, heaving your weapon at the doctor’s exposed throat as Steve lunges forward.

It punctures the thick, luxurious navy fabric of Steve’s suit, and he feels the slight swelling pressure of liquid entering his forearm.

You release your grip, eyes wild and teeth bared. Gone is the sweet and serene woman he shared a drink and danced with.

The syringe stays lodged in Steve’s flesh as he pushes the doctor aside to shield him, but it’s too late for you.

Bucky followed behind him and now wraps your arms behind your back while you struggle to inch toward Avani, spitting insults.

“What was it?” Bucky demands. “What’s in there? What poison?”

Steve rips the needle out, checking it for any clues.

With a scowl, your fierce gaze stays on the doctor.

“Ask him. It’s his brand of suffering.”

\o/ Predictions? Squees? Let me hear 'em, gang! It's always a delight reading your thoughts.

[Main Masterlist]

#excerpt #writing wip #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers fanfic #steve rogers one shot #gah this better be a one-shot but it's getting LONG again #time and tines #villain!reader

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invisibleraven · 9 months

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"I'm glad that you are here." + Rulie?

"You nervous?" Julie asked.

"Even if I am, there's no getting out of it now," Reggie replied, offering her a weak smile. "Better or worse, this is necessary."

"At least then it'll be all over," Julie said, snuggling into his side, wishing she couldn't feel all his ribs, wishing his skin wasn't so grey and clammy.

"You're telling me," Reggie replied, tossing his head back on the pillow. "No more chemo, no more radiation. Just this one surgery, and some immunotherapy, and it's all done."

"Thank God," Julie whispered, holding him all the tighter. She didn't know what she would do if cancer stole another person from her life. But unlike with her mom, they caught Reggie's early, and it was much less aggressive.

After this, he would be in remission, and could hopefully slowly get back to his life. They could start planning again; for a future, for a family. For more time together.

"You think my hair will grow back different?" Reggie mused. "I've heard it does sometimes."

"I don't care if it grows back at all," Julie comments. "I'm just glad that you're here." She rubbed her hand over his smooth head, just to make him smile, then down his face. "I do kind of miss your eyebrows though."

"Yeah, my luck I'll grow caterpillars there instead," Reggie jested. Catching her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles. "Thank you for being here through all this. I don't know what I would have done without you by my side."

"We promised in sickness and in health right?" Julie reminded him with a wet laugh, swiping the tears from her eyes. This past year had been the hardest in her life, testing her beyond her limits, testing their marriage, but through it all, she stayed. She loved Reggie more than anything, and if cancer thought it was taking him from her, it had another thing coming.

"We did indeed," Reggie replied quietly. Yawning, he blinked at Julie. "Will you be there when I wake up?"

"I wouldn't dream of being anywhere else," Julie promised him. "Sleep now, they'll be coming for you first thing in the morning."

"Kiss?" he asked, as he did every night before falling asleep, and Julie granted him that wish, just as she always did. Only getting up from the narrow hospital bed when his breathing slowed and she was sure he was asleep.

She wished she could curl up into his embrace and sleep herself, but her mind was racing, and there was a boatload of paperwork to be signed before the surgery.

Plus she wanted to stop by the chapel, just for a moment. Reggie wasn't religious but her faith had never really left her, so she wanted to offer up a prayer, a plea, anything to see Reggie through this. To come out the other side healthy and whole once more.

Of course she knew he was forever changed by this experience, they both were. But she hoped that now they could only grow stronger from this, and more importantly, grow together.

She sat by his side all night, memorizing his features, hoping this wouldn't be the last time she saw them. Wished him luck and granting him a kiss which she believed might just be their last and only let herself cry once he was gone from sight. Let her father and Luke hold her as they waited. Let Alex and Willie force her to eat, let Flynn and Carrie distract her with gossip. Let her aunt and brother assure her with facts and faith alike.

But Julie is sure she doesn't breathe again until hours later when the doctor tells her it's been a success and Reggie is resting in his room.

"Can I see him please?"

The doctor nods and directs her to the recovery ward, letting her have a moment. Reggie is still thin and pale, tubes and wires every which where. But his eyes light up when he sees her, giving her a weak, drowsy smile. "Hey darlin'."

"Told you I'd be here," she says, blubbering the whole time, rushing to take his hand, rain kisses on his cheeks.

"So am I," he said, "and I always will be, I promise."

"Good," Julie replied. "I'm holding you to that."

Reggie fell back to sleep soon after that, and Julie followed suit in the uncomfortable chair beside him, twin smiles on their faces, and even in slumber, their hands never let go of one another.

And they never would, not for the rest of their very long lives.

#filled prompts #ficlet #rulie #julie and the phantoms

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raayllum · 1 year

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The Light Doesn’t Actually Matter :: An Aaravos Adjacent S4 Meta

Gonna keep this short as I’m sleepy but I still wanted to talk about the less obvious subset of the show, specifically Aaravos’, light and darkness motif that’s been running through lowkey since S1 and now overtly in S4. Which is to say, as the title indicates, Why The Light Is Futile, or Why Aaravos Will Win No Matter what.

Almost befittingly because we’re already discussing a duality of light and dark, there are two sides as to what the Light represents and why it’s futile, in this way:

The Light has negative associations too

The Light cannot wholly prevail over Aaravos because we know he has to get out

So first things first, let’s talk about the light / white’s negative associations in dark magic (quick run down with minimal screencaps because again, I’m sleepy)

Dark mage’s hair turning white from use, shown most overtly with Claudia. While her black hair and largely black outfit highlights her association with dark magic (black eyes), it also represents her remaining ‘humanity’ with the white of her hair symbolizing her continued corruption. White for dark mages is nothing good

We see this reflected with Viren’s white eye (from little bug pal) and his black Dark magic eye when he’s in corruption form in S3, his white robe he now wears, etc.

A chess board having both black and white squares, with Aaravos as the clear chessmaster (regardless of what side everyone or anyone is on)

“We’ll let the Light decide her Fate” test for Amaya and Viren in S3 as a reflection of Khessa’s cruelty and a signifier of passing being whether you are “pure of heart” or not

Aaravos’ control giving Callum black and eventually white eyes

Aaravos’ glowing chrysalis cocoon and Viren’s glowing butterflies, Sir Sparklepuff’s white hair, etc.

Callum’s cube glowing from the moon opal on the Bridge of Darkness in 4x07 being what alerts the creatures to their presence, and indeed the design of the creatures themselves with an angler fish like light lure

Flaming hearts of cinder and glowing heart of the Magma Titan that led to everything in the first place

Callum’s 4x04 intro in which he is very much Aaravos’ pawn tethering the cube to that control explicitly, most evidently in a bright burst of light

Dawn is almost never being a good thing in TDP, bringing with it: the threat of Thunder and death of Sarai / the queens of Duren in 2x06; the fading Moon runes that cause Callum, Rayla, and Zym to nearly perish in lava in 2x09; Callum being possessed at dawn in 4x04 in the first place

Aaravos’ name itself meaning between “light and dark” and him being compared to Lucifer (morning star, “shining one / light bearer”) and Prometheus (foresight and fire bringer)

If you are interested in more examples / associations I’ll refer you to this post, but hopefully I’ve gotten the gist across already. Okay, so we’ve established, hopefully, that Aaravos has a handle over both the Light and the Dark, black and white. This makes sense, as S4 is largely about rejecting an “either or” way of thinking for one that embraces “and”. It’s not pain or love in your heart, it must be both; Janai doesn’t have to choose between her life with Amaya and her life as queen, she can have “two cakes”; Rayla returning is good and bad, making Callum happy and mad.

But the show also doesn’t throw out Positive associations with light entirely out the window, either. This is best shown perhaps in how S4 picks up the thread of Rayla primarily being positioned as light (truth or transformation) to Callum’s general / emotional positions. This is most directly shown when she enters in 4x02 seconds after Callum says, “In darkness, gaze upon a fallen star” and I think the screencap of this particular moment says it all, really.

However, the show doesn’t leave it at that. Rayla is also there, conversing with Callum in 4x07 after he requests for her to kill him, stating, “What if I’m on a path of darkness?” Rayla tells him directly, then, he still has agency to find another way: “Then take a different path, dummy.” It throws this screencap into fuller context I think, with Rayla in the light ad the mirror in the darkness very much presenting two paths.

Their reunion scene just reaffirms this as Callum walks to the mirror in order to be able to not look at her, even while Rayla trails after him. And again, her advice causes him to try to at least throw the cube away in the lava in 4x07, even if he is fully unable to let go.

But like we said, the Light doesn’t actually matter. It cannot steer him fully home. It cannot keep Aaravos from being freed. Even choosing the light - letting Rayla walk him back from the darkness - will ultimately lead to choosing Aaravos, however unintentionally, which is also why I think the Key is in her big fancy return shot.

If the mirror represents the outright possession, rejecting that eventually will be easy enough. However, the cube is more complicated, and so are its associations, but it’s ultimately like Aaravos says: black or white, light or dark, control or freedom, whichever path you choose, they all lead to the same place:

Because we know they have to; we know that this story has already been written:

Elarion, dying husk, did wilt and whimper in the dark, 'till the last star Reached from afar His touch: a blaze, a gift, a spark. Elarion, searing white, Embraced the great one's night-black flame. And when she bowed, Her faith avowed, He whispered, "Aaravos", his name. Elarion, black-eyed child, her twisted roots spread deep and far, The humans' might sparked by the light of Aaravos, her midnight star

#tdp #tdp meta #the dragon prince #i will literally never be over the fact i caught this motif and its specific rayllum assocations #months in advance tbh #like what a flex #analysis series #arc 2 #s4 #had me kicking my feet and giggling over it #analysis #light and darkness motif #devil and the lovers #this isn't as good as i wanted it to be but it's relaxing and cookie time #this has been in my drafts for long enough it's Fine

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headcanonsandmore · 1 year

Text

‘Once and Future’, Chapter Two

Summary: The big city is a strange place, in some of the best ways possible. However, this has certainly nothing to do with bathing with the cute handmaiden you have a crush on. Unfortunately, such fun times do not happen for long; danger is afoot and it seems as if Tegan and Nyssa will be in the thick of it. Also, this gender thing is starting to get very complicated?

Tagging: @squirius @serenbex and @lonely-space-ace

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Read on FFN. Read on AO3.

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Tegan’s mind scrambled.

Oh, no; Miss Traken knew. She knew that Tegan was a girl. The handmaiden to the queen herself knew that Tegan was pulling a ruse on everyone in Camelot, especially her new employer. Miss Traken was surely going to reveal everything and Tegan would be sent home with barely a penny to her name-

No, Tegan told herself, don’t get scared. You can work around this.

She promptly dropped to one knee in front of the young woman, and looked at her through her lashes.

‘Miss Traken, I am most grateful,’ she said, her voice was soft as silk. ‘I cannot thank you enough, good lady.’

A slight pinkening of the woman’s cheeks indicated that Tegan’s words had hit their target.

‘My pleasure,’ Miss Traken said. ‘I owe you my life, after all.’

‘No more than my duty as a Cornishman, m’lady.’

‘I… I thank you.’

Tegan reached out and pressed a kiss to Miss Traken’s fingers.

‘Your servant, Miss Traken.’

The handmaiden blinked quickly, as if… confused.

‘I trust that today finds you well, Master Tegan,’ she said, as Tegan climbed back to her feet. ‘Camelot is something to behold, is it not?’

‘It is, indeed,’ Tegan replied, nodding. ‘It is far different from my homeland, it has to be said.’

‘Mine too.’

‘My apologies,’ said Dynadan. ‘But I must take Master Tegan back to his lodgings; we will need to discuss his duties.’

‘Of course,’ Miss Traken said, smiling softly at Tegan. ‘I hope we will… meet again in future, Master Tegan.’

‘If you so will it, m’lady,’ Tegan said, bowing again.

Maybe Tegan had laid on the flattery a little too thick? She hoped that Miss Traken did not see her as disingenuous; she was grateful for the recommendation, after all. But hopefully any doubts as to her being a young man would now be allayed.

Tegan followed Dynadan back into the castle, ignoring the prickling on the back of her neck as Miss Traken watched her leave. She was already hoping that she wouldn’t get lost on her own in the castle; this place was a maze compared to the simple buildings Tegan was used to.

‘Miss Traken seems to find you most agreeable,’ Dynadan said, an all-too-knowing look in his eye as he looked over his shoulder at Tegan.

‘Er… I suppose,’ Tegan said, feeling her cheeks flush. ‘I hope that she does not find me lacking in gratitude.’

‘I’m sure she is very aware of how grateful you are,’ Dynadan cheeked, grinning. ‘Normally, servants do not kneel and kiss each other on the hand.’

‘She’s a princess,’ Tegan said, quickly. ‘She’s used to such behaviour.’

‘Traken is a good deal smaller and poorer than you may think. I wouldn’t be surprised if you now have an admirer in the handmaiden of the queen.’

Tegan didn’t reply. She could feel her heart hammering away. This was bad. This was bad.

The great hall of Camelot had to be seen to be believed.

It was enormous, like much of the castle itself. A high roof was dotted with banners, with huge windows to let in the light. A wide open space encompassed most of the hall, except for a high table at the far end where the king and queen sat. Long benches curved around sides of the hall, where the knights, maidens and courtly hangers-on ate and drank the night away.

Dynadan had been forced into attending by one of his fellow knights. Apparently, his wit had been missed while he was away.

As Dynadan’s apprentice squire, Tegan was required to attend and help the staff with the serving of food and drink. The knight had apologised to Tegan, making it clear that she would mostly just need to stand in the corner and watch, as the kitchen staff had enough people to be getting along with.

What Tegan was less pleased about was the hat.

It was a truly atrocious garment. Made out of a weird mix of felt and velvet, it was deliberately floppy and had a habit of slipping down against Tegan’s ears. Technically, all squires were supposed to wear these for formal events. Dynadan had, of course, apologised for this too.

Not that it made Tegan feel any better when she could hear the kitchen staff giggling at her as they passed. Bugger.

‘Master Tegan?’

Tegan startled. Turning, she saw that Nyssa of Traken was standing a short distance away. She was wearing a light blue dress and matching hair-covering. Tegan felt her stomach flip over as she realised how pretty the young woman looked.

