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oops-i-accidentally · 9 months

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Ruins of the Mad King Pt.3 - The Pawns

What D&D game is complete without the main characters? This game has six players altogether, all except one of whom were the players of the first game as well. They’re credited with their characters, as well as having small descriptions of the characters themselves.

Dover Yenwrick - Emmett (@salmonandsoup on tumblr/twitter/insta)

Neutral good goliath, aberrant mind sorcerer/watchers paladin Dover is a goliath from the frozen mountain ranges of Bruyc Sharia, belonging to his nomadic family the Yenwricks. When Dover was ten, his family found and adopted a little aasimar girl named Zaharel, who was lost and half-dead in the woods. The two became the closest of friends, true brother and sister, and she was there for him throughout years of abuse at the hands of his step-aunt under the guise of therapy. When Dover was 15, he was attacked by a wild boar during a hunt-- he nearly died, but woke his innate magical capabilities at the same time. Zaharel was there to heal him, though his face was forever scarred, but she left soon after, claiming to be searching for a labyrinth that haunted her dreams and what she believed to be Mortos within. Time passed and the two were reunited; Dover as a butcher of animals, and Zaharel as The Right Hand of Mortos. He joined the Church at her behest, working under her and doing her dirty work as the inquisition took charge. Now he hunts a cult leader that fled Bruyc Sharia, intent on taking Edran Trist's life no matter what.

Junodius - Dante (@kotilae on tumblr)

Chaotic neutral tiefling, wild card rogue Juno is a tiefling originally raised in the Hells with his twin, Jynkalkus (Jynx), by their incubus father, Dharlynx, and multiple succubus aunts. Though they shared as happy a childhood as one could have in the Hells, Dharlynx decided to leave the twins to experience life and grow in the mortal world. When they were fifteen, the twins were left to fend for themselves in Edsemara, Pru Shain-- lucky for them, both the twins have always had an affinity for thievery. After a few years of living on the streets, the twins joined the criminal organization The Faceless Ones, in which Jynx started climbing the ranks while Juno engaged in a life of hedonism and debauchery. It came as a surprise to him when Jynx killed the leader of The Faceless Ones and took his place, taking Juno with them as one of their closest employees. Now he works cases for his boss The Red Death, currently on the mission of locating a runaway.

Edran Trist - Jaden (@flowercrownknight on tumblr)

Neutral good drow, drakewarden ranger Edran Trist (or Fenian, to those who don't know him) is a man on the run. Raised in the Followers of the Lost Eye, a cult in the countryside of Bruyc Sharia dedicated to the worship and return of the Broken One, led by his parents. When he was a small child he was gifted the egg of a bismuth dragon, which hatched into Edran's companion (and now boyfriend), Enniarth (Enni). When he was nine years old his mother put him through a ritual in which his eye was taken, and accidentally instilled a dream of running away one day. Years later he finally got his chance, escaping the cult with Enni and fleeing south into Allismoor. Now he is hunted both by his family and the agents of the Church of Mortos, who aim to kill him for his unwanted fate of taking over the Cult of the Lost Eye one day.

Argus Lykaon - Kyle (@/KyleLockeVA on twitter)

Chaotic neutral aasimar, vengeance paladin Argus is someone who has always known life to be a fight. He grew up on the dangerous streets of Andabria, the capital city of Allismoor, as an orphan who was forced to a life of crime in order to survive. It was when he was ten that he met Augi Brightforge, the captain of the royal guard, who saw promise in this young boy and adopted him as his son. As Argus was trained in the order of knights that served King Faustus, he grew close with the four royal children and even ended up getting a childhood crush on Faustus' daughter and heir, Clytemnestra. He was 18 when the rebellion happened, which resulted in the deaths of the royal children he had grown up with; deaths at the hands of the riots for Clytemnestra and her brother, while the other two were beheaded next to their father at the hands of Augi's close friend, Desius Sanga. After Augi was killed soon after by Sanga on a false charge of treason, Argus fled and started living on the streets once again. It was there he got word of a new, growing rebellion against the new tyrant, called the Order of the Radiant Wolf, and quickly committed himself to their cause.

