#adrian kennet

[neonthewrite]

Let's Go (Tiny) Gamers

Today's prompt is video games. It's probably not a surprise, I landed on the classic "lil guy wants to try a viddy game". Decided to go with Adrian and Colfax, with a lil story set sometime after A Little More Trust (DA) (Ao3). AU cowritten with @creatorofuniverses

~~~

“And Sawyer just lets you play in his video game files? He’s not worried about the, uh, the data or whatever?”

Adrian was intrigued. He’d seen plenty of humans talk about the near-sanctity of their video game files. It hadn’t occurred to him that some humans would be perfectly okay letting someone else play their games, potentially altering the story or missing out on things.

Colfax had also been surprised at first. When he lived in a university building, he heard human after human talk about their various games. The occasional story about a “lost file” or a “corrupted save” was always met with a somber air. It always seemed to him that, unless they were playing collaboratively, humans weren’t keen on sharing their games. 

Sawyer, by contrast, had been ecstatic to share his games with Colfax, along with his favorite movies and shows. Colfax had seen a lot more media since he’d decided to stay in the apartment with the enthusiastic human. Some were more baffling than others, though it was often easier to just humor the guy when he wanted Colfax to give something a try, no matter how nonsensical. He hadn’t shown a single sign of being worried that Colfax would ruin his game data.

“He doesn’t seem to care,” Colfax said, not divulging how strange he felt that was. “I sometimes try some games. To humor him.”

Adrian grinned. He could tell that Colfax probably liked the games more than he let on. If nothing else, they were an intriguing thing that most viri didn’t get a chance to play around with very often, thanks to the secrecy of their usual lifestyles. Adrian and Colfax had opportunities many viri didn’t, including being able to live out in the open human apartments, able to trust their much larger friends.

Though Sawyer and Charlie were out for the day, the viri had found themselves wandering the apartment instead of scouting the neighboring ones for possible supplies. They’d done that plenty of times already. This occasion had found them standing on a couch cushion, and a nearby game controller sat waiting for someone to bother with it.

It was big‒easily bigger than both viri combined, though that wasn’t a very high bar. It would fit comfortably in a human’s palms, with the buttons and joysticks in easy reach for just a few fingers. By contrast, Colfax would have to stretch his arms across the thing to hope to reach both sides. That meant Adrian probably wouldn’t stand a chance, with his much smaller frame.

Still. “Do you think he’d mind if I tried it too?”

Colfax shrugged. “Don’t see why not.” With that, he strode over to the controller and placed a hand over the center button. He leaned into it a bit, and with a beep and a flash of bright light, the controller woke from its electronic slumber. Across the room, the console it belonged to beeped in kind, fans whirring to life.

Sawyer had the TV set to respond to connected devices switching on. Soon enough, the TV and the console and the controller were at the ready, showing the game console’s menu.

Adrian hurried over, standing next to Colfax at the controller and taking in the several buttons and brushing a hand over the strange, almost-rough rubber of one of the joysticks. “Maybe I should stick to something simple. I don’t think I can reach all of these.”

Colfax chuckled faintly. He nudged the other joystick to the side, moving to select one of the games downloaded to the console. “I usually can’t,” he admitted, pushing down on one of the other buttons to select an option that he remembered being mostly forgiving. “I’ll help you.”

#gtjuly #gtjuly2023 #mywriting #adrian kennet #colfax hammond #trust au #a little more trust #g/t #gt #giant tiny #gt fluff #Colfax: I don't really care either way about the video games #Also Colfax: knows how to operate the console pretty well

[lothiriel84]

Cards on the Table (pt. 2)

A series of post-canon vignettes, each from a different character's point of view. [Part 2/2]

A Faro’s Daughter one-shot collection. Deborah Grantham/Max Ravenscar, with a side of Phoebe Laxton/Adrian Mablethorpe.  

[go back to part 1]

6. Lady Mablethorpe

Augusta Laxton surely was the most insufferable woman on earth, Lady Mablethorpe decided as her son finally bundled his affronted mother-in-law into her carriage. Not that she blamed Phoebe, of course – with a mother like that, anyone would sooner take to their bed than receive any visitors, and there was the poor girl’s condition to be considered. If there was one thing Lady Mablethorpe was not willing to tolerate, it was risking the health of her future grandchild – and prospective heir to Mablethorpe, as she cherished the hope – for the sake of such a selfish creature’s greediness and insensitivity.

“I thought she would never leave,” murmured Arabella at her side, heaving a not-precisely-ladylike sigh of relief. As she couldn’t help but agree on the sentiment, if not her niece’s manners, Lady Mablethorpe simply nodded her assent, and turned her attention to her cup of tea.

“I for one am glad to see Adrian standing up for his wife,” Deborah Ravenscar declared, not unreasonably, and if her ladyship hadn’t heard it with her own ears, she would have called anyone a fool who dared to suggest that her nephew was in fact capable of anything as undignified as a snigger. Marriage was doing Max a world of good, she had to admit, and for all that she still congratulated herself on being spared such a dubious connection, she privately had to acknowledge that, gaming house or not, Lady Bellingham’s niece displayed more respectability and sense than many a duke’s daughter.

“I’m terribly sorry you had to bear witness to such a scene,” Adrian apologised presently, and all but collapsed into the nearest chair. “Lady Laxton is – well, you’ve seen. Truth be told, we’re planning to remove to Mablethorpe as soon as Phoebe is well enough to face the trip.”

“I agree that is probably the wisest course of action,” Max considered thoughtfully, relieving his wife of her empty teacup. The new Mrs Ravenscar offered him a quick, warm smile for his troubles, and let him fuss with her shawl with a look of barely concealed amusement.

“Adrian, dear, do you think Phoebe would be willing to receive me, if only for a few moments? I would very much like to offer her my congratulations in person.”

“Oh, I’m sure she won’t mind seeing you, Deb,” was the prompt reply. “She’s ever so fond of you, and with good reason, as you well know.”

If her ladyship had to suppress a wince at this overly familiar form of address between the pair, she was too well-bred to let it show. And as her nephew appeared more than willing to tolerate such liberties from both parties, it was hardly her place to intervene.

“Give our cousin my love,” Arabella prompted sweetly, even as Max stood offering his arm and escorted his wife out of the room in a most attentive manner. Well, this is beyond everything, she thought to herself, and it took her a full minute to finally register the peculiar way her niece-in-law’s dress – sporting a much more conservative cut than she was normally wont to wear – hugged her figure.

“Max, you impossible creature!” she gasped as her nephew resumed his previous place on the settee. “Are you to tell us we ought to congratulate you as well?”

Had the sudden smile gracing his customarily severe countenance not been indication enough, the air of contrived innocence assumed by her niece would have been her answer. It was plain that Arabella was in on her brother’s secret, just as Adrian had been kept in the dark until that very moment.

“You mean – oh Max, and you never said anything! When are we to expect...?”

“Late summer, we believe.”

As her ladyship’s grandchild wasn’t due until early autumn, she was forced to hold back an irrational twinge of resentment – which promptly turned into a gleam of excitement as the full possibilities started to dawn upon her. So absorbed was she in the contemplation of a much desirable closer alliance between their two families that she all but missed her son’s heartfelt congratulations, and was only brought back to the present day by the sardonic look in her nephew’s eye.

“I fear it is incumbent upon me to warn you, ma’am, that I am determined to see any son or daughter of mine married out of choice rather than duty, or any relation’s wishes.”

“Don’t be absurd, Max,” she chided him, deeply irritated that her secret hopes should be so openly addressed, and just as callously dismissed.

“No child of mine will be induced into matrimony by anything but the deepest of loves,” Adrian declared with an air of affronted dignity, eliciting a startled giggle from his young cousin – who was well enough informed of the circumstances accompanying the sudden transferral of his affections from one lady to another, her aunt reflected gloomily.

Still, Lady Mablethorpe consoled herself reflecting that nothing prevented one of her future grandchildren from falling in love with one among her nephew’s offspring, and she would be there to help things along if she had any say in the matter.

7. Christopher Grantham

“Mr Grantham, what a pleasant surprise! Have you come to visit your sister?”

The gentleman in question shut his eyes briefly, and valiantly set out to ignore the small pang of longing in his chest. Arabella Ravenscar was as lovely a vision as ever in her walking dress and bonnet, and he was faced with the sudden impulse to run up the stairs and gather her in his arms. Only the painful memories of the lady’s inconstancy in her affections stopped him from acting on such an impulse, and he remembered himself in time to bow deeply as she passed him by.

“Indeed I am, Miss Ravenscar,” he replied politely, quickly averting his gaze. “Permit me to wish you a very good day.”

When he was finally admitted to his sister’s presence, Kit Grantham was still so preoccupied with his own thoughts that he didn’t immediately notice the hustle and bustle of servants, as if they were in the middle of packing their mistress’ belongings for an imminent journey.

“Are you going out of town?” he ventured to enquire at length, and was met with a tinkle of laughter from his dearest sister.

“I’m sure I explained it all to you in my last letter, Kit,” she shook her head, apparently amused. “Max and I agreed that Chamfreys would be a great deal more comfortable for my confinement.”

That finally prompted his gaze to drop to her stomach, and he couldn’t refrain from widening his eyes at the sight he was met with. His sister was – huge, there were no two ways about it, and for the first time in his life he actually stopped to consider such an uncomfortable topic as childbearing, and how it might affect any and all females of his acquaintance.

“And are you – I mean to say, is everything – oh, don’t make me say it, Deb, I beg of you.”

His sister took pity on him, and offered him a sympathetic smile. “We are both as well as can be expected, and I’m positive your nephew or niece is eager to meet you, when the time comes.”

“I’m sure I have no idea how ladies are so willing to put themselves through any of this,” he blurted out, immediately blushing at his own forwardness. “Oh, forget I said anything, I’m all out of sorts this morning.”

Deb considered him for a long moment. “Did you by any chance happen to run into my dear sister as she was preparing to go out for her walk in the park?”

He let out a rueful sigh, twisting his gloves in his hands. “I was so sure of her, Deb, I still cannot conceive how she had it in herself to deceive me so.”

“Oh, Kit, I know for a fact she didn’t mean to, but she’s so very young, and more than a little spoilt besides. I hope with time to have more of a good influence on her, and I’m so very sorry you had to suffer because of this – but let me be blunt and assure you that the two of you would not have suited in the slightest, and it is much wiser to take the time to get better acquainted with your prospective partner for life before setting your heart irrevocably on them.”

Kit Grantham turned a mildly reproachful gaze on his elder sister. “Deb, by your own admission you and Ravenscar had only been acquainted for two weeks before he proposed, and you weren’t even in town for one of those same weeks.”

Deborah laughed. “That’s true, but I would hardly call ours an ordinary courtship, and you said yourself that we must have been both out of our senses to even consider marriage after I had him locked in our cellar.”

“Utterly and completely mad,” he nodded with conviction, though deep down he was quite in awe of how noticeably happy his sister had been since becoming Mrs Ravenscar. Perhaps there was still hope for him after his disappointment, after all.