‘Miss Traken!’ Tegan squeaked, her voice an octave higher than it should have been. Coughing quickly, Tegan cleared her throat and continued. ‘How do you do?’

‘Very well, thank you,’ Miss Traken said, smiling. ‘Are you enjoying your new role?’

‘Er, yes,’ Tegan replied. ‘Thank you again for recommending me, Miss Traken. I really appreciate it.’

‘Oh, it was the least I could do,’ Miss Traken replied, smiling prettily. ‘After you rescuing me.’

Tegan found herself blushing. The combination of the handmaidens kind words and her smile was causing Tegan’s mind to rush. Her stomach seemed to flip over, and she could have sworn that her palms were already sweating. Unlike during their meeting earlier that day, Tegan felt unable to be smooth or calm towards the handmaiden.

‘Well, I couldn’t just stand there and let them hurt you,’ Tegan mumbled. ‘It wouldn’t be right.’

‘And that is why I recommended you,’ Miss Traken replied. ‘You have a good heart, Master Tegan. It befits a knight; a pure knight, not those who smash into each other on armour for merriment.’

‘I… thank you.’

‘My pleasure. Lovely hat, by the way.’

Tegan’s smile slid off her face. Miss Traken giggled, knowingly.

‘Oh, don’t be so grumpy,’ the handmaiden continued, chuckling. ‘I think it looks rather fetching.’

‘You’re not the one wearing the bloody thing.’

Under normal circumstances, Tegan would have been terrified to curse in front of such esteemed company, but she found herself quite unable to censor herself around the young woman.

Miss Traken giggled further.

‘That is true,’ she replied. ‘Are you sure you don’t regret my recommendation?’

‘No, but the hat is pushing it just a tad,’ Tegan said, unable to keep herself from chuckling. ‘Not all of us can wear lovely clothes for formal events.’

‘Oh, do you like my dress?’ Miss Traken’s smile widened, and her cheeks pinkened slightly.

‘You look lovely, m’lady.’

‘I’m not a lady,’ Miss Traken giggled, putting a hand in front of her mouth. ‘You have no need to call me that.’

‘Too late.’

The two smiled at each other. Miss Traken’s cheeks dimpled. Then, a sudden thought seemed to strike her and she leaned forward towards Tegan.

‘Would you like to dance?’

‘W-what?’ Tegan stammered, mouth flapping open like a fish. ‘I- that’s not allowed, surely-’

‘It is,’ Miss Traken interjected. ‘I am a servant and so are you.’

‘But… you’re a princess!’

‘Given Traken is barely a few villages dotted across an island, I don’t think I’m as royal as you believe,’ Miss Traken chuckled. ‘Besides, in Camelot, I am simply Guinevere’s handmaiden. I spent the last few hours being shown how to get her linen washed correctly. Barbara has been very nice about it.’

She indicated a tall, stately older woman stood behind Guinevere at the high table.

‘Oh,’ Tegan said. ‘Well.. I mean, if you’ll have me…’

Miss Traken reached out, and took Tegan’s hand in hers. Tegan sucked in a sudden breath, feeling her pulse quicken further. She seemed quite unable to tear her eyes away from the pretty face of the young woman stood barely a foot away from her.

‘I would gladly,’ Miss Traken said, not seeming to notice Tegan’s eyes widening at her choice of phrasing. ‘Shall we?’

Breathlessly, Tegan nodded. She swallowed, suddenly aware that the hall was full of lots of people. But… she was dressed as a boy. Surely, there was nothing unusual about this, right? Tegan had danced with other girls her age, of course, but… those girls had been friends from childhood, not princesses of island nations. And those girls hadn’t made Tegan’s heart stutter whenever they smiled at her.

Oh, dear.

Miss Traken led Tegan by the hand, and the two stepped out onto the dancefloor. The various couples around them seemed not to notice much, although that did little to counteract Tegan’s nervousness. Miss Traken’s eyes were wide and bright as slowed to a stop and turned to face each other, and Tegan could have sworn that her own hand was rapidly becoming sweaty. She hoped that Miss Traken did not notice. She didn’t know much about court etiquette, but she guessed that it was probably not good manners to sweat against the hand of the queen’s handmaiden.

Miss Traken looked up at Tegan, looking somewhat confused as to why Tegan hadn’t taken her arm yet.

‘Er… I don’t really know how to dance,’ Tegan mumbled. ‘There wasn’t much call for courtly dances back home.’

‘No matter,’ Miss Traken said, smiling sweetly. ‘I will lead, in that case.’

Tegan’s heartrate increased yet again, as Miss Traken’s hand came to rest on her waist. The other intertwined their fingers together. Oh, dear…

Tegan swallowed, blinking quickly. She suddenly felt very hot under the collar. Were the candles of this hall especially bright? No doubt, she was already sweating.

But Miss Traken did not comment. In fact, she seemed very at-ease with the whole situation, as if enjoying every moment. Even when Tegan stumbled slightly as her feet fought to keep balance through the unfamiliar steps of the dance. Bugger. It was taking most of Tegan’s remaining concentration not to step on the smaller woman’s feet.

C’mon, Tegan told herself, left, right…

It was then that Nyssa spoke up for the first time since they had entered the dancing. Given how close they were standing, she barely needed to whisper. The delicate nature of her voice, so close to Tegan’s ear, sent delicious shivers down her spine.

‘You are Cornish, Master Tegan?’

‘Yes,’ Tegan said, trying not to think too much about how sweetly the young woman smelled. What sort of perfume was that, anyway? ‘My parents are farmers.’

‘You have very… delicate hands for a farmer’s son.’

‘Er… I suppose. My mum always said I had nice hands.’

‘Your mother was right,’ Miss Traken replied, smiling further. ‘Very nice hands, indeed.’

‘T-thank you,’ Tegan said, already wondering why Nyssa was ignoring the sweat on both of Tegan’s palms. ‘You also have lovely hands, Miss Traken.’

‘Oh, call me Miss Nyssa, please.’

‘Is that allowed?’

‘It is if I say it is.’

‘Oh… er, right.’

Miss Nyssa chuckled.

‘I gather, Master Tegan,’ she continued. ‘That you are very concerned with what is considered proper.’

‘It comes from being a newcomer.’

‘But I am also a newcomer to Camelot.’

‘Unlike you, I am the child of farmers from Cornwall,’ Tegan replied. ‘Not a princess.’

‘I suppose,’ Miss Nyssa replied. ‘But, if anyone has earned the right to call me by my first name, it is you.’

‘I… you flatter me.’

‘Now, where would you get that idea?’ Miss Nyssa chuckled, smiling. ‘Are you sure this is your first time dancing?’

‘Er… fancy dancing, yes. I did folk dancing a lot back home.’

‘I’m sure all the girls wanted to dance with you.’

Tegan blushed further, smiling breathlessly.

‘More flattery?’

‘Indeed,’ Miss Nyssa chuckled.

The song came to an end, and the dancers stepped apart, applauding the band as they all went to sit down at the benches.

‘Thank you, Master Tegan,’ Miss Nyssa said, extending her hand.

‘Er, thank you, Miss Nyssa,’ Tegan said, holding it awkwardly.

Miss Nyssa chuckled.

‘This is the part where you kiss my hand.’

Feeling her face burn red, Tegan pressed her lips to the young handmaiden’s fingers. She ignored the way her heart seemed to lurch excitedly within her chest.

Miss Nyssa giggled.

‘Goodnight, Master Tegan,’ she said, smiling. ‘I hope we see more of each other in the future.’

The baths were mercifully empty.

Tegan had sweated a lot throughout the day. Back home, she would have been content with a quick wash with a flannel, but Dynadan had mentioned the baths within Camelot itself whilst they were walking back to their quarters.

Tegan changed out of the fancy clothes that she had worn during the dance, and put on an old shirt and breeches. Into a small bag, she packed a towel, spare shift and spare socks. She then slipped out of the room, and headed in the direction of the baths.

She had gone through a quick mental battle over which baths she should use, but had eventually decided on the women’s. Although, given that there didn’t seem to be a single person using them, this didn’t really matter much.

The women’s baths were a huge long room, with large Roman-style pools sunk into the floor. Various cubicles with curtains in front of them were dotted around the outside, presumably for privacy when changing. Tegan quickly crossed the floor, entering a cubicle and closed the curtain behind her.

She then changed out of her shirt and breeches, leaving only the shift. She had to admit, she had already started mentally classing the men’s clothing as her own. She supposed that -regardless of whichever gender the clothing was normally worn by- when she wore them, they were her clothes.

Tegan sighed, stretching her toes out as she placed the shirt and breeches into her bag. It felt good to stand in bare feet after so long wearing boots.

She then pulled back the curtain and stepped out of the cubicle, yawning slightly as the warm air of the baths began to relax her. She vaguely wondered if scents were mixed in with the water to give it such a sweet aroma.

The door opened.

‘Oh, my apologies,’ said the figure. ‘I didn’t realise anyone was…’

Miss Nyssa trailed off, as her eyes swept over Tegan. The young woman was stood barely a few feet before Tegan, wearing a long shift that stretched down to just below her knees. Her hair was tied up in a covering, and her cheeks were pinkened from the humid air around the baths.

Tegan’s heartrate suddenly spiked. She could feel perspiration forming on the palms of her hands, and she was suddenly that she was only wearing a light shift.

Okay, don’t panic, Tegan told herself, just come up with a good story…

‘Master Tegan, why are you in the women’s baths?’

Tegan’s mouth flapped open and closed uselessly, her brain turned to slush.

‘Er… I… I…’

Miss Nyssa crossed the room, and put a hand on Tegan’s shoulder. With more force than Tegan would have expected, the young woman pushed Tegan backwards into the cubicle, pinning her up against the wall. With her other hand, she shut the curtain, so that they were obscured from the rest of the baths.

‘W-what are you-’

‘Ssshhh!’ Miss Nyssa said, looking over her shoulder. ‘I have to check that the baths are empty before Guinevere arrives. Normally, it’s a few old maids, not one young apprentice.’

‘Er… w-well…’

Tegan was finding it surprisingly difficult to form coherent sentences. Maybe it was her nostrils becoming filled with the perfume Nyssa was wearing, or possibly the fact that Miss Nyssa’s shift wasn’t very thick. As they were standing very close together, it could well have been both.

Tegan felt her legs tremble.

Oh.

Yes, it was definitely both.

‘Wait a moment…’ Miss Nyssa said, slowly. ‘You’re very pretty for a boy…’

‘O-oh, I get that assumption a lot…’

‘Judging from the two things perking up through your shift, there may be a reason for the assumption.’

Tegan’s face burned, and her mouth opened and closed uselessly.

‘Er… w-well… y-you see…’

‘Master Tegan,’ Miss Nyssa said, calmly. ‘Are you a girl? I didn’t know girls could become apprentices-’

‘Nyssa, are you talking to someone?’

Guinevere.

Tegan’s heart leapt into her mouth. Oh, no; it was all over. She was found out. Miss Nyssa was going to reveal her secret and Tegan would be thrown out of Camelot-

Miss Nyssa put her hand over Tegan’s mouth, before calling over her shoulder.

‘Nyssa?’ called Guinevere, again. ‘Is there someone there?’

‘The… sister of Dynadan’s new apprentice, my lady,’ Miss Nyssa said. ‘I’m just helping her brush her hair.’

‘I thought I saw a pair of men’s boots outside?’

‘I think,’ Miss Nyssa replied, slowly. ‘that she is borrowing them from her brother. For convenience sake.’

Tegan shivered, her stomach bubbling with nerves. Miss Nyssa was definitely pressed way too close to her. The thought made Tegan’s brain scramble even further. She should have been concentrating on why Miss Traken was protecting her from detection, but her thoughts refused to comply. All she could think about was that Miss Nyssa smelled wonderful, and that her hand was soft against Tegan’s mouth, and that certain parts of the young woman were pressing against Tegan’s chest-

‘I will leave you to bathe, Nyssa,’ Guinevere said. ‘I feel a little exhausted from that dancing earlier; Barbara will escort me back to my chambers.’

‘As you wish, my lady,’ Nyssa said, now turned back to face Tegan, her grey-green eyes meeting Tegan’s brown.

Thump.

Tegan’s heart was hammering as fast as a rabbit’s. Her mouth seemed to have completely given up on forming coherent sentences. Not that her brain could supply any in the first place; the vast majority of her thoughts were now variations of unintelligible babbling.

The door to the baths closed shut. Miss Nyssa visibly relaxed; clearly, Guinevere had left.

‘Don’t worry,’ Miss Nyssa said, smiling softly as she removed her hand from over Tegan’s lips. Her hand instead slipped down to hold one of Tegan’s. Gooseflesh erupted up Tegan’s arm. ‘I won’t tell anyone.’

‘W-what?’ Tegan stammered, her brain awkwardly kicking into gear.

‘Your secret is safe with me,’ Miss Nyssa continued, gently squeezing Tegan’s hand. ‘Please don’t be concerned.’

‘You… you won’t tell anyone I’m a girl?’

‘Oh, are you?’ Miss Nyssa said, cheerfully. ‘I thought you simply preferred being called a boy.’

Tegan goggled at her.

‘We’re stood here half-naked and you weren’t concerned about me potentially being a boy?’

‘Why would I? Besides, regardless of that, you weren’t planning on seducing me, were you?’

Tegan choked, spluttering. Her hand slipped out of the young woman’s.

‘I… n-no, of course I wasn’t!’

‘Well, that’s fine, then,’ Miss Nyssa smiled. ‘I did wonder, given your…’

Tegan slapped the young woman’s pointing hand away, and crossing her own arms over her chest.

‘That’s just due to the cold!’

‘Scientifically speaking, it is warmer here than it is outside,’ Miss Nyssa cheeked. ‘I’d say the evidence was irrefutable.’

‘You were the one who pushed me against the wall! With a hand over my mouth!’

Miss Nyssa giggled.

‘My apologies,’ she said, eyes twinkling. ‘I had to make sure that Guinevere and Barbara wouldn’t hear you.’

The young woman turned and pulled back the curtain. Sure enough, the place was empty.

‘Please,’ Miss Nyssa said, beckoning Tegan forward. ‘Sit with me a while. I think we both deserve a relaxing bathe after all that.’

Tegan shrugged, grabbing her flannel from her bag. She couldn’t argue with that.

The bath was a little warmer than Tegan would have normally expected, but it was possibly that she was already hot from what had just happened.