Vineeta Keswani - Sidd (@/RonkuSide on twitter)

True neutral yuan-ti, life cleric Vineeta was once on the run. She was raised for a short time in Edsemara, Pru Shain with a number of other orphans, until she met a man known as Albion Arant. Albion was a man of infamy, it being well known that he was the founder and leader of a feared criminal organization known as the Faceless Ones. She was adopted by Arant, who took a liking to her spunky personality-- or saw a worthy challenge in breaking her. From then on she was raised not as his daughter, but as his tool. She gained the title of The Scaled Reaper, a feared assassin working for the Faceless Ones, and exceled in her work. Because of her close relationship to Arant, when Jynkalkus committed their coup Vineeta was marked as one of Arant's supporters and an attempt on her life was made. She managed to escape into the desert as she bled out, luckily being saved by a nomadic healer named Heveria, who nursed Vineeta back to health and offered her refuge from those who would try to hurt her. Vineeta lived with Heveria for a few years, learning the trade of being a cleric, before heading out on her own to try and help others like Heveria once helped her.

Fylson Zylven - Lance (Not on any social media)

Chaotic good gnome, satire bard Fylson has lived a long life. Born before the apocalypse, he's traveled the globe as an adventurer, a bard, and a jester. His time of adventuring was relatively short lived, after which he started seeking employment for his musical prowess. He found his first job in a royal court at the behest of a young Clemara Cleo, still a princess and yet to ascend to the title of Storm Queen. She took him on countless dangerous adventures on the waves, both as her bard and as her friend. After an incident where he died to a sea serpent but was brought bac after the young girl killed it he took his leave of her employment, instead traveling inland. This was just in time, for the apocalypse struck not soon after. He survived when so many didn't, continuing his endless journey, until after a number of years he found himself as the court jester in King Faustus' court. There he met his wife, a half-orc woman named Tamraghi who worked in the royal guard under Augi Brightforge. There he was happy for near a decade, until the rebellion formed. He thought that he had been marked as a sympathizer of the king and for such a crime, was to be killed-- except he didn't realize Tamraghi was part of the rebellion, and was safe because of that. He fled without a word to his wife, after which his paranoia caused him to spiral. He sent her the documents for divorce before continuing on his journey, without ever looking back (or so he would like to say).

With these six, the pieces are laid out and the play set to begin. Though they may not realize it at first, all stray souls meeting for a night out of pure coincidence, the eyes that have turned on them will not let them leave as easily as they might like. They can only hope that all turns out in the mortal’s favor on the gamble they’ll be shoved into.

All art done by @kotilae!

#ruins of the mad king #ruins #dnd #d&d 5e #homebrew #vibrating to yell more #i love them all very much #they are all very stupid but doing their bests

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prince-rowan-of-the-forest · 2 years

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The Stresses of Shapeshifting

Janus is struggling to regain control of his shapeshifting powers after they get away from him.

Thankfully, the noble Roman (and the others helped a bit too, I guess) was there to save the day!

In the end, all anyone really needs is a cuddle pile, Disney movies, pizza and... possibly inedible... cake.

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| Ao3 |

Warnings: General distress, a panic attack, minor swearing

Pairings: Platonic DRLAMP

Word Count: 3325

Notes: This is my first posted Sanders Sides fic!! I'm super excited, please be nice, but also please reblog/comment and let me know what you think because I'm nervous. Oh yeah, remember that I had ages ago about Janus' shapeshifting powers going crazy? this is that. haha.

