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just-the-mage · 3 years

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A Return from Dark Waters, Part III

Part I / Part II

Written with the lovely and talented @iris-ymir! <3

Iris picked up the fork, holding it between her thumb and middle finger. While poking the pie lazily, she kept rubbing her temple. Her head was pounding, like something was trying to force its way out through her skull. Purple eyes followed Eva, as the woman was working around the kitchen. Iris had never seen this side of her. Maybe it had always been there, but she had never paid attention to it, while toying around with the poor girl. She saw Evangeline in a completely new light. Was this because Blacksoul had taken her in, and given her a job? Or was this because of Irene? Iris did not know what to think of this Irene-person yet. Evangeline seemed to enjoy the company of the foxy creature, but there was something about Irene that Iris could not get a hold of. Compared to Lareine, she was completely different... There was something sinister in Irene.

“Where do you keep your cigarettes? I can fetch one for you…” Evangeline had walked up to Iris, while she had been lost in thought. The pale viera raised her gaze up to the woman, giving her another uneven blink. Eva still had her towel around her, and another wrapped around her long, red hair. The towel was the same Evangeline had when she first took a bath in the manor. It was way too small for her tall, muscular form. It took a moment for Iris to notice she was staring, and she quickly turned sideways on the chair, gazing towards the hallway.

“...Heck... Dere should be a pack in da drawer, ‘aight next to tha damn coat hangar... At least dere was... Another should be in tha pocket of mi leather jacket...

...Danke, Evangelin’.”, Iris sighed out, as the woman headed towards the doorway, leading into the hallway. The scent of fresh coffee started to fill the kitchen. Iris picked up the glass of water Eva had given to her, and held it to her lips. It was weird being here, after such a long time. In this kitchen, where everything seemed to be as it had been...long ago. It was like the whole world around had frozen in place for two years. Iris tipped the glass, taking a long sip, and then it happened. As the water ran down her throat... as she tasted it on her tongue, it suddenly returned her to the bottomless sea. She gasped for air, ending up only breathing in the rest of the water that was in her mouth. Cold fingers of terror ran up Iris’ back, and the glass dropped from her fingers and onto the floor, shattering into pieces with a loud crash, echoing through the manor. She curled up, coughing, and finally threw up onto the floor, where the remains of the glass were resting.

The viera’s hands were shaking as she grasped her upper arms, digging sharp fingernails into pale skin. The image of the white beach faded, and she was in the kitchen again.

“I... Im not comin’ back...”, Iris muttered to herself, as tears ran down her cheeks. “... Ye ‘ear mi, motherfocker?! Im n-not comin’ back!”, she broke into a shrilling giggle, rocking back and forth on the chair. The coffee pot was boiling alone on the stove.

The shattering of glass broke the night-time silence that sat heavy in the air of the manor, piercing Evangeline’s reverie as she approached the jacket hanger near the large oaken double doors that led out into the courtyard. Eva turned on her heel, the cigarettes forgotten, her instincts kicking in immediately. She dashed back down the hallway, all manner of decorum immediately thrown from the window, unwanted and unneeded. Was Iris okay? Had someone broken a window? She knew she shouldn’t have left her alone...even for a second. Iris was severely traumatized...Eva should have brought the girl with her. Cold raced through her body as she turned the corner, skidding on the hardwood floors of the passage leading to the kitchen. She felt something drive into her foot, but paid it no mind. Bursting through the doorway to the kitchen, she scanned the room in one swoop, noticing the windows were intact, but Iris’ glass most certainly wasn’t. The pale, slight woman sat, rocking back and forth in her chair, weeping uncontrollably. The floor underneath her was littered with shards of glass, topped off with a puddle of vomit-this time neither black nor bloody. Evangeline swept towards her, taking Iris in her arms without a second thought.

“Iris? Are you still with me?” She said softly, cradling the woman gently against her.

A shiver traveled through Iris’ corpse-like body as Eva held her in her arms. How did she always end up being carried by this woman? The feeling was not completely unpleasant, but she still felt tied down...On the other hand, the warmth of Evangeline’s body tore her free of the remnants of bone-white beach’s grip.

“...Damn, Cinnabun... Y-Yer gonna c-carry mi over tha frickin’ doorstep or whut..?”, Iris tried to laugh, but it came out as yet another cough. From the corner of her eyes, she thought she saw a figure, sitting on a top of a cupboard, but as she turned her gaze, it was gone.

“...Seriously though.. C-Could ya put mi down? Tha... heckin’ coffee pot sounds like its about to blow up... D-Did ya find mi cigs..?”

Evangeline finally noticed the coffee pot.

“Oh! Shite! Shite, shite, shite…” Still holding Iris, Eva stepped quickly across the floor, caution to the wind again. Transferring Iris to one arm, she moved the coffee pot off of the burner, spun surprisingly gracefully, and deposited Iris in another chair, well away from the glass and the sick that was slowly starting to seep in all directions, running along the cracks between the tiles. That would have to be cleaned up soon.

“I’m sorry...I shouldn’t have picked you up like that. Instinct, I guess...I don’t have too much control over it. I didn’t get to your cigarettes before I heard the glass break...I’ll run back out and get them in just a moment. Would you like to come with me? I don’t want you to have to be alone…” Evangeline said, suddenly realizing her towel had slipped quite a bit running back to the kitchen. She adjusted it as surreptitiously as she could manage, and turned away. She took the coffee pot and poured a mugfull of it for Iris.

“What would you like? Cream? Sugar?” Evangeline intoned over her shoulder. As she placed the coffee pot back on the stove and turned off the burner, she glanced at the floor, upon which she had left a few bloody footprints. She sighed internally. Arsene wasn’t going to be happy about this...not one bit.

“Uhh... Just sum cream... A-And a heckin’ whisky shot... Gramps used to give mi one wid mi coffee...” Iris leaned over the table, and could just reach the plate of pie, still resting on her former seat. She pulled the plate to her, and her eyes catched something on the marble flooring. Bloody footprints, leading towards Eva. The woman did not seem to even notice, while working with the coffee, going through the fridge, most likely searching for the cream, and struggling with her too-small towel. “’Ey!...Yer bleedin’ Evangelin’... Did ya step onto the frickin’ broken glass or sumthin’? Dat should be looked at... Yer gonna mess up tha carpet, if ya run around like dat... Come ‘ere, sit yer fine arse on tha chair, and let mi look at it... ‘aight?”, while talking, Iris waved her fork towards the chair next to her. ‘Even healed the burn on your arm’ Evangeline’s words about the fox haunted in Iris’ mind. She noticed she hated the creature already. The hate was different from the hate she felt towards Lareine though. Different like night and day... Lareine was basically a child. Annoying, yes, but in the end, rather easy to deal with. Irene though?

‘...Why are you afraid?’, the inaudible whisper in her ear.. an invisible, clawed hand on her shoulder. Iris winced, almost dropping the fork. She felt the hair on her neck standing up. The medication... Had anyone given her the medication during these...what...? Four days, Evangeline had said? In the middle of her train of thought, a cup of fresh coffee was placed in front of Iris. The scent was otherwordly... She raised her gaze up to the woman next to her. To those purple eyes, much like her own. With the color of her eyes, Evangeline could have been her sister.

“Forget dat cig for a moment, Cinnabun, and take a heckin’ seat... I’ll see whut I can do with yer foot, but just payin’ mind to tha amount of frickin’ blood on tha floor, I dink we might need sum bandages or sum shite ‘ere... Whut are the fockin’ chances dat once when I could actually use Blacksoul, tha man has left da buildin’..?” Iris tapped the chair with the tip of her fork, waiting for Evangeline to take a seat, before the woman could mess the floor any further. She picked up the cup of coffee, brought it to her lips, and took a sip, focusing on the taste... on the scent... trying to ignore the whispers in her ear... chase away the creeping feeling of someone, or something, standing right behind her... a looming presence...

Evangeline sat down with a sigh, propping her feet up so that Iris could look at them.

“Ugh...I didn’t even notice. Thank you, Iris. I’ll clean the floor in a moment...I appreciate you looking at them. I don’t have much feeling on the bottom of my feet anymore...you’re probably right. It must be some of the glass. Honestly though? I could have a nail in there and I’d have a hard time noticing.”

Evangeline glanced at Iris, who was carefully inspecting Eva’s foot. This was certainly not how Eva had expected, or wanted to spend her evening...she had been hoping for some relaxation, but she had been given a situation that was anything but relaxing. She was still surprised, though, at just how much better Iris returning had turned out. Eva had been dreading it in more ways than one...the shouting match that she had expected. The damaged feelings, the cold shoulders, the incredible awkwardness that would ensue, fallout from an earth-shattering argument between the two of them. And yet...despite the truly terrible breakdown she had just experienced, or...maybe...because of it? Everything had turned out well.

It was hardly a pleasant evening, but Eva found herself breathing a sigh of relief. And with that sigh of relief...she realized just how tired she was. The nightmare had taken its toll on her body...one that wasn’t obvious to the naked eye. Her limbs felt leaden, her eyes heavy...she felt like there was a stone tied around her neck, dragging her down. It wouldn’t be long before she fell asleep...she hoped Iris would stay with her. Sleep next to her as she had said she would.

Melancholy weighed upon her mind as she wound down, pent-up tension releasing as she felt the light pressure of Iris’ fingers on her foot. It would probably be improper for her to sleep next to Irene in the future. Especially once Silke got back. The two of them seemed truly meant to be together...despite whatever it was that was holding them back. The last thing she wanted, though, was to let go of that friendship...whatever her own needs were, she felt a pressing need to maintain her friendship with Irene...and perhaps even create one with Iris. She winced as Iris touched something. There it was...whatever was plaguing her foot.

“That’s something...ah...what did I step on? I can actually feel that.”

Iris leaned forward, while turning Eva’s foot as much as it was possible with the woman sitting down, to get a better look. There was definitely something in there. By running her fingertip gently over the wound, she could feel something sharp in there. It was a big one, and had sunken too deep for her to get a grip of it. Even less with her long claw-like nails, which in this case, were more in the way than helpful.

“Dere’s definetely sumthin’ okai... But dis arse’ole is a big one... Let mi just try to...”, she placed her thumb onto the side of the wound, and while pressing onto it, rubbed her other thumb down from where she thought the little piece of shite was hiding in. As she did this, Evangeline’s leg twitched, making Iris lose her grip.

“...For fock’s sake... Do mi a favor, Cinnabun... ‘Aight? Try to stay still... I almost got it... May need sum tools though, but... Lemme try it one more time!” The blood was slowly dripping out of the wound, running down on Eva’s foot, and falling onto Iris’ pale thigh, like an injured wolf’s lifeblood dripping onto fresh snow. With a long sigh, Iris returned her attention to the wound. After some time, and a couple of failed attempts, she got a grip of the end of what appeared to be a splinter of wood, instead of glass. She bit her lower lip, and pulling down carefully, got the splinter out, holding it up for Evangeline to see.

“Now look at dat frickin’ bad boy! Dis is a damn ‘alf o’ a log right ‘ere! Damn... Dis fockin’ ‘ouse is fallin’ apart...”, she gave a quick glance towards the wound, while placing the rather sizeable splinter onto the edge of the table. The wound was not bleeding badly. The splinter had gushed out some blood on the way out, but without it, it was hardly dripping. This was good.

“Now stay dere... I’ll see if... I can find anythin’ to tie tha wound wid.. Its not bleedin’ much animore, but ya cant walk on tha hallway carpets wid it aniway.. Blacksoul would frickin’ kill ya..”

Supporting herself with the back of her chair, Iris got up, only to almost fall face first onto the marble flooring. Her head was spinning. The room changed in front of her eyes. Hard, cold marble under her feet turned into soft, bone-white sand. The walls around vanished into thick fog, rising from the pitch-black sea. She fell onto her knees, breathing quickly... breathing in the thick air which reminded her of cold winter graves... and rot.

“No... Nonononono!”, a wail escaped her lips, as she held her head, trying to make the vision disappear, but it was no use. Evangeline? Iris turned around quickly, but the woman had disappeared, with everything else. There was something in the mist though... Further away on the beach, near the waterline... A figure, dressed up into a grey gown, which almost made her part of the fog. What stood out though, was her face... Lips had been painted black, against almost white chin. And the eyes... The area around the eyes had been smeared with black, like soot, and from that darkness, two empty, dead eyes stared towards Iris. Dead, soulless eyes. Iris opened her mouth to scream, but no voice came out.

Suddenly the world turned again, turning her stomach upside-down, and throwing her back into the kitchen. She was sitting back on the floor, the towel had dropped, and was now laying next to her feet. Evangeline was back... and for the second time, during a single evening, Iris was happy to see that face... those eyes like purple pools. Eyes that were alive. Visibly shaking, Iris got back onto her feet, picking up the towel, and wrapping it around her form.

“...W-When’s B-Blacksoul comin’ back, Evangelin’..?”

Iris rose from her chair, remarking that bandages would be a necessity if Eva ever wanted to leave the kitchen again. The muscular woman nodded in agreement, her crimson locks bouncing as she did. The sooner they could bandage her foot, the sooner they could fall into bed, something Eva was quickly finding that she needed desperately. Iris hadn’t been standing for more than a second before she tipped over like an expensive, fragile glass vase. She didn’t hit the floor immediately, but hung in the air for a moment, wobbling, her eyes searching the room wildly for something that wasn’t there. Before Eva could untangle herself enough to catch Iris, though, the other woman had collapsed to her knees, quietly wailing and clutching at herself. Evangeline sprung to her side, decorating the floor with another splatter of blood. Again? Crossed her mind. The mental toll this...dark sea must have taken on Iris’ mind seemed immense. She wondered if there was a trigger...something to be avoided that might help Iris stay grounded. Or maybe...something to be said?

“Iris? Iris! Listen to me, okay? You’re right here, not anywhere else. I’m right here next to you.” Evangeline knelt down next to the kneeling woman and took Iris’ chin under her hand, tilting it up so that she could look into the other woman’s eyes.

“Look at me...focus on me. Hear my voice, and stay with me.” Iris’ eyes...they weren’t Irene’s, that much was certain. But she almost looked through Evangeline...her eyes locked to something that wasn’t there. In a moment, though, she seemed to snap back to reality, her eyes no longer drifting, focusing in on the woman who was directly in front of her.

”W-When’s B-Blacksoul comin’ back, Evangelin’..?” Varg hadn’t said specifically when he would be returning. A month, or two perhaps. He may have been vague because he himself didn’t know how much time he’d need to be away for. This wasn’t particularly good...especially given the way Iris’ condition seemed to be straining her. Hadn’t she...hadn’t she had some medication? Something she had taken days before? Evangeline remembered Varg making some sort of comment about Iris working at the hospital…

“He said...a month. Two at most.” Concern was clear on Evangeline’s face.

“Wasn’t there some sort of medication you had? Were you supposed to take it daily? Irene never took anything, to my memory.” Eva placed her hands on the shoulders of the now shaking viera.

“You’re going to be okay. I promise.” Evangeline stood up. She’d have to get a bit creative for now...fetch some proper bandages later once things had settled down. She stepped over to the sink, leaving a still-noticeable but less severe pattern of blood along the kitchen floor. From a drawer underneath it, she pulled a dishrag, and, crouching over, wiped her foot and tied the cloth around it. Hopefully this would be enough to staunch the bleeding, at least enough for her to move around the house. She returned to Iris, coming back down to her level. She took Iris’ hand in hers, and looked into those deep purple eyes. The eyes she had loved, lost, and that had come back...not at all in the way she had expected.

“Do you think the medication will help you? If it will, I’ll come with you...and we can find it together. You’re not alone.”

Iris took hold of Evangeline’s hand, letting the woman help her back onto her feet. Her head was still spinning, and she felt like her legs would give in, but she managed to stay standing. She gave a quick glance around the kitchen. It was a mess. Bloody footprints traveled back and forth across the floor, like an echo of where Eva had been. The puddle of almost colorless puke was still resting at the foot of the table, but had stopped from spreading further. Leaning onto Eva, Iris took a deep breath, trying to shake off the feeling of someone constantly watching her from the shadows of her heart. Two months until Blacksoul would be back? For once, Iris would have actually needed the man, and on the moment like that, he was gone. This was like a bad, universal joke…

“Tha medicine, yeah. I... should take it daily. It should be in mi room... At tha heckin’ nightstand.. a small wooden casing. ‘Onestly though? Im frickin’ tired.. Could just head off to bed and take it den...”, while still talking, she glanced towards the pie and fresh cup of coffee, that were left on the table.

“...Shite... I-I can make it into mi room on mi own.. Im not a fockin’ grandma to be carried around. But... could ya bring tha coffee and pie wid ya? Damn I hate to even ask, but Im afraid I might drop dem on tha way...”