Tegan squeezed her thighs together, and let out a deep, slow breath. She was deliberately not looking at the young woman sat next to her. Given what had just happened, she didn’t think the addition of warm soapy water and candle-lit glow would help her calm down.

The young lady of Traken, however, had different ideas.

The young woman reached out a hand and stroked a finger along Tegan’s shoulder-blade. Given that Tegan was wearing a shift held up by straps over the shoulders, gooseflesh immediately erupted up her arms.

‘M-Miss Nyssa!’

Tegan’s voice seemed to break her out of the absentminded expression on her face, and she immediately pulled her finger away.

‘My apologies,’ she said, quickly. ‘I… that was unbecoming of me.’

‘Do you normally stroke other people’s shoulders whilst in the bath with them?’

‘Er…’ Miss Nyssa blinked hurriedly. ‘No. I was… distracted.’

‘By my shoulder?’

The young woman’s jaw set in a slightly stubborn manner.

‘In my defence, it is a very pretty shoulder.’

Tegan chuckled.

‘You know, for a handmaiden, you’re rather cheeky.’

‘Thank you,’ Miss Nyssa replied, cheeks dimpling. ‘I have to let my hair down sometimes. And I’ve never really spoken much to another person my age before.’

Tegan pointed to her hair-covering.

‘Doesn’t look very let-down to me.’

To her shock, the handmaiden’s face pinkened.

‘But… that would be improper,’ the young woman said, blinking quickly. ‘Especially in the baths.’

‘Improper, eh?’ Tegan replied, grinning. ‘Big talk, coming from someone who literally had me pushed up against a wall, so that I was pressed against your ti-’

‘Tegan!’

Miss Nyssa huffed for a moment, before eventually giving up and chuckling along with Tegan, who was already laughing. Tegan tried not to think how cute the young woman looked whilst doing so. And it wasn’t a courtly laugh either; it was a proper, unabashed laugh. The thought that she had helped cause that laugh from Miss Nyssa made Tegan’s heart glow.

‘So… am I Tegan now?’

The young woman stared at her, presumably deliberating over an answer in her head.

‘I… yes, I suppose.’

Screw it, Tegan thought, I’ll try my luck.

‘May I call you… Nyssa, then?’

The young woman smiled.

‘Yes, you may,’ said Nyssa.

Tegan smiled in return. She could feel her heart pounding happily, and she tried to calm herself by scrubbing her arms and legs with the flannel.

Nyssa continued to stare at her.

It did little to calm Tegan’s heartrate. There was something about that warm smile and the glint in those grey-green eyes that send delighted shivers down Tegan’s spine.

‘Would you like me to do your upper back?’

Tegan darted round.

‘W-what?’

Nyssa chuckled.

‘Would you like me to do your upper back?’ she repeated. ‘It is not easy to scrub your own back, and I would be happy to do so.’

‘I… w-well, thank you,’ Tegan mumbled, quickly turning around so that Nyssa wouldn’t see the full extent of her blush. ‘I am very grateful.’

‘Tegan… you will need to let the straps down.’

‘O-oh, yeah…’

Nyssa giggled, taking the flannel from Tegan’s hand, and scooted closer, so that she was just sat behind Tegan. Tegan, hands fumbling slightly, let the straps of her shift off her shoulders, so that material slipped a little way down her back. Nyssa’s hands began to gently ease the flannel over Tegan’s back. Almost unconsciously, Tegan let out a deep sigh of contentment. Her hand shot up and covered her mouth; she could feel her face burning with embarrassment.

‘I’ll take that as a good sign,’ Nyssa chuckled, her breath on Tegan’s neck. ‘You really do have lovely skin, Tegan…’

Tegan trembled, shivering as Nyssa continued. She could have sworn that gooseflesh was erupting up both of her arms, and the vibrations from Nyssa’ voice on her neck was… well, Tegan was certainly glad that her legs were squeezed together, that was for sure.

‘T-thank you,’ Tegan whispered, immensely aware that the two of them were in the baths alone, with only two thin shifts inbetween them. ‘You really seem to like my skin.’

‘Well, I do have eyes,’ Nyssa chuckled. ‘Besides, skinship is important between two women.’

‘Er… is it?’

‘Yes; back home, it was quite common for women to wash each other like this. Although the wearing of shifts wasn’t common. Would you like me to take off-’

‘N-no!’ Tegan stammered.

‘I was joking,’ Nyssa chuckled. ‘But that was an interesting reaction; are you of the sapphic persuasion, Tegan?’

‘Er…’ Tegan said, rather distracted by how Nyssa’s hands were now working a muscle in Tegan’s upper back. ‘I suppose I have always preferred women to men.’

‘Well, that would explain some things,’-Nyssa let out a giggle-‘Such as your reaction to being, in your words, pressed up against my ti-’

‘Nyssa!’

The young woman giggled again. Tegan’s face was surely bright red by this point; the combination of Nyssa’s line of questioning and the intimacy of their current situation were causing… ruminations in Tegan’s brain. It probably could have been worse if Tegan had closed her eyes; her mind would have elaborated on the sounds of the gently splashing water as well as the scent of the young woman sat barely a few inches away from her.

‘All done,’ Nyssa said, softly.

‘T-thank you,’ Tegan breathed, not trusting herself to look Nyssa in the eye as she turned around, pulling the straps back over her shoulders.

‘My pleasure. May I take the liberty of asking you to do me?’

‘W-what?’ Tegan stammered, face turning bright red.

Nyssa giggled.

‘As in, do my upper back, Tegan; with my own flannel?’

‘O-oh, yes, of course.’

Nyssa turned around, still giggling, and slipped the straps of her shift off her shoulders, the material slipping down a few inches and revealing-

Tegan swallowed nervously. Nyssa’s shoulders and upper back were… well, there were bare. And they were very pretty, much like the rest of her.

The rest of her that Tegan was making great efforts not to look at.

Keeping her breathing as calm as she could, Tegan took Nyssa’s own flannel from the side of the bath, and began to rub soap into it. She then began to gentle work the soap into Nyssa’s shoulders and upper back, taking care to be as soft with the young woman’s skin as she could. After all, Nyssa was probably a bit less rough-and-tumble than Tegan herself was.

Nyssa’s skin was soft and delicately smooth. Not that Tegan was noticing this, of course. And she definitely wasn’t noticing the soft sigh that the young woman let out as Tegan softly worked the muscles of her upper back.

‘Is this okay?’ Tegan whispered, face barely a few inches from Nyssa’s neck.

‘It’s wonderful,’ Nyssa replied, her voice as soft as silk. ‘Truly.’

‘T-thank you.’

‘Did you often do this back home?’

‘No,’ Tegan said. ‘My family didn’t have baths like this; we had an old tin one that we kept on the back of the kitchen door.’

‘But you are very good at this.’

Tegan bit back the smile emerging on her face.

‘That’s because a good woman such as yourself deserves every gentleness.’

Nyssa’s cheeks seemed to pinken.

‘Oh, Tegan,’ she said, softly. ‘You are too sweet to me.’

‘Impossible,’ Tegan replied, after a moment’s pause. ‘This is the least I can do.’

‘Well, be that as it may,’ Nyssa whispered. ‘I think it’s wonderful. You are wonderful.’

Tegan felt her traitorous heart thump against her chest. It was so loud that she was surprised Nyssa couldn’t hear it. They did not speak for a while, both of them content to sit quietly as Tegan flannelled Nyssa’s shoulders and upper back.

‘Finished,’ Tegan said, placing the flannel back on the side of the bath.

Nyssa turned to her, smiling.

‘Thank you, Tegan.’

‘N-no problem,’ Tegan replied, her own mouth widening into a smile. ‘Glad to be of help. Er… what time is it?’

Nyssa shrugged.

‘Judging from my fingers already becoming wrinkled, I’d saw we’ve been in here a good hour.’

‘That’s what I thought,’ Tegan said, sighing. ‘I need to get back to my quarters; Dynadan said I’ve an early start tomorrow.’

Tegan climbed out of the bath, and crossed the floor to where she had left her clothes and bag. She grabbed a towel, and was just about to start drying her hair, when she noticed Nyssa staring at her, eyes wide as she rested her arms on the side of the bath.

‘Er…’ Tegan said, feeling her cheeks flush. ‘Any particular reason you’re staring?’

‘Not really,’ Nyssa replied, still staring. She moved her arms, placing elbows on the floor so as to support her head with her hands. ‘Do I need one?’

‘No,’ Tegan said, softly. ‘No, I suppose you don’t. But, well, shouldn’t you turn away while I change?’

‘I don’t believe I have to. We’re both girls, aren’t we?’

‘Well, yes but…’ Tegan trailed off, unsure of how to phrase it. ‘I… normally, women don’t watch me while I change clothes. Like you said, I am… of the sapphic persuasion.’

‘And you’re worried that I may be uncomfortable due to that? Not at all.’ Nyssa said, smiling widely. ‘Like I said, you are very pretty, Tegan.’

‘Flirt.’

Nyssa giggled, cheeks dimpling, as Tegan -smiling more than she cared to admit- pulled a spare shift out of her bag.

Tegan had to admit; jousting seemed rather… silly.

The idea of crashing into someone-else in full armour whilst riding at high speeds didn’t seem practical or sensible. Most of it seemed to be largely just an excuse for the knights to challenge each other within a “friendly” atmosphere. As well as to drink a good deal and flirt.

Well, all except one knight.

Dynadan was apparently in charge of coordinating the various physicians as they all dealt with the various injuries the combatants were inflicting upon each other. And, as Dynadan’s newest apprentice, Tegan was helping him with the fine details.

She hadn’t expected to be entrusted with such responsibility so soon, but Dynadan had insisted that Tegan had a good judge of character and would therefore be good at this. Apparently, she was, judging from the fact that none of the various physicians had complained about any of her suggestions. In fact, many of them seemed to be taken aback by the simplicity and common-sense of her suggestions, leaving Tegan with the underlying feeling that these physicians weren’t as smart as they claimed.

‘Tegan,’ asked Quinque, who was checking over a ledger. ‘Can you go and find Tredecim for me? I need to pass along some notes to them. Normally, I’d ask Yasmin but she seems to have disappeared too.’

Tegan nodded, taking the notes from the blonde man’s hands and heading across the field, dodging the various knights who were drunkenly stumbling around and trying to remember what day it was.

One of the physicians -a short man with a shocking mop of black hair- was being helped to his feet by a taller man with a Caledonian accent, after a knight had presumably knocked him over by mistake.

‘Oh, aye, lad,’ said the Caledonian, pointing towards another man. ‘He’ll set y’right.’

Tegan smiled, nodded, and headed in that direction, his boots beating softly against the grass-

Tegan froze.

His? Where had his come from?

Tegan shook herself. Maybe her mind had slipped up due to being called a young man so often over the past. Yeah, that was probably it.

Tegan cast these thoughts of her mind, and headed over to the man the Caledonian had suggested.

The man in question, a tall man with sideburns who worked as an orderly for one of the other physicians, smiled kindly at Tegan. He -Mister Benton, Tegan remembered his name being- then pointed her in the direction of a medical tent. Tegan thanked the cheerful man and headed in that direction.

Tegan pushed open the tent flap and stepped inside.

Yasmin and Tredecim broke apart, their faces flushed. The front of Tredecim’s shirt was half-open, and several locks of Yaz’s hair had slipped out of the tight bun she kept her hair in.

‘Whoops,’ Tegan exclaimed, her own cheeks going pink. She hurriedly turned on her heels ‘Sorry, you two are busy, I’ll come back later-’

A hand whipped out and grabbed Tegan by the back of her shirt collar. She was awkwardly yanked back inside the tent.

Yasmin pulled her into the centre of the room.

‘I just came here to pass on these notes,’ Tegan said, quickly. ‘I promise I won’t say anything-’

‘You better not,’ Yasmin said, frowning. ‘I’m surprised you aren’t more shocked, to be honest.’

‘Why?’

‘Well… I mean, Tredecim isn’t a woman or a man, and we were kissing each other.’

Tegan stared at Yasmin, and then at Tredecim.

‘That’s an option?’

‘Er… yeah,’ said Tredecim, a little startled. ‘It is.’

‘Wow…’ Tegan said, blinking quickly. ‘That’s… wow. I never even realised…’

‘Er, Tegan?’

‘Yes?’ Tegan said, swallowing quickly. ‘Sorry. Got distracted. That’s all good; no worries. Not an issue at all. Pretty cool, actually.’

Yasmin exchanged a surprised look with Tredecim, before turning back to Tegan.

‘You really mean that, don’t you,’ Yasmin said, slowly. ‘You really think it’s cool.’

Tegan nodded.

‘I’m a kid from Cornwall,’ she replied. ‘I don’t what sort of things happen at Camelot, but that sounds amazing. Shame we didn’t have this idea back home, to be honest.’

‘You probably have people back home like me,’ Tredecim said. ‘We’re more common than you think.’

‘Really?’ Tegan exclaimed, not entirely sure why this was so interesting for her. ‘Amazing!’

There was a brief silence.

‘Thank you, Tegan,’ Tredecim said, smiling as they shook Tegan by the hand. Tegan grinned.

CRASH

Tegan startled.

‘That didn’t sound good,’ Tredecim said, grabbing their bag of tools from a table nearby. ‘Yaz, with me?’

‘Always,’ Yasmin said, grabbing her own tools and following the blonde out of the tent. Tegan followed.

It was chaos that greeted them outside the tent. A pair of men had collided on horseback, and one of them had been thrown from their saddle. A large group of worried onlookers had crowded round, all whispering various suggestions, as well as a few people that were wondering what was going on. Tegan followed Yasmin and Tredecim into this fray.

‘Make room, make room!’ Yasmin exclaimed, as courtiers bustled around. She climbed down next to the man.

Tegan stared over Yasmin’s head to where the patient was lying. He was still wearing his armour and seemed unable to even sit up.

‘Tegan,’ Tredecim said. ‘I’m gonna grab the other physicians; you help Yaz here.’

The blonde hurried away. Tegan stumbled forwards and got to her knees on the other side of the man.

‘We can’t move him in case there’s spinal damage,’ Yasmin said, quietly so that only Tegan could hear her. ‘We need to ascertain his condition before we try anything risky.’

‘Sir?’

Tegan turned. Mister Benton had knelt down next to them.

