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thetravelerwrites · 4 years

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Ebert and Rings: A Meeting by Chance (Lemon)

Rating: Explicit Relationships: Male Human/Male Tiefling Additional Tags: Exophilia, Tabaxi, Tiefling Content Warnings: Sex, Gay Sex, Anal Sex, Oral Sex Words: 4802

While Ebert and Rings are on a job to find incriminating evidence against their employer's rival, the cross paths with a man Ebert once attended school with. Jilted and angry, Ebert confronts him. Please reblog and leave feedback!

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“I hate this thing!” Rings hissed as Ebert took her hand and helped her down from the carriage. She was fussing with the bodice of the ball gown she was wearing. It was bright gold with blue embellishments to accentuate the colors of her fur, complete with matching jewelry. “Why can’t I wear something slutty?”

“Because this isn’t the time nor the place,” Ebert said, wearing a finely-tailored suit of moss green that complemented his hair and skin tone, with suitable finery and a beautiful cane for his limp. Ebert’s clothes and Rings’ dress were the down payment for their current job, which was infiltrating the manor of a local noble to find evidence that he was accepting illegal goods from their employer’s competing company. The party was an excellent opportunity to snoop around.

“This is the perfect time and place!” She argued as the two of them approached the entrance to the grand hall. “Who’s going to notice you poking around in this crotchity old fart’s study when these are on full display?” She cupped her bosoms and jiggled them.

“Stop it!” Ebert hissed. “We’re supposed to be blending in!”

“Well, forgive me if I’m not exactly the belle of the ball,” She sniffed. “I grew up poor and begging, so I’m not used to kissing the asses of the nobility.”

“Then just smile and keep your mouth shut!” Ebert said as he feigned a delighted smile while entering the main ballroom.

“Chauvinist,” Rings muttered, and Ebert growled through his teeth.

The ballroom was less grand and more gaudy; it was over-decorated with massive, gauzy ribbon streamers and silk flowers spilling out over every surface. The walls were covered in poorly-painted frescoes of busty women. Ebert didn’t know a person could be so rich and still have such awful taste.

“See?” Rings said, pointing at the walls. “Slutty would have been fine.”

“Rings, please,” Ebert said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

As he was looking around, taking in the… unique decor, a face at the head of the room caught his eye, and he went pale.

“Your face looks like you’re constipated, what’s wrong with you?” Rings asked.

“It’s him,” Ebert said in an intense undertone. “The little shit that dared me to go into the forbidden library! The one who said he’d repay me in sex!”

“Ooh, where?” Rings said, perking up. “I want to see the legend up close.”

“Near the ice swan. The one with the blackish hair and horns like a prong buck.”

Rings gawked, seeing a tall, slim figure in fine, dark blue sorcerer’s robes with silver embellishments far more tasteful than his surroundings. His eyes were like coins, bright copper with no pupils. His skin was a red-brown russet color, his complexion smooth and flawless. His double-pointed horns and split hooves were brown-black, as was his long, straight hair. He was still young-looking and beautiful in the face, much to Ebert’s dismay; he couldn’t deny that his old nemesis was still devastatingly attractive, dammit.

Well, Ebert wasn’t a schoolboy anymore, and he wanted to give this little shit a piece of his mind.

“What are you doing?” Rings asked insistently. “This isn’t what we came for!”

“We can take a minute for this,” Ebert said with determination. “This… boy is going to hear what I have to say.”

“Isn’t he older than you?” Rings snickered.

“Shut up, Rings,” Ebert retorted, dragging her behind him.

They walked swiftly up to the dais where the tiefling sorcerer was looking out over the crowd, his face cold and haughty, holding a glass of pale wine.

“Tilvanis,” Ebert said, Stopping in front of him and standing to attention like he was taught in school. “It’s… interesting to see you again.

Tilvanis looked him up and down, taking in his pale countenance and the cane he leaned on. “Am I supposed to know who you are?”

“I went to school with a lot of people, that tells me nothing,” Tilvanis said dismissively.

“Ebert,” He snarled. “My name is Ebert. I was expelled, remember? Well, I was arrested, more accurately, because of you.”

“Ahhh,” Tilvanis said. “The dead boy. Why exactly did you reanimate that poor girl again? Angry that I wouldn’t sleep with you, so you decided to make yourself a girlfriend?”

“You--!” Ebert felt himself about to implode, but Rings’ hand, specifically her claws, dug into his wrists. “You’re nothing but a pompous twat!” Ebert spat, though he still kept his voice down. The last thing he needed was to draw attention to himself and jeopardize the job over this smug rube. “You always were! I don’t know what it was I ever saw in you!”

“What’s not to see?” Tilvanis smirked. “I’m well-bred, rich, and handsome. You think you’re the only person I’ve toyed with? Please. I slept my way through most of the nobility in this region. My employer is an old lover, in fact. How else do you think I achieved my position so young? I was just as passionate about advancing my station as I was about learning magic. And look where it’s gotten me.”

“A servant to a man with the worst taste on the continent?” Rings asked.

Tilvanis narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps you should have followed my example,” He said, clearly still talking to Ebert but glaring at Rings. “You wouldn’t be cavorting around with…” His lip curled. “Lesser castes.”

Rings began to growl, the feral one from the back of her throat.

“What’s all this, what’s all this?” The noble of the manor asked, coming up on Tilvanis’s elbow. “Friends of yours, Tilvanis?”

“I wouldn’t call them that, no, my Lord,” Tilvanis said. “This is an old classmate of mine, and his…” He raised an eyebrow at Rings. “…guest.”

Rings sneered at him.

“Ah! So you’re both sorcerer’s then?” The noble asked.

“No, my Lord,” Tilvanis stated. “I’m afraid my…” Tilvanis certainly liked his meaningful pauses, didn’t he? “…friend here was expelled for gross incompetence.”

“That’s not…” Ebert began, but he stopped himself. Admitting what he was expelled for was a crime in and of itself, and Tilvanis knew it. His smirk said so. “…not accurate.” He finished. “I am, in fact, still a sorcerer. I left to pursue alternative scholarly opportunities. My education has been more hands-on and proactive than traditional academic avenues would have allowed.”

“Interesting,” The nobleman mused. “I wonder how traditional schooling would fare against self-discipline. Perhaps a demonstration would be in order.”

“Oh, my Lord, I don’t think--” Ebert began, but Tilvanis interrupted him.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, my Lord,” Tilvanis said with a smug smirk.

“Excellent,” The nobleman said. He waved the band to silence and clapped his hands to draw the attention of the room. “Welcomed Guests!” He said, his voice echoing around the hall. “My personal sorcerer and his associate has agreed to a duel for our entertainment! Please clear the floor!”

People immediately began dividing into two sides, parting the sea of bodies until a large space was cleared.

Ebert took Rings by the arm and pulled her close, whispering in her ear.

“Use this distraction,” He said. “Find what we came for so we can get out of here.”

“Don’t get too turned on,” She said. “I know fighting gets you hot.” She then escaped into the crowd before he could respond. He could only glare after her.

Ebert and Tilvanis faced each other and bowed before stepping out onto the floor, as was tradition.

“This is reckless,” Ebert whispered as they bowed.

“If you’re as educated as you claim, you should be fine,” Tilvanis said as he rose.

“What about these people?” Ebert said as they both turned and stepped down from the dias and walked to the center of the room. “Don’t you care at all about them getting hurt?”

“Why would I?” He replied. “Do you? The Ebert I knew didn’t care about anyone, especially strangers.”

“Apparently, you didn’t know me all that well, it seems,” Ebert said.

“True,” Tilvanis said. “Nor did I care to.”

The two of them reached the center of the room, faced each other, bowed again, and walked five steps away from each other. During the few seconds he had, Ebert tried to remember Tilvanis’s dueling style. He tended toward flash rather than substance, erring to startle and scare rather than harm, though he wasn’t above a cheap shot if he thought he was genuinely threatened. His strong suit was making an impression.

Ebert had become more aggressive in his spell casting since travelling with Rings. Typically, when he casts a spell, someone was trying to kill him, so he usually cast with the same intent. He had to be mindful to play defensive out of fear of actually hurting someone.

As he turned, he instinctively cast Ward Wall from his cane, closely avoiding a fireball to the head. The line of ghostly, pearlescent people that made up the wall shielding Ebert drew a gasp from the crowd, and Ebert silently cursed himself. Being an outlaw on the run and working dangerous and sometimes illegal jobs, he was far less concerned about the type of magic he used, but in places like this, full of nobility and delegates, he had to be far more careful.

Tilvanis was smirking at the other end of the dueling space as he dispelled the ward wall easily and sent an ice spike toward Ebert’s head. “What’s the matter, my old friend?” He asked. “Did you forget basic etiquette? Where’s your fight? Where’s your spark? Where’s your love for the game?”

Ebert didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, punched out as fist, turning the spike to snow, and sent an acid serpent streaking through the air, which broke into three when Tilvanis tried to dispel it, causing one of them to catch him in the side. Tilvanis hissed and blasted an orb of radiant light around himself, dissolving the serpents.

Now he was angry, and Ebert could tell. Ebert remembered school with Tilvanis; any slight failure was enough to send him into a fit. Ebert used this to his advantage. He sent a wave of invisible heat blasting into Tilvanis’s eyes, blinding him, and then shot a blast of cold air right into his chest, knocking him backward.

As Tilvanis scrambled to get back to his feet, Ebert rushed him, catching him in a light lasso that completely immobilized him and pinned him to the ground.

“This isn’t a game for me, Tilvanis,” Ebert whispered to him, pulling him close by the scruff of his robe. “I don’t play to win. I play to survive. That makes me much more dangerous.”

A look of anger, fear, and another emotion that was harder to recognize chased themselves across Tilvanis’s face.

“I concede,” He said loudly. The crowd groaned disappointedly but clapped appreciatively for Ebert. Looking around, the nobleman who had insisted on the duel did not look happy.

As the nobleman made his way over to the two of them, Ebert held up a hand.

“Forgive me, my Lord,” Ebert said. “I fear I may have injured your personal sorcerer. I shall attend to him.”

The nobleman looked annoyed, but nodded shortly, turning on his heel and walking off in a huff.

“Let me go!” Tilvanis hissed.

“You’ll thank me for this later,” Ebert said, leading him by the lasso out of the room. “Is there a free room near here?”

“Take me to my room,” Tilvanis sighed in defeat. “Down this hall and to the right. Though, thanks to you, it may not be mine for much longer.”

“Wow, it really doesn’t take much to knock you off your high horse, now does it?” Ebert said as he walked.

“Are you going to gloat all night?” Tilvanis asked.

“I might,” Ebert said, opening the door to an opulent bedroom full of purple silk and dark wood furniture. “Considering what you said to me before I left school, and the cold reception I got from you this evening, I think I’ve earned a little bit of gloating.”

“I don’t even remember what I said to you back then,” Tilvanis admitted, sitting carefully on the edge of his bed, holding his side and wincing.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Ebert said, kneeling next to the bed.

“What are you doing?” Tilvanis said as Ebert began to prod his wound.

“Sit still, I’m a physician,” Ebert replied vaguely.

“Since when?”

“It’s been ten years, Tilvanis. Some of us haven’t been resting on our laurels or fucking our way to the top. Now hold still,” Ebert said through his teeth, jerking Tilvanis into a straight-sitting position. Tilvanis grunted but didn’t fight. “It’s mostly a flesh wound, but it needs treatment. Take off your robes.”

“What?” Tilvanis screeched.

“Oh, don’t be a pearl-clutching princess, just take off the robes,” Ebert returned.

“I don’t want to.”

Ebert grabbed him by the collar and shook him slightly. “Take. Off. The. Robes.”

Tilvanis gulped and acquiesced. As he did so, Ebert saw a black collar circling his neck with a large gold ring on the front. He was otherwise unclothed. Ebert said nothing and tried not to stare. He was still as… lithe well-built as he had been in school.

“Lie on your side,” You instructed him. “I’m going to draw the acid out, otherwise it won’t heal properly.”

“If you say so,” Tilvanis said offhandedly, though he was watching with a concerned expression.

Ebert swirled his finger over the wound as if stirring a drink, then pinched his fingers and pulled up, and a small stream of shifting green sifted up and out of the wound. With a casual flick of his hand, Ebert swatted it into the night-side table, melting a streak in the wood.