Once he’d kissed his sister goodbye and presented her with his most sincere wishes for a smooth confinement, he left the house in Grosvenor Square with a spring in his step, and the first glimmer of hope that he might, one day, procure the same kind of happiness for himself.

8. Miss Ravenscar

“Arabella, my dear, how can you forget your manners so?” her mother complained weakly after her as she rushed up the stairs, and all but barged into her brother’s study unannounced.

“Good day to you, Belle,” Max greeted her with intolerable composure, gathering the documents spread in front of him into a neat pile. “I trust you had a pleasant journey?”

“Max, how could you be so unbearably reticent in that note of yours? You must tell me everything, at once!”

“Why, I thought I had been perfectly clear,” he demurred, yet she could clearly see the corners of his lips trembling into the beginnings of a smile. “Both mother and child are perfectly well, and they are currently resting – or at least, they were doing so when I left them, not half an hour ago.”

“Max!” she glared at him in frustration. “Am I the aunt to a little boy, or a girl?”

“Always so impatient,” he shook his head, and stood up. “You are aware, I’m sure, that the proper thing for us to do is to go downstairs, and share the announcement with your affectionate mother.”

“You know very well you don’t care a fig for propriety, and as for Mama, I’m positive she will survive. It’s not as if she’s the child’s grandmother – not really, anyway.”

“And thank heavens for that,” she heard him murmur under his breath, and gave him a hard pinch in retaliation. “Now, if you think you can behave yourself for longer than two minutes at a time, it would be my pleasure to introduce you to the new addition to our family party.”

Mollified by the prospect, she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, and offered him a most demure smile. “I will be on my best behaviour, I promise.”

In short order, she was introduced into her sister-in-law’s bedchamber, greeted her with a kiss on her exceptionally pale cheek, and couldn’t refrain from taking hold of both of her hands and questioning her at length about her ordeal.

“Do not fret yourself so, my dear,” Deborah reassured her warmly, patting her on the arm. “It is not so very bad, and you will see for yourself how the blessing that comes of is well worth the pain.”

Arabella cast an extremely dubious glance at her pallid complexion and the look of utter exhaustion about her countenance. Still, Deborah’s eyes were sparkling with barely restrained joy, and she could hardly miss the brightness of her smile when the nurse strode in with her charge in her arms.

“My dearest sister, I would like you to meet your new nephew, Adrian,” Max announced, with no small amount of pride in his voice. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the delicate features of the sleeping infant’s face, his miniature hands curled in small fists around a corner of his blanket.

“He’s so tiny,” she breathed out in wonderment, extending a finger to trace the contours of one diminutive fist. “Did you say his name is – Adrian? Does our cousin know?”

“Not at present, though it will be our pleasure to inform him as soon as he visits, like he promised,” her brother smiled, his eyes searching for Deborah’s. “He is after all the reason why we met in the first place, and I cannot think of a better way to honour his – most unwitting – role in bringing us together.”

“Oh, but you must prepare yourselves, Mama will be most disappointed that you didn’t choose our late father’s name for the child,” Arabella said ruefully. “I wish I could talk her out of it, I really do, but you know her, Max.”

“I do,” Max nodded with a great deal of forbearance, and took hold of his infant son with such an air of practiced ease that had his sister most surprised. “Now, we shall go downstairs and introduce the little one to Olivia, thus sparing my darling wife the trial of being faced with my stepmother’s complaints until she’s well on her way to recovery.”

“That’s most considerate of you, dear husband,” Deborah laughed, her gaze lingering on the child with such undisguised tenderness that Arabella found herself wondering what it would be like, one day, to hold her own son or daughter in her arms.

9. Phoebe Mablethorpe (née Laxton)

Young Lady Mablethorpe quietly studied her husband as he leaned over the bassinet with an expression of pure rapture on his handsome face. He looked ever so pleased with their newborn daughter, and yet, she couldn’t seem to put her mother’s rather uncomplimentary speech out of her mind.

“Oh, Adrian,” she whispered timidly, walking up to his side. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do my duty and provide you with an heir. I promise it will be a son next time.”

The sudden, horrified look on her husband’s face gave her pause, and she didn’t even think to resist when he gathered her in his arms quite abruptly.

“Phoebe, how can you speak so! I find I have no words to express how much I love our little Deb, and I wouldn’t want to trade her for anything in the world, do you hear me?”

“I do,” she nodded meekly, hiding her face into his waistcoat. “It’s just, Mama says that – ”

His arms tightened around her, and she felt him press a fierce kiss on top of her head. “Dearest, I hate to speak ill of your mother, you know I do, but the truth is, you ought not listen to a word she says when it comes to such matters.”

“I’m sorry,” she apologised at once, nestling further into his embrace. “And I do love our daughter so, I hate to think she will be looked down by our families until I can bear you a son.”

Adrian chuckled, and placed a gentle finger under her chin. “Well, my mother for one is positively delighted with her granddaughter, if only because she’s already forming some serious designs for her to marry into the Ravenscar fortune. And you know how pleased our cousins are that we named her after Deborah.”

“I will never allow my daughter to be forced into matrimony against her will,” Phoebe declared with unshakable conviction, all but suppressing a shudder at the horrific memories of her parents explaining in no uncertain terms how it was her precise duty to accept, and even encourage, Sir James Filey’s suit. “Oh, Adrian, I don’t know what would have become of me, if you and Deborah hadn’t come to my rescue at Vauxhall Gardens.”

Her husband kissed her very tenderly, his fingers coming to rest at her cheek. “You don’t need to worry about that anymore. And I thank my lucky star that I found the most delightful companion for my life that night.”

Her heart swelling with joy, she found she had no room left to tie herself in knots over the past. And if their daughter chose to break the moment by making her presence known quite forcefully, that was surely her prerogative; as a new mother, she found she could hardly begrudge her child anything, let alone this.

10. Lucius Kennet

Strolling into the house in Berkley Square after an urgent summoning from Lady Bellingham, Mr Kennet was more than a little surprised to be welcomed by her ladyship rather than one of the servants.

“Oh, thank God you’re here, Lucius,” Lady Bellingham proclaimed in a most agitated manner, clutching at her vinaigrette. “My poor nerves are in such a state, I swear I don’t know what to do with myself. Oh, to think that I should live to see the day – but I daresay I won’t, I can feel my spasms coming already.”

“Calm yourself, ma’am,” he urged her, not particularly moved by such a declaration. “And start from the beginning, if you please.”

“Foolish, headstrong girl! She says she shall never see him again, and he’s such a proud creature he will undoubtedly divorce her – we shall all be ruined, and there’s that poor child to be considered, it doesn’t even bear thinking!”

“I’m willing to bet any sum of your choosing that it won’t come to that, ma’am,” he replied with a considerable deal of amusement, earning a reproachful look from the respectable matron.

“I wish you would take this seriously, Lucius. You know very well how Deb is – she refuses to be reasoned with, and now she’s locked herself in one of the rooms upstairs, and she declares she won’t leave even if her husband comes here on his knees all the way from Grosvenor Square and begs for her forgiveness.”

Mr Kennet looked out of the window just in time to spot a carriage bearing the Ravenscar crest stopping in front of the house, and grinned in anticipation of a most diverting scene. “As to that, we shall have to wait and see,” he winked at her ladyship, and went to answer the door himself.

Ravenscar looked momentarily startled at his presence, but was quick to regain his composure, and barely deigned him with a contemptuous glance as he pushed past him and went straight for Lady Bellingham.

“I need to see my wife most urgently, ma’am,” the man gritted out between his teeth, his hat half crushed in his grip. “I beg you to give me leave to seek her out for myself.”

“And what makes you believe she’s here, hmm?” Lucius drawled from the entrance, his arms crossed in open defiance of Ravenscar’s wishes. If he knew his gentleman, he had more than half an idea of where all this was going, and he was determined to have his fun in the meantime.

“I would advise you to stay out of this, Kennet, or I won’t be held responsible for my actions.”

“Gentlemen, if you please,” cried out Lady Bellingham, reaching with trembling fingers for her smelling salts. “My niece is indeed upstairs, Sir, and I would lead you to her myself if I thought that would answer. I’m afraid nothing will serve while she’s in one of her tantrums, and I do declare she will be the death of me one day, but what can one do?”

As her ladyship looked perilously close to drop in a dead faint, Mr Kennet stepped forward to help her to the nearest chaise. The two gentlemen exchanged a tense look across the room, until Lucius eventually relented and nodded in the direction of the stairs.

“I’ll take care of the lady, you go upstairs and set our darling Deb to rights,” he smirked, feeling quite sure that, had Ravenscar not had way more pressing matters to attend, he would have happily knocked half the teeth out of his mouth.

It was nigh on half an hour later when Lady Bellingham came back fully to her senses, helped along by a glass of good Burgundy, and promptly resumed her gloomy predictions about the future.

“Think of the scandal, Lucius! I dismissed the servants as soon as I figured what Deb was up to, but I fear by then it was too late. And it can’t be helped anyway, if they’re set to have a breach, which looks more and more inevitable, and – oh, Lucius, they’re fully capable of murdering one another when they’re both in a rage, and where will that leave us?”

“If you have a little more patience, ma’am, you will see for yourself how everything will turn out for the best,” he hastened to reassure her, and indeed, he was soon proven right by the abrupt reappearance of Mr and Mrs Ravenscar, both of them looking oddly flushed, and more than a little sheepish besides.

“Not one word,” Deborah warned him as he took in their rumpled appearances, from his hastily rearranged cravat to the way her curls tumbled freely around her shoulders.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he grinned, and poured himself a glass of wine. “I shall drink to your future happiness, my darling.”

Deborah blushed most endearingly, and turned her attention to the afflicted matron. “Dearest Aunt Lizzie, we’re very sorry for causing you such an unreasonable amount of trouble. With your permission, we shall be on our way presently.”

“Oh, go away, you impossible creature,” her aunt waved her off feebly. “Both of you.”

Ravenscar looked as embarrassed as he ever was, which was in itself most diverting. “My apologies, ma’am,” he bowed, somewhat uncomfortably, and offered his arm to his wife.

“Faith, if young Master Adrian doesn’t get a new playfellow within the next twelvemonth, then I’m not Lucius Kennet,” he laughed under his breath, and tossed off his wine.

#Faro's Daughter #Georgette Heyer #Selina Mablethorpe #Kit Grantham #Arabella Ravenscar #Phoebe Laxton #Lucius Kennet #Deborah/Max #Phoebe/Adrian #one shot collection #post-canon #family #married life #I wrote a thing #Cards on the Table (Faro's Daughter)

[neonthewrite]

Gilded Birdcage

Today's prompt is "Bird", and really the only thing that comes to mind for that one is Adrian, specifically Adrian from a trust AU that I don't think @creatorofuniverses and I have elaborated on that much. The Doppelganger AU has some artwork out there ... and also one other bit of writing that has nothing to do with where Adrian is in the AU. So this could probably be taken mostly standalone!

Poor Adrian.