Pings: @seren4d3 (there were a few more people who said they wanted to see it but didn't say they wanted to be pinged specifically so I won't ping because anxiety. If you want to be pinged for future fics in general or something specific, lemme know!! (be specific please lol)

~~~~

“Hey there padre-” Roman said with a smile, it was almost dinner time and he wanted to inquire who’s turn it was to cook, but he stopped as he walked around the sofa, smile falling. Just the look on Patton’s face making him stop in his tracks. Patton was sat on the couch, gripping his jeans with white-nuckled fists, he was staring into nothing with gritted teeth, the tensest Roman had ever seen his fellow side, “What on earth happened to you?”

Patton shook his head sharply, and thats when Roman noticed the glitchy flickering- his glasses, his eyes, Patton didn’t look quite right, something was just off, and then it wasn’t- then it was again. Minor shifts in appearance, nothing big enough to notice if you weren’t looking closely. Roman quickly placed his cup of coffee down on the coffee table and took a step closer, glancing around to see if he could spot any evidence as to what might be happening right now.

There was a small pile of black fabric with a hint of yellow off to the side- as if it had been thrown; it rang as familiar in Roman’s brain, on the arm of the sofa next to Patton was a pair of yellow gloves- Janus’ gloves? What were they doing here?

“What in great Odin’s eyepatch is going on…” Roman muttered, looking back to Patton as if for answers, Patton only curled in further in response, moving his arms so he was in a position almost to hug himself, the flickering got stronger for a second, and Roman thought he saw Patton’s face shift completely before it it was pulled back into place.

Roman moved over to the fabric and lifted it up- black with yellow lining- that was Janus’ cape… what on earth was Janus’ stuff doing here? Patton made a noise- it sounded strained and upset, but was obviously in protest, Roman huffed and carefully folded the cape, before putting it neatly on the coffee table. Patton relaxed minutely, before jerking forwards, his clothes glitched this time, Roman saw them turn black, for a moment Patton’s cardigan was gone, replaced with Logan’s collar, before immediately returning to Patton’s signature look. It almost looked like rubber banding in a video game. As if you were trying to customise your character but it kept lagging back to the default.

“Patton?” Roman said gently, stepping forwards with his hands raised up, he wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew it wasn’t good. Something was wrong with Patton.

“Not- not-” Patton started through gritted teeth, before tensing up again, Roman could see his fingers digging into his arms, “Not Pa- not Patton-”

Roman stared for a moment, as (not?) Patton’s eyes shifted through colours, he noticed his own red- Remus’ green- Virgil’s purple- Logan’s blue and then back to Patton. He glanced at the gloves, then back at the cape, clues falling into place. In a flash, Roman pulled out his phone, sending a ping to the groupchat- ‘Code Yellow!!!!’ before shoving it back in his pocket and looking back to the side on sofa.

“Janus?” Roman asked, Not-Patton nodded, going to say something before clenching his jaw, face contorted in what looked like extreme effort, the flickering got worse for a moment, before it cleared up, but Roman was no longer looking at Patton, but a mirror image of himself, granted his reflection looked like it had been dragged through a bush backwards. For a moment he had no words.

“My hair is not that messy,” Was the statement that chose to come out of his mouth. Eloquent, Roman.

“Sorry-” Janus choked out, but even with the strained tone Roman could tell it wasn’t sincere, well, good thing the sarcastic snake was still in there somewhere, “Can’t- can’t control it-”

“Hey kiddos! What’s hippety happening down here- oh!” Patton- thank goodness the real Patton- had arrived on the scene first, Roman breathed a sigh of relief as Patton rushed over to the sofa, “Roman? Janus? What’s going on?”

Janus tensed up, digging his- now neatly painted and manicured- nails into the soft fabric of Roman’s tunic, the fabric bunching up under the pressure. The real Roman took a second to wring out his hands, feeling the nervous energy building up, he took a deep breath.

“I think Janus is having trouble with his shapeshifting powers,” Roman tried to explain, “I found him down here as you but he’s been glitching and shifting and- I mean you see him, right?”

“Yeah- yeah kiddo,” Patton nodded, quickly moving around to the front of the sofa and sitting down next to Janus, “Are you ok with touch right now, kiddo?”