“Hey!” Tilvanis protested.

“Oh, don’t fuss,” Ebert tutted. “You live in a palace of impermanence. It’s just a piece of furniture.”

“It’s a piece of furniture that cost an exorbitant amount of gold!” Tilvanis retorted.

“Pfft,” Ebert replied. “Unless it’s actual gold, I don’t care for it. Now stop talking, I’m almost done.”

As combative and abrasive as Tilvanis was, he certainly seemed to enjoy following orders, for he shut his mouth immediately when Ebert told him to. Ebert sat on the bed next to the wizard and ran a finger over the wound, using his magic to weave the skin back together.

“I’ll be bruised,” He said. “But it shouldn’t reopen. Just try not to be an ass to another person better at magic than you while also less concerned with their personal safety.”

Tilvanis grunted in annoyance, but didn’t respond.

“Lay on your stomach,” Ebert said. “I’m going to put a salve on your back. You took a hard fall and it’ll bruise badly otherwise.”

“You’re pushing your luck,” Tilvanis said, rolling over.

“Who’s luck? I’m treating you. It seems like you’re getting the better end of the deal. I should have just left you on the floor to your master’s mercy.”

“Don’t call him that!” Tilvanis snapped. “He’s my employer, not my master.”

“What’s the difference?”

“To me? There’s a big difference,” Tilvanis replied. “I have no loyalty to him. He’s a pimple of a man who will likely drop me from his employ after my failure tonight. A master is someone you pledge your life to, someone who wouldn’t throw you out for the slightest disappointments.”

“Yes, well, that’s something I know all about,” Ebert said.

There was a stony silence after this while Ebert massaged the salve into the muscles of Tilvanis’s back.

“I lied, you know,” Tilvanis piped up after some time. “When I said I didn’t remember what I’d said to you at school. I do remember. I won’t apologize for it, but… I will admit that I was perhaps too harsh. I was… angry.”

“Hmm,” Ebert said. “I won’t say I forgive you, but I will say that I don’t blame you. For what happened afterward, I mean. I got myself expelled and on the wrong side of the law myself. I could have seen those books and simply left the library, never having done the experiment and saving myself ten years of grief. But…” He sighed. “I also wouldn’t have the life I have now, which is something I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. A life you likely wouldn’t see any value in.”

“Sounds like you owe me, then,” Tilvanis said.

“Hah,” Ebert laughed sourly. “I said I don’t blame you, but I’m not going to thank you, either. You were a stuck up piece of shit then, and you’re still one now. Though, I suppose you got your personality honestly. I can’t imagine what you family must be like, if this is how you turned out.”

“You’re an asshole,” Tilvanis said with his eyes closed.

“So the pot calls the kettle,” Ebert retorted. “I’m done. You can redress, if you like.”

“Hmm,” Tilvanis said, sitting up. Ebert couldn’t help but notice that his cock was slightly erect, but he attempted not to react. Tilvanis seemed to realize, despite Ebert’s efforts. “You were very attracted to me back then, weren’t you?” He asked.

“What does that matter now?” Ebert asked, packing up his salve.

“You could still have me, if you wanted,” Tilvanis said, leaning back and widening his legs.

Ebert sighed irritatedly. “And what’s in it for you? You don’t do anything for free.”

“You’re right,” Tilvanis said, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees. “I may have lost to you this evening, but I’m not an imbecile. I know why you’re here: you’re attempting to ruin my employer’s business. He’s been dodging accusations of illegal dealings for years. It’s one of the reasons he hired a personal sorcerer in the first place.”

“What are you getting at?”

“I’m saying I won’t stop you. I just don’t want to go down with him.”

“You might be fired tonight, anyway,” Ebert pointed out. “That would put you out of the crossfire as it is.”

Tilvanis looked at him with a flat expression. “I don’t want to go down with him and I still want to maintain my reputation as a sorcerer. I’ll need a new position after all of this is over.”

“Even still, I’m not interested,” Ebert said. “You’ve given me no reason to change my mind.”

“Are you sure?” Tilvanis said sultrily, sliding his hands up Ebert’s legs over the fabric of his very expensive suit. “I could give you pleasure you’ve never experienced.”

Ebert snorted. “You haven’t met Reverence,” He said, stepping out of Tilvanis’s reach.

“Command me,” Tilvanis said, slipping onto his knees at Ebert’s feet. “Tell me what you want. Just for tonight, be my master, and I’ll give you everything you need to ruin my employer.”

“I don’t need your assistance,” Ebert said. “Rings is, at this moment, collecting whatever evidence we need to ruin your employer. She’s likely got it and gone already.”

Tilvanis shook his head. “There are protections--”

Ebert stopped him with a raised hand. “That’s one of the first bits of magic I taught her, undoing protections over property. She’s more than capable of doing this part of the job herself, which is why she’s off on her own. She seems to think I’ll enjoy my time with you, though nothing so far has proven her right. I don’t need you.”

“What can I do to make you need me?” Tilvanis mewed, sitting like a good puppy waiting for treats.

Ebert contemplated the man at his feet with some dubiousness. He certainly wouldn’t have expected this from Tilvanis, not with his need to be on top of things and in control of every situation. He found it intriguing. On a hunch, he opened the drawer in the night table. Sure enough, there was a long, thick, golden chain with a clasp on one end and a handle on the other.

Ebert took the chain, attached the clasp to the ring on Tilvanis’s neck, and tugged it sharply upward. Tilvanis moaned slightly, his length bobbing in his lap, and he stood up. Ebert looked him up and down, examining Tilvanis’s body carefully, drinking in the slight form and impeccable skin. He flicked his fingers, and the door to the room locked. No key on earth would open it until another magic user dispelled the magic holding it closed.

“Undress me,” Ebert said.

“Yes, sir,” Tilvanis said. Ebert kept a tight hold on the lease as Tilvanis went around and slowly stripped him of his coat, waistcoat, shirt, undershirt, pants, and finally undergarments. Tilvanis seemed to take note of Ebert’s scars, but said nothing about them.

Tilvanis zeroed in on Ebert’s nipples, licking and sucking with his mouth and played with the other with his fingers. Ebert enjoyed it for a few moments before winding his fingers into Tilvanis’s hair and snatching him back.

“Did I tell you to do that?” He asked.

“Forgive me,” Tilvanis said. “What can I do to please you?”

“Mmm,” Ebert hummed. He moved onto the bed, pulling Tilvaris by the chain onto the bed after him, and lay on his back, propping his cane against the headboard. “There now,” He said. “This is more appropriate. Now you can continue.”

Tilvaris began kissing Ebert on the neck and collarbone, biting at his earlobes and jaw. As he moved in to kiss Ebert on the mouth, Ebert stopped him by putting a hand around his throat and putting enough pressure to hold him at bay.

“No, no,” He said, slowly releasing his grip. “You have to earn that. Make me feel good first.”

“Yes, sir,” Tilvanis said. His tongue, which was strangely dark in color and forked, slithered out from between his lips, and he licked Ebert slowly down his body, groping and caressing as he went. Ebert watched him, getting hard as he moved further down, his tip brushing the skin of Tilvanis’s abdomen as he inched downward.

Tilvanis kissed Ebert’s inner thighs and bit them, hard enough to leave faint fang marks, but not enough to hurt. He sucked the skin into his mouth, flicking his bifurcated tongue over it, before letting it out again with a pop, leaving a red-purple mark. He did this a dozen times before sitting up on his knees and looking at Ebert expectantly.

“Suck it,” Ebert commanded, yanking the lease forward.

Tilvanis jolted and smiled, his sharp teeth glittering behind his lips. “Gladly.” He bend down, running his tongue up and down Ebert’s tip, laving the head around and around, before slowly pulling Ebert’s cock into his mouth. Ebert groaned and lay his head back on the pillow, grabbing one of Tilvanis’s horns and moving his head up and down. Tilvanis’s hand reached down to fondle and gently squeeze his balls, pausing momentarily to lick up the line from bottom to top.

Ebert had to admit, he was certainly good at this. No wonder he’d gotten so far. It clearly wasn’t his magical talent. No matter, a person can be talented elsewhere.

“Do you have something?” Ebert asked.

Tilvanis knew what he meant. “In the drawer where the lease was.”

Ebert opened it and reached in, pulling out a vial of oil. He handed it to Tilvanis.

“You know what to do,” Ebert said.

“Say it,” Tilvanis said, dangling the vial.

“Put that on and fuck me,” Ebert replied.

“Yes, master.” Tilvanis uncorked the vial, which smelled floral, and dabbed some on his fingers. He began gently massaging it into Ebert’s pucker, moving his fingers in and out, around and around, while stroking him slowly at the same time.

“That’s enough,” Ebert said. “Fuck me like I told you to.”

Tilvanis poured a generous amount of the nice smelling oil onto his hand and spread it over his dick thoroughly, then lined himself up and pushed himself inside Ebert.

“Harder,” Ebert said. “I’m not going to split in half.”

Tilvanis grinned again and slammed himself into Ebert, the skin slapping sinfully. He stopped, then slammed again, making Ebert grunt.

“Be specific, master,” Tilvanis teased. “How am I to know what you want if you don’t tell me explicitly?”

“Don’t make me sick Rings on you! She’ll show you how it’s done!” Ebert said, grabbing Tilvanis’s waist and moving him. “Fuck me until I can’t walk!”

Tilvanis went on at full speed, smacking against Ebert’s body hard, anchoring his hands on Ebert’s hips and driving into him like a hammer into a nail. The grunting and groaning echoed throughout the chamber, and Ebert wondered if it was magically soundproofed. He hoped so.

He could feel himself getting closer to his peak. Just as he felt the wave crashing into him, he pulled Tilvanis down and kissed him on the mouth, moaning his climax against his lips.He spurted warmth over both of their stomachs and Tilvanis moved even faster, building to his own peak soon after, filling Ebert up, until he finally collapsed on top of Ebert.

The two of them lay there until Ebert finally wheezed, “I assume there is a washing chamber connected to this room?”

“Of course there is, I’m not an animal,” Tilvanis said. He lifted his head and looked off to the left. “It’s through that door.”

“Help me get clean, then,” Ebert said.

“Is that a command?” Tilvanis asked.

“What do you think?” Ebert retorted.

Tilvanis snorted and lifted Ebert up with ease. Water was already filling the large, in-floor tub of marble. Tilvanis laid him into the warm water, then jumped in after him, splashing him.

“Twat,” Ebert said, wiping water from his eyes. After a moment, he raised his arm and drew some sigils in the air, summoning two invisible servants. “Wash us,” He commanded, and the servants splashed into the tub, taking up sponges and began to clean the two of them.

“Now this is a nice idea,” Tilvanis said, laying back and allowing the invisible servant to scrub his body.

“Not a corpse-fucking idiot, am I?” Ebert said sourly.

Tilvanis inhaled a big breath and sighed. “I do regret saying that. And I regret what happened afterward. Perhaps if I had taken more of an interest, asked you what was happening, I could have dissuaded you from the mistake you made.”

“It was a mistake at the time,” Ebert said. “Though I cannot say I see it as such now. It’s why my life is the way it is. I have a home, a life, love, and even children.”

“You have children?” Tilvanis laughed. “My goodness, you certainly have changed.”

“Change isn’t a bad thing, you know,” Ebert said. “You might benefit from budging a little.”

Tilvanis snorted. There was a knock at the door.

“That’ll be Rings,” Ebert said.

“How do you know?” Tilvanis asked.

“The pattern of the knock,” Ebert replied. “Come in, Rings!”

“You locked the door magically,” Tilvanis said.

“I told you,” Ebert replied as she waltzed in, carrying several documents. “Unlocking magically locked doors was one of the first things I taught her.”

“Having fun, I trust?” She said. “Oooh, bathtime. Definitely fun.”

“Want to join us?” Ebert asked. “You should give Rings a try, Tilvanis. You’ve never met a woman as dominant as she is. If you want a master, you’re looking for her.”

Rings began to strip down. “Reverence is the master, I just like playing the role sometimes.”

“You’ve mentioned this person before,” Tilvanis said as he took Rings’ hand and helped her down into the bath. Ebert summoned a third invisible servant, and Rings purred happily, laying against Tilvanis. “Who is this Reverence?”