“Absolutely!” Evangeline’s lips curled up into a warm smile, as she made sure pale woman would stay standing without support. She took couple of steps to the table, and picked up the plate and cup of coffee.

She would need to clean the kitchen floor, but first she would see Iris into her room, and get her the medication. Meanwhile, Iris was waddling her way towards the door, and into the hallway. She glanced up towards the stairs, bit her lip, and started to climb. At this point she realized just how tired her whole body was. The dream... hallucination.. whatever it had been, had taken its toll onto her body, and she felt like she had not slept in days, while truly, it was almost all she had done for the past week or so. After a climb that felt like a dozen floors, Iris arrived at the second floor of the manor, where her room was. She could hear Evangeline’s steps in the stairway behind her. Every second step sounded damp, because of the rag she had wrapped onto the wound. Iris placed her bony fingers onto the handle, and opened the door, stepping into her room, which was filled with dolls of all shapes and sizes. Everything seemed to be as she had left it. She fought her way to the wide bed, and fell back onto the black, velvery sheets, partly sinking into soft cushions.

Iris’ usually confident stride had been fully replaced by a half-awake stagger. Evangeline wanted to support her...help her along...but Iris’ pride, even in this state, probably wouldn’t allow for it. She had already picked the woman up once tonight...might as well let her maintain her independence in getting to bed. Eva padded along behind her, uneven in her gait as she stepped on the rag again. Hopefully it wasn’t soaked through yet...she just needed a bit longer until she was able to slip away to the bathroom. Loathe as she was to leave Iris alone, she felt a pressing responsibility to clean up as much as she could...and she needed to bandage her foot if she wanted to get into bed. Bloody sheets were the last thing that anyone wanted to wake up to.

Iris rounded the corner into her room, which had remained mostly, if not entirely, untouched throughout the other woman’s absence. Now all that remained was injecting her medicine, a task that Eva wasn’t fully familiar with. She hoped Iris would be able to manage it. Administering medication was far from Eva’s strong suit, and though she could apply a bandage as well as the next person, she would be hard pressed to find a vein with how tired she was.

Evangeline slipped into the room just in time to see Iris throw herself onto her bed, as if she were a fox plunging into a snowbank in search of prey. The bed looked incredibly comfortable. Iris being in it...an added bonus. Evangeline thanked all twelve gods that she wouldn’t have to sleep alone tonight. Even if it wasn’t Irene...having someone else there would be a lifesaver. She approached the bed, and set the coffee and the pie down on the nightstand next to the side Iris lay on, wreathed in dark sheets. Looking to a wooden box on the same nightstand, Evangeline picked it up and opened it, revealing a syringe and a bottle of light green liquid. It looked like what one would expect poison to look like…

“Can you inject this yourself? I’m not...not really a professional with a needle, unfortunately.”

"Yeah, I can do dat miself... Not dat I even like anyone else doin' it. Just... fill tha syringe to one third and 'and it to mi, will ya?" Iris replied, her eyes full to the brim with exhaustion.

“Of course.” Evangeline smiled softly at the small, slight puddle of viera lying in bed in front of her. She filled the syringe, at first halfway, and then letting enough out to be right around one third full. Handing it to Iris, she asked:

“Will you be okay if I run and get bandages? I’d like to keep your bed as clean as I can...and I feel a bit obligated to clean up as much of the floor of the kitchen as I can manage. I’ve left the pie and the coffee here on your nightstand.”

Iris nodded and gave Eva a slight wave, shaking hands trying to find a vein with the needle. Evangeline struggled mentally for a second, before uttering:

“Can I...would you like me to...can I help at all?” Iris shook her head, still concentrating on placing the needle. Eva let out a light sight and withdrew. She wanted to help, but at this point it would be better to get everything sorted with the kitchen then to try and help Iris with something that Evangeline herself had no idea how to do. She’d most likely just make the situation worse.

Stepping away from the pale viera, Eva unevenly retreated out of the room, her every other footstep muffled by the rag that was luckily still tied around her foot properly. Over the next few minutes she first made her way to the bathroom and found a roll of blissfully white bandages, thoroughly wrapped her foot, and carefully taped it together with a few lengths of medical tape. That would hold her until morning...at least. She’d need to air it out tomorrow, and try to take a better look at it, but hopefully it would start healing on its own. Holding up the rag she had removed, she sighed disappointedly. It was fully dyed crimson at this point. Very little of the original grey of the cloth remained. She hoped Arsene hadn’t been particularly fond of this rag...it was basically useless now. Eva balled it up and stood, now properly bandaged. One task down...now on to the next one.

To Be Continued...

#ffxiv #evangeline cross #writing #rp #mateus rp #iris ymir #the coils of d'espair: irene #viera #rava viera #veena viera #crystal rp #ffxiv rp #a return from dark waters

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ccwastaken · 4 years

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Jeff Gets Forcibly Adopted

A short story I wrote a while ago based around the mansion au. Warning for a fair few curse words.

Word count: 4160

"Fucking popcorn..." Jeff muttered to himself as he walked down the darkened street. He picked at his teeth using the kitchen knife he used for throat slitting and blood spilling. He grunted in frustration and dug the knife in harder. It slipped suddenly upwards and hit his top teeth. "AH- fuck-!" He sucked on his top lip for a moment. No blood- good.

He licked his teeth. The piece of popcorn was dislodged! Yay! He smiled in satisfaction and lowered his arm, then froze. He got that feeling again. Not the urge to kill- that was way different. It was the feeling of being watched.

He walked in a circle slowly, looking around confusedly. "Yo who the fuck is followin' me?" He called out.

"You have no need to be afraid." The voice that replied was deep and elegant sounding. Jeff stiffened in surprise. He wasn't expecting a reply. "I've been following you for a while, Jeff. I was hoping you'd come here."

"That's really fuckin' creepy, Mr stalker man." Jeff replied. There was a soft chuckle.

"Well if I were to approach you directly you'd attack me, wouldn't you Jeff?"

"How do ya know my name?" The boy snarled back.

"Everyone knows your name, Jeff. You're a murderer. You're in the papers."

Jeff glanced around suspiciously. "Where even are you?" He asked.

"Drop the weapon and I'll let you see me."

Jeff arched a brow. He looked down at the knife in his hand, then dropped it. He stuffed his hand into his hoodie pocket and curled his hand around the handle of his second backup knife. It was duller, but would do the job. "Aight, c'mon out Mr I-Stalk-Fifteen-Year-Olds." He called.

It was still for a moment, then he saw movement. The tree standing in one of the yards down the street suddenly moved. The branches moved like arms and legs until Jeff realized it wasn't a tree at all. Out stepped an incredibly tall creature. It wore a pristine black suit and had pale white skin. And absolutely no face to speak of.

"What the fu..." Was all Jeff could mumble as he stared. He stared in disbelief.

"You may know me. They call me The Slender Man." The creature spoke. "I'm known for stealing children away. For bringing them to the woods, never to be seen again." Jeff backed away. "That's a lie, of course. I don't steal children, I take them in and help them. And they are seen again in fact." The creature tilted its head at Jeff. "I understand if you're freaked out."

"I-" Jeff gulped. "What- what in the sweet fuck-" was all he could bring himself to say. Slenderman stepped a little closer and held out a hand.

"I mean you no harm. I'd like to help you, Jeff. You'll have a roof over your head, warm meals, clean clothes," Jeff looked up at him. "A family, of sorts."

Jeff stared at the outstretched hand for a few seconds. Slender was- actually surprised. He thought it'd be harder to convince this boy.

And then Jeff yanked out his knife and slashed at Slender's wrist. He stumbled back and hissed in pain. The cut wasn't deep, and definitely wouldn't kill him- he doubted anything this boy had could kill him, but still.

Jeff lunged himself at Slender, knife poised to sink straight into the creature's abdomen. Slender moved quickly to the side. Jeff stumbled forward and managed to whirl himself around. He stumbled back, barely managing to not fall. He glared at Slender and ran at him again. He lunged again and-

He was suspended in the air. Jeff looked up in surprise and realised why. The Slender Man had grabbed him with a black tendril, which was wrapped around his midsection. Jeff tried to slash at the tendril holding him, only for a second one to grab his wrist, restraining him.

"Fighting won't help either of us." Slenderman said. "I have no wish to hurt you, and killing me is impossible."

"I don't want your help." Jeff snarled. He struggled in vain against the tendrils. Slender moved him so he was being held the right way up.

"Yes but you need it. And I think you'd like it, among other people." Slenderman replied, his hand over the cut in his wrist. Jeff glared at him. "When was the last time you put on clean clothes?" He asked.

Jeff frowned. "Why does that matter?"

"It doesn't, I'm just assuming you'd like to have a wardrobe of clothes that aren't bloody and don't stink of death."

Jeff glared at the monster holding him. "You're a dick." He growled. Slender might've smiled in amusement if he had a mouth. He turned and walked down the yard he stood beside. He stepped over the small gate at the side, then over the one in the backyard, into the woods. Jeff struggled behind him. "HEY! HEY PUT ME DOWN!"

Slenderman ignored him.

Jeff stared at the disappearing neighborhood and began to panic. This creature was supposed to steal kids, right? Was that what was happening? Was he being fucking kidnapped? He struggled and kicked against nothing. Was this thing going to kill him? Oh- oh no he was going to die wasn't he?

He tried to pull the tendril around his waist off, but it didn't work. He knew it wouldn't but it was still worth a try. Another tendril grabbed his free wrist, restraining that hand too. He bit down on his bottom lip, trying to calm his panicked breathing.

He wasn't held for very long. Only ten, maybe less, minutes. He was set down. His knife was pulled out of his hand and one of his wrists was released. He turned around to Slenderman, still visibly panicked. Out the corner of his eye he noticed light, and a building of some kind.

"I'm sorry for forcibly taking you-" Slender's deep, elegant voice was softer now, more gentle. "I usually try to convince people but- I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere with you."

Slender gestured to the building in front of them. It was gigantic- practically a mansion. Jeff stared. The light coming from the windows looked warm and welcoming. The door even had a welcome sign on it. He was still scared as all hell but- the place looked...homey. Like someone could actually live here. He gulped as Slender stepped towards the door and opened it. The tendril around his wrist tugged him gently, and he stepped forward slowly.

Slender was already talking to someone when Jeff crossed the threshold. "You need sleep Ben. And you shouldn't be letting him stay up so late, Jack." Jeff hid himself behind the cryptid's long legs and merely listened.

"Ah it doesn't 'urt 'im, slend. 'Sides, 'e's showin' me somethin' in 'is game!" The voice that replied had the thickest British accent Jeff had ever heard. It was kind of gravelly too, but the inflections sounded like the person was usually very bubbly. The kind of person who smiled a lot and liked to laugh.

"Yeah!" The voice that replied was more American sounding, and way younger. "There's this glitch that'll-"

"I don't want to hear it. It's way past your bedtime." Slender replied. The younger voice groaned. Slender looked behind himself, down at Jeff. "Oh- actually Ben, wait. I want you to meet someone."

Jeff tensed as Slender stepped aside and very, very gently pushed him forward into the view of the other two. He registered the sound of the door closing behind him.

In front of him was a large living room with two comfy looking couches and plenty of chairs. There were actually three people in the living room. The first was a- a mime? Possibly a clown? He had black hair, a striped cone nose, suspenders, puffy, striped sleeves and feathers on both his shoulders. He was entirely black and white. The second was a boy around his age with blonde hair and abnormally bright, blue eyes. He wore a green sweatshirt with blue jeans and held a game controller in his hands. He sat cross-legged on the opposite side of the couch from the mime. The last was a kid, probably older than him, who was lounged out sideways on one of the armchairs. He was dressed fairly casual. A grey hoodie, blue jeans and sneakers. What was abnormal was his grey skin, claws, fangs, oh and the fucking three tongues hanging out of his mouth as he snored.

"This is Jeff. He's around your age, Ben." Slender said. The boy - Ben, waved over at Jeff.

"Hi." He greeted. He smiled, then looked up at Slender. His smile dropped. "A-Are you hurt?"

The goofy smile that was on the mime's face dropped and he looked over at Slender too. He didn't look worried, more- curious?

"It's nothing serious, don't worry. It's my fault in all honesty I should've assumed Jeff would have a backup weapon hidden away somewhere." Jeff shoved his hands into his pockets as Slender spoke. These two seemed to look up to Slender, right? So presumably, hurting him made Jeff public enemy number one. Great.

He was definitely leaving as soon as possible.

He was snapped back to his thoughts by the thick British accent again. "Feisty young'n, eh?" Jeff looked up. The mime had somehow moved over to him in seconds without Jeff even noticing. He stepped back in surprise, then realised the mime was still on the couch.

"Jack, you'll freak him out doing that." Slender scolded. Did this thing treat everyone in this house like a kid? Weirdo. The mime's face moved away, and Jeff realised the mime, presumably called Jack, had an extendable neck. Not weird at all.

"Eh, 'e's no pansy I'm sure." Jack shifted on the couch and lay down, crossing his legs. His head flopped over the arm of the chair. "No' wiv a face like tha'." He winked at Jeff, who glared back at him.

"Be nice." Slender hissed back. He looked over at Ben. "Now you, bed."

"But can't I-"

"No, Ben. You're a growing boy. You need to rest."

Ben groaned and turned off his game. He got up and moved over, shutting off his console. As he walked past Jeff towards the stairs he gave him a look of distrust. Jeff watched him go.

Slender walked past Jeff and through another door next to the couch where Jack lay. Jeff opened his mouth to ask Slender if he should follow, then closed it. He didn't want to seem like a needy child or anything- he needed to be tough, establish that he wasn't a wimp. So, instead, he leaned against the nearest wall, crossed his arms, and busied himself with looking around idly.

There wasn't much. The place looked- well, like a normal house. Extremely big, but normal. Jeff frowned at the photos on the walls. There were more kids. Slender and Jack were in quite a few. Ben was in a couple. The grey three tongued boy appeared often too.

"So, Jeff." Jack interrupted Jeff's thoughts. He looked at the monochrome brit. "Wha's yer story then? Dead? Immor'al? Murderer?" Jeff opened his mouth to reply but was cut off. "Oooh maybe ye're a ghost tha' go' murdered an' now ye're a murderer!" His black and white eyes shone with excitement. "Tha'd explain yer face."

"...I'm alive. And human." Jeff replied.

"Ah-" Jack looked at him. "Then I guess I go'a...face the fact that ye're just normal, eh?"

Jack stared at him, waiting for a response of any kind. When he didn't get one he frowned. "Ah, c'mon, tha' was bloody hilarious!"

"At least I'm not the one with the striped nose." Jeff responded coldly. Jack stared at him in horror.

Slender emerged from the kitchen, with bandages wrapped around his injured wrist. He looked down at Jack.

"What are you pouting about, LJ?" He asked with a sigh.

"'E insulted me nose..." Jack muttered back. He curled up, his arms crossed as he sulked. Slender would've rolled his eyes if he had any. He looked over at Jeff.

"Follow me." He said. As he walked towards the stairs, completely ignoring the unhappy British mime pouting on his couch. Jeff didn't spare Jack a glance as he followed the giant faceless cryptid. They turned right and stopped at a door at the end of the hall. Slender pushed it open and ducked inside. Jeff followed.

It was a bedroom. A simple one. Wooden floorboards, maroon walls and simple wood furniture. The bed was big with clean white sheets and soft looking pillows. Jeff looked around, confused. Slender looked at him.

"We'll get you more things as time goes by," he said. "Hopefully it'll work for now?"

Jeff looked at him, surprised. He got his own room? "Uh- yeah. It's fine." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and glanced around.

"Good." Slenderman grabbed something from the bed and held it out to Jeff. "There's a bathroom just across the hall. You'll be sharing it with Ben and Toby. Is that okay?"

"Uh- yeah." Jeff took what Slender was holding out - a towel and clean clothes. Jeff frowned.

"After you shower come down to the kitchen, okay?" Slender said. "Do you want something to eat? Are you hungry?"

Jeff looked up at Slender in thought. It- had been a while since he'd eaten something that wasn't snack foods or ready made meals. "Yeah- yeah food would- food sounds good." He glanced away. Slender seemed to smile despite his lack of mouth.

"Good!" He moved past Jeff. "Oh and put your clothes in the laundry basket."

And with that, Jeff was left alone. He waited a bit for something to happen, but nothing did, so he left the room. There was one door across the hall. Jeff walked over, opened it, and stepped inside.

The bathroom was fucking huge. Half of the left wall was just bath tub. It looked big enough for maybe three people. Pretty deep too. "Jesus this place is fancy." Jeff muttered as he locked the door behind himself and took the room in. There was no windows, so he couldn't exactly escape. Not that he wanted to. Not yet. He'd at least shower and eat first.