A small nod was given in response, before Janus’ eyes went wide- his hair flickering from different styles- long to short, Romans’ regular fluffy but tamed look to Logan’s neat slicked back to Virgil’s dramatic bangs before settling on something not quite Roman but closer than before. Patton waited for the glitching to settle down a little before carefully putting an arm around Janus’ shoulders.

“I can’t- I can’t-” Janus started, eyes still wide, he still was incredibly tense, he didn’t seem to be able to finish the thought though. Roman sat down on the sofa too after a few seconds hesitation, on Janus’ other side, and took a gulp of coffee that could not have looked princely in the slightest before putting the cup back down.

“It’s ok,” Patton said softly, rubbing calming circles into Janus’ back, “You’re safe here, kiddo,”

“We don’t need anything from you right now,” Roman added, placing a hand on Janus’ arm to add his own comfort, he felt Janus relax slightly, slumping forward just a little. The glitching picked up for a moment, before settling back again as he relaxed.

“What seems to be the issue?” Said Logan, appearing from the stairs, Roman looked back to see the logical side adjust his glasses, surveying the scene.

“Janus is struggling to control his shifting ability,” Patton explained easily, upon mention, Janus tensed up again, he curled in on himself as he glitched through a series of forms, before returning to Patton this time. The real Patton chuckled softly as he had to readjust his postion with the change.

“Keeps- changing,” Janus forced out through his teeth, “I can’t- can’t get back-”

“We’ll figure this out, kiddo, don’t you worry,” Patton said sotly, “Hey Logan? D’you think you could try and figure out what’s going on?”

“Of course,” Logan nodded, turning back to the stairs, “I’ll start in the memory hall, please contact me should there be any developments,”

“You got it, teach,” Roman said, shooting a smile back at the Logical side before focusing his attention back on Janus.

“I can’t- hold it,” Janus said, gripping his own arms tight as if for emphasis, he gasped, “Why- I can’t- I can’t keep hold of a form-”

With that he started shifting again, his clothes flickered first, then his hair, his eyes, his face shape, the fabric changing from Patton’s soft shirt to Virgil’s firmer but still amazingly soft hoodie, his hair settled on Virgil’s purple and Patton had to readjust again- Virgil was like a stick compared to both him and Roman.

It took a moment to realise Janus hadn’t taken a breath since he shifted, simply staring at his arms eyes wide, his hands had released their vice grip on his arms and were now shaking violently in his lap, seconds later Janus had shrugged Patton and Roman off and was starting to take sharp short breaths that Roman was certain weren’t getting him the air he needed.

“No no- not Virgil- no, no I promised- I can’t-” Janus forced out between breaths, “I promised I would- I would never this-”

“Janus, Janus, kiddo I need you to breathe, you’re panicking, it’s ok,” Patton instructed firmly, wanting to reach out again but keeping his hands threaded together in his lap. Janus’ refusal of touch just now had been clear.

“It’s not, it’s not ok I promised him- I promised- I can’t-” Janus shook his head, gripping his trousers.

“Jan?” Roman’s head whipped around to find the real Virgil had arrived in the doorway, Janus jolted hearing his voice, and began to shake even worse.

“Virgil I’m sorry- I’m sorry- sorry-” Janus repeated, Roman looked up at Virgil, trying to ask for help using his eyes. Virgil mumbled something, before hurrying over to join them.

“Jan, Jan you need to calm down,” Virgil muttered, kneeling in front of Janus in his own form, “You’re having a panic attack Janus,”

“Virgil I’m sorry,” Janus said, sounding so upset that Roman couldn’t help but want to wrap him up in a blanket and hug him to death, “I didn’t- I can’t- I can’t control it- I can’t shift- I-”

“It’s ok Jan,” Virgil interrupted, he reached forwards and gently took Janus’ hands, Roman could see that the hold was loose enough that Janus could easily pull away, but Janus did the opposite, gripping Virgil’s hands like a lifeline, “Breathe with me, alright? Breath in for four seconds…”

Janus did so, Roman recognised this breathing exercise, Virgil had had Thomas do it all those years ago in Virgil’s room. When they first accepted him.

“Hold for seven seconds, you’re doing really well Jan,” Virgil told him, rubbing the tops of Janus’ hands with his thumbs, “And breath out for six seconds, good, keep doing that, in for four…”

Amazed, Roman watched as Janus’ shoulders relaxed, he started flickering again, but Roman thought that might be a good sign right now- he hadn’t flickered at all as Virgil, maybe it was to do with how panicked he was? Roman watched at Janus eventually switched to Remus’ form, Patton’s nose wrinkled for a moment, before he smiled.