“She’s one of my partners and the leader of the Temple of Fysy,” Rings said as she wiggled in Tilvanis’s lap. “You should visit one day. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”

“A temple?” Tilvanis said dubiously. “I’m not religious.”

“Neither are we,” Ebert said. “But Reverence will do things that make you believe in a god, even if it’s her.”

Tilvanis snickered. “Perhaps a visit is in order.”

In the following weeks, Tilvanis’s employer quietly stepped down as head of his company, and Tilvanis stepped in to take over. Rings and Ebert were invited to the party to swear him in, and he tried not to look too smug about it.

Tilvanis did, indeed, make a pilgrimage to the temple and enjoyed all the gifts contained within its walls. He met Reverence, and was just as smitten with her as everyone was. He began making monthly visits to worship and leave donations. Within a year, the temple and it’s village was more prosperous than it had ever been.

Ebert and Tilvanis became friends, and sometimes lovers, and funded many jobs for Rings and Ebert. Though their reunion was tense, their lives were re-entwined, and Ebert finally felt truly fulfilled.

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HBO Max New Releases: December 2020

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Time and time again during this year’s pandemic, movie studios have had to make the best of a bad situation. HBO Max’s list of new releases for December 2020 comes along with the most extreme example yet.

WarnerMedia undoubtedly had big plans for Wonder Woman 1984 when it scheduled it for a holiday release last year. After moving it to the summer, however, the conglomerate had to delay its theatrical release time and time again. Now HBO Max is the lucky winner of the saga, as it gets to premiere the long-awaited sequel on its servers on Dec. 25.

While Wonder Woman 1984 is definitely the headline this month, there are some other intriguing streaming options for HBO Max in December. The month plays host to a whole host of high-powered documentaries like Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults (Dec. 3), Alabama Snake (Dec. 9), and the Tiger Woods documentary Tiger (Dec. 15).

There isn’t much going on on the TV side of things. His Dark Materials is set to run its season 2 finale on Dec. 28. But at that point, everyone will likely be on their fourth Wonder Woman rewatch.

Here is the full list of everything coming to and leaving HBO Max in December 2020.

HBO Max New Releases – December 2020

December 1

3 Godfathers, 1949

40 Days And 40 Nights, 2002 (HBO)

Absolute Power, 1997

Adam Ruins Everything, Seasons 2-3

The Adventures of Pinocchio, 1996

Amanpour: Sex & Love Around the World, 2018

Amistad, 1997 (HBO)

Annabelle: Creation, 2017 (HBO)

The Bay, 2012 (HBO)

The Beguiled, 2017 (HBO)

Beyond Reasonable Doubt, 2017

The Bishop’s Wife, 1947

The Blind Side, (HBO)

Blow-Up, 1966

The Book Of Henry, 2017 (HBO)

Bright Young Things, 2004 (HBO)

Bundle of Joy, 1956

The Carbonaro Effect, Seasons 2-5

Chasing Life with Sanjay Gupta, 2019

Cinderella Story: If The Shoe Fits, A, 2016

Code 46, 2004 (HBO)

Comedy Knockout, 2016

Contraband, 2012 (HBO)

Crimes of the Century, 2013

The Crow, 1994 (HBO)

The Crow: City Of Angels, 1996 (HBO)

The Crow: Wicked Prayer, 2005 (HBO)

Dead Wives Club, Season 1

Death Row Stories, Seasons 1-4

De Blanco La Patuda (aka White Is For Virgins), 2020 (HBO)

Deep Blue Sea, 1999

Demolition Man, 1993

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, 2012 (HBO)

Fallen, 1998

Falling Skies, 2011

The Family Man, 2000 (HBO)

Father of the Bride, 1950

Fifty Shades Of Black, 2016 (HBO)

Final Destination, 2000

Final Destination 2, 2003

Final Destination 3, 2006

The Final Destination, 2009

Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact, Forgery, 2015

Freelancers, 2012 (HBO)

Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, 1995

Free Willy 3: The Rescue, 1997

Free Willy: Escape from Pirate’s Cove, 2010

The Girl With All The Gifts, 2016 (HBO)

Gladiator, 2000

Gun Crazy, 1950

Harry And The Hendersons, 1987 (HBO)

Hell in the Heartland, 2019

Hero, 2004 (HBO)

The History of Comedy, 2017

Holiday Affair, 1949

Hot Fuzz, 2007 (HBO)

How It Really Happened, Seasons 1-4

The Human Stain, 2003 (HBO)

The Hunt with John Walsh, 2014

Inside Evil with Chris Cuomo, 2018

It Happened on Fifth Avenue, 1947

Joe Versus the Volcano, 1990

Juice, 1992

Just My Luck, 2006 (HBO)

Kung Fu Panda 2, 2011

Laff Mobb’s Laff Tracks, 2018

The Last Samurai, 2003

La Unidad, 2020

Logan’s Run, 1976

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001

The Man Who Came to Dinner, 1942

Mars Attacks!, 1996

Meet Me in St. Louis, 1944

Michael Clayton, 2007

Misery, 1990 (HBO)

The Misery Index, 2013

My Dream is Yours, 1949

Nancy Drew, 2007

No Blade of Grass, 1970

Omega Man, The, 1971

On Moonlight Bay, 1951

Outbreak, 1995

Paid Off with Michael Torpey, 2018

Phantom Thread, 2017 (HBO)

Period of Adjustment, 1962

Pope: The Most Powerful Man In History, 2018

Project X, 2012 (Extended Version) (HBO)

Rachel Dratch’s Late Night Snack, 2016

The Redemption Project, 2019

Risky Business, 1983

Robots, 2005 (HBO)

Rock Of Ages, 2012 (Extended Version) (HBO)

Romance on the High Seas, 1948

Room for One More, 1952

Sanctum, 2011 (HBO)

The Sentinel, 2006 (HBO)

Sex and the City, 2008

Sex and the City 2, 2010

Shaun Of The Dead, 2004 (HBO)

The Shawshank Redemption, 1994

Shop Around the Corner, The, 1940

Snakes on a Plane, 2006

Snow White And The Huntsman, 2012 (Unrated Version) (HBO)

Something’s Killing Me, 2017

Southland, Seasons 1-5

Soylent Green, 1973

SPAWN, 1997

Stargirl, Season 1

Striptease, 1996

Susan Slept Here, 1954

Talk Show the Game Show, 2017

Tea for Two, 1950

Those Who Can’t, 2016

Three Godfathers, 1936

THX 1138, 1971

Timeline, 2003 (HBO)

Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale, 2007

Tom And Jerry: Santa’s Little Helpers, 2014

True Grit, 2010 (HBO)

Unfaithful, 2002 (HBO)

Unmasking a Killer, 2018

Very Scary People, Season 1

The Wedding Date, 2005 (HBO)

Westworld, 1973

What Bitch? (HBO)

Wrath of the Titans, 2012 (HBO)

Wrecked, 2019

Yogi Bear, 2010

Young Man with a Horn, 1949

December 2

Baby God, Documentary Premiere (HBO)

December 3

Full Bloom, Season Finale

Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults, HBO Max Documentary Premiere

Looney Tunes Cartoons, Bugs Bunny’s 24 Carrot Holiday Special Premiere

My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood, HBO Max Special Premiere

Stylish with Jenna Lyons, HBO Max Original Series Premiere

December 4

Beyond the Spotlight, Season 1

Bright Now: Alien Worlds, 2020

Engineering the Future, 2020

La Leyenda Negra (HBO)

Jujutsu Kaisen (Crunchyroll Collection)

December 5

The Photograph, 2020 (HBO)

December 6

Euphoria, “Trouble Don’t Last Always,” Special Episode Premiere (HBO)

Murder on Middle Beach, Docuseries Finale (HBO)

December 7

Axios, Season Finale (HBO)

December 8

40 Years a Prisoner, Documentary Premiere (HBO)

La Jauria (The Pack), Season 1

One Night in Bangkok, 2020

December 9

Alabama Snake, Documentary Premiere (HBO)

The Trial of Christine Keeler

December 10

4 Blocks, Seasons 1-3

Esme & Roy, HBO Max Holiday Special Episode

Haute Dog, HBO Max Holiday Special Episode

Let Them All Talk, HBO Max Original Film Premiere

House of Ho, HBO Max Original Series Premiere

Summer Camp Island, Season 3 Premiere

Veneno, Season Finale

Valley of Tears, Season Finale

December 11

Adult Material

Midnight Family, 2020 (HBO)

One Way Or Another, Season Finale (HBO)

December 12

The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, Documentary Premiere (HBO)

December 13

Tiger, Docuseries Premiere (HBO)

December 15

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)

December 16

The Art of Political Murder, Documentary Premiere (HBO)

December 17

CNN Heroes, An All-Star Tribute

The Flight Attendant, HBO Max Limited Series Premiere

Homeschool Musical Class of 2020, HBO Max Special Premiere

Love Monster, Season 1-2

Sesame Street: Holiday at Hooper’s

December 18

Diego Torres Sinfonico, Season 1 (HBO)

Hasta Que La Boda Nos Separe (aka The Wedding Unplanner), 2020 (HBO)

December 19

Wendy, 2020 (HBO)

December 20

I Used to Go Here, 2020 (HBO)

December 21

Industry, Season Finale (HBO)

December 23

Squish, Season 1

December 25

The West Wing, Season 1-7

Wonder Woman 1984

December 26

Independence Day (Extended Version), 1996 (HBO)

Road Trip, Season 1

December 28

His Dark Materials, Season 2 Finale (HBO)

December 29

Los Dias De La Ballena (AKA The Days of the Whale) (HBO)

December 31

The Champ, 1979

Conan Without Borders

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Leaving HBO Max – December 2020

December 10

Lights Out, 2016 (HBO)

December 15

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, 2019 (HBO)

December 26

American Animals, 2018 (HBO)

December 27

Arizona, 2018 (HBO)

December 31

An American in Paris, 1951

Analyze This, 1999

Austin Powers In Goldmember, 2002

Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery, 1997

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, 1999

Batman & Robin, 1997

Batman Forever, 1995

Batman v Superman: Ultimate Edition, 2016

Bonnie and Clyde, 1967

Boogie Nights, 1997

Bringing Up Baby, 1938

Clash Of The Titans, 2010

Constantine, 2005

Demolition Man, 1993

Dirty Harry, 1971

Doctor Zhivago, 1965

Empire of the Sun, 1987

Friday the 13th, 2009

Free Willy, 1993

Giant, 1956

Gladiator, 2000

The Hey Arnold! The Movie, 2002

The Hobbit, 1977

Jonah Hex, 2010

La La Land, 2016 (HBO)

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life, 2003

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, 2001

The Lego Ninjago Movie, 2014

Lucy In The Sky, 2019 (HBO)

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, 2012 (HBO)

Monsters vs. Aliens, 2009

Rugrats Go Wild, 2003

The post HBO Max New Releases: December 2020 appeared first on Den of Geek.

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panic-and-chaos · 4 years

Text

The gods. I should get sleep, but I’m not tired, so I tried to draw in a new way. It looks interesting, to say the least.

Featuring: Pax, god of peace (yellow horned pale boy), Dia, god of destruction (blue cat), Jais, god of chaos (white and red cat), and Ainos, goddess of creation (white haired girl)

#oc artwork #oc #i’m going insane

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estamos-destinadas · 5 years

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I saw some people’s headcanons about JULIANTINA’s Hogwarts Houses and it seems a lot of us are agreed that they’d either be in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. I want to think that both of them will be in Gryffindor because a) they’re both very brave, and b) think how cute they would be just cozying up in the Gryffindor common room together.

But...

Here’s the thing...

If they were magical, they wouldn’t go to Hogwarts. They live in the Americas. They’d go to one of the two biggest magical schools in that continent: Ilvermorny (USA, North America) or Castelobruxo (Brazil, South America). In this essay, I will--

(Sike, because I am subverting that meme)

WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD

Ilvermorny

I think that between Ilvermorny and Castelobruxo, Val and Juls would go to Ilvermorny.

(Before I continue, it needs to be said: JK Rowling coming up with a school in North America that is just a copy of Hogwarts is problematic because it ignores Native American history. In my headcanon, there are several magic schools all over the Americas with a format/system that is more based on Native/Indigenous American cultures. However, Ilvermorny just happens to be the biggest school in North America. It’s an unfortunate side effect of colonialism.)