~~~

Adrian can’t count the days he’s spent in that golden cage. It’s usually hard to focus on something for too long. His attention always fractures, fluttering to something else, especially the few tokens and baubles in the cage with him. The gentle swaying of the cage doesn’t help, hanging from a hook on the ceiling of the witch’s traveling cart. She has a lot of fancy things to catch the eye, feathers and furs and trinkets and cloth. The cart is an explosion of colors inside and out, wherever they go.

She trades these things, hands them all back and forth amidst friendly conversations, words that he knows in his rapidly-beating heart that he understands and yet struggles to parse or remember. He has tried to speak to her curious customers too. His voice comes out in delicate whistles and chirps, a new song every time that never matches what he wants to convey. They smile in fascination at him. Tell him he is so pretty, yes he is, and what a fine little helper he is to his witch.

Indeed, his songs draw attention, though not the kind he sometimes wishes. No one looks at him and sees someone in need of help. They see a pretty little bird, perched in a pretty little cage, singing a pretty little song. It brings customers close enough for the witch to strike up a conversation with them, really; that’s why she hangs his cage by the window when she goes into town to open up her cart. A witch with an endearing little songbird promises interesting wares, if nothing else.

One or two have tried to buy him before. They hold out very shiny things, and lots of them, while pointing at his cage where it hangs by the cart’s window. His witch never accepts these offers.

He’s mine, she always says, and for some reason those words don’t give him the same trouble the others do. He’s mine, forever and always.

Certainly, he is cared for, as well as one might expect someone to care for a small bird. His feathers, the palest yellow, always have a healthy shine to them. He has several perches in his gilded cage, ones that feel nice on his feet when he grips them. The witch gives him berries and greens and, occasionally, seeds. He isn’t sure why, but these things always delight him, filling him with excitement when offered.

He hasn’t always been this way. He doesn’t know when it happened. He hasn’t always had wings; once upon a time he had hands, just like the humans he sees in great numbers most days. He had long legs, he had front facing eyes. He … he’d been a human before. Trying to remember it only gives him a kaleidoscope of confusing memories.

~~~

He brings a book of blank paper to the woods. His fingers smudge with charcoal. The image of the forest is suddenly repeated on the paper.

She smiles at him. Where did she come from? She smiles so wide, her eyes big and delighted.

He’s dwindling. The world grows larger. He looks to her for help but that smile remains.

He’s small and confused. The grass stands over him. He stumbles, something is wrong with his legs. His heart beats so rapidly it’s all he can feel, the fluttering in his chest. He again tries to ask for help. Only whistles come out.

He runs. He stumbles. He shoots out his hands to catch himself‒he doesn’t have hands. In their place, wings.

Wings! I’m a… the thought falls away from him like rain off a window. He doesn’t understand. The world looks so different.

She’s coming closer. She’s still smiling. Where did she come from?

You’re mine, she tells him as she stoops over him. Mine forever and always. She reaches for him. Her hand is bigger than his body now.

He has wings. He can fly away. Adrian spreads those wings, entirely new to him, and flutters into the air. It feels wrong. He can’t move them the right way. He has tail feathers now, too. They don’t cooperate. He doesn’t get very far. A hand closes around him.

~~~

Adrian doesn’t really have other memories beyond those. He can’t make much sense of them, either. They always feel present, yet distant, something he could hold onto without fully knowing why.

He sings when she asks. Even when he doesn’t feel like singing, it warbles out of him, a little tune from the golden bird in the golden cage. She’s a proud witch; she’s happy with him. When she closes up the cart for the night, she murmurs nice words at him.

Sometimes she even opens up the cage and lets him hop onto her offered finger. She whistles with him, strokes the crest feathers atop his head with a fingertip. It feels nice, especially when he’s molting (he molts from time to time now, and it’s agonizingly itchy). She loves him. She tells him so, and he understands. Then she closes him in the cage again with that same delighted smile he remembers. It’s hard to be afraid of that smile anymore. The memory is so old, though he’s unsure exactly how old. Surely he doesn’t have it completely right.

He’s only a bird, after all. He can’t be expected to remember things perfectly.

He’s hers. Hers forever and always.

#gtjuly #gtjuly2023 #mywriting #adrian kennet #bird!adrian #doppelganger au #trust au #g/t #g/t handheld #g/t transformation

[neonthewrite]

Interrupted At Work

July is here already, and with it the GT July Prompt Challenge! Day one is "Enchanted", and I had a hard time deciding what to do with this one. I landed on the tiniest court wizard Adrian has ever had in his employ, Colfax! From there, the story really came together.

Takes place sometime after the Trust AU "A Little Bit of Magic", cowritten with @creatorofuniverses!

~~~

“Wizard! You’ve been summoned to the council room.”

Colfax didn’t turn right away. He had his focus on the blackboard, where he had a complex spell circle taking form and several scribbled notes around it. His criss-crossed rope bridges swayed a bit from the back and forth pacing he’d been doing, and he probably had smudges of chalk on his face from absently tapping his chin.

He was close to figuring it out. He’d been studying these runes and their possible applications for a few days now. If he could get things tuned properly, he’d have a brand new spell.

“Wizard!” The gruff voice was louder this time. This time, he turned to face the door of his lab just to be safe.

Most of the people who lived in the royal castle knew not to enter the court wizard’s lab without invitation. For one thing, they ran the risk of getting caught in some spellwork while he experimented. For another, there wasn’t a lot of room for the standard human-sized person to move around in the lab.

At around six inches tall, Colfax required some extra walkways and bridges to access the different sections of the lab. The chalkboards alone sported a grid of walkways and ladders so he could make use of their full spans. Bridges and stairs extended between the large middle table and the shelves and counters along the wall, spaced out well but definitely creating a web for the bigger folk to navigate.

That was fine. They didn’t need to be able to get around the lab as much as he did.

The man in the doorway was some council representative or something. Colfax would probably remember his name and title if he tried, but the man had broken his concentration and refused to use his name. So he’d meet that energy in kind.

“Yes?” Colfax asked, already making his way to one of the bridges that’d take him to the central lab table. “What am I summoned for?”

The man huffed. “You are summoned by the Prince and his council. What does it matter what for?”

Colfax paused on the bridge to fix the man with a scathing look. As if he was just some performer that could be called upon at any time and not someone with his own job to do in the castle. The man frowned back, but eventually relented. “An artifact has been discovered by one of the royal research teams. They want to know if it’s enchanted.”

Colfax continued down his bridge. At least that sounded like an interesting interruption. “Acceptable. You can expect me in the council chambers shortly.”

He stepped onto the broad lab table, covered in a maze of potion implements, open books, and more walkways for Colfax’s use. Most of the things he’d realistically need for a task like this would be tucked away in the bag he carried at his side, but it wouldn’t hurt to grab a few extra items.

Not that he had a chance to go get any of them.

A shadow fell over the table, and Colfax could only whirl around before a gloved hand descended on him, long fingers wrapping inexorably around him and forcing him against a palm. He grimaced as the man hoisted him off the table far too quickly and then turned to exit the lab with him in tow.

“This is an urgent matter,” the man explained as he walked, carrying Colfax in front of his chest in an uncomfortably-tight grasp. “I will bring you to the council chambers.”

Colfax narrowed his eyes and squirmed a bit, at least enough to free one of his arms and settle it on the man’s knuckles. “You do not have the right to carry me like this,” he warned, keeping his voice remarkably calm considering the seething annoyance that built in him with every step the man took. “I have my own ways of navigating this castle. Put me down.”

He was used to this. All too used to people disregarding his ability to do things on his own. It hadn’t happened in a while, since getting himself really established as the court wizard. The prince had made it clear that people were to respect Colfax’s autonomy. If it meant waiting a little more time for him to respond to a summons, so be it.

This council representative, or attendant, or whatever the hell his actual title was, hadn’t gotten that memo. “This will be much faster. This could be an urgent discovery.”

“Could be?” Colfax echoed. “So you’re manhandling me and you’re not even sure it’s worth it.”

The man had the gall to roll his eyes. At least, by the directions he took through the halls, he was telling the truth about where he was bringing him. Colfax settled in to wait for them to arrive at the council chambers.

He’d been to the room where the royals held council with their various lords and representatives and such many times. He’d had to give and hear dull reports once or twice as part of his office as Court Wizard. It wasn’t as ostentatious as it could be, at least. The tall ceilings and large round table gave a certain official feeling to the place. The high backed chairs all seating very important people added to that.

The conversation in the room faltered as Colfax’s would-be escort stepped forward and deposited unceremoniously in the middle of the table, near a sealed wooden box. He stumbled, barely managing to catch himself as all eyes fell to him.

Adrian, seated in the seat with the highest back and with more papers and folders in front of him than anyone else, looked appalled on top of the shock everyone else wore. “What‒”

“I’m told I was summoned, Your Highness,” Colfax interrupted, not offering a bow. After a moment fishing in his bag, he retrieved his wizard’s staff. “To verify any enchantments on an artifact. It could even be urgent. Hence why I was brought straight here.” He knocked the end of his staff on the wooden box and got a resounding thunk in return.

Adrian’s cheeks turned a bit pink and he took a slow breath before turning his attention to the man who’d brought Colfax to the council room. “My apologies, Wizard Colfax. This summons was not meant to be handled in this way.”

Colfax glanced over his shoulder and was pleased to find the man who’d brought him looking rather sheepish. “Understood, O Prince,” Colfax replied, ignoring the few offended looks he got from the other dignitaries at the table. “I forgive you.”

That got a wry chuckle out of Adrian, if not anybody else at the council. “Very magnanimous of you, O Wizard. As this council has interrupted your work, we could cede the floor to you as long as you should need. If you like.”

Adrian was giving Colfax a chance to make this room full of lords listen to him for as long as he’d like. By the looks on the faces arrayed all around him, they knew it too, and couldn’t go against the prince’s words. Colfax was so, so tempted to take his sweet time testing the artifact there and then for possible enchantments rather than the basic checks they probably expected when they sent for him.

Luckily, he didn’t actually want to spend more time in a stuffy meeting than he absolutely had to. He shook his head. “No need. I feel residual magic coming out of this box, so there are enchantments on the artifact. If you need a full assessment and report, you know where to send it.”

Adrian smiled again. “Much appreciated, Wizard Colfax. You have dismissed yourself.”

Colfax nodded and turned, waving a hand at the others in a flippant goodbye. “Councilors.”

The great thing about being a wizard was that he didn’t need help to make a grand exit no matter how small he was. Already he was preparing a spell to get to the door without anyone laying a hand on him. “I will see myself back to my lab.”

#gtjuly #gtjuly2023 #mywriting #colfax hammond #adrian kennet #wizard!colfax #prince!adrian #a little bit of magic #trust au #g/t #g/t handheld

[neonthewrite]

Neon, have you ever thought about Chase, Eral or even Adrian, being bigger than their usual height. If so, how would they react and what would they do being much more in control and having that power?

Hmm, good question! I haven't made any of these characters bigger yet (though some have been made smaller of course).

Chase

Chase would be grabby. There's no getting around it. This dude is too energetic for his own good, and very tactile and sociable. He's not malicious, but he can be a little insensitive without meaning to be sometimes. So there would be a lot of holding, probably a bit of fiddling with the smaller party. Unless they establish really clear boundaries and enforce them early, or he has someone else leading by example.

Eral

Eral is weird to think about as anything but little and sassy lol. As much as he gripes about the size disparity, he doesn't mind being small; pixies are meant to be small. If all these Big Folk weren't so rude about it, things would be fine! That said, he'd be really awkward and careful if he was not pixie sized for some reason. It'd feel weird, and he probably wouldn't like not having as much room to fly freely. You'd have a very grumpy Eral concentrating closely on where he walks. He's still a crack shot, though, and I imagine his magic pixie crossbow would be even more devastating at a larger size.

Adrian

I've had Adrian be the taller party before in G/t scenarios (his introduction had him as a human paired with tiny Charlie). I think he'd be similar to those stories - avoiding touching anyone, and probably pretty anxious about the possibility. However, he tends to find tiny folk very cute, so he'd try to be friendly and sociable as he could. No cuddles from him, though... so he's only halfway to total fluff machine.

#brainstorming #character things #chase lisong #eral the arbor pixie #adrian kennet #size shenanigans

[neonthewrite]

Friendship Progress

The GT July prompt today is "friendship" and Oh My Gosh how do I pick just one friendship to write about??? I ended up writing about Colfax and Adrian, my characters from the Trust Multiverse (co-created with @creatorofuniverses). This is set in the A Little More Trust AU, or really any AU where both of them are viri (tiny, for those of you who haven't read any of the Trust stories).

This one ended up being a little bit longer than most of my GT July shorts; not by too much, but just a heads up!