Jeff wasn't concerned with really cleaning himself, though he definitely would make use of the fancy looking body wash on the shower shelf. He turned on the hot water and sighed contentedly. The whole on the run and homeless thing kinda made it hard to enjoy a nice hot shower. He sat down on the floor of the tub and curled up, just enjoying the warmth. He must've lost track of time because there was a knock on the bathroom door. He looked up.

"Jeff? You okay in there?" It was Slender.

"Uh- yeah."

"Ah- alright. I don't want to rush you but try to hurry up, okay? Your food will go cold."

"Aight." Jeff called back as he stood up. He grabbed the body wash and cleaned himself off quickly. Then he grabbed the shampoo and conditioner and did his best to clean up his hair. It wasn't much, and his long black hair was horribly knotted and tangled, but at least he tried.

After stepping out of the shower he checked in the mirror to make sure his black hair dye hadn't washed itself out yet, then put on the clothes he'd been giving. Fluffy black and white socks, black boxers, striped pyjamas, also black and white, along with a long sleeved white shirt with three large Zs embroidered onto it.

...pyjamas.

Fine- they were comfy, so he'd put up with it. After depositing his old clothes into the laundry Jeff stepped out of the bathroom and looked around. He hadn't been able to take the place in before. The door closest to his was covered in stickers of all kinds. Jeff brushed over them, instead focusing his attention on a white sign on the door. It simply read "Beware: Dumbass moron ahead." In black lettering. Jeff looked at the door beside it. It was painted green and had three yellow triangles on it. Underneath were some letters that read "Ben".

He walked down the hall and looked at the other doors he passed. One was painted red and white with the words "Laughing Jack" on it, and the other, directly in front of the stairs, had vines on it, decorated with different coloured flowers. Past that was a pink door with "Sally" on it and a blue one with black drips painted on. Huh.

Jeff walked down the stairs slowly, taking the place in again. The house was as quiet as the dead, save for the quiet snoring of the three tongued creature sleeping in the living room. As Jeff tiptoed closer to the kitchen he could hear the thick British accent again. He paused and pressed his ear against the door.

"Ye shouldn' 'ave underestimated 'im."

"Yes I know- quite the clever boy, honestly. He's very capable too. He shows promise."

"Ye talk abou' kids like they're projects."

"Perhaps." There was a pause. "He's been alone for two years you know. He's probably on edge, being in a domestic setting again."

"Maybe." He heard someone sipping something.

Once it was quiet again Jeff pushed the door open slowly and peeked in. Jack and Slender looked up at him as he stepped into the kitchen. "Uh-" Jeff began before he was cut off.

"Ah! There you are." Slender chirped in greeting. His happy demeanor was- unnerving. You'd think his very existence would be horrifying but he was nothing but pleasant. "Take a seat. I made soup, is that okay?"

"Uh- yeah." All of this felt weird. Really weird. Jeff walked over and sat in the chair Jack pulled out for him. A black tendril placed a mug in front of him. The liquid in it was a white-ish yellow colour. Jeff arched a brow.

"It's real good. Try i'." Jack said next to him. Jeff took the warm mug and sipped from it. The liquid was thick and warm. It was milky and sweet and soothed his throat as he swallowed.

Oh. Oh wow. Whatever this was it was delicious. Jeff chugged back maybe half the mug then put it down with a satisfied sigh. Jack chuckled next to him, which made him tense. He pushed the mug away and sat up, folding his arms on the kitchen table and looking disinterested again. "Yeah it's- it's nice."

Jack laughed louder that time. "Ah 'e's a fine lad, Slender." He said loudly in between laughs. Slender chuckled to himself and set a bowl of soup in front of Jeff.

"I'm glad you like it. I didn't know if you'd like tea or not and- well cocoa would just keep you up so-"

"'E's thankful, Slender." Jack interrupted.

"I know I know-"

Jeff grabbed the spoon he'd been given and ate the soup silently as Slender sat down again. It was quiet for a bit until Slender spoke up. "So- Jeff," the boy looked up from his meal. "There's a few things you should know about living here." Jeff tilted his head as Slender spoke. "Besides me, Jack and Ben there's a few others here. There's Sally, Toby and- well another Jack. He's the one sleeping on the chair inside."

Jeff nodded. He didn't plan on staying here long but- it'd be worth it to listen.

"They might be frightening at first but they're all harmless. Sally is a little younger, so be nice around her. We have homeschooling four days a week and clean the house on Sundays." Slender looked at him for a response.

"...uh-huh?"

Slender didn't seem to have planned a response to that. He cleared the throat he may or may not have had. "Is there any way we can make you more comfortable here?" Jeff shrugged. "Any allergies?" Jeff shook his head. "Maybe you-"

"Slender, 'e doesn' wanna talk." Jack cut in. "Let him eat up and sleep." The mime looked at Jeff. "We'll figure i' all ou' in th' mornin', yeah?"

Jeff nodded. Jack smiled and looked back at Slender, who sighed quietly. "You're right. My apologies." He said. "Though after you're finished eating there's a couple other things I'd like to do, then you can sleep."

"Okay." Was all Jeff responded with, along with another nod. It was relatively quiet as he ate, though Jack tried to start a conversation a couple times, Slender never really let it go anywhere. "Uh- I'm finished." Jeff said after a bit.

"Ah! Good." Slender stood up. "Jack, clean up his dishes for me will you?" He asked as he left. Jack sighed and grabbed Jeff's bowl and mug. His arm stretched over and placed them beside the sink. The mime sighed tiredly and rested his head on his now normally proportioned arms. Jeff wanted to say something but- couldn't think of anything, so they sat in awkward silence until Slender came back.

He placed several bottles that rattled as they were placed down, and a spray bottle, on the table. Slender pulled out Jeff's chair.

"Can you turn around for me?" He asked. Jeff arched. Brow but did as he was told, his back facing Slender.

And then he realized what was going on. A hairbrush was dragged through his damp, knotted hair. Jeff hissed in pain. "Sorry, sorry," his hair was sprayed with something that smelled of apples and brushed again. Jeff winced. "I'm sorry I know it hurts I'm trying to be gentle-"

The hairbrush was pulled away. Jeff's breathing was shaky as he relaxed slightly. He heard a snipping noise and moved quickly to his feet.

"Jeff-"

"YOU'RE CUTTING IT?!"

Slender seemed to wince. "It's knotted really badly- I won't make it too short."

"No- no you can't-" Jeff stared at him, suddenly panicky. Slender lowered the scissors he was holding.

"How about you show me how long you'd like it? Would you like that?" He asked softly. Jeff stared for a few moments. His breathing slowed and he relaxed.

"...okay." he murmured. Jeff slowly sat down again. He reached up and grabbed a piece of his hair. "Just about there?" He asked nervously. Slender nodded.

"Alright."

Jack watched Jeff as Slender cut his hair. The boy stared at the floor and gripped onto the edge of the chair tightly. The mime frowned and reached into his puffy sleeve, pulling out some candy. "'Ere kid, ye want some?"

Jeff looked up a bit and slowly took one of the candies, a butterscotch and unwrapped it. He tossed it into his mouth. He mumbled a "thank you." and continued staring at the ground.

It took maybe half an hour for Slender to cut, brush and style Jeff's hair back to something decent. A mirror was held down in front of him. "How does it look?"

Jeff looked up and stared at himself. He- it actually- looked nice. His hair hadn't looked this good since...before he'd- y'know- killed his parents. It was a little longer now, but it looked the same as it did then. "It- it's nice."

Slender would've smiled had he a mouth. "Good!" The mirror was pulled away. "Can you look up for me?" Jeff craned his neck upwards at Slender, who was holding a small white bottle. "I'm just going to give you eye drops, okay?"

Jeff didn't protest, though he did flinch as the drops hit his eyes. He looked back down. Wow- wow those felt great- his eyes always felt like they were burning and just- generally not great, but those drops seemed to work wonders. He smiled a bit. Jack noticed this and looked up and Slender, flashing him a toothy grin.

"One last thing before you sleep, Jeff." Slender said. Jeff looked up at him. The faceless cryptid held out a glass of water in one tendril, and a handful of pills. "Just some vitamins to make you stronger and such."

Jeff took the pills and water and hesitated. Taking pills from a stranger was dumb- even Jeff knew that but- Slender was so caring- more caring than Jeff's own parents had been.

He took a swig of the water and tossed the pills into his mouth. He gagged as he swallowed them, then sipped the water some more. "...thank you." He murmured. Slender patted the boy's head.

"You're probably exhausted," he said. "Why don't you go to bed?"

Jeff nodded and stood up. He looked at Jack for a moment, then Slender. "...gnight." was all he could think to say, though he wanted to say something more- well, meaningful. He left the kitchen, walked upstairs and shuffled into his room. His door looked extremely bare compared to the others. He padded over to his bed, lay down, and buried his face in his pillow.

He was asleep in minutes.

#creepypasta #jeff the killer #slenderman #Laughing jack #ben drowned #slender mansion #writing

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cryinggameff · 6 years

Text

Seventy-Two

Randi

I spent hours tossing and turning that night, and I knew why. I had been apart from Cayden for 3 days now, and i was starting to lose my mind. I got up out of the bed and decided to try and take a shower, hoping it would relax me, then got back in bed. The baby started doing all kinds of flips and tricks and I instinctively reached over to get Cayden’s attention because he loved feeling the baby move, he said it was the only time he got to connect with the baby, I carried it around all day. I sighed. But of course my hand came up empty.

I knew I had made a mistake leaving the house, but I was feeling so many things towards him, it was hard to lay next to him. clearly he hadn't hurt me on purpose but i couldn't get past the betrayal, and honestly insecurities i felt. I thought i was giving Cayden something he didn't have, his first child, something no one could take away. Now i just felt stupid and i wasn't sure i could handle another woman having a child with my husband. What was I supposed to do if Cayden really had another son? Would I leave him over that? Something that happened before I even knew him. That sounded unfair. I threw off the blankets in frustration. Just then the doorbell went off downstairs. I paused. My stomach knotted, i was pretty sure i knew who it was. Only one person came by at such odd times. I got myself off the bed and put my robe on to answer the door.

Cayden stood with his hands in his pockets, wearing a hoodie and sweatpants. I had talked to him on the phone a bit, he was checking on the baby, but i hadn't seen his face and had forgotten just how annoyingly attractive he was.

“What are you doing here? It’s 3 in the morning,” I pulled my robe closed. He stepped inside past me so i closed the door behind him. He looked down at me.

“Pack yo shit Randi. We going home,” he said simply, looking at me seriously. I looked at him like he had lost his mind.

“Do you think you’re my dad now?”

“No. I’m your husband, and I’m taking you and my kid home one way or another. This is ridiculous. I can’t sleep because I’m worried, I know you not sleeping either, which ain’t good for the baby. Your friends ain’t gonna take care of you the way I do, I know they not about to rub your feet or help you in the mornings,” he said. I hated that he was right. The only reason I was surviving this pregnancy was because of him. I still had really rough mornings and he made me smoothies or juice, something I could stomach since my morning sickness refused to go away even so late into the pregnancy, he ran my baths and often carried me to them. I was spoiled. Plus he gave amazing foot rubs, or on my lower back, which was beyond sore right now.

“You can't just ignore all your problems and act like things are ok Cayden, even if i come home the problem still exists," i pointed out.

“I’m not ignoring it. I’m gonna be a man and sort it out, either way, but I need you by my side. Because I’m...terrified Randi,” he confessed. "This shit is as shocking to me as it is to you, and i have no idea what the fuck to do. Im a grown as man but im scared." My face softened and my heart broke. Cayden so rarely showed vulnerability that it meant a lot when he did.

"well so am i," i mumbled, wanting to cry again. He saw that and cupped my cheek. I closed my eyes. When i opened them his face was hovering over mine. He brushed his lips over mine and my body turned to jello. He kissed me so i kissed him back. His hand moved into my hair and he got a fistfull of it, tilting my head back. He kissed behind my ear and down my neck, stopping just before the spot i loved to have kissed. He pulled away and looked me dead in the eyes, his were dangerous, unpredictable and warning of trouble. That was Cayden, but that was also me. He took my hand in mine and started for the stairs with me in tow.

I wasn't sure what this was gonna help when he was hovering over me, kissing me and positioning himself with my entrance. He hiked my leg up, and pushed into me. I whimpered, at a loss for words as he moved in and out of me with slow, purposeful strokes. I always thought pregnancy would make sex awkward but Cayden always knew what he was doing and so far it hadn't been an issue. He had me on my side now, thrusting his hips from behind me, a really comfortable position for my bump and my back as well. His mouth was by my ear and his hand gripped my hip. He was grunting in my ear which honestly set me off and i felt myself peaking as he did.

He rolled over onto his back and brought me into his side". You gon bring yo ass home now?" he asked in my ear. I nodded like a fool. After that how could i not. He chuckled, bringing his hand to my bump.

"He's been really active today," i said, looking down at his hand on my stretched skin.

"He gets that from me. Gonna be a ball player," he smirked.

"Im gonna have my hands full i already know. I just hope he looks like you,"

That's how he convinced me, and the next morning i found myself in my bed at home, with him laying beside me. I was awake and he was sleeping with his arms around me. I was looking over at him just thinking. We had talked after our little distraction and Cayden had apologized to me for the drama this had caused. He also made it clear he had reached out to Keisha and they would be going to get a DNA test today actually but the results didn't change how he felt about me and our baby. Now i was just trying to make peace with the possible outcomes.

"You okay?" Cay asked, eyes still closed.

"I thought you were sleeping. Yeah im ok. Are you ok?" I asked. He opened his eyes and nodded. He looked at the clock on the bedside table.

"I have to go soon," he said, looking over at me. He was going to the doctor with Keisha to give samples for the paternity test. I nodded. He got up and took his ring off to get in the shower. I wasn't sure if i was supposed to go with him or just stay out of it, i felt awkward because he hadn't asked me to go. He paused. "You coming?" he asked.

"Do you want me there?" I sat up.

"I always want you there," he said. So i got up and went to shower with him. I wasn't sure where we stood or what all i was gonna do, but for now i was gonna stay by his side.

Cayden

I was scared shitless. I didn't know what the fuck was going on and what this meant. One minute i was having a baby with Randi, and the next i might have a 5 year old son. When i had reached out to Keisha i asked her if the kid was mine and she said it was possible. I was beyond pissed. Why would she not tell me that i might have a kid? I would have wanted to know. I would have helped her out and handled my shit.

Even worse than the fear though was the guilt i felt for throwing all this on Randi. She was 7 months pregnant and more vulnerable now than ever, and i wasn't sure she could handle this. She was beyond upset and i was afraid she resented me now. I was the one who wanted the baby and made her all these promises about how our life would be, now this. Last night she had told me it would kill her if someone else had my first child, and i wasn't sure what to do with that. She came home with me anyways but i was pretty sure her staying was dependent on the results. I couldn't help but think about how we had just started moving into the new house, even started working on the nursery.

She sat beside me at the doctor's office, one hand in mine and the other on her belly. I was glad she had agreed to come with me because she kept me calm. Keisha and her son were sitting across from us, waiting as well. The whole thing felt like a twisted maury episode and i was beyond uncomfortable but it was more awkward for Randi. She wouldn't say a word to Keisha or even look in her direction. After a few minutes a nurse came and called our names. I kissed Randi's hand before letting it go. "I'll see you in a lil bit," i said.

"I'll be here," she said with a small smile.

I gave a bunch of samples like blood and saliva, they even look some hair. The nurse said we wouldn't find out for a week, they had to take everything to a lab then they'd call us. So another week of this not knowing.

I had to go talk to Pat so i dropped Randi off at home then drove to the warehouse. Driving up to it i suddenly got a wave of memories from long before i met Randi. When Trey was still alive and i was doing drops or working on corners. In a way life was easier then, i didn't have any responsibilities, i just had to focus on me and my job, not 100 other niggas and what they doing. But it was sldo harder, i saw a lot when i was doing drops or working on corners. I lost a lot of friends, got shot for the first time. I thought i'd be doing this shit forever, and i was ok with it until SHE came into my life.

"So this it? You really out man?" Pat said, passing me the blunt he had lit.

"Me and Sean madea deal, so its done," i shrugged. "Im just getting my shit in order now."

"So what you gon be doing?" He asked.

"Imma get more involved in my legit businesses, be on some CEO shit. Im working with these nerdy niggas on this app right now and shit is pretty cool, and we bout to make soe mad coin to top it off."

"On some legal shit huh. I see you cuh."

"If you ever get sick of this shit i got you man," i shrugged.

"I appreciate that. You a real one. Eh let me know when that kid get here, i wanna see you on some fatherly shit," he laughed. I chuckled.

"Bet," i said.

After seeing Pat i called Ty so see where he was at. I hadn't told him about everything going on even though that was my nigga, this just felt like something i had to figure out privately first. The dude knew me like a brother though and he guessed something was up i guess from the way i was talking.