Valentina, as a Mexican, would have had the option of going to a school in Mexico that teaches a magic system that is more connected to the land’s indigenous magic and harks back to the Aztec Empire. León Carvajal sends her to Ilvermorny because that’s where he went and that’s where he met Val’s mom. His family has always gone to Castelobruxo, but he broke tradition and chose Ilvermorny, in a way setting up Val and Juls’ meeting in that same school. In any case, the Carvajals have always chosen the big European-based schools over the smaller magic school in Mexico because the Carvajal family could trace its lineage directly back to the Spanish conquerors. Like it or not, the Carvajals chose to be educated in a system introduced by European colonists. Your fave is problematic.

Juliana, on the other hand, was born to No-Maj Muggle parents in the USA. While she is Mexican through and through, the small magic school in Mexico simply do not have the resources to find her. Had Chino not dragged Lupe to the US, Juls would have have been invited to study in Mexico’s smaller magic school. In a way, Chino’s actions also set up Juls and Val’s meeting in Ilvermorny. And so Juls goes to North America’s largest magic school, reluctant because she does not want to leave Lupe alone in Chino’s abusive hands, terrified because everything is completely new to her, but also a little bit excited because magic is real.

Their Houses

Like Hogwarts, Ilvermorny has 4 houses: Horned Serpent (mind), Wampus (body), Thunderbird (soul), and Pukwudgie (heart). I think that JULIANTINA could be in Thunderbird or Pukwudgie, and I really really want them to be in Thunderbird but ultimately I think they’d both be in Pukwudgie. (Ridiculous spelling, I know.) Ilvermorny first years are sorted in the middle of the entrance hall with the older students watching them from a balcony on a higher floor.

First glimpse

Valentina is in her third year (13 years old) when Juliana starts her first (11). This is how their first glimpse of each other goes:

From her spot on the balcony, Valentina watches curiously as Juliana shyly steps up to be sorted. It takes a several minutes for a decision to be made -- the same thing had happened with Val 2 years ago -- but finally she is sorted into Pukwudgie. The older students from her new House cheer, Valentina among them. Juls looks up at the balcony and locks eyes with Val, who gives her a smile which she managed to return nervously before shuffling away from the middle of the room.

A couple of months pass before Val & Juls become friends, but more on that later.

Life in a Magic School

In my headcanon, Mexico has one magic school. Most Mexican wizarding families send their children to this school. However, most of the old money families who are direct descendants of the conquistadores (or those who want to seem old money) send their kids to either Ilvermorny or Castelobruxo. In Ilvermorny, these rich or at least well-off Mexican kids form a glamorous circle, set apart from the rest of the students by the language they speak and the wealth of their families.

In Val’s year, the circle of wealthy Mexican kids consist of herself, Sergio, Lucho, and Nayeli. Sergio is also in Pukwudgie and she considers him her best friend, at least until she and Juls start to bond. Lucho and Nayeli are both in Wampus. (Val is not dating Lucho, they’re only 13 years old. In this story, she will never date Lucho.)

Guille and Eva are also part of that glamorous circle. Guille is in his 5th year, a Pukwudgie like Val. Lots of girls have crushes on him because he’s handsome and nice. Eva is in her 6th year and is in Horned Serpent, like her father before her. She is a prefect, has been since her 5th year, and will undoubtedly be the next Head Girl when she’s in 7th year. She’s that brilliant, overachieving student that everyone knows and respects or fears.

There are other cliques of course: the WASP-y kids, the Latinx kids who live in the US or Canada, black girl magic, etc overlapping with the Transfiguration nerds, the music lovers, the jocks, etc overlapping with the Muggle-borns.

The first few months

Juls doesn’t really feel like she fits in any of the established cliques/groups; she’s Mexican but she’s dirt-poor, she’s a US-born Latina but she’s Muggle-born, she’s Muggle-born but she’s not white. She’s an 11-year old daughter of a sicario who had to leave her mother, the only person she trusts, and she’s thrust into a completely new environment where she feels different from everyone else. She feels like a sore thumb in that school full of happy kids who’ve known about magic all their lives, so she does her best to keep her head down.

She makes friends anyway. Or at least a couple of her fellow 1st year girls who have been “best friends since birth” sort of adopts her because it’s Juls and the right kind of people can’t help but want to take her under their wing.

Juls meets Jane first. Jane’s family has always been magical and her grandmother came to the US from Venezuela. (Yes, it’s Jane the Virgin.) Jane is in Horned Serpent, but she and Juls have a class together and they pair up on an assignment during the second week of school. She thinks Juls is interesting so she tries to draw Juls out of her shell, inviting Juls to hang out with her and her best friend Lina who is in Wampus. But as friendly as Jane and Lina are -- and Juls really likes them -- they’ve been best friends for so long, both their families are magical, and they’re both straight so sometimes they talk about things that Juls simply can’t relate to. It’s fine, of course, they still become good friends with Juls, but no matter how inclusive they are, Juls will always feel like the odd one out with them.

Often, Juls goes off on her own, exploring the grounds outside in the very early morning or searching for secret nooks and crannies inside the castle. She’s trying to learn everything she can about magic by experiencing it even as she continues to keep out of everyone’s way.

Valentina, on the other hand, roams around Ilvermorny like she owns it, the way all the Carvajals do. But whereas Eva struts through corridors expecting everyone to get out of her way, and Guille ambles through hallways seemingly untroubled by anything, Valentina runs around the school like it’s a playground.

Val and her group of friends cause a lot of trouble for themselves, sneaking out after hours, skipping classes, sometimes even pranking other students. Val of course never goes too far as to be actively bullying, but Lucho and Nayeli do. She doesn’t like it and she stops them whenever she can, but she still hangs out with them anyway. Guille quite obviously doesn’t like them, but he never voices his disapproval. Eva doesn’t really care about whether Val’s antics inadvertently hurt someone else, but she does care that Val, in her words, “isn’t living up to her potential”. The thing is, Val doesn’t think of Ilvermorny as a place to learn so much as an escape from the Carvajal house, which has been cold and gray ever since her mom’s death.

So for the first several weeks of Juls’ first year, Valentina and Juliana have no interaction. Still, they notice each other. Of course they do. They are in the same house after all. But that’s not the only reason they notice each other. For Juls, she can’t help but be interested in the pretty older girl with a loud and easy laughter and sky-blue eyes that seem to cloud over when she thinks no one’s looking. For Val, she can’t help but be intrigued by the pretty new girl who rarely breaks out into a genuine smile but whose dark brown eyes twinkle whenever she does.

El Dia de Muertos

Eventually, a little over two months after school started, Valentina and Juliana meet properly on el Dia de Muertos, when Mexicans celebrate their dead.

Valentina, Guille, and Eva forego dinner at the Great Hall. Instead, they go to a small trophy room near the Thunderbird dormitories, bringing traditional food and offerings with them. Their late mother was in Thunderbird and she had a lot of achievements at Ilvermorny; a lot of plaques in that Thunderbird trophy room have their mother’s name on it. Even though none of them are in their mother’s house, Thunderbird students know to avoid the trophy room on el Dia de Muertos, giving that room to the Carvajal kids for that one day. The Carvajals sit on the floor in front of a shelf containing their mom’s trophies as they talk to their dad, contacting him through magical means of course. After they hang up Eva and Guille tell Val stories about their mom. Eva and Guille stay until curfew, but Val has always insisted to stay behind and, in this one instance at least, Eva lets her.

Juliana, even though she grew up in the US, has always celebrated el Dia de Muertos with her mom. Chino is never around on said day so, in a way, it belongs to her and Lupe. After having dinner with Jane and Lina that night, Juls goes to contact her mom. It’s not easy to contact anyone by Muggle means in a place as full of magic as Ilvermorny, but several years ago one resourceful Muggle-born student had set up a room where anyone can contact the Muggle world through phones that are also provided in the room. So Juls goes to that “Phone Room” and calls Lupe. In her 2 months at Ilvermorny, Juls has always missed her mom, but she has never missed being back at their small trailer until that day. She impulsively talks about quitting school but of course Lupe stops her. They talk for a long time and when they hang up, Juls realises that she’s broken curfew for the first time ever.

Ilvermorny’s “Phone Room” is right next to the Owlery which is near the Thunderbird dormitories. Juliana has to pass by the Thunderbird trophy room to go back to the Pukwudgie dorms.

As Juls walks by the trophy room, she hears sobbing from inside floating through the slightly ajar door. Concerned, she peaks around the door to see a girl at the far end of the room, her back to the door. Juls can see that it’s Valentina and her concern grows.

Before she can stop herself, Juls asks, “Estas bien?” (In Spanish, because Juls knows Val speaks Spanish. And they will always speak in Spanish to each other unless the situation necessitates otherwise.)

Val sits up straight, but doesn’t turn around. “Fine. I just want to be alone.”

“Sorry,” Juls says. “It’s just that I heard you crying, I thought-- but you’re right.”

Juls makes to withdraw from the room just as Val turns around to see who the interloper is. When she realises it’s Juliana, she calls, “Oh, wait, sorry. Don’t go.”

Juls takes that as invitation to enter the room and join Val. She sits on the floor next to her and looks up at a moving portrait of a woman that looks like an older version of Val.

“That’s my mom,” Val says candidly even as she wipes away her tears. “She died when I was a kid.”

“I’m sorry,” Juls says sincerely, hating the grief she can see in Val’s expression even as she thinks of her own mom. “I can’t imagine...” she trails off, not knowing what to say.

“It was a long time ago,” says Val, shrugging.

Juls takes in Val’s watery eyes and thinks, but you’re still hurting. She doesn’t say that out loud. Wanting to take Val’s mind off of it, she says instead, “Your robe is really beautiful.”

Val’s not wearing her school robes. Instead, she’s wearing a white robe-like top paired with a billowy pants. The white robe has that typical el Dia de Muertos design of a skull and flowers but from time to time, the flowers would bloom and spread around the shoulder area, covering it with colour. Juls has seen moving portraits and pictures in the two months she’s been in Ilvermorny, but this is the first time she’s seen moving images on a robe.

Val looks over at Juls, who is also not wearing her school robes. Unlike Val’s magical clothing, Juls’ casual attire consists of Muggle jeans and a red shirt that has a skull and flower design which she painted on herself as a nod to that day.

“No, don’t look at me,” Juls says self-deprecatingly. “I-- I’m new here, my parents are No-Maj. I didn’t know about magical clothes, or anything about magic really.”

“Well, I think you have plenty of style,” Val says, genuinely liking Juls’ clothes. “Anyway, magic isn’t everything.”

“You don’t think magic is amazing?” Juls asks.

“No,” Val replies surely. To her, it’s just a fact of life. Magic couldn’t even save her mom.

“Well, give me your wand then,” Juls says in her best threatening voice, producing her own wand out of her back pocket and pointing it at Val.

Val stares at Juls in shock until Juls bursts out laughing, saying it’s a joke. Val hides her face in her hands, half-laughing and half-sobbing, so Juls puts down her wand and pulls Val to her, telling Val not to cry.

After they both stop laughing, Val straightens up and offers her hand to Juls. “Valentina,” she introduces herself properly.

“I know,” says Juls, and that makes Val smile widely. “Juliana,” she says, taking Val’s hand.

Val also replies with an “I know,” and they laugh again, both amazed that the other already knows their name, and happy that they have finally properly met.

They continue talking, mostly about their House sorting experience, because Val originally wanted to be in Thunderbird like her mom but she was sorted to Pukwudgie. They also recall Juliana’s sorting, when Val was watching her from the balcony. They soon decide to call it a night because it’s way after curfew. They try to be quiet as they head back to the Pukwudgie dormitories, but they keep bursting into giggles for no reason that it’s a miracle none of the roving prefects catch them.

A friendship blooms

The next day is a school day and Juls drags herself out of bed even though she didn’t get enough sleep. She goes to the Great Hall where, unlike Hogwarts, the seating arrangements aren’t segregated by Houses and students can sit anywhere they please. Juls sits with Jane and Lina, trying but failing not to look around for Val. But Val, who was never a morning person, is running late and hasn’t gone down yet. It isn’t until Juls is leaving with Jane and Lina for their first class of the day that Val hurries into the Great Hall. Val sees her and gives her a wave, which Juls returns along with a small smile, but Val gets called over by Eva so she doesn’t approach Juls. Lina, who has witnessed the exchange, interrogate Juls, walking with her and Jane even though she has a different class.