‘You know this man, Mister Benton?’ she asked.

‘Yes; his name is Mike Yates,’ Benton said, grimly.

Tegan pulled the helmet off the man, taking care not to jostle him.

‘Sir?’ Benton said, shaking him on the arm. ‘Sir? You with us?’

‘’m tired,’ mumbled Mike Yates. ‘Gonna go t’sleep…’

‘No,’ Tegan said, slapping him on the chest. ‘You’ve got a potential concussion, you can’t go to sleep.’

Behind her, Tegan could hear the sounds of approaching feet. Judging from the various arguing voices, Tredecim had brought all the various physicians of the court.

They all crowded round, taking notes of Yates’s condition.

Yasmin smiled, patting Tegan on the arm.

Sighing, Tegan climbed to her feet and extracted herself from the cluster of people surrounding Yates. She stumbled a few feet away, and sat down on a bale of hay. A few moments later, she was joined by Benton.

‘Is he gonna be okay?’

Benton nodded.

‘The physicians say he’ll be fine. I swear, he always seemed to get injured. You think he’d have a better sense of self-preservation.’

‘This happens a lot?’

‘All the time,’ Benton continued. ‘If someone is being injured, it will almost certainly be him.’

‘And you have to look after him?’

‘Well, Jo helps me out when she’s not assisting Tribus,’ -Benton gestured to the tall man with curly white hair who was wearing deep purple robes- ‘He’s my superior but you wouldn’t know it most of the time.’

‘I can believe that.’

Benton chuckled.

‘It used to be easier to heal people, though,’ he said, face turning more sombre. ‘I… I think the magic of Camelot is starting to lose its vitality. Has been for a while.’

‘It used to heal people?’

‘Yes. Not just big wounds, either. When people caught flu, it would be gone within barely a day. Splinters would heal within hours. The very stones of the place seemed to resist the elements better than they would normally.’

Tegan mused on this. Back home, magic had been a factor in their lives, yes, but it had largely been relegated to the fae folk. It had never been something that humans dealt with. Certainly not of the scale Benton was describing. An entire citadel, infused with magic? It hardly seems believable. And yet it was. It had been, and now the magic was failing. Everyone could see it. The only reason Tegan hadn’t noticed was because she was so new to the place. To her, wounds that took a good deal of time was the rule, not a sign of decay within the very fabric of the place itself.

The physicians were now helping Yates to his feet, having presumably assessed that he did not have any spinal damage.

‘I best help them get him up to the infirmary,’ he said. ‘Thanks, Master Tegan.’

Smiling, Tegan watched Benton go. What a sweet old sort.

‘You’ve acted commendably once again, Tegan.’

Tegan’s heartbeat increased. Turning, she could see that Nyssa -wearing a lovely deep maroon dress- had come to stand beside her. As seemed to always be the case with Nyssa, a couple locks of her brown curly hair were sticking out from her hair-covering.

Given that, the last time they had met, the two of them had been only wearing underwear (and, for a few short seconds, even less), Tegan was surprised by how quickly she became flustered at seeing the woman stood before her.

‘Nyssa!’ Tegan squeaked, hurriedly climbing off the hay bale and hoping against hope that her hair didn’t have any loose bits of the stuff in it. ‘Er, hello! How are you?’

‘Very well, thank you,’ she replied, smiling prettily. ‘Are you enjoying the tournament thus far?’

‘Seems like an excuse for the knights to get drunk and muck about, to be honest.’

Nyssa giggled. It sounded like the sweetest of birdsong to Tegan’s ears.

‘I suppose they do get rather excited,’ she replied. ‘But it is nice to see everyone having fun.’

Tegan smiled, a little nervously.

‘Guinevere didn’t enquire about… last night, did she?’

Nyssa shook her head, the curls of her hair bouncing prettily. Tegan found herself unable to draw her eyes away.

‘Not a word. I don’t think she believed anything to be out of the ordinary.’

‘That’s good,’ Tegan said, earnestly. ‘I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble over it.’

‘Oh, you can get me into trouble as much as you like, Tegan.’

Tegan let out a spluttering, embarrassed laugh.

‘Nyssa!’

‘Oh, is that a euphemism?’ asked Nyssa, with a tone that implied that she already knew the answer. ‘What is it referring to?’

‘Stop it!’ Tegan exclaimed, face burning. ‘You’re a handmaiden, you can’t say things like that!’

‘I believe I already did,’ Nyssa said, smiling. ‘It may be that you are a bad influence on me, Tegan.’

The two both laughed.

‘That’s…’ Tegan gasped, once she had gotten over her giggles. ‘That’s a very pretty dress, by the way.’

‘Oh, thank you,’ Nyssa said, smiling widely as her cheeks pinkened. ‘Do you think so?’

To help Tegan see the dress better, she picked up the sides and held them out to the sides, twirling where she stood. The effect was rather marvellous. Like a flower being blown softly in the breeze. Or a sweet bird showing off its plumage. Regardless, Tegan found herself utterly enamoured.

‘Absolutely gorgeous,’ Tegan said, feeling rather flustered. ‘You look wonderful. I mean, you’re very pretty anyway but- that is-’

Nyssa chuckled, as Tegan spluttered into silence.

‘Thank you, Tegan,’ she said, sweetly. ‘I’m glad you like it.’

‘N-no problem.’

‘I rather like your shirt,’ Nyssa said, a little shyly. ‘It suits you.’

‘O-oh, this?’ Tegan said, scoffing. ‘You think?’

‘Yes,’ Nyssa said, her eyes slowly ascending up Tegan’s biceps. ‘Absolutely.’

Tegan blushed. She had grown up in a place where physical labour had been a fact of life, so she had never stopped to think much about the muscles that she had. At most, she had been glad that it would make her disguise as a boy more realistic; many people were still under the impression that women were unable to build muscles, after all.

But now, with Nyssa’s eyes darting over her biceps, she couldn’t help but be glad of all those times she had hauled buckets of milk up the hill towards the nearest village. If Nyssa liked it, then Tegan would happily start lifting the barrels of hay nearby them. Judging from the way Nyssa’s eyes with glinting, she would be rather happy about that possibility too.

Tegan wetted her lips nervously, and began to open her mouth.

‘Nyssa, would you perhaps like me to demonstrate-’

There was a stomach-churning roar.

Whirling round, Tegan saw a large creature emerge from behind the clouds above, before soaring down into the field.

It was… actually, Tegan wasn’t sure what it was. But she generally of the opinion that giant, screaming creatures with lots of talons attempting to attack Camelot probably weren’t the kindest of creatures.

And it was giant. At least three times the size of a large man, with huge muscled limbs. Each limb ended in a huge… paw? Foot? Well, whatever the terminology, each had far too many spiky talons for Tegan’s taste. A huge thrashing tail followed the body of the creature, knocking over tents as its owner trampled through the field.

‘A wyrm!’

Nyssa was staring at the creature with appalled horror, her mouth falling open.

‘A what?’

‘I’ve seen inscriptions of them in portfolios in my father’s library back home; creatures created by dark magic,’ the young woman gasped. ‘We need to get everyone to safety, now! Good grief, These creatures shouldn’t be normally allowed to get anywhere near Camelot, how did they-’

‘Maybe we should figure that out after we get out of harm’s way?’ Tegan urged, grabbing Nyssa by the arm. ‘C’mon!’

Nyssa nodded.

The two of them sprinted in the direction of the castle, only to be caught up in the crush of people storming towards the citadel gates. Tegan’s ears were buffeted by the yells of the people surrounding. Her hand desperately closed around Nyssa’s arm, holding the young woman as close as she could. Nyssa leaned in, so that Tegan could fully put her arm around her shoulder. However, in the whirl of screaming, worried bodies, Tegan lost her handhold on Nyssa’s arm, and the young woman disappeared in the crush of bodies around them.

Panic rising in her heart, Tegan stumbled out of the crowd, just in time for a figure on horseback, dressed in full armour, to gallop past, towards the wyrm itself.

‘Knights of Camelot, to me!’

Arthur, a spear clutched in his hand, charged forward.

There was a loud screech from the wrym, and -a few moments later- Arthur crashed to the ground with a horrifying crunch.

‘Sire!’

Dynadan charged over, eyes wide with worry as he pulled his king up from the ground. The older man was woozy but conscious. He didn’t seem to have lost any blood, but he was clearly winded and in no state to fight.

‘Tegan!’ Dynadan cried, sagging slightly with the weight of the armoured man hanging off him. ‘Get the Queen to safety!’

Tegan nodded, darting around. Guinevere was stood a short while away, her eyes wide with worry.

‘Your majesty!’ Tegan yelled, running across to her. ‘Please, we must get back inside the fortifications-’

‘Nyssa!’ Guinevere cried, pointing directly ahead of her, beyond where Tegan was stood.

Tegan’s stomach turned to ice as her eyes followed to where the queen was pointing.

Nyssa was stood a good distance away, in the middle of the field, her arms splayed out to shield the two young children that were crouching behind her. Her hair-covering was being knocked about by the wind generated by the vast wings above her. The wyrm bared down on them, its eyes narrowed with malice and hatred. Talons raised, nostrils streaming with unearthly fire. Tegan’s heart closed up, and her brain stuttered to a halt. No, no, no!

Without thinking, Tegan charged forward, feet pummelling the ground. Her heart whirled in her chest, and the blood pounded in her ears. She didn’t know what she was doing, but she did know that she couldn’t stand still while Nyssa was in harm’s way. Running as fast as she could, Tegan passed a wooden container, which held a bunch of discarded weapons from the earlier tournament. Her hand closed around a sword pummel as she passed.

There was a clink as the sword and attached scabbard were pulled free of the container. Tegan had always assumed swords to be heavy, but this one felt surprisingly light, as if it wanted to be of help to her. Or maybe the adrenaline was pounding so much within her that she was presently unable to fully comprehend the weight of the weapon.

Still running, Tegan attached the scabbard to her belt. There was a strangely otherworldly glint as she pulled the sword from its scabbard, reflecting the light of the sun above and sending a rainbow of light around her. The wyrm was drawing in on Nyssa, but Tegan was faster and more determined. Fifty feet away, forty feet away, thirty, twenty, ten…

Nyssa closed her eyes, braced as the talons swung down-

Clang!

‘Nyssa!’

The young woman opened her eyes.

Tegan was stood in front of her, a gleaming sword raised above her. The sword was what the talons had deflected off of. Tegan’s arms were trembling with the effort of keeping the wrym back.

Tegan looked over her shoulder.

‘Run!’

Nyssa pulled the two children to their feet, and the three of them ran, heading towards the castle. Nyssa, already nursing a stitch in her side, came to a gasping halt nearby the gates. The children hurried inside, but Nyssa instead turned, the words of worry from Guinevere barely audible to her. Nyssa’s senses were still locked on Tegan, who was still stood back in the field, the sword desperately clanging off the talons of the wrym.

Alone.

‘Nyssa, what are you-’

Nyssa ignored Guinevere, charging past the queen of Camelot back onto the field. Her feet hammered against the ground as she ran. Luckily, her dress was just flexible enough that this sort of exertion wasn’t impossible.

Nyssa grabbed a shield off the ground, hooked her arm through it, and kept on running. Could she make it? She had to. She needed to. She couldn’t live with herself if she couldn’t. Thirty feet, twenty feet, fifteen, ten-

The wrym gave another high-pitched scream -somewhere between the hiss of a snake and the roar of a bullock- and swung one of its limbs. Right at Tegan, who suddenly felt very small and very, very foolish. Oh, well, at least Nyssa was safe.

Tegan flinched-

Clang!

The talons clanged off a shield.

‘Are you alright?’

Nyssa was stood by Tegan’s side, sweat beading on her brow as she kept the wryms talons at bay.

‘W-what are you-’

‘Saving your life, like you saved mine!’

Without thinking, they both grabbed each other’s hand and barrelled back towards the castle. The wrym had been so shocked by the entrance of another combatant that it did not follow them for a few seconds. However, that brief pause was enough for another person to step onto the field.

‘Lady Fay?’ Tegan exclaimed, as herself and Nyssa charged past. ‘What are you-’

Lady Fay was stood, hands raised above her.

‘My duty, Master Tegan!’ she exclaimed. ‘Camelot is mine to protect, and I will do so!’

The wrym gave another terrible cry. The ground shook, sending Tegan and Nyssa falling onto the grass below them. Gasping, they turned where they lay, hands still clenched together, as they stared up at the stately woman, facing down the flying creature before her.

‘Leave, foul creature of darkest magic!’ declared Lady Fay. ‘Begone! You- Shall- Not- Pass!’

There was a flash of light and the creature reared away, squawking as it soured away.

Somewhat dazed, Tegan and Nyssa helped each other to their feet. Lady Fay, with a steadiness to her walk that Tegan wouldn’t have thought possible, made her way over to them both.

It was at this point that Dynadan emerged from the gates.

‘Tegan…’ Dynadan said, pulling his visor back to reveal a shocked expression. He pointed at the sword still hanging from Tegan’s hand. ‘Is that… Caliburn?’

‘Er… it’s a sword,’ Tegan said, looking down at it. ‘I didn’t think; I just grabbed one…’

But Dynadan had turned, equally shocked, to Nyssa.

‘Nyssa, what are you carrying?’

‘Oh,’ Nyssa said, holding up the shield. ‘I picked it up off the ground. It was the nearest thing I could find.’

‘Pridwen,’ Dynadan said, softly. ‘The shield of the king.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Nyssa exclaimed, eyes widening with shock. ‘I didn’t realise-’

‘No, you misunderstand me,’ Dynadan said, kindly. ‘Caliburn and Pridwen have been absent for… well, quite a long time.’

‘Well, they were clearly just missing in the stores somewhere,’ Tegan said, snorting in irritation. ‘Considered that me and Nyssa found them dotted around.’

‘They weren’t missing; like I said, they were absent,’ Dynadan continued. ‘The weapons found you.’

‘They’re just objects,’ Tegan said, frowning. ‘You act like they’re alive.’

‘They are,’ Dynadan replied. ‘They’re magic.’

Tegan and Nyssa stared at him, and then looked down at the weapons in their hands.

‘Oh,’ Tegan said. ‘Er… what sort of magic, exactly?’

‘The greatest of magic,’ Lady Fay said, softly. ‘The weapons are part of the connection between the magic of the land and Camelot itself.’