~~~

Adrian traversed the walls without really thinking too hard about the route. He knew the way to different areas in the house by memory, down to how many steps he and the other viri had installed in various places to move from level to level among the support boards, pipes, and other bones of the house hidden behind paint and drywall. Much of it had been put in place by his family; mother, father, aunts, uncle. Adrian had added extra pulley systems farther away from their house near the pantry. Almost anywhere anyone wanted to go in the house, they could get there with ease and, in Adrian’s opinion, style.

The negative space within the walls of a human home provided a surprising amount of space to work with; viri could go far in there without once needing to venture into the actual house where they were at risk of being spotted by a human.

This house had enough such space that, less than half a year ago, a new family of viri had moved in and settled on the other side of the house. The Hammonds had needed to move from their previous home rather suddenly, and Adrian’s family, the Kennets, were happy to accept them in their midst. Two of the Hammond kids were even close to Adrian in age - sixteen to his fourteen - something he thought he’d never encounter growing up as the only kid around.

Adrian was on his way to visit them with a few things weighing down his bag, some gifts sent over by his mom. As he walked, he buzzed with nervous energy; the older two kids, a pair of twins, always carried themselves with a certain confidence and intensity. It was intimidating even just thinking about it. By contrast, their little sister was much cheerier and had happily taken to having even more people around her to give her attention.

At length, he reached where the Hammonds had chosen to build up their home. Most of the building was there, with a few spots that needed better sealing or more framing to be complete, but it was a working shelter that had distinct rooms and would become a home soon enough.

Adrian knocked on the door, a hinged metal lid, and it made a strange little clanging noise to announce his arrival. Someone inside told him to come in, and he peeked into the main room before entering.

“Adrian, it’s nice to see you.” The greeting came from Carla, the mother of the Hammond family. She sat at their table with little Brigid, only four years old, on her lap. Gwendolyn, one of the twins, sat opposite her, and she held up a hand in a casual wave. Sounds in one of the curtained-off side rooms suggested Mr. Hammond and Colfax, the other twin, were working on some building in there.

“Hi,” Adrian greeted, already opening his bag as he stepped over to the table. “Um. Sorry to interrupt anything. My mom wanted to send a few things over, and I thought I might come and, well, hang around, maybe help out if there’s something that needs to be put together.”

Brigid piped up before her mother or sister could get a word in. “That’s for me?” she asked, eyeing the bundles Adrian pulled from his bag.

With a grin, he set aside some of the wrapped parcels of sticky tack and insulation fluff for the house and offered a piece of folded cloth to the girl, who grabbed it eagerly. He glanced at the girl’s mom. “My mom made her a new jacket. I hope you don’t mind.”

As Brigid unfolded the jacket to observe the small, colorful patches sewn into the back, Carla smiled gratefully. “Oh, that’s lovely, isn’t it dear? What do you tell Adrian for bringing that to you?”

Brigid beamed up at Adrian, clutching her new jacket close. “Thaaaaank you, Adriaaan,” she drawled, ending with a giggle. “It’s pretty!”

“That’s really nice,” Gwendolyn agreed. Then, she sent Adrian a small smile. “Did you really come out here to run the risk of being asked to help build something for us? You know dad will probably take you up on that offer.”

Adrian laughed lightly. “I don’t mind helping out. I kinda like building things, and I’ve never had a reason to help build a whole house before, so …” he tapered off into a shrug before he could ramble on too much.

Gwendolyn didn’t tease him like she sometimes teased her brother for whatever opportunity she could find. Instead, she looked through the building supplies Adrian had brought before putting the sticky tack (wrapped securely in wax paper) back in his hands. “If you insist, Adrian. I think they’ll want this in there; today we’re finally getting an actual ceiling on our room.”

“No more tent for us,” Brigid said, sounding like she was trying her best to have a grown-up conversation. Her pigtails and her seat on her mother’s lap offset the appearance a bit, but as a Hammond she could look about as serious as she pleased.

Adrian nodded. “That sounds great, I’ll go see if I can help.” With that, he went to the curtained off room to see what he could do.

The sight that greeted him gave him pause just past the doorway. It still surprised him, sometimes, seeing just how tall any of the Hammonds were. The women in the other room were both seated so the effect wasn’t as strong, but Colfax and his dad, Arthur, stood at the far corners of the room reaching up to place wide popsicle sticks atop the walls to act as a sturdier ceiling. Colfax was nearly six inches tall and his dad had cleared that height; to Adrian, who hadn’t cleared five inches tall yet (and whose family tended to stand on the short side), the Hammonds cut intimidating figures by stature alone, to say nothing of the intense set of their brows or their dark eyes.

Even so, he recovered as quickly as he could to cough politely. “Hey, Colfax, hey Arthur. I came by to see if you needed help with anything.”

They looked over their shoulders in unison, and Adrian waved cheerfully. Colfax didn’t say anything, but his dad grinned in greeting. “Hey, Adrian. We won’t say no to any help with this - what’cha got there?”

Adrian peeled back part of the wax paper to show off the light grey lump of sticky, rubbery clay. “Something to help keep those sticks in place better, I’d guess. Gwendolyn said you might want this. Brought it over with a few other things for the house. It’s starting to come together really nicely!”

“That’s perfect,” Arthur said, glancing at Colfax and nodding in Adrian’s direction. “Colfax, why don’t you help him divide some of that up into portions we need. I’ll get some more of these shingles in place.”

Colfax let go of the piece of the ceiling he was holding up, making sure his dad wouldn’t drop it, before beckoning Adrian over to take a seat on one of the beds in the room. He sat a respectful distance away on the bed and didn’t really meet Adrian’s gaze, but when Adrian settled to a seat Colfax finally said something in greeting. “Adrian. Hello.”

He always seemed so distant, and Adrian, used to friendlier personalities, felt like hitting a wall every time he started a conversation with the guy. Still, he didn’t want to let it stop him from making an effort; he could be friends with Colfax, same as with the other Hammonds. It might take a little bit of learning to get it right, but he’d do it, intimidation or not. “Hi, Colfax. Let me just -” he paused while trying to divide the lump of sticky tack into two. It was tougher than he’d thought. Once he had two pieces, he handed one off to Colfax. “How are you?”

Colfax hummed noncommittally as he set the tack on his lap and started pulling off smaller portions of it, rolling them into spheres ready to be put to use sealing up any holes in the new roof. “Tired. Didn’t sleep much.”