“Did Valentina Carvajal just wave at you?” Lina asks.

“Um, yes?” Juls says, confused at the awe in Lina’s voice.

“How does she even know you?” Lina presses on.

Jane pipes up then. “They are in Pukwudgie together.”

“Yeah, but still, Valentina Carvajal.”

Jane shakes her head and rolls her eyes good-naturedly.

“What, it’s a big deal!” Lina says defensively.

"Why is it a big deal?” Juls asks.

Lina looks at Juls in disbelief. “Why...?” She starts to explain, but then thinks of something else. “Are you friends with Guille too? He’s in Pukwudgie. Can you introduce me to him?”

Jane laughs at that. Juls is still waiting for Lina’s answer on what the deal is, but they have arrived at hers and Jane’s class. Lina leaves them, but not before asking Juls again to introduce her to Guille.

“Why does Lina think it’s a big deal that I know Valentina?” Juls asks Jane as they take their seats. “Is it because she has a crush on Guille? Because I don’t know him. I’ve only spoken to Valentina last night.”

Jane gives her a sort of pitying look before replying. “See that book you’re holding? Open it to the copyright page.”

Juls does so and she sees that the book is printed by Grupo Carvajal Publishing.

“Grupo Carvajal publishes most of the textbooks used here,” Jane explains. “They’re the biggest publisher in Latin America, but they also publish a lot of English books. I’m pretty sure they have their own newspaper in Mexico too. But it’s not only that. The Carvajals are one of the oldest wizarding families in the Americas, at least of the ones that originated from Europe. They’re definitely one of the most powerful and influential. And, if what I’ve read is true, Valentina and her siblings are descended from Isolt Sayre through their mother.” Isolt Sayre is the founder of Ilvermorny.

“Oh,” is the only thing Juls can say. She knows of course that the Carvajal kids are rich and popular, but she had no idea until now of the extent of their family’s wealth and power. Lina was right, it is a huge deal. She previously hoped that she and Val could be friends, but right now she’s feeling the huge gap between their status in the wizarding community, in any community really.

Sensing Juls’ thoughts, Jane says that just because the Carvajals are rich and powerful, it doesn’t mean that they’re better than everyone else. “Besides,” she adds, “from what I’ve seen, I think Valentina doesn’t care about stuff like that. She’s really nice and friendly with everyone.”

For Juliana, that doesn’t take away the fact that she’s like mud to Valentina’s sky.

Juls tries to avoid Val after that, tries being the operative word. She only manages to do so for a day, and only because Val, who has no idea Juls is even avoiding her, is serving detention for some trouble she got up to a couple of weeks ago (to Eva’s annoyance). On the weekend, three days after they first spoke to each other, Val finds Juls.

Juls is by herself in a quiet and half-secluded area of the castle grounds, not doing homework but practicing a spell that ought to make her drawings move. So far, she has only succeeded in lighting her sketches on fire.

On another part of the grounds, Val is with Eva and Guille laying flowers at Isolt Sayre’s tomb, which has been part of the castle since the founder’s death. They’re walking back to the castle when Val catches sight of Juls. She hurriedly excuses herself from her siblings, checking out halfway through a conversation about their dead ancestors. Eva and Guille can only stare curiously after her as she practically skips towards Juls.

“Señorita,” Val says mischievously, sneaking up on Juls from behind.

Juls, who is just about to cast another spell on her drawings, jumps in shock, accidentally sending a stream of magic towards the ground.

“Ai, me asustaste,” Juls breathes out.

“Hi,” Val greets her properly, giving Juls an almost shy smile.

Juls can’t help but smile back, forgetting for a second about what she’s learned about the Carvajals. “What’s up? How are you?” she asks eagerly.

“Better,” says Val, nodding. “My siblings and I were just at the tomb because we didn’t get to drop by the other day.”

Everyone knows that “the tomb” can only mean the school founder’s resting place; just like that, Juls is reminded about how different their families are. “Oh, right,” she says, losing her enthusiasm, but still putting on a smile for Val.

Val scrambles to prolong their conversation. “I like that,” Val says, pointing to Juls’ Muggle sketchbook, which has fallen closed on the ground. It’s a little singed at the edges after Juls’ experiments, but there are pretty and colourful patterns on the front which Juls drew on herself.

“Really?” says Juls.

“Yeah. I-- I want something just like that,” says Val, meaning the drawn patterns.

Juls thinks Val means the sketchbook itself and she doesn’t believe her. Val’s family publishes magical books; her sketchbook is old, not at all magical, and now singed in places.

“I should--” Juls begins vaguely, picking up her sketchbook. She stands back up only to come face to face with Val’s eager smile.

“Wanna come with me?” Val asks, an idea forming in her head. “I wanna show you something. Please,” she adds in a barely audible whisper.

“I’m trying to learn this spell,” says Juls.

"What spell? I-- I’ll help you.”

“Really?” says Juls. She actually believes that Val knows the “animation spell”, but she doubts that Val will really want to take valuable time out of her day to teach her something.

“Yes, I’m-- I’m a great teacher,” Val says. “But like... what spell are we talking about, because I might not know. But I can still help you! I-- I’ll help you look up stuff or something.”

Juls laughs. Val’s willingness to help is making her forget about their different status in life; or rather, she’s starting to think that maybe it doesn’t matter so much. She likes Val and it seems that Val likes her too.

“I’m trying to make my sketches move like in those moving pictures in books, but they just keep catching on fire,” Juls tells Val.

“Oh!” says Val, surprised that she has an answer. “I know that needs potions, but I’m actually not great at potions at all.” In fact, her last disaster in potions class happened earlier that week; thankfully, it was not quite as bad as that time she accidentally turned all her classmates’ hair into flashing rainbow colours.

“But this book says I only need to use this spell,” Juls says, meaning a book on “recreational spells” that she borrowed from the library.

Val eyes the book suspiciously. It’s thin and doesn’t look reputable at all. “Yeah, if you drew it using quills with special ink.”

“Oh, I only used these coloured pencils, they’re not magic,” says Juls, disappointed. She doesn’t have special quills and she’s sure she’ll require money to get those.

“That’s fine!” Val says bracingly. “You just need to soak it in a potion. I don’t know how it’s made, but I’m pretty sure you can order it from apothecaries.”

Juls thinks that she doesn’t have money to buy anything, but that’s a worry for another day. She wants to spend time with Val now. “You know what, I’ll leave it for later. What were you going to show me?”

Val brightens even more. “It’s a room in the castle, but it’s better if you see it than if I explain it.”

“Ok,” Juls says agreeably as she gathers her things.

Val grabs her hand and leads her towards the castle and Juls follows willingly. Behind them, flowers start to bloom on the ground at the spot that Juls’ spell hit earlier.

Val brings Juls to this abandoned room full of old magical artwork. Val found it during one of her explorations when she was still a first year. She loves finding hidden treasure in that room in the form of magical drawings and even some non-magical ones. She even showed the room to her friends, but none of them is as interested in it as Juls clearly is now.

They spend a couple of hours in that room, Val showing Juls her favourite pieces as they talk about magical art and the process of creating it. Juls even talks about non-magical art, and Val listens to her intently partly because she’s taking No-Mag Muggle Studies but mostly because she thinks Juls has really interesting ideas.

Later, they go to lunch at the Great Hall together. Their respective friends wave them over, but Val only waves back at her friends while Juls tries to convey something like “rain check, I’m having lunch with Val,” in improvised sign language. Val’s friends -- Lucho, Nayeli, and even Sergio -- look at them with raised eyebrows because “is Val really hanging out with that poor first year?” Juls’ friends have a different reaction. Lina is like, “she really is friends with a Carvajal,” while Jane is just like, “I’m glad, that girl seems nice.”

It will be a few years before Vale & Juls get together, they’re still very young after all, but after that day they become each other’s best friends.

Juls still hangs out with Jane and Lina of course but she spends most of her time with Val and they don’t hold it against her.

Val actually stops hanging out with her friends for a while because they said something she didn’t like about Juls, but Sergio apologises to her and Juls after a few weeks so she continues hanging out with him. It’s impossible to avoid him anyway, they are both in the same year and in the same house. Lucho and Nayeli take longer to apologise; Val decides to let what they said slide just that once, but she doesn’t hang out with them that often anymore because she prefers hanging out with Juls.

Guille, who never liked Lucho or Nayeli, greatly appreciates seeing Val spend her time with the nice first year girl in their own House. Eva approves because Val's grades have started improving and she has stopped getting into trouble by breaking curfew.

It’s not that Juliana’s studiousness is influencing Valentina, because she’s not studious at all. She’s just so curious about magic that Val ends up learning more because she wants to help answer Juls’ questions. And unbeknownst to anyone else, Val still continues sneaking around the castle after hours, this time with Juls. It just so happens that Juls, who knows how to be sneaky and stealthy from years of dealing with her dad and his associates, is so much better at not getting caught than a bunch of rich kids who’ve never known danger in their whole lives.

Thus, Valentina and Juliana learn magic together, and actually have fun while doing it. But that is just the beginning.

(Aaaannnnd... that’s it for now, because this has gotten way too long. I’m thinking that Vale & Juls will get together when Val is in her 6th year and Juls is in her 4th, but I don’t know if I even have the mental juices to think about it now, or even write it later. This post exhausted me.)

#juliantina #magic au #this better go in the tags #warning this is long #au #harry potter au #stories #mine

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imberlae · 2 years

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#ryoumin 0 nin start no henkyou ryoushusama #the population of the frontier owner starts with 0 #dias the blue and a blue horned girl #yumbo #manga #mangacap #ch 30 #aruna #imberlae

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creampuffqueen · 5 years

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Worlds of Fire and Darkness | Chapter Six (Sam)

Read this on AO3! (Here) Comments and likes and all the like are always so much appreciated!

Sam and the royal family welcome the Lords and Ladies of Terrasen in preparation for the Annual Peace Ball.

Lyria and I spent barely five minutes with the healer before she sent us away. She healed our bruises and scrapes, and even eased the ache of training. Despite her efforts, I still ached for a hot bath. I made sure that a servant was sent to draw me a bath before I walked Lyria to her room. I was still reeling from our sparring match and our argument; still trying to tell what was real and what wasn't.

I hardly spoke to my sister on the way to her suite, except to promise to take her down to dinner. She didn't make an effort to, so I didn't either. Her unusual silence left me to stew in my thoughts of the afternoon. What I had done. Making my way back to my own chambers, I replayed every conversation we'd had in an attempt to figure out what was going on. Was Lyria mad at me? Was she joking? I could never tell, and it was bothering me.

Steam was wafting from my bathing chambers as I walked inside my room, the scent of oils and herbs hitting me a moment later. With a grateful sigh I peeled off my sweaty clothes and eased into the large porcelain tub. The water was nearly blistering hot, how I liked it. Lyria often wondered how I could stand such temperatures, how I was okay to have my skin red and angry every time I bathed. With her magic leaning more towards flames, she didn't understand how the heat could soothe my core of ice. My other siblings, my father too, they knew.

I sank deeper into the water, wetting my hair and scrubbing my hands through it. The heat was relaxing my tense limbs, and I couldn't help but close my eyes.

When I woke up the sun was setting.

Cursing madly, I scrambled out of the bath and wiped off with a towel, not focused enough to dry myself with my flames. My hair was dripping water down my back and onto the plush carpet as I dug through my wardrobe frantically. Had mother mentioned a dress code? I couldn't remember. I opted for the safe route, Terrasen green with silver embroidery. If I didn't match and instead stuck out like a sore thumb, at least I was wearing my house colors.

I was trying to button my jacket and brush my hair at the same time, and was failing terribly. I threw the brush to the ground to fix the buttons that I'd gotten mixed up, then turned around to look for my belt. I had just put it down, how could one lose a belt buckle in two minutes?! I dropped to the floor and was in the process of searching under the furniture when a knock sounded on my door. I was under the dresser, and the knock had me slamming into the underside. I cursed again at the pain sprouting in my head and slipped back out to answer the door.