"You and miss attitude fighting again?" he asked.

"Nah, not that. Just some shit going on," i said,making a turn at the light.

"Yall gon be aight, i know that for a fact. Can't neither one of yall live without the other," he said.

"I hope you right fam," i said. I pulled into the parking lot. I was stopping by the store to pick up flowers and ice cream for Randi. "let me go in this store real quick. Imma catch you later." I hung up and got out the car.

When i got home Randi wasn't downstairs so i went up to the room to look for her. She was sleeping in the bed but she got up when i opened the door.

"My bad," i said, "I didn't know you were sleeping."

"It's ok," she said sitting up.

"I got you these, and ice cream too. Its downstairs," i handed her the flowers.

"They're beautiful" she smelled them.

"You're beautiful," i said, she laughed. "No seriously." I grabbed her chin affectionately. "You still love me right?" She nodded.

"Im always gonna love you Cayden," she said, which gave me hope. "even if we aren't together." That last part was like a knife to the heart.

Cole

Ty had agreed to move in with me after some persuading and well thought out arguments. He realized it was easier for him to commute than me because he didn’t work on a set schedule. I had to be at practice or games at strict times.

We were moving all his boxes in to the apartment. My place was really nice and spacious. It was a big apartment downtown and a few guys from the team lived in the building. Ty was coming in with a box when Devon walked by, in his way to his place down the hall.

“Ah shit! Is this the boyfriend?” He hollered, stopping in the doorway. I chuckled when I saw him and his huge grin.

“Yes. This is him. Ty, this my homie Devon,” i introduced them briefly.

“Cole hasn’t shut up about you moving in man,” Devon said. Ty grinned, feeling himself. I rolled my eyes.

"I said it once," i said, opening a box that was on the floor.

"He's a clingy nigga," Tyga said, "But i like it."

"Whatever," i said, walking to the door to leave and get more stuff. I was the clingy person in our relationship though. Ty was a bit more withdrawn, but it worked.

Devon left after a while and it was just us again. I was opening a box when i started thinking about the fact that i never thought this would work with me and him.

"You know, we never would have gotten back together if you hadn't almost died," i pointed out. He paused for a long time, thinking back to that time. "Sorry, i didn't mean to make you think about all that,"i said quickly, realising.

"It's ok. I guess you right. It took a coma and almost dying for me to fully accept myself and my feelings for you. Guess my mama was right, i am hardheaded." We both laughed. After a few minutes i asked,

"Do you still think about it?" i asked. I meant getting shot.

"Sometimes, randomly. Not like actually getting shot but mostly about being knocked out for so long," He said, unwrapping something.

"What was it like?"

"I don't exactly remember. I just remember wanting to wake up, to get up, and i coudn't. That...was pretty scary. Sometimes i be having dreams about that, wanting to move but i can't," he said quietly. I stopped what i was doing to really look at him. Vulnerable Ty was so rare.

"That sounds scary," i said. "I have bad dreams sometimes to. That you didn't make it. But not so much anymore," i explained. He nodded. We continued packing and that was that. That little conversation was a lot for us though.

After some unpacking we ordered food and ate it like animals. We hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was 5pm now.

"So you staying here tonight?" i asked. I knew he had a lot of work to do because things were busy now. Cayden was getting out and Sean was taking over so people were in a bit of panic. He was helping Cayden sort things out.

"Nah. I gotta go back. Imma be here tomorrow though," he said. I nodded.

"Ok. I guess i can start putting some of your stuff away, if you don't mind," i offered.

"Awe, how sweet," he teased. I scowled.

"Put away your own shit then," i said, turning to leave. He grabbed my arm.

"Nah but forreal that would be lit, you know im bad at being organized and shit."

"Oh i know, ive slept at your place," i said. He gave me a mug and i howled. "Im playing," i pulled him closer by the arm to kiss him.

"I gotta get going soon," he said. I nodded.

"Do your thing. I have practice in a few hours anyways," i said. I wasn't really phased by his coming and going because i understood that was the job, and we generally weren't attached at the hip. I think it worked because we both had our own thing going. But not gonna lie it was nice to come home to someone at the end of the day and now we'd be doing that more.

"I'll see you tomorrow night," he said. He paused. "I love you," he said. I grinned.

"Bruh you soft," i said. His face dropped and i laughed. "I love you too," i kissed him one last time.

#chris brown #New Chapter #chris brown fanfic #chris brown ff #Jhene Aiko #jhene chilombo #jhene efuru #jhene aiko fanfic #jhene aiko ff #j cole #j cole fanfic

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dndfuckhouse · 5 years

Text

session 10 - old and new twisted faces

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> 🎵 Darkening Developments / Kevin Macleod

Picking up right again after a harrowing scream echoes throughout the alleys of the withered bone, Psalm and Rokka look to one another to decide their next course of action.

Psalm: it's not really our problem, is what i'd like to say but i get the feeling that you want to go help them anyways Rokka: you are correct my dear roommate. lets go! Psalm: wait wait wait

Psalm advises Rokka to go wake the others to go check it out, him staying and watching over ‘greenie’ in the meantime. Rokka runs over to the room with Keva, Han, Ezra and Plum inside and kicks up a big fuss that Plum and Ezra aggressively sleep through as the others each rouse tired and groggy. Keva throws a pillow at Ezra to rouse him out of nowhere and the four make their way over to the room where Psalm is to ask him why the hell he woke them up.

Han: psalm, why can we not sleep in peace :) Psalm: why are you asking me? you think i'm responsible for this? Han: i do not consider rokka responsible yes, i do consider u responsible Psalm: seems a bit unfair, we're both on watch here..... not really appreciating the bias

He explains the flash of light and the scream he heard to he group, everyone but Rokka decide they definitely are not getting involved even if a dude is dying but will accompany him to check it out on his insistence. The four heard downstairs while Psalm keeps watch over ‘greenie’ like a hawk.

Psalm: AN OCELOT NEVER LETS HIS PREY ESCAPE Plum: psalm meow like ocelot or no balls psalm by himself with greenie: MEWOOOOOWW ghester:

The four make their way outside the bar’s sturdy front door and listen about and hear sounds of someone moving a body, Rokka tries to pinpoint it but cant tell where its coming from. Han and Keva manage to figure it out while pulling on his ears, they creep around a corner and see a cloaked figure laying on the ground, someone standing over them.

Psalm: Ghester im thinking of a number between 1 and 2 decimals are allowed Ghester: 1.6 Psalm: Oh u got me...

The three recognise the figure over the body to be that of Vorde’s bodyguard from the ball. However Keva recognises him as her old friend Orin, seemingly appearing here from out of nowhere.

Psalm: and can you believe she thinks it's my fault ghester? after all i try to do to keep these idiots alive and she thinks it's my fault i was doing my job on watch duty properly Ghester: honestly it can be a little frustrating at times but you must make with what you have Psalm: i'm not about this bonds shit big boss has me doing but who am i to disobey

Orin looks to be staring intently at something in his hand, in his other he holds a bloodied sword, Keva stands frozen stock still watching him. Han makes to leave waving it off but Rokka shouts out into the quiet a YOU THERE immediately alerting him to their presence down the alley. Han quickly moves around the other side of the building in an attempt to flank him while Rokka continues to yell at him. Keva soon broken out of her shock pulls down her facemask and calls Orin’s name out. In the meantime Plum finally wakes and makes their way over to where Psalm is on guard, asking where everyone suddenly went.

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> 🎵 What We Could Have Become / Vampyr OST

Keva: “don't hurt him" i say like out of breath Ezra: ezra looks at you out of the corner of his eye as you say that keva

Keva: i take down my hood and take a step towards him "orin...?" Rokka: orin? you know them? Keva: i don't respond to rokka and tap another step towards orin

His eyes seem to scan you for a moment before he seems to relax slightly. He mumbles something under his breath before throwing up a quick mock salute with a lazy smile and turning, running off down the opposite end of the alley flicking something onto the corpse

Han in her attempt to sneak around ends up walking into a wall in the dark and licking a wet cave wall for a moment. Keva and Ezra give chase after Orin but seem to lose him quickly in the dark and twisting turns of the alleys. Han eventually finds her way back to the group where they stand about frustrated and empty handed. Plum upon hearing the commotion outside decides to head outside to check it out while Psalm continues watching.

Rokka: i follow behind keva and check up on her "what just happened--are you crying? oh my go-are you ok?" Keva: when i hear someone coming i try to force my breathing to calm and pull my hood up, @ rokka i just mumble "shut up" Rokka: < : (

Han: did all 3 of u lose him. i tried to go around and cut him off but u guys did a bang up job of that Ezra: you sure cut him off alright coming in about a minute later

Plum make their way outside to where the rest of the group is and ask about whats happened, the group then decide to go check the body that has been left in the alley in Orin’s wake. Keva is informed by the rest of the party that they saw Orin earlier during the ball and says he looked like Vorde’s servant, she seems utterly confused.

Plum: wow this is such a small fuckin town Han: you tellin me!!!! Plum: he seemed like a complete wimp when i saw him at the party, no offense Han: he did look like a wimp

The body appears to have been stabbed twice through the chest, blood staining he front of what looks to be somewhat fancy clothing. His pockets appear picked clean aside from a knife in its sheath Han pockets, the only other thing on him being the symbol Orin flipped onto his front, the group recognise it as the same one greenie had, a symbol of the Red Letterheads.

Han: ... why would the servant of a man who owns land be here Plum: ...owns land? Han: doesnt he? he said he owned a village Psalm: yknow ghester i feel like that vorde guy is definitely responsible for all that shit that happened at the ball Ghester: jumping to conclusions can make you blind to other things Han: SHUT UP GHESTER ME AND PSALM WE GOT THIS BITCH

Rokka: im just behind everyone watching them loot a dead body

Ezra inquires into how Keva knows Orin, she says she does but she didnt know he was still alive. She explains that Orin stole something back for a paladin that helped him before, but he got chased and hurt in the process. He gave the sword to her and told her to run and so she did and now she is here and so is he “i guess!”.

Han: well, congrats i guess, u didnt check the corpse well enough Rokka: so you........ran with a sword some dying dude gave you? Keva: he’s, an old friend

Plum: plums head working a mile a minute they are so confused

She explains she doesn't know what happened after she ran but swears he’d never do or hurt anyone like this for no reason. Rokka questions this but she doubles down on her statement. The group begin questioning if Vorde has some stake in this or is planning some kind of coup as they decide to head back upstairs, upstairs Psalm notices ‘greenie’ finally waking up again. Keva asks the group to try and not hurt Orin the next they see him and Han singles herself out as the only one who doesn't go ‘eh sure i guess’ but shrugs eventually. She also states she has a plan and picks up the body from the alley to take upstairs.

Han: smiles at keva with a corpse dripping all over me Ezra: renny is gonna be pissed if you track blood inside Han: ;asdflkwefd

Psalm and greenie have a impromptu staring contest while Han rips off her fancy shirt to wrap around the body and a bedroll to keep it from dripping all oer the floorboards. As they shuffle their way back upstairs Psalm hears them come and Cimmorro finally seems to hear them and wake up. He moves to check on Vinny before heading out to see what the group is up too.

Cimmorro: aight i go scout with everyone else and be like wuss poppin cimmorro shuffles through the door and sees han holding a dead guy in a bedroll and everyone standing around the small room Rokka: i point at dead body "thats poppin" Cimmorro: jesus, what did you guys do

Han attempts to interrogate greenie using the corpse by dropping it on the ground next to her which causes her to twitch slightly. She asks her if she knows a man named Vorde to confused response. While this goes on Ezra moves over and explains the current situation in Cimmorro’s ear to catch him up.

Rokka:

Cimmorro moves to say a prayer over the corpse while the rest of the group feel like they're getting nowhere with the questioning, leading to Psalm to get fed up and cast a suggestion spell on her.

you ask her what her connection is to a man named vorde, her face shifts back to that of a neutral one "i dont know anyone by this name"

Han: what is the goal of the red letterheads Greenie: kill the prideful, to kill the deceitful, to topple those in power, for him Han: and who might him be? Greenie: our leader, his grace Theyord Han: what does your grace look like? Greenie: he is holy, wise and aged, unmatched in his serenity and his anger, he wears it all upon himself for us to see Han: more physical features this time, greenie? Greenie: grey, old, standing tall

Psalm: kinda vampirish? red eyes? pointy ears Han: maybe a dilf? Rokka: hes got a nephew about ye high

Han: where might your boss be, greenie? you got a hideout? Greenie: he only shows up when he summons us for communion, i dont see him otherwise it is against the rules. I only meet where he asks me too Han: where does he ask you to meet? Greenie: across the city, all manner of places, but its rarely, he merely speaks to me at times, it is lonely Han: how does he communicate with you? Greenie: he speaks to me in my mind

Han: cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool Psalm: what's that like? ^__^?

Han: whats the talking like greenie? Greenie: its soothing, angelic, he tells me what to do Han: what were your plans after you murdered your target? any meet up spot? Greenie: we were supposed to run and then he'd tell us what do do, but i haven't heard anything, maybe because we messed up, he must be angry at us

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> 🎵 Controlled Chaos / Kevin Macleod

Partway through their questioning as he says his prayers over the corpse off to the side Cimmorro sees one of its fingers twitch slightly underneath the fabrics. As he inspects it further he feels an air of unease begin to radiate from it as the rest of the body begins to twitch slightly. He informs the group of whats happening and they all watch as the body begins moving unatelry on the floor of the room.

Cimmorro: i hate this bc i was abt to like bother the whole interrogation by making a prayer dialogue going like "can i sing for you 😏 " at the corpse but ok Han: hey now is ur partner supposed to come back from the dead? 😬 Rokka: is this............a zombie attack

The group debate on whether they should just stab it again or tie it up or what as the body continues shifting until its moved to fully standing in the room, its head shaking at a inhuman erratic pace, arms twitching. Rokka moves to bodyslam the body soon after it stands, attempting to pin it to the ground but the corpse seems to push him off slamming him against an opposite wall. Han soon moves after to grab it into some kinda chokehold as it stands on twitching legs.

Keva: oh fuck yall what of the red letterheads symbol Orin left wasn’t a calling card or smth but smth that turns people into zombies Han: PLEASE KILL ME NOW

Han: greenie WHAT is happening to your friend holy fuck Greenie: he’s returning, he's coming back, he's been chosen

Ghester: hmm....kind of unpleasant Psalm: what is? if you know what's happening i'd love some insight Ghester: the corpse, i thought that was obvious that who sees Psalm: i hate you so much Ghester: appreciate it Psalm: anytime

Han & Keva: how does someone get chosen? Greenie: its blissfull, he decides who to choose himself Keva: WAIT IF VINNY WAS STABBED WAS HE ALSO CHOSEN Han: OH goD PLEASE DONT SAY THAT Psalm: oh, hmmm. we've been keeping an eye on him though right?

As they speak Han holds the twitching body down and asks the others to tie it up, Ezra suggests sitting on it as well to keep it down which Han does. The body starts making groaning noises out of its mouth that sounds like a weird guttural gurgling. Han continues frantically questioning greenie as the group are all utterly creeped out and on edge.

Han: what are you chosen for? Greenie: for a great purpose, to stand by him and do his work Han: what does that BLOODY mean!!!!!!! Rokka: i cover my ears "make it stop make it stop make it stop make it sto"

Cimmorro moves to inspect the body as Han sits on it to discern what in the hell is going on. He figures something is binding the soul to this corpse in some unnatural way, the twitching being especially unnerving. Psalm begins asking the group if they should chop its head off to stop the sounds.

Han: was the man you stabbed at the party also chosen?? Greenie: i dont know i can only hope if i am killed i will come back, at least then i can stand with him, i dont know what it takes only that it happens, Frello....i am glad he was given this purpose

Plum: i'm really hoping we don't trap this guy in some kind of painful existence by doing that Psalm: why would you say that now i'm faltering

Han: what is this purpose?? is your lord gonna pop up and talk thru him? why was vinny stabbed at the party Greenie: i told you already, "kill the prideful, to kill the deceitful, to topple those in power, for him. Sometimes he speaks through others, he is a symbol of pride, he was chosen for that reason

Han asks what would happen if they hacked this dudes head off and greenie responds that her grace would become very angry. Han birefly asks if greenie recognises the name ‘Ullr’ but gets confusion back similar to when she asked Vorde’s name. Cimmorro moves to inspect the body closer and the unnatural rolling of the eyes and gurgling almost make the body look conscious, through the back of the shirt though he spots something. a faint orange light shining through. The group move to quickly rip off part of the shirt and see an old brand on his back of the red letterheads symbol, glowing a faint orange. As they do this head’s next almost twists a full 180 to watch them.