“Ew…” Janus huffed after a final deep breath, finally calm enough to find words, “I hate being Remus,”

Roman couldn’t help but snort, “Too messy for you? Mr. Prim and Proper?”

Janus shot him a glare, which only made Roman laugh coming from Remus- who wasn’t really a ‘glare’ kind of person, rabies infested dog? He could portray one perfectly, glaring? Remus had never been able to get it right, Virgil gave Roman a reproachful look, though, which shut him up pretty fast.

“Oh hey am I late to the party?” The real Remus flung himself over the back of the sofa- startling Patton, who’s lap was unfortunately the target of this horrible attack, “Hi other me! Where’s Janny?”

“I am Janus, you fool,” Janus said, pushing Remus’ legs off of him, Remus simply put them back.

“His shifting was on the fritz,” Virgil sighed, glaring at Remus, who stared at Janus with a look that could have been surprise.

“That hasn’t happened in forever though!” Remus said, swinging an arm.

“Woah- careful there, kiddo,” Patton said, narrowly dodging an elbow to the face.

“Sorry sweetcakes! Speaking of cake, I should make some! Cake always helps!” Remus grinned.

“Not when it’s your cake,” Roman muttered, Remus gasped, offended, and jumped up, Patton winced.

“My cake is the best around!” Remus yelled, turning around and slapping his own ass. Roman sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

“I meant literal cake and you knew that,” Roman said, still adamantly looking away. Remus just giggled.

“Cake… would be nice,” Janus said slowly, Remus cheered.

“See! Janny wants cake, so I should make cake,” Remus grinned, Roman deemed it safe to look back, and found Remus kneeling on the ground and giving Patton pleading eyes, “Pwease? I pwomise I won’t make a mess?”

Patton sighed, “Remember the rules?”

“No usually inedible ingredients, no explosions,” Remus counted off on his fingers, “I’m not allowed to use the entire pot of paprika… um.”

“No intentional messes, or science experiments,” Patton finished.

“Yeah that! Can I use the kitchen now?”

“Go ahead…” Patton said with a wistful sigh. He may as well say goodbye to the kitchen now.

—-

“I think I’ve figured it out,” Logan said, having reappeared about fifteen minutes later. Janus’ switching had calmed down from what it had been before. Though occasionally he would still switch between the other sides. In that time, Roman and Patton had switched sides so that Patton could keep a better eye on Remus in the kitchen. Virgil had remained with them as well, and was now wedged in between Roman and Janus. Roman thought he looked rather content, curled up against his side.

“Oh really? That’s great Lo!” Patton said, smiling happily, “What is it?”

“It seems to be connected to stress, so the condition may be elevated by stressful of anxiety enducing situations,” Logan said, looking at a notebook, “Have you observed something of the sorts?”

“Yeah I think so… It was worse when you were panicking, right Jan?” Roman asked, looking over at Janus.

“Yes…” Janus said, “Panicking made the switching worse or more- eugh- more frequent,”

“And a panic attack trapped you in one form until you calmed down a little,” Virgil added quietly, Janus managed to hide the flinch well, but Roman still noticed the slight jerk of his hand.

“That seems accurate to what I have found as well,” Logan nodded, scribbling something on his book, “I believe the best course of action would be to get some rest and avoid any situation that may cause negative emotions to take hold of you,”

“Thanks Logan!” Patton grinned, “Hey, since we’re already all here and comfy, how about we have a movie night?”

“Can we watch Disney?” Roman perked up, Patton chuckled.

“We’ll let Janus choose, ok kiddo?” Patton smiled, Roman sighed but nodded, it made sense. That didn’t mean he had to like it.

“Disney is fine,” Janus said with a small smile as his face flickered between Virgil and Patton’s, “Aladdin first,”

“Aladdin is a perfect choice!” Roman said, raising a fist with renewed vigour.

“Hey Logan, I hate to ask for another favour, but would you mind checking on Remus…?” Patton asked with a worried smile, “He insisted on making cake…”

Logan leveled Patton with an unimpressed look, “And you let him?”

“He said he’d follow the rules!” Patton protested, Logan let the tiniest hint of a smile slip onto his face.

“I shall check on the state of our kitchen,” Logan promised, “I will also check the freezer to see what ‘comfort foods’ we have, I will forgo insisting on a healthy choice in favour of comfort tonight.”

“You’re amazing Logan!” Patton called as thanks.

“Thank you Lo,” Virgil called.

“I shall create a more comfortable space for us to sit and watch the movies,” Roman said, wanting to contribute to the night of relaxation they were gearing up for.

“Thanks kiddo, that would be awesome,” Patton said, giving him a thumbs up.