Adrian tilted his head, trying and mostly failing to catch Colfax’s eye. “That’s too bad,” he said, as gently as he could. They’d had similar conversations before in previous attempts at small talk. Colfax didn’t take well to someone feeling bad for him. “Wanna go on a walk later? After we get this stuff sorted out, maybe. Then you’ll probably be plenty tired and you’ll sleep like a rock.”

Colfax’s gaze flickered his way before returning to the task on his lap. “Where to?”

Adrian grinned. Coming from Colfax, that terse bit of curiosity might as well be a beaming endorsement of the idea. “Well, I know you guys have been sticking to the first floor for now, for the most part,” he mused. “We don’t go up there too often either, since the humans spend so much time in their rooms up there. But there’s some good spots to check out for stuff that gets dropped. And there’s a vent up there that I sometimes use to look at the backyard. You can see the park from there, and a bunch of neat stuff.”

Colfax was quiet for a time, and Adrian gave him the space to think about it. The two of them had a decent pile of sticky tack lumps between them before Colfax finally responded. “I’ll go. After this.”

Adrian smiled and nodded and did his best to school his expression and not look too excited over his progress towards friendship. “Sure. It’ll be fun.”

#gtjuly #gtjuly2022 #mywriting #trust au #a little more trust #adrian kennet #colfax hammond #viri!adrian #viri!colfax #backstory #viri #giant tiny #g/t #in the walls

[neonthewrite]

Art Lesson

The prompt is "redraw", in which it becomes obvious I've taken on a prompt challenge meant for visual arts and made it fit my own medium. For this one we'll visit the A Little Bit of Family trust AU cowritten with @creatorofuniverses!

~~~

Adrian sketched absently on the loose sheet of paper he’d already been using for some of his examples during the latest art lesson. He wasn’t always the most organized teacher - sometimes he really did end up throwing some ideas around to see what would work, but having a class size of one helped. One extremely tiny student, at that.

Up at the corner of his desk, well away from the slanted part of the drafting table, sat a child no more than two inches tall by his reckoning. Oscar was a slight little kid, only eight years old and a bit thin. With his wild brown hair, he sometimes evoked the shape of a dandelion. A very short one.

Oscar’s extra-tiny size compared to his parents made it doubly clear how much trust Adrian had earned. The art lessons he held most days for the kid had been largely unsupervised after the first few times to get Oscar used to things. Charlie and Sawyer really didn’t mind leaving their child, so small and vulnerable, with Adrian for a little while so he could show him some tricks with his art or teach him how to make simple crafts.

It was an honor, most of all, but it was also a lot of fun. Oscar was adorable.

For now, Oscar was laid out on his tummy so he could focus on his latest piece. Adrian was happy to just let him free draw for a bit; Oscar had fun with the miniature crayons Adrian had carved for him.

Though when Adrian glanced over this time, he noticed a slight frown on the kid’s tiny little face. He wouldn’t miss it even without leaning in closer to see. “Everything okay, Oscar?”

Oscar paused in his drawing and glanced up, then frowned deeper still at his paper. With a little huff of consternation, he set his crayon down and propped himself up a bit. “It’s, um, my drawing d-doesn’t look how I wanted it to, I got something wrong and now everything else doesn’t fit right…”

Adrian could relate all too well, though at first he wondered how best to teach this specific kind of artist’s disappointment to a kid so young. “That’s okay, Oscar. Sometimes we don’t get things on the paper the exact way we pictured it, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”

Oscar pondered this, then shifted his little paper back and forth absently. “I still wish I coulda got it closer to what I wanted,” he admitted.

“That’s okay, too,” Adrian said, hoping he would reassure the kid more than discourage him. “This is your first draft. You can always try again with another one.”

Oscar looked up, the small epiphany in his eyes as it sank in. “I didn’t think of trying to draw the same thing again,” he said. “Do you do that a lot too?”

Adrian couldn’t help a laugh. Already he was retrieving a new small cut of paper for Oscar. “Oscar, I redraw things all the time. You can redraw something as many times as you want until you like how it looks. Why don’t you give it another try and see how you feel about a second draft?”

#gtjuly #gtjuly2022 #mywriting #a little bit of family #trust au #adrian kennet #oscar #oscar the oc #kiddo oscar #gt #g/t #giant tiny

[neonthewrite]

Fan Art

The prompt today is "Fan Art," which is obviously meant more for the artists out there, but that didn't stop me from coming up with something! Also, @creatorofuniverses and I realized that in this prompt challenge we'd managed to come up with stories from the childhood of 3 of the 4 main Trust crew ... so I had to make this one work for Adrian and complete the set! :D Also, I'm sorry, but the fulfillment of the prompt ended up being a pun (but I'm not that sorry).

~~~

Adrian hadn’t told his mother he was going out, but that was probably okay. She wouldn’t mind it too much, so long as he stayed inside the walls and never put himself at any kind of risk of being seen. All he needed was a little time away from the house, out from under the protective shadow that usually followed him everywhere.

For goodness’ sake, he was ten. Nearly eleven. He’d gained a fraction of an inch in height since the start of the year, too; at four and a quarter inches tall, he was definitely not the little kid he used to be.

Escaping the house had been the real trick. With his mother, father, two aunts, and an uncle, things could get a bit crowded in their section of the floorboards. They didn’t all stay in the same structure, but the cluster of viri homes was close enough together that he had a small village to dodge on his way out.

He’d only almost been spotted. His dad and uncle were playing chess, as they often did in the quiet evenings, and he could have sworn his dad glanced his way. But he hadn’t said anything or called out.

Adrian was in the clear, grinning as the heavy weight in his bag bumped against his side with each step. He had only filled in a few pages of the new sketchbook so far - a cherished gift from his aunts, one they’d made for him when he wouldn’t stop doodling in the margins of the family history book. This book, they’d told him, was for him to draw as much as he wanted, to be his own version of the family history in the records of what he saw or imagined.

He knew exactly what he wanted to try to draw, too. All he had to do was make his way to a good vantage point.

Crawling through holes long since bored through the support frames, Adrian made his way to the base of one wall. There, a permanent ladder had been installed years ago, before he ever came along. It was well worn, the bent metal wires and nails sporting a few smooth spots from viri feet and hands in constant use. It wasn’t as quick as the pulley system, perhaps, but Adrian eagerly pulled himself up that ladder to a horizontal support board halfway up the wall of the first floor.

From there they had stairs and walkways, fashioned out of found materials and leftover scraps from when the building had first been erected. Adrian walked along broken plywood, sturdy plastic combs, the spine of an old book, and more on his way to his destination. At one point, he ducked under the lid of a coffee tin that had been wedged into place under some wiring that used to be faulty, a temporary protection from falling sparks until his dad and uncle had been able to fix it.

They did what they could, the whole family did, to keep things running as smoothly as possible. The less the humans felt the need to fix things up in the house, the better.

At length, Adrian found his way to one of the pulleys they’d installed, one that would take him directly up to the ventilation shafts near the ceilings of the first floor. He shook his wrists out before taking on the task of pulling hand over hand on the rope made of sturdy twine, his feet planted on a platform made of popsicle sticks and lots of duct tape. He’d planned this pulley himself, and its access to the vent shafts above.

Those vents weren’t the easiest pathway to use in the house. They gave the resident viri another way to access the second floor, aside from the stairs and ladders and pulleys they already had. But it was nothing new in that regard.

What it really added was a way to look into the first floor rooms from high above.

Adrian slipped into the air duct via a loose brace and a small flap of metal his family had managed to loosen up. A gentle breeze tousled his pale blond hair, and he followed that breeze to a new source of light: a series of vertical openings, the narrow openings of a vent.

From that vent, he had a perfect view of a broad shelf that took up most of one wall in the living room. The humans had collected all kinds of knick knacks and things there, most of them from their various vacations and adventures all over the world. Pottery, paintings, figurines, and more from distances Adrian could barely fathom adorned that shelf.

They’d recently returned from a trip to a place called “Japan,” and though Adrian didn’t know much at all about this place or where it might be on a map, he found the souvenirs from there right away. Whenever anything new appeared on that shelf, he zeroed in on it.

A pair of paper … things, framed in delicate wooden sticks, lay splayed open on little stands. Adrian’s jaw dropped at the sight of them, the ribbed paper spread open by thin ribs of wood. Painted on those things, whatever they might be for, were some of the most intricate designs he’d ever seen.

He hurriedly pulled his sketchbook out of his bag and knelt down next to the vent. He had to capture the details of those things as soon as he could. No dust had even had time to settle on them yet.

He could only imagine showing off his finished drawings and making his mom forget that he’d snuck out, if only because he’d been able to capture something so beautiful in his book.