Lyria stood before me, impatiently tapping her foot. She took one look at my wet hair, my mismatched buttons, my missing belt, and just sighed. "Sam, you're a mess." Not giving me time to answer, she stepped into my room and shut the door behind her, and then she was reaching for my hair.

"How long were you in the bath?" She drawled, flicking her wrist and drying my hair instantly. I flinched at the feeling and I saw her dip her head to hide her soft laugh. "Did you fall asleep or something?"

"Yeah." I muttered. I pushed her away gently and unbuttoned my shirt so I could button it again, properly. She nodded and looked around my room for the belt. A heartbeat later, she produced it from where it had fallen behind the chair I'd set it on. She passed it to me and I finally finished getting dressed. Thankfully I seemed to be fitting in; Lyria was in a flowing gown of dark green that matched my own tunic.

My sister smiled at me and linked her arm with mine, and then we were out the door. She said nothing about my earlier promise to get her at her rooms, instead opting for silence. It was strange. My golden-haired sister was usually so talkative, chattering on about anything and everything. Was she still trying to make sense of the afternoon? We hadn't done much different than we usually did, but something about the encounter seemed off. We'd argued, sometimes worse than what we'd said earlier. But something was different.

I couldn't take it anymore, the silence. So I did something I hardly ever did. I spoke first.

"About this afternoon," I said cautiously. "I didn't mean to offend you. I did take advantage of you, and I'm sorry."

If she was surprised by me speaking up, Lyria didn't say. She merely shook her head and said, "I'm not mad. I'm just... tired. It's not your fault." And then she was quiet again.

Before I had the chance to push about it, we arrived at the Great Hall. Mom and Dad were already there, in the same green scheme as the rest of us. Aspen and Evalin were there as well, looking bored. The twins were no where to be seen, though they were probably right behind us. Lyria and I made our way to our thrones of oak and emerald and took a seat to wait. I was sitting to my father's left, Aspen to my own left. When Thallan arrived, he would sit to Aspen's left. Lyria, on the other hand, sat on Mom's right, with Evalin to her right and Aerith to her further right. At the foot of my mother's throne sat Fleetfoot, asleep already. The dog was older than I was, yet not a single gray hair was on her muzzle. A puzzle for another day.

As predicted, the twins arrived mere moments after us, and took their respective seats. We all wore green tonight.

With everyone seated, Mom waved to one of the guards at the front doors, signaling that we were ready. Leaning back into the oak wood, I could have fallen asleep again, were it not an important event I was supposed to be monitoring and participating in. The windows were open, allowing the spring breeze inside to weave around us, ruffling hair and carrying the scent of pine and flowers.

Springtime. This time every year was the Annual Peace ball, held in different locations every year. Celebrating the defeat of Maeve and Erawan. I'd attended the ball in many different places; Rifthold, Anielle, the Western Wastes, the Southern Continent. However, this was definitely not the first year it was held in Terrasen. Guests would soon be arriving from everywhere. Today, however, was the day the Lords and Ladies of Terrasen arrived.

We waited for maybe fifteen minutes, and in that time I had sent about eight angry gusts in Thallan's direction, warning him to be quiet. I was getting ready to send a ninth when the guards at the front doors stepped away, opened the doors, and lifted the trumpets to their lips to blow the two-note summons. I sat up straight in my seat, reigning in my winds.

"The Lord and Lady of Caraverre." The guards announced, and my aunt and uncle made their way into the hall. Behind them came their daughter, my cousin, Asceline Ashryver. She wore a dress of deep blue, a shade that highlighted the turquoise in her eyes so much I could see them even from my high vantage point.

The Ashryvers made their way to the foot of the dias our thrones were seated on and bowed deeply. When they lifted their heads, I could see my mother's radiant smile as she spoke.

"Lysandra, Aedion, Asceline. Welcome back to Orynth." Mom dug her nails into the wood of her throne as if it were an effort not to stand up and embrace her friends. Knowing her, it likely was. I flashed Asceline a smile, and she offered a smirk in return. I snorted softly and shook my head. Typical Asceline. The Ashryvers finished the standard greetings, then made their way to the side wall to stand and wait for the others.

It wasn't long before the horns blared again, this time to announce the arrival of my other cousin, Evangeline Ashryver, Lady of Arran. She'd only been Lady for about three years, ever since Lord Darrow passed. After her greetings she went to stand by the rest of her family. Out of the corner of my eye I caught Asceline happily embracing her older sister.

Other Lords and Ladies came, some with children, some without. The routine soon became monotonous, and I found myself zoning out. I gave out the mindless greeting required, but did nothing beyond. I felt bad for Asceline, forced to endure this all, but without a chair to sit in. The wall became crowded quickly, and I thought we were done. However, the horn blared again, and I scrambled around in my thoughts, trying to remember who was left.

Perranth. Duh. I cursed myself as the guards announced the Lord and Lady of Perranth. How could I have forgotten Perranth, the next biggest city in Terrasen, next to Orynth?

I was still mentally kicking myself when said Lord and Lady appeared, along with all of their children. How could i have forgotten Perranth, when they had a brood to rival that of my own parents.

Elide and Lorcan stopped at the throne and bowed, along with their gangly group of sons. They had five sons, born one after the other, every single one dark haired, dark eyed, and freckled. They also had a little girl, and she bowed along with her brothers, while holding the hand of her eldest brother, Folas. When they stood up straight again, I didn't miss the small look between Lyria and Folas. Something to tease her about later, I supposed. But first, food.

When everyone was on the wall, Mom and Dad finally stood up and stepped off the dias. We all followed, with me grabbing the arm of Evalin to escort her to the dining room. The dining hall was large, which was good. There were so many people i didn't really know what to do, and in the following days, even more would be coming. After all, the entire royal family from the Southern Continent was invited to the Peace Ball.

I led Evalin to her seat, and then found mine, which was sat between Lyria and Asceline, and across from all of the Lochan children. Gods, they all looked so similar, I couldn't even tell which one was directly across from me. Silently cursing Elide and Lorcan for having a brood of near-identical children, I was saved from future awkwardness by Lyria addressing him directly: Folas.

Oddly, Lyria wouldn't even catch my eye. She always did at fancy dinners, to let me know I was not the only one wishing it was already over. But not a single glance in my direction.

Feeling put off, I turned my attention to Asceline. And though she was engaged in conversation with me, I followed her stare across the table to the youngest Allsbrook son, Leo. Groaning internally, I decided that the gods were not in my favor tonight conversation-wise and resolved myself to a quiet evening.

However, when my acute Fae hearing picked up exactly what was being said between Folas and Lyria, I decided that perhaps a quiet night wasn't to be.

#throne of glass #a court of thorns and roses #tog #acotar #rowaelin #lysaedion #elorcan #generation 2 #legacies #children

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mwritesink · 5 years

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Fire Emblem: Three Houses Let’s Play: The Beginning

I’ll do a Let’s Play, I said. It would be fun, I said.

Present me is cursing past me, and 600+ screenshots later to keep track of dialogue for the first... two and a half chapters? I am not yet resenting it. So lets get started.

Fire Emblem Three Houses opens on the image of a muddy field, with one sprig of a wildflower in the foreground. the caption tells us that this is the “Tailtean Plains. Imperial Year 91″. The gloomy tranquility is broken by stomping armored boots, the first pair of which crush that lonely trio of flowers.

The camera pulls back to show that these foot soldiers are but the smallest part of a much larger army, also including Cavaliers and Pegasus Knights, all of whom are wearing silver plate armor accented with red. Coming to meet them is a horde of brigands in leather armor, accented by blue cloth helmets and/or capes. The armies clash

Up in the sky, comes a burning white and red projectile, a sword.

armored soldier: Huh?

It hits the ground a ring of fire bursts forth.

Soon after a grizzled man in leather armor follows his sword. We will find out his name is Nemesis. He draws she sword from the ground and attacks. a red light gleams from the weapon, and as the camera pulls back, we can see pockets of red glowing in the battlefield, presumably from other weapons like Nemesis’ sword.

A woman stands still, flanked by an honor guard of red army members. A blue army mook in a fancy horned helmet leaps at her to attack!

Armored Knight: Lady Seiros!

Lady Seiros’ escorts defend her, some dying in the process. She is unmoved, silent, almost as if she never saw it happening at all.

Nemesis slices down several more of the red army. He turns.

He sees Lady Seiros. She sees him.

they clash, uncaring of the lives between them. It becomes a duel, vicious and muddy

Eventually Lady Seiros disarms Nemesis, and herself, throwing their tangled swords away in favor of fighting hand to hand. She knocks him down and leans over his chest with a knife to his throat.

Lady Seiros: Tell me, Nemesis. Lady Seiros: Do you recall the Red Canyon?

She stabs Nemesis in the heart. Again.

Lady Seiros: You’ll die for that! Die! Die!

And a third time.

Lady Seiros: You took... everything... that I loved...

Both armies stand in a wide circle around them. Dawn breaks, and the rain clears. The red army, victorious, cheers.

Lady Seiros goes to where the swords had landed, and picks up Nemesis’ sword, holding it to her face and not caring that blood is getting on her face.

Lady Seiros: He’s gone now, Mother...

the scene fades to black, as if you, the viewer, are traveling backwards through a black hole.

Well that was exciting, but what does it mean exactly... we’re not yet going to find out, as, we’ve now landed in a dark room with a raised dias. On that dias is a large stone throne that dwarfs the young looking girl napping on it who is wearing an oversized, elaborate robe. She wakes up.

???: Oh my. What could have brought you here?

BEGINNING | NEXT

#Three Houses Lets Play #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem #three houses

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ojisanmansion · 3 years

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#Dias #Dias the Blue and a Blue Horned Girl #The Population of The Frontier Owner Starts with 0 #Ryoumin 0 nin Start no Henkyou Ryoushusama

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pixie-mask · 4 years

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#Dias #Ryoumin 0 nin Start no Henkyou Ryoushusama #The Population of The Frontier Owner Starts with 0 #Dias the Blue and a Blue Horned Girl

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wotzup · 6 years

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CH9- In the village

"Pigyah!" Ruby hid behind Leah as the abandoned village came into view. The village looked gloomy and dark as if it was hiding some secret as it loomed over them. The thought of entering that scary place made Ruby trembled in fear. All she wanted right now was her sister, telling her she would make out safely, or maybe a pat on the head by her sister telling her that she did well. Ruby had been stuck in her train of thoughts till she heard Umi clear her throat continuing whatever she was saying before. "-if you go through here you will most likely reach the other side." Umi said as she pointed to a path that led into the right side of the village out if the three paths. "What do mean by most likely?" Leah asked. "The paths change. Usually it's this one that leads to the other side." Hanayo explained leaving Leah and Ruby absolutely terrified. "What happens if it doesn't lead to the exit?" Leah asked tentatively. "You wouldn't want to know nya." Rin stated. Ruby didn't even want to know if that did happen, all she knew was whatever would happen wouldn't be good.

"It's a risk that you must be ready to take." Umi continued, "You will not be able to get on the other side if you back out. The village tests you. If you back off then there is no escape, but if you show that you are ready to face anything the exit will be shown to you, though this happens to a handful of people."

Ruby shuddered in fear as she heard the words flow from Umi's mouth. It was all a game of chance. She held on to Leah tighter. If Dia was here she would help her get out of this mess. Sure she had Hanayo, Rin and Leah whose presence comforted her but she missed Dia's. A horn blew from afar. Ruby had no clue what it meant except that it was some kind of battle cry like when the bandits attacked the forest the previous night. Umi seemed to panic. "Kotori..." Umi's eyes widened. Ruby did know it wasn't a good sound. "I knew I should have stayed with her." she muttered as she took her bow in her hands from her shoulder and gripped it tightly. "I'm sorry I can not guide you through the village but I need to go." Umi bowed. "Go nya." Umi ran as fast as she can back to the Forest of Birds.

"We should be moving before the paths change nya." Rin said as she rushed into the village. "Wait Rin chan!" Hanayo said as she ran behind Rin signalling the two to follow. Ruby held Leah's hand tightly and followed Hanayo. The journey to their friends and sisters' was not going to be easy.