Psalm: heres what i think. that vorde motherfucker is reviving people and had his little servant, keva's friend, revive this guy for that purpose. Whether or not he's affiliated with greenie is unknown to her but it seems incredibly likely, and we should probably kill this guy before he becomes more of an issue

While the group debate Cimmorro notices that the corpses gurgling is beginning to form small words and actual sounds as if he were learning how to speak.

Psalm: WOW GOOD THING I HAVEN'T CUT HIS HEAD OFF

Cimmorro makes out the words “hello” “you” and “see” he moves to tell the group that the corpse seems like its trying to communicate with them, han keeps it pinned by its forehead on the floor. Cimmorro says hello back and gets the words ‘greetings” ‘thank you” and “accomplice”.

Cimmorro: oh okay, you're welcome i guess.. who's the accomplice ??: cimmy you hear a "yourselves" and a garbled sounding noise as the corpse lifts up the edges of his cheeks in a smile

Plum attempts to identify the symbol while they speak and understands that an animate dead spell is affecting it, as they do this the eyes of the corpse swivel over in their direction. Han asks if this is Theyord and gets a ‘your grace is i’ back from the body, she asks what the fuck hes planning to do and gets "much work" and a "will see" and a "take yourselves" and a "watching". After that final communication the body seems to twitch erratically and convulse in upon itself. the glow of the mark fading leaving the corpse unmoving and silent once again.

The group debate with one another on whether or not he knows if they're here or not or if they're being kept alive for some purpose or not. Cimmorro getting somewhat paranoid from the experience leaves the room to check on Vinny and Cole, seeing them fine and asleep in their beds. He waits in their room as they others continue to discuss the state of things, watching over them for the time being. The group decide the plan hasn't changed, gather information and move afterwards, find the letterheads first and if they cant find anything they decide they’ll head to Vargonia.

Psalm: who is orin anyways? friend? family? Keva: i'm quiet for a bit "what i have left of a family" Psalm: i see

The group minus Cimmorro think on what to do with greenie now and come to the decision its better if they kill her and burn her body along with the other corpses so they dont come back again somehow. They try and figure out how to off her in the most painless way possible, Plum giving Han the petals of a plant to feed her after she knocks her unconscious. Keva goes to join Cimmorro in the room watching Vinny and Cole as the rest take the two downstairs and burn them, the smell its pretty putrid.

Han: i was doing so good on my no killing streak until this job came up Psalm: yknow i'm realising kind of belatedly we could also just bring her to the authorities Han: ............

Cimmorro: this is gonna be a long day huh kev... what are they doign out there Keva: i'm like face down on the extra bed and i say, muffled "fuck if i know"

The two discuss if Vinny will be okay to which Cimmorro says he seems to be getting better but he defintely wants to keep a close eye on him.

Keva: i turn my face to the side "...can you teach me some time? to idk, help fix people i guess, since it looks like we're stuck together" Cimmorro: oh??? well, i could. since i'm also learning and looks like that will be the case huh" i shrug "you're gonna owe me though >:) Keva: i shrug "i already owe you for the time in the basement so whatever i guess" Cimmorro: i lift my brow and start doing a thinking for a while before i go "ohhhhhhhhh yeah wow you remembered that? i didn't even think about it, it's sort of just habit to me so...it's fine but i'll be keepin tabs now hakhak" Keva: i do that like kinda laugh where you just expel some air out your nose before turning back to facedown in my pillow Cimmorro: i sigh and say "you're not so bad kevster. get some rest... you're gonna need a lot lol" Han: t poses into the room

The rest of the group make their way back up to the room post burning and rouse cole from her slumber bleary eyed telling Cimmorro what they did. Han goes to shake Vinny awake to Cimmorro’s huffing over rousing his patient as he slaps her arm away. Vinny grumbles awake and upon seeing Cimmorro sits up ramrod straight in bed grabbing him with a shout.

Vinny: YOU!! Cimmorro: HELLO? SIR? Vinny: his hair is also a mess, he grabs your shoulders for a moment before moving a little closer "...I THINK..." Cimmorro: whoahhh personal space

Plum: plum is going to go have a stress ulcer in the corner of this room Cimmorro: pet rokka to feel better Plum: why must we remove rokka's humanity Rokka: he would not mind tbh pls rokka needs comfort too

The group catch him up on the events post him getting stabbed up till now along with Cole as the two get ready to head out with the rest of them. The group decide on different groups again since they no longer need a group to stay and watch ‘greenie”. A group to go above ground and sneak into Vinny’s store and another to ask around down in the cove. Vinny decides to join the above ground group listing the laundry list of things left unattended up there, Cim follows wherever Vinny is going for the time being. While they discuss this Rokka briefly asks Vinny if he recognises the Theyord to which he thinks on and says maybe.

The group split becomes -> Han / Keva / Cole / Vinny / Cimmorro to head aboveground -> Psalm / Rokka / Plum / Ezra to stay belowground

The aboveground group tell Plum they will also retrieve some of their items for them if they can. They begin discussing and managing their disguises, as they do Cole hands Vinny her hat to replace the one he lost when he was stabbed.

The group decide to meet back at this point in 24 hours. If they dont see anyone by the meeting time then escape as you are now. Ezra notes if his group wont make it he may have a way to contact them if so but not vice versa. the group also decide to use a special code with one another to make sure they dont get duped by any future clones.

Rokka: i vote for obama take the wheel Ezra: who is obama Rokka: my great great great grandfather

Psalm: A code is a good idea Ezra: im gonna have to agree with psalms suggestion on this one

Psalm: How about Q: "where were you up to the night of the ball" "A: "i was having a grand old time"

As the group break to head their separate ways Cole moves to give the downstairs team a hug before she leaves but it soon evolves into giving everyone a hug as they leave. The hugging is spread all around.

Psalm: Ill give you a hug han (: Han: glares at psalm but opens her arms Psalm: ..........it was a joke Cimmorro: shakes my head towards psalm

They group splits off for the time being after the hug parade pulls into town, they head out to attend to their tasks, mission and goal on the mind. Theories are swarming in their heads and questions left unanswered, starting their day by pushing through the darkness ahead.

---

Notes

🔮 Psalm rolled a 25 on their disguise check

🏹 Han takes the ring and disguises herself as - a half-orcish man as short as she can manage, she also obtains a 「 Poison Dagger✨」 from the 🔪Assassin

🍺 Plum asks for - their large pot of pink potion / the rest of their ingredients in their small bags

🐺 Rokka tears his shirt off when everyone began talking about clothes ( #freethenipple ) and covers himself in a cloak

🗡 Keva and 💎 Cimmorro wear their cloaks over their outfits and 💎 Cimmorro removes most of his jewellery and rolls a 14 on disguise

#recaps #181227 #YEET!

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schooloftieflings · 3 years

Text

II, Past and Future

— Boy, where ar’cha? — The old man asked, looking around the warehouse in the docks. This memory was vivid in Tief’s mind. Still vivid.

— Bo-o-oy? C’mon, I know ye are 'ere… ‘got a new chord for ye! C’mon, quit hidin’.

Tief was hiding behind a large box of something. He couldn’t read back then. But he memorized many melodies, many songs, so much…

Tief wasn’t showing himself. Seth chuckled, sitting on a chair in the middle of the room.

— Aight pal, ol’ papa Seth will try to entertain ye’musical thirst. Now, tell papa, what’s this a’chord? — He said, tuning the lute. His lute. The lute that now was in the corner of Tief’s room, on which he played magic.

Geth, Cess and Doht. Three most useful chords. He didn’t know what they were called in reality, in fact, Seth didn’t know either. But Tief knew how they were labeled in his mind.. These three were the most common, simple, useful. But after using them so many times, they became dull.

But this chord… Seth played some new tone, something interesting. Major. Bright. Warm. In the light of the cracked oil lantern on the table he played.

He didn’t memorise it well back then, but now he could play it with ease without thinking. The Ayem-meht Nehtiya chord. Tief didn’t know what this language was, he knew it, but couldn’t speak in it, he could sing it, but didn’t understand what he was singing. Seth was saying that this language is “spooky”, and always said he liked it. It was fiery. Fiendish. Of his tiefling nature. And Tief didn’t quite like it. He was curious about what it was, but was afraid of it, as it was something completely unknown for him.

He remembered Seth’s melodies. The Duckling Song, In Tabernia, Ol’ My Rucksack, Black Cape Mystery… But he couldn’t remember the exact look of Seth’s face. Tief was always afraid to look into people's eyes, because once he scared some lady on the street. It was his most early memory.

Tief remembered Seth having white hair, long to the shoulders, and a moustache looking like a lowercase-N. He remembered him being tall and skinny, with a breathy voice, as if he was a castaway in a desert and didn’t drink water in months. But when he sang… His voice became soft, like silk, like the fur of a kitten. Everytime Seth sang Tief lullabies, Tief felt like he was a kitten, and Seth’s song was a petting hand.

It was all around six years ago. In spring, Seth was visited by some men. Tief could hear them talking. He heard their words. “Tax”, “Payment”, “Owe”, “Credit”, “Fucking Fiend Bastard You Keep In Here”. Tief was hiding in the dark behind the boxes and barrels.

Then he heard no words, but a sound. A sound of a dagger piercing into flesh. A gulping sound of Seth as he fell on the floor.

They left.

Seth was sitting on the chair, his hand red, his stomach stabbed and bleeding.

— Sunny, dear… — He called him. — I can see yer’ eyes, boy, c’mere… — Seth was weakening. Tief was crying, a small child, walking to him slowly with tears in his eyes, sobbing with the most bitter sorrow.

— Sunny, it’s fine, I’m okay, see? Tis’ jus’a scratch… — Seth was pale. His eyes were full of fear. But not of death. He was afraid of what would happen to Tief.

— Yer’a good boy, sunny, don’t be afraid. I’m sleepy, okay? ’member my lute? I ‘ive it to ye. Ye deserve it. Yer a good boy sunny. You play very well, with those claws, yes… — Seth petted Tief’s cheek with the clean hand.

— Good boy… Take it, it’s yours. Now ye’ll b’free to wander, run ‘way from ‘ere… This place’s bad. Play music and don’t let go of the lute. ‘member me, sunny… ‘member my words: Yer a good p’rson, a good boy of papa… Good… Boy…

Tief was crying the whole day over Seth’s lifeless body. He was still warm, his hand on his shoulder, a slight sad smile on his elderly lips, a trail of salt from a dried tear.

— ‘tis bastard’s dead already, go look for the fiend spawn… — Tief heard in the dark of the night, as two people walked into the warehouse. He took the lute, and fled.

...

So the night passed, in the morning Tief still felt pain in his back. He woke up slowly, with grunts, with little gasps of pain.

— Ouch… — He held the hit place, on his lower back right under the ribs, on the left. Tief was struggling to fight the pain when he reached to check his goods. In place. Two golden coins among 6 silver ones and 43 coppers. It was such a big lot…

But the paper… What was it? In the morning light coming from between the planks, he looked at the paper. It was… A letter. His hair went on end. He could read, but… It was hard. He would try…

To: The tiefling bard child playing in the Serreip Sed district of Revenland.

From: SoT

If you can read, then read carefully. If not, then to the one reading this message: please speak the letter the way it’s written without skipping anything.

We from the School of Tieflings are giving you an invitation to our school. The given two galleons might be enough for you to buy suiting clothing and everything listed below, it will be useful if you wish to study at us:

A suitcase full of comfortable semi-formal clothing. Preferably a good amount of spare socks

An empty book or diary (x5)

A cape with a hood, comfortable and weatherproof to some degree

It is allowed to take any possessions, such as jewelry, musical instruments, talismans and so on with you. We are waiting for you in the village of Cargealdor, in the Amperholm territories. Look for a tall male tiefling with red skin, or let yourself be seen by him.

Everything best, Prof. Aiv Avlis

Tief was confused. He did understand most of the message. But why? Why was he invited there? It made no sense. And why was it so important? Was this… Prof Aiv Avlis the man who gave him those two golden coins? It must be, right?

His back hurt, and his head ached. He needed to do something…

— Here mister officer, he’s under the stairs. Yes he lives ‘ere, go take ‘im.

Tief’s eyes went wide as he heard the voice of John Billiehorn, one of the brothers who owned this building. Officer? A guard was there to take him to jail, or worse, execution. He was trapped, framed, with no way out. His claws were the only thing he had to fight back.

...grabbing the lute, the hat, the fortune of coins (which he put in the little pouch-pocket on his raggy clothing), and the blood-stained letter tucked into her top clothing, he limped a little while the guard was coming.

— Right here officer, here’s the door yes. He’s still sleeping, yes, a lazy freak he is… — John Billyhorn spoke in his grumpy manner.

— Turn around, sir, leave us. He’s needed to be… — The guard, probably a huge man, judging by his deep voice, didn’t finish the phrase, but Tief knew what he meant. Through the planks he saw the great pike that the guard had…

The guardian of peace opened the door in one great swing move and looked inside.

Inside, there was no one.

— Huh? — He grunted confused. Tief was there, on the ceiling of the room, flat, his tail between his legs. Now.

Tief dropped on the floor holding the pike by the shaft, sticking it into the ground and rushing past the guard and John Billiehorn. The guard shouted in shock. Tief’s lower back still hurt sharply, but he ran. To the fence and over it, onto the street…

There were two more guards. One of them got time to blow in the whistle, and thus alerted the other. Tief hesitated before running away with all the stamina he had, hungry, wounded. He was running for his life.

The morning lights were shining bright, the sun rising, people were waking up. It was around 10 o’clock in the morning, and the city was already sprouting with life.

Tief knew a route. On the bazaar he rushed to one specific place in the backstreet, and there easily and fastly climbed a wall. One of the guards almost hit him with his halberd. Now, on the roofs, he could get anywhere he wanted.

Running on the red roofs of Revenland, he soon got the chase off his tail, leaving the guards alone in the streets, tricked.

`Iya rohtuneht

Iya hefhed-le-ekem

Roht-e oameht

Iya’llyr bedtekem`

He instinctively sang, feeling his ancestry's magic flow. His pain got numbed, and stamina somehow reloaded.

And he ran, ran fast, until he reached the highway. There were many carts and coaches going in and out of the city. He sneaked down on the ground and sat by the way. He was hoping to get out of the district, and then to some better place. Blood rushing, heart thumping in his chest loudly, Tief let himself relax a bit.

Here is a good cart. With hay, and that was all. Quickly, he stood and rushed to walk by it’s side. No one was looking at him, which was strange, considering his looks. He felt it was magic, but didn’t have time to think about it. He jumped in the hay, and hid there. Breathing through the hat to have some better air, he laid there, relaxing.

Hay in the district. Maybe it was coming from the Emirpal district? There were mostly farms, perhaps this cart was just passing by…

It was pure luck to find a cart like this. A single horse, the rider, and a lot of hay to hide in.

— Didn’t even… break… a sweat… — He spoke, at first feeling fresh but suddenly feeling tired, and the pain in his back coming in a great wave, strong enough to knock him out completely…

...he woke up after some time. His first thought was “I am a wanted man”, before he looked around in the hay scared. Memories came back and he tried not to whine from the pain in his back. This was no good, he needed rest. But where? He felt paranoid. Anywhere he would go he would be met with dangers. And there…

Where was he now?

He carefully looked out of the hay, towards the cart’s direction of movement. Other than horse arse and the tired looking farmer, he saw only one thing.

Golden plains of wheat. As far as the eye could see, and a little town in the far.

— Holy name of Ueid! Fiend! — The farmer shouted scared, startling the horse. Tief backed away, showing himself.

— Please, have mercy! — Tief shouted instinctively, covering himself. — I just needed a lift, I’m sorry sir! I-I can pay!

The farmer had a pitchfork by him, and now had it in his hands. He stopped the horse.

— Ayh? Pay? Who's ya fiendling!? Tella name!

— I-I’m…

— Now!

— Ex! — He said. It wasn’t his true name, but it was close to it. He didn’t trust anyone to give them his true name.

— Ex? Aight aight, — The farmer said putting the pitchfork away. — Ex! How much do you have, in coins?

— T-thirteen coppers… — Tief lied bluntly.

— Nghrh… Give me five of ‘em ‘n ye’ll be fine. Just sit in ‘ere, c’mon! Give the coins!

— Y-yes sir… — He tried not to tinkle his fortune, and tried to act sad to give such a big part of his already small balance. He pulled out not five but six, giving them to him.

— P-please, I need to see my dad…

— Shoo! Shutcha and sit still, bunny- — He said taking the coins and putting them in a little linen pouch.

Tief gulped nervously, sitting by the man, who now was looking nervious.

— Knew’t, Ueid… Knew’t there’s s’one in’e cart ay… Is that a cithara?

— N-no sir, this is a lute.

— You stole it.

— No! It’s a gift…

— ‘en play somethin’. — Was the dry answer of the man. Tief uncomfortably took the lute and cleared his throat. Tuning it, he put the hat with the letter on his own head, and played the first chord. The man raised a brow of interest.