#gtjuly #gtjuly2022 #mywriting #adrian kennet #viri!adrian #kiddo adrian #gt #g/t #giant tiny #in the walls #borrower ish

[neonthewrite]

New Office

Today for GT July the prompt is "Royalty", and I could think of none other than the prince himself, Adrian Kennet. Of course, the prince is incomplete without the wizard. This story takes place sometime after the conclusion to A Little Bit of Magic, a Trust AU written with the wonderful @creatorofuniverses!

~~~

Colfax shouldn’t be surprised, but the lab in the castle was much fancier than the lab he kept back home. At home, he had a small awning over a single workbench cluttered with herbs and trinkets and other various pieces he’d collected for his magical studies. It had moderate protection from the elements and from the constant botherations of the crows, and it kept him outside just in case a spell went wrong while he was still developing it (he’d only burned the wall inside the house once, but once was enough).

The lab reserved for the Court Wizard, however, was ridiculously posh by comparison. Counters lined two of the walls, shelves filled a third one, and the others bore slate and narrow ledges for chalk. A large circular table took up the middle of the room loaded with bottles and beakers and heating implements and one midsized cauldron bigger than Colfax’s room back home.

He was a wizard, but admittedly a very compact one. He definitely didn’t need all this space.

He stood on the large center table, eyeing the various potion implements that had been left behind. His predecessor hadn’t left much in the lab on their exit. The shelves had a few clay jars shoved to one corner, likely empty under the layers of dust covering them. Colfax had inherited a cavernous room with frosted windows, more shelving than he’d ever need, and a handful of containers that could easily fit him inside of them.

“What do you think?”

The voice from the doorway between the two slate-board walls was polite and gentle, but Colfax jolted all the same. He turned to face it, somewhat sheepish but trying to convey all the confidence befitting a Wizard of the royal court.

He found Adrian standing there, dressed in more casual attire than his usual; the Prince must have found himself a rare day without meetings or briefings or anything that would require some level of regalia. Though a petite human, Adrian still towered over Colfax’s small frame even from up on the table. Standing a little over six inches tall, the wizard was outmatched by even the smallest of humans.

Adrian approached the table, and Colfax drew himself up anyway. He’d never bowed to the prince, and he didn’t think he’d start. He wasn’t very formal with his greetings, either. “Adrian. It will take some work, I think, but this workspace will do. That aside - you know it can be dangerous to walk into a magic lab without an announcement or invitation, don’t you?”

Adrian grinned as he came to a stop before the table; he always tried not to loom too much, and Colfax appreciated it even if he’d never admit it out loud. The prince stood back a step, which made quite a difference. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t have gotten started on anything too troublesome just yet,” he admitted, rolling with Colfax’s teasing. “I’ve sent for some of the most basic supplies that you can use here, but you’ll have to provide a list later for more specifics. I’ve also arranged for a builder to come and make some adjustments for you so you can get to whatever you need in the room.”

Colfax glanced around again. He would indeed benefit from having some easier methods of traversing the room. If it was truly meant to be for him, it was a bit too spacious for the time being. But there would be walkways for him, ways to easily get to any of the surfaces or storage he might want to reach.

Adrian was a good friend. Prince or not, he’d always considered Colfax’s size, but not in a way that felt demeaning or embarrassing. It was simply a fact about the small wizard that could be accommodated.

“You spoil me,” Colfax said flatly, hiding his thoughts with snark. “I suppose you’ll want all that done quickly so you can put me to work for whatever it is a prince needs a wizard to do.”

Adrian grinned. “It’s true, you’ll be earning your keep, wizard. No shirking responsibilities here, no sir. I’ve even got my first request for you already. It’s lunchtime; what say we find Charlie and rescue him from the head historian for a break?”

#gtjuly #gtjuly2022 #mywriting #colfax hammond #adrian kennet #wizard!colfax #prince!adrian #a little bit of magic #trust au

[neonthewrite]

Upcoming Posts

I have a few things getting ready for posting, thanks to a recent contest run with the wonderful @creatorofuniverses. The prizes that I contributed will be posted here and on my Deviantart. Here's what you can look forward to in the next few days:

Break Time

Set in the Food and Monsters (DA) (Ao3 - not caught up yet) storyline after Oscar has moved in at Bobby Singer's house, this short and sweet tale shows the pair of monster researchers on a typical night in when Bobby decides it's time to take a quick break for a drink.

Survey Mission

Set after the events of A Little More Trust (DA) (Ao3), Adrian and Colfax have ventured into the walls of Sawyer's apartment to scope out a potential home for Colfax there.

Field Trip

Jacob heads back to his clearing while visiting Wellwood, intending to have a nice solitary dinner. Little does he know, someone from the village has stowed away in his pocket.

Sleepover at Adrian's

Set after the events of A Little Bit of Family (DA) (Ao3), Oscar and Elisabeth head out to visit Adrian for a fun night of games and snacks with their favorite resident human. Written with consultation from creatorofuniverses for the use of her characters!

But wait, there's more!

After these are all posted, I will then begin posting a multi-chapter project that's been kept under wraps for quite some time. Keep an eye out for an AU of my Gulliver's Travels-inspired story Chase in Lilliput, this one cowritten with @nightmares06. Stay tuned for Washed up Winchesters!

#food and monsters #oscar the oc #bobby singer #adrian kennet #colfax hammond #almt #jacob andris #vel #announcement #chase in lilliput #chase in lilliput au

[neonthewrite]

Sleepover at Adrian's

It's time for the final prize from the 2021 Trust Contest! This is set in the A Little Bit of Family AU (DA) (Ao3), also known as the Adopt Oscar AU. It's just full of good feels and happy moments for itty bitty Oscar.

Charlie, Sawyer, and Elisabeth belong to @creatorofuniverses and she was consulted in the making of this story!

Reading time ~10mins

~~~

Oscar had a list. Lists helped him keep calm about otherwise stressful things, things with too many steps to count on his hand. Even exciting things could be overwhelming. His list was meant for one of the more exciting things.

"Hey bud, whatcha got there?" Sawyer's voice broke Oscar from his thoughts.

Osar held up the paper so Sawyer could see it. “Hi dad! It's my, it's my list for the sleepover! I gotta make sure I bring everything I need when I go visit Adrian!"

Sawyer scanned it, humming thoughtfully. “Looks good, kiddo, but you forgot one thing.”

"Huh?" Before Oscar could check his list again, Sawyer swept him up into a squeezing hug and planted a kiss on his cheek. Instead of concern, Oscar overflowed with giggles.

"Now you have everything," Sawyer announced.

Oscar had to calm down from his giggles to retort. "I didn't forget! I'm gопnа give hugs an’ kisses before I head out! Th- the list is for what I need in my bag!"

Sawyer gasped, playing up his realization. “Ohhhh, I gotcha. Then I guess this-" he kissed Oscar's cheek again, really smushing his face with the action, "-is just for fun. I gotta take what I can get before you head off with your auntie."

Oscar squirmed so he could wrap his arms around Sawyer's neck in an earnest little hug. As he did, Charlie returned from the storage room, where he'd been working off some nervous energy by tidying. Oscar waved at him.

"Mom! I finished makin' my list! Dad looked at it. I'm gonna have all the stuff for my sleepover!"

"Very good, love," Charlie said, making his way over. In some wordless communication, Sawyer handed Oscar off and gave Charlie's shoulder a gentle squeeze. Charlie grinned at Oscar. "You've gotten so good with your lists. Very responsible."

“I like having ‘em, just in case,” Oscar agreed. “Maybe I’ll have an idea for a list to make while I’m visitin’ Adrian.”

Charlie chuckled. “If you do, remember you can ask Adrian or your auntie for help with the spelling,” he reminded him.

“What am I spelling?” Elisabeth chimed in, causing both Charlie and Oscar to jolt in surprise. When Charlie turned, they found Elisabeth had come in via the storage room entrance, and she wore a teasing grin. Her bag, slung over her shoulder, was just as full as Oscar’s, no doubt due to her own list of necessary sleepover supplies.

Oscar giggled again as Charlie set him down. “My list! If I make a new one,” he explained. Then, he pointed at Elisabeth’s bag. “Did you make a list for your stuff too?”

Elisabeth shifted the bag on her shoulder. “I didn’t,” she admitted. “Guess I’ll need your help remembering everything tomorrow. Are you ready to go?”

Oscar looked over at his bag, which sat by the hacky sack chair. It bulged with a spare set of clothes, his pajamas, and some toys. His trusty teddy bear leaned against it, guarding his things. “My bag’s full,” Oscar assessed. “An’ my list is all checked.”

“It’s a start, poppet,” Elisabeth chuckled.

Oscar nodded, then turned to Charlie and Sawyer. “I promise to be good, an’ I’ll write you a letter, just like when I stay at auntie’s, okay?”

Charlie and Sawyer grinned, endeared as ever by their son’s dutiful insistence. Even with Charlie’s quiet worry about him being away for a night, they trusted Adrian and Elisabeth to look after him. They knelt down to pull him into a squeezing hug anyway, Charlie planting a kiss atop Oscar’s head. “We can’t wait to read it, love.”

“Have fun, kiddo,” Sawyer added, giving them both a squeeze.

Oscar giggled, but soon enough he’d gathered up his bag and his teddy bear, stuffing his folded up list in with the rest of his things. He took Elisabeth’s hand and they shared a grin before heading out.

His grip tightened on her hand as they left, nervous excitement settling in. He’d stayed at Elisabeth’s a couple times. He had fun in spite of his nerves for being away from home - he missed his bed and the familiar rooms that he’d helped his parents build.

This time, the plan was to spend some time with Adrian, their human (the friendliest human ever, if Oscar were to decide). Oscar hadn’t taken much convincing. He had fun with his art lessons with Adrian.

Still. He couldn’t have worked up the nerve to ask if Elisabeth hadn’t volunteered to come along.

“I-I wonder if we’ll surprise him,” Oscar mused; they were on the way to the living room entrance above the human’s desk. “Dad still surprises him sometimes.”

Elisabeth snickered. “Well we can certainly try,” she suggested. She gave him a playful grin and a light squeeze of his hand. “We’re quite sneaky, aren’t we, poppet?”

Oscar giggled and squeezed her hand right back. “Yeah,” he whispered. “W-we’ll try!”

At length, they found their way to a door leading onto a shelf above Adrian’s desk. Oscar and Elisabeth peeked out with the door open only a crack to survey the room. Even with a friendly human, they couldn’t ignore those habits. Humans were dangerous to them and the viri couldn’t forget that.

With a couple major exceptions, one of which sat at the desk absorbed in a sketchbook.

Adrian never paid much attention to the door up on the shelf - he had a cup of pencils in the way, and made an effort not to bother the viris' entrances. It made the perfect spot to catch him by surprise. Even after all this time, Sawyer could still sneak up on him.

Oscar reminded himself of those stories as he crept out into the open. He sent Elisabeth a conspiratorial grin over his shoulder, squeezed his teddy bear close for a beat, and then stepped around the pencil cup. "Hi, Adrian!"

Adrian tensed and his gaze whipped up to the shelf. A smile broke over his face. "Hey, you made it! Didn't even hear you come in!"

Oscar giggled. "Yeah! Me an’ auntie are sneaky just like dad. It's time for our sleepover to start! Whatcha drawing? A building?" He sat at the edge of the shelf and leaned forward for an upside down view of the sketchbook.

Adrian chuckled and turned the book around, angling it up so the viri could see it. A few pencil drawings of regular old household objects adorned the page. "No buildings today," he admitted. "It's good to practice all kinds of subjects."

Elisabeth joined Oscar on the edge of the shelf. “Those are lovely. Oscar's been practicing drawing all kinds of things too, haven't you, poppet?"