Tegan and Nyssa turned to look at each other. Suddenly, the weapons felt a great deal heavier than they had done just a few moments before.

The rain poured down. It was as if the sunny, fancy-free atmosphere that had enveloped Camelot had well-and-truly gone. The weather clearly knew how to match the mood of the inhabitants of the castle the wind and rain was hammering against.

Tegan shivered. She wished that she could have brought a cloak with her, but there hadn’t been time to go back to the quarters she had placed her meagre possessions in.

Dynadan had led Tegan and Nyssa up to the throne room of the palace. It seemed strangely… lonely. Possibly due to the fact that the massive round table in its centre didn’t have a single person sat around it. Tegan could make out the names of knights that she had grown up hearing the exploits of; Galahad, Gawain…

Presumably, the knights were all being patched up in the infirmary several floors below. As the only knight not involved in the tournament, Dynadan was now the only one who was in any fit shape to stand.

The Cornish knight took a look around, and headed into a door just to the side of the two thrones, presumably heading to where Arthur and Guinevere were convening privately.

Deciding to take this temporary slice of silence as a cue, Tegan came to stand beside Nyssa, who gave her a small smile. Suddenly, the world didn’t seem so dark. The princess of Traken was still carrying the shield in her arms.

‘T-thank you,’ Tegan said, softly. ‘You saved my life.’

‘You saved mine,’ Nyssa replied. ‘Again. I had to pay back the favour or else I’ll be in your debt for all eternity, you see.’

‘I’m in your debt, Nys. Truly, I am.’

Nyssa’s cheeks flushed.

Dynadan walked back into the room, followed by Arthur and Guinevere, their courtly robes replaced with simple, hardy clothes covered with thick cloaks that hastened with brooches at their collarbones. Lady Fay followed a few moments later.

‘As you can see, sire,’ the Cornish knight said, gesturing to the objects still clutched in Tegan and Nyssa’s hands. ‘Caliburn and Pridwen.’

Arthur and Guinevere stared at the weapons.

‘You mean…’ Guinevere said, slowly.

‘Yes,’ Dynadan answered. ‘They have indeed returned.’

‘By my father’s bones,’ Arthur whispered. ‘I did not expect this day to come…’

‘Er…’ Tegan said, speaking up. ‘Listen, I’m none too sure what’s going on, but Dynadan said these weapons are magic?’

‘Lad, these weapons are more than just magic,’ Arthur said, softly. ‘How are you wielding Excalibur?’

‘I thought it was called Caliburn!’

‘The sword has many names,’ Arthur said, waving a hand absentmindedly. ‘It has been the sword in the stone, the sword of the lake, and many others. All of them completely different, and yet all of them true.’

‘Great,’ Tegan muttered, so that only Nyssa could hear her. ‘And here I was, worried he was going to be vague about this...’

Arthur and Guinevere both seated themselves on their thrones. But they might as well have been reclining on simple chairs, because they sat with exhaustion and shock, the events of the day seeming to crash over them.

Arthur sighed, resting his hand in one hand, as he leant on the arm of his throne.

Tegan was suddenly aware of the age of the man. He certainly wasn’t the young man that had ushered in the so-called Arthurian Golden Age several decades before. The Arthur before her was… old, tired and with a lot of his fire extinguished.

Now that she came to think of it, Tegan couldn’t see much point in kings. Back home, King Mark seemed to do little except eat and drink more than he should. And there had been that whole business with his new wife running off with Mark’s own nephew. Good grief, a lot of people had died over that; all because one old man said that a war had to be fought over his marriage disintegrating.

Nah, kings definitely weren’t all they were cracked up to be. But so many didn’t seem to realise this. Tegan herself hadn’t really thought much about it before but, now, she felt that she was seeing clearly for the first time. It was as if, when humanity had been created, someone had stuck a scroll inside everyone’s head that simply read “kings: what a lovely idea”. This scroll seemed to also increase humanity’s tendency to bend at the knees. It was like an infection, Tegan thought. A very nasty infection that affected the very minds and souls of people.

Yes, Arthur seemed to be a good man who happened to be king. Yes, Guinevere seemed to be a good woman who happened to be queen. Tegan supposed you got weirdos in every strata of society, even the nobility. Although, at the very least, unlike some of the nobles Tegan had seen thus far, both Arthur and Guinevere seemed to have avoided a certain tendency amongst many of their class. Namely, the tendency to being at the back of the queue when the chins were being given out.

However, this didn’t make the idea of the monarchy especially palatable, in Tegan’s mind. Just because there may be a couple of good people at this particular point in time, that didn’t mean that every monarch automatically was.

That was the sticking point for Tegan. You couldn’t base the leadership of your society off the idea that someone was preordained to get better food and clothes than everyone else. That was how cults got started.

‘The magic is draining fast,’ Arthur said, face lined with worry. ‘Those creatures would not have been able to get within ten leagues of Camelot normally. If we do not seek a solution, things will only get worse.’

‘We need Merlin,’ Lady Fay said, frowning anxiously. ‘I cannot keep Camelot protected with my magic alone.’

‘Indeed. Dynadan… Excalibur was attracted to your household,’ Arthur said, now turning to the Cornish knight. ‘I can think of no-one better than you to undertake such a perilous quest.’

‘Are you sure, sire?’

Arthur nodded.

‘You are no vainglorious buffoon; your wits and intelligence will be needed for this. Merlin is beyond human intelligence, and therefore whatever -or whoever- captured them will need to be countered by someone of intelligence. Not some egoist in shining armour.’

Dynadan stood still for a moment, before nodding.

‘Also…’ Arthur added. ‘Take Master Tegan with you?’

Tegan’s mouth dropped open.

‘M-me?’ she stammered. ‘B-but I’m no knight!’

‘Excalibur found you,’ Arthur continued. ‘The sword knows it is needed, and so it put itself where you would find it in an emergency.’

‘I also think Nyssa should go with you both,’ Guinevere added, and Tegan heard a shocked gasp from the young woman stood beside her. ‘She grabbed Pridwen, after all. You cannot take the sword-barer without the shield-barer.’

‘But… my lady-’

‘I understand you are scared, Nyssa,’ Guinevere said, her eyes kind and earnest. ‘But you have shown great courage today. Not many people would charge back into the field of battle against a wrym, purely to save someone who had protected yourself from death just a few moments before.’

‘I… I do not know what to say,’ Nyssa said, quietly. ‘But I hope I may prove some use to this endeavour, although I am not sure as to how.’

‘Such things will be made apparent in time,’ Dynadan said. ‘The road will be difficult, and I cannot promise that we will all return unscathed. But… we must find Merlin, nonetheless.’

Tegan looked at Nyssa, and the young woman returned her gaze, a steely determination in her expression. It was strange that Tegan had never considered the option of declining to go but, well, Camelot was now her home. She may not have been there long -barely a couple of days- but she knew that the people here were good and kind. She could not let them down. And she knew that, if Nyssa was going, that she needed to be there too.

‘Right,’ Tegan said, glancing at Dynadan. ‘When are we leaving?’

It was the next morning. Tegan had not slept well. She had only been in Camelot for a very short amount of time, and already she had been called upon to help save the place from ruin. It was a lot of responsibility. She climbed out of bed and flannelled herself using the jug of water left in her small room. She then dressed, packed her meagre belongings back into her pack, and set off through the citadel.

The place was very quiet, considering that the cockerel had barely gotten up yet either, and Tegan was strangely aware of how… empty Camelot seemed without its people.

Tegan let out a small sigh. He was going to miss-

She, Tegan thought, blinking quickly. She was going to miss this.

She joined Dynadan in the main courtyard. The knight had collected two horses for them from the stables; Tegan had been expecting a knight to prefer some sort of charger, the type of horse to inspire awe and envy. But Dynadan had instead picked two sturdy horses, both dark brown.

‘We may be travelling through hostile territory, given that Merlin was last seen whilst travelling to the south-east of Britannia,’ he said, sensing Tegan’s questioning look. ‘In circumstances such as those, it is best to be as unassuming in appearance as possible.’

‘Good morning.’

Tegan and Dynadan turned. Guinevere and Arthur, as well as Lady Fay, had arrived. Nyssa stood to the side of Guinevere, wearing a simple dark blue dress under a long, brown cloak. The young woman gave a nervous smile, which Tegan returned.

As Dynadan began to converse with the three adults, Nyssa stepped forward and began to attach her belongings to the saddlebags of Tegan’s horse.

‘I take it that we are sharing a horse, so to speak?’

‘I… I guess so,’ Tegan said, slowly. ‘I hope you will not mind.’

Nyssa turned, smiling a knowing smile at the moment.

‘Considering what we were getting up to last night in the baths,’ she said, giggling. ‘I do not think you need to worry about increased intimacy between us.’

Tegan felt her cheeks burn.

‘No,’ she said, giggling too. ‘I suppose not.’

‘Are you ready to go?’

Tegan nodded.

‘I was just getting used to being here, and now I’m leaving again.’

‘I know the feeling,’ Nyssa said, staring up at the walls of the citadel around them. ‘It was already beginning to feel like home, and now… now it will not be home again for a while.’

‘I’m sorry I dragged you into this.’

‘No,’ Nyssa replied, firmly. ‘Never apologise for this, Tegan; you saved my life. I consider this but a small part of my gratitude to you.’

‘Well, you saved my life too,’ Tegan said, cheeks pinkening. ‘So I suppose that makes us even.’

The two of them smiled at each other.

‘Take this.’

Lady Fay passed Dynadan a bag.

‘It will come in handy, if you find yourselves in danger that you cannot run from,’ she said. ‘And I do worry that such circumstances may come to pass, sooner rather than later.’

‘Thank you, Lady Fay,’ Dynadan replied, attaching the bag to his belt. ‘We will take heart from your wisdom.’

The knight gave a quick bow, and Lady Fay nodded.

‘No knights could ever find Merlin,’ Arthur said, softly. ‘What good is the order of the round table when we cannot find one of our closest friends.’

‘We will find Merlin, my lord,’ Nyssa replied. ‘And return to Camelot as soon as we can.’

Arthur smiled, kneeling before Nyssa and Tegan.

‘Thank you, child; I pray to all that is good and true that you return.’

Tegan nodded, feeling rather awed. To disguise her shock, she climbed onto her horse and settled down onto the saddle. Nyssa followed her, climbing onto the back of the horse, and looped her arms around Tegan’s waist.

‘Ready, Tegan?’

Tegan smiled.

‘With you here? Absolutely.’

With one final wave to Arthur, Guinevere and Lady Fay, Dynadan climbed onto his own horse and set off through the gates. Tegan swallowed nervously, but took heart from Nyssa’s warmth around her.

Gently guiding the horse forward, Tegan and Nyssa trotted out of the gate, leaving Camelot for the world beyond.

~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading, everyone! Hope you enjoyed the second chapter; it's a bit longer than the first but there was SO MUCH stuff I wanted to include! 😊

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sunshine-vx · 4 months

Text

Across Space, Time and Dreams (ASTaD) (Ch. 21)

(Blankshippers DNI)

(Please refer to beginning of chapter 1 post for complete list of CWs/TWs)

(Extra notes: Yippiee, I've actually posted the next chapter like I said I would today! Hope you guys like it! It's a tiny bit rushed, there may be a few edits I have to go back and do, but I did look it over so hopefully it's not too bad lol)

(This chapter's illustration done by @moonlightalpha666 !)

(Reblogs are appreciated!)

Ingo and Emmet sat down beside each other, Looker taking a seat across from them.

"I am not allowed to give out too much information, but what I can say is that I work with and am very much aware of space-time phenomena." Looker explained, "Your case is exceedingly rare and socially unheard of, but not impossible, however much is still unknown about the specifics of it all. That said, I believe there is a way to prove a certain phenomena present here.”

Looker reached into his pocket, taking out a Pokéball. He clicked it, a pink and purple, peaceful-looking Pokémon forming from the blue light.

"A Musharna?" Emmet commented, confused.

"Yes. You see, both of you put a large amount of emphasis on these supposed dreams that you have been having while you were being questioned- if said dreams are true to your word, then it could be used as evidence.” Looker explained

“If my hypothesis is correct, this Musharna here will use its powers to look at your recent dreams, and see if any of them match up with your claims. This is the only way to be able to confirm what you say about these dreams of yours as true. I assure you, it is not dangerous, and does not affect the mind at all.”

"Are..are you sure?" Ingo stuttered.

"I would not suggest a procedure if it put either of you in danger, especially considering the circumstances already at hand." Looker responded.

"Alright, then, uh, what do we do-?" Ingo started.

Musharna floated towards Ingo, its body glowing, and Ingo's own reflecting the same effect.

"Just stay still. You will feel a slight tingling- that is normal." Looker answered.

Ingo was a bit caught off guard, almost slipping. Emmet began to get up to help his brother, but Ingo put up his hand to tell Emmet it was okay, who sat back down apprehensively.

Ingo felt a bit dizzy and heavy, although he assumed that was natural. He closed his eyes to help himself stabilize.

After a moment, the heaviness suddenly lifted, and he opened his eyes to see his twin glowing instead now, the Musharna having quickly floated towards Emmet while Ingo had recovered.

Ingo's eyes widened, prepared to do what he had to do, but he told himself it was fine. Following a few seconds, the Musharna floated back to Looker, and Emmet stopped glowing. Emmet breathed out, clearly surprised.

"Wow! That felt weird!"

"Yeah. And- woah! Look at the Musharna's mist!"

The Musharna's mist looked almost galaxy-esc, with many different colors scattered within it.

"Interesting. Very, very interesting." Looker murmured, "Musharna, show me what you found."

Musharna hummed in response, and Looker began to glow this time, the detective closing his eyes.

Ingo and Emmet watched nervously, and after a few minutes, Musharna floated a few inches away, Looker no longer glowing. He opened his eyes, and following him staring out into space for a moment, Looker took out a notepad and a pen, scribbling down notes.

When he was done, he clicked his pen again, before setting it down on the table.

"Good. Very good. Thank you, Musharna." Looker lifted Musharna's Pokéball and returned it inside, stuffing the Pokéball back into his coat's pocket afterwards.

"What did you see?" Ingo asked.

“It seems the procedure worked! And, what you described does indeed match what I saw!" Looker announced.