`When you ridin’

Past fields of rye

Shining gold

That pleases’ the eye-

When you ride

Your way back home

Know there’s someone

Awaits you to come-`

— What’s that song?

— I-I made it up just now sir-

— Are you reading my mind? How do you know about my wife?

— I-I- sir, forgive me, but I am not gifted with the quirk to read minds. It was just a poking guess… — Tief said, still playing the tune.

— ...aye like it. — The man said, looking a little thoughtful. — Ya know ‘at song, “Raise yer cup, an’ bottoms up, bottoms up!”, aye?

— I know it yes!

— Oi matey! Play it, let’s sing together-

Tief asked for a moment to tune the lute, and then nodded. The man started singing, very out of tune:

`Aye who’s coming with me to walk long way’t’e’sky?

I love boozey, let’s jus’ drink that thing dry

Whatta place, whatta place ‘ere to be-

Have a cup fromme bottle, hava’drink ‘ere with me!

Raise yer cup, bottoms up - bottoms up!

Raise yo cup, bottoms up - drink it up!

Aye who’s comin’ with me to a quest?

Whoza comin’ with me, oh with me an’e rest?

Whoza comin’ with me, whoza comes is the best

Whoza coming with me, raise yo cup - take a rest!

Raise yer cup, bottoms up - bottoms up!

Aye raise yer cup, bottoms up - bottoms up!

Raise yo cup, bottoms up - drink it up!

It sounded awful, truly, but Tief managed to fit the bad rhythm and the horrible accent of the man with a suitable melody. The man demanded to sing again, and thus the song was sung thrice.

— Phew, ‘ery nice...

— Actually the song’s different lyrics sir, it goes…

— Do aye look ‘ike I care? Tis’ my cart, I sing the way I want.

This… Was a good point, truly. Tief thought about it. “My cart, my songway” - that was the idea he got solid.

— Aight, here’s your coppy matey, ‘atas nice. — He threw Tief one of the coins he gave him, and laughed a little madly.

They soon arrived at that town Tief saw from a distance. Tief thanked him, and walked off. The sun was setting, and he needed to find a safe place for tonight.

Tief walked through the streets, and finally had some time to think.

— I’m in another town… Where do I go next? — He didn’t quite believe the letter he still had in his hat, nor did he trust that Profaiv Avlis person.

School of Tieflings… What was that? He didn’t know at all, he didn’t even dream of going into a school for he knew he wouldn’t have the money for that. He learnt to read Common by walking through the city with Seth, as he showed him the signboards of different merchants. “Butcher”, “Smith”, “Locksmith”, “Clothing”, these words he learnt to read first. Then Seth teached him how to read and write whatever he pleased. Many walls in the docks were covered in meaningless word-experiments, “oongooloostoo”, “biblidygook”, “vararansque”...

Tief stopped.

There were several town people looking at him, but it wasn’t bothering him much right now. What catched his interest was a large sign by a three-story building.

Tavern Duglew

Was written on a wooden sign with pyrography. Tief easily read the word “tavern”, but “Duglew” was a little odd for him. He thought a little bit.

It was getting dark, late evening, and inside the tavern there was some light. Tief inhaled and with courage walked in.

The insides of the house were pretty poor: several square tables placed in rows, chaotic placement of chairs made it look like they were dancing around each other. There were some people - all humans, a mature woman and two men, all smoking cheap weeds and looking at Tief confused. The woman spoke first.

— Bar’s closed kid. Shoo-

— I need a room. — Tief said confidently. He knew he had the money, and could afford the luxury. He never slept in a real bed before, but saw those through the windows and in Billiehorn’s house.

— A room?

— Yes. For two nights paying in advance. — As Tief said this, the faces of all three went long.

— Y’see lil’ pal, it ain’t for free y’know…

— How much?

— Half a stag for a’nite’n’day. — One silver coin for two days? Tief couldn’t believe his pointy ears.

— Here I have one, show me a free room, — Tief said, pulling out the coin. — Servin’ food?

— Offerin’ ‘eakfast’n’lunche deal. — The man with darker and longer hair said.

— Good then.

After a quarter of an hour, Tief was in his room alone. Hungry and his stomach growling, he thought about what to eat. There must’ve been leftovers in the kitchen which he could have bought, perhaps… Not leaving anything in the room, he walked out of it and downstairs. There were several new patrons, four men drinking and talking with each other quietly.

Walking to the dark haired man of the staff, Tief spoke.

— So is there anything to eat, sir?

— We have some bread and cold stew. Want me to heat’t up a bit, chum?

— Sure, how much will it be?

— Seven coppers.

The said coins were already being placed on the counter as Tief nodded and walked to take a seat at one of the tables. Everyone here seemed pretty friendly, though he still kept his ears sharp and eyes peeled.

He ate the pork stew, and the bread, now feeling so sleepy and tired… Tief slowly made his way to his bed and found himself sleeping tight.

Tief didn’t have dreams, he had memories. Some were pretty distant, some current, but now he was thinking about the Billiehorn Roost. He remembered petting the peepers several times when nobody watched, these fluffy little chicks…

Then, unexpectedly for himself, he woke up covered in cold sweat. He found it difficult to breathe, laying on his stomach. Confusion grew into fair fear, because Tief couldn’t move. Outside it was late night, but he could see in the dark as if it was nothing but slight dusk.

— ‘s he asleep? Y’sure?

— Shutcha, let’s-a see… — Behind the door of his room the familiar voices talked among themselves. Tief made a crippled sound, trying his best to move a muscle.

— The dreamnut must’ve got ‘im ‘lready, ‘ike a log he’s… — One of the men said, opening the door with an audible creak.

Tief made a scared squeak, looking at the silhouettes of the two.

— Ueid of all saints!

— Easy, it’s only his glowin’ eyes, focking fiend’s a liver huh. Take his cithara, — One of the male silhouettes said. Tief wanted to scream, trapped in his body and unable to move at all. His head felt dizzy, he had trouble telling where’s the ground and where’s the ceiling.

— Look in’e chest, ‘s goods mus’be ‘ere… — Said one while the other tried to walk past Tief, who was laying helpless on the bed. Tief teared up huffing into his pillow as the men looked for his money.

— Look a’dat! — He raised the pouch with the tiefling kid’s money. — He’s a thief-ling oaye mate?

— Shall’e kill ‘im?

— Aye-

`Dohtiekem hefhed ilthyahkem bedtast ardoht’seht-`

— Whot was’at? Y’said something?

— A-nope-

Tief was feeling fear and hate, raw magic flowing in his mind and forming in subconscious thoughts in the ancient language he knew from very birth:

`Cesshokekem oht’neht yahkemou’roht bedt-lackoht hekheme’art’seht-`

One of the two men coughed a little into his fist. Tief was hearing thunder in his mind. The other man stepped to him and pulled the pillow from under Tief’s head-

`Dohtiekem hefhed ilthyahkem bedtast ardoht’seht

Cesshokekem oht’neht yahkemou’roht bedt-lackoht hekheme’art’seht

Hefhede’elyr tayem’hekem webrathekhem ohthefhed mehtekem-`

The man pushed Tief to lay on his back and placed the pillow on his face, smothering him.

— D’ya hear ‘at?

— Prolly ‘e wind- — The second one answered coughing once more, now uncontrollably while smothering Tief.

Tief tried to hold his breath. He was afraid to die. He was betrayed, he was poisoned with paralytics, he was helpless and robbed, but in his mind was still reading the darkest curses known, even when slowly drifting asleep, unconscious:

`Hefhede’elyr tayem’hekem webrathekhem ohthefhed mehtekem

Sehtwall’oweb yahkemo’uroht bedtraineht’seht ayemn’doht dohtiekem

Dohtiekem, dohtiekem, dohtiekem-hefhedoroht’ekemveroht-`

At this point, Tief was prepared to see Seth in the afterlife, drifting to complete darkness. He heard something distorted, but couldn’t tell what it was. He heard his lute falling on the ground, but was too late to think about it…

#school of tieflings #scofti #scofti chapter

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dhp-o2h · 7 years

Text

92 Statements Tag

tagged by @academniac and originally it seemed like way too long of a task but these are the crazy things you do at 5am

LAST:

1. Drink: last saturday, preceded by 3 others. make me a drink, bartender i declared. less alcohol than last time. ooh this is good, what is it? pure alcohol? yes, that’s exactly what i wanted

2. Phone call: who do you think i am!?

3. Text message: thx -- sister, thanking me for bestowing greatness upon her life

4. Song you listened to: 22 -- taylor swift, the only tswift song i have ever actually related to even though tswift is life

5. Time you cried: last wednesday, i was hungry. but like really, really hungry.

HAVE YOU:

6. Dated someone twice: hell no, i love all my exes but like get out of my life forever

7. Kissed someone and regretted it: yes but in my defense he kissed me first. what am i even defending

8. Been cheated on: not unless they did it really really sneakily in which case sorry but i still broke up with you anyways

9. Lost someone special: yes

10. Been depressed: yes

11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: have you seen me lol

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS:

12. red like the blood of my enemies

13. that light teal thing

14. brown

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. Made new friends: i make new friends all the time i just don’t care to keep them lol

16. Fallen out of love: nice try but you’ll never catch me in love

17. Laughed until you cried: all the friggin time since i moved in with S, usually over nothing, often over my own jokes

18. Found out someone was talking about you: who isn’t honestly

19. Met someone who changed you: ew no

20. Found out who your friends are: i have always known who my friends are, they are these nice people in the very back of my brain who i never talk to and only trot out once a month

21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: sadly yes so now we can’t be friends anymore

GENERAL:

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: all except the few tumblr friends who crossed the threshold and now we know each others real names and can use that information any time

23. Do you have any pets: brownie, a horse, and moe, a beastie (also a horse)

24. Do you want to change your name: no, i don’t really like my name but it would look damn good on a book cover

25. What did you do for your last birthday? pony ride!

26. What time did you wake up: it’s 6:02 am right now so let’s not talk about it

27. What were you doing at midnight last night: zzz like a good muffin

28. Name something you can’t wait for: my paper to magically finish itself without any further input from me, our children can achieve great things when we keep our expectations high

29. When was the last time you saw your mom: mid summer in belgium, hi mom!

30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: to be able to eat real food without it turning me into a zombie

31. What are you listening to right now: the horse who lives underneath me getting restless about breakfast

32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: these questions get so deep and then there’s this one, who wrote this and why are they obsessed with tom

33. Something that is getting on your nerves: the semester starts this week and there’s too many people on campus ruining everything, they need to go home

34. Most visited websites: tumblr, reddit, gmail

35. Mole/s: quite a few, they add character which i am always in need of

36. Mark/s: birthmark on foot that looks like a flip flop tan line, always fun to show that off at parties

37. Childhood dream: write stories ! someday ! live your dream !

38. Hair color: brown which gets called for blonde by people who like to annoy me

39. Long or short hair: long enough to strangle your enemies

40. Do you have a crush on someone: yah but it will go away soon, don’t worry

41. What do you like about yourself: i am funniest person i know and no one gets my sense of humor like i do

42. Piercings: never, i saw the parent trap as a small child

43. Blood type: once i asked this while having blood drawn and the nurse looked at me like oh you poor innocent thing so not only do i still not know my blood type, but now i am super confused about it

44. Nickname: J

45. Relationship status: unavailable but single

46. Zodiac: aries

47. Pronouns: She/her.

48. Favorite TV Show: PRISON BREAK

49. Tattoos: i can’t choose a daily outfit much less a tattoo

50. Right or left hand: right but sometimes i take notes with my left because my right gets too fast and loose but my left is a trustworthy and dependable strong woman

51. Surgery: not that i know of

52. Hair dyed in different color: my hair doesn’t cooperate with me like that

53. Sport: have you not been paying attention

54. Favorite accessory: to crime

55. Vacation: dramatic mountainy views, cozy cabin

56. Pair of trainers: wtf

MORE GENERAL:

57. Eating: paleo crap ugh. kids, don’t let your friends do paleo

58. Drinking: water like the blood of my enemies

59. I’m about to: go back to sleep and shut out the world and this too way personal and introspective questionnaire

61. Waiting for: the sun to come up (it’s been night time forever and i’m over it)

62. Want: dead or alive

63. Get married: maybe one day for a lark, like after one of those nights that ends with you sitting on a beach sharing secrets and you’ve lost your shoes. but then it’s annulled just as fast and you wonder at yourself sometimes.

64. Career: saving the environment

WHICH IS BETTER:

65. Hugs or kisses: kisses but i've been known to give a good hug

66. Lips or eyes: eyes, love a smoulder

67. Shorter or taller: taller

68. Older or younger: older

70. Nice arms or nice stomach: absss (of which i have 4, ask anyone)

71. Sensitive or loud: in my experience these are the same, i prefer strong and quiet

72. Hook up or relationship: hook up, relationships are for teens and adults and i am way too grown up for that

73. Troublemaker or hesitant: troublemaker, the more trouble the better

HAVE YOU EVER:

74. Kissed a stranger: frequently, it’s hilarious

75. Drank hard liquor: yesss

76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: im no scrub

77. Turned someone down: all the time, but i never get any better at it

78. Had sex on the first date: not yet

79. Broken someone’s heart: multiple but i think they lived

80. Had your heart broken: never gonna happen

81. Been arrested: i am a law of my own

82. Cried when someone died: of course

83. Fallen for a friend: i only fall for friends

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

84. Yourself: yes, with realistic expectations

85. Miracles: i love shouting IT‘S A MIRACLE at things that obviously aren’t miracles

86. Love at first sight: no but you can get a certain feeling about someone without knowing them yet, like yeah they’ve got it, they’re OG, dey aight

87. Santa Claus: don’t bite the presents that feed you

88. Kiss on the first date: kiss on first date is awkward, kiss before first date is best

OTHER:

90. Current best friend name: SKYSICLE

91. Eye color: brown like the blood of my enemies

92. Favorite movie: austenland when those first notes drop!!!

tagging @intlstudier, @orionstudy, @studying-succulents, @donutdesk, @pens-paper-and-inspiration, @daiseestudies, @caffeinatedcraziness, @catharticstudying, @everydaygreenday, @lost-in-books94

#about me #tagged

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just-the-mage · 4 years

Text

A Return From Dark Waters, Part II

Continued from Part I, found here!

(Written by myself & @iris-ymir)

Iris listened to Evangeline’s story. On some level, she felt the woman’s pain, when the other was talking about her nightmares. Iris had her own. Always the same... being strapped onto a hospital bed, while slowly losing herself. But she was not dead after all? This simple sentence gave her hope she did not know she had. She would still have time to fix a couple of things. The greatest mistake she ever made... but one could not start with such a leap. Every journey started with a small step. And for Iris? That small step would be Evangeline. What the two had in the past was gone with the wind... but it was never meant to be, anyways. With Eva’s arms wrapped tightly around her body.. a little bit too tight, Iris wanted to back away. Yet she did not. She swallowed hard, trying to keep the urge to leap away on tight reins. Breaking the embrace now would shatter Evangeline like a crystal vase, dropped off the table and onto the hard, cold marble flooring. So Iris endured the tight embrace, even though it took all of her self control, her body tense against Eva’s form. “So... Irene, huh?” Irene... Another self? Like the shrimp? If this was not a bad enough joke on its own.. now possibly having two of these leeches in her head... but this one actually using the name of her lousy mother? That...that was a joke so bad it kind of ended up being good in a twisted sort of way. Iris broke the embrace carefully, without making any overt movements. She moved like Evangeline was a startled kitten she was trying to calm down.

The pale viera pushed the plug into the hole in the bottom of the pool, and walked up to the shower stand, turning it on. As the warm, clean water started to fill the pool slowly, Iris made her way back to the miserable kitten that was Evangeline, and took a seat next to her, leaning back against the railing with a sigh.

“Irene was mi mom. A heckin’ terrible mother at dat...she died in Limsa Lominsa a good fifteen summers back. Found ‘er from da sea... raped and murdered.. Fockin’ unsuspectin’ fool... Burned ‘er corpse miself. Tha wind from da sea scattered 'er damn ashes by tha mornin’ light...” Without looking at Evangeline, Iris reached her arm over the railing, picking up a bath bomb, and flipping it into a slowly filling pool. The scent of hibiscus and steam soon filled the air.

“Ya dun sound too damn okai wid ‘er bein’ gone though. I would fockin’ lie, if I said dis wont disturb tha livin’ shite outta mi... This whole frickin’ scene.“

Evangeline could tell Iris didn’t want this. That she was uncomfortable with this. And yet...she stayed. She didn’t jump away, break the embrace...she didn’t run. Eva felt the thinner woman’s muscles tense against her, entirely unable to relax. Evangeline was about to let her go when Iris slowly and carefully extricated herself from Eva’s muscular arms. She turned on the shower again, plugging the bath, and began to fill it back up with warm water.