"Uh huh, I've been drawing made up flowers, an’ um, some animals, and I, I drew some clothes, too!" Oscar announced proudly.

Adrian nodded, everything in his expression encouraging. “That sounds great, Oscar. We should draw more tonight too. I’d like to see how your practice is going.”

Oscar grinned. He’d been counting on Adrian wanting to do an impromptu art session. His lessons were some of the most fun Oscar had. Adrian had all kinds of art supplies. “Yeah! We’ll make lots of fun pictures!” he declared.

Elisabeth chuckled. “What else do you plan to get up to?” she asked, leaning into Oscar to nudge him. “Does your list have an agenda on it?”

“Oh, um,” Oscar stammered. “I didn’t wanna, I didn’t think we needed to plan too much, auntie,” he admitted, some warmth growing in his cheeks. Truth be told, Oscar wasn’t fully sure what the options were. It would surely be different from the times he spent the night at his aunt’s.

Adrian came to his rescue. “That’s alright, we don’t need to worry about that like we do with lessons.” He turned his sketchbook around and closed it up as he spoke. “You’re here to hang out for the whole night, and that’s a lot more time to fill than just one art lesson. We’ll make it up as we go along,okay?”

“That sounds fun,” Oscar agreed. He looked up at Elisabeth hopefully. “Is that okay?”

Elisabeth laughed, then abruptly wrapped Oscar up in a hug. “Of course it’s okay, poppet, I was only teasing,” she assured him. “We’ll go with the flow, it’ll be fun! You just have to decide what you want to do first!”

Even with some of the pink lingering in his cheeks, Oscar laughed along with her. “I was, I was thinkin’, I did have an idea,” he stammered out. Looking at Adrian, he asked, “Could we, could we try hide and seek? I mean, out in the rooms instead of in the walls where I usually play? Auntie an’ mom used to play it when their humans were gone, but maybe it’d be fun to play hide and seek with our human!”

Adrian raised his eyebrows. “I bet it would be very different from your usual games,” he agreed. “We can definitely give it a try, so long as we all know the rules first.”

~~~

It didn’t take too much time for the three of them to work out the ground rules of their game. Adrian would wait in his bedroom for five minutes. Oscar and Elisabeth had that time to find a place somewhere in the living room to hide - they wouldn’t go into the hallway or the kitchen. After some thought, Oscar determined that he and Elisabeth would hide together. His teddy bear would keep watch from the shelf up on the desk; Oscar didn’t want to drop him out in the middle of the floor in all the excitement.

With their rules decided on, Adrian retreated to the other room, his phone ready with a timer. He promised he’d call out every minute that passed so they knew how much time they had left. Oscar practically buzzed with excitement.

“Careful, poppet,” Elisabeth warned, though there was an endeared chuckle coloring her voice as she hooked her climbing string to the edge of the desk. “Don’t get too antsy to climb your string!”

“I won’t,” Oscar promised, preparing his own hook and string with the yellow button tied to the end. “I’m just excited!”

True to his word, he was careful as they made their way down from the desk. The wide open room might make them nervous in any other apartment. Here, it was a safe expanse where the resident human would be mindful of them.

It was also full of good places to hide. Oscar scanned the whole room avidly as soon as his feet touched the carpeted floor. “Maybe the couch? O-or the bookshelf? What about the curtains?”

Elisabeth grinned. “All very good places,” she agreed. “It’s too bad we aren’t hiding in the kitchen, hmm? I could show you my trick with opening the drawer!”

Oscar nodded. He loved the stories of Elisabeth’s antics with Charlie when they were kids. It was a glimpse of a family history that Oscar was grateful every day to be a part of. “Maybe, um, maybe after this one,” he mused.

“Four minutes left!” echoed down the hallway from the bedroom, and Oscar jolted.

“Come on, auntie!” he insisted, grabbing her hand. “Let’s go hide under the couch!”

Elisabeth laughed and let him lead her across the floor. Oscar sent her a few glances over his shoulder, always sporting a mildly mischievous grin. They were going to make Adrian work hard to find them in their hiding spot for certain; Oscar could hardly wait for the reaction they would surely earn. Adrian hadn’t even called out the three minute mark before they ducked out of sight under the colossal furniture.

While Oscar had been content to merely hide under the couch, Elisabeth, slightly stooped under the low clearance, pointed up at one of the thin support struts that kept the whole thing more sturdy. It was in easy reach for her, and there was a narrow space between it and the lining under the couch. The two of them could easily slip into that space if they stayed lying down.

Oscar’s eyes widened and he nodded, silent even though the human was rooms away and couldn’t possibly hear them. He let Elisabeth hoist him up under his arms so he could reach, and soon had scrambled his way up onto the board. Elisabeth was close behind, wriggling into place . “Don’t let your legs hang over the side,” she teased, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Oscar snickered, keeping his voice as low as he could. “He’s gonna be so confused!”

“Ready or not, here I come!”

Adrian’s voice stopped any further whispers. Soon enough, his gentle but unmistakable footsteps returned down the hall, slowing as he reached the living room. Adrian tended to move carefully even without knowing a pair of viri hid somewhere around, waiting for him to seek them out.

“You guys have a lot of options in here,” Adrian mused aloud, his voice somewhere overhead and muffled by the couch. Oscar heard the smile in his tone. “I might be looking for you all night. Past dinnertime, even!”

Oscar gasped, scandalized. Beside him, Elisabeth put her finger to her lips, though she looked like she wanted to giggle herself.

Adrian meandered around the room, occasionally moving a few things around on the shelf or coffee table. He took his time with it, and Oscar’s grin only grew. By the time the human crouched down to peer under furniture, Oscar had a hand over his mouth to hold back any giggles. He shared a glance with Elisabeth as Adrian’s gaze scanned under the couch, right past their hiding spot.

When Adrian was about to push himself back off the floor, Oscar finally gave in and released a giggle. Then, he squeaked when the human’s gaze returned, this time zeroing in on them. “Oh!” Oscar blurted, trying to duck back out of sight.

Elisabeth laughed too. “Ah, he found us, poppet! Guess we won’t miss dinner after all!”

Only half of Adrian’s face could really be seen from under the couch, but his amusement was clear. “I wouldn’t have let you miss dinner, Oscar, promise,” he said. “This is a very good hiding spot, though, I never would have noticed.”

“I got too many laughs in me,” Oscar admitted. Beside him, Elisabeth wriggled free of the support strut and hopped down. He let her help him down to the floor too. “But next time I’ll keep quiet! I got all my laughs out now.”

Adrian snickered. “I don’t mind if you laugh, it makes my job a lot easier,” he teased. “But we can get through plenty of games either way, and we won’t even miss out on dinner. Wanna try again?”

Oscar nodded eagerly. “We have time for at least a little more hiding and seeking.”

Elisabeth ruffled Oscar’s hair as the pair of them made their way back out from under the couch. “We have all the time in the world, poppet.”

#oscar #oscar the oc #adrian kennet #mywriting #guest characters #g/t #gt #g/t fluff #trust au

[neonthewrite]

ooh, and also 🍆: Does your OC have any favourite form of affection, physical or otherwise? for Adrian? Since he doesn't like being touched, I'm curious how he best likes to give and recieve affection

~ Odd OC Asks ~

Oh this is a good one, thank you!

For those unfamiliar with the Trust Multiverse, my character Adrian has a touch aversion/phobia. Skin to skin is the worst, but even through clothes he ranges from deeply uncomfortable to completely unable to handle it, so hugs are right out.

Adrian definitely appreciates quality time and words of affirmation as his main love languages. Someone making time to hang out with him (and accommodate his need to not be touched) means a lot to him. Colfax is especially good about making sure he spends time with Adrian and listening to whatever rants he might have - even if Colfax isn't one for talking back as much.

#ask game #odd oc asks #adrian kennet #colfax hammond

[neonthewrite]

Survey Mission

Here we are with another trust contest prize! This time we have a story set sometime after the events of A Little More Trust (DA) (Ao3). Colfax and Adrian are on a mission!

~5 min read

~~~

Colfax let Adrian lead. So far, the walls hadn’t given either of them ideas, though Adrian looked around with interest far more than Colfax did. “I can’t believe you haven’t looked for a spot to build in here yet,” he mused.

Colfax rolled his eyes. He’d originally come to Sawyer’s apartment as some kind of prisoner. He hadn’t picked the place for the structure available in the walls, and counted himself lucky that he’d worked past that initial introduction of the place. “Never got around to it."

Adrian paused to glance over his shoulder, an amused glint in his eyes even in the low light. “You didn’t feel like putting in the effort, since Sawyer lets you sleep wherever in the main apartment,” he corrected.

Colfax blinked down at him and let a pause draw out. “In so many words. Maybe I don’t want a human knocking on the walls looking for me.”

Adrian snickered. He couldn’t deny that Sawyer, if he got bored enough, might just do that if it meant flushing Colfax out into the open. “I don’t think it’d be that much of a big deal,” he countered. They continued on, looking for a spot that caught his eye. “Besides. It’s nice to have a space that’s just yours. I still keep a bunch of my stuff in my house in Charlie’s walls, even though I come out to visit a lot.”

“Your human is much calmer,” Colfax reminded him. “But you already convinced me. We’re looking.”

They paused to contemplate a perpendicular support board above their heads. Adrian shrugged as he retrieved his string and grappling hook from his bag. “Sure, we’re here. But I’m not gonna build you a bunch of stuff if you’re not even gonna use it.”

“Oh, you’re building for me, are you,” Colfax teased wryly. “I thought you’d draw up a plan and leave me to it.”

“Keep up that enthusiasm and I just might,” Adrian shot back, grinning in spite of the banter. He paused to give his grappling hook a spin before tossing it up. “C’mon. It’ll be a fun project. Sawyer and Charlie have midterms coming up. They’ll be busy with that for a bit, and working on something like a home base will be like …”

He trailed off, but Colfax understood where he was going with it.

Like before. Before they both were discovered and their lives took a series of wild left turns. Not all bad, but not all good either. Before, they’d planned to go about their lives as any other viri would. Settling down somewhere, making a life hiding away from the humans that provided the supplies and food they stole away to survive. Now, such a life didn’t seem possible. Charlie and Sawyer certainly wouldn’t stop them from going back to that, but … it wouldn’t feel quite right. Colfax didn’t regret befriending the humans, as much as it baffled him, and Adrian didn’t regret it either.