"Y-Yoshiko chan!?" Hanamaru turned around as she heard a thud. "I'm fine." she chocked holding her neck. Hanamaru kneeled by Yoshiko. Her skin was burning hot. 'It wasn't like this a few moments ago zura!' Hanamaru tried to cool her nerves. This was just bad. Her friend now had a fever that came out of the blue and she had no clue how she could help. Maybe those books that she read would help her. "No your not zura. We should stop for sometime zura." Yoshiko tried to pick herself up, "Nonsense. A fallen angel won't be affected by-" Yoshiko fell flat on her face. Yoshiko groaned as she sat on her knees rubbing her nose. Hanamaru sighed as she shook her head to her friend's vain display of determination. "C'mon Yoshiko chan let's stop I'm hungry zura." it wasn't really a lie, Hanamaru was really hungry. She needed to feed her huge stomach with some noppo bread ."Zuramaru you have a stomach as big as the underworld. And it's Yohane!" Yoshiko broke into a fit of coughing. "Careful," Hanamaru patted her back, "let's sit down zura."

They headed to one of the houses near them. Hanamaru supported Yoshiko's weight as she limped to the house. 'She smells like ashes zura.' Hanamaru thought as she relished the fact that Yoshiko was so close to her. This may have been the closest Hanamaru had been to Yoshiko, physically, in ages, not like she hated it though, even if Yoshiko was as hot as a furnace.

Hanamaru gulped as she saw the creepy house. There was something about this house that disturbed her. In fact the whole village disturbed her. A chill went down her spine as they entered it silently. Something was going to happen but she didn't know what.

The house seemed like it was for a family of four. In the middle of the house was a dining table with four chairs. Close by was a small empty kitchen. Behind it was a bed and beside that was a mirror. All of the things in the house were covered with dust. 'Seems like they left a long time ago zura.'

They stumbled across the house to the bed where she laid Yoshiko after coughing while wiping the dust from the bed. Her shoulders hurt and so did her legs which felt as if they were as heavy as lead. She wanted to complain about the pain but she kept quiet knowing that there was someone else who was suffering even more than she was. To reduce the pain she set down the heavy bag full of supplies down. Her aching shoulders thanked her for her generosity.

"You want anything to eat zura?" Hanamaru asked looking up at Yoshiko as she kneeled by the bag. "Ah yes I can feel the flames of-" "Here zura." Hanamaru placed some bread on her lap knowing that Yoshiko would be hungry, the last time she ate was in the morning before the left for the village. "I wasn't done!" Yoshiko glared. Hanamaru sat by Yoshiko munching on her bread. She could feel her stomach thanking her for finally putting some food inside the energy drained system. "I wonder how the others are doing zura..." Hanamaru said, her mouth full, staring at the empty table. The group had to split because they were met by crossroads. Chika, Riko and You going on one, Mari, Dia and Sarah going on the other and the final one was them. "They are my little demons, of course they are alright. They are strong just because we were separated from them doesn't mean they will fall into the clutches of Hades' wrath." Yohane said before coughing again. "I hope so zura." Hanamaru said biting once again into her bread.

You dragged her feet on the gravel path. She wanted to be at the beach and be one with ocean and swim to the depths of the ocean. Right now even the deepest darkest places of the sea seemed brighter than this place. She hated anything dark and gloomy including this abandoned village. She had never really liked the place from the start and now she was hating even more. No it was not because of suddenly falling ill just like Yoshiko and Sarah for no reason, it was maybe because of what she realized.

Never had she realized it before, till this very moment. Even when the three of them went on a quest she hasn't realized it, but when she remembered the quest it only fueled her emotion of jealousy.

All that Chika did was spend her time with Riko, talk about Riko, Riko this, Riko that. Chika was stuck to Riko as if the two were two opposite poles of magnets. It started to get on You's nerves. You wasn't a person who would easily have such feelings but losing her childhood best friend for a person who came out of nowhere, hurt her. Chika meant so much to her and she was drifting away from her.

Riko wasn't a bad person. You knew that like the back of her hand. In fact You liked her, a lot. You admired the red head yet she couldn't help but feel jealous. Why did she spend so much time with her? Wasn't You good too?

You had always taken pride in her tattoo. Yes, her tattoo. She had gotten it a long time ago when she was just a kid. It was of an orange, obviously meaning it was Chika, right? Then why didn't Chika look at her the way she did? They are soul mates, right?

You looked at the duo who was walking in front of her. They were talking happily, busy in their own world, completely ignoring the existence of her. Even if she neared them they would stop talking about whatever they were talking about. It hurt her. She didn't want to be ignored. She didn't want to be forgotten.

She heard something fall behind her. Curious, she turned back. There was nothing. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for what ever it was to strike. Chika and Riko hadn't gone much farther ahead but didn't care at that point. She needed to get out of here alive. Suddenly from behind she was assaulted by a pair of dexterous hands that covered her nose and mouth. You struggled against the grip but he was just too strong. She struggled and struggled. She tried to use her powers but the man deflected it. She tried to scream but her throat and lungs burned from the lack of air. What ever the man had rubbed on his hands was blocking her airways. She began to wheeze for air. She moved her mouth to speak but no words would leave her mouth. The man suddenly turned them in front where You could see her friends. She watched as the two girls in front moving ahead without her. 'No don't leave me...' she thought as her legs gave in. They still hadn't turned around, even though she fell with a thud, holding her throat. Her vision was becoming hazy. The last thing she knew was she was picked up and taken away by him.

Hanamaru's breath was erratic and her eyes were wide open. She turned to Yoshiko who had a faint smile in her face. "Thanks Zuramaru." she said before closing her yes and immediately drifting off to sleep. 'Yoshiko chan has faced a lot zura.' she looked at the girl who looked peaceful in her sleep unlike what she had faced. Hanamaru had no clue how she ended up over there but she did.

She had been absorbed in her book when Yoshiko began screaming in her sleep. Hanamaru was startled. Thinking it was a bad dream Hanamaru decided to use an trick that they use in books. She gave Yoshiko a hug and said some pacifying words.

She stayed like that till Yoshiko calmed down. 'Yoshiko chan is so cute zura.' she smiled sweetly as she got up, picked up her book and went back again reading her book. The book was about medicine. One might find it boring but Hanamaru found it interesting. With just a few ingredients you could cure then smallest wound to the biggest one. She was reading one that may help reduce Yoshiko's fever and it just so happens that she had all the ingredients in her bag.

Mentally fist pumping she picked up her bag from the ground and searched for the ingredients checking each one off the list as she placed it down near Yoshiko on the bed. All she needed now was to crush the ingredients and pour it on it her mouth.

With hope, Hanamaru went into kitchen in search of a pestle and mortar to grind everything to make the concoction. Maybe it was her luck but she did find it but it was dusty, that wasn't a problem though because she washed it with a bit a of water from the containers in the bag.

And then she was done. A wonderful concoction that would help Yoshiko feel all better. Hanamaru did feel bad seeing her soul mate suffering. Well she was going to end it with the help of medicine and books!

"Open wide zura." she said as she slightly parted Yoshiko's lips filling Yoshiko's mouth with the medicine which she gulped down almost immediately. She was confident Yoshiko would feel better. Just before she could pick up the book she heard Yoshiko wail again. Hanamaru's eyebrow twitched as her hand hovered over the book. She really wanted to know what would happen if you were to add a drop of dragon's tears to a wildflower.

Hanamaru had only touched Yoshiko's arm and bam, Hanamaru had suddenly entered Yoshiko's dream. Hanamaru stumbled back startled by the sudden change. A pair confused pink eyes looked at her. Hanamaru thought it was a magic trick. "Zuramaru what are you doing here?" Yoshiko asked wide eyed. "You were screaming and I tried to calm you down and here I am zura." she remembering Yoshiko had a streak of bad luck when it came to her magic at times, her eyes narrowed as she placed her hands on her hips and had a teasing smile in her face. "Is this one of your magic tricks?" "I have not summoned you my little demon. And my magic is not what you see in a kid's magic show!"

"One day I'll return back home to the heavens away from this lowly land." they heard a voice from behind had cut off what Hanamaru was going to say. It was from kid Yoshiko in her dream. She was standing on the roof of a cottage surrounded by people who were asking her not to fall. Hanamaru had to stifle a giggle. The real Yoshiko glared at her with pout. Her face was as red as Ruby's hair. "Can they see us zura?" Hanamaru asked. "No."

"Good. I don't want them to hear me of I laugh at your antics zura." Hanamaru snickered. Yoshiko slapped her lightly on the shoulder. "My life isn't funny." Yoshiko grumbled. They stood quietly after that watching the dream Yoshiko go on about the heavens. From behind her mother approached and grabbed her, absolutely annoyed with what Yoshiko had done. Hanamaru giggled again at the scene.

The scene began to fade and behind them they could hear dream Yoshiko and now a dream Hanamaru as well. "Zuramaru we're going to build a castle." the dream Yoshiko announced. "Zura?" the dream Hanamaru looked up from her book.

"This was at preschool wasn't it zura?" Hanamaru asked, a small smile growing in her face. Yoshiko hummed. Hanamaru remembered what happened after that. They built a small castle out of sand. Then the wind blew it down to dust again. Yoshiko had began to cry but said it was the curse of the Gods that brought the fortress of Yohane down. It was one of her fond memories. "You were so cute zura." "Shut up."

The scene changed again and this time they were a bit older, maybe around five or six years old. The dream Yohane cackled. "My oldest littlest demon I give this feather of darkness as a symbol of our contract." dream Yoshiko pulled out the feather from her hair and placed it Hanamaru's. "I will protect it with my life zura!" dream Hanamaru said with a promising look. Hanamaru remembered that feather even now. She could feel it within the pocket of her robes. She had always kept it safe, carrying it along with her where ever she went.

The real Yoshiko clutched Hanamaru's hand. And started to run in the dream. "Where are we going zura!?" Hanamaru asked as they passed through the people minding their own work. Yoshiko didn't say anything but whatever it was, made Yoshiko cry. Hanamaru could see the tears fall down from her face plopping on the ground as they ran. Hanamaru guessed that she wasn't going to answer anything at that moment. She felt like stopping Yoshiko and hugging her but she didn't want to stop Yoshiko in her tracks. With a heavy heart she beared the pain of seeing the one she love cry.

They stopped in front of the door of a small cottage just like any other in the village, just that this was in front of the royal training grounds. "Zuramaru we're going in." Yoshiko said with a determined look. Tears had stopped flowing but there was still a sad expression on her face. "Zura?" Hanamaru still didn't get what was going on.

Hanamaru yelped as Yoshiko left her hand and walked right through it like a ghost. "C'mon Zuramaru we don't have time." Yoshiko peeped out from the door at the scared Hanamaru. Hanamaru prayed before tentatively putting her foot through the door then her whole body. 'I am never going to become a ghost zura.' she shuddered at the feeling of walking through something solid. "Zuramaru stop daydreaming and help me create a distraction." Yoshiko hissed. "Why zura?" "We are going to save them." "Who? No one's here zura." Hanamaru scanned the empty dining room. "My mother is along with her students in the bedroom." "What's going to happen zura?" Yoshiko chocked on a sob before telling her, "Ragnarok. The celestial beings of the universe would destroy it all." Hanamaru sighed. Why did she evading? Hanamaru knew something was going to happen, Yoshiko usually would say something like this whenever something bad was going to happen.

Hanamaru tilted her head. "We don't have time for this. Help me." Yoshiko said desperately moving around the house in hope of being able to grab anything. Hanamaru sighed. She had no clue what was going on but she had to go with it.

As she was doing so there was a window that overlooked the royal training grounds where she could see a familiar looking figure facing a target that was close by the house but wouldn't affect it unless you missed the target.

Hanamaru squinted, in disbelief. 'Is that... Ruby chan zura?' Hanamaru shook her head. No she might have been hallucinating. She looked again this time the red haired girl let out a column of fire at the target but missed it completely. The only people in the kingdom who could control and create fire like that was the Kurosawa clan and as far as she knew Ruby was the only red haired female in the family.

The fire ball was headed straight towards them. "Y-Yoshiko chan!" Hanamaru scurried to Yoshiko who was about to enter a door. Yoshiko gave her a irritated look before looking at the window that Hanamaru was pointing at. It was almost there.

Her eyes widened as she cursed under her breath, hugging Hanamaru protectively, to which Hanamaru let out a "Zura".