“Can I have one of those fleecy blankets?” Janus asked quietly.

“Done!” Roman grinned, a folded blanket appearing in his arms, he quickly handed it to Janus, before conjuring a good seven more- so that everyone would have a blanket to snuggle under with more to spare. He conjoured the fluffiest pillows he could and laid them out so everyone could find a space to be comfortable.

“Onesies, anyone?” Roman asked, snapping his fingers to switch his regular outfit into his onesie. Patton gasped, clapping his hands in excitement, before switching his own clothes to his cat onesie. Virgil shrugged off his hoodie before willing his onesie to replace his clothes. He handed the hoodie to Janus, who wrapped it around his shoulders.

“A onesie may not mesh well with this constant shifting,” Janus sighed, “So Virgil’s hoodie will have to do,”

“Don’t you dare imply that my hoodie is second rate,” Virgil pouted, glaring at Janus, who smiled.

“Did I say that? I missed the part where I said that,”

“Asshole,” Virgil said, shoving Janus lightly, though there was a smile on his face.

“Now kiddo, theres no need for that kind of language,”

“Sorry Pat,” Virgil said, “But that language is always necessary when it comes to Jan,”

“Virgil!” Janus gasped, a hand to his chest, “I’m offended!”

“Shut up and get comfortable, doofas,” Virgil huffed, elbowing him in the side. Janus elbowed him back. Which led to a playful fight breaking out on the couch.

“You guys are going to ruin my pillow arrangement!” Roman whined as he dimmed the lamps so that- while they could still see- it was dark enough to comfortably watch a film. Patton laughed.

“It’s ok kiddo, they’ll probably get messed up anyway, don’t worry too much,” Patton smiled as Virgil attempted to suffocate Janus with a pillow, though both Patton and Roman could tell that Janus wasn’t actually suffering and they were both having fun, so simply decided to leave it be (with a comment from Patton about how violence wasn’t the answer of course).

“Remus’ cake is baking at the moment,” Logan informed the others after he had surveyed the place, Remus in tow, “I made sure to test it for toxins and/or other harmful substances before he put it in the oven, so I can assure you that it’s safe as of now. As for dinner, I’ll be able to put the pizza in the oven after the cake has finished baking, so we may as well start the film now, as it will be about 54 minutes until the food can be served.”

“Thanks Logan! Come sit down, both of you, Roman made the place all comfy!” Patton smiled. Logan nodded, calmly switching his clothes into his unicorn onesie (he had become much more comfortable wearing it around the others as time had passed) before sitting in one of the armchairs (instead of the sofa where everyone else was crowding) and covering himself neatly with a blanket.

Remus, in comparison, dove onto the sofa and wormed his way underneath the blankets. Ending up with his head in Patton’s lap and his feet in Roman’s, his body splayed over Virgil and Janus, effectively stopping them from continuing their fight.

“Can I-” Remus started, Logan cut him off.

“Onesie or decent pajamas,” Logan said, holding up a finger, “If you wish to watch the movie naked, you will have to go behind the sofa. That is the rule.”

Remus pouted, but switched into a tank top and sweatpants nonetheless, Once everyone had adjusted to Remus’ presence on top of them, Roman pressed play on the movie and the group settled into a comfortable night of movies and relaxation.

—-

When Janus woke up the next morning, he registered multiple feelings at once. First, he was himself again and didn’t feel any of the weird queasiness from constantly changing as he had been the night before, even the lingering nausea from the amount of truth-telling was managable. Next, Virgil was curled up at his side, fast asleep, and he himself was resting against Patton’s chest who had one arm wrapped around Janus in return. He was also still asleep, and Janus realised that- while he had an arm around Virgil, he was also hugging Patton. Remus was there as well, curled up against Patton’s other side, stealing the comfort of his other arm. Roman was sandwiching Virgil against his side, snuggling up against the anxious side and trapping him there. They were still all wrapped up in blankets and still on the couch from last night. Though Janus noticed that all of the plates and glasses had been cleared away and the coffee table wiped down. Logan was up then. This was only confirmed by the smell of toast and pancakes he noticed wafting from the kitchen.

He smiled softly, making no effort to move, as he marvelled in the sight of the others, sleeping soundly all together, with him in the middle. They all cared so much about eachother, him included, it really was amazing how far they’d come.

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