“You know I never built anything in the university building,” Colfax reminded him as Adrian started his climb up the string.

Adrian grunted quietly in exasperation. “Yes, I remember, and it drove me nuts. No insulation! Just a mitten to sleep in! No storage!”

“I managed just fine,” Colfax countered. Soon enough Adrian had finished his climb, and Colfax followed after.

Adrian’s pale face appeared over the edge of the board above. “Colfax, you got trapped in a supply closet.”

Colfax rolled his eyes yet again. “Nothing to do with it.”

Adrian rolled his eyes. "You're lucky it was Sawyer that found you and not some random human. We'd never have run into each other if it was someone else, even if they were just as nice."

Colfax didn't have a counterargument to that one. He was lucky. Instead he surveyed the board they'd ended up on. It wasn't all that far off the ground level - only three feet or so - but it had a lot of space on it. It was decently wide and long, and by his mental map it was in the hall close to the bedroom door. He'd have access to water in the bathroom nearby.

Adrian shuffled a foot over the dust coating the wood (it coated them too by now). "It's quiet here," he noted. Predictably, he'd noticed the feature Colfax liked best about a potential home. "You'd be able to sleep when stuff is going on out in the main room."

"Quiet," Colfax echoed. "Sleeping or not, I don't care to hear all the bustling around."

Adrian's smile was a hopeful one. "Well, we might have found the spot for you, then," he mused, already rummaging in his bag. When his hand emerged once more, he had a blunt chunk of graphite, mostly wrapped in cling wrap to provide grip and avoid it staining everything it touched. "Let's sketch out some wall partitions, you'll need at least a main room and a bathroom, and it'd be good if you kept the storage tidy ... oh and the first thing is I should probably put in a pulley in case your arm bothers you-"

"Adrian," Colfax interrupted. His friend was already crouched down and drawing a faint grey line on the support board. "You don't have to do so much just for my house." Colfax didn't want Adrian to overwork himself, especially not for his sake.

Adrian smiled up at him, then returned to his line work. "I like stuff like this, Colfax. And even if it wasn't as fun for me as it is, I want to help you. You're my friend. You should have your own space, and not just some alcove with a mitten."

Colfax smirked. "Will I ever live that mitten down?"

Adrian shook his head. "No one would live that down. If you had an actual room it wouldn't be so silly."

Colfax knelt down near where Adrian diligently marked out a potential wall. "Here, then. Let's make this part over here my room you insist I need."

#adrian kennet #colfax hammond #trust au #a little more trust #mywriting #gt #g/t fluff

[neonthewrite]

Can't go wrong with viri!Colfax/hoomin!Adrian shenanigans (or vice versa, honestly they're both so fun lol)

You’re right! We can’t go wrong with those two! So here’s how they met!

We've seen a similar dynamic in A Little Bit of Magic, though of course that's a much more fantastical AU. This one is back in the slice of life sort of setting, with a small and distrusting Colfax meeting a human who has a touch aversion; probably the best person to discover a viri, honestly.

( DA Link )

~~~

It couldn’t be the worst situation Colfax had found himself in, but it definitely wasn’t the best. He stood rigid behind a tall water bottle and listened. The bottle was the tallest thing on the shelf arranged over his human’s broad desk, and judging by the dust on it, it would remain at least a while longer. Once the human got into his drawing on that strange desk he could light up from beneath, he tended to focus closely on it for quite some time.

Therein lay the problem. Colfax didn’t have a good route back to the floor, let alone into the walls to hide. He didn’t trust that focus to hold up when a viri was in view.

At most, he could lean to the side just enough to peek around the edge of the water bottle. Adrian sat in a familiar pose. One hand combed partially through his pale blond hair while the other guided a drafting pencil along a huge piece of paper. Powder blue eyes focused on the task at hand.

From what Colfax knew, the resident human earned his living through those drawings, most of them showing the layout of buildings or their exteriors. He hadn’t seen many places other than the houses he grew up in and his current apartment complex, but by his knowledge, the drawings captured real life quite well.

That attention to detail might deter a viri from taking up residence near Adrian’s apartment. Colfax remained out of convenience more than anything. Adrian had moved in at the start of summer, and now with fall approaching Colfax had no further desire to move. He’d been careful to learn Adrian’s routine, more or less.

Getting caught out without a route home was embarrassing, but at least no one would ever know. Normally he’d be in the kitchen or the hall closet, not up on the desk or its shelf. No viri would spend too much time in the areas their humans occupied most often.

He had just resigned himself to standing around for at least another hour when Adrian’s chair creaked. A clatter broke the silence, followed by the steady rolling of a pencil down the slanted desk. Adrian blurted out in surprise and Colfax winced.

As the human fumbled after his lost pencil, Colfax tensed and all but refused to breathe.

Then, he drew in a sharp gasp as something hit the desk below, bumping it harshly into the wall. Colfax flinched against the water bottle as the whole shelf rattled. Unfortunately, the water bottle turned out to be much lighter than it looked; it tilted, and Colfax tilted with it.

The next couple of seconds blurred together as fear shot through him like a bolt of lightning. The brief, panicked notion that he’d be seen flitted across his awareness even as the bottle tipped over the edge of the shelf and he stumbled right after it.

He found himself clinging to the edge of the shelf with one hand and didn’t fully remember actually grabbing it. Below, the water bottle landed on Adrian’s outstretched hand. Colfax blinked at it in surprise before his gaze slowly rose to the human’s face.

Adrian stared back in quiet shock with Colfax exactly eye level with him.

The human spared them an awkward silence, if only barely. “Um. What?” He distractedly set the water bottle aside without taking his eyes off of Colfax and his plight. Colfax couldn’t pull his attention away either, though his reasons were different.

Humans didn’t fascinate him all that much. He’d never admit it out loud, but they filled him with more fear than anything else did. No animal represented a loss of control over his life quite like the giant being staring at him.

The hand gripping the edge of the shelf threatened to cramp. With a wince, Colfax took his gaze off Adrian’s awed expression to turn and grab the edge with his other hand. Kicking his legs and straining his arms, he hauled himself back up onto mostly-solid ground. He scrambled back from the edge enough to avoid the risk of falling again, and only then did he return his focus (and a distrusting frown) to Adrian. Any moment now, he suspected, the human would grab for him.

To his surprise, Adrian sighed and rubbed at his eyes instead. “I gotta be hallucinating,” he mumbled.

That was promising. Colfax could work with that. He sought something to say to convince Adrian that he was indeed dreaming up the whole encounter.

Then, Adrian stared at him and went on. “But why would I imagine a … tiny clumsy person? Where’d this even come from?”

Clumsy?!

“I’m not the clumsy one here. You’re making a ruckus,” Colfax snipped, the words spilling out before he could reconsider.

“I--” Adrian stammered, before shutting his mouth and blinking with surprise. The faintest pink hue colored his cheeks, though Colfax couldn’t fathom what would embarrass him. “I guess I did, um, make a bunch of noise just now. Um. Sorry about that, I guess. It probably startled you pretty good and all. Have you, um, been up there the whole time?”

It was Colfax’s turn to not know what to say right away. Adrian had said a lot all at once, and the best part to actually respond to wasn’t clear. He took the easy route. “Since you sat down, yes.”

Adrian’s brow pinched. “I’ve been drawing for two hours,” he realized. “You were hiding up there for two hours? Why?”

“Really?” Colfax asked, skeptical. “You can’t think of a reason?” Inwardly, he kicked himself for snarking at someone who could trap him with absolutely no effort.

Adrian sighed, and then a smile ghosted across his face. Even as he stared openly at Colfax, he seemed less and less likely to respond badly to any snark. He hadn’t once brought a hand close to Colfax’s place on the shelf. “I trapped you up there, didn’t I?” he asked quietly. After Colfax’s hesitant nod, Adrian sighed again. “I guess I get it. S’pose I owe you an apology.”

Colfax frowned, as confused as ever and not wanting to show it. “Why? It’s your house.”

That drew a quiet, raspy laugh out of Adrian. “Okay. Sure. Maybe I should backtrack here. Seeing as I almost knocked you over after making you wait around while I drafted. My name’s Adrian.”

Colfax knew that, but opted not to say so. No need to give away too much at once. Even so, Adrian’s introduction expected a response. Did he dare?

“... I’m Colfax,” he replied, still wary.

#colfax #colfax hammond #adrian #adrian kennet #mywriting #gt #viri!colfax #human!adrian

[neonthewrite]

Featuring Colfax and Adrian a few months after the events of A Little More Trust! They've kept their skills sharp, for the most part, but, well, their luck is about as varied as it usually is.

For the original story with these versions of Colfax and Adrian, start with A Little More Trust Cpt. 1 For more stories with these characters in their various forms, check out A Reader's Guide to the Trust Multiverse , shared with the wonderful @creatorofuniverses  Colfax and Adrian are mine, and Charlie and Sawyer (mentioned) belong to my cowriter!

#adrian kennet #colfax hammond #viri!colfax #viri!adrian #mywriting #trust shenanigans #trust au #a little more trust

[neonthewrite]

Colfax, bud, give me a top 5 list of your favorite and least favorite things RIGHT NOW

( Decided to go dialogue only for this one to try things out, and naturally Adrian had to chime in or it would have been over on the first line lol)

~~~

“... No.”

“Aw, come on, Colfax, don’t be like that. I’ll help. His favorite food is grapes, and his least favorite is raisins.”

“Adrian …”

“It’s harmless fun, Colfax.”

“... Fine. My favorite subject of study is Biology. Least favorite is English.”

“Favorite kind of music?”

“My favorite sound is quiet.”

“We’re not counting that.”

“I like music without lyrics. Helps me focus. I can’t stand bluegrass or folk.”

“That’s something we can agree on, I love focus music. Just two more in each category, Colfax. You’re better at opening up than I thought.”

“The rewards are greater than I ever imagined. My favorite color is purple and least favorite is orange. This is one of my least favorite things to discuss.”

“Aww, poor guy. Well, you have one more favorite thing and you’re free of it.”

“... I have a favorite person, in spite of all better judgement.”

“... Well?”

“If you can’t guess, I won’t help you.”

#colfax hammond #adrian kennet #prompt #top 5s #mywriting