Ingo and Emmet smiled.

"That is amazing!" Emmet vocalized.

"Indeed. Now, there's a few more things that need to be done here." Looker spoke.

Looker took a small stack of papers and slided them across the table to Ingo.

"Ingo, you are aware you were sent to the past, correct?"

"Yes, I am aware." Ingo answered simply.

"Good. Read the papers I gave you. They are documentations that the police- and Emmet- theorized may be speaking of you, and things you may have been affiliated with. See what you can decipher." Looker instructed.

Ingo blinked, and took the papers in his hands. Emmet leaned over Ingo's shoulder, scanning the papers as well.

"This is what I was talking about." Emmet voiced, "I found some things in a history museum, and when I kept looking, there were more things I discovered."

Ingo only nodded slowly, focused on what he was reading.

As Ingo continued reading, he felt his chest tighten and tears prick at his eyes, but he blinked them away.

The papers spoke of a strange man in the Pearl Clan of Hisui. He was said to have an amazing ability to tame Pokémon, and even battle with them. He had habits and customs that were foreign to Hisui, but that the man simply did anyway. For a time, he served as the Noble Sneasler's warden, and worked at Jubilife Village to help create a battle institute there. It even showed sketches of the Warden Bracelet he wore now.

It was him. It was absolutely, 100%, without any doubt, him.

"Yes. That is you, right, Ingo? It must be." Emmet commented, sitting back in his seat.

After another moment, Ingo put the papers down and slid them back to Looker.

"..Yes. Yes, it is. Wow, that's..that's incredible." Ingo spoke.

At this revelation, Ingo felt almost unsettled. Thoughts and questions came to his mind, but he shook them away. Right now, he needed to focus on the present moment. He'd ask Emmet about it later.

"Yes. Everything adds up, doesn't it?" Looker added, "One more thing, and we will be done here."

Looker placed a strange device on the table, and activated it. It began projecting footage in the air, the same way Emmet's device on his wrist did.

"Can you both confirm that you remember these events?"

Looker played the same footage Emmet had showed Ingo. But then, he played two other things as well.

One was of Emmet walking down the Subway Tunnels. He seemed focused, determined on doing something. There was a glow reflecting on Emmet from off the screen. Emmet began to walk towards whatever was giving off the light, before the footage cut out, and he was gone.

Then, another tape. The camera was focused on the sidewalk beside one of the main rails. The screen began to bug out, and looked strange. It cut out, and suddenly, Ingo, Emmet and Chandelure were all there. Then, the footage ended.

Emmet and Ingo simply nodded. It wasn't too surprising that they had footage of other things- including their return- as well.

Looker continued. "Good. Very, very good. Emmet, while you were supposedly in the past as well, you were also seen in the present. How?”

“A Zorua. Gym Leader Elesa found one right after I had left, and it was able to pull off taking my place until I returned. She knew because Depot Agents Cloud and Jackie contacted her due to seeing me go through the portal on camera footage. Only they knew about it.”

Looker nodded, scribbling a bit more on his notepad.

“I think that is all. You will wait in the front of the Station, and when we give you our final statements, you may all leave. I will escort you two there."

Drayden, Elesa, and Depot Agents Cloud and Jackie watched as the projection of the camera footage ended, disappearing back into the device.

"Yup, that's what we saw on the cameras, alright." Cloud stated.

"We didn't want to cause any further panic or jump to any conclusions, so we contacted Emmet's family before anything else." Jackie explained "Thankfully, Ms. Elesa knew what was going on. She had informed Mr. Drayden, and had a plan to make sure nothing got out to anyone else."

Looker nodded and wrote down in his notepad.

"Emmet told me about a Zorua taking his place while he was away. Is that this 'plan' you speak of?"

"Yes, sir." Elesa, who stood next to the Depot Agents and Drayden, answered.

"I see. Well, it's clear that the 'current' Emmet is the real one, and that this Zorua is no longer impersonating him." Looker spoke, "However, due to safety protocol, might I ask you to show me this Zorua, if possible?"

Elesa nodded and reached into one of the pockets on her puffy yellow jacket, taking out a Pokéball a second later. She clicked on the contraption's button.

"Come on out, Zorua."

From the bright blue light that ejected from the Pokéball, Zorua formed. One of its ears twitched as it looked around the room.

Elesa took a step towards the Zorua and crouched down in front of it, giving it a pat on the head.

"Hey there, bud. I know you're probably a bit confused right now, but can I ask you a favor?"

The Zorua tilted its head in response, as if to ask what Elesa wanted.

"Well, we have to show a few things to this man here," Elesa motioned towards Looker, "including how you were able to turn into Emmet. Is that alright? It's so he can make sure everything is in order."

The Zorua paused for a moment, seeming a bit perplexed, but then it went from a sitting position to standing on all fours, stretching, as if saying, 'alright then'. Elesa stood up and stepped back.

After a moment, the Zorua's eyes began to glow, and it started to transform, its look taking on the appearance of some almost-shapeless, dark mass. Then, it began to take another shape. The mass became more pronounced and specific, quickly sprouting limbs, a head, and even clothing.

Only some seconds later, the Zorua's eyes stopped glowing, settling into a silver shade, as it finally stopped transforming.

Now, the Zorua had taken on the form of Emmet. It looked pretty much exactly like him. Perhaps those who were especially close to Emmet could see that something was off, but being backed up by Elesa, Drayden, Cloud, and Jackie, the Zorua had managed to slip under the radar undetected.

It was still shocking to Elesa and the others, and even as a professional, Looker seemed a bit in awe.

"And can it speak?" Looker questioned.

As if to answer him, the Zorua opened its mouth.

"I am Emmet. I am a Subway Boss. Follow the schedule, safe driving."

Looker's eyes widened. "Fascinating." He whispered before going to write in his notebook.

"And how did you teach it to do all that?"

"I showed it pictures, videos and audio." Elesa explained, "It took a few days to get to where Zorua's impersonation was good enough, but thankfully, I was able to use the excuse that 'Emmet' and I were still on our trip. Zorua here seems to be a fast learner."

"There were some people who noticed something seemed off," Drayden added, "but they were able to be convinced when they were told it was just something like sickness, or an off day, and nothing more."

"Who all knows at this point in time?" Looker questioned.

"Myself, Elesa, Ms. Cloud, Ms. Jackie, Ingo and Emmet are the only ones who know." Drayden answered, "Well, as well as you and some other police officers, as well as the Zorua itself."

Looker hummed to himself, scribbling down notes in his notebook. Then, he tucked it and his pencil into his coat pocket.

"As someone whose duty it is to keep peace, I serve not only people, but Pokémon, as well." Looker vocalized, glancing at Elesa. "Does this Zorua have a name?"

"Well," Elesa replied, "I asked, and it said it likes the idea of being called 'Kurzen'."

Looker nodded, then turning to face Kurzen the Zorua, who was still posing as Emmet.

"Kurzen," Looker said "if I may, I have some questions for you. Surely, you can speak without being told what to say, yes?"

Kurzen only stared for a moment. It would be difficult to decipher what it was thinking, and Elesa began to worry it may not cooperate. But then, after a moment, Kurzen responded.

"...Yes. I can speak human language fluently."

Looker smiled, seeming both happy at the answer, and impressed.

"Brilliant. May I ask you those questions, then?"

"Just a moment please. I would like to be in my main form for this- it comes off as more genuine, no?"

Kurzen voiced, before beginning to transform again. It quickly reverted back to its form as a Zorua.

"There we go." Kurzen's ear twitched, "Now, go on. I am listening."

Looker, although having just witnessed Kurzen speak moments before, still seemed a bit surprised that in its Zorua form, Kurzen continued to speak so casually. Regardless, it wasn't a detriment to the investigation, so he went with it.

Looker flipped his pencil in his hand.

"How did you end up with Ms. Elesa?"

"Well, I spotted Elesa when she was on a late-night walk, mumbling to herself about what could happen if people found out someone was gone, and if only this someone could be at two places at once. So, I offered my help." Kurzen replied.

Looker nodded, writing down on his notepad.

"So I'm assuming your capture wasn't forced or harmful, nor your task of impersonating Emmet?"

"Not at all. Again, it was me who offered to help. It took a bit of communicating- Elesa was quite confused at first, and I did not know much of anything regarding the details of the situation other than a few things I had overheard, but we quickly came to an understanding, and a plan!"

Kurzen yapped, tapping their paw on the tiled floor, "The task given to me was perhaps a bit intimidating at first, but doing good takes courage- plus, I love a good challenge, and I quickly got used to it! In fact, it was fun to be able to do something new for a little while! So it worked out!"

Kurzen's golden eyes glistened, a happy look on their foxy face. "A day or two after I met Elesa, I asked her if she would catch me, and she did!"

"Alright then. That is good to hear. Might I ask what your motives for helping were?" Looker questioned.

"Well, you see...I am no fool, but I like to believe in the goodness of people and Pokémon, and the idea of embracing life,” Kurzen said, “I like to help others and just have harmless fun, although I've rarely been able to do that so directly- until I met Elesa."

Looker hummed to himself, continuing to write down notes,

"I see, I see. How can we be sure that you do not have any ulterior motives, Kurzen? Will you impersonate Emmet again, or someone else?"

Kurzen shook its head, "I have no intentions of impersonating Emmet- or anyone else- unless it becomes necessary again in the future, in which I'm sure Elesa or someone else here tells me if that is so. I understand it sounds suspicious, coming from a Zorua. We have a reputation of being tricksters, and I admit, a harmless prank every now and then is certainly fun!"

Kurzen snickered deviously, shook their fur out, and straightened their face, "But in the end, I only want to help people, have a nice time, make friends and enjoy life. I was able to help someone, and in doing so, I made a good friend, and I'd like to keep that friend."

Kurzen glanced at Elesa, their ear twitching and tail swooshing, before returning their gaze to Looker, "I feel that I can find more meaning with her help, and I think that would be wondrous."

A bright smile began to cross Elesa's face.

Looker nodded, thinking to himself for a few moments, before finishing writing and putting his pencil and notepad away in his coat pockets.

"I see, then. There is no evidence against your claims, and things seem to line up. So I will take your word for it. However, I have one request, for all of you."

"What would that be?" Drayden asked.

Looker conveyed, "Kurzen- you said that you would be willing to help in regards to impersonating individuals, should it theoretically be helpful, in the future?"

Kurzen nodded.

"In that case- should something like that occur for whatever reason, I want at least one of you to alert me of the situation, how it will be dealt with, and other details, and I will let it happen without consequences, should I see that fit. And please relay this to Ingo and Emmet, as well, and make sure they understand, if I don't tell them myself." Looker continued, "Do you all understand? Does that seem fair?"

"That seems alright to us, sir." Cloud spoke

"We'll be sure to let you know." Jackie added.

"Of course." Kurzen answered.

The others echoed their similar sentiments.

"Alright then. That is good. Thank you." Looker said, "I believe that is all.”

Looker took his notepad and pencil and placed it in one of his large coat pockets.

“I will escort you all to the front area of the station, and you will wait there. Once I and the other officers are done going over everything, we will give you our final statements, and then you may leave. Follow me.”

Kurzen pranced over to Elesa, looking up at her with big eyes. Elesa chuckled and picked Kurzen up, holding it in her arms.

“Did you really mean what you said? About me being your friend?” Elesa asked.

“Of course! I would hope that you feel the same way, no?” Kurzen replied.

“I do, absolutely. You've been a great new little buddy.”

“Thank you, Elesa. That means a lot to hear.”

Elesa nodded and took out Kurzen's Pokéball from her jacket.

“I know this kind of thing can be a bit exhausting. Would you like to return to your Pokéball for a bit?”

Kurzen's tail swished, “Yes, please. I am a little tired.”

“Alright, then! Oh, also, I have to ask. Are you always going to speak human language?”

“Only when I feel like it is necessary. In fact, I think I'll stop right about now- it's getting a bit tiresome.”

“Hahah, that sounds fine with me either way. See you later, Kurzen.”

Kurzen let out a yip in response, Elesa then tapping Kurzen's head gently with the Pokéball. Once Kurzen was securely resting inside, Elesa faced the others and prepared to go on.

In the front area of the station, Ingo and Emmet waited patiently. As Looker led the other four down a hallway and into the front, Cloud's eyes widened and Jackie gasped. Despite every bone in her body telling her to run at Ingo and twirl him around, she resisted. Cloud and Jackie shared a glance with each other, then with Elesa, then Drayden.

Finally, Looker stopped a few paces away from the twins, and the other four behind him.

"I will return." Looker said simply, before leaving down back the same hall they came from.

Ingo and Emmet moved their gaze to the other group. Emmet blinked, noticing the two Depot Agents, a bit surprised, although his smile widened.

Ingo opened his mouth to speak, before his eyes landed on the two Depot Agents, and he was rendered temporarily speechless.

The two individuals took a few more steps forward, stopping in front of Ingo.

"It's good to see you, Boss. Sorry we couldn't make it sooner- the subway is a bit hectic without you and Emmet's help." One of the people spoke with a soft smile. She was tall and muscular, with poofy hair, and kind eyes.

The other person- a shorter, skinnier girl with short, ginger hair, waved, her hand shaking, as if she couldn't fully believe what she was seeing.

"Depot Agents Cloud and Jackie. Our Assistant Subway Masters." Emmet said.

Ingo nodded, as if that information had already registered somewhere in his brain. Tears clouded his vision once more, and just like that, the questions came spinning through his head. He opened his mouth to nervously speak, but at least some of his concerns were able to be put to rest this time.

"It's okay. The others told us everything." Cloud explained. Ingo felt a confusing jab in his heart- he was relieved that he didn't have to break the news himself, but the sadness behind the two Agent's eyes was undeniable- and that pained him. He blinked the tears away.

"Everything? As in, everything, right?" Ingo wanted to make sure they knew. Before anyone could answer, however, Jackie began to walk towards Ingo, stopping in front of him, her head lowered.

Ingo was a bit confused. "Jackie?"

Jackie murmured, then raising her head to make eye contact with Ingo, tears rolling down her face. She hugged Ingo tightly.

"Boss, I don't know how much you recall, but the Subway station...everyone there, even if they don't say it, we're like a family. That's all I've got when it comes to that, so I'm counting on you to remember like Emmet says you can. Okay?"