The next thing she knew was that there was a deafening explosion and everything around them collapsed as it burnt to ashes. As they were ghosts the explosion didn't affect them, just that there was a tingling sensation. Hanamaru was now more than sure that she would complete whatever she needs to and then die so she won't become a ghost.

"No... no, no," Yoshiko said repeatedly, hysterical as she released Hanamaru looking around her, tears flowing down her cheeks like a river. She clutched Hanamaru's hand and went in the direction where the door stood. Yoshiko looked around desperately in the debris but whatever it was, it wasn't there. Hanamaru turned her head back in the direction where the girl had been standing. The girl was no where in sight but the grass in the path of the fireball was charred. She turned head head back when she felt the strong grip on her hand leave her.

Hanamaru felt like her heart was breaking into a million pieces as she saw the girl who put a strong front in front of others break down into tears and fell to her knees. 'So this is how the angel had fallen zura...' Hanamaru kneeled by Yoshiko hugging her by the side, mourning with her. She knew that this pain had no cure unlike her fever. "I could have saved her..." Yoshiko said between sobs after a while, "if I came a little earlier... it's all my fault."

"You're absolutely wrong Yoshiko chan zura." Hanamaru was determined to help her. She couldn't stand to see her cry like this, it was just unlike her. Yoshiko looked at her in disbelief. "It's not your fault," She looked directly into her eyes and spoke as softly as she could. "it was an accident hat no one expected, not even your mother zura. Don't blame yourself for this zura."

"But I... I..."

"Shh... it's alright zura..." Hanamaru wiped her tears. "I'm sure your mother would be proud of you zura. You rose from this state to where you are now, you've moved far ahead Yoshiko chan zura. You've become not only become an amazing sorceress but a beautiful lady as well zura." Hanamaru kissed Yoshiko on her forehead.

Yoshiko gave her a thankful look before sobbing again in her shoulder. Yoshiko could feel a huge weight off her chest. She hadn't felt so relived in ages. She missed her mother a lot but Hanamaru was right, she had grown. She met people, learnt new things and most importantly met her soul mate whom she left ten years ago. Yoshiko closed her eyes with a slight smile, relieved.

Hanamaru didn't know how the scene around her changed, but she could only guess it was connected to Yoshiko. It was what happened afterwards. Meeting Nozomi in the forest as a defenceless six year old, learning magic as she traveled, all of it seemed to be shown to her. Yoshiko was revealing everything to her. Hanamaru only felt touched by the gesture and overwhelmed by the memories. Yoshiko had faced so much, much more than a normal girl of their age. She became determined to support her no matter what. Hanamaru felt a boiling pain in her back as she saw all of this and she knew it meant one thing.

And then again Hanamaru was sent back to reality. Gasping, she sat up straight, holding her spinning head. It was dizzying to take up so much in such little time.

Back to the present, it was silent and calm unlike her mind which was stuck in the memory of the dizzying experience. But she needed to check something. She stood up abruptly heading up to the dusty mirror. Not caring one bit, she used her robes to dust off the dust from the mirror. It was the time of truth. She hesitantly hiked up her robes, turning her back towards the mirror, shivering a bit as the cold air hit her skin. And there it was in it's full glory, her soul mate tattoo had finally been colored in. It was the wings of a fallen angel, black yet elegant and slightly detailed. Every long feather was outlined with a thin silver line and some feathers were falling from the wings. It had been ten years since Hanamaru had seen it like this. She had no clue what she did, or how she deserved such an amazing girl but she was happy, happier than she had ever been other than seeing Yoshiko in the forest after ten years.

Letting her robes down she settled back on the bed. She was finally going to read about what happened if a drop of dragon's tears were added to a wildflower.

Nothing had attacked them yet as they walked through the path quietly, their footsteps echoing. Every sound that wasn't their footsteps or breathing made Ruby jump and almost burn everything in front of her. She didn't like it, not one bit. She hadn't left Leah's comforting warm hand but she longed for her sister.

From afar they heard a thumping noise. The four immediately huddled uup back to back, ready to attack. Leah and Ruby still held hands and in the other held balls of ice and fire respectively, Rin had partially transfigured into a tiger and Hanayo was... ready to grow a huge rice field.

"It could be the bandits." Hanayo said steadying her staff. "Why would the bandits be here of all places?" Ruby asked, not so happily. She despised those bandits, always bothering everyone around them for those swords. "They love isolated places nya."

Ruby gulped visibly. "L-let's do our R-Rubesty then." she could feel Leah clutching her hand tighter sending Ruby a rush of feelings which she promptly ignored. They had to fight and for that she needed to focus. She needed to make sure she didn't burn the wrong thing just like that time.

Suddenly they heard screaming. "Pigi!" Ruby squealed and jumped onto Leah who was also screaming. Hanayo ended up growing a huge blade of rice and Rin transformed completely into a tiger and growled. "MAAAARII SAAAN!" they heard a voice yell. "It's joke Dia."

"Kurosawa san please calm down." "I will if she will stop."

"Onee chan?" Ruby said wondering how her sister was here. Or was it an illusion? "Onee sama?" Leah said as equally as confused as Ruby. They glanced at each other. Their doubts were cleared when an fiery explosion occured which was extinguished by a white cold snowy blast which was followed by a "SHINY!"

"Onee chan!" "Onee sama!"

The two ran at full speed, forgetting they were leaving two other people behind them. They didn't even care at that moment as they saw their sister's. They tackled their sister's in a bone crushing hug.

Ruby was overjoyed. She was finally in the embrace of her sister. Tears flowed from her eyes, like a waterfall. 'Are these the tears of happiness?' she felt a hand pat on her head as she sobbed into her sister's shoulder. "Ruby, you've done well." she sister complimented, patting her head. She was finally in the presence of a person who comforted her (including Leah).

She left her sister, sniffing but had a bright smile. "Ruby, I'm glad you're safe." Dia gave her a quick hug, smiling before her face contorted as she saw what Ruby was wearing. "Ruby what is this... thing you're wearing." Dia pointed.

Ruby began to explain. Kotori had fixed their old robes and made new clothes for them, effortlessly. "Your robes were easy to fix especially since the knights of your kingdoms only wear these kind of armor unlike others." Kotori had said as she handed them their fixed old robes and their new ones and asked them to wear theirs. Both of theirs were different from each other but Kotori had also made ones for their sisters which were similar to theirs. Dia and Ruby's was called the Inferno Phoenix and Sarah and Leah's were called Cold Blizzard.

Ruby's was much more revealing than Leah's. Ruby was similar to belly dancer costume. It was a fiery vibrant red and orange clothing which had tiny ornaments and sequins that reflected light. A translucent fabric similar to that of a shawl hung from the ornament on her hands and covered the rest of her body, yet it gave her free movement and added protection as the fabric was strong enough to stop any weapon striking it. It was as if Kotori had attempted to recreate fire but in the form of clothing. Ruby hoped that one day she could become her apprentice; the dresses that Kotori made had moved her and she hoped that one day that she too would reach that level.

"Ah I see..." Dia looked at her uneasy. Ruby looked to the side curious of how Leah was fairing up. Leah was crying ugly, still hugging her sister tightly who rubbed her back to calm her down. It was a heart warming sight that made Ruby's eyes well up with tears again. Ruby had suddenly got the feeling to protect this wonderful girl no matter what. It was a strange feeling but she welcomed with open arms.

"Onee sama..."

"Leah..." Sarah caressed Leah cheek lovingly before asking how she was. "Ruby, she acted nice to you, right?" Dia asked oddly calm but Ruby knew that Dia would rampage like fire if Ruby were to get hurt. Meanwhile Mai was asking her to clam down, earning a glare. "Yeah she's sweet though she hides it often." Ruby giggled as she glanced at the girl. Leah had helped her a lot and Ruby had no clue how she was going to repay her but for some reason Ruby had strange feelings that she felt for her that made her heart do somersaults whenever they had held hands or any other simple touches or if she were to talk or look or even think about her. Clearly she knew if she were to ask Dia she would dismiss it so she would have to ask another person she trusted dearly.

"Ruby, are you alright you're face is red." Dia raised her hand to check her temperature but Ruby back off saying she was completely fine to which Dia gave her a puzzled look. "Ruby san," she heard a voice calling turning her attention form her sister to her. "thank you for being by my sister. I will be grateful for what you have done." Sarah bowed. Ruby felt it to be awkward for such a renowned person bowing, so she made her stand straight. "Actually... I'm happy Leah chan was there for me. So I should be the one who has to say thank you." Ruby said, her lips curving into the littlest of little smirks, making Leah blush.

"Ah Ruby chan!" she heard a voice behind her call. She turned around at such a speed she almost cracked her neck. She could see her two friends running towards her hand in hand, Hanamaru dragging a pale looking Yoshiko behind her. She couldn't help but grin at the sight, for more than one reason. How much she missed them! "Ah Hanamaru chan, Yoshiko chan!" she half jogged to them and gave the two a hug. "I knew my little demon was powerful to shake the other celestial spheres and come on top." Yoshiko said after Ruby released them, giving a creepy laugh earning a nudge from Hanamaru. Ruby had no clue what that meant but thankful Hanamaru translated what she said. "I'm glad your safe zura." Hanamaru had tears in her eyes. She then neared Ruby's ear then whispered, "Did that girl treat you properly zura? Cause if she didn't I can ask Yoshiko chan to teach her a lesson zura."

"Hanamaru chan that's not needed," Ruby chuckled waving her hands in denial. She couldn't but wonder why everyone was asking her this question. "she treated me well, trust me." "If you say so zura."

She took a glance at Leah who looked awkward as her sister was making sure she was alright. Leah had a slight blush on her face rolling her eyes as her sister freaked out as she saw a small scratch. It reminded Ruby of her own sister, who would also do the same.

Behind her she could hear Rin and Hanayo cry. "This such a heart warming scene nya." Rin sniffled. Hanayo hummed as she wiped the tears off her cheeks with a smile. "Maru chan, Yoshiko chan-" "It's Yohane!" "-Yohane chan I'd like you to meet them, they saved us." Ruby glanced at them. They were hugging each other as they cried even more. "You mean the crying couple?" Yoshiko asked looking at them raising a brow. Ruby nodded, taking their hands, bringing them to them. Yoshiko rolled her eyes earning herself a smack from Hanamaru.

Rin and Hanayo left each other as the three stopped in front of them, Ruby introducing her friends, or more precisely Hanamaru followed by Yoshiko blabbering about hell and her status as a fallen angel and appointed Hanayo and Rin as her little demons in her army. "I-I see Yo-ha-ne chan?" Rin as I uneasy with the fallen angel's behavior. "I'm proud of you my little demon for pronouncing my name properly. I-"

"Actually her name is Yoshiko zura, she just calls herself Yohane." Hanamaru said, smiling kindly at them. "Shut up mortal!"

The rest laughed at their antics. It was funny to see Yoshiko trying to show herself as a fallen angel, from the deepest darkest place in hell and be proud of it only to be brought down to her feet by her oldest little demon Hanamaru.

Ruby felt something tap on the back of her shoulder. Ruby jumped as she screamed "pigya", almost making her incinerate Yoshiko, making the rest of the group turn around at her. Yoshiko was about to say something when the person, that was Leah, told the group to follow them back the Dia, Sarah and Mari because it was important.

Giving each other looks, the group followed Leah to Dia, Sarah and Mari who had their jaws wide open. "This is not shiny." Mari muttered under her breath.

Ruby looked at what they were looking at and her eyes widened at the sight. She held on to Dia who immediately put an arm over her. It was Chika and Riko. Both of them were covered in battle scars and bruises, limping their way towards them, supporting each other as they came closer one step at a time. Chika's eye had been blackened, Riko's arm was bleeding so much that the blood dripped on the ground making a trail. Tears flowed from Chika's eyes washing away the dirt on her face. "It's like they have been attacked by the griffins." Yoshiko said but this time Hanamaru didn't do anything. She was wondering what had happened to those two. Was it something similar to what she had Yoshiko had experienced before?

Dia managed to regain her composure and opened her mouth to ask them what had happened to them, but Chika had cut down to the chase, sobbing harder than before. Riko looked down at the floor with a frown. "We lost You chan to some bandit!"

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