She’s trying. She’s really trying.

Eva thought, surprise tickling at the hollow feeling in her chest. Iris...this was unlike her. The voice was the same, though. Her eyes...undoubtedly...were the same. This was Iris...or at least, the Iris that Evangeline had known. Perhaps Silke had gotten through to her after all. Eva tried to harden her heart to the fact that Silke and Iris...that the two of them would inevitably end up together. If Iris could change...be more kind...like she was doing here...Silke would be with her. Evangeline’s breaths deepened as she tried to calm herself. Feeling the warm water tickle at her toes helped. Something to focus on other than her feelings.

“I’m sorry to hear about your mother...regardless of her quality it’s not something you should’ve had to experience. The more I hear about gods-damned Limsa Lominsa the more I want to march on it with a battalion of soldiers and wipe the blasted place off the map.” She intoned, probably sounding a bit harsher than she had meant.

”Ya dun sound too damn okai wid ‘er bein’ gone though.”

Iris was right...it wasn’t hard to read Eva given her tear-streaked face. She was trying to suppress the sobs, but couldn’t seem to find a way to.

“Y-you’re right...it’s...it’s a-awfully disturbing...and I’m s-sorry...but I do m-miss her...I don’t k-know if she was your mo-mother...though. I….I….I know...it’s not f-fair to you...to want her b-back...but she was m-my friend…” Evangeline heard a sharp intake of breath, seemingly from far off in the distance, and realized that she had done it. Probably preparing herself to burst into tears again. Because that’s what today needed. More tears. She didn’t know why she was telling Iris all of this...might be that she had been trying to help...as much as she could. But Eva had held this all inside of her for too long to contain it anymore.

“Sh-she was my...f-friend...and I d-don’t have any other f-friends...a-and I don’t know how...b-but she took the nightmares away...I di-didn’t dream them...for three wonderful nights...and I’m scared...to sleep again...b-because I know they’ll be b-back…” She covered her face with her hands, feeling the water rise around her feet. She closed her eyes and tried to contain herself, but it was the scent of hibiscus that cut the last string on that violin. She curled into herself further, tighter, her arms wrapped around her knees, and she buried her face in her thighs. She shuddered, wracked with sobs. She figured Iris would probably leave soon. Most everyone usually did. Evangeline was too broken...too hurt. Too much of a mess. Too much of a burden. Now that Iris was back...she probably had things she wanted to do. A life she wanted to live.

And now that the deal was most definitely off...Iris had nothing left to gain from Evangeline’s presence. Eva waited for the sound of retreating footsteps. Expectantly. And as she did, she felt herself whisper something. Under her breath...more to herself than anything else. She hoped Iris would hear it. And she didn’t want Iris to hear it.

“I d-don’t...want t-to be...alone…again..”

As Evangeline broke into tears again, Iris stood up, taking an empty bucket and a luffa that were resting on the edge of the pool, and walked to the shower stand, filling the bucket up. In a way, Iris saw herself in the crying woman... She had felt the same after she got left alone in Limsa Lominsa. She despised her mother, but still, the lonely, sleepless nights on the streets had been horrifying. Iris had not cried a single tear for her mother back then, but she had cried for the feeling of loneliness. Just as Evangeline did now. And the root of the sorrow? Irene. Iris’ mother... Evangeline’s.. friend? The thought was disturbing, and Iris did not want to think about it. It couldn’t be. Irene Ymir was long gone. This... this had to be someone wearing the mask. An echo of a person once lived. Deep down, Iris wished the name was just a coincidence. A simple name her subconscious had picked up from somewhere. Yes. That had to be the case. Irene was dead. As the pool filled up, Iris closed the shower, picked up the bucket and made her way into the spot next to Evangeline. She reached out for a beautiful, purple bottle of soap, and poured some of it into the bucket, stirring it with the luffa. “...Fockin’ ‘ell, Evangelin’...”, she sighed out the words, while dipping the luffa onto the bucket, and proceed to wash Eva’s back and shoulders, now that the woman was curled up into herself. “...Stop yer heckin’ bawling, okai? Who tha devil said yer alone? Im ‘ere... Ya like it or not. And for yer... Irene? If whut yer sayin’ is true... If she truly is like tha shrimp, she’ll heckin pop out sooner or later. But until dat ‘appens, yer stuck wid mi!”, suddenly Iris bursted into an almost inaudible giggle.

“Shiteberries, Im heckin’ back Ya’ll!! Dey could not keep mi! No... Dey could not keep Iris... Ya ‘ear ye motherfockers?! Tha cat’s on da table, and dere’s nothin’ ya can do about it!”, she looked up to the corner of a ceiling, with a wide grin on her messy, black lips. With her bad teeth, the look resembled something from a horror story. Iris returned back to her work, now scrubbing the soot off of Evangeline’s arms and chest, as much as she could with the woman still curled up like a caterpillar.

“...Waaait, wait... Ya slept together? Dont tell mi ya focked wid this Irene... Because dat.. Dat would be waay too weird. For a sleepin’ though... I guess ya can sleep in mi room... I ‘ave quite a wide bed. Soo, as long as ye stay on yer heckin’ side... yer free to join mi. I can't take awai yer frickin’ nightmares, but guess I can be dere if ya ‘appen to wake up for dem. ‘Aight?” Not only that, but Iris felt like she also needed someone to sleep with her. During her time floating in the sea of deep emptiness, she had from time to time had visions... like fragments of dreams, breaking through the black veil... yet always the image had shattered in front of her eyes, like a twisted mirror, sending her back into the black.

This felt different. When she had embraced Eva just a moment ago, the woman had felt real.. alive. But still, somewhere deep inside, Iris was afraid of sleeping. What if this was yet another trick? What if she woke up only to find herself floating.. drowning once again?

“...Now I need ya to... never goin’ ba-ack... lean back a bit, so I can wash tha rest of ye... Yer not gonna crawl yer fockin’ cadaver into mi bed like dat, sister... Ohh no... Not gonna ‘appen!”, pale viera dipped the luffa into the soap water again, while intently staring at her hand and fingers. She blinked couple of times... it was a peculiar, slow blink, her left eye barely closing at all, and the eyelid moving on a small delay compared to the right. “Now... Feel mi... tell mi about dis frickin’ Irene of yers... I need to be sure o’ sumthin’...”

“W-wait...you’re staying? R-really?” Evangeline lifted her head to try to look at Iris, who was now behind Eva, scrubbing at her back and shoulders. Eva couldn’t believe it. She had been sure...absolutely sure...that Iris would have flown the coop, as it were. But maybe...something really had changed in Iris. She assumed she flushed at the mention of her sleeping with Irene...but couldn’t feel it the same way she usually could.

“We...slept in the same bed. No sex...no need to worry about that particular situation. She was just...comforting. That’s all.”

I guess ya can sleep in mi room…

Evangeline blinked, looking into Iris’ eyes. Was she...sincere? She looked it. If she was...this was the kindest thing Iris had ever even thought of doing for her. Maybe...maybe it was possible. Maybe they could be friends, after all. Maybe Iris, under all of her deception...her difficulties...was a good person. She shook her head in an attempt to free her face of the incredulous look it must be wearing.

Evangeline slowly started to unfurl herself, spreading out at first, and then collapsing back into the water with a splash as Iris moved away from Eva’s back. She lay on her back, half-floating in the still-rising water, and stared at the ceiling. She felt the tension finally start to leach out of her. The grime and dirt floated away from her, one with the ripples in the water that exuded from Eva as she moved slowly in the calm surface of the bath.

“I...would love...to sleep in your room. Th...thank you. That’s really nice of you.” Eva could feel herself calming down, her desperate fear fading for now.

“As for Irene...she was a spellcaster...made little dancing lights. Even healed the burn on your arm, from that boiling water. She said she grew up in Gridania...and didn’t seem acquainted with much in the way of etiquette. She ate with her hands, and didn’t seem to understand talking with people very well. She was sweet, though...kind and caring. She tried to make people feel better. I don’t think Lord Blacksoul particularly appreciated it...but I think he has cornered the market on being the grumpiest old man I’ve ever met. She was always talking about how this house has such dark memories...and she would talk to the paintings. Ask them questions about the house’s past. But the strangest thing about her...was her eyes. They seemed dead...soulless. Which was such a difference from how she acted. Her eyes were how I could tell it wasn’t you in there...almost immediately.” Evangeline sniffled, but she was fairly certain the tears were over for the night. She didn’t think she had any left in her. She finally relaxed fully, and let Iris wash her, enjoying the feeling quietly.

“We-I was going to grab some food from the kitchen...after the bath. Would you like to join me? I think there’s some leftover pie still...that should help with the taste in your mouth.”

“Well, where tha heck I would go? I kinda live ‘ere, ‘aight? ...Okai, cloose yer eyes... I'm gonna get dat face o’ yers... Fockin’ ‘ell, where ‘ave ya been? Did ya crawl through a frickin’ big Bertha or sumthin’..?”, Iris carefully wiped the soot off Evangeline’s face, using small, circlular motions. As she had got all the mess off, she threw the luffa back into the bucket, and sat down next to Evangeline.

“...Ya can do tha rest by yerself, Cinnabun, yer a big gal...” She was a spellcaster? This little fact had been bugging Iris from the moment Evangeline had mentioned it. How was that even possible? Iris never had any gift for magic. She had once seen a highlander woman lighting a cigarette with a flame cast on her fingertip, and had tried to copy the trick without any success at all. Magic had always been something so far out of her reach. Almost like her whole being was rejecting it. And now Evangeline was telling her this person using her body could cast magic? That was ridiculous... It was... unfair? Am affront, even! Eva had been wrong. The woman was a warrior. Maybe it had been some lousy trick that Eva saw as magic. Yes. That had to be the case. It was not any more magic than Iris was the Archbishop.

One thing was certain, though. This Irene was not the Irene Iris had known. Nor an echo of her. So it was just a coincidence...

“So... Blacksoul is still kickin’ and as grumpy an arse as ever...”, Iris cupped her palms, using them to drink some water, swished, and spat it back into the pool. “‘Ow ‘bout Gramps? For ‘ow long I ‘ave been gone aniway?” A lonely thought crossed her mind, cutting like a glowing hot knife. “...And... Silke? An archmage somewhere, married to sum good-for-nothin’ lad? Nice teeeny little tower and all dat shite?” Iris tried to laugh, but it got stuck somewhere on the way, breaking out as a frustrated sigh. She had no idea for how long she had been under. It had felt like a couple of summers, but it was hard to keep track of time in the pitch darkness... She thought she had also fallen asleep a couple of times, so it was impossible to tell. Evangeline looked quite the same. But being a viera, that meant nothing. “Pie though! Pie sounds frickin’ fantastic! ...And a cup o’ coffee.. and a heckin’ Coffin nail.. Dis head-ache is killin’ mi!“

Evangeline immersed her hair in the water, and rinsed her face, as well as the rest of her body. That...would probably do it. No more grime...finally. She drew her hair forth from the pool, a mass of dark red sloughing off water as it pulled away from the surface of the bath. She smiled slightly at the nickname Iris had given her so long ago. A part of her had missed it...that one, specifically. Something about it fit perfectly. Though she certainly wasn’t going to complain about the sweet nicknames Irene had been giving her. She hoped she would be able to hear those again, someday.

“I’ve been making something. I’m hoping that Lord Blacksoul will find it useful...a gate for the front walkway. It feels a bit absurd to me that there wasn’t one here before...it’s the most basic level of security. Closing the gate and locking it is the easiest way to prevent the vast majority of intruders from wandering onto the premises. It won’t stop everyone, but it’s a step in the right direction as far as basic safety is concerned.”

Eva seemed to have righted herself mood-wise. Best to distract herself in the interest of preventing any further breakdowns. Irene may be gone now...but hopefully she would return at some point. And for now...this was a new version of Iris that Eva was enjoying quite a bit. Something had certainly changed...Eva wasn’t entirely sure what had transpired while Iris was locked away in her mind, but maybe it, as well as Silke, had given Iris the push she needed.

“Arsene? He’s fine…” Evangeline trailed off as she saw Iris’ face drop, mentioning Silke. Assuming that Silke was...married off? How long did she think she’d been gone?

“Iris...you haven’t been gone nearly as long as you seem to think. It’s been about four days since you were...lost to us. A lot has transpired, sure...but it hasn’t been months. And no-one has gone and gotten married...nothing quite so ridiculous.” Evangeline grimaced slightly at the mention of Silke’s name. The woman had done no wrong, but Eva couldn’t help but feel a twinge of resentment bite at her. That little green jealousy monster whipped its tail at Eva’s insides...just once. Just enough for her to struggle. But she held it back and quickly corrected her expression.

“As for Silke...we will have to write her. Both she and Lord Blacksoul have departed from Ishgarde, for fairly different reasons. Silke’s studies called for her to take a semester abroad, and it seems Lord Blacksoul was wanting for some...front-line experience. I can’t understand it...but who am I to stand in the way of men and the stupid things they choose to do?” Evangeline sighed, and finished rinsing her body off. She stood up and moved to fetch herself a towel to dry herself with.

“I don’t know if you remember it, but we participated in a rather disastrous dinner party. Someone named Asagi...her daughter...and Silke were invited here. The entire night was a mess, and I’m honestly surprised neither Arsene nor Varg had a heart attack at some point during the party.” The towel she dried herself with was still a bit scandalous for her to be wrapped in, but at this point she was too tired to care. Eva wrapped another towel around her hair and ears.

“That was when I brought Irene to Silke...and Silke was able to pull you out for just a moment.” Evangeline tried desperately not to think about that night...the feelings she had struggled with...and the heartbreak she had to endure. She closed her eyes briefly, taking a deep breath and willing her hastily reassembled heart not to shatter again in the middle of the damned bathroom.

“She requested communication should your condition change. You can write her the letter tomorrow if you’d like...and I’ll see that it’s posted.” Evangeline offered Iris a towel.

“Let’s get that pie, shall we? And coffee…” She trailed off, wondering if she should mention the cigarettes. It would be healthier for Iris to go without them...and Eva rather disliked the smell regardless. After thinking for a second, she concluded that they weren’t nearly close enough, and handed off the towel, moving towards the door, and some food, at last.

As Eva mentioned Iris had only been away for some days, the pale viera could do nothing but stare at her companion, like one had just told her the sky is green and seas are made of rolanberry jelly.

“...Excuse me? Fockin’... f-four days? D-Dat can't be... It can't..” she shook her head in disbelief, while getting up from the bath, and reaching for a towel.

“...I... I was in dat frickin’ bottomless ocean for... at least..t-two summers... Dat d-doesn’t make any sense! ...Yer not fockin’ wid mi, Cinnabun, ‘aight?” Nothing made sense to Iris... This feeling was too much for her mind to process properly. How can one be gone for such a long time, while for others, it had been only days?

‘Am I heckin’ losin’ it..?’

She thought to herself, while wrapping the towel lazily around her hips. ‘Madness is not a state of mind...’, a voice in Iris’ head.. a foreign voice of a woman. It echoed from the back of her mind, where a creature was sitting like a canine. A mess of red hair fell in loose curls on her pale shoulders. She had pointy ears, and eyes like those of a corpse. Blood red tearlines ran down on her cheeks, and her black lips were curled up into a wide smile. The most conspicuous feature, though, was a thick, red, fox-like tail, coiling around her legs.

“Irene...”, the word escaped from Iris’ lips, after she had been staring into distance for a while.

‘...A mind of your mind... our fates entwined...’, answered the voice in a soft tone. Iris closed her eyes, tilting her head to side. The movement was twitching, resembling a person who’s having a dream. As she opened her eyes, they were, once again, the dead eyes of Irene. In the next blink though, she was gone, like a whisper in the wind.

“...Uhh.. So dat really ‘appened? Tha night when Silke was ‘ere..? I thought it was a heckin’ dream.. I’ll need to write sumthin’ for ‘er... Damn... Not a state of mind... Pie though... Just a whisper away... P-Pie sounds like a frickin’ splendid idea! And coffee... Fockin’ ‘ell Evangeline... Can ya please get mi a damn cig? Mi ‘ead is killin’ mi...” Holding her head, Iris trailed past Evangeline to the door, pushing it open into the dark hallway. Somewhere in the darkness she could feel the creature... For a moment, viera thought she saw a dancing orb of flame, lingering around the windows near the door, only to soon realize, it was just the glowing hint of the street lights on the walkway. She turned to Evangeline, standing with her on the doorway. “Yer fox is still ‘ere, by tha way...” Pale viera stepped into the hallway, as her eyes had started to adjust into the darkness. Why had no one lit the lanterns anyway? The place was like a grave.

“...Never goin’ back..”, she whispered to herself, while feeling her way with her fingertips. She could hear Evangeline’s steps right behind her.