Ingo felt a wave of emotions hit him. Now, tears began to flow down his face as well. He glanced over at Cloud, who only smiled, her eyes watery as well.

Ingo looked back at Jackie, who was still clinging to him, before returning the embrace and speaking softly,

"Of course. I promise, I would never abandon any of you."

Once Jackie had stepped back, Cloud approached Ingo and put a sturdy hand on his shoulder. She wiped away a few tears that stained her face.

"Take your time, Boss. I know it's all in there. We'll be waiting for you."

Ingo smiled, taking one of his hands and placing it on Cloud's wrist.

"And I can't wait to see you all again." Ingo spoke. Tears were freely falling now, and Ingo didn't really make much of an attempt to stop them. "Oh, and Cloud? There's no need for formalities, okay? At least, not now."

Cloud chuckled at this. Ingo gave Cloud's arm a pat with his hand, and this time, it was Ingo who initiated an embrace. Cloud was taken aback, but her small smile widened, her eyes becoming misty again. She returned the gesture, firm but gentle. After a moment, the two broke the hug. Ingo moved his hand from Cloud's wrist, Cloud patting Ingo's shoulder before lowering her own hand, taking a step back.

Jackie returned to Cloud's side, glancing up at her, the taller Agent giving the smaller Agent a reassuring grin. Jackie smiled softly in return.

"Thank you two, for understanding. I can already feel things coming back to me." Ingo spoke, "I'll be back in this family of ours in no time. That is a promise."

Jackie beamed, clasping her hands together, and Cloud nodded, her smile unwavering and brighter yet.

“Thank you, Boss.” Cloud replied.

“We care about you.” Jackie said.

Ingo's heart felt warm, “And I care about you. Thank you.”

There was a warm feeling in there air, and despite some cold feelings of uncertainty, they knew things would turn out alright.

“I hate to interrupt, but-” Elesa continued, “How did everything go for you two, boys? Everything went well for the four of us, so there's no reason to worry about that.”

“Oh, that is good to hear.” Emmet answered, “Everything went well with us, as well. I also believe there is no need to worry.”

“Good.” Drayden spoke.

After a bit, Looker returned into the area and approached Ingo, Emmet, Drayden, Elesa, Cloud and Jackie

"The other officers and I have made our conclusions; For now, until, and if, something else comes up, you are all free to go." Looker articulated, "We may be in contact with you vaguely, but other than that, you will not have to worry."

The group all seemed relieved and glad.

"Thank you so, so much, Detective." Ingo stated.

"We are verrry grateful for your help!" Emmet added.

Elesa, Drayden, Cloud and Jackie echoed their similar sentiments.

Looker smiled, "Of course. It is my duty, after all. Oh, and Emmet?"

Emmet made a "hm?" noise in response, a bit confused.

"I told the guards the truth, and they understood, and were not upset. I returned everything to how it should be, and no one else will be told. We have both been pardoned. Your information will be useful. Thank you, sir."

Before anyone could say anything, Looker turned on his heel and walked steadily in the other direction.

Ingo, Elesa, Drayden, Cloud and Jackie glanced at Emmet, who smiled nervously.

"Okay, so I may or may not have tried to steal the Lustrous and Adamant Orbs and replace them with fakes the Lake Guardians gave me." Emmet explained "Uh, Looker. He helped me. If I would give him information on space-time stuff in return. N-No one was hurt!"

"Goodness! You have got to tell us more about what happened later!" Elesa exclaimed.

"You did so much for me…thank you, Emmet. Truly, Emmet, you are incredible. I cannot thank you enough.” Ingo spoke

Emmet chuckled nervously, "Of course, Ingo! Eheh…so no one's upset?"

“No. I mean, you said no one was hurt, right?” Drayden replied.

“Right! Thank you all for being so understanding.” Emmet responded.

Then, there was a beep that came from Cloud and Jackie's Xtransrecievers. Cloud frowned, and Jackie made a disappointed clicking sound with her tongue.

“I suppose that means we should go…it is unfortunate, but there is work to do.” Cloud said.

“We are sorry. We will try to see you again as soon as possible.” Jackie vocalized.

Ingo felt a bit sad that the two Agents had to leave so soon, but he wanted to try and find a bright side.

“Well..I'll see you both again in no time. And then, I'll be able to see the subway system again- I'm looking forward to that.” Ingo expressed.

Cloud's smile returned, and Jackie let out a breathy laugh.

“We'll make sure the subway is in tip-top shape!”

“Only the best for the return of our beloved Boss Ingo.”

The two Agents exclaimed as they left, walking down the sidewalk. They waved their hands high, and Ingo and Emmet waved back.

Once they were out of sight, Emmet opened his mouth to speak.

“They could not wait to see you again. I tried my best to explain everything to the best of my ability. I think it went very well, all things considered.” Emmet spoke. He noticed that Ingo did not respond, and he turned to Ingo. Cloud and Jackie also looked worried, now.

“Ingo, are you okay?”

Ingo felt both a pain and a soothing warmth in his heart. His eyes were closed and damp. Upon hearing his brother, Ingo opened his eyes and wiped the tears away. He smiled.

“Yes, I am okay. I just needed a moment to process that. I am..I am very glad that I got to see them again.”

Emmet nodded. Then, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Ingo! You have not seen our home yet! That is absolutely what we have to do next!" Emmet announced, "How does that sound? Elesa, Uncle Drayden, will you come?"

Ingo's eyes shined, too, and he smiled. His home…he couldn't wait to see it!

"Yes, bravo! Excellent idea, Emmet! Yes, let's go!" Ingo vocalized.

"Of course I will come." Drayden answered.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Elesa avowed.

And with that, Emmet, Ingo, Elesa and Drayden exited the station. Emmet led the way, Ingo by his side, Elesa and Drayden trailing closely behind.

Ingo took in the sights around him. He marveled at them, his heart filling with all sorts of glee and other emotion.

But, after a bit, an unsettling feeling rose up in Ingo. He hesitated, before whispering something to Emmet.

"Emmet? Those papers Looker showed me? He suggested you knew where their contents come from." Ingo remarked "Do you…do you think I need to worry about all that right now?"

Emmet was a bit taken aback, but replied anyway, "If that is what you want to do, I have an amount of the books some of those documents were from at home, still. I will need to return them soon, but if you feel like it's important to think and do something about something that's come up, then you absolutely can do so. I will help, too."

Ingo thought for a moment. Something was bugging him a little, and he felt like he kind of knew what and why, but ultimately, he decided against addressing it.

"I appreciate that a lot, but I think I'll wait." Ingo stated, "Besides, in a couple of months we'll be back there, so I can get even better answers there."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I am sure."

Emmet nodded and his smile widened. He raised his voice back up to normal level.

"Alright, then. Here, how about I show you a few sights around town on our way to our home? They will probably be verrry nostalgic!"

"I'd love that!" Ingo exclaimed, his voice back to normal level, too, and his mood risen back to good heights.

And so they kept walking.

Chapter 20

Chapter 22 (Work In Progress!)

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my-head-is-an-animal · 11 months

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The Sitter

Mycroft Holmes x Bethany Wheeler (OFC)

Story Masterlist

Chapter 4 - Austria

Over the next week, Mycroft hadn’t managed to drop by to see Bethany and felt a twinge of guilt over it, but she was in good spirits regardless, having had a very exciting week with Sherlock catching a murderer and feeling like she was a real-life detective. He had phoned her the day before John and Mary were due back to tell him all about it and he’d heard from Sherlock that they wouldn’t have been caught had Bethany not pieced together the motive.

‘I mean, people do crazy things for love, don’t they?’ She said, he could hear her walking home, it was still light out and Mycroft felt slightly comforted that she wouldn’t be in any danger from the men in the house down the road.

‘Indeed.’ He agreed, signing a document that Anthea put in front of him. Mycroft was good at hiding who was calling him by now that his assistant didn��t bat an eyelid. She soon left him alone and he felt comfortable enough to put his feet up before his next meeting. ‘So, you’ve had an exciting week?’

‘Yeah, it’s been great.’ She said, smiling and hopefully enjoying the sunshine. ‘Wish you could’ve dropped by, we would have solved it a lot sooner if you had.’

‘By the sounds of things, you hardly needed me.’ Mycroft said, picturing her in the sun again. ‘I’m sure Sherlock appreciated the insight you have into human emotion.’

‘Yeah, I did have to talk to the victim’s sister a bit more than I thought I would, Sherlock wasn’t being particularly sensitive.’

‘No, I’m afraid he isn’t the type.’ Mycroft mused. ‘You have plans though, don’t you? A hiking trip next week?’

‘Are you spying on me, Mycroft Holmes?’

‘I wouldn’t dare.’ He said playfully. ‘Sherlock mentioned something about it.’

‘That had better be the truth,’ she warned, her smile still evident. ‘If I find out you’ve been watching me in the shower, I’ll make your life very difficult.’

‘I have no doubt, Miss Wheeler.’ He agreed, though the image of her in the shower was a particularly desirable one. ‘Where are you going?’

‘I’m surprised you don’t know.’ She laughed. ‘Yeah, me and a few friends are going camping in Austria, a little bit of hiking and maybe rock climbing if we can. It’s good to get out into the world, see what’s there, you know.’

‘Not my scene, I’m afraid, but do enjoy it.’ Mycroft was a little sad that he couldn’t enjoy the outdoors the way she clearly did, but then again, he’d rather she just be happy.

‘Oh, I’ve been looking forward to this for months, there’s no way I’m not enjoying myself.’ She said, he could hear the sounds of a key unlocking her front door. ‘What are your plans while I’m away?’

‘Running the country.’ He deadpanned, making her giggle. ‘Unfortunately, I will be out of contact for the time you’re away, a few meetings that require my full attention, free from distraction.’

‘And I’m a distraction, am I?’

Mycroft was quiet for a moment, contemplating whether he should have told her the truth. ‘A welcome one, but a distraction nonetheless.’

He listened to her entering her room and making herself comfortable. Picturing her on her bed with a smile still plastered to her face.

‘I don’t know whether to take that as a compliment or not.’ She teased. ‘So, come on, tell me all the top secret government things you’ll be working on while I’m gone.’

‘Well, seeing as you asked so nicely.’ Mycroft loved the sound of her laughing, far more than he wanted to admit to. ‘But I would like to hear about your trip when you get back.’

‘Yeah? You want to get some dinner or something?’ Bethany asked fairly casually, diminishing Mycroft’s hopes that it could be considered anything more than a friendly encounter. ‘It’s been ages since I’ve seen you anyway, it’d be good, I think.’

‘Dinner sounds perfectly acceptable. Let me know when you’ve returned and I’ll make the arrangements.’

‘Great, nothing too fancy though, I’m not a woman of class, I am a lowly peasant, remember?’

‘You sell yourself far too short.’ Mycroft said, gently. ‘But I will keep in mind your request.’

‘Good.’ She was still smiling. ‘Right, I’ve got some journals to read and you’ve got a country to run, or maybe the secret service to order around…’

‘Nice try.’

‘Can’t fault a girl for being persistent.’

‘Absolutely not.’

‘Right, I’ll catch up with you before I leave. Have a good one Mycroft.’

‘You too.’

Mycroft hung up the phone, idly wondering what journals she was reading, probably light reading as part of her course, but he wished he knew more, it was infuriating for a moment. He was used to just setting up surveillance on people and finding out what he needed to know, but he wouldn’t risk it with Bethany, he didn’t want to upset her for any reason.

He heard a knock at the door and Anthea reminded him that he had a meeting with Lady Smallwood concerning Charles Augustus Magnusson. He internally groaned and tried to focus on something else that wasn’t Bethany Wheeler and him sitting across from each other at dinner.

Mycroft received a final text from Bethany before she caught her flight to Austria, it was a picture of her in the airport with her friends waiting to board the plane and read:

Off to see the world and have adventures. Let me know if you want me to send photos, otherwise, please don’t start a war that means I can’t get home again! – BW

Mycroft smiled, trying to subtly text back whilst in a meeting with Lady Smallwood.

You’re the anarchist, I’m depending on you not to cause an international incident. My power only extends so far. Have fun. Stay safe. – MH

Mycroft would have loved to spend the next week getting the odd photo from her while she was on her travels, but while he was dealing with the Magnusson hearing, he couldn’t let himself be distracted or give him anything to use against him. Bethany was fast becoming a valuable bargaining chip for anyone who might have wanted to get close to Mycroft and he needed to be careful.

He spent the week trying to put out fires where he could, noting that Magnusson had leverage over Lady Smallwood, something that resulted in his interview being dismissed as inconclusive. Mycroft was furious that he’d managed to worm his way into her life like that, possibly with the intention of getting closer to him. Was it a warning shot? It wasn’t clever and it only served to bring out a side in Mycroft he rarely showed other than when someone irritated him a little too much.

He proceeded to distance himself further from a few situations, handing them off to someone who could just about handle it and hoped that would be enough to keep Magnusson at arm’s length. It worked for a while, but Mycroft was searching for a more permanent solution.

He spent most nights sitting in front of the fire, focussing on the next move he needed to make in several different operations he had going. Some more dangerous than others, but all of them as equally demanding of his attention.

By the time the week was up, he was exhausted and looking forward to everything being over so that he could move onto more pressing matters.

Guess who’s back! – BW

The welcome sight of Bethany’s picture message from the taxi home was all he needed to feel his body relax into something calmer. She was laughing in the picture with one of her friends, he hadn’t realised it was a male friend she was holidaying with and felt an instant jealousy. She was more tanned than she had been in the last message he sent, her freckles were almost hidden and her hair was sun bleached, making her look like some kind of exotic creature completely out of his league. She was stunningly pretty. Those dark eyes stared directly at him and made him feel like someone could really see him. It both calmed and unnerved him. Mycroft sighed and typed out a reply whilst getting into his car to go home.

Glad to see you made it back without causing too much trouble. Homeward bound? – MH

Pub. We’re meeting a few friends to celebrate our triumphant return. – BW

And so you should. Stay safe on the way home and please do call if you need anything or if you actually run into trouble. – MH

I will. Thank you, Mycroft. – BW

Mycroft took a deep breath and allowed his mind to finally relax properly after a week of worrying about everything under the sun. Bethany was back and she was in good spirits, Magnusson was being kept at a distance and every operation he was watching seemed to be settling right where he needed them to. There was nothing to worry about.

Well… there was one thing that had his mind racing. Dinner with Bethany. He promised they could spend an evening together once she was back and he wasn’t a man to break a promise.

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writtenwyrm · 1 year

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The Ascension

A Slay the Spire Story, Part 33

All Parts

cw: abuse

Anger

“Great One, the Watcher envoy is here!”

I shifted on my perch, already bored. On my righthand side, my Chosen stood stock-still, as they always did. The messenger bowed before us, relaying the news.

“Show them in.” My Chosen announced,

Standing tall and straight, I let my presence fill the room. The doors opened, and light flooded in. The room glowed, a spectacular, shimmering blue, as the light reflected off my feathers.

The envoy walked in, precise in every step, like toy soldiers. They wore a rich purple, and carried golden staffs, and every hair and sash was perfectly in place.

“Greetings, Great Phoenix.” The lead Watcher called. “We have come to make our Judgemnt, as is done every year. We thank you for your hospitality.”

“We welcome you.” My Chosen spoke, and I stayed silent, as was customary. “The Watchers are always welcome in the Spire, as you know. We can only hope that our new customs bring much to the…”

Their voices slowly faded from my mind as they continued to talk, back and forth, polite and monotone. I didn’t truly need to do much, so I allowed my mind to wander, observing the half-dozen strangers standing in my hall.

They were all blind, weren’t they? I’d heard that each new initiate spent two weeks staring directly at the sun in order to prepare them, and their eyes were pale and bleached. But they still tracked me as if they could see. And they stood so stiffly, too, without the slightest indication of soreness or boredom as the voices droned on.

What would it be like, to be one of them? I closed my eyes, shutting out the world around me—only briefly, I promised myself—and let myself imagine what the world would be like if I had been born among the Watchers, instead of where I was now.

There were sudden gasps all around me, and I opened my eyes in a hurry.

I couldn’t see. Except… I could, in a way. I could feel the world around me, sense the stone beneath my bare, fleshy feet. I could see the minds of those around me, too, albeit only faintly. Shock, awe, fear…

And I could practically taste the disapproval radiating from my Chosen. That was a more familiar feeling, and I knew what it meant.

I’d done something wrong again.

—

��You may go. Your God wishes to be alone.” My Chosen dismissed the guards, now that the great hall was empty, the Watchers gone on their way. Obediently, the blue-steel-clad guards tromped out of the room, and the doors closed behind them.

We waited in silence, for a few long minutes. I stared at the far wall, trying not to shuffle my wings and show my nervousness. But eventually, the emptiness of the room became too much, and the words burst from my mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

“We will need to apologize for your… unseemly behavior. We are indeed fortunate that they stayed to finish their judgment of the Spire.” They sighed, long and weary, and my skin prickled. “Pray, my God, what would you consider a proper apology for a great and powerful being such as yourself to bestow upon them?”

I did not look down, unwilling to meet their eyes. “…Perhaps a bouquet of sapphire feathers?” I ventured, hopefully.

“For an embassy of Watcher disciples? Perhaps that would be prudent.”

For a moment, I let myself believe that would be all of it.

“And a talon.”

I flinched, and my toes curled in automatically, scraping the stone beneath my feet with razor-edged claws.

“Yes, I think that will do. The Watchers appreciate practical gifts such as that. I would almost suggest an offering of an eye, but, ah, that may come off as a mockery of their condition.”

Their arms, tucked so neatly within their sleeves, emerged smoothly, revealing the short blade held in one hand. They wiped the edge with a delicate cloth as they approached, and the practical steel gleamed in the light. “Now, let us ready the gift.”

I closed my eyes, and prepared for the pain.

—

I woke to the whirring sound of rolling machines. I scrambled to my feet, feeling for my sword, the hilt forming comfortingly to my hand.

Two strange god-machines rolled down the hallway, a mere twenty yards away. They sat upon either side of a traveling sphere on the wall, glowing faintly from within. They followed with dedication, keeping perfect pace. Like guards.

And only valuable things required guards.

Still shaking off the shackles of sleep, I stepped forward. They paid me no mind, unreactive to my presence. Hopeful, I took a swing at the glass-like surface of the sphere. It shattered like glass, and a thick blue liquid gushed onto the ground.

Immediately, they whirled on me.

What did you think was going to happen? Lucirron scorned in my mind. The dreadful things would hardly be guards if they didn’t fight to protect their charge.

I ignored him, preparing for battle instead. As they bubbled, internal fluids spinning and glowing, I stoked my own inner flame,

Then I threw my sword at them.

It bounced off the shell, but the angle and momentum meant it ricocheted between the two, back and forth, until I dove between them and grabbed it by the hilt, retrieving my weapon.

Finally I drew on the essence of my armor, and for a brief moment I became impervious. It was only a heartbeat, but that was enough time for the double streams of boiling liquid to strike my skin and splash off, leaving me untouched.

Then the protection fell away, and I was left standing in a column of superheated steam. The air wavered in front of my eyes, and I could hear the liquid sizzling under my boots.

I moved toward the foremost orb, scanning it for weaknesses, and finding one in the way it followed me. A quick slide to the left, and I had open access to its glass belly, which I immediately pummeled with quick, strong blows. The glass cracked, and the creature rolled away, spewing flame wildly as it went. The air increased even more in temperature, somehow.

The second orb turned toward me, and I could see it’s liquid insides roiling like a volcano. I had to kill it quickly, but by this point I felt like I understood the pain of an egg on the pan, my edges crisping. Burns covered my body, making it hard to think, hard to act.

Or at least, it would have once.

I spoke the Oath, and Lucirron howled his fury in my head. For I spoke it only quietly, and he hated how I had learned to warp his power.

Sacrifice

to destroy for a cause.

But who was to say what I had to offer? There was strength in giving up my blood, my time, in making myself vulnerable for the sake of a greater reward.

Instead, I offered up the pain and the wounds and the burns on my skin. I gave it all away, and in turn I felt my body strengthen itself in preparation for—

I caught the stream of liquid fire on the edge of my blade, and managed to turn it harmlessly to the side.

Refreshed from my second wind, the distracting pain gone, I threw myself back into the fight.

—

The small steel top spun on my fingertip, showing no sign of slowing down. It was hard to imagine it being worth the fight I’d just had to retrieve it, but perhaps it would show its power in a crucial moment and save me. Or maybe I would forget it in my pocket along with the darkstone necklace I’d scrounged off the gremlin leader a few days ago, back when I’d still been in the City.

Still, it was intriguing how it spun and spun after I’d twirled it, with no sign of stopping. If I let it, perhaps it would burn a hole in my fingertip.

You’d like that, wouldn’t you? A little more pain to fuel your conquest?

Lucirron’s voice murmured softly in my ear. I almost pitied him, nowadays. His attempts to goad me were getting weaker and more desperate, but that only made them easier to ignore. Instead of responding, I tucked the top away in my bag and got to work building a fire.

I didn’t need a flint and steel to start the tinder. Instead, I lifted my mask, then focused on my leg. A heavy bandage showed the still-painful result of my encounter with the boulder. The golden idol had been worth it in the end, but somehow I’d never gotten around to letting it heal more than superficially. The injury remained, slowing me down just the smallest fraction. Most of the time, I didn’t even notice, but once or twice it had tripped me up at a critical time.

Now, I silently invoked the Oath, and the pain from the injury surged up through my body. It escaped from my mouth in the form of a burst of flame, and for a moment the cavern was lit with a flash of incadencent fire.

Then it settled back down into a calm, crackling blaze, the dry bones I used in place of wood catching easily. I lowered the mask back into place.

Lucirron wailed his frustration somewhere in the back of my mind. He hated how I used his power, how I’d bent it to my will. Truly, it felt more like my power than his, now. It subsumed my bones and gave me strength, fueled my hunger, healed me.

I’d taken his power and made it my own, and now…

Lucirron was nothing more than a vengeful voice in my head. Like the chirping of a cricket scorned, buried in the sounds of the night.

So like a thorn from my finger, I plucked him out and tossed him into the fire, and let him burn bright and brief, until he was gone.

My mind was quiet, for the first time that I could remember. Gloriously, peacefully, silent.

I didn’t need him to guide my fury anymore. I could decide for myself.

I turned over on the ground and lay my head on my pack, closing my eyes. The warmth of the fire crackled at my back, and the burning of a new emotion simmered in my blood.

Contentment.

—

I woke, again, to the whirring sound of rolling machines. I scrambled to my feet, feeling for my sword—no, my staff. Another dream. A dream within a dream? Which was I, the Watcher, or the Ironclad? Or something else completely? Who had that person been, the one the Chosen had…

I shuddered, the strange feeling of dread rushing over me like a wave. There had been Watchers there, like me, except… I hadn’t been one of them.

I didn’t have much time to think about it, as my instincts guided me to hide behind a nearby set of vaguely hip-shaped rocks while the whirring got closer.

Just as in my dream, two of the fiery orbs rolled down the corridor, escorting a boil of stone that flowed down the wall like a bubble on the river.

What were they doing? There was a treasure of some sort in there, but why were they guarding it? Where were they taking it?

There was someone I could ask—in a fashion—who could understand these unusual machines. Carefully, so as not to spook them, I reached into my satchel and pressed my fingers to the cool surface of the prism.

[QUERY] PURPOSE of the MECHANICAL CREATURES

[ANALYSIS] ORB WALKERS are ESCORTING ERRONEOUS RELICS to the CITY

[ANALYSIS] ORB WALKERS are DISTRIBUTING POWER to RESTORE BALANCE

[DEFINE] BALANCE

[ERROR] BALANCE NOT FOUND

[DEFINE] BALANCE

[ERROR] BALANCE NOT FOUND

[ERROR] RECURSIVE LOOP DETECTED

I pulled out quickly, before the muffled terror could grow too strong. It was getting easier to slip from one set of memories to the next, flitting between the Defect and the Watcher with only a little bit of confusion during the transition.

That worried me, but I didn’t have time to think about it. The orb walkers were getting away.

I never had time to think, these past days.

I hefted my staff and charged.

—-

I rolled the colorful gambling chip over my fingers, thinking about the spinning top the Ironclad had held in my dream. The token danced over my fingers, gleaming in the firelight. I’d been taught the trick a long time ago, by…

By someone. A tutor? A friend? I couldn’t remember their voice, or their name.

Still the chip danced, irregardless of my broken memories.

My new memories tickled at me, of the Ironclad, of discarding his whispering voice of fury. It seemed familiar to something I’d been experiencing recently.

Don’t be a fool. My own malicious companions hissed in my mind. You’re seeing connections that aren’t there.

Two keys. One blue, one green. One from the Silent, the other… the Defect? I stared at the flickering flames, turning the thought over in my head.

It was just a hunch. A guess, really, based entirely on my growing understanding of the way power and dreams and belief seemed to work in this shifting realm.

Just a hunch. But maybe that was enough to try.

I thrust my hand into the fire before I could change my mind.

The pain seared up my arm, but I pushed deeper, groping blindly for what I hoped would be there… and the sharp edges of the key dug into my fingers.

I grabbed it, yanking my hand free. My whole arm seared with pain, and I could feel the cutting edge of the crystal bite into my palm. I was worried, distantly, that I might have caused permanent damage.

But most of all, I felt the fury.

I thought I had known what anger really was. I utilized it every day, to fight and to push myself onward through otherwise impossible odds. But my Wrath stance was just a tamed tool, a way for me to channel my emotions and force a combat state.

This was something else.

I pulled my hand to my chest, clutching the key. I wanted to kill something. Not just to protect myself, not just to fight and win, but to fulfill some sense of satisfaction deep in my gut.

I fought it. I had been expecting another voice, perhaps even Lucirron, shouting in my mind. But this was more primal than that, more ancient than an Ancient.

Calm, my amulet hummed to me, doing it’s best. But it was like a bucket of water against the sun-baked sands of the desert, evaporating in the vast, dreadful feeling.

How had he handled it? How could he have possibly kept this under control? How any one person could contain this much hatred was beyond me, but my dreams of him… I clutched to those, the memories of the Ironclad.

He hadn’t fought back. There was no fighting with an emotion like this. It just burned brighter, fueled by the fear.

In fact… I had the tools I needed already.

I couldn’t force myself to sit down and meditate, however. My knees just wouldn’t bend that far, not with this much fire in my bones.

So instead I scooped up my staff, and attacked the walls.

I didn’t often feel like shouting when I fought, but now I could hardly keep it down. I let it loose, bellowing every profanity I knew. The stone bones shattered under my blows. Ribs, spines, unidentified and miscellaneous bone-like shapes, I struck and crushed and broke.

And while I did, I listened.

For a few minutes, or maybe hours, it was just endless, wordless anger. But my patience gave way soon enough to a voice. My voice, my thoughts.

I hate what this place has done to me. I hate what I’ve become. I hate how I’ve changed.

I felt oddly disconnected from the thoughts, sunken deep into the satisfying crunch of breaking stone. But practice had given me the ability to spot the small thoughts as they started to crop up.

And they were my thoughts. The emotion, the pure and unadulterated anger, that was from the Ironclad. But it was only fuel for my mind to feed upon, and the fears were my own.

I’d been dutiful and faithful, only a few weeks ago. I would give anything to go back to that feeling of truth and confidence that I’d lost.

Except… it hasn’t truly been confidence, had it? Just ignorance. Or hope, if I was being generous. Hope that someone knew what they were doing. That I, of all people, was on the correct path.

This place had changed me, and there was no correct path. The spire had beckoned me forward, and there was no going back.

Then change it back. I thought to myself, crushing a spur of stone. Shape the world as it has shaped you.

The Ironclad hadn’t learned to control his fury, I came to realize. Nothing in the world could hold back passion and pain that deep.

He had simply learned to guide it.

My body felt invigorated, and adrenaline coursed through my veins. With renewed purpose, I packed my bag, carefully sorting each of the many relics I’d collected along the way. I gave the Akabeko a little pat on the head.

Then I wrapped myself in the various tools I’d collected, the potion belt slung over my shoulder and the dark chain knotted around my waist.

I took a minute to collect myself, be sure I had everything. Once I was satisfied, I began walking, away from the campfire. It didn’t matter which direction I went, at this point. I would end up where I needed to go, one way or another.

It was time to find what I’d been looking for.

#The Ascension #Slay The Spire #The Watcher #The Ironclad #fic #Part 33

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