Evangeline stopped dead in her tracks.

“Did you say two summers in a bottomless ocean? That’s...that’s so horrible.” Things were starting to piece themselves together now. Eva had been wondering how or why Iris had changed so much in just a few days...wondering what had happened to her. Wondering why she had seemed just a bit more unhinged than usual. Even through the haze of Eva’s despair, it was a bit obvious. If she had been trapped...imprisoned in her own thoughts for two summers...Evangeline could think of few things more mentally traumatising than that. Eva’s heart plummeted when she realized how awful she had been to Iris. Iris, who had been...drowning? At the bottom of an ocean...for years. And Evangeline had been concerned with her own stupid feelings. Her stupid dreams of a stupid relationship that wasn’t ever going to happen in the first place. Poor Iris...she needed some support right now. Evangeline hoped she could provide it. She moved closer to Iris, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, when she heard Iris speak.

Irene... Iris was looking through Evangeline, eyes vacant, directed at something that could have been behind the tall, muscular viera...or something that could be a thousand malms away. Eva was ashamed of it...but her heart leapt at the mention of Irene’s name. Eva kept her focus on Iris, though. The woman needed help from her...not another treatise on how she wanted to see Irene again. Before Eva could open her mouth to say something, Iris closed her eyes and spasmed, eliciting a jump from Eva. “Iris? Are you okay?”

She got closer to the waifish girl, eyes radiating concern as she tried to understand what was happening. Iris’ eyes snapped open, revealing Irene...just a hint of her. Irene’s eyes were truly unmistakable...although Evangeline thought she had imagined it for a moment, as the eyes flicked again. When she reopened them, they were back to Iris’ deep purple pools, filled still with life and fire that she continued to deny was present there. Evangeline shook her head, trying to clear her perspective. Taking another look over the pale woman, she nodded numbly at Iris, who had started talking about Silke again. What did this mean? Did she want Irene back so desperately that she was seeing things? Constructing that gate must have taken more out of her than she had thought...there was no way that Irene could be making herself known again. If she was even still there. Iris had hardly ever switched with the first ‘other’...what evidence did Eva have that it wouldn’t be the same with Irene? She was being too hopeful.

Iris wandered past Eva, who let her hand fall away without any resistance. The spindly figure was holding her head...best to get her something to eat. Some actual water too, maybe. Perhaps she was dehydrated. She followed after, trying not to intrude too far into Iris’ space. She wasn’t sure if her presence was helping, or hurting. Best to be careful for now...she didn’t want to upset Iris if she could avoid it. Iris turned to her, throwing a few words over her shoulder as if they were the peel to a banana.

Yer fox is still ‘ere, by tha way…

Eva’s heart, which had just started to settle down, felt as if it were about to try and climb out of her chest and up her throat. This was confirmation. It was real. Irene was still there...and Eva had probably seen her eyes for just a moment too. A valve opened in her body somewhere and relief flooded throughout every inch of her. She could feel her body relaxing...as long as Irene would come back...for sure...Eva could wait. She would absolutely wait...and she would do her best for Iris, too. She hurried after the retreating figure, following her into the kitchen, and busied herself with starting the coffee brewing. Sweeping around the kitchen like a seasoned housewife, she fetched a plate, and smoothly slid a slice of pie onto it, filled a glass with water, and presented both to Iris, who Eva quickly noticed had taken a seat at the table, still rubbing her forehead.

“There...maybe this will help a bit. Oh!” Eva spun on her heel, almost floating to the silverware drawer, and wrapping her fingers around a clean fork, which she placed delicately next to the pie.

“The coffee should be ready soon...and…” Evangeline grimaced. She didn’t feel comfortable enabling it...but she didn’t want to cause any unnecessary friction with Iris.

“Where do you keep your cigarettes? I can fetch one for you…”

To be continued..

#ffxiv #evangeline cross #iris ymir #the coils of d'espair; irene #viera #rava viera #veena viera #drama #writing #rp #mateus rp #crystal rp #ffxiv rp #long post #i had a blast writing this #there are still going to be probably 2-3 more parts #and this isnt even the tip of the iceberg

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cryinggameff · 6 years

Text

Sixty Eight

Randi

Cayden was gone for work all week, and I was struggling being without him. He called several times a day to check in or just talk but it wasn’t the same. Being away from him was almost physically painful right now. It’s like the baby actually knew he was gone and made me feel this pull towards him.

The only thing keeping me going was that he had promised to take me away once he got back. He had been saying for several weeks that he was gonna bring me to Jamaica because I was all he could think about while He was there last. Until then I was just focusing on work and hanging with my friends. My mom was staying at the house currently because Cay called her behind my back and told her I needed her help while he was gone.

“Have some breakfast,” she said, pushing the plate to me.

“I’m not ready to eat yet, I’ll just have some juice.”

“You need some real calories, hows the baby supposed to grow?” She said. I looked down at my small bump, taking in what she said.

“Maybe just a little bit,” I mumbled, sitting at a chair. She made me a plate with way too much excitement and brought it to me. I started nibbling away and she watched my eat. It was just like Cayden was here.

“So when’s your next appointment?” She asked.

“When Cayden gets back. It was supposed to be a bit ago because I’m over three months but I kept putting it off,” I moved aside the eggs that were looking very off putting for some reason.

“Are you gonna find out the gender?”

“I don’t know yet. I kind of want it to be a surprise,” I shrugged. She shook her head.

“Then how am I supposed to start shopping!?” She looked at me like I was crazy. I laughed.

“You can by it when he gets here,” I offered.

“So you think it’s a boy?” She said. My brows came together.

“I have no idea.”

“You said he,” she smiled. I blushed. It was just a habit, honestly I didn’t really think about it that much. I was just focused on getting the baby out safe and sound and surviving the pregnancy myself. A boy would be cute though, and a lot of fun for Cay. But so would a little girl, and I could really see Cay spoiling her.

“Maybe I’ll find out,” I said. I looked at my watch. “I have to go to my appointment now. You can go home mom, I’ll be fine here,” I got up from the chair.

“Go ahead. I’ll clean up. Are you sure honey?”

“I’m sure. I’ll call you if I need anything. I’m not gonna be here until later tonight anyways,” I pointed out.

“Okay then. I’ll head out soon, I’ll have my cell, I can be here in 5 minutes,” she smiled.

“Okay. Bye mom, I love you,” I grabbed my things and prepared to leave before she could make me late.

When I got to Dr. Williams office, the secretary was on the phone and typing away on her computer she looked so flustered. I wondered why it was so busy. I had to sit and wait until she got off the phone.

"So sorry to keep you waiting dear. All appointments for today are cancelled. Mrs. Williams went into labour this morning," she said.

"Oh! Wow, how exciting," i said, imagining the day i would be in that position.

"Yeah, she was getting ancy, she was a week over due already. How far along are you?"She looked at my bump with a smile.

"4 months. I still got a while to go," i ran my hand over my small bump.

"It will go quickly from here, dont worry," she said. That sounded comforting and frightening.

"Im sure it will," i said simply.

"She left a message for you by the way," she said, turning to her computer. I wasn't surprised, Dr. Williams was a family friend by this point and she would feel bad about cancelling one of our appointments. "She says she emailed you the hospital shes at with visiting hours and that you're welcome to come see the baby."

"I hadn't checked my email," i said, pulling out my phone. I checked my mail and sure enough there was an email from her. "Thank you for letting me know. Ill give her a call. Thank you," i said.

"No problem hun. Did you want to see someone else?" she asked. "Dr. Hillinger is in today."

"No thats fine. Thanks though. Have a good day," I said, grabbing my phone off the counter. I left the office and went back to my car. I debated whether or not to go back home but decided i might as well go to the salon. I didn't really wanna be home alone anyways.

Cole

Ty was staying with me for the last few days and we had been having a good time, i loved having him around. Honestly, i got really lonely being here on my own. I didnt have him, i didn't have Randi or any of my other friends. I didn't wanna tell him that though. That day we were going to go watch a basketball game, id gotten the tickets a while ago because i knew it was a game he wanted to see.

"Yo, lets go man," i yelled at him from the door of my apartment. He was fixing his hair in the mirror in the bathroom. For a dude who was supposed to be all tough and shit he cared a lot about his appearance, especially his waves. He finally came out and i opened the door to leave.

We had to wait to get into the arena because the line was crazy.

"I told you we should have left earlier," i said.

"Chill, we'll get in soon," he said squeezing my hand which was in his.

"Man whatever," i mumbled, looking around at all the people. That's when i saw the people beside us, an older couple. They were looking at us like we had horns growing from our head or something. I scoffed and Trey turned to look at what i was staring at. This wasn't my first run in with openly homophobic people, hell i'd had things thrown at me by strangers before. But i doubted Trey had experienced this before and i wasn't sure what he would do or feel. I would have understood if he dropped my hand or back away, but he pulled me closer to him and said,

"Can we help you?" to the man and lady. They looked shocked and both of them went as red as tomatoes before turning away. I smirked and looked at Trey. It was a confidence booster seeing him stick up for us like that, that he didn't deny me when it would have been easier.

"What?" he asked when i continued to look a him.

"Nothing," i said, but the truth was in that moment i realised i was dead ass in love with Trey, like i could really see myself spending the rest of my life with the nigga, and that terrified me. I let go of his hand and put my hands in my pockets. He looked a bit confused but didn't say anything.

The game was good and all and we had a fun watching but the day just went left after that incident. I knew it was me, i was acting off and he noticed. We barely talked on the way back to my apartment. When we got there he just packed his things because he was leaving that night.

"Well, i guess imma head out then, i gotta get home," he said, closing the duffle bag that was on the bed.

"I'll walk you to your car," i said, getting up from the bed.

At his car we paused and awkwardly kissed, then he got inside and that was that. I knew i shouldn't have left it like that but i was feeling overwhelmed, id never felt like this before, honestly never thought i would. The scariest part was i didn't know if Ty loved me back. I decided to go for a run instead of staying in my place so i could clear my head.

I had just gotten back in to town when my phone rang. I picked it up because it was likely work.

"Yo," i said.

"ey, its me," Cayden said.

"Was good my nigga? How that deal going?" I pulled up at the light and put my phone on speaker.

"Niggas aint have my money yet, im giving them one more day, after that i'm bout to bounce," he was moving stuff around in the back.

"Why you even give them another day?" I chuckled. "You getting soft my nigga,"

"Man, it aint even like that. I know dude."

"Aight, bet. What you need?" I asked, wondering why he was calling me.

"Go see Randi for me," he said. I should have guessed.

"Aight, but you know theres already niggas there watching your place right?"

"It aint that, i need someone to check if she need anything. That reminds me, pull up with food. Ice cream, saltine crackers, that's what she be craving," he said. Damn, i thought, this pregnancy thing sounded like a trip. Cayden was happy as hell though, and i was happy for him. I was pretty excited to be an uncle too.

"Man she be having you be her servant and shit huh?"

"You have no idea," he mumbled.

"Lucky i like your wife, i'll go."

"Good looking out," he said. "And yo, don't be having no smart mouth, she be all emotional and stuff cause of the baby."

"Ill be good," i promised with a smirk.

"Cool. I gotta go, catch you later."

"Bet," i said, then hung up. Well there went my plans to go home and crash.

It was around 9pm when i got all the stuff and pulled up to the house. I rang the doorbell and waited for a minute. She opened the door after a minute.

"Ty?" she said, surprised.

"Hey nugget," i smiled, walking in past her. She closed the door and followed as i walked to the kitchen. "Are you home alone? What happened to your friends?"

"I sent them home," she said with a shrug. "I was getting annoyed of having people fussing over me."

"Thats fair," i said, putting the bag from the store down. "Well your nigga sent me, made me get you shit too."

She opened the bag and pulled out the ice cream, crackers and some other stuff id gotten. She smiled which then quickly faded.

"What?" i said.

"Nothing," she said, all teary eyed and lip quivering. Well fuck. I stood there confused and not sure what to do. Maybe eating will help, i thought. So i went to the drawer and got a spoon. I handed it to her hesitantly. She opened the ice cream and started to eat it. She continued to cry while eating it. Wow Cayden had been right, but i aint even say nothing.

"I saw Cole today," I blurted. That was one thing i knew made her happy. That was her nigga. "He asked about you."

"How is he?" She asked around some ice cream.

"He's good," i nodded, "we went to a basketball game."

"Thats cute."

"It was until he started acting weird," i mumbled. She wiped her tears and sat down on the stool.

"What happened?" she asked. I barely even knew.

"Well i told some people off in line that were looking at us, then he got all quiet. But i don't know why he'd be mad that i stuck up for us," i shrugged.

"Did you ask him?" she said, passing me a spoon. I dug my spoon in and started eating too.

"Nah. I was lowkey mad that he was being pissy after i drove all the way there to see the nigga. He be confusing me. Dating girls was easier," i sucked my teeth. Randi laughed. I grinned, it was way better to see her laughing than crying.

"If its hard that means its the real thing. Just let him know you love him and move on," she suggested. My brows came together.

"We don't really be doing all that," i said simply.

"You clearly love him Ty. Why can't you say that?" She asked. I shrugged.

"Men," she rolled her eyes.

We ate more food for a while until it got really late.

"You should go to bed, doesn't the baby need sleep or something?" i asked seriously. She died laughing.

"I am tired though, ill probably go up," she looked at her phone for the time. "You can stay if you want."

"Thanks but i gotta head home, i gotta go do something later tonight," i said, getting up and stretching. She walked me over towards the door. "Hit me up if you need anything."

"I will," she said, leaning up to kiss me on the cheek. "Be careful tonight," she said, giving me a mom look. I nodded and stepped out. I got int my car and finally went to my house.

Randi

The next morning i woke up early to go to the florist. I wanted a nice bouquet because i was going to see Dr. Williams for a little bit in the hospital. My mom was coming along because they were friends, i was glad to have the company.

"Those are really nice," i said to a bouquet she was holding.

"I think so to. Lets get a toy or something for the baby," she suggested. I walked over the where there were cards and stuffed animals. There was a really cute giraffe staring at me, and i picked it up. It had these huge eyes and was so soft.

"You used to have a giraffe, one of your first toys, that thing was so dirty but you loved it," My mom said from behind me. I smiled. I could imagine me as a baby playing with this little guy.

"I like this one," i said.

"Ok, we can do the flowers and that," she said. I shook my head.

"Its not for her," I said. "Im getting it for myself."

"Ok," she said confused, but picked up another toy. "ill go pay."

I smiled and went to go pay for the giraffe. This was the first thing id ever buy for my baby, i hoped he or she would like it.

"Thank you for coming by Randi," Dr. Williams smiled big. She was holding a little pink bundle in her arms.

"Of course. Im so happy for you. She's beautiful," i said.

"You'll be holding your own soon. Want to practice?" She asked, moving the bundle towards me. I was nervous for some reason. Not like i hadn't held babies before, but id never held one while i was several months pregnant myself. I hesitated but she practically shoved the baby into my arms. I held the baby in my arms and looked down at her, heart racing. To my surprise she was alert, eyes fixed on me. God, those eyes. Id never seen such pure love, and innocence, trusting anyone and everyone. For a second i saw a little version of my own eyes looking up at me and my breath caught in my chest. But i blinked and it was gone.

When i got back home i went up to my room to lay down. Cayden face timed me shortly after and he asked me what id done all day. I told him id gone shopping and saw Dr. Williams.

"I got something today, for the baby," i said, blushing. He smirked.

"Lets see it," he said. I lifted up the giraffe to the screen.

"His name is George," i said. He chuckled and i giggled.

"I love it," he said. I paused for a moment.

"She let me hold her baby today," i said, looking down at the toy. "She was beautiful Cayden."

"I bet she was," he said.

"Yeah, but for a second...i didnt see her...I saw our baby," i whispered. I was surprised he even heard me. He cheesed and i laughed a little. I probably sounded insane.

"What did he or she look like?" he asked.

"It was a boy," i said, pausing to think back to the moment "really small, but fat cheeks, curly hair like yours," i smiled, getting a little emotional. It was joy though, not sadness. "your mouth, but the eyes, where like looking at myself."

"Damn, he sound like a good looking nigga," Cay said. I nodded.

"He was," i murmured, running a hand over my belly. "I cant wait to meet him."

"I know, me too," he said.

We talked a little bit more then said i love you and goodbye. I wished he was here to hug me right now, but he wasn't, so i got into bed with the little giraffe and put it on his side of the bed.

"There," i smirked. I turned the light off and went to sleep.

#chris brown #New Chapter #fanfiction #fandom #fan fiction #fanfic #fanfic update #writing #writers #Jhene Aiko #jhene chilombo #jhene efuru #jhene aiko fanfic #jhene aiko ff #tyga #j cole #j cole fanfic #lgbtq fiction #lgbtq

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